We are going on a cruise on the 24th. My husband is 24 and I am 20. I have always been under the impression that once the ship is in international waters and while in the Bahamas the drinking age is 18. But while in USA waters the age is still 21. Is this true?

Drinking age onboard ship is 21.  but in most ports you will be able to drink.

Carnival's drinking age is 21.

Drinking age on board is 21.  It does not change by the ship's GPS coordinates.

Drinking age in most of the ports of call you'd ever visit on a Carnival cruise is 18 [by law; by practice it is frequently "old enough to walk into a bar and order a drink"].

This is not to suggest that you will get stringently carded while on board.  If you act sneaky, like you're trying to pull a fast one, then yes, you might get carded. If you are going to be getting sloppy drunk and obnoxious, then you may get carded and tossed off the boat.

As a rule, I'd limit any under-21 drinking to port.

Everyone so far is  correct. The thing you have working against you is they will know your age when they scan your sign and sail card. However, the waiters and bartender's are working for tips . (15% is automatically added to every beverage purchase) so the more they sale the more they make.  Have your boyfriend order for you and always use his card and you will not have any problems. .  I was on a cruise with my daughters senior class and there were many other senior groups (1200 of the 2000 passengers were high school seniors ) Carnival allowed these kids to have beer and wine .FYI - 4 16oz beers in a bucket of ice 21.00, frozen drinks 7.00. Carnival will allow you to bring a small quanity of soft drinks and bottled water. I usually bring 24 bottles of water sometimes in my suitcase if I have room, sometimes in a small overnight bag. I have even carried a case of water in my hands onboard. 

Sorry, I just realized your going with your husband, not you boyfriend LOL!

you, being 21, can order two drinks at a time.

You might check with your PVP, because when I was looking into booking. We were orginally gonna take our 21 yo daughter, or 20 yo son and his 18 yo wife. My PVP told  me since the 2 underage people were legally married the under 21 rule did not apply to them. I thought that was weird but wouldn't hurt to ask!

Libby

the drinking age is 21

Drinking alcoholic beverages                                              

• Guest must be 21 years of age or older to be served alcohol onboard. Proper I.D with birth date is required. 

the one thing about a married couple is that if one is under 21 that the age restriction does not apply as far as booking a cabin and not having to have some over the age of 25 in it.

The drinking age is 21  that does not change

my post went to the mods but the drinking age does not change it is 21

beautifulblueii:

My PVP told  me since the 2 underage people were legally married the under 21 rule did not apply to them. I thought that was weird but wouldn't hurt to ask!

I believe the under 21 rule they were talking about has to do with two underage people staying in a cabin without an "adult".  If I were to take my 17 year old daughter and my 18 year old son on a cruise and we had two cabins technicallyI would need to be in the cabin with my daughter and my husband would need to be in the cabin with my son.  That is not true if the couple staying in the cabin are married to each other.  The drinking age is still 21.

glassbeagles:

I believe the under 21 rule they were talking about has to do with two underage people staying in a cabin without an "adult".  If I were to take my 17 year old daughter and my 18 year old son on a cruise and we had two cabins technicallyI would need to be in the cabin with my daughter and my husband would need to be in the cabin with my son.  That is not true if the couple staying in the cabin are married to each other.  The drinking age is still 21.

glassbeagles:

beautifulblueii:

My PVP told  me since the 2 underage people were legally married the under 21 rule did not apply to them. I thought that was weird but wouldn't hurt to ask!

 

I believe the under 21 rule they were talking about has to do with two underage people staying in a cabin without an "adult".  If I were to take my 17 year old daughter and my 18 year old son on a cruise and we had two cabins technicallyI would need to be in the cabin with my daughter and my husband would need to be in the cabin with my son.  That is not true if the couple staying in the cabin are married to each other.  The drinking age is still 21.

Libby

I think your PVP gave you wrong info... and that is a shame because things like that is what gets people upset...  the correct info is in the FAQ section of Carnival. 

She probably did tell me anything to try to get a sale. Which is a shame because we were gonna book regardless. And if the kids did go and got in trouble we would have been very upset. But unfortunatly the kids can't go......so bring on the DOD!!!

Libby

Another cruise line does allow wine and beer purchases at 18, however, Carnival sticks to the 21 rule.