Unable to Use Cruise Gift Certificates....Please help!

[ngrund]

13 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I know virtually nothing about AARP gc's but I have a feeling you may be right b/c I don't see that e-mail listed anywhere or having anything to do with the cashstar e-gift card I have,

yes the cashstar ones are totally different, I have applied those on RCL website with no problem. 

[JJK2008]

1 hour ago, kdnurs said:

 

Never heard of this AARP ones...Could you share information? If these are easier to use, maybe I will suggest these in the future. 

AARP sells discounted ecards for a number of businesses including cruise lines like CCL & RCCL. You save 10% on the amount of the card,,,,you pay $90 for a $100 card and $450 for a $500 card. Each one has its own unique terms & conditions different than cards purchased direct from the cruise line. The CCL ones are super easy to use, highly recommend. The RCCL ones not so much. Yes, they will work but they are VERY restrictive in the rules to redeem them. Unless you follow the terms & conditions to the letter, RCCL won't accept them. Best of luck. 

[kdnurs]

1 hour ago, ngrund said:

 

It sounds like these are the AARP certificates which cannot be redeemed on RCL website and have to be e-mailed to SharedServicesGiftCertificateRedemption@rccl.com

 

STEP 2 Redeem Certificate

After making your cruise reservation, email a copy of the Gift Certificate along with your cruise reservation booking number to sharedservicesgiftcertificateredemption@rccl.com. The value of the Gift Certificate will then be applied to your cruise reservation. Please allow up to 10 business days. You will be notified once the certificate has been applied to your reservation.

Please reference Certificate Terms and Conditions here.

Questions? Contact us at email address above

 

I only mentioned the not being booked through RCL direct because another member was trying to have a TA apply theirs.

 

 

This is exactly what is printed on my certificates!!!....Plus they don't take phone calls, just email only

[ngrund]

6 minutes ago, kdnurs said:

 

This is exactly what is printed on my certificates!!!....Plus they don't take phone calls, just email only

I used mine several years ago and had no issues, hope you get this resolved. You are still well before final payment date, correct?

[kdnurs]

13 minutes ago, ngrund said:

I used mine several years ago and had no issues, hope you get this resolved. You are still well before final payment date, correct?

 

Yes, we are booked for August 9, 2025

[ngrund]

29 minutes ago, kdnurs said:

 

Yes, we are booked for August 9, 2025

I sent my 2 certificates about a month before final payment date.

[TravelinTess]

sharedservicesgiftcertificateredemption@rccl.com is AARP and also offered through various other points for gift card/certificate programs, such as HR incentives at major corporations and resellers like CardCash. I use these unless I have a casino deal- you cannot stack. I have used these multiple times without issue, though it does take a week or two to get a response, if you get one at all. You may just see an adjustment to your balance. Be sure you are checking your spam folder. 

 

In the subject line put 'gift certificate redemption 1 of 3 ( or however many). Send them one at a time. 

 

In the body of the email, the full name of the primary person on the booking, the booking number, the ship, your sail date, and cabin number. Short and sweet.

 

 

[TravelinTess]

Try adding 'attention A. Rodas' in the subject line, he is the last very responsive rep I worked with.

[cynt]

Hopefully this works out for you. 

 

Note to self, cash is king. 

[TravelinTess]

5 hours ago, cynt said:

self, cash is king

The OP was gifted these certificates, awkward to say, 'Happy Mothers Day, here is some cash'- maybe... I'm sure some families do that. These certs save me hundreds of dollars- 10% off the cruise fare when I buy them and an even better deal when I get them for free through my corporate rewards program. It is just unfortunate that some people have difficulty using them. 

[Over9five]

I am in the same boat (pun not intended!).

Bought the AARP gift card. Yes, I booked thru a TA and she was unable to apply it. Sent the info to the "Shared" email yesterday, hoping for the best.

I have no problem applying it for OBC once onboard. People can do that right? Use the AARP ones onboard at GS? Even tho I booked with a TA?

Boy, it's soooo easy with the Carnival ones...

[kdnurs]

10 hours ago, TravelinTess said:

The OP was gifted these certificates, awkward to say, 'Happy Mothers Day, here is some cash'- maybe... I'm sure some families do that. These certs save me hundreds of dollars- 10% off the cruise fare when I buy them and an even better deal when I get them for free through my corporate rewards program. It is just unfortunate that some people have difficulty using them. 

 

I appreciate the help. It isn't and wasn't awkward for my son to send me certificates for my cruise. He wanted me to use them for OBC or however I wanted to use them. I thought it was very sweet. He also gave me CASH to buy anything I wanted to purchase prior to cruising. Very thoughtful Mother's Day gifts.  

[TravelinTess]

2 hours ago, kdnurs said:

 

I appreciate the help. It isn't and wasn't awkward for my son to send me certificates for my cruise. He wanted me to use them for OBC or however I wanted to use them. I thought it was very sweet. He also gave me CASH to buy anything I wanted to purchase prior to cruising. Very thoughtful Mother's Day gifts.  

You are a lucky mom! I love gift certificates too. 

[patattack]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:46 AM, orville99 said:

We always go direct to the RCL Gift Certificate Redemption site:

 

https://royalcaribbeancertificates.com/

that is how I did it last year and had no problems. 

[cruisegus]

12 hours ago, Over9five said:

I am in the same boat (pun not intended!).

Bought the AARP gift card. Yes, I booked thru a TA and she was unable to apply it. Sent the info to the "Shared" email yesterday, hoping for the best.

I have no problem applying it for OBC once onboard. People can do that right? Use the AARP ones onboard at GS? Even tho I booked with a TA?

Boy, it's soooo easy with the Carnival ones...

Absolutely can NOT use the AARP ones at guest services for OBC.

 

I used the AARP rccl discounted certs once around 5 years ago to save $500 off my first Grand Suite (5k), but what PITA.  I never tried again, just not worth it, at least to me

[neverbeenhere]

When all else fails, email the biggest daddy of them all. His staff will respond. 

[Over9five]

11 hours ago, cruisegus said:

Absolutely can NOT use the AARP ones at guest services for OBC.

 

I used the AARP rccl discounted certs once around 5 years ago to save $500 off my first Grand Suite (5k), but what PITA.  I never tried again, just not worth it, at least to me

Agree I won't try that again. What did you do to resolve it?

[cruisegus]

1 hour ago, Over9five said:

Agree I won't try that again. What did you do to resolve it?

Didn't have any real problems with the email address.  Ended up doing one cert at a time, just a pain IMHO

[ngrund]

14 hours ago, cruisegus said:

Absolutely can NOT use the AARP ones at guest services for OBC.

 

I used the AARP rccl discounted certs once around 5 years ago to save $500 off my first Grand Suite (5k), but what PITA.  I never tried again, just not worth it, at least to me

I hate not saving the 10%, but the deal breaker for me has not been the slight hassle of e-mailing them, but more the possible issues if I have to cancel the cruise.

[cruisegus]

4 minutes ago, ngrund said:

I hate not saving the 10%, but the deal breaker for me has not been the slight hassle of e-mailing them, but more the possible issues if I have to cancel the cruise.

Agree that's one of the factors, that is why I waited till about 5 months before cruise to purchase and start submitting them.

 

I will say even 5 years ago I had been reading warnings about not using AARP RCCL gift certificates.

 

I will also confirm how easy and fexible it is to use the Carnival version, and recommend them.

[ngrund]

10 minutes ago, cruisegus said:

Agree that's one of the factors, that is why I waited till about 5 months before cruise to purchase and start submitting them.

 

I will say even 5 years ago I had been reading warnings about not using AARP RCCL gift certificates.

 

I will also confirm how easy and fexible it is to use the Carnival version, and recommend them.

Yes, I agree. My problem is that I have to be prepared to cancel at anytime, so I have been purchasing 3rd party insurance at time of booking.

 

And to maximize my credit card cash back for travel, I need to make strategic payments before final payment date

[Over9five]

On 5/20/2024 at 12:02 PM, kdnurs said:

That didnt work either.... Keeps asking for a "Gift Certificate Authorization Code." All 3 of my certificates have a code and pin. It isnt accepting my Pin Numbers for none of them. 

Please let us know when, if, and how this is resolved!

[kdnurs]

22 hours ago, Over9five said:

Please let us know when, if, and how this is resolved!

 

I will keep you posted! So far this issue has been sent to resolutions folks. I was told it will be looked into and expect to hear something in 10 days. If not call back....that is what I have been doing for months now with no resolution. 😑

[kdnurs]

On 5/22/2024 at 12:39 AM, neverbeenhere said:

When all else fails, email the biggest daddy of them all. His staff will respond. 

 

Tell me how!!! I want this fixed. It's been way too long.

[kdnurs]

On 5/22/2024 at 1:09 PM, cruisegus said:

Didn't have any real problems with the email address.  Ended up doing one cert at a time, just a pain IMHO

 

I sent all 3 at once...Do you think that confused them?