June 2024 AARP Celebrity Cruise Gift Card Update

[marne-c]

18 minutes ago, MathLady112358 said:

I have now had experience in purchasing and redeeming the discounted AARP gift cards for both Celebrity and Princess. 

FWIW,  Princess's process for redeeming is FAR superior to Celebrity's. I am able to apply my own gift cards online and I immediately see the balance change.  (Snip)

 

Thank you for this, @MathLady112358!  Is your booking directly with Princess, or linked to a Travel Agent?  (I'm wondering if online redemption would would work if a TA owns your booking.)

 

--Marne

 

[MathLady112358]

4 minutes ago, marne-c said:

Thank you for this, @MathLady112358!  Is your booking directly with Princess, or linked to a Travel Agent?  (I'm wondering if online redemption would would work if a TA owns your booking.)

 

--Marne

 

My booking is directly with Princess. 

[marne-c]

1 minute ago, MathLady112358 said:

My booking is directly with Princess. 

Ah!  Thanks.

 

—Marne 

[wallyj]

5 hours ago, marne-c said:

Thank you for this, @MathLady112358!  Is your booking directly with Princess, or linked to a Travel Agent?  (I'm wondering if online redemption would would work if a TA owns your booking.)

 

--Marne

 

A TA is able to use the online payment portal available to them and input the cards without needing to contact Princess. Celebrity requires your TA to submit the card images and numbers directly to them to process and can take up to 10 business days to complete this process.

[marne-c]

1 hour ago, wallyj said:

A TA is able to use the online payment portal available to them and input the cards without needing to contact Princess. Celebrity requires your TA to submit the card images and numbers directly to them to process and can take up to 10 business days to complete this process.

 

@wallyj:  Many thanks for this great, useful information!!!  I have upcoming cruises with both Celebrity and Princess.

 

--Marne

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, wallyj said:

A TA is able to use the online payment portal available to them and input the cards without needing to contact Princess. Celebrity requires your TA to submit the card images and numbers directly to them to process and can take up to 10 business days to complete this process.

Since the online TA portal is the same for Princess and HAL, any HAL gift cards can also be immediately redeemed by a TA and the payment shows up instantly.  

 

Don't know why RCCL/X is so archaic. They built an entire automated process around redeeming FCC's and have one for other coupon redemptions, but the gift cards are very old school. 

Edited June 27 by mac_tlc

[JOVERNITE]

I really appreciate this thread. For years I've had AARP but I mistakenly thought the cruise gift cards were for a "new booking" meaning not booked yet. I didn't realize it could be applied to an existing reservation. Will save us $320.00 on our next cruise but I do have concerns that if, based on this thread, Celebrity cancels the cruise I don't get the gift cards value returned. I will give it more thought.

 

 

 

[Ellaleah]

1 hour ago, JOVERNITE said:

I really appreciate this thread. For years I've had AARP but I mistakenly thought the cruise gift cards were for a "new booking" meaning not booked yet. I didn't realize it could be applied to an existing reservation. Will save us $320.00 on our next cruise but I do have concerns that if, based on this thread, Celebrity cancels the cruise I don't get the gift cards value returned. I will give it more thought.

 

 

 

It’s true!  I was lucky enough to know someone who bought them from me when our cruise was canceled.  I tried to find ways to get rid of them online without any luck.  I have a Celebrity booked for 25, but I am afraid of them now.  If I decide to buy them it will be last minute.

[celebrity cruiser]

I did a lot of research on this because I thought it was a good thing and for some it may be. For me and because one of the regulations of the Aarp card is that you cannot be in a group booking, it will not work for me. Since my TA always puts me in a group and I get that group discount, I will be happy with that perk.

smooth sailing 

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, celebrity cruiser said:

I did a lot of research on this because I thought it was a good thing and for some it may be. For me and because one of the regulations of the Aarp card is that you cannot be in a group booking, it will not work for me. Since my TA always puts me in a group and I get that group discount, I will be happy with that perk.

smooth sailing 

I agree; however, insurance can also be an issue, depending on type etc.  I booked with Celebrity onboard, but sent it to my TA.  She takes these certificates, but my cruises are expensive, along with my insurance.  Just too many grey areas, as I have checked on these before.  I agree that it could be good for some, but overseas...?  Caribbean and booking closer to departure date might work much better.

[cruise_lover_2309]

I just submitted the gift card from AARP and Celebrity came back and asked for a copy of the gift card.  AARP emailed me a code and no physical card.  Will this work?

[Cruzinram]

On 7/3/2024 at 11:25 AM, celebrity cruiser said:

I did a lot of research on this because I thought it was a good thing and for some it may be. For me and because one of the regulations of the Aarp card is that you cannot be in a group booking, it will not work for me. Since my TA always puts me in a group and I get that group discount, I will be happy with that perk.

smooth sailing 

 

The rules for Gift Card redemption are set by Celebrity not AARP. Simply confirm usage by calling Celebrity Gift Card Department at 888-837.5676. The T/C on the resale cards are not always current.
 

[rcrabb1513]

On 6/15/2024 at 3:03 AM, Torfamm said:

The only negative is that there are no refunds, even if your cruise is cancelled. Whether that’s a real concern is for each to decide for themselves. 

How does travel insurance deal with claims if one needs to cancel for an insurance approved reason? 

 

Our travel insurance policy for our next cruise excludes reimbursement for any air travel paid for with loyalty points.  It is up to us to cancel any air travel within the airline's terms and conditions cancellation window or we lose the points.

[MathLady112358]

13 hours ago, cruise_lover_2309 said:

I just submitted the gift card from AARP and Celebrity came back and asked for a copy of the gift card.  AARP emailed me a code and no physical card.  Will this work?

Yes, I just sent them a screenshot of the gift card number from the redemption link.

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, rcrabb1513 said:

How does travel insurance deal with claims if one needs to cancel for an insurance approved reason? 

 

Our travel insurance policy for our next cruise excludes reimbursement for any air travel paid for with loyalty points.  It is up to us to cancel any air travel within the airline's terms and conditions cancellation window or we lose the points.

You would have to check your specific policy to see if you are covered for the cost of a cruise paid in gift cards. My understanding is that most don’t cover that loss.

[LB_NJ]

Since the people here seem to be experts I just want to make sure I have this right for AARP gift cards.

 

I am taking a cruise soon and am thinking of booking a new cruise while onboard to take advantage of the few dollars of OBC and lower deposit.

 

So if I want to take advantage of the AARP give card can I book onboard pay the deposit with my credit card and come back and buy a gift card and pay off part of the balance for the new cruise with the gift card?

 

Or do I need to buy the card BEFORE I book the new cruise?

[TGfromTX]

I don't know where someone found these gift

On 6/14/2024 at 10:07 AM, ken987 said:

I bought 40 $500 gift cards from AARP.

Was this over a particular holiday or something?  I searched AARP for 'Celebrity' and 'cruise' and the gift cards aren't being returned in the search.  I feel like the deal has gone away.

[MNSails]

5 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

So if I want to take advantage of the AARP give card can I book onboard pay the deposit with my credit card and come back and buy a gift card and pay off part of the balance for the new cruise with the gift card?

 

Or do I need to buy the card BEFORE I book the new cruise?

 

I bought a Future Cruise Certificate in board, booked the cruise with my TA last month, and just paid the balance with newly purchased AARP gift cards earlier this week.  They take 5-7 business days to process, so I submitted the screenshots of the first cards about two weeks before the final payment deadline.

[ngrund]

22 hours ago, TGfromTX said:

I don't know where someone found these gift

Was this over a particular holiday or something?  I searched AARP for 'Celebrity' and 'cruise' and the gift cards aren't being returned in the search.  I feel like the deal has gone away.

Gift cards are sold under the "AARP rewards" program.

[wallyj]

@TGfromTX, Celebrity gift cards are usually available thru AARP. You MUST be a member to buy the Celebrity gift cards. Once you login to AARP, you usually have to click pull down menu and select ‘rewards’, look for 3 lines in upper right corner to click.

 

Once you click rewards, another menu selection requires you to click ‘redeem’, there you can then scroll to find the Celebrity gift cards and add to your cart then check out.

 

AARP does offer some gift cards where you to not need to be a member, but you do need to setup a AARP rewards account.

[TGfromTX]

I am a member but I never knew this section existed.  Thanks for the quick responses.

[celebrity cruiser]

I took your advice cruzinram and called the number. The rep was very nice and said she is certain that I could use them. So tomorrow she’s going to call my TA and discuss. I have to have this all right since they are nonrefundable. Is. In a meeting are you in a meeting?

[jlbartley]

I was reading on a post from 2023 that people were saying you could only use 2 gift cards per booking, it appears from this post that is no longer the case, is that correct?

[TGfromTX]

29 minutes ago, jlbartley said:

I was reading on a post from 2023 that people were saying you could only use 2 gift cards per booking, it appears from this post that is no longer the case, is that correct?

I don't see it in terms:

Term # 8  Multiple certificates may be applied toward the cruise fare of the same reservation if there is a balance on the reservation. Full Certificate balance must be used within any given reservation. Once the reservation has been made, Celebrity Cruises normal policies regarding cancellation, changes, and deadlines for the payment of deposits and all other payments, shall apply.

Other terms that I deem most important:
This is a Premium item ($500 cert). Premium items have a limit of 25 per month. 
#1 Certificate may be used only as a form of payment toward a new reservation made directly with Celebrity Cruises.
#2 Certificate value may only be applied toward the cruise fare for Celebrity Cruises sailings quoted in USD and cannot be used toward payment of the required initial deposit. The initial deposit must be paid in USD (by cash or credit card) at the time of booking. 
#6Certificate may not be applied to a reservation within a group, charter, casino program or other promotion.

Have questions about your Celebrity gift card? Call Celebrity Customer Support: 

888-837-5676

[Rick&Jeannie]

Just to clarify...

You do NOT need to be an AARP member...just join the "AARP Rewards" program which is free. 

 

There was a thread here on the Celebrity forum a few months back going into great detail/concern over the fact that there is NO chance of refund if the cruise is cancelled.  To the best of my knowledge, there never was an answer as to whether this was both if cancelled by you OR cancelled by Celebrity.  There MUST be some type of law that covers this...but this was supposedly clarified by multiple phone calls to Celebrity!  This is surely illegal... I won't touch the Celebrity cards; I've paid off MANY Princess cruises with those cards.