<prompt> Human: Ill try to be as short and to the point as possible. I wanted to book a cruise with NCL but due to issues I dont need to get into the only real way for me to pay for it was in cash.The agent at NCL suggested getting prepaid visa cards and use them to pay for my cruise. Ok cool right? Not so much...I went to Publix and bought 9 gift cards for 200 USD 6.95 fee for each card. Called NCL back right away first card I tried to use was declined. The agent said it wasnt a big deal as it sometimes takes up to an hour or so for them to activate. I called them back after an hour and a half and in between the two calls I called the gift card support number and verified that the card has indeed been activated. I thought everything would be fine but it wasnt, card was declined again. I tried two other cards and again declined. I called the gift card support line again and there was no option to speak with a human. I went through the automated process of adding my name and address to one of the cards to enable online purchasing and called NCL back. Yet again declined. After this I called the card Merchant back and used the prompts to select that my card was lost or stolen and was put in a que to speak with a human phew.To make a long story short the card issuer basicly told me that there have been a lot of charge backs from NCL or thier Merchant hard to tell, thick accents and obvious lack of command of the English language prevented me from understanding everything and they have been blacklisted and there is nothing I could do. Spoke with a manager and he said it was for my protection and they couldnt do anything. If I wanted a refund they would have to mail me a check and the process takes 30 or more days. Am i screwed here? I dont have another 1800 bucks to shell out. I am afraid the gift cards I bought are from a shady bank considering the sticker on the cards tells me to go to visa.gowallet.com to manage my cards was shut down in November of 2015... Please help me Im desperate..  <response>: Not sure a phone rep at a cruise line is the best person to ask about financial advice. Hes there to collect money, not manage finances.Also, since this is personal finance... perhaps going on a 2000 cruise isnt the best personal finance decision if you have to pawn items and use 9 200 gift cards to attempt go on it. Im not getting judgey, you can do what you want with your money; but around here we try to help people make good financial decisions and this just seems like a series of bad ones. In the short term, youre probably screwed, wait for a refund. Or call your friends and have them book your cruise and you give them your 9 gift cards. In the long term, get a bank account with a debit card, deposit your cash there. Get a credit card, use it, then immediately pay it off and there is no interest. Other ways to send money: money orders, Western Union, Bank Wire 30 fee or so, hell that would have been better here than 9 shady gift cards. 