20 year old going on Jade, few questions

[pfm18]

Hi everyone, just to introduce myself I'm a 20 year old guy from the UK who will be cruising 7 nights on the Jade next month with my parents and younger sister

 

I have sailed in the past on the bigger Royal ships (Freedom and Voyager class) but this is my first time going on NCL

 

1. Last time I cruised with Royal when I was 19, they had informal meetups for young adult cruisers. This helped me meet up with people my age since I was too old for the teen club but too young for *old people* type activities. Any chance of anything like this with NCL?

 

2. Am I correct in saying I will be able to purchase any type of alcoholic drink on this itinerary? (Eastern Med from Venice)

 

3. I quite like casinos, what are typical blackjack minimums? I'm a typical poor student so I won't be able to lose much money but if the minimum bets are quite small then I can still play without risking much.

[fabnfortysomething]

Hi everyone, just to introduce myself I'm a 20 year old guy from the UK who will be cruising 7 nights on the Jade next month with my parents and younger sister

 

I have sailed in the past on the bigger Royal ships (Freedom and Voyager class) but this is my first time going on NCL

 

1. Last time I cruised with Royal when I was 19, they had informal meetups for young adult cruisers. This helped me meet up with people my age since I was too old for the teen club but too young for *old people* type activities. Any chance of anything like this with NCL?

 

2. Am I correct in saying I will be able to purchase any type of alcoholic drink on this itinerary? (Eastern Med from Venice)

 

3. I quite like casinos, what are typical blackjack minimums? I'm a typical poor student so I won't be able to lose much money but if the minimum bets are quite small then I can still play without risking much.

 

NCL don't do meetups for young cruisers I'm afraid

Our 18 year old daughter a few years ago met a couple of similar aged girls at the meet and greet and they arranged to meet later so weren't going into the nightclub by themselves.However by the end of the cruise they had built up a large group of friends some of whom did brave it at first by themselves

 

it used to be that your parents could sign a waiver to allow 18-20 year olds to drink wine and beer-that requirement no longer applies to Med cruises so wine and beer OK but not sure whether "hard" booze allowed

 

afraid don't gamble so cant help with casino question

[pfm18]

NCL don't do meetups for young cruisers I'm afraid

 

Damn that kinda sucks, hopefully I'll manage to meet people some other way

[EaglesWin]

Damn that kinda sucks, hopefully I'll manage to meet people some other way

 

Try some social media sites before you leave.

[Talus731]

If you haven't already join your roll call for this cruise and ask if there are others your age sailing.

[littlelulu01]

We just got off yesterday. My daughters, age 20 and 24 had no problems meeting new friends. There's only so many in this age group and so they find each other pretty fast. Participate in a few activities in the beginning and show up at the pool and late night parties. After day two you'll have a group. The activities staff are younger as well and help facilitate.

 

As a 20 year old you won't be able to purchase a drink package. Daughter met a friend who turned 21 second day of the cruise and he was given the soda package vs the UBP that came with his room. He was not allowed to switch to the included UBP on his birthday.

[Sauer-kraut]

There might be a solo cruisers get together every evening. I know the Jade doesn't have a "Living Room" set up like those on the new ships, but check the Daily.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[pfm18]

We just got off yesterday. My daughters, age 20 and 24 had no problems meeting new friends. There's only so many in this age group and so they find each other pretty fast. Participate in a few activities in the beginning and show up at the pool and late night parties. After day two you'll have a group. The activities staff are younger as well and help facilitate.

 

As a 20 year old you won't be able to purchase a drink package. Daughter met a friend who turned 21 second day of the cruise and he was given the soda package vs the UBP that came with his room. He was not allowed to switch to the included UBP on his birthday.

 

We have the soda package anyway so I'd just pay the price if I fancy a couple of beers or a cocktail or whatever. I only usually drink alcohol late at night anyway.

 

There might be a solo cruisers get together every evening. I know the Jade doesn't have a "Living Room" set up like those on the new ships, but check the Daily.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

 

Might take myself along to that, although I'm not literally a solo cruiser some of the people will likely be like-minded.

 

If the worst comes to it I can always hang with my parents, it might actually be fun hanging with them, because I haven't spent a huge amount of quality time with them since I moved away for college at 18. :)

 

Either way I'm fully expecting a great cruise, just would be nice having something to do after 11pm/midnight when the oldies retire to bed :D

[pfm18]

Anyone know about the casinos?

 

 

Also, has anyone sailed these Adriatic sea cruises before on NCL? What's the usual passenger nationality breakdown?

[NLH Arizona]

We have the soda package anyway so I'd just pay the price if I fancy a couple of beers or a cocktail or whatever. I only usually drink alcohol late at night anyway.

 

 

 

You can have your beers, but alas no cocktails, if your parents sign for you; from NCL's website:

 

With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii itineraries, NCL permits guests between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty (20) to purchase and personally consume wine and beer while on NCL ships with the consent of an accompanying parent or legal guardian ("Parental Consent") on the same sailing when the vessel is outside the US state territorial waters (3 miles). Complete details and the Parental Consent form are available on board at the Reception Desk.

[pfm18]

You can have your beers, but alas no cocktails, if your parents sign for you; from NCL's website:

 

With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii itineraries, NCL permits guests between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty (20) to purchase and personally consume wine and beer while on NCL ships with the consent of an accompanying parent or legal guardian ("Parental Consent") on the same sailing when the vessel is outside the US state territorial waters (3 miles). Complete details and the Parental Consent form are available on board at the Reception Desk.

 

I think it's different for European cruises

[DMH15]

NCL don't do meetups for young cruisers I'm afraid

 

Our 18 year old daughter a few years ago met a couple of similar aged girls at the meet and greet and they arranged to meet later so weren't going into the nightclub by themselves.However by the end of the cruise they had built up a large group of friends some of whom did brave it at first by themselves

 

 

 

it used to be that your parents could sign a waiver to allow 18-20 year olds to drink wine and beer-that requirement no longer applies to Med cruises so wine and beer OK but not sure whether "hard" booze allowed

 

 

 

afraid don't gamble so cant help with casino question

 

 

 

They did have organized 18-20 gatherings on Jewel in April. However, my niece found them "lame ". She just discovered where kds her age hung out.

 

Maybe the Jad has the blackjack machine? On the Jewel it was in Spinnaker. $1 minimum. And it paid off nicely for us!

[SuiteTraveler]

On a European cruise you will be off the ship from early in the morning until late afternoon touring. Definitely get with your Cruise Critic roll call and you should be able to meet some people you age that way - maybe even join up on some tours that interest you.

 

The casino was never really busy when I cruised on Jade (twice in the Med). Perhaps it was busy late at night, but with all our early alarms for the various tours, I never stayed up late to see. It's a real pretty casino, however. (But you're a guy and probably you don't care about that! LOL!) Make sure you get a reservation for Teppanyaki if you like that sort of thing as it's usually sold out every night. I think you will be really busy on this cruise and it won't matter to you so much about who you meet as you will be doing so much. Have a great time!

[barnacle_boy]

There are scheduled gatherings for 18-20 year olds.

 

Usually there's at least one $5 minimum blackjack table in the casino.

[EaglesWin]

I think it's different for European cruises

 

On cruises embarking in a country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21 and where a young adult (age 18, 19 or 20) is not traveling with a parent or legal guardian, they will generally not be permitted to consume alcohol. There may be exceptions made to this restriction in areas of the world where local laws require and Norwegian Cruise Line concurs. Details on such exceptions can be obtained from the Guest Services Desk.

 

http://www.ncl.com/faq/guest-conduct-policy

[Trishastravels]

We did NCL Jade over Christmas & New Year and were travelling with our 20 year old son, we had the soda package but occasionally we would have an alcoholic drink, my hubby ordered them for the 3 of us and my son had vodka and none of the waiters challenged us about our son's age! So from our experience there wasn't a problem but it may be more difficult if you are ordering on your own.

[pfm18]

On a European cruise you will be off the ship from early in the morning until late afternoon touring. Definitely get with your Cruise Critic roll call and you should be able to meet some people you age that way - maybe even join up on some tours that interest you!

 

Thankfully we don't have that problem. Only ever do one tour per cruise, on the other port days we'll just leave mid-morning and take a bit of a walk and be back on the ship for 2pm :)

[pfm18]

On cruises embarking in a country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21 and where a young adult (age 18, 19 or 20) is not traveling with a parent or legal guardian, they will generally not be permitted to consume alcohol. There may be exceptions made to this restriction in areas of the world where local laws require and Norwegian Cruise Line concurs. Details on such exceptions can be obtained from the Guest Services Desk.

 

http://www.ncl.com/faq/guest-conduct-policy

 

 

I am travelling with my parents.

 

Other webpages offer differing information.

 

http://www.ncl.co.uk/already-booked/gifts-and-more/ultimate-beverage/terms/

 

For European itineraries:

Legal drinking age is 18 years of age and does not require parental consent. Guests that are between 18 and 20 are not permitted to purchase the Ultimate Beverage Package; however, guests are allowed to purchase the Corks and Caps package.

[pfm18]

They did have organized 18-20 gatherings on Jewel in April. However, my niece found them "lame ". She just discovered where kds her age hung out.

 

Maybe the Jad has the blackjack machine? On the Jewel it was in Spinnaker. $1 minimum. And it paid off nicely for us!

 

 

On RCI all they did was suggest place and time to meet, once everyone had gotten talking it was easier to plan things from there.

[EaglesWin]

 

Other webpages offer differing information.

 

http://www.ncl.co.uk/already-booked/gifts-and-more/ultimate-beverage/terms/

 

That's good to hear.

[GoAndHaveFun]

I was on the Adriatic cruise last year on the Jade and I also did a lot of stuff by myself as my parents did their own thing.

 

For nationality breakdown, I am unable to really break down nationalities. Because it is an European cruise, there are a lot of Europeans, some people from Asian and some from the US/Canada.

 

If you attend the events the cruise director's staff hosts, you can meet some people and chat with them. You can also meet people through shore excursions granted that people in your group are friendly (most are but I have met some who weren't). For me, I have met people at shore excursions, hot tub, casino playing coin machine, O'Sheehans, elevators, Bliss Lounge clubbing, Behind the Scenes tour, Garden Cafe and others. Definitely be friendly and chat up random people as that's what I would do. Because people are on vacation, I wanna say they are more friendly although I have come across a couple unfriendly ones but that's okay. Sometimes, people will chat YOU up too. This was what happened at O'Sheehans last year when I was on the Jewel.

[TrumpyNor]

I think it's different for European cruises

 

Yes it is, see the last sentence here:

http://www.ncl.com/faq#what-minimum-age-purchase-andor-consumption-alcoholic-beverages

[TrumpyNor]

Anyone know about the casinos?

 

 

Also, has anyone sailed these Adriatic sea cruises before on NCL? What's the usual passenger nationality breakdown?

 

1. I believe that the minimum age requirement for the casino is 18

2. The nationalities will be a great mix - including many Americans

Edited May 19, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[pfm18]

1. I believe that the minimum age requirement for the casino is 18

2. The nationalities will be a great mix - including many Americans

 

 

1. That's good, as long as there are ~5 bucks table minimums, because I find gambling fun but wouldn't want to risk too much money

 

2. That's good! I just hope there are many English speakers :p