Teenager Concern???

[Laurie996]

Okay people I need your help and please be honest with your answers. I'm traveling with my 16 year old son who thinks he is going to be able to be served alcohol. I say "ya right" "fat chance". This is his 3rd cruise and he now thinks that it is "cool" to party and have a few beers.

My niece who is 23 and who has sailed with us in Jan of 04 told my son that he will have no problem obtaining alcohol. What an idiot to be telling a 16 year old that. Anyway, I want to make sure he has a good time (which he always does) but I'm concerned of what I have been informed. I guess has anyone heard of teens being served from other adults or staff members?

 

A worried mom!

[iluvcruzin]

16 is too young to be served beer or get a parent's permission card punch. If he is able to get it, the odds are good it would be from the 23 year old niece and a hand-off. Is it possible your son is just pulling your leg to annoy you? My son used to do that sort of thing when he was a teen. Warn him you will be his biggest nightmare and hang out with him the whole time. That might scare him straight. ;) It's all about trust and if you are concerned he would sneak it, then I don't know what to tell you.

[Laurie996]

Thank you so much. My niece is not going this time with us but she says it is easy. Yes, like you said it is all about trust. Thanks for the response back!

 

Laurie

[heartofamerica]

Okay people I need your help and please be honest with your answers. I'm traveling with my 16 year old son who thinks he is going to be able to be served alcohol. I say "ya right" "fat chance". This is his 3rd cruise and he now thinks that it is "cool" to party and have a few beers.

My niece who is 23 and who has sailed with us in Jan of 04 told my son that he will have no problem obtaining alcohol. What an idiot to be telling a 16 year old that. Anyway, I want to make sure he has a good time (which he always does) but I'm concerned of what I have been informed. I guess has anyone heard of teens being served from other adults or staff members?

 

A worried mom!

Here's from the RCL "Code of Conduct":

WHAT IS THE DRINKING

AGE ONBOARD?

Royal Caribbean International’s age

policy for consumption of alcoholic

beverages is as follows:

• For all Alaska itineraries guests

must be 21 years old to consume

any alcoholic beverages.

• Guests 21 or older may consume

any alcoholic beverages on any sailing.

• Guests 18 – 20 may consume beer and

wine (except for Alaska) if the parent

or legal guardian has signed a waiver

granting permission. The waiver may

be requested at check-in or at the

Purser’s Desk onboard. Guests 18–20

without a signed waiver will not be

allowed to drink. This policy subject

to change without notice.

• Applicable age restrictions apply while

the ship is in port, in accordance with

local age limitations.

• Providing alcohol to a minor is a violation

of our Guest Vacation Guidelines

and will not be tolerated. Please review

our Code of Conduct in the “Getting

Settled” section for details.

 

Getting beer with a fake ID at the local convenience store is one thing...trying to board a ship with fake ID might prove to be a bit more problematic.

[devils6]

A 16 year old is not going to be served alcohol on a cruise from somebody working on the ship. But he will have an easy time getting if he really wants, trust me on that. But it is vacation and maybe you could cut him some slack and maybe buy some for him yourself. As long as you trust him not to due something stupid i dont think its a big deal.

[grod19]

I am only 23 but i know if i turned to my mother or father when I was 16 and told them I was gonna to get beer or alcohol when I was on vacation then my life would be in danger. I know it is his vacation too but you are his parents, lay down the law and make him stick to it. If he wants to break it then make him pay the price. I know my parents sure knew how to make my life hell when I was younger an broke the rules I'm sure you can too

[Enchantment 04]

A 16 year old is not going to be served alcohol on a cruise from somebody working on the ship. But he will have an easy time getting if he really wants, trust me on that. But it is vacation and maybe you could cut him some slack and maybe buy some for him yourself. As long as you trust him not to due something stupid i dont think its a big deal.

 

LOL.

[cruise 4 fun]

Trust me, if he wants it, he'll get it. It's really not very hard. Set your rules up front.

[bobbie0253]

What we do with our kids (yes they are teens):

 

We do "spot checks". If they are not where they said they are going to be and with the people they said they would be with, they get to spend the night with us. They only had to spend one night with us in three cruises. That was enough for them to understand we were dead serious about this rule. There are phones ALL OVER the ship. If they want to go to a different area, they are to call our room and leave a voice message so we know where they are at all times. Usually it's just a message to say they went to get pizza and hang out there. We also use these "spot checks" to make sure they are behaving. Most times they don't even know we were there checking on them.

 

I was raised allowed to drink if I was home with my parents. Once alcohol wasn't forbidden the appeal was gone. I know most people won't agree with this, but if you have an occasional beer, wine cooler, or glass of wine with him he may no longer think it would be fun to sneak it.

 

Bobbie

[beachchick]

If the OP buys alcohol for her son onboard, she is clearly violating RCI's rules (see post 4). If she does so, she is telling her son that it's okay to break fundamental rules of conduct. Not a very good example for him to learn from, IMO.

 

I like bobbie0253's solution. It gives the teens some freedom, while letting them know that there will be consequences for breaking the rules. IMO, that's a huge lesson that all children need to learn. However, unless the OP has the beer or wine or what have with her son AT HOME, I don't agree with the logic that drinking together onboard will make it seem not such a "cool" thing to try. Again, that's breaking the code of conduct clearly stated by RCI.

 

beachchick

[stargate fan]

My teens would rather die than spend a night in our cabin. Brilliant!

We have walkie talkies, so we are always in communication with our teens. We have also used StickyNotes on our doors.

 

What we do with our kids (yes they are teens):

 

We do "spot checks". If they are not where they said they are going to be and with the people they said they would be with, they get to spend the night with us. They only had to spend one night with us in three cruises. That was enough for them to understand we were dead serious about this rule. There are phones ALL OVER the ship. If they want to go to a different area, they are to call our room and leave a voice message so we know where they are at all times. Usually it's just a message to say they went to get pizza and hang out there. We also use these "spot checks" to make sure they are behaving. Most times they don't even know we were there checking on them.

 

Our sons have tasted our drinks. We wanted to take the "mystery" out of it. They both hate the taste of beer :) , they do not care for wine, except Manischewitz, which they drink a sip of for our Sabbath :) , but they do love the flavor of frozen, fruity drinks :eek: . They now know what alcoholic drinks taste like so they have no need to sneak around and get some.

I was raised allowed to drink if I was home with my parents. Once alcohol wasn't forbidden the appeal was gone. I know most people won't agree with this, but if you have an occasional beer, wine cooler, or glass of wine with him he may no longer think it would be fun to sneak it.

 

Bobbie

 

There is also the issue of trust.

We are cruising next month with a group of friends. Our oldest son will be the only teen not yet 18. The other parents said that they will allow their kids to drink wine and beer. (Which I totally disagree with, for the record.) The friends joke that they will sneak some beer or wine for our son. We are going to squash that right away! But, we trust our son to do the right thing.

[mercedesmom2002]

I have a question somewhat related to this issue. We're crusing in July with our 14 year old DD. She will be with us probably most of the time. If we go into a bar/lounge or the Casino for a drink can she accompany us? We're not going to allow her to drink except maybe a Virgin Foo Foo drink but she may want to be with us so she doesn't have to go places alone. We're trying to hook her up with some teenagers here on-line at CC but they say they hang out with their parents most of the time at that age. We want her to be allowed to be with us in those places. Haven't seen any littler kids in those places when we've cruised before, but didn't pay attention at the time if there were teenagers. She looks older than 14, more like 17-18. She does'nt want to drink alcohol so that's not a problem, just wants to go with us...

 

Thanks.

 

Sue

[Warmer Climes]

We cruised Explorer with three teenagers the first week of January. There's no problem having your teenager (under the age of 18) sit in the bars with you and have a soft drink, but they will not be allowed in the casino even if they are just watching. (This made my 15 y.o. sad but oh, well.)

[CMurph]

The waiters would have served my teens wine in the dining room at dinner, if I had allowed it. But, the bars were very strict about requiring additional ID for my son, who was old enough!

[Laurie996]

Thank you all for your replies! I will be doing constant check in with my son. It is soooo hard in this situation. He is a good kid. I just pray that doesn't happen. I will have the last say so in this matter. You all have been up front and honest and I truly appreciate it. I will have to keep him on a short leash LOL!

 

Laurie