Key Aspects:
- A couple from Canada booked a cruise onboard Carnival Radiance without realizing that they needed a guardian in order to sail.
- The duo will be ages 20 and 21 on embarkation day, and Carnival Cruise Line requires that guests be 21 or older in order to cruise without a guardian.
- With their voyage less than a month away, the couple scrambled to find a guardian to avoid cancelling their vacation.
In January of this year, Carnival Cruise Line quietly changed its age restriction policies, and two young adults had to scramble for solutions after missing that memo.
The couple was looking forward to setting sail onboard Carnival Radiance for a 5-night Mexican Riviera sailing on November 1, 2025, in Long Beach, California.
As of February 1, 2025, guests have to be 21 years of age or older on embarkation day to travel without a guardian who is at least 25 years old.
But unfortunately for these hopeful cruisers, only one of them will be old enough to travel without a guardian as of embarkation day.
“HELP, 21 and 20 year old booked, no guardian. I’m technically still 20 but I will be turning 21 this month (before the cruise). My boyfriend is 20,” one of the future guests lamented on Reddit.
“I just got an email saying we are not able to go without a “guardian” and that anyone that is under 21 must be accompanied by a guardian over age of 25,” they continued.
The cruisers, who are from Canada, did not suspect that there would be an issue with their romantic getaway because they are legal adults.
In Canada, the legal adult age is 18 or 19, depending on the province.
In the US, the legal adult age is also 18, but privileges like drinking alcohol come at 21, and renting a car is as old as 25, depending on the state.
What Are the Possible Solutions?
Carnival must strictly enforce its age restrictions policy to enhance onboard safety and ensure compliance with its code of conduct. The cruise line can’t set a precedent of making exceptions.
“Guests are required to be 21 years of age (on embarkation day) to travel on their own. Guest ages will be verified at embarkation,” Carnival’s policy states.
The only real options here were for the cruisers to find a guardian to sail with them, or to cancel their voyage.
If they chose to cancel, the couple would normally lose 75% of their cruise fare because they are within 15 to 29 days of their voyage.
That said, the poster did say that Carnival had graciously agreed to issue a full refund for them.
With the boyfriend less than a year away from turning 21, the couple would not have to wait too long to reschedule.
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But instead of cancelling, the couple chose not to give up on their plans. They instead took to social media to find strangers booked on their sailing who would agree to be the guardian for the underage boyfriend.
“THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE, WE FOUND A COUPLE ATTENDING THE CRUISE THAT WAS WILLING TO REGISTER AS OUR COMPANIONS. YIPPPIEEEEE!!” the poster wrote in an enthusiastic update.
The guardian is really supposed to be a friend or relative who personally knows their ward, but the person does not need to be a legal guardian or stay in the same cruise cabin. They just must be 25 years of age or older.
While I appreciate that someone was kind enough to step up for the couple, this decision is risky because it potentially involves sharing reservation details and personal information with virtual strangers in order to link the reservations.
More From Cruise Hive
Guests 18 – 20 years of age “must be linked as ‘Travel With’ a relative or guardian 25 years of age or older. Reservation must be noted and cross referenced,” Carnival’s policy notes.
Additionally, the guests who agreed to be the stand-in guardians could also be held liable and suffer consequences if the couple behaves badly while onboard.
