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AARP Carnival Gift Cards


helene109
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10 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Eli, O.C. speaks wisely. We bought gift cards as soon as we could. It took us a few months, but we paid for the cruise in full with them.  And then, this mess struck....now we are stuck with a pif cruise and not sure what to do. I'm hoping and praying that all will be well. I'm confident it will be. But.....

 

Here's hoping all goes well for you. I would think this mess will have settled down by September. Possibly even be over with. I feel for all the people who were so close to their cruise, only to get denied last minute because of the shut-down. That's a real gut punch.

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17 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Here's hoping all goes well for you. I would think this mess will have settled down by September. Possibly even be over with. I feel for all the people who were so close to their cruise, only to get denied last minute because of the shut-down. That's a real gut punch.

As do I. As do I. Well put, as always. 

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Sorry, I don't have anything new to add. I just wanted to post to a thread that isn't about the coronavirus. 😏 I can't wait for the forum to get back to normal. Instead of talking about the virus causing cancellations and the issuing of OBC, hopefully soon we can go back to talking about regular cancellations and passengers demanding OBC because their soup was cold. "But sir/ma'am, it's gazpacho. It's supposed to be cold." I kid, I kid.

 

In another thread, someone pointed out that the e-cards have disappeared from AARP. I got one reply from someone who said it was probably because AARP doesn't want to be seen distributing gift cards for a company that's going to go bankrupt. I don't know why they've pulled them, but all is well in Allstate-land so far. Actually, we were probably going to buy a couple e-cards because we might book one and needed some quick cards for the deposit. AARP, you cowards!!

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I just bought 2 cards yesterday and 8 last week!! Cruise in August really thinking positive!! Then when I tell people they are like you didn’t cancel! Ugh also just booked airfare for the day before as we cruise out of Baltimore great price!!

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1 minute ago, helene109 said:

I just bought 2 cards yesterday and 8 last week!! Cruise in August really thinking positive!! Then when I tell people they are like you didn’t cancel! Ugh also just booked airfare for the day before as we cruise out of Baltimore great price!!

I like it, keep a positive attitude!!    I cruise in late June, holding on!!!

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2 hours ago, helene109 said:

I just bought 2 cards yesterday and 8 last week!! Cruise in August really thinking positive!! Then when I tell people they are like you didn’t cancel! Ugh also just booked airfare for the day before as we cruise out of Baltimore great price!!

 

I think what we need most now are people who aren't screaming that the sky is falling. I can't wait to go back to being able to serve my own 24-hour ice cream. 🍦 Some of them crew members were really stingy. 😆

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4 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I think what we need most now are people who aren't screaming that the sky is falling. I can't wait to go back to being able to serve my own 24-hour ice cream. 🍦 Some of them crew members were really stingy. 😆

I can only imagine! What about the buffets! Just wondering if they will change anything. We were on Mariner of the seas in June and we couldn’t get to the buffet without washing our hands! When they refurbished they put them all at the entrance’s!

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1 hour ago, helene109 said:

I can only imagine! What about the buffets! Just wondering if they will change anything. We were on Mariner of the seas in June and we couldn’t get to the buffet without washing our hands! When they refurbished they put them all at the entrance’s!

 

The buffet portions they dished out were usually pretty good for me. There were a couple times I asked for a little more. Kinda hard to do that with ice cream cones, though. Once they put that curl on top, that's all she wrote. LOL

 

Oh yeah, they had crew posted at the hand washing stations and hand sanitizer dispensers all over the buffet, MDR, and other restaurants, and would tell you to use it. There was one time when a girl on one side of Guy's had me use the sanitizer before getting in line, which I did. I got my food and had a plate in one hand and drink in the other. Then the girl on the other side of Guy's wanted to take the plate & drink out of my hands so I could use her hand sanitizer station. Um, she's going to hold my food...how sanitary is that? 🤔 I told her no thanks, I already cleaned them.

 

They had the hand sanitizer in a lot more places, but didn't have crew telling us to use them at those. Only at the eateries. But I saw a lot of people would voluntarily use them. I didn't like those automated hand washing stations. They only lasted 12 seconds, but it felt like I was standing there a long time. Not to mention lines would back up at those during mealtimes. I would've rather just used the sanitizer.

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19 hours ago, Joe817 said:

Just about the same here in Texas. All over the state. I still go out to forage for. essentials. Here in Arlington, I can see a slow...very slow returning to sanity. Store shelves are being restocked. Still lot's of empty shelves. But not  as empty as last week. It will take weeks,, if not months to return to normalcy. That's to be expected.  Bars are all closed. Restaurants are all closed, except for order on line for delivery and carry out. Our governor just declared today that people can order mixed drinks for delivery. Wow. What a concept.

 

19 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I have only been in a store once since the madness started. Just went in the dollar general to pickup some coffee. The lady in front of me had cases of water stacked over her head. The guy behind me had a 64 pack of toilet paper under each arm. I just had a 12 oz bag of coffee. I looked around and thought...should I be buying more stuff? Nah.

 

I just go to work and come home. The outdoor shopping mall by my work is dead. All of the stores are closed. Movie theater even pulled the posters out of the cases. They have hand sanitizer dispensers on every corner.

 

Joe, Greg...I had replied to your comments in that other thread, but didn't see that the Host had posted to get back on topic, so I relocated them. 😉

 

We got back from our cruise Sunday, but drove home, so technically didn't get home until early Monday morning. We took our rental back Tuesday and needed some groceries since we had been gone for almost 2 weeks. Not "panic mode" groceries, just basic stuff that we let run out before we left so it wouldn't go bad. Forget it, we couldn't do normal grocery shopping in this madness. I have never seen a Walmart so bare in my life. Absolute insanity. We pretty much had to scrounge for things just to put some meals together. They were limiting toilet paper to one pack per person. I talked to a few people who, like us, were just there to do some regular ole grocery shopping and all we could do was laugh at the situation. I was so excited because I found the very last pack of Velveeta slices way in the back of the shelf. LOL Score!!

 

Our governor has issued a shelter in place order, too. We're allowed out for "essentials." My wife went to our smalltown, mom & pop grocery store to pick up some stuff to make a pizza. When she got there, it was practically empty. But I guess word got out about the shelter order because she said by the time she left, it was packed. Now those shelves will be empty. 🙄 Unless the governor wants to declare martial law and put the National Guard in the streets, I'm going to do what I need to do.

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5 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

Joe, Greg...I had replied to your comments in that other thread, but didn't see that the Host had posted to get back on topic, so I relocated them. 😉

 

We got back from our cruise Sunday, but drove home, so technically didn't get home until early Monday morning. We took our rental back Tuesday and needed some groceries since we had been gone for almost 2 weeks. Not "panic mode" groceries, just basic stuff that we let run out before we left so it wouldn't go bad. Forget it, we couldn't do normal grocery shopping in this madness. I have never seen a Walmart so bare in my life. Absolute insanity. We pretty much had to scrounge for things just to put some meals together. They were limiting toilet paper to one pack per person. I talked to a few people who, like us, were just there to do some regular ole grocery shopping and all we could do was laugh at the situation. I was so excited because I found the very last pack of Velveeta slices way in the back of the shelf. LOL Score!!

 

Our governor has issued a shelter in place order, too. We're allowed out for "essentials." My wife went to our smalltown, mom & pop grocery store to pick up some stuff to make a pizza. When she got there, it was practically empty. But I guess word got out about the shelter order because she said by the time she left, it was packed. Now those shelves will be empty. 🙄 Unless the governor wants to declare martial law and put the National Guard in the streets, I'm going to do what I need to do.

 

An update to the New Orleans part I posted about in the other thread. Their mayor is on the radio now issuing a "stay at home" order.

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AFAIK, our mayor has not issued a 'stay at home' order. But we are staying at home as much as we can. I made an emergency run to the liquor store this morning. The wife was out of vodka. I mean to tell you that place was BUSY! 

 

So far, here in Arlington, we have 9 cases of the virus. Tarrant county has 29 cases. 

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Why do y'all think Carnival is going to go bankrupt? I was planning on buying some $8 Carnival stock, but they shut the market down.  As soon as this passes everyone is going to be wanting to vacation and get out of the house, etc. I suspect there will be a boom to the stock market and the cruise industry after this passes.  

 

I didn't buy anymore gift cards as I will already have about $3500 in cards and FCC it they cancel my June European cruise.  

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51 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

AFAIK, our mayor has not issued a 'stay at home' order. But we are staying at home as much as we can. I made an emergency run to the liquor store this morning. The wife was out of vodka. I mean to tell you that place was BUSY! 

 

So far, here in Arlington, we have 9 cases of the virus. Tarrant county has 29 cases. 

Wait ... What? In DFW area?  

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2 hours ago, Joe817 said:

AFAIK, our mayor has not issued a 'stay at home' order. But we are staying at home as much as we can. I made an emergency run to the liquor store this morning. The wife was out of vodka. I mean to tell you that place was BUSY! 

 

So far, here in Arlington, we have 9 cases of the virus. Tarrant county has 29 cases. 

 

Walmart's liquor aisle was full. I don't mean full of people, I mean full of booze. I told my wife, you see, that's the problem right there. No one's buying booze. I think many of them ought to, have themselves a drink or three, and calm down. We're out in the sticks, so no virus here yet. **knock on wood ** But that ain't stopping everyone from freaking out.  I believe it's something to be taken seriously, but I'm not going to live in fear of it. And I sure as heck ain't gonna let our worthless governor tell me how to live. He already does that enough without this virus floating around.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Walmart's liquor aisle was full. I don't mean full of people, I mean full of booze. I told my wife, you see, that's the problem right there. No one's buying booze. I think many of them ought to, have themselves a drink or three, and calm down. We're out in the sticks, so no virus here yet. **knock on wood ** But that ain't stopping everyone from freaking out.  I believe it's something to be taken seriously, but I'm not going to live in fear of it. And I sure as heck ain't gonna let our worthless governor tell me how to live. He already does that enough without this virus floating around.

 

 


I saw a doctor on TV this morning that said alcohol kills your white blood cells and makes you more susceptible to catching a virus.

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1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

Why do y'all think Carnival is going to go bankrupt? I was planning on buying some $8 Carnival stock, but they shut the market down.  As soon as this passes everyone is going to be wanting to vacation and get out of the house, etc. I suspect there will be a boom to the stock market and the cruise industry after this passes.  

 

I didn't buy anymore gift cards as I will already have about $3500 in cards and FCC it they cancel my June European cruise.  

 

I'm not enough of an economist to know the chances of Carnival going bankrupt or not. How does a company that makes money hand over fist and has been reporting record profits in recent years go bankrupt so quickly? I also don't believe in all these government bailouts. Not for huge corporations that, like I say, post record profits time & time again. But I guess that's a subject for another thread.

 

When this is over, I think cruises will be in high demand. There will be those who are still too scared to go, but as more time passes, I think demand will easily come back. I just hope it doesn't drive prices too high. We're thinking about booking one of those Sailabration cruises, so I had planned on buy a couple of the AARP e-cards just to have some fast cards to pay the deposit, but they've stopped the sale of those. I still can't figure out what coronavirus has to do with cruisers keeping a supply of gift cards. Yeah, they've temporarily stopped cruises, but they'll be back, so why not let us continue buying them?

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1 hour ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Walmart's liquor aisle was full. I don't mean full of people, I mean full of booze. I told my wife, you see, that's the problem right there. No one's buying booze. I think many of them ought to, have themselves a drink or three, and calm down. We're out in the sticks, so no virus here yet. **knock on wood ** But that ain't stopping everyone from freaking out.  I believe it's something to be taken seriously, but I'm not going to live in fear of it. And I sure as heck ain't gonna let our worthless governor tell me how to live. He already does that enough without this virus floating around.

 

 

Wow! You all can buy liquor in a Walmart? We can't here in Texas. Only wine & beer. I think it's the State's liquor law. 

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1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

I did not want to hear that at ALL! :classic_ohmy:

 

We use alcohol in things like wipes and hand sanitizers to disinfect surfaces, so why not use alcohol to disinfect our insides? 😁 Regardless of the white blood cell thing, I just think people need to have a drink and relax. Calm down, put one of the packs of toilet paper back, and buy a 6-pack.

 

1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

Wow! You all can buy liquor in a Walmart? We can't here in Texas. Only wine & beer. I think it's the State's liquor law. 

 

No kidding? Wow. Yep, wine, beer, and hard liquor in our Walmarts. I knew TX was one of the ones with some funky liquor laws in regards to the Cheers package, but had no idea they went that far.

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26 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

No kidding? Wow. Yep, wine, beer, and hard liquor in our Walmarts. I knew TX was one of the ones with some funky liquor laws in regards to the Cheers package, but had no idea they went that far.

Yezzir. Only full fledged liquor stores can sell liquor in Texas. And that's only Monday thru Saturday.  None to be had on Sunday. But does not apply to beer and wine. All grocery stores and convenience stores are well stocked with those items.

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4 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I'm not enough of an economist to know the chances of Carnival going bankrupt or not. How does a company that makes money hand over fist and has been reporting record profits in recent years go bankrupt so quickly?

Think of it when Carnival does not have the cash to meet its obligations, like crew, ships in the works, and other expenses. Remember, no cruises. no money coming in, and having all these cruise ships without paying customers only sucks cash. It has a credit line, but that has to be paid back as well.

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Well I am on the "let's take this seriously" and "have a drink and do not get anxious about things I have no control over" side.  I do not think those positions are mutually exclusive!  I have a couple of gift cards in my "cruise drawer" and will be putting them down on my November 29th journeys cruise when I get closer to the date.    We had a big European cruise for us and the three grown up kids planned on May 30th.  Like Joe, I had paid for the whole thing with gift cards, basically.  Saved a ton of money.  But- I cancelled it and re-booked the European cruise for September 29th for all 5 of us again with the FCC.   

 

So if September gets cancelled completely I get a refund on Gift cards or FCC or whatever.  I will figure it out when it happens and hope everyone stays healthy.  I am still accumulating points and will continue to get gift cards to pay off cruises I know we will be taking at some point when this all comes under control.  

 

I am very positive about cruising on Carnival again, and feel really bad for all the folks that are in limbo and don't have the freedom to arrange their schedule as easily as I do, and the people that missed their cruises this week and the next few weeks.  I hope everyone stays safe and finds a way to make things work for them.

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I feel like I've read this in this thread, or maybe one of the other gift card threads. Is it possible to use a credit card for the deposit up front, but then change it to gift cards later?

 

We're looking at booking one of the Sailabration cruises in 2022 and possibly taking advantage of the "two days free" deal that ends Monday for something next year. When we first discussed this while on our cruise last week, I had planned on just buying a couple of AARP's e-cards for a quick fix to pay deposits, or at least partially. At the time, I didn't know AARP pulled them from their site because of the coronavirus mess. I still haven't figured out what it has to do with buying gift cards for future cruises, but I digress. Anyway, we obviously can't get physical cards in time to beat Monday's deadline on that sale, so if possible, I thought I could order physical cards and change the deposit payment to those. Or am I imagining I read that?

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