Just Off Voyager Not Happy At All

[nieciez]

First off….lots of good comments in this thread. Here is my 2 cents on the subject…..

 

What makes a cruise ship any different from Hometown USA. That about all the underage drinking you read about in the papers….kids killed in car accidents on Friday or Saturday night, house parties busted up by the cops when parents go out of town without the kiddies. We’ve all read about the horror of Prom Night and underage drinking. Then there are the parents who throw the party for the kids. I’ve seen that one in the paper on more then one occasion. So many parents see this as a “right of passage”. These same parents are cruising with their little darlings and the same “anything to have a good time” attitude rules. No matter what line…it happens on them all too some degree but, you see it more on Carnival or RCCL because they cater to families. Yes, responsibility lies with the parents BUT there are an awful lot of irresponsible parents out there. So the next line of defense is the cruise line. They need to tighten up their policy and stand behind it with enforcement. The whole issue comes down to the all mighty dollar. A few irresponsible bar tenders might serve drinks for more tips; irresponsible young adults of age will buy booze for underage kids either to be “cool” or charge them a fee; the cruise lines won’t come down hard on the parents because they want these parents to be repeat cruisers….they want the KIDS to grow up and be future customers They want these parents to go home and tell all their friends about their wonderful family vacation. Can you imagine what they would tell their friends if the cruise line put them off at the next port because their kids got drunk and rowdy….it wouldn’t be their little darlings fault….they would make out that the cruise line put them off for no reason. And, if I was on a cruise and the room next to me had a bunch of wild teens in there partying every night while I was trying to sleep or smoking pot out on the balcony…I’d be calling security or seeing the purser to demand something be done or my room changed. So, I guess some of it comes down to my responsibility as well. Because I am responsible to see that I have a good time even if there are a few flaws. A vacation is what you make of it. Don’t let a few irresponsible people ruin it for you.

[Lyncruiser]

Just returned from the Mariner. Despite a couple of glitches here and there, it was overall a great cruise -- one of our best. Wonderful captain and cruise director. Surprisingly good food, with a couple of blooper dishes along the way. Fabulous ice show. Generally good service.

 

We did, however, see packs of teenagers roaming around drunk even though they were clearly underage. I agree with the posters who say that RCCL should conform to the policies of Carnival and NCL -- no one under 21 may drink. I'm troubled that RCCL is putting profits way ahead of good sense and hoping to make a killing on beer for the 18-20 crowd (and perhaps even younger, though that isn't sanctioned). From the looks of things, on our cruise RCCL probably did. We weren't terribly bothered by the teens as we weren't up late most nights when the packs were roaming. But, I do think restricting any drinking to those aged 21 and over would help.

 

Also, RCCL seems to justify their decision to let 18, 19 and 20-year olds drink (a recent change in policy by RCCL, I might add) by looking to certain foreign countries and cultures where drinking by that age group is the norm. My observation of that is that in certain countries -- France, Italy, etc., young people seem to grow up drinking a little here and there in moderation, so they seem to know how to handle alcohol from a young age. Unfortunately, in the U.S. that doesn't seem to be the case -- kids view drinking as some kind of rite of passage into adulthood and the more rowdy and drunk one gets, the better. And, the kids drinking on RCCL ships are, generally, Americans.

 

So, I do think RCCL should go back to their former policy that no one under age 21 can drink. Period. But, unless RCCL gets into liability problems from the drinking (and that is precisely why the parental consent is sought -- to avoid just that), I don't think RCCL will change the current policy -- too much profit in it, I'm afraid.