I remember going to Ontario when I was 19.

I wasn't ready to find out what whiskey was at that point.

I love that you can legally own everything you need for a drive-by shooting at 15 but they say it is dangerous for 20-year olds to drink.

In the poll 56% of viewers agree that it should be across the board for any ship it sails from.

rules are still tough if you are young and want to cruise but not with your family. like on carnival cruise line everyone in the cabin has to be 21 or at least one person has to be 25. i'm kinda old. i was drinking legally in the usa at age 19. haha.

The change is designed "to better accommodate the cultural norms in the regions of the world where Royal Caribbean International sails

Well the cultural norm in the states is for teens to get someone else to buy the booze and get hammered down by the railroad tracks like I did. But when I was a kid I just went to the store and got all the beer I wanted, nobody asked for ID in the old days. Except at some bars but then you just used somebody's Sherrifs' card and you were good.

wrenchboy: . Except at some bars but then you just used somebody's Sherrifs' card and you were good.

So you shot the sheriff? I always wondered who did that.

wrenchboy: Well the cultural norm in the states is for teens to get someone else to buy the booze and get hammered down by the railroad tracks like I did. But when I was a kid I just went to the store and got all the beer I wanted, nobody asked for ID in the old days. Except at some bars but then you just used somebody's Sherrifs' card and you were good.

Like the time I caught the ferry to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe. So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt. Which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Gimme five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where was I... oh yeah. The important thing was that I had an onion tied to my belt, which was the style at the time. You couldn't get white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones.

Xai: I love that you can legally own everything you need for a drive-by shooting at 15 but they say it is dangerous for 20-year olds to drink.

Nothing's worse than a drunken drive-by shooting.

I grew up near the Mexican border. (about a 20min drive). Started going over there to drink when I was 16. It was nice to feel like an adult for a few hours. Never got too shiatfaced out of fear of being arrested there. Got it out of my system, and never got into the whole "binge drinking" thing.

When I started going on cruises (some 20 years ago), I was a young teen. They didn't really care how young you were, they'd serve alcohol to 14 year-olds. That changed in the mid 90's, as more and more American kids kept vandalizing the ships or falling overboard.

The rules should be 18. If you can vote and be drafted to war then you should be able to drink. The laws about this in the united States are asinine, anti-freedom and draconian. Most of the rest of the world is more free to this matter. Now that is Royal Caribbean saying this still won't apply to any North American port, or just united States ports? which is it? If I were were an 18-21 year old not sailing out of a united States port I'd demand to be served. Farkit! I'd buy booze for a 19 year old despite the "law" as the ship would not be in united States waters... Therefore united States law would not apply.

/Caribbean countries is 18 and Canada is 18 or 19.
//Royal Caribbean is not a united States company and their ships are not flagged therein.

unyon: Bathia_Mapes: My son, who works for Royal Caribbean, is dead set against them lowering the age to 18. He stated that it's already enough of a problem with people of legal drinking age in the U.S. getting drunk and climbing up on railings, and adding even more to that mix is just asking for trouble.

FTFA: The line says the minimum drinking age for ships sailing from North American ports will remain 21.

I dunno, if I was an 18-21 year-old on their East coast Canadian cruise, I'd be pretty upset if I couldn't get served, especially after (likely) getting legally hammered in QC and Halifax. Mind you, what the hell is an 18 year old doing on a cruise? Cruises are fro the newlywed and nearlydead.

I live near a port. Cruises are an inexpensive way to party 24/7 and not worry about who has to drive or worry about any logistics whatsoever. Plus if you go to the right places you can come home with some good tax free liquor. The cruise I'm going on soon was only $300 for 5 day which includes food. I also get to go hang around the Tortuga rum factory to stock up. The money you save in tax free liquor makes up for the cost.

I remember our High School "Senior Cruise to No Where" down in Florida. The Jamaican/Dominican staff gave about 0 farks as to what we ordered and what they gave us as long as our money was green. We got trashed for 3 days and had nothing but fun. Even after our dumbass principle scolded us for under-age drinking once it "had come to my attention". HA-HA...too late. Wonder if he ever found out we were smoking copious amounts of pot at the same time. Thank Gawd they had a 24 hour food supply. The munchies were severe.

So in addition to the people puking everywhere due to Norovirus, there will be a bunch of teenagers puking because they drank too much.

edmo: starlost: i was drinking legally in the usa at age 19

Same.

Of course raising the age did wonders for stopping teen drinking, killing off binge drinking, reducing date rape, eliminating teen deaths in alcohol reduced crashes, etc. Or it didn't. Whatever. It must be a good rule so we're keeping it.

Insurance demands it. Butler University a few years ago wanted to eliminate the dry campus rule that almost every college has, but they couldn't find an insurance company willing to offer them liability insurance. Their former president was all about lowering the drinking age to18 but IIRC it was mostly the insurance industry that said "If Indiana were to do this, we'd triple everyone's rates." referring to car insurance, homeowners insurance and umbrella policies. And most of the rest of the university presidents in the state called him out for going against societal norms.

Bathia_Mapes: My son, who works for Royal Caribbean, is dead set against them lowering the age to 18. He stated that it's already enough of a problem with people of legal drinking age in the U.S. getting drunk and climbing up on railings, and adding even more to that mix is just asking for trouble.

To be fair, most of Europe (not including the UK) don't have the same sort of binge drinking attitude that appears to be the norm amongst those from the US or the UK. Their attitudes on drinking are much much different. It's totally normal to serve wine to teenagers and younger with a meal on the continent.

MrSteve007: When I started going on cruises (some 20 years ago), I was a young teen. They didn't really care how young you were, they'd serve alcohol to 14 year-olds. That changed in the mid 90's, as more and more American kids kept vandalizing the ships or falling overboard.

Did they end up working in the cod fleet?

/obscure?