New Program called "The Key"

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

  Could you imagine the confusion on sending out all the information now and then making a few changes to it later and having to make sure all the agents know about the changes.

I thought that was normal. 

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I thought that was normal. 

Lol, maybe a New Years resolution...meant to be broken.

[3bzmom]

I initially reserved The Key directly with an RCI rep on the phone because I had called to cancel and rebook the beverage package when the price dropped. That was before I saw this thread, so I had a lot more questions. I asked how many of The Key would be sold, and I was told there were only 100. I have nothing in writing that says so, but that’s what I was told. Is it possible I was lied to? Sure, I suppose. But then I came here and saw the same information, so it leads me to believe that’s probably the case- either that, or the rep I spoke to was part of some big conspiracy haha.

 

in terms of waiting for the flow rider, my husband won’t be doing it, and there are probably many like us who aren’t physically able to, which is another reason we wanted The Key (not having to wait in line for a show). I may give it a go once, but I assure you that my one time on the flow rider won’t be an inconvenience to most of you on the cruise, anymore than anything else. You know, like maybe you’ll be inconvenienced because I’m at the buffet at the same time as you (rolling my eyes).

 

its still pretty clear to me that there will be people this program appeals to, and there will be people it doesn’t. I don’t see it inconveniencing anyone much, except for maybe people who want to feel special because they paid to have a suite. But even then this doesn’t take anything away from them! 

 

As as far as flow rider lines go, they’ve always been long. I don’t know that this will have much of an impact on the regular flow rider lines, except to take someone like me OUT of the regular line the one time I decide to give it a go. 

 

We cruise Feb 17 and have bought The Key for $19.99 each for the 2 of us. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

 

[lovescats5]

1 hour ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

It would not be worth paying for something you are already getting or is it that they wish we would go back to the oars and not bother them in their ivory towers.

Do you mean suite guests when you made this comment?  I do not care if you have the Key or not, as a suite guest (Star Class) I can go first regardless who is in line at any venue.  My seat is in front of yours at the shows.  The Pinnacles might be a little upset but us in Star Class have no worries about the program.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 hours ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

There is also a write up from “Travel market report” also states 100 tickets. 

Some source as the other 2!🙄👎

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 hours ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

As you said you are from a very large agency I would have thought you would have received information on something that has been running for months.

As from a large agency I would have thought you would have all the up to date information.

i would have thought large agencies would be given this information so they could on sell it to their customers.

Not the way RCI does business... their culture is to deceive the customer whenever they can...! 🙄

[Ourusualbeach]

19 minutes ago, 3bzmom said:

I initially reserved The Key directly with an RCI rep on the phone because I had called to cancel and rebook the beverage package when the price dropped. That was before I saw this thread, so I had a lot more questions. I asked how many of The Key would be sold, and I was told there were only 100. I have nothing in writing that says so, but that’s what I was told. Is it possible I was lied to? Sure, I suppose. But then I came here and saw the same information, so it leads me to believe that’s probably the case- either that, or the rep I spoke to was part of some big conspiracy haha.

 

in terms of waiting for the flow rider, my husband won’t be doing it, and there are probably many like us who aren’t physically able to, which is another reason we wanted The Key (not having to wait in line for a show). I may give it a go once, but I assure you that my one time on the flow rider won’t be an inconvenience to most of you on the cruise, anymore than anything else. You know, like maybe you’ll be inconvenienced because I’m at the buffet at the same time as you (rolling my eyes).

 

its still pretty clear to me that there will be people this program appeals to, and there will be people it doesn’t. I don’t see it inconveniencing anyone much, except for maybe people who want to feel special because they paid to have a suite. But even then this doesn’t take anything away from them! 

 

As as far as flow rider lines go, they’ve always been long. I don’t know that this will have much of an impact on the regular flow rider lines, except to take someone like me OUT of the regular line the one time I decide to give it a go. 

 

We cruise Feb 17 and have bought The Key for $19.99 each for the 2 of us. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

 

I do think the number is 100.  Whether or not it is 100 guests or 100 cabins (potential for between 200-400 guests) that is what I think is questionable and easily confused even by Royal reps.

[Saab4444]

Maybe they would sell as many Keys as there are guests on board?

[HBE4]

 

Since lunch is included at Chops Grille on embarkation day, then I would guess that the # of Key's being sold will max out at the maximum capacity of Chops.

[Mushroomgav69]

14 hours ago, lovescats5 said:

Do you mean suite guests when you made this comment?  I do not care if you have the Key or not, as a suite guest (Star Class) I can go first regardless who is in line at any venue.  My seat is in front of yours at the shows.  The Pinnacles might be a little upset but us in Star Class have no worries about the program.

At least I will now know whom I am throwing the popcorn at.😝😝😝😝

[HBE4]

20 hours ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

Where as the line of 4900 other people is sooooooo much shorter. FYI only 100 key are to be sold.

 

I've never seen a line of 4,900 people at the flowrider or anywhere else....although sometimes it feels like there are 4,900 people in the WJ at times.

 

I usually see the same 10-15 people riding the flowrider at any one time. If only 30 "Key" people even show up to the flowrider at the designated hour, then line could be twice as long as normal. Not much of a perk.

 

I'm sure Royal will continue to tweak the perks offered as it continues (or if they continue) to roll-out the program. And if the program is a huge hit, whatever the max cap is will be raised.

[Dixie1337]

17 hours ago, 3bzmom said:

We cruise Feb 17 and have bought The Key for $19.99 each for the 2 of us. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

I look forward to reading your review! 

[The_Big_M]

21 hours ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

At the end of the day I would rather be at the end of a 100/200 person line than a 5000 person line.

 

At the end of the day, I'd rather get the same experience as everybody who paid the entry fee than have to pay more to get special treatment.

[dutchclogs]

Looking forward to reading reviews of experience on the smaller ships for example, Grandeur. Whilst  I appreciate the appeal of  the embarkation lunch and disembarkation breakfast and unlimited internet access, the value of the other  'perks'   is surely not so great on the smaller ships.  Still. clever marketing .. I note that the one person Voom device package  has gone up to $14.99 pd in my cruise planner so I can imagine some folks will consider an extra $5 per day a worthwhile outlay. But if one considers that this per person, a two device package is by far the better deal!

Edited January 2, 2019 by dutchclogs

[Mushroomgav69]

2 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

At the end of the day, I'd rather get the same experience as everybody who paid the entry fee than have to pay more to get special treatment.

I agree but same can be said about airlines. I would like to fly first class. For some reason they won’t give me a free ride. The buggers.

[Ocean Boy]

21 hours ago, lovescats5 said:

Do you mean suite guests when you made this comment?  I do not care if you have the Key or not, as a suite guest (Star Class) I can go first regardless who is in line at any venue.  My seat is in front of yours at the shows.  The Pinnacles might be a little upset but us in Star Class have no worries about the program.

Hopefully, the back of your head is attractive.🙄

[Ourusualbeach]

6 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

I've never seen a line of 4,900 people at the flowrider or anywhere else....although sometimes it feels like there are 4,900 people in the WJ at times.

 

I usually see the same 10-15 people riding the flowrider at any one time. If only 30 "Key" people even show up to the flowrider at the designated hour, then line could be twice as long as normal. Not much of a perk.

 

I'm sure Royal will continue to tweak the perks offered as it continues (or if they continue) to roll-out the program. And if the program is a huge hit, whatever the max cap is will be raised.

The flowrider benefit is only at specific hours and when it is offered it is closed to everyone except those having the key.  For the reported sailing the key used the starboard side flowrider (not the standup side) and was for hours that it would not normally been open

[marcg125]

12 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

Since lunch is included at Chops Grille on embarkation day, then I would guess that the # of Key's being sold will max out at the maximum capacity of Chops.

On Oasis Class ships the number used for set lunch days is 80 (for dinner total capacity is 100 but dinner is staggered).  Will they then stagger lunch for The Key guests. Not sure if this could be done for a time period of 11:30-1;30 pm (regular lunch hours for Chops Grille are from 12-1:30 pm.)

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

 For the reported sailing the key used the starboard side flowrider (not the standup side) and was for hours that it would not normally been open

I compared the boogie boarding hours with the key hours on Oasis and it seemed there was at least two overlaps - meaning two boogie boarding hours were switched to Key access only (I think it was two early morning hours when there's typically very few boogie boarders).

[Trackhead37]

Lots of chatter it seems with this program. We have a sailing on June 30th on the Allure and will most likely be purchasing this. My wife and I are in one room and our 2 kids are in the room connected to us. Since we didn't do a suite for this sailing, this will give us some of those perks we'll be missing out on, without a significant price increase. We were getting Voom + stream anyway so its only $3 per person per day extra and only for me and my wife, since we don't have to add the kids. Totally worth it with the better reserved show seating and special times for access to onboard activities. As for how many they sell, as others have mentioned, similar programs with other cruise lines always sell out and are obviously considered worth it by a lot of people. They do have to limit it of course and even if it was 200, the fact is that 200 aren't going to show up for activities the same time, when there are multiple times available; it's why there are never thousands of people on line for flow rider or the rock climbing wall at one time. The question is whether or not you have the money to buy it. It was smart of RCCL to catch up to some of the other lines and offer a way to get suite/concierge type of perks by paying directly for it without being in that type of room.

[cruise_co]

I actually prefer this menu style pricing. I can price my cruise exactly the way I want it. And those that want to keep it less expensive, yet still have access to all the amenities for free, can do so.

Face it. Prices for airline tickets, cruises and many travel options have remained pretty stagnant even though costs are rising.  I just purchased a ticket from the west coast to Orlando for $79 one way.  These are the same prices I paid in the 90's. 

 

Programs like The Key are a way to up the costs for only the people who really want to pay the convenience tax while still keeping costs reasonable for those who don't want to pay extra for things they may never use. Internet and a Chops lunch of no interest to you? Great, you have the option to not purchase it and keep your costs where you want them. 

 

Everyone can still access all the shows and activities for free.  Those who wish to upgrade their experience (just like upgrading to first class) can do so if they want to part with their money.  It is just a little more convenience they are paying for.  It is not like the Flo Rider is going to be unavailable at all to non Key purchasers. They still get it 100% on one side and 90% on the other side.

 

But you can't keep things low cost for years when prices on everything else are rising elsewhere, be it food, fuel, or even salaries. The cruise lines can either raise everyone's price to offset rising costs or they can introduce things like The Key and sell convenience while still allowing everyone to have the same basic amenities like free Flo Rider, shows, zipline, you name it. You can either pay for that Chops lunch embedded in a higher cabin cost whether you use it or not, or you can menu price and only pay for the amenities you will actually use. I personally prefer the menu type pricing.

 

On a plane, everyone gets from point A to point B. The convenience of getting there depends on how much you want to pay.  Same for cruises and programs like The Key.  

[Ocean Boy]

Anyone who thinks extra charges keep cruise fares down is delusional. The cruise line will charge as much as they can for the cruise that maximizes profit no matter how many extra charges they can invent to increase their bottom line.

 

Airlines are no different. They will charge as much as they can and still fill the flight no matter how many extra charges that they can think of too. I was looking at one cruise and the flight to get home after was $600 from Ft. Lauderdale to RI. The last time I flew to London I paid $700 round trip. The post above that had a $79 ticket from the west coast to Orlando had that fare because some computer algorithm decided that was the correct price to charge at that time to maximize profits on that flight..... period.

[cruise_co]

21 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Anyone who thinks extra charges keep cruise fares down is delusional. The cruise line will charge as much as they can for the cruise that maximizes profit no matter how many extra charges they can invent to increase their bottom line.

 

Airlines are no different. They will charge as much as they can and still fill the flight no matter how many extra charges that they can think of too. I was looking at one cruise and the flight to get home after was $600 from Ft. Lauderdale to RI. The last time I flew to London I paid $700 round trip. The post above that had a $79 ticket from the west coast to Orlando had that fare because some computer algorithm decided that was the correct price to charge at that time to maximize profits on that flight..... period.

Bless your heart. Thank you for the information. I will take your definition of delusional into consideration. Is one to assume you are involved with upper level business decisions of large, international corporations?

Edited January 3, 2019 by cruise_co
spelling again

[Ocean Boy]

19 minutes ago, cruise_co said:

 Is one to assume you are involved with upper level business decisions of large, international corporations?

Are you?

[Pratique]

Checked baggage fees on the airlines aren’t a convenience, they’re a necessity unless you can pack everything into a carry on.