Cruise Cash Questions

[xowendyxo]

I want to purchase a couple hundred dollars of cruise cash before our cruise...I know we will spend at least that amount and I don't want a huge bill at the end of our cruise.

 

I just purchased some earlier and it seems like it is only a 'gift' type of option...like I had to send myself a bon voyage message, LOL. According to the site, we will not receive our cruise cash until we board (?) and also said the port charges were to be determined.

 

So...my questions....

 

• Where do the port charges come in? Am I going to have less cruise cash than I am thinking, or is my debit card going to be charged more than the purchase price?
  
• The cruise cash isn't applied to our sign and sail cards? Will we really get gift cards when we board?
  
• If we do end up getting gift cards, I assume that you just use the kiosk to apply them to your sign and sail account?
  

 

It seems to me that I bought some last year and it was applied to our sign and sail accounts like cash so they did not put a hold on our debit cards when we boarded. Have things changed?

 

Thanks!

[BroadwayGirl]

This is why I bought myself a Carnival E gift card and emailed it to myself. Can be used for on board spending or booking excursions or booking a cruise online. You also don't lose the balance if you don't spend it all. There were no taxes and fees on this...just whatever value i put on the card.

Edited February 28, 2014 by BroadwayGirl
spelling

[mld1950]

I buy the E-Gift Cards before all my cruises and it is a great way to prepay some of the charges before you sail.

[ccruisequeen]

I use gift cards. They can be applied at Guest services or the kiosks and unused portion is refunded in cash before checking out, through the casino, or in a gift card sent to use on another cruise. Cruise cash is unrefundable use it or lose it.

 

 

[Mira28]

Hi,

 

I'd like to know the answer to the OP's question too. I know cruise cash is not refundable. But when and how does it appear as a credit?

(I also know it's different from e gift cards.)

 

Thanks, if you can help with answers about cruise cash.

[daksimba]

Hi,

 

I'd like to know the answer to the OP's question too. I know cruise cash is not refundable. But when and how does it appear as a credit?

(I also know it's different from e gift cards.)

 

Thanks, if you can help with answers about cruise cash.

 

I'd also like to know if anyone has some insight, I bought enough cruise cash to prepay my husband and my cheers package but are unsure if it gets automatically credited when we board or what.

[tawaik]

On my last cruise, I set up a cruise cash account with the amount I wanted to spend on the ship. When I checked in, my cruise cash credit was on my account and I added more money to my account which went to a cash account.

 

The cruise cash account=Use all of the funds or Loose it all.

The cash account=Don't need it all? The difference will be refunded back to you in cash on the last night of your cruise.

 

If you use all of your funds in the cruise cash account and make a purchase that over that amount, the difference will be deducted from your cash account. Keep in mind that you can reload cash directly into the Kiosk.

[dbrucern]

Hi,

 

I'd like to know the answer to the OP's question too. I know cruise cash is not refundable. But when and how does it appear as a credit?

(I also know it's different from e gift cards.)

 

Thanks, if you can help with answers about cruise cash.

 

Make sure you print out your receipt when you buy cruise cash. It does not show up on any documents. When you go to your cabin a letter will be there saying you have cruise cash applied to on board credit.

Edited March 1, 2014 by dbrucern

[xowendyxo]

Thank you for all of the replies, they were very helpful.

Where do you purchase e-gift cards? I think that would be the way to go if I have time.

[xowendyxo]

On my last cruise, I set up a cruise cash account with the amount I wanted to spend on the ship. When I checked in, my cruise cash credit was on my account and I added more money to my account which went to a cash account.

 

The cruise cash account=Use all of the funds or Loose it all.

The cash account=Don't need it all? The difference will be refunded back to you in cash on the last night of your cruise.

 

If you use all of your funds in the cruise cash account and make a purchase that over that amount, the difference will be deducted from your cash account. Keep in mind that you can reload cash directly into the Kiosk.

 

That is what happened on our last cruise; it was available when we checked in. Now it seems that the gift card will be delivered to your room?

[cruizinisthebest]

Thank you for all of the replies, they were very helpful.

Where do you purchase e-gift cards? I think that would be the way to go if I have time.

 

carnivalgiftcards.com

[n6uqqq]

Cruise cash---- spend a dollar, get exactly one dollar to spend. What a bargain!

[Lerin]

Cruise cash---- spend a dollar, get exactly one dollar to spend. What a bargain!

It's not supposed to be a bargain, it's supposed to be convenient, which it is.

It's not much different from a gift card, cash or check. You get the money as you can afford it, then use it on the ship. Unlike other gift cards however, it's use it or lose it. So don't buy more than you think you may spend.

 

We had about $50 of Cruise Cash on our last trip and it was nice to have.

We ordered it as a gift to ourselves a few months prior.

Didn't check our account until day 2 onboard. We had only ordered 3 drinks at that time, but it was nice to see that we didn't yet owe 1 penny.

By the end of the cruise we did have a bill, but it was $50 less!

[n6uqqq]

It's not supposed to be a bargain, it's supposed to be convenient, which it is.

It's not much different from a gift card, cash or check. You get the money as you can afford it, then use it on the ship. Unlike other gift cards however, it's use it or lose it. So don't buy more than you think you may spend.

 

We had about $50 of Cruise Cash on our last trip and it was nice to have.

We ordered it as a gift to ourselves a few months prior.

Didn't check our account until day 2 onboard. We had only ordered 3 drinks at that time, but it was nice to see that we didn't yet owe 1 penny.

By the end of the cruise we did have a bill, but it was $50 less!

 

Coffee cans can be convenient too. You get some money, you stick it in. You get more, you stick more in. You check in for cruise and add said money to your sail and sign account. Same thing accomplished while keeping the money in your own possession until the cruise. It's whatever works best for each person. I am happy to keep my money until the cruise. I don't pay my cable bill 6 months in advance or my gratuities :). Each to their own is what I believe. You will never find me in the casino trying to rescue my money from cruise cash extinction ;). If you are getting someone else cruising a gift then the cruise cash or gift certificate makes sense to me.

Edited March 1, 2014 by n6uqqq

[305diva]

I want to purchase a couple hundred dollars of cruise cash before our cruise...I know we will spend at least that amount and I don't want a huge bill at the end of our cruise.

 

I just purchased some earlier and it seems like it is only a 'gift' type of option...like I had to send myself a bon voyage message, LOL. According to the site, we will not receive our cruise cash until we board (?) and also said the port charges were to be determined.

 

So...my questions....

 

• Where do the port charges come in? Am I going to have less cruise cash than I am thinking, or is my debit card going to be charged more than the purchase price?
  
• The cruise cash isn't applied to our sign and sail cards? Will we really get gift cards when we board?
  
• If we do end up getting gift cards, I assume that you just use the kiosk to apply them tjuo your sign and sail account?
  

 

It seems to me that I bought some last year and it was applied to our sign and sail accounts like cash so they did not put a hold on our debit cards when we boarded. Have things changed?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

There are NO port charges. The total amount of cruise cash purchased will be available on ur S&S account when u board.

[ATHENA3]

Why would anyone give the cruise lines money in advance to hold for you? :confused:

Except giving someone a gift. And for them to tell you it’s nonrefundable!!

This is free money for them, they love it and :)laughing:) all the way to the bank. Put the money in the bank and get some interest on your money until you need it.

I just put down a credit card and say it is what it is.

I know some don't have credit cards and most banks will give cards out on your savings that you need.

[cruizinisthebest]

I have credit cards, but there's no way I'm going to pile up every vacation expense on any one of them. I've been buying Carnival gift cards every other week or so to save up for my onboard spending. Our vacation spending money otherwise is being tucked away in a money market account. This is the way I like to do it. Don't see the point in cruise cash, because you can only use it for that one sailing with no refunds. Heaven forbid you have to change sail dates or ships, you're out of luck with cruise cash. Not a chance I'm willing to take although I don't see anything wrong with saving up a little at a time for expenses. Just not in a non refundable way. But to each his or her own.

Edited March 1, 2014 by cruizinisthebest

[deborahjo]

We bought $850 in gift cards before our last cruise. We applied the funds as needed. At the end of the cruise we made sure all the gift cards were applied to our account. We then took out the balance left over on the last night. No problem.

[tlbutler33]

Why would anyone give the cruise lines money in advance to hold for you? :confused:

Except giving someone a gift. And for them to tell you it’s nonrefundable!!

This is free money for them, they love it and :)laughing:) all the way to the bank. Put the money in the bank and get some interest on your money until you need it.

I just put down a credit card and say it is what it is.

I know some don't have credit cards and most banks will give cards out on your savings that you need.

 

 

 

Why would anyone take a loan from a credit card company and pay back interest to them, only to have that rate change whenever the company wants more of your money????:confused:

 

Man, people get sooo self-righteous about this subject. Let people spend their money how they want. And the whole, put it in a bank account and collect interest is the funniest thing I can think of. Please, if anyone knows where I can get a rate of return that is better than the interest rate of a credit card, let me know.

 

I love being able to put money down on my vacation bill monthly, and step on board knowing I have most of my expenses for the week paid for already.

[rccranbob]

My last cruise in November we had bought cruise cash which was available as soon as we boarded, and we actually received a partial refund of Port Charges $60.00 for the 4 of us. They told us the port fees had gone down, nice surprise!

[n6uqqq]

Why would anyone take a loan from a credit card company and pay back interest to them, only to have that rate change whenever the company wants more of your money????:confused:

 

Man, people get sooo self-righteous about this subject. Let people spend their money how they want. And the whole, put it in a bank account and collect interest is the funniest thing I can think of. Please, if anyone knows where I can get a rate of return that is better than the interest rate of a credit card, let me know.

 

I love being able to put money down on my vacation bill monthly, and step on board knowing I have most of my expenses for the week paid for already.

 

I will let you in on a well kept secret. If you charge your sail and sign on a credit card and then pay your balance off by the due date you will pay zero in interest charges. Yes, that means you can have free use of their money for up to 30 days. Better yet, use a reward card and make some money. My card gives back 2% for travel so if my cruise costs 2700 dollars plus say another 1000 in onboard expenses that is 3700 dollars X 2 percent yields me a tidy 74 dollars for doing nothing more than using my plastic. That beats the pants off cruise cash and gift cards ;).

[Mira28]

Not everyone has credit cards that have such benefits.

Some have (or want) to save money over time for onboard expenses, and cruise cash or gift cards may be good ways to do this. I just want to be fully informed about the options and then decide for myself. It's simple really.

[cruizinisthebest]

I will let you in on a well kept secret. If you charge your sail and sign on a credit card and then pay your balance off by the due date you will pay zero in interest charges. Yes, that means you can have free use of their money for up to 30 days. Better yet, use a reward card and make some money. My card gives back 2% for travel so if my cruise costs 2700 dollars plus say another 1000 in onboard expenses that is 3700 dollars X 2 percent yields me a tidy 74 dollars for doing nothing more than using my plastic. That beats the pants off cruise cash and gift cards ;).

 

Good for you. Some people choose to do it other ways. Last I checked it's up to the individual how they choose to spend their own money.

[n6uqqq]

Good for you. Some people choose to do it other ways. Last I checked it's up to the individual how they choose to spend their own money.

 

You are 100 percent correct. I was only offering alternatives. We are allowed to spend our money any way we want except for healthcare now!

[Mira28]

One (of the many) things I love about cruising is the chance to get away, if only for a short time, from the tensions and stresses of daily life. Too bad anything political has to be inserted here, as this is supposed to be a forum about something we all find enjoyable: cruising!