Age Requirement?

[JerJan]

I want to give my daughter a cruise as an 18th birthday/graduation gift, she will be going with a friend who will be 21, are they old enough to go without a parent on DCL...many other cruise lines have a 25 year old age limit. ) :

 

[kcashner]

You must be 18 to be in a cabin by yourself with no minors. To be in a cabin with a minor, you must be 21. 18-20s can be in a cabin by themselves.

SO...to have a DCL reservation, you must be a minimum of 18. (DD had a reservation with 3 18 year olds). To reserve with a minor who is not your child, you must be 21. I honestly don't know what they do with parents who are not yet 21.

 

[JerJan]

Thank you for the quick response. Yes, it's pretty stupid how these cruise lines won't take the money of an adult to go on a cruise without a parent? I'm confused by the policy.....

 

[kcashner]

Cruise lines who require a 25 year old have had issues with drunken, unruly young people....sort of like car rental companies who wont rent or charge more for drivers under 25 as they have an increased accident rate. This is rarely a problem on DCL, but they want to maintain their "family" atmosphere and not get a "party ship" reputation.

Of course, people who want to book a "party cruise" on certain other lines just work around the rules...need a 25 year old? "Joe's uncle is 25, and I'll bet we can get him to go with us"....etc.

I have personally booked a cabin for 3 18 year olds, so KNOW it could be done on DCL as of a year ago. When I booked, I was told that there could be no one under 18 in the cabin unless I also added a 21 year old or older.