People hold cabins (mostly Suites) and don't use them

[actuarian]

Change the US rules to the rest of the World's Rules and don't refund deposits for cancelled bookings.

 

That'll stop it soon enough!

 

Better yet, do what Disney Cruise Line has been doing for a while. On Disney, deposits are still refundable for ordinary rooms but they are non-refundable for suites and concierge rooms. Therefore, those rooms (which are always in short supply) do not get taken off the market by people who are not sure they will use them.

[troykahack]

Better yet, do what Disney Cruise Line has been doing for a while. On Disney, deposits are still refundable for ordinary rooms but they are non-refundable for suites and concierge rooms. Therefore, those rooms (which are always in short supply) do not get taken off the market by people who are not sure they will use them.

 

Great Idea.... thanks...

[Cuervosar]

O good lord. If the stockholders knew that RCI was hiding the deposits under the bed and not investing the money to make money they would replace the board of directors and the officers. It is called running a business, and it is easily accounted for.

 

Do you pedantically argue every point posted on the Internet? Inquiring minds. :rolleyes: What I am saying is occasionally, and possibly by accident you make a valid point, but in fighting over every reply you inevitably destroy not only your argument, but definitely your credibility. Just trying to help.:eek:

 

You remind me of Bicker from this forum many many years ago... Fan of the old Dis boards?:D. Some of the old timers here will giggle when they read this.:eek:

 

JC

 

Pretty much agree with everything above. Not an accountant, but a competent corporation is not going to just let money "sit" without putting it to work, that would be stupid.

 

Also not sure on the inability to plan ahead. I get that many careers have demanding and inflexible time schedules, which is why we book sometimes 18 months ahead. Then we put a big X on that part of the calendar and let everybody know ahead of time we are not available. Could something come up? Sure, but then we make a decision based on priorities. If we have to bail on our trip, bingo, our corner aft balcony just became available.

 

We don't even expect to be able to book less than 12 months ahead if we want to choose our exact cabin.

 

Bottom line, the Corporation sets the rules, the customers are free to game the system. Don't like the system? Write to the Corp, I doubt they really give a frack about anything posted here.

[njm5378]

Make that "investing & financing".

As a retired CPA, I can't help but laugh at troykahack's thought process (or lack thereof).

 

I am laughing also. I was going to offer him my shovel. Can you imaging the news story if retailers did not record any revenue during the Christmas shopping season under the premise that they were going to wait until February to see who returned gifts.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Cabin Hogs > Chair Hogs & Balcony Smokers.

 

It's pure selfishness. Nothing more & nothing less.

[Yvie]

Wow, that sucks. If we all played that game there would be no cabins to book. I suppose in the end it is the cruise ship that loses as it now has JS and suites that it can't sell because no one wants to pay big bucks right before sail time. Maybe the balcony/ JS cruisers win if the upgrade fairy comes calling to fill those empty rooms. I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and start reserving...

 

We leave on a four night Bahamas cruise in little over a week and just got a call from Royal Caribbean today asking if we wanted to upgrade to a Grand Suite (we were booked in a JS) for $200. We said yes! My husband took the call and apparently there were several GS open. Rep didn't say why but it was his job to fill them.

[Faustballer]

So many bad posts. So many, who doesn´t understand the issue.

 

But not all : !!!

 

 

Cabin Hogs > Chair Hogs & Balcony Smokers.

 

It's pure selfishness. Nothing more & nothing less.

[troykahack]

So many bad posts. So many, who doesn´t understand the issue.

 

But not all : !!!

 

A new term, I like.... CABIN HOGS...

 

 

At least a few see the issue... you will not get any shoulders to cry on from those out of the US.

 

I like the Disney policy as it applies to Suites....

[StolidCruiser]

<snip>

We all miss out on the cabin we want or the rate or the cruise we wanted at one point or another. We can't always get what we want, we just need to be mature enough to accept reality and move on.

 

Do you really think that's gonna happen? ;)

[Shippy]

Internet....and probably other...big agencys hold blocks of cabins they do not release until the final due date.

I was recently trying to get a certain category cabin with another cruise line. When I called them direct, I asked about getting wait listed. He told me he could check to see if any of those cabins were being held without money. If so, he could get one released. I asked him how a cabin could be held without money & he explained the big agencys do it all the time. but if a paying customer wants one, they can get it released. This would have to be done by the cruise line not an internet agency.

[troykahack]

 

As far as your comments about deposits, do you have any actual data to back up your claims? You have no idea what the financial status is of frequent cruisers.

 

Look, this mainly applies to those that live close to some ports, like PC. The 3 day cruises.... many locals can leave just a bit earlier from work on a Friday and then be at work around 9 on Monday... as long as the ship arrives on time.... these are the people I KNOW that reserve many of the Suites on the 3 day cruises and then pick and choose them as the weekends go by, up until the final payment date.... wasn't much of a problem when Enchantment was here at PC, but with Majesty, no normal cabins have balconies and the rooms are very small as compared to other ships. The crew is awesome and one of the best getaways around, the reason for all the reserved cabins. People love to talk in the Schooner Lounge before muster... it doesn't take all that much money to reserve 3 months of weekends, $2400, that later can be applied to any actual cruise one takes.... look, it is going on.... What is it they say..... TRUST ME

[troykahack]

Internet....and probably other...big agencys hold blocks of cabins they do not release until the final due date.

I was recently trying to get a certain category cabin with another cruise line. When I called them direct, I asked about getting wait listed. He told me he could check to see if any of those cabins were being held without money. If so, he could get one released. I asked him how a cabin could be held without money & he explained the big agencys do it all the time. but if a paying customer wants one, they can get it released. This would have to be done by the cruise line not an internet agency.

 

Suites..... the large TA's hold very few GS and above Suites for the taking.... On Celebrity, they do hold some Concierge class rooms but those are about the same as S Balcony with a few more perks... and I asked and haven't found one holding Suites on Majesty ...

[Shippy]

Suites..... the large TA's hold very few GS and above Suites for the taking.... On Celebrity, they do hold some Concierge class rooms but those are about the same as S Balcony with a few more perks... and I asked and haven't found one holding Suites on Majesty ...

 

It was a full suite they were checking for me......

[Retired LEO]

Their seems to be a practice on HOLDING Suites or cabins, way ahead of time and then releasing them. I personally know some that have a practice of booking almost all weekends of particular ships and then release them at final payment, so they can pick and choose which times they use.

 

This practice creates several problems for those of us that can not book so far in advance.

 

I will give an example....

 

We booked a cruise with other friends back in May for a cruise on Serenade 11 day in Nov 2016. NO JS or GS were available. So we booked a S Balcony and asked to wait-list for a paid upgrade to a GS. I kept watching the cabin availability and found JS available in July and was able to upgrade with a Club Royale discount. Then about two weeks later I found a GS available and upgraded with same discount (not same price by any means).

 

Now I look today, and about 1/3 the GS are now available. The JS were sold out too and now are available. The problem is, the rates normally climb the closer to the cruise date.

So, I am not sure I like the policy and how do others feel about reserving cabins at one rate and then not using them and others must now pay a higher rate to claim them? I think RCCL should limit the amount a cruiser can hold with a deposit that can be shifted to another cruise.

 

Around final payment, you are likely to see Suites open that had not been open previously as a result of this practice of holding cabins. So just look around final payment time.

 

How do you feel about this practice of holding cabins and not using them. I am not talking about someone that would hold one cabin, but someone who holds multiple cabins/bookings and then uses only a few.... Suites are in limited quantity, and on ships like Majesty/Empress, are the only cabins that offer a Balcony and therefore a show stopper for us to book as all are sold out for most of the weekend cruises.

 

I can see the flames coming...

__________________

 

Alright let's go back to your original post.

 

First of all 11 night itineraries to the Southern Caribbean are extremely popular due to the length of the cruise and the ports that are visited.

 

This particular cruise books up fast and furious. Do you really think that you're going to get the cabin of your choice 6 months from sailing?

 

Prime cabins on a sailing such as this often sell out a year or more prior to sailing.

 

You will find cabins open up periodically for a variety of reasons. Some people realize they can't make the final payment. Something else may have come up in their lives. For whatever reason some people do have to cancel.

 

By insinuating that people are hoarding cabins just so that Troy can't get his cabin is totally ridiculous.

[jonj]

The cruise industry gets more popular every year. With the internet people learned that 90% of the time booking early gets the best price. Also with the internet people read of these "great" rooms on a particular ship and in order to get it book as soon as the booking window opens. To get both the room you prefer and the possible lowest price people book up to 18 months in advance. A lot can happen in that time and circumstances change therefore cancellations happen.

 

I agree that some are also TA's holding group space but to be honest I am surprised they allow suites to be held. I know Disney, when they used to offer group space, suites were not an option to "hold" but could be added to group bookings with a full deposit and had to have the person's name that were going to be in that room.

 

Doesn't RCCL have a "minimum" number of people for certain cabins depending on if the ship is filling up? Could it be that a room may not be available because someone is pricing it for 2 and they are having a "minimum" of 3 for that specific room type / ship/ date. If at final payment they aren't getting what they want to fit in the room they open it up to everyone. At least that is the way I understand it, of course based on the room fitting the required number of people.

 

Add to it that some ships do not have a lot of suites available and people that prefer suites will book way in advance. I have a Grand Suite on the Navigator for a June 2017 sailing and as of this morning there is one GS left. This is the date and room type we wanted so booked a year in advance to make sure we locked in our preference. If our circumstances change and we have to cancel / change we can but we are planners and tend to book in advance. Do things happen which can change our plans? Sure but I am happy to have the option.

 

As others have said you can book in advance and cancel up to 91 days prior without penalty so no loss there unless you do not live in the US but even then you can book through a US travel agent.

Edited September 2, 2016 by jonj

[S.A.M.J.R.]

But this is generally the rule out of the US....

What is the rule?

 

And you still haven't said how many people told you they book multiple cruises intending to cancel later.

[Baron Barracuda]

IMO Royal loves it when folks hoard cabins.

 

This makes their bookings look stronger which makes the securities analysts happy. The analysts were very unhappy with Carnival's bookings today and their stock price is down almost 5%. Fain understands that, the more bookings the better.

 

Why else does he run super low deposit deals with no quantity limits? $25 deposit? Give me 10 and I'll decide later which ones I'll actually take. Do you think Fain cares? He knows that prices generally rise over time, so if I drop a cabin he can re-sell it later at a higher price.

[marci22]

Personally, only cabin hoarders are working "within the rules" laid out by RCI. So why get mad at the people playing by the rules and not mad at RCI?

 

I agree. Also, I don't think a lot of people are actually doing this. The vast majority of posters here are looking for ways to swing a wow sale deposit, not book up multiple suites worth thousands of deposit dollars.

 

I have noticed certain popular room locations going quickly when bookings open, but often, those same cabins will become available shortly, if you keep watching.

 

The average person doesn't want to hog up all the bookings; they want to get the cabin they want, and then drop the bookings they don't need and get their money back.

[Beachammo]

Wouldn't call it selfish to have a back up plan for each one of my cruises. Maybe "smart" is the word you're looking for?

 

Royal has chartered out three of my previous cruises and had me scrambling for a decent cabin each time.

 

Also I have friends who still have jobs and can't plan that far out.....so I have options for them as that timeframe gets closer. That way I still have my preferred cabin and fantastic price.

 

I believe I'm the only one that has admitted doing this. I never book suites (maybe a JS sometimes). Don't believe hoarding is the problem with Majesty's availability.

[molly361]

Wouldn't call it selfish to have a back up plan for each one of my cruises. Maybe "smart" is the word you're looking for?

 

Royal has chartered out three of my previous cruises and had me scrambling for a decent cabin each time.

 

Also I have friends who still have jobs and can't plan that far out.....so I have options for them as that timeframe gets closer. That way I still have my preferred cabin and fantastic price.

 

I believe I'm the only one that has admitted doing this. I never book suites (maybe a JS sometimes). Don't believe hoarding is the problem with Majesty's availability.

 

You are not alone. We also book back up plans. We just had our 6th redeploment/chartered cruises in a year so it is good to have a backup.;)

 

Don't worry Troy none of ours are suites.

Edited September 2, 2016 by molly361

[alfaeric]

It is a good question about how many people reserve more than, say, 5 without the intention of using them.

 

We've had to make last min changes which meant moving a cruise to a fake one until other options opened up. Is that bad?

 

Or is it bad to make your best guess for the future and book a cabin that you may not use?

 

I can't really fathom more than a handful of people hoarding that many cabins. It's still a very tiny fraction of all cruisers.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[ThirstyCruiser]

Cabin hogs do not have a positive or even neutral impact on other cruisers.

It might be argued they increase the price others pay for their cruise. Even if they increase it by "just" 10%, that is serious scratch.

 

I don't know how many Cabin hogs there, but its greater than 0.

 

My problem is not with them, but with the rules that allow the practice with zero penalty. If I had the desire to tie up all that money with multiple bookings for options, just in case, I would take advantage of the policy too. But I don't...I just lament on the poor selection and high price should the desire strike to cruise < 12 months.

 

Because it is within the rules, imagine if 50% of the people did it.

 

RCCL would probably like it if more people did it......cue up the ominous music, a darkened board room full of RCCL big wigs...."Gentlemen, we need to figure out a way to get more $ per cabin, and if we can get some folks to lend us their cash interest free at the same time, that would be great, and if we can show our cabins booking faster to promote a false sense of urgency, even better. Now, lets see.....how can we accomplish that? Hmmmmm...."

 

Honest question, why don't the airlines allow the practice? If its because it was a problem for airlines but not for cruise lines, how / why?

[xpcdoojk]

Cabin hogs do not have a positive or even neutral impact on other cruisers.

It might be argued they increase the price others pay for their cruise. Even if they increase it by "just" 10%, that is serious scratch.

 

I don't know how many Cabin hogs there, but its greater than 0.

 

My problem is not with them, but with the rules that allow the practice with zero penalty. If I had the desire to tie up all that money with multiple bookings for options, just in case, I would take advantage of the policy too. But I don't...I just lament on the poor selection and high price should the desire strike to cruise < 12 months.

 

Because it is within the rules, imagine if 50% of the people did it.

 

RCCL would probably like it if more people did it......cue up the ominous music, a darkened board room full of RCCL big wigs...."Gentlemen, we need to figure out a way to get more $ per cabin, and if we can get some folks to lend us their cash interest free at the same time, that would be great, and if we can show our cabins booking faster to promote a false sense of urgency, even better. Now, lets see.....how can we accomplish that? Hmmmmm...."

 

Honest question, why don't the airlines allow the practice? If its because it was a problem for airlines but not for cruise lines, how / why?

 

So, I am economist, eh. Math and probabilities and how people react in normal situations is sort of my domain.

 

When I went to Vegas as a 21 year old, there was the perfect game plan for making a free trip, it requires that you have a large sum of money, but it "guaranteed" a winner. Gamblers love winning. So, let's say in 1980 you needed 150$ a day to pay for a hotel room, drinks and a few bits. So, you walk in to a casino any casino, and lay 150 on the pass line. If you win, yeah, you just made the days wage, and you could have a nice dinner, and do something. If you lost, you walk out of the casino, because the casino knows that people know this game. You go next door. You plop $300 down on the pass line, and if you win yeah, you recouped your losses, and you can pay for the day... If you lose, you walk out of the casino to the next, you put $600 on the pass line, and repeat, now, pretty soon you are talking a lot more money than I could afford in 1980, but since the pass line you win 49% of the time.... For most players, you win before you get murdered by the mob.

 

I am pretty sure that most people booking the majesty are booking inside cabins because they are cheap and they live in Florida and it is just a weekend cruise, and heck there are only 80 balconies on the whole ship (I actually don't know how many, when I sailed the Majesty I was on deck three in an inside cabin). Those are the people probably playing this game because they are retired living in Florida.... The people playing the weekend roulette our OP is talking about are rich people who want to take a 3 day 4 day weekend, and live like a mini sultan. Those people like our OP can afford to put 10 deposits in to do one cruise in 10, but really ... Are they that pathetic to actually do this.... I have to be a Sultan, I can't just take a 3 day cruise in one of those pathetic inside cabins... Having been in then in 1996 they suck.

 

On another note how people game the system, I am going to NYC and there is an awesome article written by a computer nerd, telling how the NY metro system games the game, by charging $2.50 per ride, but you can't by a $10 card because they give a 5% discount, so if you need 4 rides, you actually leave like a 1.95 on the card that they take as pure thievery... And this is your government...

 

So, again, what is the point... Nobody knows how many people game the system and further, Who TF cares. O our OP and a couple of cranks who think that anyone smarter than them is a HOG.... Whatever, get a life.

 

JC<----- lives a 1000 miles from an Ocean port and can't spend a long weekend screwing my boss showing up late Monday and skipping out early Friday... O wait he is the boss.:eek::D:rolleyes:

[tlatrice]

So, I am economist, eh. Math and probabilities and how people react in normal situations is sort of my domain.

 

When I went to Vegas as a 21 year old, there was the perfect game plan for making a free trip, it requires that you have a large sum of money, but it "guaranteed" a winner. Gamblers love winning. So, let's say in 1980 you needed 150$ a day to pay for a hotel room, drinks and a few bits. So, you walk in to a casino any casino, and lay 150 on the pass line. If you win, yeah, you just made the days wage, and you could have a nice dinner, and do something. If you lost, you walk out of the casino, because the casino knows that people know this game. You go next door. You plop $300 down on the pass line, and if you win yeah, you recouped your losses, and you can pay for the day... If you lose, you walk out of the casino to the next, you put $600 on the pass line, and repeat, now, pretty soon you are talking a lot more money than I could afford in 1980, but since the pass line you win 49% of the time.... For most players, you win before you get murdered by the mob.

 

I am pretty sure that most people booking the majesty are booking inside cabins because they are cheap and they live in Florida and it is just a weekend cruise, and heck there are only 80 balconies on the whole ship (I actually don't know how many, when I sailed the Majesty I was on deck three in an inside cabin). Those are the people probably playing this game because they are retired living in Florida.... The people playing the weekend roulette our OP is talking about are rich people who want to take a 3 day 4 day weekend, and live like a mini sultan. Those people like our OP can afford to put 10 deposits in to do one cruise in 10, but really ... Are they that pathetic to actually do this.... I have to be a Sultan, I can't just take a 3 day cruise in one of those pathetic inside cabins... Having been in then in 1996 they suck.

 

On another note how people game the system, I am going to NYC and there is an awesome article written by a computer nerd, telling how the NY metro system games the game, by charging $2.50 per ride, but you can't by a $10 card because they give a 5% discount, so if you need 4 rides, you actually leave like a 1.95 on the card that they take as pure thievery... And this is your government...

 

So, again, what is the point... Nobody knows how many people game the system and further, Who TF cares. O our OP and a couple of cranks who think that anyone smarter than them is a HOG.... Whatever, get a life.

 

JC<----- lives a 1000 miles from an Ocean port and can't spend a long weekend screwing my boss showing up late Monday and skipping out early Friday... O wait he is the boss.:eek::D:rolleyes:

 

Love this!

 

I've been following this thread and I just don't see the problem.

[ONECRUISER]

Love this!

 

I've been following this thread and I just don't see the problem.

 

I agree...