"Adult"

[lanejudy]

I wonder if getting carded is due to DCL rules or a legal requirement. If the ships are flagged in the Bahamas and sailing in International waters, was is the legal requirement for drinking age or forms of ID? Also during the European cruises are the drinking ages or ID requirements different? Any thoughts? Just curious.

My understanding is that DCL chooses to follow the U.S. standard which is age 21 for any alcohol. That may be because the vast majority of DCL cruises are U.S.-based. I'm not sure of jurisdiction, it is international waters. But standard identification recognized internationally is some form of government-issued photo identification, not employee IDs or school IDs or hotel/resort/cruise ID, or other such IDs.

My understanding is that, if someone is coming from a European country where the drinking age is less than 21 that they can have a parent sign a document to allow them to drink (I think as long as they are over 18). ...

Close but it's dependent on the itinerary (beginning and ending in a European port where the drinking age is lower than 21), not the passenger's country of origin. And the parent must be present on the cruise, otherwise the passenger must abide by the ship's standard policy of 21 yrs old.

From the DCL website:
Q:
What is the policy on alcoholic beverages?

A:
The drinking age aboard ship is 21. Valid photo I.D. is required. Disney Cruise Line reserves the right to refuse sale and/or service to anyone.

In recognition of the expectations of our multi-national guests, for roundtrip cruises departing from European countries, where the legal drinking age is lower than 21, a parent or guardian who is sailing with his or her son(s) and/or daughter(s) and/or ward(s) who is between the ages of 18 and 20, may sign a beverage consent form allowing the 18 to 20 year old to purchase alcoholic beverages while in their presence onboard. Parents or guardians may complete the beverage consent form in the Guest Ticket Booklet or inquire about the consent form at check-in. Please note: The 18 to 20 year old must comply with all laws and Disney Cruise Line policies related to the consumption and distribution of alcohol in Europe, including among other things, agreeing to not provide alcoholic beverages to any other person, regardless of age. This policy is subject to change without notice.

 

[perditax]

Spinoff question. I just read some negative reviews of the Disney Dream and they indicated that Disney doesn't enforce the adults-only areas and that they saw kids in places like bars. I've booked a September cruise and maybe I shouldn't have started reading the reviews, but I was counting on my couples-cruise allowing us to do things like escape to the Cove Cafe or the adult pool if the shrieking of little voices started to get to us. Any insight? Honestly, if "adults only" in those two spots is more of a suggestion that not everyone thinks applies to them, that'll be a deal breaker for me. I like Disney and Disney service, and I recognize that these cruises are for kids. But Disney makes a show of catering to adult cruisers to some extent, and I believed them.

 

[Footnotegirl]

I have not been on the Dream, but my experiences on the Magic and the Fantasy have always been that Disney is quite strict about the age limits. The only time I have ever personally seen an exception made was when we were traveling with a 14 week old (before they upped the age limit). Our daughter was deeply asleep and in a chest carrier, and a cast member allowed my party to stay at a trivia contest in the early afternoon that was in the bar area, so long as a) my daughter stayed asleep and b) no one complained. Since those would have been my rules for myself anyway, I was fine with that (actually very appreciative!).
I have never seen children of ANY age allowed in the adult pool areas, the spa area, or the bars in the evenings if there were any crew members around to notice it. I once saw a woman and her teenage daughter ejected quite insistently from the adult pool area. Some fellow cruisers noted upon their entering the pool that the daughter was too young and would not be allowed, and the woman rudely sniffed that, Cartman like "I do what I want." sort of thing. A cast member was called over, and she again rudely refused to leave because she had "paid a lot for this trip" etc. etc. The cast member than left, and the woman looked quite triumphant... for about ten minutes, when an officer came up and made it VERY clear what the bars on his uniform meant, i.e. "I can and will put you off this ship if you do not follow the clearly stated rules." and she and her (very embarrassed) daughter high-tailed it out of there.
My husband and I went on three Disney cruises before we had our daughter, and we were always very pleased with the atmosphere of the ships. Yes, there are children on board, it's a family cruise. But, there are LOTS of things for the kids to do that are geared to them, so you actually see, as my husband often says, "fewer roaming packs of feral children" than you might pretty much anywhere else. Yes, there will always be some people who think that rules don't apply to them, but in my experience, Disney is pretty good about making sure that they learn that fact pretty quickly.

 

[over50visits]

....The cast member than left, and the woman looked quite triumphant... for about ten minutes, when an officer came up and made it VERY clear what the bars on his uniform meant, i.e. "I can and will put you off this ship if you do not follow the clearly stated rules." and she and her (very embarrassed) daughter high-tailed it out of there.

Woo hoo!!!!!

 

[rawdata]

...allowing us to do things like escape to the Cove Cafe or the adult pool if the shrieking of little voices started to get to us. Any insight? Honestly, if "adults only" in those two spots is more of a suggestion that not everyone thinks applies to them, that'll be a deal breaker for me.

Just note that the Dream's adult pool is on deck 11. Concierge is on decks 11-12 right beside the adult pool. There will still be kids walking through that area to get to their rooms in concierge. So in that area there may still be "shrieking of little voices" as the kids pass through.

Deck 11 is also where the quick service foods are located so there is foot traffic from there as well.

The front of the ship on deck 13 is also adults only. It's not a thoroughfare and not next to anything kids have access to so tends to be more private.

I'm jealous of the couples cruise! We've only ever been with our kids and haven't had a chance to enjoy these adult only areas very much!!!

 

[Dug720]

Just note that the Dream's adult pool is on deck 11. Concierge is on decks 11-12 right beside the adult pool. There will still be kids walking through that area to get to their rooms in concierge. So in that area there may still be "shrieking of little voices" as the kids pass through.

Deck 11 is also where the quick service foods are located so there is foot traffic from there as well.

The front of the ship on deck 13 is also adults only. It's not a thoroughfare and not next to anything kids have access to so tends to be more private.

I'm jealous of the couples cruise! We've only ever been with our kids and haven't had a chance to enjoy these adult only areas very much!!!

Unless they are going from their concierge cabin to get food from the quick service places, there shouldn't be a ton of extra foot traffic from that. People already on Deck 11 do not have to walk around through the adult area to get there.

 

[basketlacey]

They can still do a lot of stuff together. They just could not do adult area things or the Vibe together. There are plenty of other things to do. Due to liability, I think you would be hard-pressed to find ANY cruise line that would let an under 18 in the adult area or an 18+ in their teen area.

I started thinking about this after I posted and realized exactly what you said. There would still be plenty of public areas (which is where we spend most of our time anyway!)

 

[rawdata]

Unless they are going from their concierge cabin to get food from the quick service places, there shouldn't be a ton of extra foot traffic from that. People already on Deck 11 do not have to walk around through the adult area to get there.

True. Though I do recall a few times where families who couldn't find a seat would bring food past the wind walls trying to find extra tables. In my experience, they quickly realized where they were and turned back around or went around cove cafe to the other side of the ship.

 

[Dug720]

True. Though I do recall a few times where families who couldn't find a seat would bring food past the wind walls trying to find extra tables. In my experience, they quickly realized where they were and turned back around or went around cove cafe to the other side of the ship.

Ah, good point. The signs on the wind walls should alert them, but none of us ever pay perfect attention.

 

[perditax]

Thanks for the responses. Last night I had all but convinced myself to cancel the DCL cruise and go with RCCL instead (I mean, if we are not kid people and we go on a cruise aimed at kids, obviously we have no one to blame but ourselves), but DCL still seems to be a good choice for first-time cruisers, and the RCCL options seem overwhelming (if a lot cheaper) now that I've filled my head with DCL info.

 

[kiford]

I was counting on my couples-cruise allowing us to do things like escape to the Cove Cafe or the adult pool if the shrieking of little voices started to get to us. Any insight? Honestly, if "adults only" in those two spots is more of a suggestion that not everyone thinks applies to them, that'll be a deal breaker for me.

I was rather annoyed on our last Med cruise when we were in the Cove Cafe when a woman and her daughter who was about 14 or 15 came in to get drinks. This happened 3-4 times over a week or so (the same woman and her daughter). No one said anything or told her that she couldn't have her daughter there. I didn't say anything but kept watching them. They got their drinks and left. Had they decided to stay I would have said something to a CM; perhaps had they stayed something would have been said anyway. Maybe the Cove Cafe staff knew that they weren't staying but I was still annoyed that they didn't respect the 18+ rules. It's the only time I've ever experienced someone not being turned away for being below 18.

I haven't really seen children in the adults-only pool area other than walking through which doesn't bother me. I've seen children come in sometimes to talk to their parents and had the parents tell them that they're not supposed to be there and shoo them out quickly. I've also seen families walk through and had the parents tell the children to stay quiet as they come through. I've never seen any children in the adults-only lounges and the adults-only restaurant and the spa/gym are very strictly enforced. I've seen people come with their children to Serenity Bay at Castaway Cay and been told that they have to go back. We've been to some of the adults-only events during the day and had them tell people that the children cannot even come in to sit in the corner. In general, I'd say that they do a pretty good job of enforcing the 18+ rule and for the most part I'd say that people respect it and teach their children to respect it. Many times when people bring their children to adults-only areas or events, they simply haven't been paying attention and didn't realize and don't raise a fuss when told. It's only a very few who think that they are more privileged or don't have to respect the rules.

We have no children so on our first DCL cruise in 2000 (heading on our 9th one in July) we were a bit worried about being mobbed by children and not being able to have quiet time but were impressed at how DCL was able to accommodate a wide range of people. It's one of the things that keeps us coming back. It can be fun to see the wonder on children's faces when they see one of the characters or the excitement when one child is chosen to light up the Christmas tree, but I still want my own place to go where it's just the two of us and I feel that they do a very good job of it.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I was rather annoyed on our last Med cruise when we were in the Cove Cafe when a woman and her daughter who was about 14 or 15 came in to get drinks. This happened 3-4 times over a week or so (the same woman and her daughter). No one said anything or told her that she couldn't have her daughter there. I didn't say anything but kept watching them. They got their drinks and left. Had they decided to stay I would have said something to a CM; perhaps had they stayed something would have been said anyway. Maybe the Cove Cafe staff knew that they weren't staying but I was still annoyed that they didn't respect the 18+ rules. It's the only time I've ever experienced someone not being turned away for being below 18.

I haven't really seen children in the adults-only pool area other than walking through which doesn't bother me. I've seen children come in sometimes to talk to their parents and had the parents tell them that they're not supposed to be there and shoo them out quickly. I've also seen families walk through and had the parents tell the children to stay quiet as they come through. I've never seen any children in the adults-only lounges and the adults-only restaurant and the spa/gym are very strictly enforced. I've seen people come with their children to Serenity Bay at Castaway Cay and been told that they have to go back. We've been to some of the adults-only events during the day and had them tell people that the children cannot even come in to sit in the corner. In general, I'd say that they do a pretty good job of enforcing the 18+ rule and for the most part I'd say that people respect it and teach their children to respect it. Many times when people bring their children to adults-only areas or events, they simply haven't been paying attention and didn't realize and don't raise a fuss when told. It's only a very few who think that they are more privileged or don't have to respect the rules.

We have no children so on our first DCL cruise in 2000 (heading on our 9th one in July) we were a bit worried about being mobbed by children and not being able to have quiet time but were impressed at how DCL was able to accommodate a wide range of people. It's one of the things that keeps us coming back. It can be fun to see the wonder on children's faces when they see one of the characters or the excitement when one child is chosen to light up the Christmas tree, but I still want my own place to go where it's just the two of us and I feel that they do a very good job of it.

They were inconsistent in the Med I my wife and daughter (19) were outside Cove cafe having a drink, my son (17) had a lay in and about 11am came up to get a key as he locked himself out and didn't have a wave phone, he was there 20 seconds and got told off quite rudely by a female officer. Yes its wrong but it was circumstances and he just wanted in/out. Then minutes later to children say 5>7 had a swim in Cove Adult pool for twenty minutes, the female officer ignored them as she walked through regularly until other cruisers told them off.

 

[Sir William]

Thanks for the responses. Last night I had all but convinced myself to cancel the DCL cruise and go with RCCL instead (I mean, if we are not kid people and we go on a cruise aimed at kids, obviously we have no one to blame but ourselves), but DCL still seems to be a good choice for first-time cruisers, and the RCCL options seem overwhelming (if a lot cheaper) now that I've filled my head with DCL info.

DCL is aimed at families, not kids, so they cater to the adults who want a relatively kid-free experience. Compared to my experience on RCL and Celebrity, where the kids virtually took over the adult areas, Disney does a great job in keeping the Quiet Cove area free of children.

 

[bumbershoot]

Spinoff question. I just read some negative reviews of the Disney Dream and they indicated that Disney doesn't enforce the adults-only areas and that they saw kids in places like bars.

Minors are allowed in several bars until a certain time (9pm?) on the dream. There are signs about it, scrolling messages on the digital signs in the multi-bar area, etc. As long as it's before the specific hour, it's on those who aren't reading the signs and their misunderstanding is on their end. (Wdw itself allows kids in bars (jellyrolls, I believe, is the one exception), even up at the bar itself, so it's not much different from there...not all states are as relaxed so I get that there's a culture shock sometimes, but it's allowed)

Unless they are going from their concierge cabin to get food from the quick service places, there shouldn't be a ton of extra foot traffic from that. People already on Deck 11 do not have to walk around through the adult area to get there.

If you have a stateroom up front below deck 11, it is very very easy to just take the nearest elevator to deck 11 to get food, and find yourself in that area. Since Disney doesn't post signs in the elevator about it, when kids/families find theirselves there it's a totally bonafide reason to end up walkin through the area.

Some kids care (my son does not want to be anywhere restricted and I had to show him the signs and my watch when I stopped into 687 (?) to get myself a beer and he was with us. We walked through the cove area once because of the elevator we used, and that was enough for him. From then on he reminded us to go to the midship elevators. Other kids don't care and will keep using the close elevator. As long as the kids keep on walking, it's fine.

 

[lmhall2000]

If you have a stateroom up front below deck 11, it is very very easy to just take the nearest elevator to deck 11 to get food, and find yourself in that area. Since Disney doesn't post signs in the elevator about it, when kids/families find theirselves there it's a totally bonafide reason to end up walkin through the area.

Yes! This! Our first Fantasy cruise we had a room just below deck 11 on that elevator side...(one time I sent them b/c I was deathly sick and needed sprite)...my kids were rudely and I mean rudely accosted by passengers telling them they had no business being there...they were simply getting there and no signs were posted in elevator...they were scared by these people....I just wish they'd let the CMs handle it, and if they know they are walking through to get to their room and that is how they erroneously laid out this ship...the guests should be more forgiving. I would rather those types of travelers choose another ship, if Disney can be family friendly, so should its passengers. Just made me more mad than usual b/c my kids (teens) were doing me a sweet favor and they were so caught off guard to be treated so rudely. So instead of passengers demanding Disney ensure they have adults only spaces, take a minute to realize that these adult areas were poorly designed and unknowing children may wander through...now if they park themselves, that's something entirely different. But do not yell at children who are only getting from point A to point B as the ship was designed to do.

 

[mmouse37]

Yes! This! Our first Fantasy cruise we had a room just below deck 11 on that elevator side...(one time I sent them b/c I was deathly sick and needed sprite)...my kids were rudely and I mean rudely accosted by passengers telling them they had no business being there...they were simply getting there and no signs were posted in elevator...they were scared by these people....I just wish they'd let the CMs handle it, and if they know they are walking through to get to their room and that is how they erroneously laid out this ship...the guests should be more forgiving. I would rather those types of travelers choose another ship, if Disney can be family friendly, so should its passengers. Just made me more mad than usual b/c my kids (teens) were doing me a sweet favor and they were so caught off guard to be treated so rudely. So instead of passengers demanding Disney ensure they have adults only spaces, take a minute to realize that these adult areas were poorly designed and unknowing children may wander through...now if they park themselves, that's something entirely different. But do not yell at children who are only getting from point A to point B as the ship was designed to do.

That is awful. I do not understand why people have to be rude to kids if they were just walking through. I wonder if they would have yelled at your kids if you were there...doubtful. Sorry they had to experience that.

MJ

 

[perditax]

For what it's worth, I'm not one to complain unless things are really out of control. It would take an excessive and persistently noisy group of kids in the adults-only areas for me to say something to a CM (I wouldn't talk to other people's kids or whatever unless they were, like, spilling drinks on me in the cove cafe or something). I'd rather this not inadvertently turn into a referendum on 'yelling at other people's children' as I certainly wouldn't do that. I'm just asking for reasonably factual info on adults-only areas, with the caveat that if it's not really adult-only, it's 100% on me to look elsewhere.

 

[mmouse37]

I find DCL very good at keeping the kids out of 18 and over venues. I do not find it an overwhelming problem at all.

MJ

 

[Savikins]

Thanks for the responses. Last night I had all but convinced myself to cancel the DCL cruise and go with RCCL instead (I mean, if we are not kid people and we go on a cruise aimed at kids, obviously we have no one to blame but ourselves), but DCL still seems to be a good choice for first-time cruisers, and the RCCL options seem overwhelming (if a lot cheaper) now that I've filled my head with DCL info.

My BF and I are not "kid people" at all, and we adore DCL. In our experience on the Dream, Fantasy, and Wonder, they've done a great job at keeping the adult areas adult only!

If you aren't big fans of kids, I also recommend 2nd seating for dinner. The later dinner and the earlier show seem to have far less kids.

 

[rawdata]

The later dinner and the earlier show seem to have far less kids.

Heh... Yea, sometimes kids can't quite make it through the second dinner...