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24-hour courtesy hold no longer available to Caribbean and other destinations

travelgoddess1
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travelgoddess1

travelgoddess1

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After searching around the new website layout for the courtesy hold option, and not finding it, I called RCI to inquire. I was told that the Caribbean "and other destinations" are not allowing courtesy holds, and that this is a "test" by RCI. The agent seemed unhappy to be explaining it to me, so I can only assume there has been some blowback for them regarding this policy. Has anyone else encountered this issue, or know why it is being implemented?

 

If a cruise is departing within 11 months of when I book it, I put a courtesy hold on the cabin, in order to check flight and hotel availability. This puts me in the position of not booking any RCI future sailings that are less than 11 months to departure.

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monctonguy

monctonguy

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Yes, this changed a few months ago. It's not very nice as when you see a deal for the cruise, of course you may need to check with airfare, hotel, work, family or friends going with you etc...

 

I can't imagine it was hurting their bottom line as it was only for 24hrs.....

 

Of course they tell you that you can book with a deposit and then cancel and get it back...but not very convenient or customer friendly....

 

I hope it is only a trial and they get lots of negative feedback on it.....not sure what other cruise lines offer but..

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Biker19

Biker19

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If you do a search on this issue, you'll find lots of posts about this when the web site was redesigned. The 24 hr hold feature was taken away at that time. It came back about a week later and now it has been taken away again. The IT guys really just like aggravating people.

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travelgoddess1

travelgoddess1

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If you do a search on this issue, you'll find lots of posts about this when the web site was redesigned. The 24 hr hold feature was taken away at that time. It came back about a week later and now it has been taken away again. The IT guys really just like aggravating people.

 

I tried to see if other threads had been started on this topic, did not find any, and had not heard on other threads about it. The last time I put a courtesy hold on a cruise was last month (November), and I had no problem.

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Biker19

Biker19

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I tried to see if other threads had been started on this topic, did not find any, and had not heard on other threads about it. The last time I put a courtesy hold on a cruise was last month (November), and I had no problem.

 

Here's the long thread from when this issue started:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2261243&highlight=courtesy+hold

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travelgoddess1

travelgoddess1

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I have no problem holding any cruise by RCCL, caribbean or otherwise. I even did ~3 early this morning trying to get a good Empress stateroom.

 

 

I guess they are picking on me, then. I have tried 3 different browsers on 2 different computers/tablets, so I don't think it's operator error.

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Firefighterhoop

Firefighterhoop

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After searching around the new website layout for the courtesy hold option, and not finding it, I called RCI to inquire. I was told that the Caribbean "and other destinations" are not allowing courtesy holds, and that this is a "test" by RCI. The agent seemed unhappy to be explaining it to me, so I can only assume there has been some blowback for them regarding this policy. Has anyone else encountered this issue, or know why it is being implemented?

 

If a cruise is departing within 11 months of when I book it, I put a courtesy hold on the cabin, in order to check flight and hotel availability. This puts me in the position of not booking any RCI future sailings that are less than 11 months to departure.

 

Just used it last night... it is in a different spot than it used to be. It was on top of the page where you entered guest information. Hope that helps.

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FLACRUISER99

FLACRUISER99

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After searching around the new website layout for the courtesy hold option, and not finding it, I called RCI to inquire. I was told that the Caribbean "and other destinations" are not allowing courtesy holds, and that this is a "test" by RCI. The agent seemed unhappy to be explaining it to me, so I can only assume there has been some blowback for them regarding this policy. Has anyone else encountered this issue, or know why it is being implemented?

 

 

 

If a cruise is departing within 11 months of when I book it, I put a courtesy hold on the cabin, in order to check flight and hotel availability. This puts me in the position of not booking any RCI future sailings that are less than 11 months to departure.

 

 

Karen, I also was able to put a courtesy hold on an Empress 5 day (May 14) without any problem.

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travelgoddess1

travelgoddess1

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Just used it last night... it is in a different spot than it used to be. It was on top of the page where you entered guest information. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks -- in the spot where the courtesy hold is now supposed to be, I have a blank "box." I plugged in several different sail dates with the same results. Perhaps this is like the onboard gift preference page for Crown & Anchor -- some of us have a blank page there, too. :rolleyes:

 

Personally, I think it's pretty s***ty of Royal to take this away. 24 hours isn't that long. To not apply it consistently one way or the other is even worse. Seriously, how does a 24 hour hold hurt?

 

Exactly. :)

 

Thanks for all the information and helpful suggestions. I knew I could count on the CC group! :)

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Big_G

Big_G

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Personally, I think it's pretty s***ty of Royal to take this away. 24 hours isn't that long. To not apply it consistently one way or the other is even worse. Seriously, how does a 24 hour hold hurt?

 

I'd agree with you if I thought that was their intention but given how some inexplicably have access to it and some don't, I'd lean more toward incompetence.

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Scotty G

Scotty G

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After searching around the new website layout for the courtesy hold option, and not finding it, I called RCI to inquire. I was told that the Caribbean "and other destinations" are not allowing courtesy holds, and that this is a "test" by RCI. The agent seemed unhappy to be explaining it to me, so I can only assume there has been some blowback for them regarding this policy. Has anyone else encountered this issue, or know why it is being implemented?

 

If a cruise is departing within 11 months of when I book it, I put a courtesy hold on the cabin, in order to check flight and hotel availability. This puts me in the position of not booking any RCI future sailings that are less than 11 months to departure.

 

When trying a fake booking for Empress of the Seas yesterday the Courtesy Hold feature was available.

 

The inconsistencies with IT programmers and customer service personnel continue!

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