Prepaid amenities but not gratuity on HAL GC?

[Cruisin4now]

Feeling good about our upcoming cruise…I prepaid for thermal spa and laundry with AARP gift cards, but as many folks have noted prepaid crew appreciation is only possible via credit card. My feature/benefit of prepayment is a streamlined, less messy account statement.

Now I’ll need to apply my remaining gift card credits/balance with the front desk at some point on the cruise. Got it.
 

So if I’m understanding this correctly, my crew appreciation onboard will now pull first from OBC and then to gift card, then to credit card.

 

Perhaps it doesn’t matter, but can anyone enlighten me as to why HAL’s wouldn't let us use the gift card up front for crew gratuity?  
 

 

[Lido deck main]

15 minutes ago, Cruisin4now said:

Feeling good about our upcoming cruise…I prepaid for thermal spa and laundry with AARP gift cards, but as many folks have noted prepaid crew appreciation is only possible via credit card. My feature/benefit of prepayment is a streamlined, less messy account statement.

Now I’ll need to apply my remaining gift card credits/balance with the front desk at some point on the cruise. Got it.
 

So if I’m understanding this correctly, my crew appreciation onboard will now pull first from OBC and then to gift card, then to credit card.

 

Perhaps it doesn’t matter, but can anyone enlighten me as to why HAL’s wouldn't let us use the gift card up front for crew gratuity?  
 

 

Different answer

Edited August 16 by Lido deck main
Different answer

[richwmn]

1 hour ago, Cruisin4now said:

Now I’ll need to apply my remaining gift card credits/balance with the front desk at some point on the cruise. Got it.
 

So if I’m understanding this correctly, my crew appreciation onboard will now pull first from OBC and then to gift card, then to credit card.

When you apply your gift cards at the front desk it will become part of your refundable obc.

All charges you make, not just you crew appreciation, will decrease first any non-refundable obc, followed by refundable obc, then you will begin to accrue a balance that will be charged to your credit card at the end of the cruise. If you don't use up all the refundable obc, you can get it  back in cash or as a credit to the card on file.

 

[zelker]

On 8/16/2024 at 9:48 AM, richwmn said:

When you apply your gift cards at the front desk it will become part of your refundable obc.

All charges you make, not just you crew appreciation, will decrease first any non-refundable obc, followed by refundable obc, then you will begin to accrue a balance that will be charged to your credit card at the end of the cruise. If you don't use up all the refundable obc, you can get it  back in cash or as a credit to the card on file.

 

Hey, Rich!  Speaking of AARP gift cards, if I buy some before the cruise and have them applied to our onboard account, is there a limit to how much cash we can pull out to use for whatever (e.g., extra cash tips to crew, tour guides, etc.)?  If there's no limit, then thinking this is a way for us to avoid carrying a lot of cash while we're traveling to the ship.  Thx!  Barb

[richwmn]

48 minutes ago, zelker said:

Hey, Rich!  Speaking of AARP gift cards, if I buy some before the cruise and have them applied to our onboard account, is there a limit to how much cash we can pull out to use for whatever (e.g., extra cash tips to crew, tour guides, etc.)?  If there's no limit, then thinking this is a way for us to avoid carrying a lot of cash while we're traveling to the ship.  Thx!  Barb

Greetings from somewhere in the sky. 

The only time I get cash back is at the end of the trip. I don't know if there is a limit for cash withdrawals earlier or if there is a charge to do so. Sorry

[BermudaBound2014]

On 8/16/2024 at 10:21 AM, Cruisin4now said:

Feeling good about our upcoming cruise…I prepaid for thermal spa and laundry with AARP gift cards, but as many folks have noted prepaid crew appreciation is only possible via credit card. My feature/benefit of prepayment is a streamlined, less messy account statement.

Now I’ll need to apply my remaining gift card credits/balance with the front desk at some point on the cruise. Got it.
 

So if I’m understanding this correctly, my crew appreciation onboard will now pull first from OBC and then to gift card, then to credit card.

 

Perhaps it doesn’t matter, but can anyone enlighten me as to why HAL’s wouldn't let us use the gift card up front for crew gratuity?  
 

 

 

I was able to prepay my gratuities with a gift card by phoning into HAL last year. 

 

@zelker I wanted to withdraw cash from my OBC (much of which was created by gift cards) about a week before the end of the Tahiti voyage and was told it would take three days. Strange. I found a work-around with the casino. Just a FYI. YMMV

 

 

[Torquer]

Somewhat different question on using gift cards to pay for shore excursions.  We almost never use HAL shore excursions, but for our upcoming cruise we will be doing two of them where one of them is very expensive ($700 pp).  We already booked the shore excursions and paid for them via credit card.  Now suppose this fall/winter there is a sale where I can buy HAL gift cards for a discount.  Once we get on the ship, can I take the gift cards to the front desk or shore excursion desk, and use them to pay for the already booked shore excursions and have the money we prepaid refunded to our credit card?

[richwmn]

7 minutes ago, Torquer said:

Once we get on the ship, can I take the gift cards to the front desk or shore excursion desk, and use them to pay for the already booked shore excursions and have the money we prepaid refunded to our credit card?

Many people have said that prepaid shore excursions can be moved to OBC by the shore excursion staff.

I would apply the gift cards first so that the credit is available, then have the shore excursions moved. However, be aware that the refund will go to your on board account as refundable credit, not directly to your credit card. At the end of the cruise, any excess credit can then be refunded to your credit card.