Thinking about booking a cruise, but aren't ready to commit yet? It's now easier to buy yourself more time to think it over.
Royal Caribbean has updated its policy regarding courtesy holds to give guests more time before it expires.
A courtesy hold allows a guest to hold a booking with no deposit.
This hold allows the guest to hold not only the cabin, but also the promotional pricing.
Travel agents were sent an update that indicates as of October 28, 2024, the maximum allowed courtesy hold period has been increased to 5 days. Any booking created before October 28th will be honored under the existing option date policy.
The exact length of time you have under a courtesy hold depends on how far in advance you are booking:
- 0 hold days for sailings departing within 0 to 30 days
- 1 hold day for sailings departing within 31 to 45 days
- 2 hold days for sailings departing within 46 to 90 days
- 5 hold days for sailings departing within 91 days or more
The new five day policy is available if you book on your own or with a travel agent. Here's an example of the five day hold available for a cruise in December 2025:
The cruise line says the change was made to make things simpler, "This change is designed to simplify the booking process across all channels, ensuring that both you, as the advisor, and your guests have access to the most accurate inventory across our fleet."
They also said they hope more time will provide, "a more streamlined booking experience, making your bookings easier to manage, and encouraging your clients to finalize their reservations earlier."
In order to avoid a cancellation, payments need to be made prior to 11:00 PM EDT. If no payment is made window expires, the reservation is automatically cancelled.
Why place a hold instead of making a deposit
There are a few good reasons to place a hold on a cabin before booking a cruise.
Placing a hold locks in the price, which means you have more time to decide to book the cruise.
You not only get to hold the price, but also any promotions that come with the price, such as kids sail free, onboard credit, et al.
All too often, cabins get booked up before someone can decide on if they want to cruise. This ensures more time to get vacation time approved from work, pet setting, and other considerations you may need to secure before being ready to book.
Another advantage of a hold is you can investigate which add-ons are available to book, such as drink packages, shore excursions, and more.
Unlike a booking, there's no money at play. This means it's easy to lock in a price of a cabin for a short period of time to decide later.
Courtesy hold vs deposit
You might be wondering what the differences and advantages are to placing a hold or a deposit on a sailing.
A courtesy hold requires no money down, but only lasts up to 48 hours before it expires.
A deposit requires at least a few hundred dollars down, but ensures that cabin is yours until you cancel or if you fail to make final payment date.
Both a courtesy hold and a deposit secure the price and promotions at the time of booking.
If you cancel a hold, there's no penalty or money to be refunded. A cancelled deposit means potentially money to be refunded and/or money lost due to a penalty from a non-refundable deposit type.
You should think of courtesy holds as a way to give yourself more time to think about booking without losing a specific cabin and/or price.
Deposits ensure the room is yours until final payment date, albeit with certain rules depending on which deposit type you choose (refundable or non-refundable).
If your sailing is already past final payment date, then full payment will be required at the time of booking. A courtesy hold would still allow you to reserve a room temporarily without money down.
