crazy problem with carnival gift card!!!!!

[girlsjustwannacruise]

I took my gift card and went online to book my shore excursions. WELL.....

At checkout I entered the number of my gift card in the designated area. There was $100.00 on the card and so $100 was deducted from the balance.

BUT... when I checked my bank I was charged the full amount for the excursions as if I never entered the gift card number. But that's not all! There also was an additional CHARGE for $100.00... and ... my gift card now shows a balance of $0!!!!!!

 

What the heck!!!!!!!!

Looks like I paid full price, plus an additional $100.00 .. and lost the $100.00 on my giftcard. :eek:

 

so I called Carnival and after 15 minutes on the phone I was told "sorry, I cant help you with this you might want to call back later. I am at home on my sofa and I can get a manager in my chat room but they will just tell you that you need to contact the Miami people."

 

what the heck!!!!!!!!! :eek:

 

ummm.... okay????? :confused:

 

Has ANYONE ever had an issue like this???

[girlsjustwannacruise]

What in the world will I do? How am I going to prove I had the $100 on my gift card to begin with??:(:(:(:(:(

[angela12345]

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I'm almost sure that I have read on the board, Carnival can see/track all of the charges that have been made to the gift card. So they will be able to see the starting balance and see what charges were made against it.

[lizardhowson]

How am I going to prove I had the $100 on my gift card to begin with??:(:(:(:(:(

 

Simple ! Whomever bought and paid for the gift card got some kind of receipt.

[stlouistravelers]

Dispute the charges with the cc company.

[shipty2]

I bought gift cards for a wedding present awhile ago and from start to finish I had problems with them like you wouldn't believe. Never again. Carnival told me to contact the gift card company which it turns out is separate from them and the gift card company told me to contact Carnival. Round and round the roundabout I went for hours and hours on the phone.

After spending over 10 hours total the problem was resolved.:mad:

[kman99]

I bought gift cards for a wedding present awhile ago and from start to finish I had problems with them like you wouldn't believe. Never again. Carnival told me to contact the gift card company which it turns out is separate from them and the gift card company told me to contact Carnival. Round and round the roundabout I went for hours and hours on the phone.

After spending over 10 hours total the problem was resolved.:mad:

 

 

Same thing happened to me last year -- it was a nightmare and took about 8 weeks in total to get it all straight.

 

OP -- You have to get the gift card company AND the excursion department talking to each other to figure it out -- see if you can get a higher level guest support person (sorry, can't remember their exact titles) to manage the back-and-forth. You will probably have to call Miami on Monday. I hope it all resolves quickly!

[ASchaff]

Dispute the charges with the cc company.

 

This, you didn't authorize Carnival to take the amount they took. Dispute it with them.

[SadieN]

What kind of gift card is this? Verizon or bought at a store.

[Lurkyloo]

Was thinking of getting some to use as on board credit for charges while cruising where at least you are talking to a person face to face... would that be a safer way to use them?

[Jimmy Geegitz]

I prefer to use giftcards once I get onboard. I go to guest services and have it added to my sign and sail. That way I know it is being credited.

[girlsjustwannacruise]

it was a bought gift card from the store. A Christmas gift from my brother. I have the receipt. I tried calling them again today and they are not able to help me until Monday.

Its not a huge amount of money, but its MY money.

oh well,

I will never again try to use a gift card on the website. wows.

[marshhawk]

I used a gift card yesterday to help pay off a cruise, I put in the card number, verified the amount on the card, and said apply, the 25.00 disappeared from the value of the card, BUT it didn't apply to the payment. I called Carnival, I pressed 4 for "already booked a cruise?" got someone online who looked it up, and applied the cash. Yes, some folks do work from their home, but not all, I would have just called back, trust me you would have gotton some one else. Good Luck, and yes, 100 is a lot, so is 25, when it's missing!