New Program called "The Key"

[joand452]

We sailed in an ocean suite on Carnival Vista last December -- FTTF was included.  We were with friends, who had a regular balcony cabin.  We did get on the ship well before they did, but our suite was not available to us for at least two hours after their cabin was ready.

 

So glad we hadn't paid extra for that!  

 

I've been reading this thread for since it began -- if pax think this program is worth it for them, why do so many of you complain?  The drink package is not worth it for us, but I don't care if someone else wants to buy it.  I'd never complain and try to talk someone out of it.  

 

If you don't like a for-fee add on, don't buy it.  Plain and simple.

[frank808]

1 hour ago, Ahmne said:

This thread has me back and forth on this. Like others I think faster to the fun on carnival is worth it at that price. 

 

Our upcoming sailing is on the freedom. For our family of 4 with one under 6 I’m not sure if this is worth the $550 cdn for the week. We were thinking of getting vroom for two devices and considering seeing if we can make do with one since it’s so pricey. Say we did go with two, the difference is about $165 for the week vs the key with three devices. We would probably be okay with braving the windjammer when we get onboard  but if we did lunch at Chops it’s $28 each (why isn’t there kids pricing?!) it leaves an outstanding $53 or so for shorter line ups at the flowrider and not having to worry about good seats for the shows...

 

I have it in my shopping cart but not sure if I will check out.

 

 

The 2 device surf and stream package for the week should be about $160 for the week or about $23 a day.  You can buy the 2 device and share the code with another family member.  You can only have 2 devices logged on at once.  Internet on royal should not cost $400 for 7 nights for 2 devices. 

[Ahmne]

1 hour ago, frank808 said:

The 2 device surf and stream package for the week should be about $160 for the week or about $23 a day.  You can buy the 2 device and share the code with another family member.  You can only have 2 devices logged on at once.  Internet on royal should not cost $400 for 7 nights for 2 devices. 

Thanks! I clicked both me and Dh’s names thinking this related to the two people who would have devices but it was actually charging me for two packages. 

 

 

[crusinthrough]

14 hours ago, Jimbo said:

 

Yes but the price I'm paying for a regular balcony cabin compared to a suite is probably 1/5 of what you are paying for that suite. I'm not going to pay what they charge for those suites just to eat at coastal kitchen.

It's more than Costal Kitchen but I hear you.  The same things are not important to all, which is why options exist.  Dropping my carry on off in my room or a designated area has zero appeal to me.  I wouldn't pay any $ for this option.  I would pay for a bigger room, a nice lounge to relax (not the stuffy diamond lounge), concierge, express walk off with the concierge, dedicated lounge area in terminal, private sun deck etc.  However, the price has to be reasonable.  Some of RC prices for suites are offensive for a one week cruise on a mainstream cruise line. 

[cruise_co]

I just purchased it for our cruise next summer on Lady O for our group of 6 @ $19.99 (2 parents, 4 young adult children)  We are very busy in our work and school lives and as we get older our time has more value. So I will gladly pay a little extra for anything that saves me time on vacation. If we can spend 10 minutes more enjoying our drinks without having to think about getting seats at a show, it is well worth it for us. On land, I would easily pay an extra $20 for a guaranteed seat at a show, so why not on a cruise. And bonus, we get internet which we were going to purchase anyway.  For us, it was a no-brainer since we always take advantage of time saving offers such as FTTF on Carnival, Express passes at Universal, or Early Bird on Southwest.  Yes I know, we are those suckers.

Edited December 28, 2018 by cruise_co

[cruise_co]

On 12/16/2018 at 3:02 PM, Orsino said:

The Walt Disney World "normal days pass" includes Fastpass on the ticket without additional cost. There is no "express pass" at Walt Disney World*. Research and discussion of vacation destinations can be very helpful for planning and understanding the product you are encountering. For example, this thread is useful for determining whether or not The Key is a good purchase for individuals. Other threads, elsewhere on the internet, will explain the ins and outs of Disney's Fastpass system (which is complicated!)

 

* There are other VIP options, but not something that would be classified as an "express pass"

I think the poster you quoted may have mixed up Disney and Universal in Orlando. Many new people think Universal is just another Disney park.

 

Universal does have Express pass. You can either stay in one of their 3 EP hotels or you can purchase it separately. It allows you to enter the Express line any time you want. No advance planning like having to reserve Disney Fast Passes months in advance. You want to go on Gringotts right now, just get in the Express line. No planning needed, completely spur of the moment.  We have ridden a ride 3-4 times with Express pass while passing the same people in the regular lines still waiting for their first ride.

 

So, I get their reference to Express Pass. We have annual passes to Universal and would never consider going without Express pass . The ability to not have to plan anything for vacation is worth it to me. Many people thrive on planning with multiple spreadsheets and touring plans in hand. The planning is half the fun of their vacation. Our definition of fun is a more spur of the moment type vacation, hence the value of Express Pass. When I saw that we would not have to make reservations and have to plan our shows, that was the only thing I needed to read to decide The Key is worth it for our style of travel. 

 

I love it when there are multiple options for different styles of vacationing. For people that love to plan, they can still plan and save money. For those of us who would rather decide at the last minute what we want to do, there is an option to pay for that privilege.

[Saab4444]

The issue is this creates even more classes on the ship like in the old transatlantic liner days with first, second. third and even fourth class. Now you have suites, soon with more private decks inside and outside on new ships, high tier members, fast pass people and the rest. If you stay just in a balcony, that went up in price by 50% in many cases with the last deployments, you are fourth class now in many situations and not just limited to cabins, service and food.

[frank808]

20 minutes ago, cruise_co said:

I think the poster you quoted may have mixed up Disney and Universal in Orlando. Many new people think Universal is just another Disney park.

 

Universal does have Express pass. You can either stay in one of their 3 EP hotels or you can purchase it separately. It allows you to enter the Express line any time you want. No advance planning like having to reserve Disney Fast Passes months in advance. You want to go on Gringotts right now, just get in the Express line. No planning needed, completely spur of the moment.  We have ridden a ride 3-4 times with Express pass while passing the same people in the regular lines still waiting for their first ride.

 

So, I get their reference to Express Pass. We have annual passes to Universal and would never consider going without Express pass . The ability to not have to plan anything for vacation is worth it to me. Many people thrive on planning with multiple spreadsheets and touring plans in hand. The planning is half the fun of their vacation. Our definition of fun is a more spur of the moment type vacation, hence the value of Express Pass. When I saw that we would not have to make reservations and have to plan our shows, that was the only thing I needed to read to decide The Key is worth it for our style of travel. 

 

I love it when there are multiple options for different styles of vacationing. For people that love to plan, they can still plan and save money. For those of us who would rather decide at the last minute what we want to do, there is an option to pay for that privilege.

We are the same at Universal.  Whenever we go to UO we always book a stay at Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific.  The unlimited express pass is way worth it.  Also if you ever do Halloween Horror Nights, express pass is a must or better yet, the private VIP tour.  We did private VIP for the first time this past year and will not do a public VIP tour again.  Will never do another HHN without private VIP tour for one night at least.  

 

Sorry Royal but we will never purchase The Key as it provides no value to us.  For others, it will be worth it.  By the way this threads going it seems Royal has found a new revenue stream. 

[cruise_co]

2 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

The issue is this creates even more classes on the ship like in the old transatlantic liner days with first, second. third and even fourth class. Now you have suites, soon with more private decks inside and outside on new ships, high tier members, fast pass people and the rest. If you stay just in a balcony, that went up in price by 50% in many cases with the last deployments, you are fourth class now in many situations and not just limited to cabins, service and food.

Being able to upgrade your travel experience with the almighty dollar has been around for eons. You can upgrade your flight by choosing First, business, or premium economy. You definitely get more perks with the upgraded seats than you do with basic economy.  You can pay to have your check-in done automatically so you don't have to set a timer to check in at a certain time. On Frontier, you can purchase The Den to enhance even a basic ticket with extra legroom seats. Hotels, you can upgrade to a concierge floor with more perks than someone is a basic 2 queen room.  Many beaches you can upgrade your experience by paying for cabanas or upgraded loungers and umbrellas.  Being able to choose to pay for different levels of service has always been part of vacationing. No different than extra perk being offered if you are willing to pay for it. You are only a 4th class guest only if that is what you choose to see yourself that way. You could also choose to believe that you are much smarter than the idiots like me who choose to pay for perks rather than taking the time to do the research to get the same perks I choose to pay  for but you get them for free.

[Mushroomgav69]

44 minutes ago, cruise_co said:

I think the poster you quoted may have mixed up Disney and Universal in Orlando. Many new people think Universal is just another Disney park.

 

Universal does have Express pass. You can either stay in one of their 3 EP hotels or you can purchase it separately. It allows you to enter the Express line any time you want. No advance planning like having to reserve Disney Fast Passes months in advance. You want to go on Gringotts right now, just get in the Express line. No planning needed, completely spur of the moment.  We have ridden a ride 3-4 times with Express pass while passing the same people in the regular lines still waiting for their first ride.

 

So, I get their reference to Express Pass. We have annual passes to Universal and would never consider going without Express pass . The ability to not have to plan anything for vacation is worth it to me. Many people thrive on planning with multiple spreadsheets and touring plans in hand. The planning is half the fun of their vacation. Our definition of fun is a more spur of the moment type vacation, hence the value of Express Pass. When I saw that we would not have to make reservations and have to plan our shows, that was the only thing I needed to read to decide The Key is worth it for our style of travel. 

 

I love it when there are multiple options for different styles of vacationing. For people that love to plan, they can still plan and save money. For those of us who would rather decide at the last minute what we want to do, there is an option to pay for that privilege.

Hi cruise co. I just remember the line ups and waiting, and waiting, and even more waiting.

i went to both Disney and universal and after thinking back you are right! I did most rides at universal. 

Disney for me was a magical moment where I always wanted to go to Disney as a kid but never did. When I finally got my chance I went around looking at everything and did very little rides. it was more about the experience. The castle, the train the paddle steamer etc.

The waiting in lines for up to an hour was the killer for me at Universal. I Remember thinking “I would kill for a special pass” watching people just walk right past me really appealed to me.

I am going on the Ovation for 19 nights next year. Their will be approx 5k passengers on board. Anything to help with wait times I am willing to pay extra for. Everything else is a bonus.

You get where I was coming from cruise co. It wasn’t about what the ticket was called or who it was from, it was about no or little wait times and being able to be spontaneous. if I would like to see one of the shows at the last moment, Or get off the ship when I am ready and I pay extra for it, I say bargain.

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

5 hours ago, cruise_co said:

Yes I know, we are those suckers. 

👍

[vacationlover_mn]

Our upcoming symphony trip has it for $19.99 a day.  It comes with the luggage drop off, but not early access to the rooms.  It also does not have the no-reserve access to the comedy club... if it has these, I would be super tempted to book 🙂

[Abr155]

For us 2, the math was as follows:

 

Voom Surf & Stream for 2 devices (we had already purchased): $159.92 ($19.99 x 8 days)

Chops lunch embarkation (we had already planned & booked this): $44.00 ($22.00 pp)

TOTAL: $203.92

 

The Key for 2 @ $19.99 pp per day (8 days): $319.84

Saw some disagreement, but The Key includes Voom Surf & Stream for one device PER PERSON, not per stateroom, so we will each have it.

 

Difference: $115.92 or $57.96 per person total. So, we cancelled our original internet and lunch and purchased the Key!

 

When we sailed Carnival, we paid for Faster to the Fun for about $100.00 per cabin to get us on & off the ship sooner, so, RC's price is about the same once you subtract out the internet and lunch.

 

We were already buying internet and Chops lunch, so, the extra $57 pp total was worth it for us on our sold out 8 night Anthem cruise - get on the ship sooner, show up for the shows and have seats waiting for us, have separate times for popular on-ship activities, get off ship sooner at Cococay & last day, etc.  The dropping of the carry-on doesn't really affect us, nor does the lack of getting into stateroom sooner as we plan to be feasting at Chops lol. 

 

I think it depends on your circumstances.  If you have a stateroom full of people, it may not make sense, especially if you weren't planning on internet and lunch for everyone.

[Landlocked Luke]

12 hours ago, joand452 said:

We sailed in an ocean suite on Carnival Vista last December -- FTTF was included.  We were with friends, who had a regular balcony cabin.  We did get on the ship well before they did, but our suite was not available to us for at least two hours after their cabin was ready.

 

So glad we hadn't paid extra for that!  

 

I've been reading this thread for since it began -- if pax think this program is worth it for them, why do so many of you complain?  The drink package is not worth it for us, but I don't care if someone else wants to buy it.  I'd never complain and try to talk someone out of it.  

 

If you don't like a for-fee add on, don't buy it.  Plain and simple.

The reason for the complaints is that many of the benefits provide the convenience to Key holders at the inconvenience of everybody else. It costs RC nothing but further restricts seating, ride operation time, and getting to port for those that don't pay up.

[lovescats5]

Have you been inconvenienced yet by any Key people?  How many times have you wanted to do the flow rider and could not because of a Key person?  How much longer did you have to wait for a tender to get ashore because there were just Key people on the first tender?  Since I did not book an excursion on the last cruise I had to wait for the people who did to get ashore on the first tender to made their excursion, and I was in a suite but I had to wait and this was before the Key was introduced.  I was inconvenienced by the airlines in Sept when I flew to Newark because they let first class on before me.  And then they even let the first economy class group on before me.  I was inconvenienced at Disney World because I did not have the fast pass thing and had to stand in line if I wanted to ride anything. I find it amusing that the same people who buy the Disney or studio fast passes are the same ones who are complaining about the Key program.  So I guess it is ok to cut the line to get on a ride or whatever the Disney passes allow you to do but not allow other people to purchase something like the Key to give them a little better experience on their cruise vacation.  Seems a little hypocritical to me.

[cruise_co]

9 hours ago, frank808 said:

We are the same at Universal.  Whenever we go to UO we always book a stay at Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific.  The unlimited express pass is way worth it.  Also if you ever do Halloween Horror Nights, express pass is a must or better yet, the private VIP tour.  We did private VIP for the first time this past year and will not do a public VIP tour again.  Will never do another HHN without private VIP tour for one night at least.  

 

Sorry Royal but we will never purchase The Key as it provides no value to us.  For others, it will be worth it.  By the way this threads going it seems Royal has found a new revenue stream. 

I think it is also highly subjective to which cruise you are on. I might not have booked it on a Caribbean cruise where the excursion planning is not quite as time consuming. We are on the port intensive Med cruise. I am already spending hours planning the sightseeing in 7 different European cities including several days pre-cruise in Rome. I choose to save some money by researching and utilizing a few private tour companies along with RCI excursions. After seeing every Cathedral and Museum in every port, I am going to be so sick of planned activities that I will want to just get on the boat and not have to worry about anything. I can take the money I saved on a few excursions and apply that to The Key so that we can get on the boat, eat, drink, and spontaneously see whatever show is available if we are up to it. And if we don't make it, I don't have to worry that I don't have reservations for a different time/day and spending time to either stand in line or seeing if there are reservations available at another show for 6 people. We can just go to another one knowing the seats are reserved.  If I can take one part of planning off my plate, the not so important part, I will gladly pay for that.  $20 a day for internet (mandatory for my husband's job and the 20 something adults also "think" it is mandatory) and being able to be spontaneous after days filled with tour plans is very, very reasonable for us. And as an added bonus, we will be able to get off the boat earlier so that we have an extra half hour to visit even more museums and churches. Hmmmm...I am beginning to think Palma might be a beach day and then back to the boat to use those extra flo rider hours.

 

Oh, and Portofino is also our hotel of choice. We were platinum until they did away with YouFirst, so got the added perk of being upgraded to a suite for free.  Perks for pay are everywhere 🙂

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by cruise_co

[cruise_co]

57 minutes ago, Landlocked Luke said:

The reason for the complaints is that many of the benefits provide the convenience to Key holders at the inconvenience of everybody else. It costs RC nothing but further restricts seating, ride operation time, and getting to port for those that don't pay up.

Paying for extras so as not to be inconvenienced is in every facet of our lives.  If you want just the basics at sometimes inconvenient hours, then you get the basic.  Fly Spirit airlines and pay for your bags, snacks, everything. Pay for the Motel 6 across from a theme park and not get any perks.Fly Southwest and don't pay for automatic check-in and risk having to wait for everyone else to board and sitting in a middle seat.  If you want extras, you pay for it.  It is the trend now to piece meal everything out so people can still afford to get a basic cabin/hotel room/airline seat.  If you want the extra perks, you pay for it. We just consider the extra convenience perks as part of the vacation price.

 

I actually prefer being able to pick and choose the convenience parts we want to pay for.  Before, everyone paid the same price and "paid" for every convenience whether they used it or not. Now, you can pick and choose what add-ons you want.  You can choose the price point you want. But complaining that you want to pay the cheapest price and still get all the perks doesn't work in this day and age of menu pricing. It is one way that airlines/cruise lines/resorts have been able to keep their prices relatively low while still being able to offer the amenities that would be included if the fares were higher across the board.

Edited December 28, 2018 by cruise_co
miserable spelling

[Pratique]

40 minutes ago, cruise_co said:

Paying for extras so as not to be inconvenienced is in every facet of our lives.  If you want just the basics at sometimes inconvenient hours, then you get the basic.

Except that some of these "extras" used to be included. In the Disney FastPass example, it is just a way to cram as many guests into the park as possible while making more money by letting people "cut the line." But if it isn't capacity controlled then too many people pay for the perk and still have to wait in the FastPass line. Someday so many people will have TSA Pre✓ that the Pre✓ line will be longer than the regular line. It already happens sometimes.

 

I'm not opposed to paying more for a first class airline seat or a suite on the ship, but by charging people to receive special treatment in other ways the airlines and cruise lines are pushing everyone else aside to accommodate the people who are willing to pay extra, inconveniencing them. For example, by making them board the plane last when all of the overhead bins are full or by making them enter the theater after the preferred seats are taken. Why do I pay Southwest extra to get into the A boarding group? So I can get a preferred seat that isn't necessarily available to me if I just use the regular check-in process. Too many times I checked in exactly 24 hours early and still get a high B group number or even the C group. Southwest conditioned me to pay for the A group to avoid yet another travel headache (there are enough already). This is a slow creep that we tend to accept as a matter of fact without always realizing how it affects us in other ways.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Pratique

[Keksie]

My thoughts on this subject:  If the Key would be something you would like purchase it.  If it seems to have no value to you do not purchase it.  If you have actually had the Key please tell others how it worked for you.  Since it is new it would be nice to hear back.  If you did not purchase it and were negatively affected then please tell others what exactly made it a negative experience for you.  If you are not pleased with the vacation product because of the Key being offered then spend your vacation dollars elsewhere.  For example I do not like the way Disney does their fast pass, I do like the way Universal does their express pass. Therefore, I will not be spending my money on Disney products and will be spending my money on Universal.  I don't mind if someone else decides the opposite and they don't need to justify their decisions to me. 

[frank808]

1 hour ago, cruise_co said:

I think it is also highly subjective to which cruise you are on. I might not have booked it on a Caribbean cruise where the excursion planning is not quite as time consuming. We are on the port intensive Med cruise. I am already spending hours planning the sightseeing in 7 different European cities including several days pre-cruise in Rome. I choose to save some money by researching and utilizing a few private tour companies along with RCI excursions. After seeing every Cathedral and Museum in every port, I am going to be so sick of planned activities that I will want to just get on the boat and not have to worry about anything. I can take the money I saved on a few excursions and apply that to The Key so that we can get on the boat, eat, drink, and spontaneously see whatever show is available if we are up to it. And if we don't make it, I don't have to worry that I don't have reservations for a different time/day and spending time to either stand in line or seeing if there are reservations available at another show for 6 people. We can just go to another one knowing the seats are reserved.  If I can take one part of planning off my plate, the not so important part, I will gladly pay for that.  $20 a day for internet (mandatory for my husband's job and the 20 something adults also "think" it is mandatory) and being able to be spontaneous after days filled with tour plans is very, very reasonable for us. And as an added bonus, we will be able to get off the boat earlier so that we have an extra half hour to visit even more museums and churches. Hmmmm...I am beginning to think Palma might be a beach day and then back to the boat to use those extra flo rider hours.

 

Oh, and Portofino is also our hotel of choice. We were platinum until they did away with YouFirst, so got the added perk of being upgraded to a suite for free.  Perks for pay are everywhere 🙂

 

I was also platinum until this past Dec 7.  Loved the platinum perks and those free parlor suites that we got as upgrades with AP rates.  Had to "rough" it a few times at Royal Pacific in a king suite when Portofino did not have plat upgrades available.  Also miss that $100 credit to use on food and beverages.  Will still stay at Portofino when we are going to Universal as the express pass and distance to parks cant be beat.  Have you ever used the short cut to unibersal through Hard rocks parking lot?  If we just missed the boat, we have walked to universal and actually beat the shuttle boat to the entrance.  

[Biker19]

On 12/27/2018 at 6:16 PM, Direwolves said:

-- Internet ... I don't know how fast the net is on Oasis class ships but on Vision o/t Seas it was slow as hell and not worth the money. 

Oasis internet is typically much better than Vision.

[Tom.Kitten]

The Key is being offered for my cruise on the Anthem in March. The "price including discount" for me is $20.00 a day. The Voom + Stream package alone is $15 a day. So the rest of the benefits offered by The Key (after the included internet) works out to only $5 a day.  Since it includes a $25 Chops Grille lunch, that means I'm getting the rest of the benefits for only $10 for the cruise. I went ahead and purchased The Key. I think I'll get my money's worth...

[richstowe]

42 minutes ago, Tom.Kitten said:

Since it includes a $25 Chops Grille lunch, that means I'm getting the rest of the benefits for only $10 for the cruise

Would you otherwise have spent $25 on a lunch upon embarkation ? I wouldn't .

[Tom.Kitten]

1 hour ago, richstowe said:

Would you otherwise have spent $25 on a lunch upon embarkation ? I wouldn't .

 

I would probably have waited until a sea day to have lunch at Chops Grille, but I might as well start off the cruise with it.

[zooma]

On 12/27/2018 at 11:59 AM, Abr155 said:

We actually just booked this for our 8 night on the Anthem leaving Jan. 26.  Price dropped to $19.99 per person, so I started crunching the numbers.  We already spent $160 ish on internet for each of us + $45 ish for lunch at Chops the first day to avoid crowds - so, by the time I cancelled those and applied it to The Key, we only paid about $50 pp total extra to get internet for each of us, priority boarding, lunch, priority seating at shows, priority tender, etc.  Worth it for us!

 

Our fine print: 

The Key: The Key package is valid for the duration of the cruise. Package includes carry-on luggage drop off with delivery to stateroom, welcome lunch at Chops Grille, private hours for ship attractions, priority debarkation and tendering at ports of call, reserved VIP seating at shows, complimentary VOOM Surf + Stream internet package for one device per person and choice debarkation with exclusive à la carte breakfast. Price is per person, per voyage. All

 

 

Thank you for this Anthem-specific info. Very curious to hear about your actual experience when you return! We are looking at the Key package for a 5-day June sailing on Anthem, and the fine print on my cruise planner is different. They must still be tweaking it based on sailings. For example, whereas your language posted above lists "private hours for ship attractions," mine says "private hours for select ship activities." Wonder whether they will include I-Fly and North Star! Or maybe they will on your longer sailing but not on the 5-day....

 

Also, whereas your benefits list "priority seating at shows," -- [does this include comedy shows??] -- mine is just plain wrong and has Oasis-class language ("reserved priority seating at shows in the Main Theater, AquaTheater and Studio B"). Hmmm. Obviously, they're still working through this roll-out.

 

Anyway, will be checking here and look forward to any reports re actual Key package experience on Anthem.