Cruise paid for...now what to do with the extra on the gift cards?

[Buckimion]

I have $700 in gift cards on the way with a balance of $485-ish on our cruise. :D What else can I pay in advance?

 

I booked through special needs so I don't have a dedicated PVP to deal with.

 

Paying the wife's Bubbles, tips and then anything toward S&S would be preferred, but I'm not sure how to do that without having to hold everything until embarkation.

[cmukid87]

Things from the funshops....excursions...

 

That's about it precruise.

[Schoifmom]

I have $700 in gift cards on the way with a balance of $485-ish on our cruise. :D What else can I pay in advance?

 

I booked through special needs so I don't have a dedicated PVP to deal with.

 

Paying the wife's Bubbles, tips and then anything toward S&S would be preferred, but I'm not sure how to do that without having to hold everything until embarkation.

 

Pre-cruise, you can prepay gratuities and excursions. Gift cards can't be used for Fun Shops purchases (including BB).

 

You can hold onto the gift cards and apply them to your sign and sail when you board.

[tea4ular]

Just DO NOT throw away the cards themselves, as I have heard that if there is any $ remaining at the end of your trip the remainder will be placed back on to the original card(s) -

 

I've never done the "get cash from them at the casino" that I've read so much about, but a quick search can bring up the "how to" -

[Schoifmom]

Just DO NOT throw away the cards themselves, as I have heard that if there is any $ remaining at the end of your trip the remainder will be placed back on to the original card(s) -

 

I've never done the "get cash from them at the casino" that I've read so much about, but a quick search can bring up the "how to" -

 

These cards are NOT reloadable. That means that anything remaining at the end of the cruise will be sent to you on a NEW gift card. Some people have reported getting checks. Personally, I use the casino trick to get my money back.

[Saint Greg]

Pre-cruise, you can prepay gratuities and excursions. Gift cards can't be used for Fun Shops purchases (including BB).

 

You can hold onto the gift cards and apply them to your sign and sail when you board.

 

So I guess that means no cheers? pre-cruise or during cruise? Can they be used for internet or gratuity? I need to figure out how many gift cards i need to buy the next time they go on sale. :)

[Drazil65]

They did not return the funds left over on our cruise this past January to our gift cards (cannot reload). We always go to GS the night before disembark and cash in any credit balance on our S&S acct. They give us cash, if you don't want the cash in hand then they will mail a check for the credit balance to your home address.

[Schoifmom]

So I guess that means no cheers? pre-cruise or during cruise? Can they be used for internet or gratuity? I need to figure out how many gift cards i need to buy the next time they go on sale. :)

 

You can use it to purchase Cheers on board, but not prior to sailing. Once you load the gift cards to your onboard account, they can be used for anything that you use your sign and sail card for.

[Saint Greg]

You can use it to purchase Cheers on board, but not prior to sailing. Once you load the gift cards to your onboard account, they can be used for anything that you use your sign and sail card for.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[deborahjo]

We add our gift cards to our account. Then we just take money off as we want cash. Plus we use for casino, excursions, drinks and in the shops.

 

Money is not put back onto and of the cards. Cannot be done.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

I don't understand the "gift card" frenzy....if you can buy a card cheaper than it's value...that's great...but if you buy more than you need....not a great idea! Cash is king...buy what you need, but no more than that. Use cash for the rest, if you can't handle a credit card!

[Saint Greg]

I don't understand the "gift card" frenzy....if you can buy a card cheaper than it's value...that's great...but if you buy more than you need....not a great idea! Cash is king...buy what you need, but no more than that. Use cash for the rest, if you can't handle a credit card!

 

I'm trying to figure out how much I need so I don't buy too many cards. But if I did I would probably just use the extra cards on a cruise in February. If I left $85 in savings I don't think it would make $15 in interest between now and then.

[2cool4school]

I don't understand the "gift card" frenzy....if you can buy a card cheaper than it's value...that's great...but if you buy more than you need....not a great idea! Cash is king...buy what you need, but no more than that. Use cash for the rest, if you can't handle a credit card!

 

Paid $450 for a $500 gift card, applied it to S&S card on ship, used what I wanted onboard and got over $100 cash back when the cruise ended . . . that cash was king!

[Buckimion]

I don't understand the "gift card" frenzy....if you can buy a card cheaper than it's value...that's great...

 

Paid $450 for a $500 gift card, applied it to S&S card on ship, used what I wanted onboard and got over $100 cash back when the cruise ended . . . that cash was king!

 

Give the man a kewpie doll. An extra 10%+ on (AARP) gift cards beats rewards cash on my card. (Actually, that's in addition to rewards cash now that I think about it.)

 

I've noted down the cash out procedure for the casino so that shouldn't be a problem. And now that I'm thinking about it, some more bonus cash from gift cards "withdrawn" for port spending sounds good. :cool:

Edited June 3, 2016 by Buckimion
note

[Schoifmom]

I don't understand the "gift card" frenzy....if you can buy a card cheaper than it's value...that's great...but if you buy more than you need....not a great idea! Cash is king...buy what you need, but no more than that. Use cash for the rest, if you can't handle a credit card!

 

Seriously? If I was to give you $500 and you only had to give me $450, wouldn't you do it? Basically, that is what is happening. We use the gift cards to pay for our cruises, put them on our S&S accounts, and take out whatever is left over in cash. Cash IS king!

[mairinmaureen]

If I was to give you $500 and you only had to give me $450, wouldn't you do it?

 

Yes! Where do you find these gift cards for sale?

[Buckimion]

Yes! Where do you find these gift cards for sale?

 

AARP for me. I think Verizon also has them occasionally. Once in a blue moon, a sale pops up on Ebay or other places, that's very rare.

 

Note that AARP and Verizon usually sell out their periodic allotments quickly. You just have to catch them at the right time.

[pcvtmom]

I've purchased all of mine with Verizon. There are threads on here that update when they're available, but you've got to be quick! Still...I've saved hundreds over the past few years.

[Dixie24]

I have about $2000 extra in gift cards than I will need for onboard spending. Why did I buy so much extra? Because where else can I get 10% guaranteed return on my money? I am just going to cash them out in casino at end of cruise and make 10%!

[Galatz]

I don't understand the "gift card" frenzy....if you can buy a card cheaper than it's value...that's great...but if you buy more than you need....not a great idea! Cash is king...buy what you need, but no more than that. Use cash for the rest, if you can't handle a credit card!

 

Its very simple to understand. I just paid $85 for my $100 gift card. Lets say I apply $500 but use $400, and they give me $100 back. Well I just made $15 profit, in cash. You wouldn't want to make an easy $15 with no risk, for 30 seconds of time?

[NewAddict]

If you still haven't found out what you'll do with them, I'll email you my mailing address.

[2cool4school]

Yes! Where do you find these gift cards for sale?

 

I get mine through Verizon Rewards. They come in $100 or $500 denominations and sell out quickly.

[Sue Do-Over]

5/3 Bank (Cincinnati region) has Carnival gift cards in their reward program. We stumbled across them recently, and got $1,850 in cards that didn't cost us a DIME.

 

Family business checking account racked up points for years that we didn't even know about.

[janjan3839]

I buy mine through Citi Bank rewards. A 10% savings on my cruise, tips sign and sail is a no brainer for me. There is no charge for shipping. They are not available all the time, but I can get what I need, and spread out paying for the cruise. The last cruise I had $27 left on my account. I got a check in the mail the week after we returned.

[Buckimion]

If you still haven't found out what you'll do with them, I'll email you my mailing address.

 

Lol!

 

Things got a little sidetracked. Is there a LINK to pay tips or S&S in advance? I don't see it in my cruise manager.