Questions about Carnival FTTF and Shore Excursions

[jlynchtx]

Hi, we have our first cruise booked and almost paid for already coming up in December. I was able to pay for a lot of it by using discounted carnival gift cards and even the recent AMEX offer, so I saved a few hundred dollars. A have a couple questions for if somebody could kindly help out...

 

1. The FTTF shows sold out..Is it already sold out, or is just not for sale yet? Cruise is on Dec 14th of this year. 

 

2. I paid for a lot of the cruise using discounted carnival gift cards. I just figured even if the cruise got cancelled for some reason, I could move the money to another cruise. I noticed that I can even pay for shore excursions and several other things using carnival gift cards directly on Carnivals website. My question is, Is there any disadvantage to doing this? What happens if the shore excursions gets cancelled (by me or them). Do I get my money back in the form of a carnival gift card? Do I need to save all these gift cards? I want to save money, but I’m just trying to figure out if it's wise to pay for EVERYTHING on a carnival gift card... I don't want to end up getting several refunds and end up with a ton of carnival gift cards. I guess in the unlikely event this happens, I could always sell them if I needed to or save them for another cruise.... Do you usually pay for shore excursions with gift cards also?

 

3. It doesn't look like there is a way to pre-pay for gratuities using carnival gift cards, or am I just missing something? 

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[JaxsMama]

FTTF is sold out if that's what it says. Keep checking back daily, especially when payment is due and also online check in day. You will get any refunds in the form you paid, so they will send you new gift cards in your case. You can take the cards with you and add to your s&s account to cover grats and other purchases on board. You can also go to manage your booking, then booking and order details and scroll down to the bottom. It should say get ready for your cruise and there is a red button that says prepay gratuities. 

[mdsgu]

1.  FTTF may be sold out already.  It usually sells out pretty quickly.  Watch for it again though closer to the final payment date.  There will always be a few people who cancel who may have bought FTTF, and, if you see it, buy it immediately.

 

2.  If you need a refund for whatever reason, it is usually made back to the original form of payment.  CC goes back to a CC.  If you used a gift card, I think they send you a new one.

 

3.  Call Carnival directly (or your TA or your PVP) to apply GCs to your gratuities.  Or just wait and have the GCs applied to your Sign & Sail account when you board.  Since your gratuities, if not pre-paid, will be billed to your S&S account, you can do it that way.

[Schoifmom]

Please refer to my answer to the same question in the General Cruise Questions forum 🙂 

[teknoge3k]

1. December is almost "last minuite" from now, in terms of cruising. FTTF for your sailing probably sold out December 2018 or shortly after. That doesn't mean another 2 or 3 slots won't open between now and then. You could get lucky.

 

2. They will refund you with a new gift card, or original method of payment.

 

3. Add prepaid gratuities onto your cruise fare. When you're making payment, you'll just be paying on it all together. If you're already paid in full, then just call Carnival or if you used a TA for some reason, you can call them to pay for the gratuities with the gift cards. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[DukeASUGirl]

When there was a price drop in my shore excursion (I booked 1 day before a flash sale so they honored it), they gave me the difference in gift cards, which I then applied to my account onboard.

 

When they cancelled my previously booked and paid-for shore excursion (was paid for by discounted gift cards) on board due to the kayak vendor not renewing their insurance timely, they gave the refund back to my credit card on file. This was onboard the ship at the time.

[Purvis1231]

If you cancel an excursion paid with a Carnival gift card- they mail you a new gift card. If you are paying the tip separate from your booking, call Carnival and they will handle this. 

Enjoy!