Courtesy Holds are being phased out

Maybe this is why. Maybe they've got hundreds if not thousands of cabins tied up overnight on regular basis and have determined a high percentage aren't booked the next day.

They know the percentages that will historically not book. i really don't think this is a big deal.

They know the percentages that will historically not book. i really don't think this is a big deal.

I agree, I am okay with phasing it out.

With the elimination of the courtesy hold could this just be the beginning of non refundable depsits?

I believe that would not be legal in the US. This already happens in the UK -- where it is allowed. Katherine

When I booked my October Liberty cruise over the 4th of July weekend sale, the agent at RCI quoted me a price that was more than $100pp than I was seeing on the website. She tried all different things on her end, but still wasn't showing the price. So, she told me to put a courtesy hold on it and call her back. Then, she was able to get book the cruise for me at the lower price.

This option comes in handy in many different situations.

Just an aside: It would be interesting to know if RC places all the deposits received into an escrow account until final payment or whether they just lump into their general revenue fund. In either case, it's either a lot of interest they are earning on other people's money, OR they are making use of funds that are technically not theirs until after final payment.

Any booked cruise is a "courtesy hold" until final payment. It's a cc hold-not a big deal as it's fully refundable.

I believe that would not be legal in the US. This already happens in the UK -- where it is allowed. Katherine

Of course it could be legal-it would just need to be fully spelled out and disclosed.

When I booked my October Liberty cruise over the 4th of July weekend sale, the agent at RCI quoted me a price that was more than $100pp than I was seeing on the website. She tried all different things on her end, but still wasn't showing the price. So, she told me to put a courtesy hold on it and call her back. Then, she was able to get book the cruise for me at the lower price.

 

This option comes in handy in many different situations.

Interesting for sure....but why were you calling the agent anyway?

Of course it could be legal-it would just need to be fully spelled out and disclosed.

Yep. I don't think there is a US law regulating "vacation deposits":D

While it's true that tone is hard to discern from text, generally you want to not "rolls eyes" at someone, if you don't want to come off as a judgy type of person. :rolleyes:

Interesting interpretation. I would never assume that a roll eyes was pointed at another person and always pointed by the poster at the poster. That is how I use them. Perhaps you are not in the habit of self criticism.

Interesting interpretation. I would never assume that a roll eyes was pointed at another person and always pointed by the poster at the poster. That is how I use them. Perhaps you are not in the habit of self criticism.

Disagree. At least on cruise critic, and It's not like I just got here, the eye rolls are generally directed at other posters.

Interesting for sure....but why were you calling the agent anyway?

Again and all of that in 24 hours:confused::confused::confused:

If i see a cruise tonight that I want to take in the next year, then I would speak with my supervisor in the morning about my plans and I would receive a "go" or "no go" on the spot. I would do a quick check of the airfare and may be even hotel options for the night before sail-away and still have plenty of time left in the 24 hours.

I realize that the 24 hour hold may not work well for everyone, but the few times I have used it, it worked well for me.:)

I believe that would not be legal in the US. This already happens in the UK -- where it is allowed. Katherine

There are certainly non-refundable hotel bookings in the US - you make the booking at a lower rate than what would be offered if you just put a credit card as security and understand that it's non-refundable and cannot be changed.

I don't see how non-refundable deposits would be any different. As long as it is made known at the time of booking that it is non-refundable, which I've always seen made VERY clear when things are not refundable, there would be no problem with it. In fact, Disney already has some non-refundable deposits - if you book concierge on DCL, that deposit is non-refundable.

I've never used a TA, so I didn't ask specifically about them. I only asked if the number of cabins or loyalty level mattered and was told that there were to be no exceptions regarding holds on the specific ships earmarked for the beginning of the phase-in.

So what are the ships excluded? I have not had problems with Allure, Freedom and Jewel

All this change will do is making them have to process 1000s of extra cc refunds. Seems to me a hold that just cancels out is a lot easier on their end. And , this way, you are in no rush to cancel if you've deposited and know you have until final payment day

I've used the holds a couple of times in the past. It's not a make or break for me, but if I find a great rate sometimes I want to lock that in before the rate changes. And then talk to my husband and/or work about the time off I need.

All of that in a 24hour period.....:rolleyes:

Yes. Believe it or not, it is possible to look at airfare and check with your workplace about vacation time in a 24 hour period.

There was NO judgment in my post. So again there are many reasons why folks could not accomplish that list in 24 hours.

The :rolleyes: emoticon implies a bit of judgment, whether you meant it to or not. Made it seem like you were being a jerk.

What do you mean? Why did I call RCI directly instead of booking online? Because that's the way I prefer to do it, and there were things I wanted to do with the booking (like apply a next cruise certificate) which couldn't be done by booking online.

I was told over a year ago that courtesy holds could not be done for phone reservations, only online. We were still able to apply a next cruise certificate.

All of that in a 24hour period.....:rolleyes:

I agree with you. You need to check things out before you agree to something.

Edit: Does anyone know of any other cruise lines that offer 24 hour holds? Don't recall having that option with other lines. Just curious.

Denise

Princess offers courtesy holds, if I recall correctly. At least they did as of earlier this summer, on their US website. I think they're 2- or 3-day holds at that.

I wonder if this "no courtesy holds" will also extend to Celebrity? Celebrity has (had?) 24-hour courtesy holds too.

I've used courtesy holds myself. On Royal, I let a courtesy hold on a D2 expire but phoned the CVP a few days later and booked a less-expensive D7 after I'd done more research on the cabin type and what features would be above and below the cabin, and figured out that the D7 would give me more bang for the buck.

We may never know the real reason for doing away with 24-hour holds, but I like the suggestions in this thread for a $25 hold deposit applicable towards cruise deposit if you book. United Airlines has a paid Farelock program that lets you lock in a fare for three or seven days. Of course, airfare and cruise fare are different animals, and the cheapest airfare is usually non-refundable which can make a small "hold" deposit more attractive.

Edit: Does anyone know of any other cruise lines that offer 24 hour holds? Don't recall having that option with other lines. Just curious.

Denise

Norwegian and Carnival offer courtesy holds

I was told over a year ago that courtesy holds could not be done for phone reservations, only online. We were still able to apply a next cruise certificate.

That's true, but in my first post, I mentioned that the phone reservation agent was quoting me a much higher price than what I was seeing online, so I had to put an online courtesy hold on the cabin, and then the agent over the phone was able to secure the lower price for me (On her end, she was not seeing the same price as I was). The point of my post was that a courtesy hold is useful for another reason besides the common one.

Then, I was questioned by the post I quoted why I was calling the agent in the first place. I don't really understand the reason for questioning me regarding that except to nitpick, and my second post (the one you quoted) was addressing that.

I prefer to book a cruise over the phone rather than online. Simple as that. This particular booking was complicated for a number of reasons, one of which was converting the next cruise certificate. I was using multiple credit cards to pay, my travel companion (my cousin) has a hypenated first name and I wasn't sure how to enter it since I couldn't use special characters, etc. I felt more comfortable doing it over the phone than online.

So what are the ships excluded I have not had problems with Allure, Freedom and Jewel

According to the rep - Freedom is among one of the first and the phase-in is just starting. I noticed the "hold" button missing the latter part of last week when I first started looking for a Nov. 2016 cruise.