Whether you’re travelling with a young person or about to celebrate a milestone birthday, we uncover the truth about drinking on cruise ships.
Legal Age
The legal age to drink alcohol on a cruise varies between 16 and 21 years. The exact age to drink on a cruise depends on the cruise line, the location of the cruise ship, the type of alcoholic beverage and whether the young persons’ parents are present or not.
As a general rule, you have to be 21 to drink on a cruise in the United States and 18 elsewhere in the world. However, there are some exceptions, here’s what we’ve discovered from our research.
Drinking Age By Cruise Line
The table below shows how old you have to be to drink on a cruise ship.
| Cruise Line | United States & Private Islands | Rest of the World |
|---|---|---|
| Carnival | 21 | 21 |
| Celebrity Cruises | 21 | 21 (18 with parents’ permission) |
| Costa Cruises | 21 | 18 |
| Cunard | 21 | 18 |
| Disney Cruise Line | 21 | 21 (18 with parents’ permission) |
| Fred. Olsen Cruise Line | 21 (18 in international waters) | 18 |
| MSC Cruises | 21 | 18 |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | 21 (18 in international waters with parents’ permission) | 21 (18 with parents’ permission) |
| P&O Cruises | 21 | 18 (16 with a meal) |
| Princess Cruises | 21 | 18 (20 in Japan) |
| Royal Caribbean | 21 | 18 |
| Virgin Voyages | 21 (18 in international waters) | 18 |
Please note that there are many exceptions to the age limits above and also some differences about what constitutes as the United States for these policies. You can read more about this below.
Cruise Ship Drinking Ages & International Waters: What You Need to Know
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to drink alcohol in the United States. However, this law does not apply to cruise ships when they are international waters.
You can read more about what international waters means and what’s legal there in this article.
Whilst most cruise lines have policies to prohibit under 21s from drinking at sea, others allow guests aged 18, 19 and 20 to drink alcohol when the ship is a certain distance from the US shoreline.
Read more: Drinking On A Cruise At 18 In International Waters – What’s Actually Allowed?
Understanding What Counts As a US Cruise
Some cruise lines count any cruise that includes at least one US port in the itinerary as a US cruise. For others, only cruises that depart from US ports are included in this definition. This can make a difference, for example, for a transatlantic cruise from Southampton to New York.
Cruises to Alaska and Hawaii sometimes have their own rules. For example, Norwegian Cruise Line allows 18-year-olds to drink beer or wine with a parental waiver, but this rule doesn’t apply to Alaska or Hawaii cruises where guests must be 21 or over to drink.
Parental Permission And How It Works
Some cruise lines allow guests aged 18, 19 and 20 to drink on a cruise with the permission of a parent or guardian.
The parent or guardian will usually have to fill in a waiver to allow their son or daughter to drink. The parent or guardian must also be a passenger on the cruise.
Also, you can’t just ask your 21-year-old friend to be your guardian for the duration of the cruise, they must be your full-time legal guardian for the waiver to be accepted.
What To Do If You’re Celebrating A Birthday
If you celebrate a milestone birthday on board a cruise, most cruise lines will allow you to drink alcohol from the day that you’re old enough. You’ll need to visit the guest services desk with your ID to have them update your cruise card.
Cruise Line Policies
Carnival Cruise Drinking Age
Carnival Cruise Line’s policy states:
“Guests must be 21 years of age or older to be served alcohol on board. Proper I.D with birth date is required”.
(Source)
Celebrity Cruises Drinking Age
Celebrity Cruises policy states:
“The minimum age for a guest to drink or possess alcoholic beverages on ships sailing from North America, the United Arab Emirates, or at any of our private destinations, is 21. The minimum age for a guest to drink or possess alcoholic beverages on ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18. In all other cases, the drinking age of the home port shall control our determination of a legal drinking age.
(Source)
Costa Cruises Drinking Age
Costa Cruises policy states:
“The Guest agrees that no alcohol shall be purchased or consumed by any Guest under the age of twenty-one (21) on cruises embarking or disembarking Guests at U.S. ports, or under the age of eighteen (18) for all other cruises. “
(Source)
Cunard Drinking Age
Cunard’s policy states:
“Guests who are under 18 years of age are not permitted to purchase or consume alcohol on board. However, whilst in U.S. waters, Cunard enforces and abides by the U.S. legal drinking age of 21 years.”
(Source)
Disney Cruise Line Drinking Age
Disney’s policy states:
“The drinking age on board is 21, and a valid photo I.D. is required. However, during round-trip cruises departing from any European country that has a lower drinking age, parents or guardians may sign a Beverage Consent Form that allows their 18- to 20-year-old children to consume alcoholic beverages while in the adult’s presence. In addition, for round-trip cruises from Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Brisbane, Guests 18 years of age and older may purchase and consume alcoholic beverages without parental consent.”
(Source)
MSC Cruises Drinking Age
MSC Cruises’ policy states:
“For voyages that include a port in the USA, persons under the age of 21 may not order or consume alcoholic beverages. For voyages that do not include a port in the USA, persons under the age of 18 may not order or consume alcoholic beverages”
(Source)
NCL Drinking Age
Norwegian Cruise Line’s policy states:
“The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on Norwegian Cruise Line ships is 21. Guests who are 18 – 20 years of age can purchase and consume beer or wine when the ship is in international waters (3 miles out of US territorial waters). The age modification does not apply for Alaska and Hawaii sailings. The parent or legal guardian must be onboard the sailing with the young adult and present themselves at the Front Desk so they can sign the form allowing the consumption of beer and wine only.
On cruises embarking in a country where the legal drinking age is lower than 21 and where a young adult (age 18, 19 or 20) is not travelling with a parent or legal guardian, they will generally not be permitted to consume alcohol. There may be exceptions made to this restriction in areas of the world where local laws require and Norwegian Cruise Line concurs. Details on such exceptions can be obtained from the Guest Services Desk.”
(Source)
P&O Cruises Drinking Age
P&O Cruises’ policy states:
“Anyone under the age of 18 (or under 21 when in United States of America waters) will not be served alcoholic beverages on board and must not be in possession of alcohol. Please don’t be offended if we ask you to verify your age.
It is prohibited to attempt to purchase alcohol for those under 18 in the bars and shops on board, although 16 and 17-year-olds may be bought modest amounts of beer, cider or wine to drink with a meal in the restaurants when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian”.
(Source)
Princess Cruises Drinking Age
Princess Cruises’ policy states:
“The age for drinking on Princess ships is 21 years old. For cruises between Australia/New Zealand, China, Europe, Singapore and South America ports, the drinking age will be 18 years old. For cruises between Japan ports, the drinking age will be 20 years old”.
(Source)
Royal Caribbean Drinking Age
Royal Caribbean’s policy states:
“The minimum age to consume alcohol on Royal Caribbean International ships on sailings originating in North America is 21.
The minimum age to consume alcohol on Royal Caribbean International ships on sailings originating in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is 21.
The minimum age to consume alcohol on Royal Caribbean International ships on sailings from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand is 18.
The minimum age to consume alcohol at all private destinations remains 21 without regard to where the sailing originated. “
(Source)
Suggested read: Royal Caribbean Drinks Menus (with Prices)
Virgin Voyages Drinking Age
Virgin Voyages’ policy states:
“The drinking age in international waters is 18, in the United States it’s 21, and in other ports, we’ll go with whatever their country’s laws specify.”
(Source)
Drinks Calculator
If all this information has made you thirsty you can use our handy Drinks Calculator Toolkit below to see whether buying a Cruise Drinks Package is the right choice for you.
Conclusion
The general rule is that you have to be 21 or over to drink alcohol on a US cruise and 18 or over for the rest of the world. There are some exceptions to this and each cruise line has its own policy.
If you’re in any doubt, please confirm with the cruise line before you book your cruise.
And if you’re ready to take a cruise without your parents at 18, then check out my guide to the best cruises for 18-year-olds to help you decide which ship to choose.
Related posts:
- How To Sneak Alcohol On A Cruise Ship
- The Ultimate Guide To Cruise Drink Packages
- Can You Take Drinks On A Cruise Ship?
- Can You Drink On A Cruise At 18?
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
