fun ship dollars??
 

Okay, I was told you could use fun ship dollars towards on board credit. Is this true?
My friend tried to use hers towards the purchase of her cruise, they said she couldn't do that if she had a travel agent. (AAA)
Then she sent them in to put towards on board credit ($200 worth) and they said she could only use towards the purchase of a cruise.
Then they said one of them has expired.
Has anyone have the fun ship dollars expire before?
They ended up sending them back to her, but she hasn't recieved them yet, we leave this friday! :cry:

Bumping up... anyone info on this welcome.

Carol

Yes, you can use them toward onboard credit BUT, the only way I've heard of doing this is by ordering them prior to sailing and noting they are for onboard credit. Luanne Russo has done this and explained this in other threads but I think it goes like this (you can email her to be sure)...
when ordering them through Carnival.com you normally have to put an address where you want the FSdollars shipped. Instead of your address you put "on board credit" on one address line and your cabin number on the other address line. Then they apply it to your cabin rather then mailing them to you.

Yes, they can be used to pay cruise fare. I think the problem is that if you book through a TA then you must pay through that TA. The TA should handle receipt of the FSdollars and sending them to Carnival for payment. Maybe only book with a TA that agrees they can handle this for you.

I'm the friend that Ferrangi was referring to. My Funship $$ were not ordered via Carnival.com. They were ordered as a gift for me from Giftcertificates.com. I leave on friday and still have not seen a return of the certificates or the letter from Carnival. I'm so frustrated.

From giftcertificates.com:

Please keep in mind that gift certificates cannot be used to pay for Taxes, Gratuities, Air add on, group travel programs or payments relating to group services, on board services or purchases. Carnival Cruise Lines gift certificates cannot be booked through a travel agent. The recipient of this certificate must be 21 years of age or older.

An unlimited amount of Carnival Cruise Lines gift certificates may be used toward the purchase of any Carnival Cruise Lines cruise.

I ordered the certs from Giftcertificates.com as well. They are different from the ones sold by Carnival & they are NOT good for anything but the actual purchase of the cruise and to use them it says on them you must book through Carnival. I was expecting them to be the same as the ones sold by Carnival, but they are called Cruise Dollars. fortunately I had booked through Carnival & not paid in full.

I have now read all of that as well. However, now Carnival has $100 from the one that has now expired. And, I'm not sure when I'll be booking again so it looks like they will have a total of $200 that was meant for me to enjoy. The fine print doesn't stop the way I am feeling... and right now I feel like I have been ripped off :-(

Well I hope this helps you and so you can call Carnival and get this straightened out.

If you bought the Gift Certificates in the State of California, it is illegal for gift certificates to expire per the laws of the State of CA.

You need to call Carnival and tell them that you want to use your GC. At first if they tell you no ask to speak to a Supervisor and ask again. If again you are told no tell them that it is illegal in CA where you purchased the GC and and inform them of this law and to put you on hold while they verify this info with their legal dept and that you would like to hold. Use it for another cruise if you arent able to use it for onboard credit.

Hope this info helps. If anyone else has this issue please check what the law states for your State of Residency.

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Thank you so much. Their letter is still not in my mail today. And, I was going to call them. I'll take your advise and hope for the best. Thanks bunches.

Carol

There are fun ship dollars and funship cruise certificates. Both have expiration dates. Funship dollars can be used toward anything, certificates can only be used towards the purchase of a cruise, and cannot be used if you go through a TA.

I've found funship dollars to be available only through Carnival, wherea the certificates are commonly available through programs run by third parties, such as giftcertificates.com and given away as rewards through different companies.

If you read the backs of each certificate they state the Terms and Conditions of use for fun ship dollars and certificates. They are quite different.

Thanks everyone for your help on this. My friend is a great person with big heart and does many good things for others... she deserves the best.. :wink:
Tammy

Tammy... you and Pam make my heart smile. Thank you for being there.
Hug!
See you soon!

Carol

An update...
I first wrote Carnival about this after talking to my TA. I received a reply asking me to call the number provided. I called Carnival as instructed in their reply email. And, tried to use the advise given on this post. No luck. I was told that the law about gift certificates not expiring in California didn't apply because Carnival is based out of Florida.

I still have not received my certificates back from them with the letter of explanation as told that I would. Yesterday I called again and was referred to yet another department. I held my ground and insisted that I receive a call from someone today! The rep said he was sending the request for a call back by email. I requested that he copy me at my work email. I have not been copied on the email. And, have yet received the call.

I'm sorry for venting here. I'm most likely out of luck on this. Just please be very careful with these certificates.

What you have are FunShip Certificates. There is a difference between those and FunShip dollars. FunShip dollars you CAN use as onboard credit. Certificates can only be used as payment for a cruise made only through Carnival directly.

But they are saying that one of them expired... I heard that certifcates don't expire... anyway, they sure are taking their sweet time sending them back....
Well, I know I will be extra careful when buying those kinds of things.. in fact I was thissss close to buying fun ship dollars, then chickened out, for fear it wouldn't work out.
Now I'm glad I didn't... maybe on cruise #2 :wink: :wink:

Cruise #2... we hooked you and you haven't even taken the first yet... wooo hooo...

On the front these should be an expiration date. I believe two years from the date of issue. Travel does not need to take place before this, but your cruise must be booked and certificates applied toward payment before this date.

If your certificates dont have an expiration date on them, or any mention of an expiration date on the back, you may have a case. All the cruise certificates I've ever seen, and FunShip dollars, have expiration dates clearly printed on the front though.