VOS June 2012 inventory gone because of cruisetour bookings?

[art4u]

Is anyone familiar with a cruisetour booking and how it affects inventory?

 

We booked our June 11, 2012 VOS cruise out of Venice last month on March 13 - basically as soon as it opened up for bookings.

 

Our friends who tried 2 weeks later to book same cruise found no cabins at all on the ship except for Junior Suites.

 

Can't imagine with more than a year out that all those cabins were gone in two weeks.

 

But after many calls to RCL no one can offer up why, but 2 agents did say they couldn't see why all the cabins were gone, and that there wasn't a "charter".

 

BUT - after looking at a certain other website I found VOS has two other sailings in June 2012 - one just a few days before and another one during the time when ours would be setting sail. What?? Then I looked at the coding and found that it is a Cruisetour (land package first and then you can join the cruise or join the cruise part way through) -

 

so am assuming that this has impacted something on the RCL site so show no cabins available on our cruise.

 

Question...do travel companies get to put a "hold" cabins - and if so, for how long?

 

Thanks

[39august]

Yes they can and do. How long, I don't know. If your friends want to book your cruise, have them google ship and date and whoever is holding cabins should show up. Then they can book thru that agency.

[art4u]

Thanks but having trying that for 2 weeks that way and nothing -

 

and have called RCL and about 15 different agencies and no one has shared anything as to whom it could be -

 

BUT have just discovered a posting on this site and found a number for the RCL cruisetour department and they have referred me to group bookings to see if some agencies have a hold on these cabins and who they may be :)

 

phew!

 

Thanks though... :)