Cruise Cash or Gift Cards

[kittylovestocruise]

I was thinking of letting family know that if they want to give us an early Christmas gift or an anniversary gift to get us stuff for our cruise. I was going to give them some ideas on gifts they can buy us from Carnival like soda, candy, or room decor. I was also going to let them know that they can give us cruise cash or gift cards for Carnival instead of the gifts. Which would be better Cruise Cash or Gift Card?  I am not sure they would be able to get Gift Cards.

[Purvis1231]

The main difference is that Cruise Cash will be own you account with no other actions. A gift card you would have to add to the account once on the ship. A gift card could be used to pay on the cruise or buy things before you sail. 

[Shaded Lady]

In addition to Purvis' comments, Cruise Cash is 'non-refundable' (there are ways to get it back- just cash out at the casino) whereas leftover gift cards are refunded in the form of another gift card... for some people that's not convenient because you're not planning another cruise any time soon or would rather not wait for the refund to be capitalized...

 

I used both in my past cruise and both were convenient... in fact I even used gift cards to buy cruise cash! It's really a matter of convenience, so I'd suggest giving your family both options and let them decide!

[midcarolina]

1 hour ago, Shaded Lady said:

In addition to Purvis' comments, Cruise Cash is 'non-refundable' (there are ways to get it back- just cash out at the casino) whereas leftover gift cards are refunded in the form of another gift card... for some people that's not convenient because you're not planning another cruise any time soon or would rather not wait for the refund to be capitalized...

 

I used both in my past cruise and both were convenient... in fact I even used gift cards to buy cruise cash! It's really a matter of convenience, so I'd suggest giving your family both options and let them decide!

Not exactly accurate, you can cash out in the casino if you used carnival gift cards for on board account....have done it many times.

[Organized Chaos]

7 hours ago, kittylovestocruise said:

 I am not sure they would be able to get Gift Cards.

 

If you want to suggest gift cards, here's a handful of retailers that should sell Carnival gift cards (according to Carnival): Kroger, Giant Eagle, Hyvee, Price Chopper, Safeway, Meijer, Albertsons, Lowes, Winn Dixie Office Max, & Publix.

 

Around here, they're also available at Target, so they can check there as well. And if anyone has the Target Red Card, you get 5% off the gift cards. As Purvis mentioned, gift cards are nice because you can use them to purchase pretty much everything, including paying on your cruise balance and purchase things before your cruise (Fun Shop items, excursions, internet, etc.) or take them with you for onboard spending.

[blarko]

I’ve used both. Like a previous poster mentioned, cruise cash is already loaded to your sign and sail account when you board the ship. Gift cards have to be loaded to your account, either at check in or once onboard. Cruise cash can be purchased in smaller denominations, starting at $25, while gift cards start at $100 denominations. Some posters on here will tell you to “never” buy cruise cash for whatever reasons, but I’ve used cruise cash and found it to be very convenient. I would be happy with either gift from a family member. I suppose it would depend on the gift givers budget.

[Joebucks]

I thought this was going to be like the million other threads where you discuss which one is a better budgeting tool. In the case of gifts, honestly either is fine. If I had to explain to some of my older family members how to buy cruise cash, they would much rather go to our local grocery store and buy us a gift card. Cruise cash is non-refundable, but I sincerely doubt most people would get more in cruise cash as gifts than they could spend. If so, I have some new friends to make!

[richfret]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the AARP Carnival gift cards.  You get 10 percent off so you save $10 for every $100 card purchased.  You can use them to pay for the cruise or on your account aboard ship.  I use them all the time.  If you have any gift cards left, you can use them on your next cruise.  There is no time limit.  You can also get $500 cards for the same percent off.  Notice that AARP has advised that they will be changing their rules very shortly so you may want to act quickly if you want to make this purchase.

[Organized Chaos]

12 hours ago, richfret said:

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the AARP Carnival gift cards.  You get 10 percent off so you save $10 for every $100 card purchased.  You can use them to pay for the cruise or on your account aboard ship.  I use them all the time.  If you have any gift cards left, you can use them on your next cruise.  There is no time limit.  You can also get $500 cards for the same percent off.  Notice that AARP has advised that they will be changing their rules very shortly so you may want to act quickly if you want to make this purchase.

 

The OP wants to suggest cruise related gift ideas to their family and is wondering which would be the better suggestion, gift cards or Cruise Cash. Their question wasn't about getting the gift cards for themselves. It wouldn't be very practical for the OP to tell their family about the AARP rewards program as a source of the cards they'd give to the OP as a gift.

[pacruise804]

Cruise cash: 

• smaller denominations for purchase (starts at $25)
• can only be used onboard
• there are different types of cruise cash - If they get photo or bar it can only be used in the photo department or for beverages.  General cruise cash can be used for everything
• not sure what happens if cruise cancelled - refund to you or to purchaser and in what method (return to payment method - credit card - or return as gift card)

Gift cards:

• larger denomination (starts at $100)
• can be used onboard or for pre-cruise expenses (fare payment, pre-booking excursions, etc)
• purchaser can often benefit with discount from where they purchased (Target Red Card, AARP, Giant Eagle and other grocery stores often offer in-store rewards rather than discount on card)

[Organized Chaos]

Some of the retailers sold lower denomination gift cards in the past, but I don't know if they still do. I know Meijer used to sell them in $25 & $50, but it's been about a year since I've looked.

[Sailor Taylor]

I think gift cards are more flexible. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Sailor Taylor