Gift cards vs Cruise Cash - Which will be used first?

[Krazyhardrocker]

I have Cruise Bar Cash, Cruise Photo Cash, OBC and a gift card that I will be applying once we board our next cruise? Will the Cruise Cash (for applicable bar and photo purchases) and the OBC be used first before charges start coming off of the amount in the Sign & Sail account that was from the applied gift card? What happens if there is some money left over from the gift card at the end of the cruise?:ship::ship::ship:

[CirrusPilot]

Yes. Cruise cash will be used first.

Wife and I just did this on the Splemdor to Cabo in June.

We had the cabin limit in cruise cash and another 3K from gift cards I had purchased over the course of a year leading up to the cruise.

No muss no fuss

 

 

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[Krazyhardrocker]

Yes. Cruise cash will be used first.

Wife and I just did this on the Splemdor to Cabo in June.

We had the cabin limit in cruise cash and another 3K from gift cards I had purchased over the course of a year leading up to the cruise.

No muss no fuss

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Wow! I wish I had that much. You are quite the planner!

[CirrusPilot]

Wow! I wish I had that much. You are quite the planner!

 

 

 

Thanks. Yea I wanted to be able to just have fun and not worry about what was being spent so I started squirreling away money in gift card form a full year ahead of time. By the time the date to go arrives we had amassed a decent amount.

I actually won back our expenses on board in the casino too and quit while I was ahead.

We now have a decent amount already squirreled away for the next cruise in the spring. [emoji106]

 

 

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[Krazyhardrocker]

Thanks. Yea I wanted to be able to just have fun and not worry about what was being spent so I started squirreling away money in gift card form a full year ahead of time. By the time the date to go arrives we had amassed a decent amount.

I actually won back our expenses on board in the casino too and quit while I was ahead.

We now have a decent amount already squirreled away for the next cruise in the spring. [emoji106]

 

 

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Wow, I think you are my new personal hero. Did you have any credit from one of the gift cards left on your account at the end of the cruise? If so, do they refund what is left in your account or does it go back on the gift card?

[CirrusPilot]

Wow, I think you are my new personal hero. Did you have any credit from one of the gift cards left on your account at the end of the cruise? If so, do they refund what is left in your account or does it go back on the gift card?

 

 

 

Yep. We had a lot of the gift card funds left at the end of the cruise. I had it put back into a gift card and we will be using it together with savings yet to come in the spring. [emoji106]

 

 

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[bury me at sea]

Wow, I think you are my new personal hero. Did you have any credit from one of the gift cards left on your account at the end of the cruise? If so, do they refund what is left in your account or does it go back on the gift card?

 

We start with cruise cash, backed by a credit card we have no intention of using.

 

The last evening we visit Guest Services, apply enough gift cards to cover the balance after cruise cash was depleted, and leave the ship debt free. Works well for us.

[CirrusPilot]

We start with cruise cash, backed by a credit card we have no intention of using.

 

 

 

The last evening we visit Guest Services, apply enough gift cards to cover the balance after cruise cash was depleted, and leave the ship debt free. Works well for us.

 

 

 

Exactly! Between cruise cash and gift cards it’s super easy to regulate your onboard spending. I haven’t used an actual credit card on board a carnival cruise in years.

Some times we have lots of money to spend and other times we are on a tighter budget. It works great for us. [emoji106]

 

 

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[maryred]

... What happens if there is some money left over from the gift card at the end of the cruise?:ship::ship::ship:

There are some caveats about getting your funds back on a new gift card ...

If you let Carnival close the account out there must be at least $10 left on the S&S account, if under the funds are donated to Saint Jude's Children Cancer Research Hospital. For accounts with more than $10 of GC credit left a new card will be mailed 3-10 business days after the cruise to the address on file for that passenger.

An alternative, for balances under $10, is to manually close out the S&S account the last night on board prior to midnight. The small amount of cash could be refunded at Guest Services. The other alternative is when a large amount is left is to use the casino trick* to "withdraw" funds from your S&S account.

 

*Casino trick... go to a slot machine, create a player's account, download the current available amount to the machine (whole dollars only). Play a few spins, download the credits to your player's bank, visit the casino cashier to close out the casino account. They will give you cash.

[Krazyhardrocker]

There are some caveats about getting your funds back on a new gift card ...

If you let Carnival close the account out there must be at least $10 left on the S&S account, if under the funds are donated to Saint Jude's Children Cancer Research Hospital. For accounts with more than $10 of GC credit left a new card will be mailed 3-10 business days after the cruise to the address on file for that passenger.

An alternative, for balances under $10, is to manually close out the S&S account the last night on board prior to midnight. The small amount of cash could be refunded at Guest Services. The other alternative is when a large amount is left is to use the casino trick* to "withdraw" funds from your S&S account.

 

*Casino trick... go to a slot machine, create a player's account, download the current available amount to the machine (whole dollars only). Play a few spins, download the credits to your player's bank, visit the casino cashier to close out the casino account. They will give you cash.

 

Good information. Thanks for sharing!

[pacruise804]

I have Cruise Bar Cash, Cruise Photo Cash, OBC and a gift card that I will be applying once we board our next cruise? Will the Cruise Cash (for applicable bar and photo purchases) and the OBC be used first before charges start coming off of the amount in the Sign & Sail account that was from the applied gift card? What happens if there is some money left over from the gift card at the end of the cruise?:ship::ship::ship:

 

I would not apply the gift card until you need it. Here is how it should work:

• Bar service purchases (including tips to servers) will first go against Cruise Bar Cash until it is depleted. Any excess will go against OBC. Any unused Cruise Cash will be forfeit.
  
• Photo department purchases (not positive if there is anything other than pictures) will work the same way.
  
• Any other expenses (including daily service charges/gratuities if not pre-paid) will go against OBC
  
• Once all OBC is used charges will apply to payment method on file. If you see yourself going through the OBC you can apply any or all of your gift card to your account.
  

If there is a credit balance in excess of $10 on your account (Carnival owes you money) and you have refundable OBC it should be returned to original form of payment (if gift card, returned to a new gift card). Less than $10 will be donated to St. Jude (not sure if in your name for tax purposes). Non-refundable OBC would obviously not be refunded but can be used at the casino.

 

 

If you didn't apply the gift card or only applied part of it, you will have the balance remaining on that card to use on a future Carnival cruise (or purchase gifts for someone else's cruise).

 

 

Any unused funds that were applied to the account from a gift card will be returned to you on a new gift card. When I returned with a balance on a Sunday I received a FedEx delivery two mornings later (Tuesday), so quick turn around. If you don't think you will use Carnival again, you would want to use the casino slot machines a few times to cash out the money.

[Krazyhardrocker]

I would not apply the gift card until you need it. Here is how it should work:

• Bar service purchases (including tips to servers) will first go against Cruise Bar Cash until it is depleted. Any excess will go against OBC. Any unused Cruise Cash will be forfeit.
  
• Photo department purchases (not positive if there is anything other than pictures) will work the same way.
  
• Any other expenses (including daily service charges/gratuities if not pre-paid) will go against OBC
  
• Once all OBC is used charges will apply to payment method on file. If you see yourself going through the OBC you can apply any or all of your gift card to your account.
  

If there is a credit balance in excess of $10 on your account (Carnival owes you money) and you have refundable OBC it should be returned to original form of payment (if gift card, returned to a new gift card). Less than $10 will be donated to St. Jude (not sure if in your name for tax purposes). Non-refundable OBC would obviously not be refunded but can be used at the casino.

 

 

If you didn't apply the gift card or only applied part of it, you will have the balance remaining on that card to use on a future Carnival cruise (or purchase gifts for someone else's cruise).

 

 

Any unused funds that were applied to the account from a gift card will be returned to you on a new gift card. When I returned with a balance on a Sunday I received a FedEx delivery two mornings later (Tuesday), so quick turn around. If you don't think you will use Carnival again, you would want to use the casino slot machines a few times to cash out the money.

 

Lots of good information, especially regarding the refund turn around (I was wondering about that too). Thanks!