Cruise bar cash

[SCcruiser123]

We are going on a 14 day Journeys cruise next year. The cost of Cheers is way out of our budget for a 2 week cruise, but I heard about cruise bar cash. You can pre-purchase up to $500 per person in bar cash to use for bar drinks, coffee purchases, soda and water. This would be especially helpful if one person in the cabin wanted to drink and the other person did not.  Has anyone used this? It sounds like a good choice for us for this long trip, as we are not huge drinkers but like to pre-purchase amenities ahead of our trip. 

[Treyatl2006]

Just know that you cant get a refund of your unused cruise bar cash. So you have to use it up before the end of the trip.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Treyatl2006

[n6uqqq]

Better way to go is buy discounted Carnival gift cards through AARP or Allstate and then apply them to your sail and sign card. Cruise cash does not provide for any discount and is non refundable as mentioned above.

Edited November 2, 2018 by n6uqqq

[rmajor]

We did this and it was great.  You can use it on anything you buy AND you can download the surplus if any to a casino machine and cash it out and get the remaining money.... no need to wait for a check from Carnival..  It was a great way for us to stay on budget... we had our credit card for back up if needed..  

[eiloo]

3 hours ago, rmajor said:

We did this and it was great.  You can use it on anything you buy AND you can download the surplus if any to a casino machine and cash it out and get the remaining money.... no need to wait for a check from Carnival..  It was a great way for us to stay on budget... we had our credit card for back up if needed..  

Is there a fee to cash it out at the casino?

[louanne93]

9 minutes ago, eiloo said:

Is there a fee to cash it out at the casino?

No

[Joebucks]

Forego the cruise cash. Buy a bottle, and the rest a la carte

[pacruise804]

On 11/2/2018 at 2:29 PM, SCcruiser123 said:

We are going on a 14 day Journeys cruise next year. The cost of Cheers is way out of our budget for a 2 week cruise, but I heard about cruise bar cash. You can pre-purchase up to $500 per person in bar cash to use for bar drinks, coffee purchases, soda and water. This would be especially helpful if one person in the cabin wanted to drink and the other person did not.  Has anyone used this? It sounds like a good choice for us for this long trip, as we are not huge drinkers but like to pre-purchase amenities ahead of our trip. 

 

On 11/2/2018 at 3:40 PM, rmajor said:

We did this and it was great.  You can use it on anything you buy AND you can download the surplus if any to a casino machine and cash it out and get the remaining money.... no need to wait for a check from Carnival..  It was a great way for us to stay on budget... we had our credit card for back up if needed..  

Bar Cash is totally non-refundable but can be used for all beverage services*, including gratuities. Regular cruise cash (no bar or photo designation) can be used anywhere, including bars and the casino.  I think the limit is $500 per type per cabin, not per passenger. *I'm not sure if Bar Cash can be used for room service.

 

As previously mentioned, there is no savings component to cruise cash vs. paying as you go.  There is also no savings to purchasing Cheers - unless you will purchase more than the cost of Cheers.  You can get some savings by purchasing gift cards at a discount - either AARP or possibly through your grocery store for fuel perks.

 

I personally would just apply regular cash so I didn't have to worry about possibly not using all the funds (hard to imagine for 14 days 😉 ), but I also know people who would still struggle with spending the money vs. spending OBC (which is basically what Cruise Cash is).

 

Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide.