Stupid Question....but (aarp e-gift cards)

My upcoming cruise is all paid for.

If I buy Carnival e-gift cards....thru aarp.....do I just bring the printouts to guest services and they apply them to my onboard account?

Can I also use them to purchase "gifts" or prepay tips?

I know the question is stupid, but I don't want to buy them if I can only apply them to payments for the actual cruise.

You can take the card numbers and PINs with you and apply them at GS. Or you can purchase OBC ahead of time (be sure to get Cruise Cash and not Bar or Photo Cash -- Cruise Cash can be used for anything onboard, but Bar and Photo Cash can only be used for those things, respectively).

You can use the AARP gift cards for ANYTHING Carnival. You can use them to pay your cruise balance if one is due, your gratuities, excursions, Cheers, casino spending, anything. I always pay off my cruise balance with them then take about $1,000 on board with me for spending. You can either preload them at the beginning of your trip and keep track of your spending and cash out at the end in the casino, or you can wait and just pay at the end of your sailing with them.

You can have gift card balance applied when you check in. Just ask. Better than having to wait in guest services line.

Just bring printout. You can apply to any balance including tips or to add cash to your casino credits.

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You can have gift card balance applied when you check in. Just ask. Better than having to wait in guest services line.

 

Just bring printout. You can apply to any balance including tips or to add cash to your casino credits.

 

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Thank you. I just purchased them and received them. I'm putting them with our passports so I won't forget!

Thank you. I just purchased them and received them. I'm putting them with our passports so I won't forget!

Remember, that if you put money on your account from gift cards, they will put any extra back on the card if you do not cash out in the casino the night before debark. While that might not sound like an issue, you will have no idea which card the put the money back on! Just smarter to cash out the night before.

Remember, that if you put money on your account from gift cards, they will put any extra back on the card if you do not cash out in the casino the night before debark. While that might not sound like an issue, you will have no idea which card the put the money back on! Just smarter to cash out the night before.

I was under the impression that Carnival gift cards cannot be reloaded. Thus you would receive a new gift card for the refund of unused funds.

Remember, that if you put money on your account from gift cards, they will put any extra back on the card if you do not cash out in the casino the night before debark. While that might not sound like an issue, you will have no idea which card the put the money back on! Just smarter to cash out the night before.

They do NOT put the money back on a gift card you have used. The gift cards are not reloadable.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but this answered half of my gift card question. Here's the other half - If I had a $500 gift card, could I split it between different peoples accounts?

I'm taking a group of Girl Scouts on a cruise and some of them have earned money selling cookies that they want to use on the cruise. I'm trying to come up with the easiest way to take money to apply to 10+ different accounts... Or if I can do it online ahead of time.

So you can cash out any remaining balance from a AARP Carnival gift card in the casino if you do not spend it all while on board? That is good to know.

What happens if you purchase the Carnival cash? If you do not use all of that balance, do you get it back in cash or do they give you a Carnival Cash gift card? Any idea on how that works??

Sorry to hijack this thread, but this answered half of my gift card question. Here's the other half - If I had a $500 gift card, could I split it between different peoples accounts?

 

I'm taking a group of Girl Scouts on a cruise and some of them have earned money selling cookies that they want to use on the cruise. I'm trying to come up with the easiest way to take money to apply to 10+ different accounts... Or if I can do it online ahead of time.

Take the $500 gift card and just apply $50 to each account. You can't do it ahead of time, but Carnival gift cards work the same as any other gift card. You can use none, some, or all.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but this answered half of my gift card question. Here's the other half - If I had a $500 gift card, could I split it between different peoples accounts?

So you can cash out any remaining balance from a AARP Carnival gift card in the casino if you do not spend it all while on board? That is good to know.

 

What happens if you purchase the Carnival cash? If you do not use all of that balance, do you get it back in cash or do they give you a Carnival Cash gift card? Any idea on how that works??

Cruise Cash in non-refundable. Any amount of Cruise Cash you don't use is forfeited at the end of the cruise.

Thank you for that info!! Important to know, been awhile since I cruised on Carnival and never had these options.

I'm pretty sure we purchased drink tickets on our very first cruise, they seems so funny to me today.

Awesome, thanks for the advice!

Just for clarification, at the end of the cruise, do they or do they not put leftover money back on the gift card? If not, what do they do?

Awesome, thanks for the advice!

Just for clarification, at the end of the cruise, do they or do they not put leftover money back on the gift card? If not, what do they do?

NO they do not put the money back on your gift card, they are not reloadable. If it is more than $10 they will forward you a new gift card or check (have seen both happen) in the mail. Less than $10 they donate to St. Jude (may be $5 not $10 can't remember exactly). It can be fast that you get it back... or sometimes it can take a while.

My best suggestion is to not put money on the account in advance, this is my personal opinion. I simply pay as I go and go down once or twice to guest service during the week and pay (once I go over $100... I will go down and give them $100 gift card as an example)... and then the last night I settle up whatever little bit is left with a gift card so it is only exactly what I owe (or if it is a small amount like $20 or something, I will just let it go to the credit card I have on file with them)

Remember, that if you put money on your account from gift cards, they will put any extra back on the card if you do not cash out in the casino the night before debark. While that might not sound like an issue, you will have no idea which card the put the money back on! Just smarter to cash out the night before.

They mailed me a new card. Fed ex. Like I got off the boat Sunday and it was here Tuesday.

NO they do not put the money back on your gift card, they are not reloadable. If it is more than $10 they will forward you a new gift card or check (have seen both happen) in the mail. Less than $10 they donate to St. Jude (may be $5 not $10 can't remember exactly). It can be fast that you get it back... or sometimes it can take a while.

 

My best suggestion is to not put money on the account in advance, this is my personal opinion. I simply pay as I go and go down once or twice to guest service during the week and pay (once I go over $100... I will go down and give them $100 gift card as an example)... and then the last night I settle up whatever little bit is left with a gift card so it is only exactly what I owe (or if it is a small amount like $20 or something, I will just let it go to the credit card I have on file with them)

That’s what I thought I was doing. The last night I owed like $74. I took a $100 gift card to guest services. Thought I’d have 26 left which I would dump on my next cruise. Went to do that and the balance was 0. They mailed me a new $26 gift card.

We bought $1600 of AARP for our 2 week Cheers package for $1440. We applied them on line from our home.

I think I've got it now - thanks for the advice!

That’s what I thought I was doing. The last night I owed like $74. I took a $100 gift card to guest services. Thought I’d have 26 left which I would dump on my next cruise. Went to do that and the balance was 0. They mailed me a new $26 gift card.

You have to be VERY Specific with them. They did this to me too. Was at like $86 and went down and told them I wanted to pay my balance and they just applied the full $100 - so instead of waiting to get my $14 back I just ordered an extra 2 drinks that night lol!

If you do not want them to apply the full amount on the gift card at any time you go down to pay you must SPECIFICALLY tell them to apply only $XXX amount and NOT the full amount. This is what I have done since then with no issue. Just be VERY clear as to the amount you want to pay.

Few things, I read that if you paid for your cruise with a CC, you can call carnival and they can apply the GC amounts and refund your CC. I have not done that so maybe call Carnival before you purchase the GCs to do this.

Also read if you have Cruise Cash on your SS card which I think you will lose if you don't spend it, you can sit at a slot machine, put it all in the slot machine, spin 1 time(not sure if this is required or not), then cash out and take that receipt to the Cashier to get the cash. Again I have not done this but read it on this site.

Awesome, thanks for the advice!

Just for clarification, at the end of the cruise, do they or do they not put leftover money back on the gift card? If not, what do they do?

Any unused amount at the end of the cruise will be refunded in the same form of payment that was used to make the initial deposit. If you used a credit/debit card, that will be credited. If you used cash, they'll mail you a check (if it's over $10), and if you used a gift card, you get it back as a (new) gift card.

They do NOT put the money back on a gift card you have used. The gift cards are not reloadable.

They sure did to ours. No new gift card was given to us, it was put back on the one it came from. This was two cruises ago and we have been very careful since. So, they may not do it now, but they sure did a few years ago.

I used them to pay for my cruise online and then bought water and cruise cash.

They sure did to ours. No new gift card was given to us, it was put back on the one it came from. This was two cruises ago and we have been very careful since. So, they may not do it now, but they sure did a few years ago.

Truth is, they are subject to refund money both ways. I've had my share of funds refunded BACK to the same card I used for cancelled excursions or unused funds with cards loaded onto my sign & sail account. I've also had a new card sent. Best advice is to always keep your gift cards regardless. Even if you get electronic cards, just print them out and keep them or save the emailed link until after the cruise is over. Most of the time a new card is sent, but Carnival absolutely has refunded the same card before. I've been buying them since 2015.