If you pay for a cancelled cruise with a gift card?

[Eli_6]

Is there any point of opting for the "refund" over the "FCC" if you paid for the canceled cruise with a gift card?  If Carnival goes bankrupt, would a holder of a gift card have a priority over a holder of FCC?  I know there are others in my situation so I was just wondering what you guys are doing...

 

I also have stock in all three major cruise lines so I hope none of them go bankrupt. 

 

 

[bury me at sea]

Your refund would be in the form of a gift card if you cancel.  Your FCC would be a credit on your account.

 

I believe they both would be worthless in the event of bankruptcy.  In the event of reorganization I doubt that either would maintain much, if any, value.  I assume you're aware of the massive amount of debt Carnival assumed in recent days.

 

I don't believe either bankruptcy or reorganization is a foregone conclusion at this point.  They are possibilities.

[SNJCruisers]

If you opt for the refund, it just goes back to a new gift card.  If you opt for the FCC, you get the credit, plus the OBC so that would be the prudent choice, IMHO.

[Eli_6]

8 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

Your refund would be in the form of a gift card if you cancel.  Your FCC would be a credit on your account.

 

I believe they both would be worthless in the event of bankruptcy.  In the event of reorganization I doubt that either would maintain much, if any, value.  I assume you're aware of the massive amount of debt Carnival assumed in recent days.

 

I don't believe either bankruptcy or reorganization is a foregone conclusion at this point.  They are possibilities.

Yes, I am aware of the debt.  I don't think bankruptcy is a foregone conclusion.  I was trying to figure out if there was any reason a gift card would be treated more favorably under bankruptcy laws then FCC...in other words, is there any reason to take my refund in gift card rather than FCC?  I did a little research and there have been situations (like Toys R Us) where the bankruptcy judge made specific provisions for consumer holders of gift cards.  But there have been other bankruptcies where no provisions were made.  Also, in the event of airline bankruptcies, those who paid with a credit card were refunded on canceled flights.  Obviously, this doesn't apply to those of us with gift cards. Long story short, from what I can tell it is a crap shoot and I should probably just get the FCC plus OBC.  I was just wondering what others were doing. 

[bury me at sea]

Understood.  I opted for the FCC on my March cruise that was cancelled.

 

At this point I believe my cruise booked for early September is likely to be cancelled.  If it is I am unsure which choice I 'll make.

 

We all have different circumstances to consider.  I'm well beyond 70, not going to get any younger, and am factoring that into the equation.  I'm leaning toward the refund if the September cruise is cancelled because I could give the gift card to kids and grandkids.

 

I also paid for both cruises with gift cards.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by bury me at sea

[PC 462]

Does Carnival mail a new gift card, or do they credit it back to the original gift card?

[shof515]

1 minute ago, PC 462 said:

Does Carnival mail a new gift card, or do they credit it back to the original gift card?

snail mail

[n6uqqq]

5 minutes ago, PC 462 said:

Does Carnival mail a new gift card, or do they credit it back to the original gift card?

Carnival will always send a new gift card. Per their gift card website they are not reloadable. I have cancelled a few cruises paid with gift card and they are always sent back to me as new gift cards and it comes as FEDEX 2nd day air every time.

[PC 462]

Thanks!  I have never had to cancel a cruise before.  But these are unusual times!

[rukkian]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

Is there any point of opting for the "refund" over the "FCC" if you paid for the canceled cruise with a gift card?  If Carnival goes bankrupt, would a holder of a gift card have a priority over a holder of FCC?  I know there are others in my situation so I was just wondering what you guys are doing...

 

I also have stock in all three major cruise lines so I hope none of them go bankrupt. 

 

 

I was wondering the same thing, and went with the fcc so I could rebook immediately, instead of waiting for the cards to (hopefully) arrive.  I figure that a reorg would leave any current bookings alone, no matter if they were from fcc or gc, or whatever, even if FCC or GC were rendered useless.  Obviously a chapter 7 is a completely different thing, I highly doubt that will happen, and if it does, we are in for much more hurt in general, as it will mean a long, long lockdown.

[mikes]

Carnival canceled my cruise.  Paid the majority with Gift Cards.  Opted for the refund.  If they do file a reorganization....can the credit card I used to purchase the gift card(s) have a dispute filed?  Non-delivery of services or "defunct" gift card from my perspective and should be eligible for a dispute?

[buckeyefrank]

27 minutes ago, mikes said:

Carnival canceled my cruise.  Paid the majority with Gift Cards.  Opted for the refund.  If they do file a reorganization....can the credit card I used to purchase the gift card(s) have a dispute filed?  Non-delivery of services or "defunct" gift card from my perspective and should be eligible for a dispute?

Usually you only have 45 days from purchase to file a dispute..  Some are 90 days.  If you're much past that there's very little chance the bank will even consider a dispute.  Not to mention, if Carnival does go into bankruptcy, any payments to customers and vendors would almost guaranteed stop until court proceedings occur.

[klfrodo]

50 minutes ago, mikes said:

  Non-delivery of services or "defunct" gift card from my perspective and should be eligible for a dispute?

"My Perspective" doesn't matter in any way, shape, or form.

[M2LR]

I've been going through the scenarios too. I  probably have 2/3 paid with gift cards. I am leaning towards FFC but something else worth considering is I would have to rebook by the end of the year (for sailings thru 2022) so gift cards would give more flexibility if you want to wait to decide. 

[Gregoryfo]

The only reason I could see taking the gift card is if you are not going to go on a cruise in the future.  At least with the gift card you could sell it (at a loss I am sure) and recoup some of the costs.  

[crooooze]

A cruise that I paid in full entirely with gift cards was just cancelled. I opted for the refund, which will be through issuance of new gift cards.  I felt that with all the fine print about what FCC can't be used for, it would not be worth the aggravation. 

 

With that said, once I received the refunded gift cards, I plan on using it to pay for the next cruise in full when I book it. I also plan on purchasing third party trip insurance that covers financial default in case Carnival, itself, succumbs.

 

[molole]

Would you still get the $600 OBC per cabin if your entire cruise is paid by gift cards?  

 

 

[Treyatl2006]

I know its all speculation at this point but if Carnival Cruise Line goes bankrupt then more than likely the courts would order that the company refund their customers. Carnival has a lot of assets and those assets can be use to satisfy their obligations to their customers. 

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, molole said:

Would you still get the $600 OBC per cabin if your entire cruise is paid by gift cards? 

Yes, if you choose the FCC option, you get the 600 in OBC as long as your cruise is 6+ days, no matter how you paid for it.