How to Mark Royal Resorts Cards for Minors

Not that I don't trust the two 17 year old boys I'm taking to Cancun this Spring Break (ha ha) - but what can I use to permanently mark their room/keycards indicating that they are minors? Even those perma-marker pens seem to wash off in the ocean.

I have never seen any of the bartenders card anyone - and these boys are over 6 ' tall and look old. The one thing that the bartenders DO check is that they have a valid room card to pay for their orders. It is THAT card that I wish to mark.

I WISH that the Royals would give us two different cards in two different colors: one for adults, and one for minors. That would be wonderful!

I mention it every year on my comment card - but that seems to land on deaf ears. Darn.

Janis said:

Not that I don't trust the two 17 year old boys I'm taking to Cancun this Spring Break (ha ha) - but what can I use to permanently mark their room/keycards indicating that they are minors? Even those perma-marker pens seem to wash off in the ocean.

I have never seen any of the bartenders card anyone - and these boys are over 6 ' tall and look old. The one thing that the bartenders DO check is that they have a valid room card to pay for their orders. It is THAT card that I wish to mark.

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You're right to be concerned - I've seen older-looking teens get served drinks at the Royals.

My suggestion is to have the front desk issue them a key card ONLY, without charge privileges. Then you'll have to order their drinks without alcohol. Maybe the front desk has some other way to restrict their cards to not be allowed at bars...but I don't know.

I don't think even a permanent marker would stop the bartenders from selling to them, but nail polish might work.

Joe L said:

I don't think even a permanent marker would stop the bartenders from selling to them, but nail polish might work.

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I suspect that the bartender will continue serving if tips keep coming.

NOT REALLY...I TOOK a 17 year old nephew...and told the front desk.not to serve at the bar and they had to be in by midnight. Even the front desk helped me with the fact they had to be in by midnight and NOT OUT..they did NOT HAVE TO BE IN THE room...but could not leave the property.

I had NO PROBLEMS WITH THE BARS SERVING THEM. I think if you make it known up front...it will be honored... BUT..I COULD BE WRONG.
WHO'S KID IS IT???? KICK SOME BUTT!!! or leave them home.

nana7 said:

NOT REALLY...I TOOK a 17 year old nephew...and told the front desk.not to serve at the bar and they had to be in by midnight. Even the front desk helped me with the fact they had to be in by midnight and NOT OUT..they did NOT HAVE TO BE IN THE room...but could not leave the property.

I had NO PROBLEMS WITH THE BARS SERVING THEM. I think if you make it known up front...it will be honored... BUT..I COULD BE WRONG.
WHO'S KID IS IT???? KICK SOME BUTT!!! or leave them home.

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But how did the front desk make this happen? Was his card somehow coded that it couldn't be used at the bar? How did they help you ensure that he was in by midnight?

I asked the man on the night shift to please help me that he was in by midnight. That was no problem. I did not make them go to BED, just be on the property by mid night. The kids came in through the front door!!!!! I also slipped him some $$$. The security guards are wonderful and know whats going on all over the place, no matter the time.
I did not make them go to BED...JUST BE on property. The bar was no problem, just requested they not be served. The bar also closes at 10. The day was another matter.!!! Since I was his AUNT, there was also some respect!!!
I don't know if you can mark the cards for no bar service. If they can get up to it...I think they will be served.:whoopie:

I don't want to take away their charging privileges - as much as these boys eat I don't want to have to be rounded up every 20 minutes to pay for their food. I just want the alcohol privileges denied!

Yes, I know that they should be responsible and I do try to watch them... But... they are teenage boys. Of course they are fabulous, wonderful honors students who can be trusted in many ways. However, did I mention? They are teenage boys...

JANIS, LOL:rofl: I understand that teenage boys '''will be boys'''. You will be able to check on the charges and see if any are for bars. The only other thing is to see who is working the front desk and go talk to the night person and tell him/her your concern. If there is any problems, they will call your room first. But it also helped that the front desk called my boys by first names and welcomed them home every night. The security guards will keep track of them once they are back on property. If they are honor students, I am SURE THEY WILL BE FINE. Sometimes we worry to much about what ''might'' happen.
GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY YOUR TIME...wish I was bringing my 18 yr old grandaughter down at the same time. I am sure they could all have a great time, then you and I could just worry together!!!:hysterical:

Here's another idea - each card will be coded with a name, and you might be able to get the front desk to use "no alcohol" as part of the name.....e.g. "Mike No Alcohol Jones". There also *might* be a comment field available for something like that.....
You could also threaten them with dire consequences IF there are any alcoholic drinks on the bills for their cards.....

pjrose said:

You could also threaten them with dire consequences IF there are any alcoholic drinks on the bills for their cards.....

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You'll never know without the itemized receipt, lunch at the pool won't look any different from drinks by the pool on the final bill.

Trust me, I know, I have been going to VCI since I was eight years old.

geoffb said:

You'll never know without the itemized receipt, lunch at the pool won't look any different from drinks by the pool on the final bill.

Trust me, I know, I have been going to VCI since I was eight years old.

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True, but you can get the itemized receipt before the final bill. They save all the paperwork and produce it when you ask.

Wanted to share our experience from last year. Stayed first week at Royal Sands, didn't notice any problems. Second week at Royal Mayan, our daughter then 13 and her friends, also 13 and 14, were reporting to us that the pool bartenders at the tri Royals were asking them if they wanted alcoholic or non alcoholic when ordering their frozen drinks. Our daughter is pretty straight-laced (at this time) so no worries there.

Late in the week, sitting by the pool, my husband ordered pina colodas for all of us, same pool bartender we had used all week. Imagine our surprise when DD's arrived with alcohol, yes, all three drinks had alcohol. The bartender seemed shocked when my husband took it back.

My impression is that they are very lax about the alcohol policy there. They have no systematic way of knowing who is of age and who isn't. Maybe it is a cultural difference that they don't worry so much about underage drinking. I know it will be a greater concern as our DD gets on in her teenage years to monitor what is going on.

My thought is, if it is a concern to you as a parent, be vigilant.

We've had experiences similar to Johnsontrio's - we always specify "no alcohol, for my son". Once my son said it tasted funny; I couldn't tell, so I asked the waiter, he asked the bartender, and both insisted it was without alcohol. My son drank it, and slept the rest of the day and night.......

This has happened occasionally. Just be vigilant. Also, see if the charge/room cards have a field for comments or if you can add "no alcohol" to the name on it.

We have had similar experiences, one year we had a guest who decided on the plane she wasn't going to drink and kept ordering 'virgin' drinks. Some were, some weren't.

pjrose said:

Also, see if the charge/room cards have a field for comments or if you can add "no alcohol" to the name on it.

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That is really going to be ineffective, especially by the pool when it is busy. Typically the cards are clipped to written order slips and the card is not run through a computer until the final bill is requested.

geoffb said:

That is really going to be ineffective, especially by the pool when it is busy. Typically the cards are clipped to written order slips and the card is not run through a computer until the final bill is requested.

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Good point. Oh well, it was an idea, if not a very practical one!

Thanks everyone - it does seem that the resorts should be able to provide a "Food Only" charge card to help us with this issue. Looks like I'm not the only one who has tried to figure out a solution.

The solution my parents used was pretty simple, behave or expect to be on the first flight home.

MY KIND OF PARENTS!!