Chris Edwards
Going on a cruise to the Caribbean or heading off to a Caribbean resort? Are you looking to sip cocktails or enjoy a cold beer while sitting on a Caribbean beach? While the US may require you to be 21 years old to drink, and your cruise ship out of the US may require you to be 21, the drinking age in Caribbean countries is typically under 21.
This article will cover the drinking age in various Caribbean countries. If we miss a popular destination, please feel free to leave a comment below, and we will work to add them to our list.
Table Of Contents
- What is the Drinking Age in the Caribbean? (Eastern)
- Antigua and Barbuda Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Bahamas Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Barbados Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Cuba Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Dominica Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Dominican Republic Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Grenada Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Haiti Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Puerto Rico Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Saint Kitts and Nevis Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Saint Lucia Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
- Trinidad and Tobago Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Turks and Caicos Islands Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- US Virgin Islands Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- What is the Drinking Age in Mexico and the Western Caribbean?
- What is the drinking age on cruise ships' private islands?
- Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay Drinking Age: 21 Years-Old
- Royal Caribbean's Labadee Drinking Age: 21 Years-Old
- Disney's Castaway Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
- MSC Cruises' Ocean Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
- Norwegian Cruise Line's Great Stirrup Cay Drinking Age: 18 Years-Old*
- Norwegian Cruise Line's Harvest Cay Drinking Age: 18 Years-Old*
- Carnival Cruise Line's Half Moon Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
- Carnival Cruise Line's Princess Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
- Carnival Cruise Line's Amber Cove Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
- Virgin Voyages Beach Club at Bimini Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
- Be Safe and Drink Responsibly
What is the Drinking Age in the Caribbean? (Eastern)
Antigua and Barbuda Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
Once you’re off the ship and enter the port, you can enjoy a drink if you are 16 years or older!
Bahamas Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
The legal drinking age in the Bahamas is 18 years old. This goes for all islands in the Bahamas. Once you are off the ship, if you are over the age of 18, you will be able to enjoy as much alcohol as you would like.
Just so you know, cruise ship private islands in the Bahamas may require you to be 21 or older to drink. See our section below on each cruise line’s age limits for drinking at the
Barbados Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
The age used to be 16. However, the drinking age for Barbados has been raised to 18 years old.
Cuba Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
While no cruises are sailing to Cuba, the legal drinking age here is 16.
Dominica Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
The drinking age in Dominica is only 16.
Dominican Republic Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
The Dominican Republic has a drinking age of 18. So if you are heading to the beautiful port of Puerto Plata or visiting anywhere else in the Dominican Republic and 18 years or older, you can enjoy a drink.
Grenada Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
Grenada does not have a drinking age for off-premise drinking; however, if you are on-premise, such as at a bar, you must be 16 years old to purchase and consume alcohol.
Haiti Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
Haiti is complex. Technically, they passed a drinking age of 18 in 2012; however, it was never signed into law. They do have a law that bans anyone under the age of 16 from entering a bar, club, or any other location that serves alcohol.
Puerto Rico Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
While Puerto Rico is part of the United States, it’s drinking age is only 18 years old. You can both purchase and consume alcohol in Puerto Rico if you are 18 or older.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
You only need to be 18 or older to consume alcohol in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Saint Lucia Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
Saint Lucia has the drinking age set to only 16.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Drinking Age: 16 Years Old
Trinidad and Tobago Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
Turks and Caicos Islands Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
US Virgin Islands Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
Just like Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands is part of the United States but has a drinking age of only 18. Feel free to kick back and enjoy a few island cocktails as long as you are 18 or older.
What is the Drinking Age in Mexico and the Western Caribbean?
Mexico Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
Mexico’s drinking age is 18 years old. While some states may allow minors to consume with parental consent, most places that serve tourists will require you to be 18 years or older.
Our experience is that some areas of Mexico may be more relaxed. Cozumel can be hit or miss on how strict they are.
Belize Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
While legally, the drinking age is 18 in Belize, it is rarely enforced. Many places will not ask for an ID and will serve minors.
Cayman Islands Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
Cayman laws are very strict and require anyone drinking to be 18 years or older.
Jamaica Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
If you are 18 or older, grab a Red Stripe or any other alcoholic beverage! The drinking age here is only 18!
Roatan Honduras Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
The drinking age here is defined as 18 years old.
What is the drinking age on cruise ships’ private islands?
When determining are cruises worth it for your next vacation, many cruises will offer a private island or private beach club.
Each private island/beach club sometimes follows different age limits than its host country follows. Below, we have broken out each cruise line’s drinking age for their private islands.
The rules can get complex as they often depend on which country your ship has set sail from, while others have a hard set limit to enjoy alcohol on their island.
When drinking on the cruise ship private islands, you will want to keep your sea pass card handy so you can easily pay for your drinks. Our tip is to keep your sea pass card inside of a lanyard and keep it hung around your next. As you continue to enjoy your cocktails, you will feel good knowing that your pass to get back on the ship didn’t fall out of your pocket and is hanging around your neck.
Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay Drinking Age: 21 Years-Old
While CocoCay is located in the Bahamas, where the legal drinking age is 18, Royal Caribbean has set the drinking age for Perfect Day at CocoCay to 21 years old, regardless of where your ship originated.
Royal Caribbean’s Labadee Drinking Age: 21 Years-Old
Labadee is located in Haiti, where the legal drinking age is only 16 years; however, just like CocoCay, Royal Caribbean has set the drinking age for Labadee to 21 years old. Because Labadee is a walled-off private location, you cannot leave the private area and enter Haiti.
Disney’s Castaway Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
Disney’s Castaway Cay is included in the cost of a Disney cruise, giving you that private island relaxation. Disney will follow the rules of the originating country for the ship, which will be the USA, making the drinking age for Disney’s Castaway Cay 21 Years Old.
MSC Cruises’ Ocean Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
MSC Cruises has a beautiful private island with amazing beaches to sit back and grab a drink on included in the cost of a MSC cruise; however, you will need to be 21 years of age to do this. Even though this private island is located in the Bahamas, where the drinking age is 18, MSC has set the drinking age to 21.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay Drinking Age: 18 Years-Old*
Norwegian Cruise Line allows you to drink at 18 once you hit international waters and while on their private island, with one key exception. You must have a parent or legal guardian on the sailing, and they must sign a consent form allowing the 18-20-year-old to consume alcohol. They will be limited to only beer and wine and will not be permitted to have cocktails and liquor.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Harvest Cay Drinking Age: 18 Years-Old*
Harvest Cay is in the Dominican Republic, where the legal drinking age is 18. As with Great Stirrup Cay, there are a few stipulations that you must follow to enjoy a drink. First, you must have a parent or legal guardian on the sailing, and they must sign a consent form allowing the 18-20-year-old to consume alcohol. The second limitation is they can only have beer and wine and will not be permitted to have cocktails and liquor.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Half Moon Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
Carnival Cruise Line is the “fun ship”; however, in 2018, they updated their policies to increase the drinking age to 21 years old on their ship and their private islands.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Princess Cay Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
As mentioned above, the policies were updated in 2018, increasing the drinking age to 21.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Amber Cove Drinking Age: 21 Years Old
Amber Cove follows Carnival Cruise Line’s drinking age policy of 21. This was changed in 2018 and is in line with their on board ship policies and their other private islands.
Virgin Voyages Beach Club at Bimini Drinking Age: 18 Years Old
If you are under 21 and sailing on Virgin Voyages, you are in luck! While they do not have a private island, they take over the Beach Club at Bimini, which follows Bahamian law of 18 years of age to drink.
Be Safe and Drink Responsibly
Remember, no matter how old or young you are, be safe and drink responsibly. It’s important to make responsible choices when it comes to alcohol consumption. Always make sure that you have a responsible person with you to help you get back to the ship if you overindulge.
In our cruise packing list guide, we mention bringing cash. We highly recommend using cash to pay for your drinks while in port to protect yourself from credit card theft.
Share this blog post on social media to spread the word about the importance of drinking responsibly in the Caribbean. Stay safe and enjoy your time responsibly!