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If you're racking your brain to come up with the perfect gift for your cruise-loving family member or friend, consider buying them a gift card or certificate from their favorite cruise line. The pre-purchase window for certain products and activities closes between one and three days prior to the sail date. If you missed the purchase window, check with us once you're on board — we'll help you find what you’re looking for. We just bought 4 $500 cards for $1800 on AARP, that's the usual 10% discount they offer. Only change from the past was that we didn't need to use any points to get them. I just don't see the need for cruise cash when there is an option (eCard) that is refundable and doesn't expire.
Royal Caribbean
Beware of third party or private sales through Facebook or other social media. Cruise lines do not permit gift cards to be resold, something buyers need to be aware of. It is best to purchase cards from the cruise lines, travel agents, or authorized retailers.
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How to Use Carnival Cruise Line Gift Cards
The line offers one or two sales a year that feature an added perk, such as a $100 bonus card with a $1,000 purchase. Allstate has the Princess cards on occasion, usually @ 10% off, was @ 15% off for a short time. Allstate Rewards is very hit or miss for me, when it works it's great but most of the time I can't get the website to work.
How to Check the Balance on Your Gift Cards
While AARP is known for being an interest group for older Americans, anyone can join, no matter their age. We were personally able to sign up for a membership and then access all the gift cards with no issue despite being under 50 years old. You’ll find specials for gift cards entailing everything from restaurants to grocery stores. For instance, there are $25 gift cards to movie theater chain AMC for $23 — about 8% off the face value. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry.
Travel Documentation and Online Check-in

Gift cards are activated upon receipt, and they cannot be resold. In addition, buyers cannot purchase an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000 in one day. The purchase window for certain products and activities closes before to the sail end date. If you missed the purchase window, check with us on board, we'll help you find what you’re looking for. In the top left corner is a sixteen digit number just like a credit card number. Yes, you'll need to put your reading glasses on to read the number.
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Cruise gift cards: What you need to know before buying
In order to apply the value as an onboard credit, you must go to the guest services desk or Sail & Sign kiosk to apply the gift card as payment for your onboard bill once you're on the ship. That being said, the credit cannot be applied towards the cruise fare. Note that gift cards cannot be used to pay shipboard charges, including gift shop purchases, casino debts, shore excursions or gratuities. Recipients can also settle part or all of their onboard bill with gift cards at the end of the cruise at the passenger services desk. That means gift cards can essentially pay for meals in specialty restaurants, shore excursions, spa treatments and other onboard splurges. You can use the cards to pay for cruise bookings, pre-cruise expenses or onboard charges covering specialty dining, beverages, shore excursions, spa treatments, gratuities and other purchases.
I'm simply taking what I haven't already used to pay off the balance of the cruise fare and will apply it to my account once on board. Highly unlikely that I'll have anything left over, but if I do, they'll simply issue a new eCard for the balance, which I'll take on the next cruise. There’s a way that you can purchase gift cards for Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and other cruise lines… all for a sharp 10% discount off their face value. This deal means you can save potentially hundreds of dollars off your next cruise. Use Disney gift cards to purchase a cruise, shore excursions, merchandise on the ship and other onboard expenses.
I’m Not Over 50 Years Old. Does That Mean I Can’t Get the Discount?
Carnival Cruise Line first began issuing gift cards on December 5, 2012, replacing earlier gift certificate programs. The cards are available from $100 to $1,000, and there are no dormancy charges or service fees if the card is not used. Carnival Cruise Line's online gift cards are customizable from $100 up to $1,000.
Read the fine print before buying a gift card
If you're a Rakuten fan, they often offer cash back on cruise line gift cards. As of February 2023, they are currently offering 1.5% cash back on Princess Cruises gift cards. If you are planning a trip on Princess Cruises, you might want to gift yourself one via Rakuten for some cash back or American Express Membership Reward Points. Everyone loves a deal, and occasionally there are some promotions on gift cards. Currently, there are no major sales for this upcoming holiday season.
If you are talking about purchased "cruise cash", then they are right, you do not receive the unused portion refunded. I just bought e gift cards to use as a starter for my Sign and Sail, I just take them to Guest Services and ask them to apply them to my account, they do and give me a receipt. For instance, Royal Caribbean only allows you to use the card for a new reservation. And you have to book the cruise, pay a deposit, and then email in a copy of the gift certificate to apply to your remaining balance.
You have to be a member and it's under the AARP REWARDS at the top of the page. I think you have to log into your account to see it though. If you're talking about the Verizon cards, there's a current thread here about them. You can purchase either the eCard or cruise cash from the rewards program (with the same discount). However, when we tried to register for a free AARP account, we repeatedly reached an error page. When we went ahead and joined as paying members (the charge is just $12 a year), we were able to sign-up with no issue.
If you don’t yet have an AARP account, first you’ll need to register. That’s a small price to pay for the ability to save up to 10% off your cruise. Refundable overages on a guest's Sail and Sign account will be refunded back in the same form of payment as was made for the initial deposit on the Sail & Sign account. These certificates can be purchased online if you know the recipient's reservation information, or you can call Celebrity's Store Customer Support team to place an order.
Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. You can also give specialty dining certificates for $45 each. If the amount charged is less than that, the remaining sum will be applied to the passenger's onboard account. I just tried going through the purchase process for a shore excursion and I see the gift card option now. I guess you can only use the gift card for certain purchases. If, for instance, you purchase a physical Princess Cruises gift card valued at $100 USD or more, you will get free First-Class USPS shipping.
Cruising early December and was hoping to get a couple to help with the drink package and excursions. You can't purchase anything from the Fun Shops online using e-cards, I had a balance left on one card after paying off our cruise. I wanted to surprise DH with a cake and some other items for the cabin but it was a no-go. I don't understand the reasoning behind this, you're still spending the money with Carnival. So now we will put the e-card on our S&S account, along with our very generous OBC, cash it out at the casino during the cruise and take most of it home with us. Carnival will be out the money I would have spent on the surprises for DH.
Onboard credit is available in $25 increments up to $100. Mandara Spa certificates are offered in amounts of $25, $50 and $100. Not every cruise line offers gift cards, and some have alternative ways to help pay for a portion of someone else's vacation. However, if you're in the market for cruise line gift cards, read on to find out which seven lines offer them, where to buy them and how to use them. If you're a cruiser, you may also want to purchase a gift card for yourself, especially when you can find a deal.