JohnK6404 Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I just purchased $1,000 worth of $100 Royal Caribbean gift certificates at a 10% discount through my Verizon Wireless rewards points. I received them via UPS today.I called Royal Caribbean and they explained since they are not directly from them and do not have the required authorization code for online redemption, they will have to be mailed in... there are mailing addresses (Express and Regular mail) on the back of each certificate... it's RC's accounting department in Miami.Has anyone else redeemed this type of gift certificate before?Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinct Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Wow. You would think that a mega giant communications company would have worked this out with a mega giant cruise company a head of time. I think I'd invest in using UPS or FEDEX. And maybe give Verizon a call and ask if they have redemption instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 I'll give Verizon a call just in case they have any advice... doubtful, but it can't hurt! I can't believe how confused RC CS was... and I called the line created for gift certificate redemption (800-722-5970), etc... I've seen elsewhere that other major corporations also offer these certificates through their rewards programs... you would think they would be able to answer me confidently. I even called twice to make sure I was not just speaking to a new employee. This is the site RC set up for their gift certificate redemption: https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/redeem.aspx? I'll definitely mail them with tracking... and I think I'll scan the certificates just in case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlynn222 Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Is there a limit on how many you can use per cruise and can I put them down on any cruise I have already booked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Is there a limit on how many you can use per cruise and can I put them down on any cruise I have already booked? Don't buy any of these through Verizon rewards until I have some sort of resolution... I called Verizon and after a couple of attempts (no one seems to know how these work at either Verizon or RC), they looked into it further and explained to me that you can only use these gift certificates while booking a new reservation?!?!? This was never explained to me when I called Verizon and RC BEFORE I ordered them and it is not clearly stated on the certificate itself... I booked my upcoming OCT 2015 cruise last MAY and I have my SEPT 2016 cruise booked already (both online w/ RC)... If that is true, I would have to cancel the 2016 reservation and re-book I guess. Just hope the rate will be the same! Verizon Smart Rewards opened up a ticket and will get back to me... they either need to figure out a way that I can apply these to my remaining/existing cruise balance, or let me return them for a full refund ($900+ !)... so frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlynn222 Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Well please let us know...I am planning on booking harmony for 2017 so I can always get them for that as well but if it's going to be a hassle it's not worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 3, 2015 Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 I would check the fine print. Discover offers RC gift certificates too with their points but if you read the fine print, you have to use a travel agency run by Discover and it's one per cruise. Even though it all says Royal Caribbean (and other cruise lines) when you browse the gift certificates, it's really a travel agency offering them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 I would check the fine print. Discover offers RC gift certificates too with their points but if you read the fine print, you have to use a travel agency run by Discover and it's one per cruise. Even though it all says Royal Caribbean (and other cruise lines) when you browse the gift certificates, it's really a travel agency offering them. Hi Matt! I agree... always read the fine print. The Verizon Rewards site was very limited in detail (funny, they have taken the RC $100 Gift "Card" option down for now it appears... normally they leave it up and just state "Sold Out" if not in stock). Nothing on their site led me to believe there were such restrictions... I even called RC CS before placing the order with Verizon to make sure I did not have to jump through hoops. They must have been half listening and assumed I was referring to GC purchased directly from them. Nowhere does it state limitations like only new bookings or quantity limitations even on these gift certificates... it actually states on the back of the gift certificate underlined and in bold, "Travel agents, agencies or any other travel intermediary service cannot be used in conjunction with this certificate." It also states, "Certificates must be redeemed directly through Royal Caribbean International for the U.S dollar value shown on the face of the certificate. Certificates can be used in multiples and can be used to supplement cash payment or credit card." Hopefully, Verizon will refund my money if they cannot work something out with RC... lesson learned... all to try to save a little... I wanted to use these to pay a chunk of my remaining balance for the 10/22/15 Liberty cruise... Here's a question for you! If I'm stuck with these certificates and need to make a new reservation in order to use them, how does the RC cancellation process work for an existing reservation? I'm assuming I can simply cancel online and at some point I will be credited the amount/deposit paid to date (I'm referring to my 9/18/16 Allure cruise) back to the credit card I used to make the reservation. I guess I would just start over and make sure these certificates would be accepted at the time of the new booking... thanks for your input in advance! - John (and Christine!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Just an update... I received a call and an e-mail today from Verizon Rewards CS apologizing for the confusion and requesting that I return the gift certificates with some sort of tracking for a full refund. I'm happy with the resolution and I've learned a lesson to really scrutinize these rewards cards/certificates! These could only be applied while making a NEW reservation through the RC reservation telephone number provided on the certificate... NOT on any existing reservation(s) or any made via travel agent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 wow - so sad you had to waste all this time- truly - it seems to me that RC would welcome someone booking and using any means to pay for a cruise at this point in time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Final update and resolution... Verizon rewards CS was great! I mailed the certificates back to them and they fully refunded my purchase price plus S&H and the Verizon rewards points used for this transaction. Looks like they took the GC off of their rewards site... maybe they will provide a more detailed explanation when they put it back up... lesson learned... time to pay off more of the cruise the "old fashioned" way! Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 Discover offers something similar. However, you have to book with their agency and there are quite a few restrictions. Hardly worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickie Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 I bought $2,700 of Royal Caribbean gift certificates for family members as Christmas gifts in 2018. I received a confirmation email, but did not receive any confirmation number. I know they have been paid because I checked by credit card statements and they cleared. I am on my 7th call to Royal Caribbean and can't get anyone to tell me anything. I think the Royal Caribbean gift certificates are a fraud!!!! Don't purchase them!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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