DO NOT BUY ROYAL CARIBBEAN GIFT CARDS UNLESS YOU ARE USING IT TO PAY FOR THE CRUISE FARE ONLY

[RyanH8927]

They call them gift cards, but they aren't really.  Even though RC has a section on their website to pay with a gift card, this is not really a gift card that AARP sells.  It's  some other nonsense that is actually far more restrictive than they even disclose when you buy it.  So much for AARP looking out for the good of its members. 

[jdhellen]

I ran into something similar with FTD "Gift Cards". Turns out they were just discount codes for like $5 off. And you had to put in the code to use one. Dumb thing is that AARP gets 30% off any time at FTD but it uses a code and you are only allowed to enter a single code, not multiple. So why would anyone ever try to use a $5 code over a 30% off code? I may be missing something, but that is what I saw.

[SereneSeagull]

Could you expand on that and why it’s not what it seems.  Thanks!

[RyanH8927]

RC has a payment option on their website to pay with a gift card for drink packages, excursions, etc but AARP sells gift CERTIFICATES even though they advertise it as a gift card. Gift certificates are not eligible to be used for anything except base cruise fare that is remaining after you pay your deposit. You must use it all in one transaction. Again, gift cards just deduct the amount and leave you the remaining balance, but again, this is a gift certificate even though they advertise it as a virtual gift card. Truly no one cares about telling the truth anymore, they just want your $ 

[AARPConsumerCare]

Hi RyanH8927,

We’re sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet expectations. Before completing a purchase of this item, users must certify that they acknowledge that Royal Caribbean gift cards have specific conditions that may differ from typical gift card transactions and that they have reviewed and agree to all the terms and conditions outlined in the Offer Terms provided by Royal Caribbean.

The Offer Terms provided to AARP Rewards include the following key points:

• The certificate can only be used as payment toward a new reservation made directly with Royal Caribbean International.
• It may only be applied to the cruise fare for sailings quoted in USD and cannot be used for the initial deposit.
• The certificate may not be split between multiple reservations.
• Certificate may not be partially redeemed.

If you have any further questions regarding the use of your gift card, please contact Royal Caribbean directly at 866-504-3941.

For details about the purchase experience for cruise gift cards from AARP Rewards, please refer to this Help Article.
https://help.aarp.org/s/article/rewards-cruise-gift-cards

[SereneSeagull]

Oh, ok.  Thank you for clarifying that.  Yeah, that’s not good.  That info should be explained on the listing for sure.