gift card value exceeds my balance...

I used Carnival Gift cards from AARP to pay down my cruise balance. Now I owe just under $300 - but have $500 in gift cards still to use. Cruise Manager won't allow me to use the remaining cards to allow myself to finish with a credit balance to use onboard!

I called the (800) number for Carnival and the rep wouldn't accept the cards' entire balance, either. She suggested I pay the remainder on my credit card and use gift card to buy cruise cash (which would vanish if, for some reason, we were unable to cruise...correct?).

Is the best option to take the gift cards onboard to the kiosk and apply them to our account on sailing day?

Paying off some balance with a card and leaving less than $10 on a gift card just seems like it could turn out to be anything but cost-effective...if the card were to be lost or declined on such a small remaining balance.

I bought these cards to save 10% (less the shipping cost)...not get stung with an unusable balance. Your help is appreciated.

So say you have a balance of $80 and $100 gift card. Put $80 in the amount to pay. The remaining $20 will remain on the card. I do this all the time. You can then buy Cruise Cash or take the gift card it with to put on your account. Yes you would lose the CC if you didn't cruise. You can also use it to buy BB or something from the Fun Shops.

Have you already prepaid gratuities? If not, perhaps you could prepay the gratuities to bring the balance due up to the value of the cards on hand and have lower on board expenses later.

You can't overpay for your cruise. Use your gift card to pay your balance with $200 remaining on the card. Take the card with you and apply it to your S&S, use it to buy something from the Funshops, or purchase excursions.

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You can't overpay for your cruise. Use your gift card to pay your balance with $200 remaining on the card. Take the card with you and apply it to your S&S, use it to buy something from the Funshops, or purchase excursions.

 

 

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Exactly.

I did this just tonight with a Carnival representative. I owed $82 and had a $100 gift card. I now have a card with $18 that I will take with me on the cruise and apply via a kiosk to my S&S account.

I used Carnival Gift cards from AARP to pay down my cruise balance. Now I owe just under $300 - but have $500 in gift cards still to use. Cruise Manager won't allow me to use the remaining cards to allow myself to finish with a credit balance to use onboard!

 

 

Is the best option to take the gift cards onboard to the kiosk and apply them to our account on sailing day?

You answered your own question. Pay off the cruise and take the cards with you. Or as ZoeyVictoria suggested prepay your gratuities then still take the cards onboard and have the balance added to your account. Do not do the cruise cash as there is NO advantage to that financially but there is RISK.

If you did electronic gift cards, can you type the numbers in at a kiosk onboard?

If you did electronic gift cards, can you type the numbers in at a kiosk onboard?

Yes

Our cabin, gratuities, shore excursions and spa have all been prepaid...thank you all for the response: I will pay the small remaining balance and take the gift cards onboard for the casino.

Our cabin, gratuities, shore excursions and spa have all been prepaid...thank you all for the response: I will pay the small remaining balance and take the gift cards onboard for the casino.

The gift cards can not be used directly in the casino for your player's bank. You would first need to apply them to your S&S account either at the GS desk or the S&S kiosk. You would then do a transfer from the S&S account right on the slot machines, which when done playing that machine can be uploaded to your player's bank. If you take your S&S card to the cage or the tables there is a 3% convenience charge to get cash or chips, though you can buy tournament entries and scratch off game cards direct from the cashier with no surcharge. Depending on the length of the sailing usually there is a $300 - $500 max per day limit on the transfer funds from your S&S card to the player's bank, this can be some times be overridden by e-mailing the OPC through their contact page at their website prior to boarding. Also remember to take a pull or 3 on the machine before downloading the transferred funds from machine to the player's bank, otherwise you may find that you've been cut off from this courtesy.