How To Find And Buy Discounted Cruise Line Gift Cards From AARP

Turning fifty is something of a rite of passage, and there's one 50th birthday gift you can't avoid, the arrival of mail from AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons. While you might be tempted to toss those envelopes in the recycle bin, DON'T! If you like buying cruise line gift cards at a discount, you should strongly consider joining this members-only organization.

Although AARP's mission is to focus on issues affecting Americans over fifty, it also strives to provide everyday value to its membership. While there's tons of informational content in both the print magazine and online, AARP provides a monetary benefit to its membership in the way of discounts. When you join, you can work these discounts to save on your next cruise vacation.

How Much Can You Save Buying Discounted Gift Cards?

The vast majority of the gift cards for sale on the AARP website are sold in small denominations at approximately an 8% discount. That's not bad, but saving $2 on a gift card to a notional chain restaurant can hardly seem worth the effort.

Luckily, cruise line gift cards are sold in much higher denominations and can be had for 10% off. Given the average price of a balcony stateroom for a 7-day cruise and that 10% can add up to substantial savings. Even better, AARP now allows members to purchase up to 25 of these premium gift cards each month.

Which Cruise Line Gift Cards Are Available?

AARP's inventory of gift cards can change, so it's good to check back if your favorite line's cards are sold out.

Carnival

Carnival gift cards are almost always available and come in $100 and $500 denominations. They are also the easiest to use of the bunch! Carnival gift cards may be used as a cruise deposit, for your cruise fare, for gratuities, insurance, shore excursions, drink packages, specialty dining, and pretty much everything that can be found in your Carnival Cruise Manager.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean's gift cards also come in $100 and $500 denominations. They are, however, more limited in their use. Royal's gift cards may only be used toward new bookings and only for the cruise fare. It cannot be used to purchase onboard credit or any of the other items Carnival allows.

Celebrity Cruises

As Celebrity falls under the same parent company as Royal Caribbean, these gift cards have similar, but not identical restrictions. The Celebrity gift cards also must be used on a new reservation and are limited to one $500 gift card per person, with a limit of $1000 in total per stateroom.

Princess

A the time of this writing, Princess gift cards are not available on AARP. They have been in the past though. As Princess falls under Carnival Corporation, its gift cards are also easy to use on more than just cruise fare. So if you have a Princess cruise on the books, it's worth check-in back to see if they come available again in the future.

How Do You Redeem AARP's Cruise Gift Cards?

ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT BEFORE PURCHASING. The Rewards Terms are clearly stated on the gift card description page. It's important to read and understand them even if you've purchased the same gift card from AARP before. Cruise lines may change their policies and the terms may have changed.

Carnival

There's a reason why Carnival fans love this AARP cruise line gift card hack so much, they are so easy to use! If you are using them on Carnival's website yourself, you can find the Gift Card option just to the left of the Credit Card option that the system defaults to. If you are using a combination of payment options, you must enter your gift card numbers first. There's also a handy Balance Checker for when you have a partially redeemed gift card.

You can also provide your gift card numbers to your travel agent to make a payment toward your outstanding balance. In fact, it's easier to do than putting in credit card information!

Royal Caribbean

It takes a bit more work to use Royal's gift cards. At the time of this writing, the terms state that you need to use the gift cards toward a new reservation only. That means you need to call and book directly with Royal Caribbean and request that they apply the gift cards at the time of booking. Multiples may be used and no specific limit is stated.

The best part is that you don't need to miss out on any additional perks your favorite cruise travel agent might be able to offer you. The terms state that you CAN transfer your booking to a travel agency.

What's The Risk?

ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT BEFORE PURCHASING. I said that before didn't I? Maybe because it's important. Saving money is great, but not if it causes you headaches down the line. The risks are small, but hey, I'd be remiss if I didn't try and make you aware of them.

Once you purchase the gift cards from AARP, they are non-refundable.
After redeeming, if you have to cancel your cruise, you'll be issued a new gift card.
You could lose track of the gift card.
The gift cards are transferable, but only when gifted.

For someone who cruises a lot, losing the card is the only real risk. The first 2 just tie your money up into a form of currency that isn't very flexible. But what's with the last one? Only when gifted? That's just AARP's way of trying to keep their discounted member's only benefits from being sold on the open market, like Raise, for a profit. If you can't use it and a friend can, that should be fine. They may just need some details like your home address in order to redeem.

Doesn't AARP Have An Age Limit?

Nope. AARP has no age restrictions. And in addition to cruise line gift cards, you find other travel-related gift cards and discounts you can use. They also have a deal on AirBNB, Uber, and Hotels.com.

I'm In! How Do I Join AARP?

It’s as simple as going to AARP and signing up! But why do that if you can save on your membership? If you haven't reached the magical age of 50 and revived one of their many, many mailers, discounts are easy to find. There frequently are deals s on AARP's own website. Some may come in ValPaks or similar mailers. You might even want to check the offers associated with credit cards you carry, like this offer I found on my Chase Southwest Priority card.

Help! I Can't Find The Gift Cards

You are not alone. I don't know how many times I've had to walk friends through getting from the AARP landing page to the gift cards. They don't make it easy. Here's your step-by-step guide.

Go to the Login at the top right of the landing page.

Once at the login screen, enter your user ID, password, and type in the moving letter from the Security Challenge.

After you are logged in, click on AARP Rewards from the menu bar.

On the Rewards Page, click on the down arrow next to Discover, Redeem, then Members Only.

The $100 Carnival Gift Card is usually right at the top of the page. Additional cruise line gift cards can be found when you scroll down. You may need to click on the See More Rewards button to see them all.

There, you've found them! Purchase what you need or will be allowed to use according to the terms.

To Wrap It Up

There's zero reason to wait until you turn fifty to join AARP. Cruise fans of any age are able to join and reap the rewards of an easy 10% savings on cruise line gift cards.

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