On the surface, any time a drinking age is lowered, it’s considered to be a bad thing, and no doubt Royal Caribbean is going to feel the heat now that it’s announced the drinking age on its ships is dropping from 21 to 18.
There is, however, another side to the story.
Several years ago, our then-20-year-old daughter was legal to drink where she lived. She was traveling with us to Florida, where drinking age is 21 and where her brother was attending the “school of Disney.” It seemed bizarre or at the very least unfortunate.
With cruise lines, the dilemma is many customers whose home is outside the U.S., specifically Europe. A quick check shows that in at least 95% of European countries, the drinking age limit is 18. In most of the rest of the world, it is 18. The U.S. is one of the few places where it’s as high as 21.
Now you can debate the pros and cons of what’s too young and what isn’t forever, but when you have a business that serves alcohol — like Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines — and you want to abide by the law, you have every right to adjust the drinking age in international waters.
By making it 18, Royal Caribbean is being responsible by adopting what most of the world believes should be legal. Presumably when ships are sailing in international waters, it could be even younger.
DAILY DEAL:
Celebrity Century
7 nights
May 13, 2012
Vancouver return to Alaska: Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan, Inside Passage
Inside: $719
www.celebritycruises.com