Can You Use Gift Cards?

[JerseyMom]

I did search to see if I could find anything on this subject but was unable to.

 

I have a number of gift cards from my birthday - Amex gift cards with pre-loaded amounts. Does anyone know of I can just have NCL put these on my onboard account when I board? I could also give them a regular cc to cover anything above the amount on the cards. I always forget that I have these in my purse and it would be nice to have a smaller cc bill when I get home.

 

Thanks!

[KandJCruising]

I used several gift cards on my last cruise for just that purpose. I think they were Visa types, so I'd check w/ NCL just to make sure AMEX is also accepted.

[peg013]

I did search to see if I could find anything on this subject but was unable to.

 

I have a number of gift cards from my birthday - Amex gift cards with pre-loaded amounts. Does anyone know of I can just have NCL put these on my onboard account when I board? I could also give them a regular cc to cover anything above the amount on the cards. I always forget that I have these in my purse and it would be nice to have a smaller cc bill when I get home.

 

Thanks!

 

Check the fine print on the back of the cards. Both the VISA and AMEX one that our kids got us for Christmas said not accepted by cruiselines right on it.

[smg53]

On our last cruise I had a $200 Visa gift card and called and bought $200 in OBC before we left. That way there were no surprises on board and I was able to use the credit! It was a quick phone call and I received a confirmation by email within moments!

[garycarla]

There have been varied reports about using these.

 

Assuming you do not have ways to use them at home (grocery store, gas station, eating out), try this:

 

Call and order an OBC for your stateroom.

 

I would not expect to use them onboard.

 

Really, just meet me at Outback and buy dinner. I promise I can drink up a few cards worth.

[JerseyMom]

Check the fine print on the back of the cards. Both the VISA and AMEX one that our kids got us for Christmas said not accepted by cruiselines right on it.

 

I just checked the back and sure enough, it says not accepted by cruiselines, casinos, and ATMs. I guess I will have to find something else to spend the cards on.

[JerseyMom]

There have been varied reports about using these.

 

 

Really, just meet me at Outback and buy dinner. I promise I can drink up a few cards worth.

 

Hey garycarla,

 

I may have to take you up on this since it looks as if I will not be able to use the cards for my OBC.

[amandajholden]

I work in the payments industry. The reason they may not be accepted at cruise lines is that cruise lines have permission to offer "cash advances" similar to ATM withdrawals and they are treated differently then "purchases". You should be able to use the gift card anywhere for purchases (like the gift shop or to pay for excursions). You can still take the gift card to the desk and ask to "buy" an OBC. It really depends on how the cruise line processes the transaction. It's worth a try and a good chance it will work because buying an OBC should be a purchase.

 

Regardless, be sure that you have enough on your gift card to cover the OBC, check your balance first.

[simply_commenting]

i can tell you when i went on the dawn from 16th-23rd, the finance clerk showed my amex gift card was not accepted. he went on to say that in the past, they would try anyway, but as of late, the credit cards are shutting that practice down. Of course..i could have asked "can you at least try?"

[Crany]

I have tried to use gift card on two different NCL cruises with no success. Both times the cards were rejected. The second time I tried this NCL somehow wound up doubling my On Board expenses and charging them to the credit card I had given them at check in. NCL did fix the charge without any problems.

I started using the gift card as a credit card with my PCC to pay off some of the cruise fare when I book.