Legal Drinking age sailing from Abu Dhabi

[kruzgal]

We are considering the Christmas/New Year sailing on Constellation from Abu Dhabi, but are getting conflicting information regarding the legal drinking age on this trip. Our youngest son will be just short of his 21st birthday and this could be a factor in whether we book or not (not that he is a big drinker but as the legal age is 18 in the UK and this is a holiday sailing it wouldn't feel fair if we could all drink and he couldn't).

 

Please could someone in the US check the terms and conditions on your side of the pond for me? I have looked on a celebrity cruises dot com website but it is strange as it is priced in £ but has different terms to the UK site (no mention of Arabian Gulf just Asia 18 years). On the UK website it says Asia 18 years, but Arabian Gulf 21 years. Given that the Arabian Gulf is technically in Asia this is a bit confusing to start with. I am sure there must be another website you use in the US but when I look via tunnel bear it says that it is undergoing maintenance.

 

I did ring Celebrity from the UK today and it went from 21 , to 18, back to 21 so not sure what to believe! The legal drinking age in Abu Dhabi is 18 but the cruise calls in to Dubai where it is 21.

[blazeinthesun]

I just copied this from the US site, but I'm afraid that it doesn't provide any more than you already know. It seems you need someone with this exact experience to chime in.

 

It may be that the part "In certain circumstances where local laws permit or require..." means they abide by embarkation port rules, much as they do when sailing from the US (other international ports allow 18, but X does not as the law in embarkation port of US is 21). Which in your case may mean the embarkation port is 18, therefore the shipboard age is 18.

 

Hopefully, you get a definitive answer.

 

 

"What is Celebrity's Alcohol Policy?The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from North America is 21. The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18. In certain circumstances where local laws permit or require, Celebrity Cruises may modify this policy which may also require parent/guardian request/authorization. Guests may contact Guest Relations or refer to Celebrity Today for specific minimum drinking age information on their cruise vacation."

[kruzgal]

Many thanks - this is what I saw on the dot com website. I don't think I will get a definitive answer as the US website says one thing and the UK website says another!

[Celebrity Cruises]

We are considering the Christmas/New Year sailing on Constellation from Abu Dhabi, but are getting conflicting information regarding the legal drinking age on this trip. Our youngest son will be just short of his 21st birthday and this could be a factor in whether we book or not (not that he is a big drinker but as the legal age is 18 in the UK and this is a holiday sailing it wouldn't feel fair if we could all drink and he couldn't).

 

Please could someone in the US check the terms and conditions on your side of the pond for me? I have looked on a celebrity cruises dot com website but it is strange as it is priced in £ but has different terms to the UK site (no mention of Arabian Gulf just Asia 18 years). On the UK website it says Asia 18 years, but Arabian Gulf 21 years. Given that the Arabian Gulf is technically in Asia this is a bit confusing to start with. I am sure there must be another website you use in the US but when I look via tunnel bear it says that it is undergoing maintenance.

 

I did ring Celebrity from the UK today and it went from 21 , to 18, back to 21 so not sure what to believe! The legal drinking age in Abu Dhabi is 18 but the cruise calls in to Dubai where it is 21.

 

The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from North America is 21. The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18.

 

In certain circumstances where local laws permit or require, Celebrity Cruises may modify this policy which may also require parent/guardian request/authorization.

[kruzgal]

The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from North America is 21. The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18.

 

In certain circumstances where local laws permit or require, Celebrity Cruises may modify this policy which may also require parent/guardian request/authorization.

 

 

Thank you Celebrity Cruises official - I was hoping you would respond. However, I am still having problems getting clarification on this - as it currently stands your terms and conditions are different in the UK to the US and I would urge you to look in to this immediately. Reading the above terms (taken from the US website) you would presume the age is 18 from Abu Dhabi, since Abu Dhabi is in Asia and the legal drinking age in Abu Dhabi is 18. However, in the UK the website states:

 

What is Celebrity's Alcohol Policy?

 

A:The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is eighteen (18). Sailings from North America and the Arabian Gulf is twenty-one (21)

 

The above statement taken from the Celebrity UK website is confusing since the Arabian Gulf is in Asia! You are currently running different terms and conditions on your websites and it is not clear. I want to book this cruise but need some clarification before I do. My son will be just short of his 21 st birthday and given that he has been drinking legally in the UK since he was 18, and it is a Christmas and New Year sailing, we would not think it fair to go on this trip if he couldn't have the occasional drink with us to celebrate the season.

 

I have posted in roll calls for this itinerary and the response has been that the legal age is 18 - but that has been from US residents, which is unsurprising given the terms above.

 

I have emailed Celebrity but no response as yet, although it does say it can take 10 days to get a response.

 

I suspect if it is 21 you are going to have some very upset passengers on your Abu Dhabi cruises, particularly those who booked in the US/Canada who believe the age to be 18. I would really appreciate an absolute answer on this. We would be happy to sign a waiver and guarantee the good behaviour of our son.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

Sent from Samsung tablet

[kruzgal]

Bump...

[A Sixth?]

The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from North America is 21. The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Celebrity Cruises ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18.

 

In certain circumstances where local laws permit or require, Celebrity Cruises may modify this policy which may also require parent/guardian request/authorization.

 

Because people ask me all the time (we cruise out of San Juan a lot) when sailing out and back to San Juan, where the age is 18, and cruising the Caribbean what is Celebrity's policy?

Edited June 15, 2016 by A Sixth?

[kruzgal]

I have been trying to get a response from Celebrity for the last few months with regard to the legal drinking age on the sailings on Constellation from Abu Dhabi. We were interested in booking the Christmas/new Year sailing for 2017 but our son will be 20 years and 6 months at the time of sailing which may preclude him from drinking, not great for a UK 20 year old, legally able to drink for several years, on a festive sailing.

 

After several emails to the celebrity 'one touch' email address - no response - my Celebrity Customer Service contact via Facebook has finally got a response, although not the one we wanted.

 

According to the US beverage manager sailings on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi will be subject to a minimum drinking age of 21 not 18. I believe this is contrary to what guests in the US are being told, hence this post for your information.

[SensFan11]

I have been trying to get a response from Celebrity for the last few months with regard to the legal drinking age on the sailings on Constellation from Abu Dhabi. We were interested in booking the Christmas/new Year sailing for 2017 but our son will be 20 years and 6 months at the time of sailing which may preclude him from drinking, not great for a UK 20 year old, legally able to drink for several years, on a festive sailing.

 

After several emails to the celebrity 'one touch' email address - no response - my Celebrity Customer Service contact via Facebook has finally got a response, although not the one we wanted.

 

According to the US beverage manager sailings on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi will be subject to a minimum drinking age of 21 not 18. I believe this is contrary to what guests in the US are being told, hence this post for your information.

 

Following. I can see this would be very disappointing.

 

Just a suggestion, but it might be worth contacting the Captain's Club.

[WestLakeGirl]

Very doubtful that anyone in Captains Club can overturn the beverage manager's decision, sadly just another case of left hand and right hand not communicating

[kruzgal]

Yes, I won't be making any further contact as the decision has been made it seems. I only posted it as this is contrary to what I have been advised on these boards by people already booked on these cruises, and also from US travel agents who have told me the age is 18, even after consulting Celebrity reps in the US.

[kruzgal]

As an additional point, I contacted Royal Caribbean by email a few days ago to enquire about the legal drinking age on their ships which leave from Dubai (where the legal drinking age is 21) and got an email back today telling me that on their ships leaving from Dubai the legal drinking age is 18. What a mess this policy is......they really need to coordinate.

[villauk]

I have been trying to get a response from Celebrity for the last few months with regard to the legal drinking age on the sailings on Constellation from Abu Dhabi. We were interested in booking the Christmas/new Year sailing for 2017 but our son will be 20 years and 6 months at the time of sailing which may preclude him from drinking, not great for a UK 20 year old, legally able to drink for several years, on a festive sailing.

 

After several emails to the celebrity 'one touch' email address - no response - my Celebrity Customer Service contact via Facebook has finally got a response, although not the one we wanted.

 

According to the US beverage manager sailings on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi will be subject to a minimum drinking age of 21 not 18. I believe this is contrary to what guests in the US are being told, hence this post for your information.

 

Thanks so much for posting this information.

[ReneeFLL]

Here it says the legal drinking age is 18. Why would the US beverage manager say something different. That makes no sense at all. It would be nice if Celebrity would explain. Also, can't understand why RC would have a different policy. I will be following this thread to see if they answer.

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/local-laws-and-customs

 

"The legal age for drinking alcohol is 18 in Abu Dhabi (although a Ministry of Tourism by-law allows hotels to serve alcohol only to those over 21), and 21 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (except Sharjah, where drinking alcohol is illegal)."

 

Does your son or family plan on drinking only on the ship or also while in port? Personally, I wouldn't drink while in their country. The drinking laws regarding tourist and drinking is nuts. You have to have a license to drink, but as a tourist you don't qualify at any age. This should have nothing to do while you are on the ship.

 

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-alcohol-law-forgot-about-tourists

 

Hope you have fun with which ever cruise line you chose.

Edited August 6, 2016 by ReneeFLL

[kruzgal]

Honestly I don't think Celebrity knew the legal drinking age on the ship before I contacted them, via Celebrity UK on Facebook, and are now making it up as they go along. Celebrity UK contacted the ship last week and they said they didn't know, hence they contacted someone senior, the Beverage Manager in the US, for an answer.

 

We are only interested in our son being able to drink on the ship, not in port. We are respectful of local laws and understand that in Dubai, for example he can't drink. That is absolutely fine.

 

We will not be booking the Royal Caribbean ship from Dubai as it is the Constellation from Abu Dhabi we are interested in. I only contacted Royal to see what their policy is for a comparison and was surprised to find that even though the ship is leaving from Dubai the legal age is 18. If only Celebrity would do the same.

 

I am quite frankly fed up of Celebrity not responding to any of emails. I have repeatedly pointed out that on their US website there is an implication in the terms and conditions that the drinking age will be 18 for these sailings, although there is a 'get out' clause whereby it could be higher. However, on the UK website the terms and conditions say that in the Arabian Gulf it is age 21.

 

I am trying to help them out and point out their error and they are just not interested. I give up!

[WestLakeGirl]

Sadly this is another case of shoreside and shipside lack of communication,reminiscent of the "Luminae will be open for port day luncheon,no it won't" conversations, and even the old "non-alcoholic beverage package includes coffe with alcohol" issue. Someone on shore writes the website and no one ever looks at it again to see if it makes sense

[kruzgal]

Sadly I think you are right. I find it astonishing that the first Constellation cruises set sail from Abu Dhabi in 3 months time. These cruises will have been on sale for over 12 months now, many people no doubt being given free drinks packages, and yet they have no idea what the legal drinking age will be. It has taken me months to finally get an answer (the legal age will be 21) - very poor on the part of Celebrity.

 

I do feel ever more frustrated now as we really wanted to go on this trip and finding out that Royal Caribbean have a legal drinking age of 18 in this region adds insult to injury.

[kruzgal]

UPDATE

 

Having discovered that the legal drinking age on Royal Caribbean from Dubai was 18 years I just couldn't understand why Celebrity were saying 21 from Abu Dhabi. It just didn't make sense. I rang the US and pretended I wanted to book, asked them the legal drinking age on this sailing and surprise, surprise was told it would be 18!

 

I went back to Celebrity UK to pursue it one last time and finally I have received an email confirming the legal drinking age on the Constellation sailing from Abu Dhabi will be 18. Two and a half months after I made contact I finally have an answer in writing that has come from the US beverage manager, so I feel confident to book.

 

It has been a very long process and really should not have been this difficult. The terms and conditions on the UK website have been altered and the words "legal drinking age in Arabian gulf is 21" have been removed. Too late for the brochures but at least we have got clarification and it is the reply we wanted.:)

[chemmo]

UPDATE

 

Having discovered that the legal drinking age on Royal Caribbean from Dubai was 18 years I just couldn't understand why Celebrity were saying 21 from Abu Dhabi. It just didn't make sense. I rang the US and pretended I wanted to book, asked them the legal drinking age on this sailing and surprise, surprise was told it would be 18!

 

I went back to Celebrity UK to pursue it one last time and finally I have received an email confirming the legal drinking age on the Constellation sailing from Abu Dhabi will be 18. Two and a half months after I made contact I finally have an answer in writing that has come from the US beverage manager, so I feel confident to book.

 

It has been a very long process and really should not have been this difficult. The terms and conditions on the UK website have been altered and the words "legal drinking age in Arabian gulf is 21" have been removed. Too late for the brochures but at least we have got clarification and it is the reply we wanted.:)

 

Thanks for following through, useful information.

 

Now try to relax and get ready to enjoy your cruise!

Edited August 24, 2016 by chemmo

[Bo1953]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

 

Just a quick cursory search turned this up, the closest to authority on this OR one can just call the local Embassy or Consulate if this is really a deal breaker... get it from the source.

 

One can get any variations, permutations or nuances answered from the above mentioned sources too... not conjecture from non-official sources. A better use of time and gaining information and sharing it with others in a similar situation, in my opine, regardless of where one lives in the world.

 

bon voyage

 

Edited To Add: This is a country specific question and not general.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Bo1953

[villauk]

Kruzgal,

 

I know you are on this year's Connie Christmas cruise and if you visit the roll call, I can state what it was like on Millie over Christmas (as I see you were asking on the 2016 Connie roll call for info) ;).

[snyniew]

Because people ask me all the time (we cruise out of San Juan a lot) when sailing out and back to San Juan, where the age is 18, and cruising the Caribbean what is Celebrity's policy?

 

When going out of San Juan they stick to the US legal age since it's a US territory so the drinking age is 21. I asked if they would allow me to sign a waiver and the answer was no. This was last March when my niece who was 18 was sailing with me. They are allowed to drink in all the ports but not on the ship.

[benjoon]

 

We are on the Constellation from Abu Dhabi and the drinking age is 21.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums