Quite a few years ago, our daughter was 19 and legally allowed to drink in Canada, which is her home. Her brother, four years older, was working in Florida and she was going for a party…er, a visit.
In Florida, the partying (drinking) age is 21. She creatively "became" 21 in the eyes of the servers and…party on.
For cruise lines, the discrepancy in drinking age in different countries has been a thorny issue. Europeans are legal in many countries at 18. On cruise ships, the policy is almost always 21. Until recently, two of them — Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises — allowed anybody under 21 to drink on ships only with written consent from parents, who also had to be on board.
That has changed.
Today on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships, young adults can drink legally if they are 18 and on ships that sail from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. If the ship sails from North America, they have to be 21. In other words, the law of the land applies at sea…depending on which land it is you left. And what happens if you board a ship in Barcelona and disembark in Fort Lauderdale? At what point in the journey do you become three years older?
Advocating a lower drinking age in the U.S. is a contentious issue, at best. Yet allowing young adults to fight for their country (and presumably consume a little alcohol in the process) is quite okay.
Time for a little worldwide uniformity, perhaps?
Carnival Fascination
5 nights
March 10, 2013
San Juan (return): St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten
Inside: $489
Cost per day: $73
www.carnival.com