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There are three aspects of cruise line alcohol policies that are worth noting - minimum drinkng age permitted, drinks pricing and packages and taking spirits and wine onboard. The rules are complex and different across the different cruise lines so we are only able to give a summary here.

Minimum Drinking Age

• Firstly on most British and European cruise lines the permitted drinking age is 18, however some may raise this to 21 when cruising out of an American port eg Miami.
• On American lines including Princess the drinking age is 21.
• Some lines permit wine and beer to be served to 18 year olds with parental consent, notably Celebrity, NCL and Royal Caribbean.

Drinks Pricing and Packages

• On most ships alcoholic and soft drinks are charged as an extra, plus a service charge of 10 or 15%, although there are a few all inclusive ships.
• On most ships you can buy a soft drinks package for the duration of the cruise.
• On Thomson ships you can buy an alcohol package that covers house wines and non premium beers and spirits for the duration of the cruise.

Taking Bottles Onboard
The cruise lines want you to buy drinks from the bars onboard or your cabin mini-bar so the rules are quite strict:

• Spirits are not allowed to be taken onboard at embarkation.
• A few bottles of wine may be allowed at embarkation but a corkage fee is payable.
• Wine and spirits purchased while in port or from the ship's duty free shop are stored onboard and returned to you on the last night of the cruise.
• P&O Cruises are reported to have a more flexible approach to this issue, but this may change.