Cheers Package and turning 21 the day after we sail....

[Cruise_PRN__]

We are sailing on the Paradise leaving this Saturday, the 10th. My son turns 21 on Sunday, the 11th. I had thought we could just purchase the Cheers package for him the morning of the 11th. I have been told by one carnival rep that the package won't be able to be purchased due to it has to be purchased prior to or the first day of sailing. I was very disappointed but decided, oh well, he will just have to go ala carte and show his ID every time starting on the 11th and by drinks indvidually! Fast forward to this AM. I called to confirm, he turns 21 on the 11th so can he just show his ID and purchase alcohol indvidually? The rep this time said that everything is tied to the sail and sign card and since it will be issued BEFORE he turns 21, on the 10th, he likely could NOT purchase alcohol but she transferred me to the fun shops to confirm. The Fun Shops rep said they may allow him to purchase the cheers package at sailing on the 10th but if not he could purchase alcohol on the 11th by showing his ID. This seems like alot of inconvenience. Can anyone who has been in this situation before shed some light?  I know he can have alcohol in ports but part of the reason we booked this trip was so that he could enjoy the freedom of being 21 and having cocktails poolside, at dinner and the theater with the rest of us!

[pc_load_letter]

I've seen them selling Cheers on the second day on a 7 day cruise. I can't imagine them NOT wanting your money. I am sure guest relations will help you out.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by pc_load_letter

[mkcurran]

I'd actually contact John Heald about this on Facebook. He seems to have a way to get around the rules in situations like this.

[bigman01]

I can't help you with the Cheers part, but he should be able to go to Guest Services on his birthday and show his id. They should be able to update his Sail & Sign card info so that it doesn't show as "under 21" in their system. That way he won't have to show his id every time he wants to purchase alcohol. I could be wrong but I don't think I am.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I remember seeing several times that as far as the ship is concerned, you remain the age you are on boarding day for the remainder of the cruise.  I hope I am wrong (perhaps this is the rule on another cruise line).

[crewsweeper]

38 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

I've seen them selling Cheers on the second day on a 7 day cruise. I can't imagine them NOT wanting your money. I am sure guest relations will help you out.

 

 

I think they do that out of New York and Galveston due to state liquor laws.  So purchases then are for 6 days instead of 7.

Or one day shorter for shorter cruises.

 

For the OP, isn't your Paradise itinerary only 4 days?  And a couple of those days are port days?  May not make a whole lot of $ense to spend nearly $60 per day for drinks for a 21 year old anyway.  Just something to think about.

 

 

[pc_load_letter]

4 minutes ago, crewsweeper said:

I think they do that out of New York and Galveston due to state liquor laws.  So purchases then are for 6 days instead of 7.

Or one day shorter for shorter cruises.

 

For the OP, isn't your Paradise itinerary only 4 days?  And a couple of those days are port days?  May not make a whole lot of $ense to spend nearly $60 per day for drinks for a 21 year old anyway.  Just something to think about.

 

 

I thought those state laws only impacted sales tax.

 

But this cruise was out of New Orleans that I am referring to.

[bonstersd]

I would seriously consider just paying as he goes.  I don't know how much a 21 year old can drink and maybe having 15 drinks available per day is too much for a "newbie" drinker.   If there is any problem with his ordering a drink after he turns 21, just go to guest services and they should be able to handle it for you.  I do, however, believe that you have until the second day to buy the cheers package and the drinks you ordered and paid for the day before get zeroed out.  Good luck and happy birthday!

[beerman2]

1 hour ago, bonstersd said:

I would seriously consider just paying as he goes.  I don't know how much a 21 year old can drink and maybe having 15 drinks available per day is too much for a "newbie" drinker.   If there is any problem with his ordering a drink after he turns 21, just go to guest services and they should be able to handle it for you.  I do, however, believe that you have until the second day to buy the cheers package and the drinks you ordered and paid for the day before get zeroed out.  Good luck and happy birthday!

Now that's funny not knowing how much a 21 year old can drink. Now those were the good old days. At 20/21 most Can drink quite a bit.

 

I'm pretty sure the soon to be 21 year old has had a few already.

[MickCruiser]

4 hours ago, bonstersd said:

I would seriously consider just paying as he goes.  I don't know how much a 21 year old can drink and maybe having 15 drinks available per day is too much for a "newbie" drinker.   If there is any problem with his ordering a drink after he turns 21, just go to guest services and they should be able to handle it for you.  I do, however, believe that you have until the second day to buy the cheers package and the drinks you ordered and paid for the day before get zeroed out.  Good luck and happy birthday!

[1city@atime]

I have been on 6 Carnival cruises. I have seen the Cheers package sold the 2nd day.

[BallFour4]

7 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I remember seeing several times that as far as the ship is concerned, you remain the age you are on boarding day for the remainder of the cruise.  I hope I am wrong (perhaps this is the rule on another cruise line).

Me too. I've searched their FAQ page and don't see it now. Here's what I found.

Drinking Alcohol On Board
The minimum age for the purchase and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages in the bars, lounges and gift shops is 21 years of age. In the event that Bar/Restaurant/Gift Shop Staff are in question that the guest is less than 21 years old, they shall request picture identification, prior to serving the drink or selling the bottle of liquor.   

[PhillyFan33579]

13 hours ago, bonstersd said:

I would seriously consider just paying as he goes.  I don't know how much a 21 year old can drink and maybe having 15 drinks available per day is too much for a "newbie" drinker.   If there is any problem with his ordering a drink after he turns 21, just go to guest services and they should be able to handle it for you.  I do, however, believe that you have until the second day to buy the cheers package and the drinks you ordered and paid for the day before get zeroed out.  Good luck and happy birthday!

 

Odds are pretty good he has drank before despite his age. Carnival has always offered Cheers for sale the first two days of every cruise I have been on. I don’t know what the current policy is, but several years ago my friend (and his wife) decided to buy Cheers on day two of the cruise and it did not cover drinks they bought on day one. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

Cheers! has been offered to guests on the second day of the (short 3- and 4-day) sailings we took out of Canaveral.  I thought it was stated as such on the Cheers page or some other FAQ, but I cannot find that statement now - perhaps they have had a policy change.  Either way, the soon-to-be 21-year-old will be able to purchase a la carte.

 

And yeah, when i was 21, I could drink a few (but I lived in Ontario with drinking age of 19).  But I suspect, at more than double that age, I can now drink more than my 21-year-old self, if for no other reason than I weigh a lot more...

[sc4125]

We took my daughter on a cruise for her 21st birthday with several family members.  She also turned 21 on the second day of the cruise.  She never had to go to Guest Services to order drinks once she turned 21 - as a matter of fact, we all started partying, (or I should probably say all the younger family members started partying) at the stroke of midnight on the first night.

Unless something has drastically changed, your son will be able to purchase alcoholic drinks once he's 21.

 

In reference to CHEERS, I always purchase before boarding; however, I too have seen them selling it on the 1st and 2nd day of the cruise.  I can't specifically remember whether that was only on the longer cruises or not.

 

I'm glad it wasn't available when my daughter turned 21.  I'm pretty sure she would have tried to hit the 15 mark everyday thinking she was going to get her $$'s worth.

[Herbaltees]

19 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

I think they do that out of New York and Galveston due to state liquor laws.  So purchases then are for 6 days instead of 7.

Or one day shorter for shorter cruises.

 

For the OP, isn't your Paradise itinerary only 4 days?  And a couple of those days are port days?  May not make a whole lot of $ense to spend nearly $60 per day for drinks for a 21 year old anyway.  Just something to think about.

 

 

I was going to say this same thing. Not judging your parenting, but I would think that a newbie to drinking  wouldn't be able to get the benefit of the cheers package anyway.

 

As far as the birthday thing, you can go to Guest Services and have them update the card as 21. This is similar to the kids camp, where if you're within 6 months of the next age they let you move up to the next camp.

 

Good Luck and have fun.

[SadieN]

Taking a different tack.

Cheers would be good for him.  It'll allow him to try many different drinks without the guilt if he doesn't like a few of them.

[lcgvol]

We took two cruises earlier this year before my daughter turned 20, one on Carnival and the other on Royal Caribbean. On both lines, she was asked by several waiters if she wanted a drink. She gave them her order, they put it on my husbands sign and sail card with no mention of her age. On Royal Caribbean, we were offered free champagne three different times in the dining room, again with no one questioning her age. Maybe it was because we were with her, I don't know. She would never try to get anything on her own. We are not naive and know that she drinks while she is at college and was definitely not trying to get drunk while on the cruise. 

[SNJCruisers]

On 11/7/2018 at 3:16 PM, crewsweeper said:

I think they do that out of New York and Galveston due to state liquor laws.  So purchases then are for 6 days instead of 7.

Or one day shorter for shorter cruises.

 

For the OP, isn't your Paradise itinerary only 4 days?  And a couple of those days are port days?  May not make a whole lot of $ense to spend nearly $60 per day for drinks for a 21 year old anyway.  Just something to think about.

 

 

You seriously think that someone that just turned 21 and probably has been drinking in college for three years can't drink enough on a port day from 500 pm on to get their monies worth on Cheers? That line of thinking is truly delusional.

[tlvanhook]

On our last cruise, my son turned 21 on the fourth day of a seven day cruise. His Sail and sign card account updated automatically, he did not need to do anything. He was not able to purchase alcohol until that point. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 11/10/2018 at 10:44 PM, SNJCruisers said:

You seriously think that someone that just turned 21 and probably has been drinking in college for three years can't drink enough on a port day from 500 pm on to get their monies worth on Cheers? That line of thinking is truly delusional.

Believe it or not, "kids" like that do exist.  My daughter just turned 21.  I'm not even sure she's had a drink "legally" yet - maybe this past weekend.  She showed little interest in alcohol in general, just really not enjoying the taste or experience - she went on a cruise with a friend and her family a few months back (while still 20), and had some drinks when they got off at a port.  I believe she had at most three total, and was very, very inebriated, and didn't have anything after that the entire cruise.  Of course, she weighs like a buck ten, so that helps...

Edited November 12, 2018 by ProgRockCruiser

[serene56]

He would pay as he goes.    Your sign and sail card is the age you boarded.    (which may come into a problem)  I know it works that way with camp-  MUST be 2 by the date of sailing--  not two days later.

 

can you go the week later

[ProgRockCruiser]

9 minutes ago, serene56 said:

He would pay as he goes.    Your sign and sail card is the age you boarded.    (which may come into a problem)  I know it works that way with camp-  MUST be 2 by the date of sailing--  not two days later.

 

can you go the week later

I believe this is not correct, based on the following posted not too far before your post:

21 hours ago, tlvanhook said:

On our last cruise, my son turned 21 on the fourth day of a seven day cruise. His Sail and sign card account updated automatically, he did not need to do anything. He was not able to purchase alcohol until that point. 

 So as you can see, it appears one can turn 21 while on board and get served.  The Camp Carnival threshold for age of child on day of sailing is an arguably arbitrary Carnival rule just to keep things organized.  They could have picked 28 months or 22 months, or 2 years old on final day of sailing, or...

[Cruiser_1977]

OP - hope you're enjoying your trip! Will you please let us know what happened? 🙂

[simplelife]

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 3:00 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

I remember seeing several times that as far as the ship is concerned, you remain the age you are on boarding day for the remainder of the cruise.  I hope I am wrong (perhaps this is the rule on another cruise line).

That is my understanding also. Age is the age at time of embarkation.