Courtesy Holds are being phased out

What is the reduced deposit? I thought that was only for booking onboard

A WOW sale, for example.

A WOW sale, for example.

Do they still have those

Do they still have those

Yes- There is one starting tomorrow that is offering a 50% deposit

Do they still have those

I think someone just posted today about an upcoming WOW sale.

I was able to do a Courtesy Hold this am for a Med cruise on Rhapsody next May. Haven't looked at any others but this one worked.

I was able to do a Courtesy Hold this am for a Med cruise on Rhapsody next May. Haven't looked at any others but this one worked.

Jewel next fall is good as well

I am the OP of this thread, from what I was made to understand, the "no holds" are going fleet wide because of internal departmental issues and the tying up of too much inventory. Given those reasons, it may eventually extend to TA's, but I did not inquire specifically about them.

I understand that you were reporting what you were told, and I am not trying to shoot the messenger in any way.

I have to say that Royals logic in this issue makes no sense. A 24 hour hold really cannot tie up a lot of inventory for a significant period of time....it only ties it up for 24 hours and then automatically goes back to inventory after the allots time. No employees 'work time' gets used in the process. Having internal commission issues, is not a reason to penalize the customers who you want to book your cruiseline -- there should be other ways to resolve those matters. The bigger problem is TA's that 'grab up' cabins via some type of hold that takes those cabins out of circulation for a much longer period of time than 24 hours....that really is what should be focused on, not the 24 hour holds by an individual cruiser.

The bigger problem is TA's that 'grab up' cabins via some type of hold that takes those cabins out of circulation for a much longer period of time than 24 hours....that really is what should be focused on, not the 24 hour holds by an individual cruiser.

I've always wondered about this issue, and agree that it seems to present a much larger issue than a 24 hour hold. Can someone in the know clarify how this works with TAs gobbling up large blocks of cabins? How many / for how long can they hold?

I've often wondered the same thing. A couple of times I've used a website that will allow TA's to compete for a booking and you can get as many as 10 or even more different TA quotes for a cruise. I noticed that the last time I did that, by the time the 9th and 10th TA got a quote to me, they said the cabin category I was looking at wasn't available (and, what a coincidence, at the beginning of the process there were at least 7-8 left on the RCI website in inventory). I wonder if TA's will put a hold on a cabin themselves while quoting someone in hopes that they get the booking.

It's for that very reason that I won't be using that website anymore...it definitely made me feel uncomfortable thinking that my quote had depleted an entire category (in this case, JS for a Freedom cruise in 2016) for a day.

I don't understand the logic of removing holds. If a large amount of cabins are being held then remaining cabins are sold at a higher cost. Simple supply and demand, prices increase when inventory goes down. Isn't this better for RC bottom line? Additionally, wouldn't the perception that a ship is full be a good selling / marketing tool?

The bigger problem is TA's that 'grab up' cabins via some type of hold that takes those cabins out of circulation for a much longer period of time than 24 hours....that really is what should be focused on, not the 24 hour holds by an individual cruiser.

We've experienced TA's holding large groups of cabins.....especially on popular itineraries. Example...we wanted to book the fall westbound TA a couple of years ago. Early on the morning the itinerary was released there were no Hump or Aft balcony cabins available or JS. A couple of days later many cabins were released by TA's but, by then, pricing had gone up on these highly coveted cabins. I was told TA's got to book before we, the cruising public did, and grabbed the prime real estate. To me.....this isn't fair.

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.

Didn't see your question answered. In accrual accounting, the entry would recognize that the cash was received and establish a liability as there is no sale yet. The cash would likely just be co-mingled with all of their other cash and not in a separate account but they have to "keep track" in a customer deposit liability account how much they received in deposits. As that money becomes non-refundable they can take it out of the liability account and recognize revenue.

As an a side, one of the reasons it is usually suggested to use a credit card for transactions is that in the unlikely event your cruise provider filed for bankruptcy after you made a deposit, you are technically an unsecured creditor and would be way low on the totem pole of getting your money back. In much, much smaller situations (i.e a mom an pop store) having a big credit card company helps as they will typically refund you and deal with the store. The reality is when airlines or other big travel providers have filed for protection, everyone with future tickets is generally safe.

I understand that you were reporting what you were told, and I am not trying to shoot the messenger in any way.

 

I have to say that Royals logic in this issue makes no sense. A 24 hour hold really cannot tie up a lot of inventory for a significant period of time....it only ties it up for 24 hours and then automatically goes back to inventory after the allots time. No employees 'work time' gets used in the process. Having internal commission issues, is not a reason to penalize the customers who you want to book your cruiseline -- there should be other ways to resolve those matters. The bigger problem is TA's that 'grab up' cabins via some type of hold that takes those cabins out of circulation for a much longer period of time than 24 hours....that really is what should be focused on, not the 24 hour holds by an individual cruiser.

I agree that their logic is flawed.

I've always wondered about this issue, and agree that it seems to present a much larger issue than a 24 hour hold. Can someone in the know clarify how this works with TAs gobbling up large blocks of cabins? How many / for how long can they hold?

I am not a TA, and can only relay the information that a TA that I have used in the past had shared with me. When we were looking for a particular cruise, before she would book it for us, she would do a search through her companies internal system to see if any of her fellow TA's from the agency that she worked for (a very large national chain) had some sort of 'group' going on that sailing and she could get one of the cabins that they had 'set aside' for this group. If there was such a group on the sailing with us, we would get the rate that the group was getting for the cabin category we wanted and whatever OBC went along with it. These groups she explained are not 'full ship' or theme type groups -- they could be a 20 cabin group or larger that is on board for some organizational function. On the occasions that she found one, we did not have to sit with them or do anything with them at all....just parleyed on the deal they were getting. If we did not like the cabins they had reserved, she would still be able to book our cabin as one of there group, better for them, because they were one booked cabin closer to their required number. From what she told me, I never had to worry about the group, not reaching the number of cabin and fear losing my price or OBC because these groups seem to know fairly accurately how many cabins they will need for their group. Whatever cabins are not actually chosen do go back into inventory sometime before final payment is due.

I am not a TA, and can only relay the information that a TA that I have used in the past had shared with me. When we were looking for a particular cruise, before she would book it for us, she would do a search through her companies internal system to see if any of her fellow TA's from the agency that she worked for (a very large national chain) had some sort of 'group' going on that sailing and she could get one of the cabins that they had 'set aside' for this group. If there was such a group on the sailing with us, we would get the rate that the group was getting for the cabin category we wanted and whatever OBC went along with it. These groups she explained are not 'full ship' or theme type groups -- they could be a 20 cabin group or larger that is on board for some organizational function. On the occasions that she found one, we did not have to sit with them or do anything with them at all....just parleyed on the deal they were getting. If we did not like the cabins they had reserved, she would still be able to book our cabin as one of there group, better for them, because they were one booked cabin closer to their required number. From what she told me, I never had to worry about the group, not reaching the number of cabin and fear losing my price or OBC because these groups seem to know fairly accurately how many cabins they will need for their group. Whatever cabins are not actually chosen do go back into inventory sometime before final payment is due.

Interesting, thanks. From what you said those sound like legitimate groups. It seems that there are other instances where TAs are just gobbling up lots of cabins because they want to, but without any particular group behind the booking. That seems far more problematic.

Interesting, thanks. From what you said those sound like legitimate groups. It seems that there are other instances where TAs are just gobbling up lots of cabins because they want to, but without any particular group behind the booking. That seems far more problematic.

From my personal perspective (and this comes from over 40 years in sales) as long as there are legitimate groups, someone will find a way to use the legitimate system for their own gains. On the flip side even the legitimate group cruise TA could in theory know that they will need 30 rooms, but to give all the cruises potentially in the group a lot of 'choices' put on hold, many more specific cabins than they will need, knowing that as long as they get their minimum there is no penalty at the time the non committed cabins are turned back to inventory. This is a broad concept from me.

Either way, taking out of inventory cabins for other to book is the problem.

Whatever cabins are not actually chosen do go back into inventory sometime before final payment is due.

From reading CC and from pricing trends, I think a large number of cabins are turned back in around the 60 day mark (some at the 90 day mark as well). That's usually when RCI knows what the true inventory picture is like and starts putting cabins on sale if there too much on hand at the prevailing prices.

don't know if its just my old slow pc, but when i get to the room selection page on the website, when it first loads, for a brief second the Courtesy Hold button is there. It appears they took the easy way out and just hide the button rather than removing it. I was able to refresh my page and click fast enough to get to the hold page. now if you want to pick a particular cabin you are out of luck, but at least for the time being you may still be able to hold a price if your fast enough.

I have been trying to decide and finalize plans all week and had been able to put a hold on Anthem and Grandeur this week. Not today! The courtesy hold button is gone!! Well that forced me to just shell over my $500 deposit quickly lol. There weren't many ov cabins left so I just jumped in so I wouldn't lose out. I will definitely miss the courtesy hold feature though. I have received numerous calls and emails from RC reps that I have ignored because I prefer to book on my own. I used an RC vacation planner once and did not like trying to get a hold of them when I wanted to change something as I often do :D.