• Cruise ship alcohol rules are customary.girl with bottle of alcohol image by Doctor Kan from Fotolia.com
  
  Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) is one of several large passenger cruise lines operating from the United States and abroad, offering numerous itineraries to thousands of passengers each year. Alcohol is often part of any cruise vacation. Like all cruise lines, NCL has various alcohol rules and policies that guests must follow.
  
  

Purchasing Overseas

• Many ports of call offer inexpensive liquor that passengers purchase and bring back on board the ships. The price is usually made even better by the lack of sales tax at several ports, especially islands in the Caribbean. All NCL ships have policies about purchasing alcohol that conform to the policies of U.S. Customs. Each passenger at least 21 years of age is allowed to bring one liter of alcohol from an international port back to the U.S. You are not allowed to carry this alcohol on board the ship. Instead, the store where you purchased the alcohol will send it to the ship with your name and all other information. The alcohol will be held by the ship's staff until the final night of cruising, at which time it's delivered to your stateroom to carry off the ship and through customs.
  
  

Drinking Onboard

• NCL ships follow the same general alcohol policies you'll find on most major U.S. cruise lines. Guests are allowed to drink liquor, beer and wine on board at most times during the cruise. In fact, most of the NCL ships have ample areas to purchase and consume alcohol, including bars, restaurants and casinos. The age range allowed for consumption varies according to the ship's destination. NCL permits guests between the ages of 18 and 20 to purchase and personally consume wine and beer while on NCL ships with the consent of an accompanying parent or legal guardian on the same sailing once the vessel is outside the U.S. state territorial waters (three miles out). Guests must be 21 or older to consume any type of alcohol on ships sailing off the coast of Alaska or Hawaii.
  
  

Code of Conduct

• NCL recognizes that the thousands of guests on board a ship are there to enjoy their vacations and the amenities provided. This includes the consumption of alcohol. As such, policies on conduct are enforced to ensure that everyone behaves appropriately. All guests on board are required to comply with the company's code of conduct, which essentially states that all guests must show proper decorum and abstain from vulgar or violent language or actions in public while on board. NCL is also very specific in stating that should a guest refuse to comply with these policies due to intoxication, he could face removal from the ship. This involves being forced to disembark at the next port of call and having to fly back to the U.S. to await the ship's return to the home port.