Gift Card Limit

[Ken the cruiser]

On 6/26/2023 at 5:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, I just couldn’t let it end like that. I just emailed the person I was originally communicating with and asked her if the “nonrefundable” rule is true. This just sounds wrong that Celebrity would keep the GC $$$, even if we decided to cancel a booking which had a refundable deposit prior to the Final Payment date. Hopefully she’ll reply with a more thorough response tomorrow.

Just to follow up if anyone is still interested. I received a response last night to my above email inquiry. I'll let Karen's response speak for itself. Note Rule 10, specifically "... or if the reservation is cancelled." which I could not find mentioned anywhere in the current AARP T&C or the referenced Celebrity Corporate Kit link in the AARP T&C. Also notice that there is now a copyright date on this one where there wasn't one previously.

 

I then followed up with this suggestion, which she subsequently thanked me for and said they would update the AARP website references ASAP.

 

 

Here's the link (in red) mentioned in the above AARP T&C, which is currently not the one she provided me last night, and still looks like the now outdated one I referenced in post #29 above.

 

Microsoft Word - GiftCardT&Cs.cleandocx.docx (celebritycorporatekit.com)

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[dianef]

Wonder if you have insurance and had to cancel,would insurance give you your money back?

[dreams_of_travel]

Interesting read @Ken the cruiser but I am still foggy about how paying for a cruise with a gift card suddenly can become "lost money", and not refundable.    I need to know what the part in #2 means  cannot be returned for a cash refund, except to the extent required by law.   What law, and where does it explain what happens with your money from the gift card?  Why are gift cards this type of thing that won't be refunded, or somehow not saved as a future cruise credit for use?  

 

All this makes me not want to cruise Celebrity again, let alone pay for a cruise with a gift card.  What regular person would think to read all this fine print, and then find out their gift card used to pay some of a refundable cruise fare is totally lost.  This is so many levels of not cool, I almost can't comprehend it.  YMMV

 

I suppose I should fully read the verbiage on the Princess gift cards to make sure there isn't some sort of insanity over there too.  (except I have used Princess gift cards before, and had them refunded when having to cancel a cruise.  And the big one for me, knowing I can use a gift card to put down a deposit for a new cruise.)

[Rick&Jeannie]

Hello all...I just stumbled across this thread because I was researching GCs & Celebrity.  I am one of the people from the Princess thread that has taken huge advantage of GCs to fully pay almost 3 complete cruises.  I am completely flabbergasted to hear about this bit of the GCs not being "refundable".  It's beyond words!

 

Here's a different angle (Perhaps someone has already raised this question and I just missed it...)  What if you booked the cruise with a refundable deposit fare but have paid the balance (or portions of the balance) with GCs?  Are you still subject to "losing" that money should you cancel?

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Hello all...I just stumbled across this thread because I was researching GCs & Celebrity.  I am one of the people from the Princess thread that has taken huge advantage of GCs to fully pay almost 3 complete cruises.  I am completely flabbergasted to hear about this bit of the GCs not being "refundable".  It's beyond words!

 

Here's a different angle (Perhaps someone has already raised this question and I just missed it...)  What if you booked the cruise with a refundable deposit fare but have paid the balance (or portions of the balance) with GCs?  Are you still subject to "losing" that money should you cancel?

Yes, according to the Gift Certificate Program POCs I’ve talked with. See rule 10.

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Well, I read those rules you posted but came away with a different interpretation. Given the context of all of those points, it sounds to me more like they are saying that once *purchased* that they are non-refundable, not that a mechanism is not in place if the cruise is cancelled .  Everything stated there is typical boilerplate text involving the up-front "rules of purchase" that you see with most types of GC purchases, or so it seems in my opinion.  I'm certainly not going to go purchase any cards at this point until this is finally settled...I hope we can get the same discounts as we've been able to do from Princess!

[Ken the cruiser]

10 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Hello all...I just stumbled across this thread because I was researching GCs & Celebrity.  I am one of the people from the Princess thread that has taken huge advantage of GCs to fully pay almost 3 complete cruises.  I am completely flabbergasted to hear about this bit of the GCs not being "refundable".  It's beyond words!

 

Here's a different angle (Perhaps someone has already raised this question and I just missed it...)  What if you booked the cruise with a refundable deposit fare but have paid the balance (or portions of the balance) with GCs?  Are you still subject to "losing" that money should you cancel?

Let me also add, they did say you could transfer the booking to another itinerary prior to final payment and the applied GC funds would remain with the booking. 

[Ken the cruiser]

41 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Well, I read those rules you posted but came away with a different interpretation. Given the context of all of those points, it sounds to me more like they are saying that once *purchased* that they are non-refundable, not that a mechanism is not in place if the cruise is cancelled .  Everything stated there is typical boilerplate text involving the up-front "rules of purchase" that you see with most types of GC purchases, or so it seems in my opinion.  I'm certainly not going to go purchase any cards at this point until this is finally settled...I hope we can get the same discounts as we've been able to do from Princess!

Yes, the 10% discount is also offered with the Celebrity GCs plus right now you can purchase up to 25 gift cards per month rather than just 5 (each) per month with the Princess GCs. The only catch we've run into is the nonrefundable issue after final payment. But at least Celebrity allows you to transfer the booking to another itinerary prior to final payment keeping the GC funds attached to it. However, as of today no Celebrity cruiser has posted to this thread that this has actually happened, unlike on your Princess thread where multiple folks have said their GC funds were placed back on their AARP Princess gift cards after their cruise had been canceled. 

 

But if you have any questions about any of this, please call the Gift Certification Program 888 number listed above and ask them directly. If they tell you something different, please let us know.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Rick&Jeannie]

Does anybody have any further insight into this issue? I find it hard to believe from a "PR" standpoint (much less the legal standpoint) that Celebrity will not refund a gift card balance back to the card if the cruise were to be canceled.  It's pretty much a common thing for funds to be "refunded back to the original form of payment ".

 

Has anybody actually experienced a loss of funds or were you able to "reuse" a card(s) in the event of your canceling?

[Jim_Iain]

On 6/24/2023 at 8:40 PM, alyssamma said:

I've found that making final payment in advance complicates things if there is a price drop (or you need to change the cruise for any reason).

Just for information.     I made a final payment a week early and the day before payment due the price dropped.   I had no problem getting a price reduction and they refunded my credit card for the over payment within 3 days.

[Ellaleah]

Just to clarify, we are now able to pay for the entire cruise with gift cards?  I know that this was not the case with Celebrity as I called several months ago and was told that we could only use $500. on a solo veranda.  I now understand that this has changed.  Please let me know if that is correct.  ThankYou.

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

Just to clarify, we are now able to pay for the entire cruise with gift cards?  I know that this was not the case with Celebrity as I called several months ago and was told that we could only use $500. on a solo veranda.  I now understand that this has changed.  Please let me know if that is correct.  ThankYou.

That’s my understanding from what I posted on post #23. But please give them a call at the number listed on that post to make sure.

[alyssamma]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Just for information.     I made a final payment a week early and the day before payment due the price dropped.   I had no problem getting a price reduction and they refunded my credit card for the over payment within 3 days.

I didn't say it couldn't be done, I said it complicates things. I've sometimes had the result you did, other times gotten OBC, and other times been told no.

 

So now I simply wait to pay...better I hold my money instead of the cruise company anyway.

[alyssamma]

28 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

Just to clarify, we are now able to pay for the entire cruise with gift cards?  I know that this was not the case with Celebrity as I called several months ago and was told that we could only use $500. on a solo veranda.  I now understand that this has changed.  Please let me know if that is correct.  ThankYou.

As the OP, yes, this is the case. However, please note some of the issues raised here. @Ken the cruiser brought up that you may not get money back if you have to cancel. In other words, X treats gift cards as non-refundable.

 

Also, @NorthStarStateCruiser brought up a point that trip insurance *may* not cover the portion paid for with gift cards.

 

Also, 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Here is some new info regarding the use of GCs.  I emailed Celebrity and asked the specific question as to what happens to a gift card that is used as fare payment if the *booking person* decides to cancel.

 

Here is what I got back:

 

Regarding your inquiry, under a cancellation case the amount of the gift card would be refunded to the original form of payment, unless reservation faces penalty, if that is the case the amount would be withheld as part of the penalty payment.

 

The following are my words and opinions)

 

I believe a lot of people have gotten hung up over some verbiage that indicates that GCs are "non-refundable" after a cancellation.  I believe that this simply means you cannot get your money back for the amount you spent to *receive* said card.  It appears to be standard across most (if not all) cruise lines that returnable funds go back to the original form of payment, meaning that the GC is still valid  I believe it is safe to use these cards without the concern of "losing my money if I cancel the cruise".

 

Side note:  AARP has reduced the discount on Princess gift cards to 8% from the original 10%.  Celebrity cards are still at 10%.  I suspect that (due to the spreading of the word here on CC) there was a big surge in the use of GCs on Princess...and they decided to make adjustments.  Just a head's up...in case Celebrity decides to do the same!

[annandme]

On 8/2/2023 at 10:23 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Here is some new info regarding the use of GCs.  I emailed Celebrity and asked the specific question as to what happens to a gift card that is used as fare payment if the *booking person* decides to cancel.

 

Here is what I got back:

 

Regarding your inquiry, under a cancellation case the amount of the gift card would be refunded to the original form of payment, unless reservation faces penalty, if that is the case the amount would be withheld as part of the penalty payment.

 

The following are my words and opinions)

 

I believe a lot of people have gotten hung up over some verbiage that indicates that GCs are "non-refundable" after a cancellation.  I believe that this simply means you cannot get your money back for the amount you spent to *receive* said card.  It appears to be standard across most (if not all) cruise lines that returnable funds go back to the original form of payment, meaning that the GC is still valid  I believe it is safe to use these cards without the concern of "losing my money if I cancel the cruise".

 

Side note:  AARP has reduced the discount on Princess gift cards to 8% from the original 10%.  Celebrity cards are still at 10%.  I suspect that (due to the spreading of the word here on CC) there was a big surge in the use of GCs on Princess...and they decided to make adjustments.  Just a head's up...in case Celebrity decides to do the same!

 

Thank you for pursing this with Celebrity.  Unfortunately, it seems to me that the above response could still be open to interpretation. 

 

Maybe it's just me, but, I would be more comforted if someone who actually went through the experience - buying discounted Celebrity gift cards on the AARP website, applying those cards to their Celebrity cruise payment, and then cancelling their Celebrity cruise - could post their outcome so we can understand what happened.

 

How about it? 

 

Anyone?????

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by annandme

[Ken the cruiser]

On 8/2/2023 at 10:23 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Here is some new info regarding the use of GCs.  I emailed Celebrity and asked the specific question as to what happens to a gift card that is used as fare payment if the *booking person* decides to cancel.

 

Here is what I got back:

 

Regarding your inquiry, under a cancellation case the amount of the gift card would be refunded to the original form of payment, unless reservation faces penalty, if that is the case the amount would be withheld as part of the penalty payment.

 

The following are my words and opinions)

 

I believe a lot of people have gotten hung up over some verbiage that indicates that GCs are "non-refundable" after a cancellation.  I believe that this simply means you cannot get your money back for the amount you spent to *receive* said card.  It appears to be standard across most (if not all) cruise lines that returnable funds go back to the original form of payment, meaning that the GC is still valid  I believe it is safe to use these cards without the concern of "losing my money if I cancel the cruise".

 

Side note:  AARP has reduced the discount on Princess gift cards to 8% from the original 10%.  Celebrity cards are still at 10%.  I suspect that (due to the spreading of the word here on CC) there was a big surge in the use of GCs on Princess...and they decided to make adjustments.  Just a head's up...in case Celebrity decides to do the same!

 

45 minutes ago, annandme said:

 

Thank you for pursing this with Celebrity.  Unfortunately, it seems to me that the above response could still be open to interpretation. 

 

Maybe it's just me, but, I would be more comforted if someone who actually went through the experience - buying discounted Celebrity gift cards on the AARP website, applying those cards to their Celebrity cruise payment, and then cancelling their Celebrity cruise - could post their outcome so we can understand what happened.

 

How about it? 

 

Anyone?????

OK, I just contacted the Celebrity Gift Card Redemption folks again at the below "redemption" phone number listed at paragraph #6 in the below second attachment, and they confirmed once again if a cruise has to be cancelled for whatever reason, any Gift Card $$$ previously placed on the booking, before or after final payment, WILL NOT be refunded back to the AARP Gift Card the money came from. 

 

Not sure which Celebrity office provided the statement highlighted above in yellow, but it probably wasn't from the Celebrity Gift Card Redemption Office. However, please don't take my word for it. If you have any questions, please call them directly and ask them yourself.

 

Image of the Celebrity Gift Card on the AARP site.

 

 Image of the information provided at the link highlighted in red above.

 

[LaggyOne]

We are trying to navigate this mess as well.  A few months ago I had called in and added $2,500 in gift cards to a booking.  They ended up applying $2,000 to the booking then reducing the total price by $500.  We had to move that cruise to a different route and while the $2,000 moved the $500 is just gone.  No one can seem to account for it.

[PTC DAWG]

Note to self, don’t use gift cards..

[alyssamma]

On 8/10/2023 at 6:02 PM, LaggyOne said:

We are trying to navigate this mess as well.  A few months ago I had called in and added $2,500 in gift cards to a booking.  They ended up applying $2,000 to the booking then reducing the total price by $500.  We had to move that cruise to a different route and while the $2,000 moved the $500 is just gone.  No one can seem to account for it.

The same thing happened to me. I had my TA apply 2k in cards and they applied 1600 and reduced the price by 400...which then affected his commission. He couldn't figure out why or even how  X did that.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The same thing happened to me. I had my TA apply 2k in cards and they applied 1600 and reduced the price by 400...which then affected his commission. He couldn't figure out why or even how  X did that.

And that’s another reason we won’t purchase any more Celebrity gift cards. They’re not only nonrefundable, our TA would get shorted in their commission.

[mapgirl34]

I'm late to the party, but I just used a $500 gift card on my upcoming Celebrity cruise.  The agent at Celebrity told me that there used to be a limit on gift cards but there isn't one anymore.  It is convoluted in that 80% gets applied as gift card and 10% gets applied as a discount on the cruise.
For anyone interested, I buy my gift cards on Raise and there's a promo code: TRIP right now for 3% off travel cards.  It was $436.50 for a $500 gift card.

Here's my referral link to save a little more: https://geta.raise.com/CJACOBS9280 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Well...I'm back into this topic again as I have just booked another Celebrity cruise.  My last one (that I was initially inquiring about in regards to gift cards, Israel/Egypt) I cancelled just prior to FP due to the war.  I had *not* used any GCs given all of the info that I had been reading in this thread and others.

 

I'm just wondering if there has been any further developments (regarding refunds) that anybody can share?