Refund that's not really a refund

So, you are upset they refunded you the same type of funds you paid with...??? [emoji849][emoji849]

Maybe I'm confused... or you are over-expecting!!!

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I think that whenever you pay for anything with a gift card, if it is cancelled or if you cancel it, it is returned as a gift card. That was your method of payment, and it was return in your method of payment. You chose to do that to get a 10% discount. Why should Carnival have to cover your 10% discount?

The OP did not get 10% discount. Where did you read this?:confused:

Bill

This is a customer expectation failure, not a customer service failure.

Why would they give you money back on a credit card when you paid with gift cards? Stores, like Target, refund back to the original form of payment.

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I have a separate question here. How long did it take them to get you the gift card? I had the same thing happen to me. I used gift cards for the whole purchase and I am anxiously waiting....The cancellation letter said up to 3 weeks. I don't like the thought of a gift card worth so much being shipped to me.

S.O.P. pretty much anywhere that has gift cards. You got exactly what you were supposed to get.

I think that whenever you pay for anything with a gift card, if it is cancelled or if you cancel it, it is returned as a gift card. That was your method of payment, and it was return in your method of payment. You chose to do that to get a 10% discount. Why should Carnival have to cover your 10% discount?

The OP did not get 10% discount. Where did you read this?:confused:

 

Bill

I believe that what the statement was referring to is that many of us buy Verizon or AARP Carnival gift cards that offer a 10% discount when purchasing (buy a $100 GC for $90). If Carnival refunded the gift cards to a credit card then the OP would get back 10% more than he paid.

OP has already stated that they did not get the 10% off. However, the ability to get that is a big part of a reason that policy exists. Say you buy $2000 in gift cards at $1,800, you book a cruise, cancel, and get $2,000 back on your credit card. Instant $200 profit. Can repeat as often as you like. You never even have to take a cruise.

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You're going on another cruise? That's important new information! Just apply all of those gift cards to your S&S account. Use the casino trick to cash them out. Problem solved :)

No, we dont have another cruise booked/planned...that was the problem..having to wait until we cruised again to use them and now having to cruise with Carnival instead of maybe trying another cruise line which have been wanting to do. It is what it is. I didn't bother to check the website for information as i relied on my PVP to make sure i was completely informed.

What is the casino trick?

I have a separate question here. How long did it take them to get you the gift card? I had the same thing happen to me. I used gift cards for the whole purchase and I am anxiously waiting....The cancellation letter said up to 3 weeks. I don't like the thought of a gift card worth so much being shipped to me.

It took longer than 3 weeks...maybe 4 or 5.

I never said i wanted the money back on my credit card. I would've liked Carnival to send me a check. This was not a cruise I cancelled...which if i did i would not expect them to refund me (unless i bought insurance). This was a cruise that Carnival cancelled, so instead of having to get money back on a gift card that can only be used for Carnival, i was hoping to get an actual refund so that i was not out the money i spent for the cancelled cruise. Again, had i known of the policy, i would not have bought the cards and used them for payment...just in case the unexpected happens and the cruise is cancelled. I spoke to my PVP about using the gift cards and how to use them and was never once told about this policy ...i guess unless you know the questions you need to ask, you don't ask the questions you need to ask. I am not looking for something for free. I was simply putting this out there to see if anyone else experienced the same thing and maybe had some advice or information i could use....i guess i should've know there would be people to get snippy or uppity and have attitudes w/me. I usually only post whenever I have information i can provide or whenever I have a question. And...i usually search all over b/4 i ask the question...for the very reason that people tend to jump you on CC.

We didnt get the gift cards at a discount..not really. We purchased them at Kroger which allowed us extra fuel points, which saved us money in gas. They did not save me enough to ever do this again. I have learned my lesson. If we had been told/advised by our PVP to use the value of our balance toward the new offer (4 day cruise for port fees, taxes, and surcharges) then MAYBE any left over onboard credit would've been sent to us in the form of a check....BUT we were not advised. Due to the different forms of payments and the short notice of the next cruise we just gave her a credit card for the new amount and patiently waited for our 'refund'. Had i been aware that the refund would not come as a check but in another gift card, i would've done it differently. Lesson learned, i guess.

As of right now, we are not sure what we are going to do, but selling them sounds like it might be an option...i hadnt thought of that. Thx

Sorry ... the highlighted made me think you had something booked.

No, we dont have another cruise booked/planned...that was the problem..having to wait until we cruised again to use them and now having to cruise with Carnival instead of maybe trying another cruise line which have been wanting to do. It is what it is. I didn't bother to check the website for information as i relied on my PVP to make sure i was completely informed.

 

What is the casino trick?

You can put the gift cards on your S&S account. Then go to the casino and load your player's bank (at a slot machine) with the same amount. Spin a round or two (maybe win ;)). Go to the cashier's cage and cash out your player's bank.

No, we dont have another cruise booked/planned...that was the problem..having to wait until we cruised again to use them and now having to cruise with Carnival instead of maybe trying another cruise line which have been wanting to do. It is what it is. I didn't bother to check the website for information as i relied on my PVP to make sure i was completely informed.

 

 

 

What is the casino trick?

You said that you have another cruise planned which you put on your credit card because you believed you would be getting a 'cash' refund (whether it came by check or on your credit card is immaterial). The suggestions are to 1. Call and explain the situation and see if you can use the gift cards for the balance of this cruise and have the credit card charge refunded or 2. Use the gift cards to load up your on board account and cash the account out at the casino.

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We didnt get the gift cards at a discount..not really. We purchased them at Kroger which allowed us extra fuel points, which saved us money in gas. They did not save me enough to ever do this again. I have learned my lesson. If we had been told/advised by our PVP to use the value of our balance toward the new offer (4 day cruise for port fees, taxes, and surcharges) then MAYBE any left over onboard credit would've been sent to us in the form of a check....BUT we were not advised. Due to the different forms of payments and the short notice of the next cruise we just gave her a credit card for the new amount and patiently waited for our 'refund'. Had i been aware that the refund would not come as a check but in another gift card, i would've done it differently. Lesson learned, i guess.

As of right now, we are not sure what we are going to do, but selling them sounds like it might be an option...i hadnt thought of that. Thx

You have been a member here over 7 years. Seems reasonable that if you follow Cruise Critic, you would have previously read (before you decided to use the gift cards during hurricane season) that in the event your cruise was cancelled, Carnival issues all refunds to the original method of payment. That bit of refund wisdom is commonly mentioned frequently.

Sounds like your desire for $1.00 off a gallon on a few tanks of gas overpowered your common sense. You got your fair refund.

The OP did not get 10% discount. Where did you read this?:confused:

 

Bill

Every Carnival Gift Card I have ever purchased and used were bought in places that had a 10% discount (Verizon, AARP, etc). You actually paid $450 for a $500 card. Why would you buy a gift card for yourself if it didn't have some sort of benefit? And how would you know if someone gave you a gift card that it wasn't bought with a discount price. My point was if Carnival credits the refund back to your credit card, you would be getting $500 for something you paid $450 for.

I got my refund from our cancelled Fascination cruise today in the form of a gift card. Perfectly fine as that is what I paid for the entire cruise with. Cruise was cancelled 14 days ago so I'm actually impressed to get the refund this quick. I was worried it would get delayed since we have 37 days until we fly out.

We were supposed to sail on the 15th, received our full refund on the 20th. Looking forward to booking the next cruise that was offered due to the cancellation. I had casino rate so hoping that happens again LOL

I have a separate question here. How long did it take them to get you the gift card? I had the same thing happen to me. I used gift cards for the whole purchase and I am anxiously waiting....The cancellation letter said up to 3 weeks. I don't like the thought of a gift card worth so much being shipped to me.

I have waited almost 6 weeks now for my gift cards refund, Nothing yet.:(

My T.A. contacted Carnival a week ago, and still no refund.:confused: Getting a bit impatient now with Carnival.

They only allow $500 Cruise Cash of each type per room. You can fund your S&S card to whatever level you wish.

 

 

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Thanks for the quick clarification! I just bought $1000 of gift cards from Verizon to fund our onboard expenses this Thanksgiving.

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It is a standard business practice to refund to the original method of payment. Having said that, if you paid with a mixture of credit cards and gift cards, that is how you should have received your refund. If you are wanting to contest the form of your refund, you can only hope to get the amount paid by credit card credited back to your card.

Well said, and I agree.

Sounds normal to me to be refunded in the original payment form.

We were scheduled on the Fascination Oct 8 sailing from San Juan that was cancelled. We paid our deposit with a credit card and then paid the balance with Carnival gift cards. When the cruise was cancelled, we were told we would get a refund. We received our refund in the form of gift cards. In my opinion, that is not a refund. That is just Carnival holding onto our money for future cruise. So, essentially, we are out that money (bought the gift cards with a credit card) until we can cruise again. Has anyone else had this happen to them? Was Carnival willing to void the gift cards and send you a check? I have emailed my PVP and Carnival Guest Care and am waiting to hear. I just wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar experience and what the outcome was.

Curious if you’ve heard back. As many have stated the “customary” way to refund is to the original form of payment. Seems off that your balance would hit exactly on payment due, so I’m guessing that you should have gotten your deposit and whatever balance you you paid at final.

These gift card things seem like a good idea: buy 10 cruises get one free - but over the course of 10 bookings(where something wired is bound to happen) it might be more trouble than it’s worth for some....

But I’d look at it this way. If you paid the balance of a cruise for two that’s likely $1000 to$1500, and if your paying with gift cards that’s likely 100 to $150 savings, to go “upfront” on the cost of the gift cards, take time to obtain and redeem the gift cards, and deal with the possibility that if your vacation plans change there will be more hassle and commitment.

Ironically, a decent travel insurance policy runs about 10% as well. Most on these boards elect to spend 10% more for assurance it provides.

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I think that whenever you pay for anything with a gift card, if it is cancelled or if you cancel it, it is returned as a gift card. That was your method of payment, and it was return in your method of payment. You chose to do that to get a 10% discount. Why should Carnival have to cover your 10% discount?

I have a question with regards to this. I am cruising on Saturday and was told that my excursion was cancelled on Tuesday, this week. I paid for that excursion with the egift cards. Will they just put the money back on those same gift cards? I would like to have it for my upcoming cruise, of course.

I have a question with regards to this. I am cruising on Saturday and was told that my excursion was cancelled on Tuesday, this week. I paid for that excursion with the egift cards. Will they just put the money back on those same gift cards? I would like to have it for my upcoming cruise, of course.

No. All gift card refunds are processed to new gift cards. Carnival gift cards are NOT reloadable. Since you are so close to your cruise date, check your cancellation email or call Carnival and see if they have processed it as OBC.

No. All gift card refunds are processed to new gift cards. Carnival gift cards are NOT reloadable. Since you are so close to your cruise date, check your cancellation email or call Carnival and see if they have processed it as OBC.

Ok, so will they send me new ecards via e-mail? I called and they said that the refund will be returned in whatever form it was paid through. So, what I am wondering is if I will get new egift cards or if they will mail new cards, which in that case will be useless since I will not get them in time.