Funship Dollar Restrictions ?

[msbr]

Just on the address line1 put your booking number fill in your city state zip as per normal. When I first tried this I just bought 25 funship dollars to try it and feel more comfortable, now I would do it with larger amounts.

 

Thank You!! This is awesome! I can't wait to surprise my girls!!!!:p Thank You! Thank You!

[sirlostalot]

Thank You!! This is awesome! I can't wait to surprise my girls!!!!:p Thank You! Thank You!

Let us know how it works out for you

[southbayer]

If this is what they say, its incorrect infomation... The funship dollars when presented to the information desk and applied to your onboard account, it just get's put in as a credit on your account. That credit goes toward paying your onboard tips, purchaes, casino etc...

I am booked for an August cruise and decided to start buying funship dollars to use for cruise expenses. I found this on the Carnival website about the funship dollar restrictions.

 

7) This certificate may not be used to pay for any government fees, taxes, onboard gratuities, games of chance and or similar activities. This certificate can not be used and is not applicable for group travel or payment related to group bookings and amenities.

 

So my question is that if we buy these and want them applied to our account they can not be applied towards the tips that are charged to the account too? I was mainly thinking about the fact that my kids will want soda cards and such and I wanted to start planning for the shipboard account expenses; but I saw that they are not to be used for onboard gratuities. I did not plan on handing them out for tips or anything, just using them to cut the costs on the CC bill at the end of the cruise. Has anyone ever used funship dollars on their shipboard accounts and have been limited to what they can be applied toward?

[southbayer]

Also, I think what they were meaning by it was that you couldn't hand a funship dollar to the bar tender, or hand them to the casino cashier... They want everything to go through the sign and sail card.

[Rodeomomof2]

If you look up the Funship Dollars on the bon voyage gift page ...and click under restrictions for the the FD, this was copied as is and was the #7 rule which is why I posted it. I know it is very confusing,:confused: I thought also that they meant that maybe you could not hand them out as tips; but did not understand why they would be restricted as being added to the OBC to cover charges and tips. I have started buying them and had them added to my accounts for my August cruise. I am actually excited about paying for all of that ahead of time and not having so much to have to charge on the CC at the end of the cruise. :D

Thanks for all of the replies and answers.;)

[psychboss]

I am booked for an August cruise and decided to start buying funship dollars to use for cruise expenses. I found this on the Carnival website about the funship dollar restrictions.

 

7) This certificate may not be used to pay for any government fees, taxes, onboard gratuities, games of chance and or similar activities. This certificate can not be used and is not applicable for group travel or payment related to group bookings and amenities.

 

So my question is that if we buy these and want them applied to our account they can not be applied towards the tips that are charged to the account too? I was mainly thinking about the fact that my kids will want soda cards and such and I wanted to start planning for the shipboard account expenses; but I saw that they are not to be used for onboard gratuities. I did not plan on handing them out for tips or anything, just using them to cut the costs on the CC bill at the end of the cruise. Has anyone ever used funship dollars on their shipboard accounts and have been limited to what they can be applied toward?

 

Before we cruised on the Triumph my DH and I purchased $500 in Fun Ship Dollars for reasons pretty much just as you stated. We purchased drinks aboard, wine with dinner, some items in the gift shop, shore excursions, etc. We also purchased a soda card. BUT

We purchased the soda card as we boarded, while still at dock in Miami. This added an additional 15% to the cost of the soda card and the cup! The cost of these items is already high (in my opinion). I was pretty put out that they set up all of these special cart to promote the sale of these cards as you board. DON'T BUY YOUR SODA CARDS UNTIL AFTER YOU ARE OUT TO SEA AND THE SHIP OPENS THEIR TAX FREE SHOPS! SAVE 15% I asked at the Purser's Desk why they don't offer they for sale when they are out to sea instead of in port and she 'laughed' and said Miami likes the tax! I was furious - I returned our card and cup and said I wanted a refund! I told her they should be looking out for their passengers NOT the city's tax coffers!

 

Anyway - You mail in your fun ship dollars a few weeks before you sail to have them posted to your account. When you board and look at your account on line you will see that you are starting out with a credit. In fact they did deduct the $140. in pre-paid gratituties from our $500, We had that removed as we like to pay each person in cash. We had NO other questions or problems with anything else we charged to that account and by the time the cruise was over we only owed them $9.00

 

I hope that I have been able to answer your question. We think it worked out great and would do it again.

[serene56]

paying tax for a soda card--- is that a miami thing?

 

In Fort lauderdale the tax is not used when purchasing the soda card.

 

I am wondering if you are thinking about the 15% gratuity--which will be added no matter when you buy the card.

[psychboss]

I do not remember the figures now. But they told us the price of the soda card, that included the 15% gratituty and the cost of the soda cup, that there is no gratituty on. DH said OK and bought both. His receipt showed the prices they quoted. We then had our lunch while we waited to be able to get into our stateroom. One of the first things we did when we got in our room was check our account on the TV to be sure our $500 credit was there from our Fun Ship Dollars. There were 3 different charges on our account saying Lido Bar. None of those 3 amounts matched the 2 charges for the soda card or the soda cup and they totalled more than the 2 charges should have been. I took it to the pursers desk. They could not explain the 3 charges or the total, but they said it was more than the quoted amount because we were in port and we had to pay Miami's 15% tax. I said I wanted a refund....

[Rodeomomof2]

I think I remember reading here on Cruise Critic that a lot of ports charge sales taxes and to wait until you are at sea for purchases....I am not sure which ports that is referring to, I think New Orleans and Mobile are both tax ports. (They are the only ones I have sailed out of)

I agree that they really should tell you this up front and give you the option of deciding when to buy things like soda cards.

[AmberMarie]

Maybe the restriction means that you can't use them to hand to someone as a tip or you can't literally use them in the casino... ?

[serene56]

so a soda card for a 7 day cruise in Miami and NOLA will cost a tad over 50 bucks per person-- -holy crap.

 

a 7 day soda card in Fort lauderdale was about 45.00 which is 38.00 plus 15% grautity which is always added no matter when you buy it. adding 15% sales tax (wowser) equals to about 50 bucks per card.