Royal Caribbean updated their courtesy hold times this week and the maximum allowed courtesy hold period is now five days.
Royal Caribbean said that the reason for this update was so that they could provide a more streamlined booked experience.
The cruise line also said that this will help travel agents by making their bookings easier to manage while encouraging their clients to finalize their reservations earlier.
It will also free up cabins so agents can get accurate stateroom availability.
What is a courtesy hold?
A courtesy hold allows guests to reserve a cabin on a future cruise without paying the deposit right away.
Royal Caribbean’s courtesy hold guidelines are now as follows:
- 0 hold days for cruises departing within 0 to 30 days
- 1 hold day for cruises departing within 31 to 45 days
- 2 hold days for cruises departing within 46 to 90 days
- 5 hold days for cruises departing within 91 days or more
This applies only to individual reservations and the deposit schedule for group bookings remains the same.
To avoid automatic cancellations, the required deposit needs to be paid by the option date, prior to the automatic process running at 11:00 PM EDT each night. If not, the reservation will get cancelled.
In addition, the cruise line will no longer offer extensions on courtesy holds.
This update from Royal Caribbean went into effect on October 28, 2024.
Reservations made before this date will keep the previous hold times.
