Theoretical gift card question

[ajhunt2]

Let me just first say that this is NOT an actual product per say. Just curious if it would be a good selling point for Carnival and a good business venture.

 

 

If Carnival were to offer gift cards for sale in store (like a lot of other businesses/stores/restraunts do) would you purchase them?

 

I realize Carnival offers a funship dollar certificate on thier website. But how much more fun would it be just to run to the store and pick up a shiny card to wrap and give as a gift. Imagine the wedding gift potential!!

[LMKakaThing2]

I would really like that idea since I'm in the process of booking a cruise for next year. Plus my grocery store has for every $50 you spend you get $.10 of a gallon of gas. sometimes they run the promotion of $.20 off a gallon. Be very nice if you could use those cards toward the purchase of a cruise. I'd be getting free tanks of gas until I leave for my cruise :D.

 

I know Disney has the giftcards at my grocery store but I'm not sure if they're good at the Disney parks or on the Disney cruises.

[firefly333]

Too much work to use. Carnival does not accept gift cards that do not have your name embossed to fund your onboard account.

[SadieN]

Carnival does sell through the Scrip program for our High School Band. Have no idea what it looks like.

[craftykitty]

Too much work to use. Carnival does not accept gift cards that do not have your name embossed to fund your onboard account.

 

Not the same thing, OP is suggesting a gift card that can be used for fares, S&S or BV. If they were only for Carnival, there wouldn't be any issue with redeeming the cards. Possibly you could even do so online prior to boarding.

 

Gift card numbers are all listed in computers, easy enough to check when redeeming them.

[ajhunt2]

I would really like that idea since I'm in the process of booking a cruise for next year. Plus my grocery store has for every $50 you spend you get $.10 of a gallon of gas. sometimes they run the promotion of $.20 off a gallon. Be very nice if you could use those cards toward the purchase of a cruise. I'd be getting free tanks of gas until I leave for my cruise :D.

 

I know Disney has the giftcards at my grocery store but I'm not sure if they're good at the Disney parks or on the Disney cruises.

 

 

Our Kroger does the same thing. You get double points with gift card purchases. But I have to go to the other side of town to go there so don't really utilize it.

 

And I have seen the Disney cards. I need to start purchasing some cause that will most likely be our vacation next year, and they don't expire!

[ajhunt2]

Not the same thing, OP is suggesting a gift card that can be used for fares, S&S or BV. If they were only for Carnival, there wouldn't be any issue with redeeming the cards. Possibly you could even do so online prior to boarding.

 

Gift card numbers are all listed in computers, easy enough to check when redeeming them.

 

Correct. I was thinking like a gift card witha pic of a whale tail on it! lol, that would be so exciting to open a card and have that fall out... I asked for funship dollars for christmas but since my mom does all the shopping and she's not very technologically advanced, she didn't get me any :(

 

Oh! What if they had like that Chip in Card Best Buy has, where you buy one gift card, but register it and everyone can add money to that one card???

[Bibble]

I absolutely would!!!

Last year I knew a friend was trying to get home for Christmas, and she always flies Southwest, so I picked up a Southwest giftcard for her at the grocery store :)

[LMKakaThing2]

Our Kroger does the same thing. You get double points with gift card purchases. But I have to go to the other side of town to go there so don't really utilize it.

 

And I have seen the Disney cards. I need to start purchasing some cause that will most likely be our vacation next year, and they don't expire!

 

Great to know Kroger does the same thing. My 3 cousins from WV are going with us on our next cruise (which looks like it'll be Disney) so I can have her pickup gift cards so she can pay off her balance and get points towards free gas :D

 

I did a mock booking with DCL and they except the giftcards as payment. It's a shame Carnival doesn't offer the cards b/c we would book Carnival in a heartbeat.

[UpstateCruizer]

Let me just first say that this is NOT an actual product per say. Just curious if it would be a good selling point for Carnival and a good business venture.

 

 

If Carnival were to offer gift cards for sale in store (like a lot of other businesses/stores/restraunts do) would you purchase them?

 

I realize Carnival offers a funship dollar certificate on thier website. But how much more fun would it be just to run to the store and pick up a shiny card to wrap and give as a gift. Imagine the wedding gift potential!!

 

ABSOLUTELY~!! I have had so many people tell me that they know the perfect gift for me is anything cruise related but they have no idea how to carry that out. I did have one client this past Christmas that actually called Carnival amd ordered Funship Dollars. That was a first for me and loved getting them! If Carnival offered this I can see people gifting these several times a year for special occaisions. I know I'd gladly purchase them for anyone that cruises.

 

Side note ...all the people that love to run to John Heald with various posting info from here .....it would be awesome if this was brought to his attention. Just sayin...

[UpstateCruizer]

Too much work to use. Carnival does not accept gift cards that do not have your name embossed to fund your onboard account.

 

Actually I was given a Visa gift card once and I took it to Guest Services and they applied the entire card to my onboard account. They had to do it in two steps for some reason but it worked perfectly. I had to know what my exact balance was on my card for it to work. I know they won't accept them to set up your onboard account but once it's set up you can apply it. They told me they do it all the time!

[sugaangel601]

Definitely. It would be so much easier to "save up" for a cruise if you were purchasing $50 here or there. (I realize its the same as setting the $50 aside, but for some people its very difficult knowing there is an extra stash of cash hiding in the back of the sock drawer.)

 

Why havent we thought of this before? :p

[tracyanns]

What would be even better was if it was reloadable. So you could go to Walgreens and buy one for $100 because that is what you had so far. Then you should be able to go online at CCL and enter the gift card and add to it, maybe an ETF from your checking account...then you can go online and check your balance. Almost like a Carnival Savings Account Card...

[joepeka]

Not the same thing, OP is suggesting a gift card that can be used for fares, S&S or BV. If they were only for Carnival, there wouldn't be any issue with redeeming the cards. Possibly you could even do so online prior to boarding.

 

Gift card numbers are all listed in computers, easy enough to check when redeeming them.

I think what Fire may have been getting at is the expense and overhead of producing and tracking gift cards and their balances. But I think a lot of the gift cards out there that you buy (restaurants, electronic stores, etc.) have their back-end processing handled by 3rd parties like Visa, MC or Amex anyway. CCL would just have to enter into an agreement with one of those 3rd parties for their own branded gift card.

 

I think this is a nice idea as well. Everyone that knows me also knows how much I like to cruise and I would welcome all the CCL gift cards I could get for Father's Day, birthday, holidays, etc. :)

[CharmedMom]

I would really like that idea since I'm in the process of booking a cruise for next year. Plus my grocery store has for every $50 you spend you get $.10 of a gallon of gas. sometimes they run the promotion of $.20 off a gallon. Be very nice if you could use those cards toward the purchase of a cruise. I'd be getting free tanks of gas until I leave for my cruise :D.

 

I know Disney has the giftcards at my grocery store but I'm not sure if they're good at the Disney parks or on the Disney cruises.

 

Giant Eagle ... gotta love those fuel perks

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Giant Eagle ... gotta love those fuel perks

 

 

And the Food Perks :D

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Not the same thing, OP is suggesting a gift card that can be used for fares, S&S or BV. If they were only for Carnival, there wouldn't be any issue with redeeming the cards. Possibly you could even do so online prior to boarding.

 

Gift card numbers are all listed in computers, easy enough to check when redeeming them.

 

 

Given how technology inept CCL is do you realize what a huge undertaking this would be? Not only would they have to have the GC numbers in the 'puter, they would have to be able to match some sort of PIN from the card. Oh, the headaches.

 

It would be a wonderful product though. It seems like everytime I go into our grocery store, I am picking up an Amazon card of some denomination.

[kujobie]

Buy a prepaid Visa card and tape a picture of a ship on it..

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

buy a prepaid visa card and tape a picture of a ship on it..

 

+1.

[ajhunt2]

Buy a prepaid Visa card and tape a picture of a ship on it..

 

 

Not as much fun!! But the question was yould you buy one. So I guess your vote it no?

[ajhunt2]

Anyone else?

[sugaangel601]

Today, I was in the grocery store and saw a lady wearing a Carnival sweatshirt. We crossed paths several times. As I was perusing the gift card section, I picked up a Disney gift card to read the terms. (After this thread, I was curious to know the expiration, if any.) The woman saw me again and asked if I was planning a trip to Disney, saying that buying gift cards was the BEST way to save up! She was able to pick a gift card up at the store with each paycheck, and then by the time her trip came, it was already paid for. It was easier to have the money invested in the trip little by little, and "safer" than walking around with that big wad of cash. AND, because the grocery store offers "fuelperks," she ended up with 3 entirely free tanks of gas for her SUV. (I couldnt have said it better!)

 

Of course, I complimented her sweatshirt, and mentioned the discussion on this thread, saying that I agree and that Carnival should step up to this amazing business opportunity. :)

 

BTW, It wasnt any of you that I ran into, was it? (I love small world irony!)

[sarahleebones]

I think it's a FANTASTIC idea and yes I would totally buy!

[ajhunt2]

Today, I was in the grocery store and saw a lady wearing a Carnival sweatshirt. We crossed paths several times. As I was perusing the gift card section, I picked up a Disney gift card to read the terms. (After this thread, I was curious to know the expiration, if any.) The woman saw me again and asked if I was planning a trip to Disney, saying that buying gift cards was the BEST way to save up! She was able to pick a gift card up at the store with each paycheck, and then by the time her trip came, it was already paid for. It was easier to have the money invested in the trip little by little, and "safer" than walking around with that big wad of cash. AND, because the grocery store offers "fuelperks," she ended up with 3 entirely free tanks of gas for her SUV. (I couldnt have said it better!)

 

Of course, I complimented her sweatshirt, and mentioned the discussion on this thread, saying that I agree and that Carnival should step up to this amazing business opportunity. :)

 

BTW, It wasnt any of you that I ran into, was it? (I love small world irony!)

 

 

Wasn't me! But I did the same thing. those Disney cards don't expire BTW

[Sunnyday2010]

I would buy it for sure !!! I am currently doing the same thing for an Apple computer for my Daughter when she graduates :) Its just a way of saving do the purhase wont hurt the bank as much. Also it would be wonderful to get them as gifts !! No Gas purks in Canada however :(