Carnival Gift Card - does timing of use on-board matter?

[nhilding10]

First, I apologize if this is answered somewhere else. I promise I did some research first, but am not seeing the answer I THINK I'm looking for. If so, please direct me to that and I am sorry I used up time and space for a repeat.

That said, here are my ramblings mostly in question form...

 

If I buy Carnival gift cards and bring them with me onboard to use toward my account, and I put them all on my account on day 1, at the end of the cruise, if I still have a credit balance remaining, will that go back on to my gift card? Meaning, will they only use enough of the gift card to cover my expenses, or do I lose that amount because it was all applied upfront and considered non-refundable? I can't seem to find that info anywhere.

 

My second thought, then, is do I just not put the gift card on the account at day 1, wait until the cruise is over, and then brave Guest Services to "pay" the balance due with gift cards, and then it'll just use the amount necessary to pay the balance due? Or is it an all or nothing sort of thing with gift cards? 

 

I hope those questions make sense, and I'm not just dense and overthinking it. 🙂 I want to buy the AARP gift cards for the savings, but am just trying to find the best way to use them and not lose them. 

 

Thanks all!

[Riles34]

Can I receive a refund on any unused portion of the Carnival Gift Card amount that was applied towards my Sail and Sign account while onboard?

 

Any unused portion or overage of the Gift Card that was applied toward your Sail and Sign account will be issued in the form of another Carnival Gift Card.

 

If you buy cruise cash, yes it states that if you don't use it all you are out the money, but if you have left over money go to the casino and toss it all in the slot machine, then cash out. I will always by cruise cash in advance to "pre-pay" my Sail and Sign. Then the last sea day I go to the casino an cash it out. No lost money!

 

https://carnival.ourgiftcards.com/faq

[nhilding10]

4 minutes ago, Riles34 said:

Can I receive a refund on any unused portion of the Carnival Gift Card amount that was applied towards my Sail and Sign account while onboard?

 

Any unused portion or overage of the Gift Card that was applied toward your Sail and Sign account will be issued in the form of another Carnival Gift Card.

 

If you buy cruise cash, yes it states that if you don't use it all you are out the money, but if you have left over money go to the casino and toss it all in the slot machine, then cash out. I will always by cruise cash in advance to "pre-pay" my Sail and Sign. Then the last sea day I go to the casino an cash it out. No lost money!

 

https://carnival.ourgiftcards.com/faq

Thank you! I must have missed this, I even tried looking on their website! This is very helpful, and much appreciated!

[ngrund]

OP, keep in mind that any remaining balance under $10 will not be refunded and will be donated to St Jude.

 

There are kiosks on board that you can use to add gift cards to your cabin account-if you use those, the entire balance of the card will be applied. For partial, you would need to visit guest services,

 

What I do is apply cards along the way as balance goes up (I get $100s for that).

[Elaine5715]

I put a credit card on account and pay off charges with gift cards.  No worries about left over

[DallasGuy75219]

17 hours ago, ngrund said:

OP, keep in mind that any remaining balance under $10 will not be refunded and will be donated to St Jude.

It will not be automatically refunded but you can get a refund upon requst at guest services or possibly at the kiosk.

[Frank12]

20 hours ago, ngrund said:

 

There are kiosks on board that you can use to add gift cards to your cabin account-if you use those, the entire balance of the card will be applied. For partial, you would need to visit guest services,

 

I have tried to apply gift cards at the kiosks on several different ships, all without success. I finally gave up and just go to guest services.  Maybe it's just me?? 

[Jeafl]

1 hour ago, Frank12 said:

I have tried to apply gift cards at the kiosks on several different ships, all without success. I finally gave up and just go to guest services.  Maybe it's just me?? 

It's not just you.  It's been hit or miss with us the last couple of cruises.  If the line is short we just go to Guest Services and save ourselves the aggravation.

[ngrund]

3 hours ago, Frank12 said:

I have tried to apply gift cards at the kiosks on several different ships, all without success. I finally gave up and just go to guest services.  Maybe it's just me?? 

Were you using a physical gift card (swipe) that didn't work or a e-card where you enter the # and pin?

[KarmaCruisers]

24 minutes ago, ngrund said:

Were you using a physical gift card (swipe) that didn't work or a e-card where you enter the # and pin?

I’d be curious to know this too

Also from what I’ve heard; you can only “load” $2000 worth of “credit” at any one time (ie: your account folio can’t have more than $2000 worth of “money in the bank”)

[Frank12]

2 hours ago, Jeafl said:

It's not just you.  It's been hit or miss with us the last couple of cruises.  If the line is short we just go to Guest Services and save ourselves the aggravation.

Thankfully I get to use the "short" line at GS!😜

[Frank12]

33 minutes ago, ngrund said:

Were you using a physical gift card (swipe) that didn't work or a e-card where you enter the # and pin?

Physical hard cards.

[ngrund]

2 minutes ago, Frank12 said:

Physical hard cards.

you might have been able to just enter the #'s as well

[Frank12]

6 minutes ago, ngrund said:

you might have been able to just enter the #'s as well

Tried that.  No dice.