Question on Carnival Gift Cards

[MistyRo76]

I did a quick search and didn't find exactly what I was looking for. It's my first experience using the Verizon and All-State Rewards program discounted gift cards. I just purchased $400 worth of gift cards through All-State Rewards today and have already applied those toward my balance due for the cruise. I plan on using these to continue to pay off my balance as well as pre-paying our gratuities and Cheers packages. My question is can we apply these on our account for other shipboard purchases we might make? And if we can, is there a way to apply it to our account online prior to our cruise or do we have to do it at guest services once onboard? And finally - what happens if we don't spend all of what we put on our account onboard? Do we get that money back?

 

Thanks in advance!

[reerun25]

Yes, you can purchase Cruise Cash through the Fun Shops. It states that the Cruise Cash is for a single voyage only, so if you buy $500 of cruise cash, and only use $300, you are out $200. Other will probably tell you you can get around this by cashing out at casino, but I am just letting you know what Carnival says about it. Also, there is a limit of $500 per cabin for the Cruise Cash. When you purchase, you can apply it to your booking.

Edited June 7, 2017 by reerun25

[MistyRo76]

Yes, you can purchase Cruise Cash through the Fun Shops. It states that the Cruise Cash is for a single voyage only, so if you buy $500 of cruise cash, and only use $300, you are out $200. Other will probably tell you you can get around this by cashing out at casino, but I am just letting you know what Carnival says about it. Also, there is a limit of $500 per cabin for the Cruise Cash. When you purchasse, you can apply it to your booking.

 

Thanks! Appreciate the information!

[CruzCrazy]

Once we pay off our cruise, I keep buying more gift cards and then just take them to guest services and have them applied to the account. On some ships, you can do this at check in, but so far I've had to wait until we're onboard. I never have any trouble spending all of the gift card money (LOL), but I believe they will send you another gift card for any balance. Of course, you can put it on a slot machine and then cash out. I find it's better to only put a few gift cards on the account at a time—you can always go back and add more if needed.

[PhotoMike]

I was wondering something similar. I've been whittling away at our cruise balance with gift cards, and right now I have it down to $272 to go. If I buy $300 in gift cards, where will the extra 28 bucks end up? Does it just use available balances on the cards, and I will end up with $28 remaining on one?

[luv2trvlnow]

I was wondering something similar. I've been whittling away at our cruise balance with gift cards, and right now I have it down to $272 to go. If I buy $300 in gift cards, where will the extra 28 bucks end up? Does it just use available balances on the cards, and I will end up with $28 remaining on one?

The remaining amount remains on the card. You can take that card and have them apply to your S&S account once onboard.

[iamalmond]

I was wondering something similar. I've been whittling away at our cruise balance with gift cards, and right now I have it down to $272 to go. If I buy $300 in gift cards, where will the extra 28 bucks end up? Does it just use available balances on the cards, and I will end up with $28 remaining on one?

Yes the remaining balance will stay on the last gift card you apply.

[PhotoMike]

Thank you, friends! :cool:

[Doctorsbaby]

Thanks! Appreciate the information!

 

 

 

You can just apply the gift cards to your on board account once you are on the ship. No need (or reason) to purchase cruise cash.

 

If you choose to purchase cruise cash, please make sure you are very comfortable with the terms of it before purchasing.

[N7786W Flyer]

I did a quick search and didn't find exactly what I was looking for. It's my first experience using the Verizon and All-State Rewards program discounted gift cards. I just purchased $400 worth of gift cards through All-State Rewards today and have already applied those toward my balance due for the cruise. I plan on using these to continue to pay off my balance as well as pre-paying our gratuities and Cheers packages. My question is can we apply these on our account for other shipboard purchases we might make? And if we can, is there a way to apply it to our account online prior to our cruise or do we have to do it at guest services once onboard? And finally - what happens if we don't spend all of what we put on our account onboard? Do we get that money back?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Point by point:

 

• You can pre-pay your gratuities online using the gift cards, but do not believe you can use the gift cards to pre-purchase Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles. I believe you have to be on the ship to purchase those with the gift cards. Someone else who has tried/done with prior to boarding may be able to provide further clarification.
  
• You can use the gift cards to pay for anything that you can put on your Sign and Sail account while on board.
  
• I am not aware of any way to apply a gift card to your Sign and Sail account prior to boarding. However, they are easy to apply to your account once on board. In the past, I've used both the kiosks and Guest Services to apply the cards to my account.
  
• If you don't spend all of the funds on the gift card, the balance is refunded to you via a new gift card. For example, if you apply a $500 card to your account, but only spend $350, the $150 balance will be returned to you via a new gift card that you'll receive in the mail after you return home. Alternatively, I have heard of people cashing out in the casino to retrieve the physical cash. Someone else who has actually done this (I have not) can give you the "how to" on this process.
  

Garnett

[mitsugirly]

We use points to buy gift cards when we book a cruise and have also used points to buy gift cards using Verizon. Apply it to the cruise until paid off with no problems.

 

We also have a bunch of gift cards to bring for our S&S card. Every cruise we have been on, they have been able to apply the cards right at check in with no problems.

 

I haven't seen anyone mention this yet...if they did, I missed it...but if you have balance remaining on your S&S card at the end of the cruise, simply go to the casino and pick a slot and transfer the balance to the slot machine and then cash out. Take your card to the cashier and they will give you the cash. :D

[SunnyMeowser]

Yes, you can purchase Cruise Cash through the Fun Shops. It states that the Cruise Cash is for a single voyage only, so if you buy $500 of cruise cash, and only use $300, you are out $200. Other will probably tell you you can get around this by cashing out at casino, but I am just letting you know what Carnival says about it. Also, there is a limit of $500 per cabin for the Cruise Cash. When you purchase, you can apply it to your booking.

 

Cruise Cash is different than the Carnival Gift cards purchased from Verizon, AARP and other places. Gift cards don't lose their value, but Cruise Cash is only good for the cruise it's purchased for unless you cash it out. I purchased gift cards at the discount and will use them to pay off my S&S card. I've used the gift cards for my prepaid tips and excursions.

Be careful some sites are selling vouchers that are only good for purchasing a cruise and you need to call a special number to do so.

I hope this helps.

[EllaDuChien]

Point by point:

 

• You can pre-pay your gratuities online using the gift cards, but do not believe you can use the gift cards to pre-purchase Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles. I believe you have to be on the ship to purchase those with the gift cards. Someone else who has tried/done with prior to boarding may be able to provide further clarification.
  
• You can use the gift cards to pay for anything that you can put on your Sign and Sail account while on board.
  
• I am not aware of any way to apply a gift card to your Sign and Sail account prior to boarding. However, they are easy to apply to your account once on board. In the past, I've used both the kiosks and Guest Services to apply the cards to my account.
  
• If you don't spend all of the funds on the gift card, the balance is refunded to you via a new gift card. For example, if you apply a $500 card to your account, but only spend $350, the $150 balance will be returned to you via a new gift card that you'll receive in the mail after you return home. Alternatively, I have heard of people cashing out in the casino to retrieve the physical cash. Someone else who has actually done this (I have not) can give you the "how to" on this process.
  

Garnett

 

Quick note...You can now use gift cards to purchase Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles. I just did this last week for my cruise in October. I believe the change was made in April or May.

[MistyRo76]

Quick note...You can now use gift cards to purchase Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles. I just did this last week for my cruise in October. I believe the change was made in April or May.

 

Great! Good to know!

 

Thanks!

[gigem_aggies]

Quick note...You can now use gift cards to purchase Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles. I just did this last week for my cruise in October. I believe the change was made in April or May.

 

Can you do that in your cruise manager or do you have to call Carnival? I'm planning on buying some gift cards this weekend for our July 2 sailing and want to pre-pay for Cheers. :)

[EllaDuChien]

Can you do that in your cruise manager or do you have to call Carnival? I'm planning on buying some gift cards this weekend for our July 2 sailing and want to pre-pay for Cheers. :)

 

I did it on the Cruise Manager. No need to call, super easy! After you add the Cheers to the cart and go to the payment page, it will default to the credit card page, but right above the cc box is a line that says, "Apply a Gift Card." You will have to go through that for however many gift cards you need to use until the balance is paid in full. In my case I used gift cards until my balance was like $19 then paid that part on my credit card. Worked like a charm and Cheers shows in my Cruise Manager now!! :D

[jdemps]

I've had gift cards added to my account at check in on last two sailings. One gal didn't know how to do it but asked and they got it. I try to avoid the GS desk if at all possible.