New Program called "The Key"

[Ourusualbeach]

14 minutes ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

Sooooo, if no one said anything, Royal would think that it was ok to change something as NO ONE said anything and everyone must be ok with the changes. That’s a great way of thinking. Our governments do enough of this as it is.

 

And for all all the people stating about the “you had to book before crap” 

It was originally trialed on a few ships before it was run out fleet wide with new activities and new perks. One new perk being that no reservations was needed. So the trial that went over a couple of months was just a waste of time!! It is a crap thing to do what they did when they change things once they get everyone interested in the Key and change one of the major selling points.

What next. Take a number to get off at a port because it is NOW just to hard or how about they cordon off one section of windjammer for Key people instead of chops or now Jamie’s as they must be selling too many seats now to the general cruiser for chops on embarkation day to try and squeeze in another 100 key people.

The cost of the key program is NOT chump change. It costs a fair bit of money. Same as people who book a proper suite. Suite people pay a good premium for the extra service and also get a fabulous cabin. How would suite  passengers feel if Royal started culling or changing their perks. Of course they would be pissed.

As you mentioned, it was a trial on two ships.  One was the Liberty and the other was Oasis.

 

The  Liberty does not take reservations for any shows.  My guess is that the geniuses in Royals marketing department based the wording off that ship and it wasn’t until later in the program they realized that the Oasis and Quantum class ships needed reservations. I don’t see anything sinister here other than a bunch of suits putting programs in place without knowing how things work on all the ships.  I don’t believe that no reservations was actually an intended perk.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[Mushroomgav69]

14 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

As you mentioned, it was a trial on two ships.  One was the Liberty and the other was Oasis.

 

The  Liberty does not take reservations for any shows.  My guess is that the geniuses in Royals marketing department based the wording off that ship and it wasn’t until later in the program they realized that the Oasis and Quantum class ships needed reservations. I don’t see anything sinister here other than a bunch of suits putting programs in place without knowing how things work on all the ships.  I don’t believe that no reservations was actually an intended perk.

 

As I was conveying on my last post was the price of the Key program is not pocket change. You pay dearly for the perks that you were paying for. 

Carnival does a reasonably price “faster to the fun” but you only get so so perks.

Royal was doing a dearly priced program for fairly good perks. Now they are already starting to change not even a month into the new program to so so perks and yet keeping the same price.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

 

As I was conveying on my last post was the price of the Key program is not pocket change. You pay dearly for the perks that you were paying for. 

Carnival does a reasonably price “faster to the fun” but you only get so so perks.

Royal was doing a dearly priced program for fairly good perks. Now they are already starting to change not even a month into the new program to so so perks and yet keeping the same price.

I agree with you that the price is steep especially considering that everyone in the cabin (other than kids) must buy it.

 

The point I was making though and it’s just my opinion is that I don’t think that Royal ever intended for the no reservations for shows to be a perk.  It was IMO just a screw up in the wording due to one of the trial ships being one that doesn’t take reservations for shows.

 

This unfortunately led to people seeing this as a perk and when they corrected wording to reflect that Oasis and Quantum class ships required reservations then it affected many people who had bought the perk based on what I see as nothing more than incorrect wording.

[happymanitee]

My problem isn't that I now have to make reservations.  I'm ok with that.  But, my problem is that even WITH reservations, it seems the seats aren't that good.  Did you see that review a few pages back?  The person on Anthem said they couldn't even find 3 seats together in the Key section And that all the seats were upstairs in the balcony and had an obstructed view.  

i don't mind doing some planning and making reservations, but I don't want to have to line up outside 30-40 minutes in advance for good seats.  THat's just a waist of time.  I also don't want to face the masses in the Windjammer on embarkation day OR spend my time waiting in line for the flowrider or rock wall.  These are the reasons I booked the Key program.  

But, now I'm worried that I'm still going to have to show up early and beat the crowds to my seat to see the shows.  And, I'm worried that I'll still have to wait for a table if I want to eat at Chops. (Sorry, but I don't want to eat at Jamies). I'm afraid the addition of a second restaurant means I can be turned away from Chops if it's too full.  

Lastly, I'm worried that they are selling more than 100 Keys now.  I'm thinking that's why they are suddenly requiring reservations and adding a second restaurant.  And, if they start selling more Keys, then I'm still going to have to wait around for the Flow Rider and the Rock Wall.  

 

So, for all these reasons, I might cancel my Key purchase.  But first, I want to read more reviews and see how the program is really working.  I'm sailing on Symphony in November so I have a while to watch this thread and see how the program is working on that particular ship.  So PLEASE, please come back and post your reviews after your trip (or during your trip since you'll have internet 🙂

[Thorben-Hendrik]

1 hour ago, happymanitee said:

Lastly, I'm worried that they are selling more than 100 Keys now.  I'm thinking that's why they are suddenly requiring reservations and adding a second restaurant.  And, if they start selling more Keys, then I'm still going to have to wait around for the Flow Rider and the Rock Wall.  

That is what I said about 1 month ago....they are going to keep selling more and more....

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, happymanitee said:

 

Lastly, I'm worried that they are selling more than 100 Keys now.  I'm thinking that's why they are suddenly requiring reservations and adding a second restaurant.  And, if they start selling more Keys, then I'm still going to have to wait around for the Flow Rider and the Rock Wall.  

 

🙂

I think that is purely speculation on your part. The reason they may have opened up the second restaurant is because with the 100 Key people going to Chops at 11:30am-Noonish time they were cutting off any other passengers from going there. They wanted to give those paying people a chance to go there too. Now when you have a 100 Key persons going to two restaurants, that allows other paying passengers to get in.

 

By selling a 100 more for the Key would just compound the problem...........So no way do I believe they are selling more Keys for each sailing..........Now if they are selling that well, I could see them raising the prices. That could happen.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Jimbo

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, happymanitee said:

My problem isn't that I now have to make reservations.  I'm ok with that.  But, my problem is that even WITH reservations, it seems the seats aren't that good.  Did you see that review a few pages back?  The person on Anthem said they couldn't even find 3 seats together in the Key section And that all the seats were upstairs in the balcony and had an obstructed view.  

Once folks started reporting that the Key seats are in the same area as suites/P then you know there are seating issues - which on some ships/venues has been known to be not so good. The perks never said you are getting good seats.

[Jimbo]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Once folks started reporting that the Key seats are in the same area as suites/P then you know there are seating issues - which on some ships/venues has been known to be not so good. The perks never said you are getting good seats.

Yeah that makes sense, save there worse seats for Suites/P members. That would go over well.

[Biker19]

12 hours ago, LiamsMommy2008 said:

Wondering if this could possibly open up a "black market" for extra VOOM packages?  e.g.,  husband and wife don't need two internet packages, so they "sell" their VOOM code to somebody else?  There is no way for them to check which devices are being used with which codes. Or am I missing something? 

Assuming that the Key codes for VOOM are handled the same way as a multiple device purchase, the issue is that it's same code for both packages and whoever you sell it to could bump your one device off by using it on two devices at the same time themselves. The VOOM system doesn't care nor does it keep track of devices - it just sets a limit per code.

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Yeah that makes sense, save there worse seats for Suites/P members. That would go over well.

Seat location can be subjective - some don't think the front row of the theater are the best seats.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Seat location can be subjective - some don't think the front row of the theater are the best seats.

Correct...........Only real bad seats in my opinion is ones directly behind a pole, as long as I can see I'm fine.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Jimbo

[Lionesss]

Not witnessing this new program for myself until May when we board the Allure.  And wonder if it will have any impact on the way things were done  "PRE-KEY".

We are in a suite and will observe if this program has any impact on our cruising experience, it is what it is.

 

I am guessing that some are getting this Key program for the early boarding, and disembark, the dinner, voom and show seating and of course the flow rider.

 

I wonder if some weekend warriors will try the flow rider early in the cruise...............fall down go boom, and that is it.

Yea some will take advantage of the perk......................but I really don't think all will. 

 

Yes I think the dinner at Chops or where-ever will be a draw.

We have always been given a free dinner at chops for the first day, but when we board and go to book a time we have always been able to move it to the day of our choice. 

 

The show seating will depend on the event...............I have witnessed many seats being available after shows being booked (some  people just do  not go to the show for whatever reason) and standby line all are let in................they may not get the exact seat they want, but they are let in.

 

As far as early embarkation.

Yes, the excitement of boarding early in the pecking order is awesome......but the checkin does move fast.

Disembark, well that is a nice feature (for us anyway).

 

And of course the carryon luggage holding area.

Ok, we have to keep our one carryon with us because of our daily medication and cameras, if we didn't drop off one, we would survive (new perk for key only).

 

Like anything else, I wonder what RCI will change as in add or take away from this feature in the future.

And there are numerous threads about the cutbacks on RCI over the years (not going there). 

 

Waiting to hear how this pans out as the weeks go on.

 

Just saying

[Biker19]

13 minutes ago, Lionesss said:

I wonder if some weekend warriors will try the flow rider early in the cruise...............fall down go boom, and that is it.

Yea some will take advantage of the perk......................but I really don't think all will. 

Like the overall cruising population, only a small % will use the Flowrider - based on anecdotal evidence, I'd guess it's about 5%.

[Biker19]

16 minutes ago, Lionesss said:

Yes I think the dinner at Chops or where-ever will be a draw.

We have always been given a free dinner at chops for the first day, but when we board and go to book a time we have always been able to move it to the day of our choice. 

The perk is lunch and I don't think anyone has reported being able to move it to another day.

[JezzaC]

11 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I agree with you that the price is steep especially considering that everyone in the cabin (other than kids) must buy it.

 

The point I was making though and it’s just my opinion is that I don’t think that Royal ever intended for the no reservations for shows to be a perk.  It was IMO just a screw up in the wording due to one of the trial ships being one that doesn’t take reservations for shows.

 

This unfortunately led to people seeing this as a perk and when they corrected wording to reflect that Oasis and Quantum class ships required reservations then it affected many people who had bought the perk based on what I see as nothing more than incorrect wording.

 

To be honest I don't really care if Royal screwed up the in the wording or not. I have made the purchase for the Key during the time it was mentioned no reservations are needed for the shows, and it was really clearly stated meaning Aquatheater, Studio B and the Theatre. Now they have changed the text so that reservations are actually needed. So the terms have been changed.

 

One things which I would expect of getting from Royal Caribbean is an email - telling their new terms and requesting if I still want to keep The Key or not. If they don't send such official notice to me related to terms, I am not going to make any reservations for shows and will want on service on the ship as The Key was sold to me. Royal Caribbean can't expect customers to apply their terms unless the change has been informed to them.

[Ourusualbeach]

31 minutes ago, JezzaC said:

 

To be honest I don't really care if Royal screwed up the in the wording or not. I have made the purchase for the Key during the time it was mentioned no reservations are needed for the shows, and it was really clearly stated meaning Aquatheater, Studio B and the Theatre. Now they have changed the text so that reservations are actually needed. So the terms have been changed.

 

One things which I would expect of getting from Royal Caribbean is an email - telling their new terms and requesting if I still want to keep The Key or not. If they don't send such official notice to me related to terms, I am not going to make any reservations for shows and will want on service on the ship as The Key was sold to me. Royal Caribbean can't expect customers to apply their terms unless the change has been informed to them.

The fine print states that they can change.

 

Right or wrong the bottom line us you know about it in advance.  You have the opportunity to cancel or make reservations ahead of time.  Why bother with the anguish of wasting precious vacation time in potentially fighting this on board just to prove a point.

 

I wish you luck in your battle, I just know that for me it would not be worth the aggravation.

[blueridgemama]

43 minutes ago, JezzaC said:

 

To be honest I don't really care if Royal screwed up the in the wording or not. I have made the purchase for the Key during the time it was mentioned no reservations are needed for the shows, and it was really clearly stated meaning Aquatheater, Studio B and the Theatre. Now they have changed the text so that reservations are actually needed. So the terms have been changed.

 

One things which I would expect of getting from Royal Caribbean is an email - telling their new terms and requesting if I still want to keep The Key or not. If they don't send such official notice to me related to terms, I am not going to make any reservations for shows and will want on service on the ship as The Key was sold to me. Royal Caribbean can't expect customers to apply their terms unless the change has been informed to them.

 

Why are you being so rigid? You know there has been a change and there may even be more changes before your cruise. Just make your reservations and save yourself such grief or just cancel the Key. You are just ruining your cruise experience before you have even set foot on the ship. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing and fun not a source for such angst.

[JezzaC]

13 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

 

Why are you being so rigid? You know there has been a change and there may even be more changes before your cruise. Just make your reservations and save yourself such grief or just cancel the Key. You are just ruining your cruise experience before you have even set foot on the ship. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing and fun not a source for such angst.

 

And to be honest that doesn't ruin my vacation. It only requires one discussion on board the ship. Yes I fully agree vacations should be relaxing and those are way more relaxing if I don't have to decide before hand and pre-book the show as the package was sold to me. 

 

And there are also different terms for the different markets. Royal Caribbean has to follow Europe legislation to be allowed the sell things here and based on that they have to inform customers before hand related to the change or otherwise it is a flaw in the service and it has to be compensated. So they are actually bound by law to make it right or inform changes immediately.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by JezzaC

[Cruising Steve]

Just came back from Symphony of the Seas yesterday. Here are some photos of how the Key was being ran on Symphony.

Overall, my wife and I were pretty satisfied with the Key, but it definitely needs some more tweaks. 

 

PRIORITY BOARDING

- This was the most confusing thing about the program. It seems like they got rid of this benefit on Symphony. We asked four different people that we purchased the Key, and nobody knew what it was. Also, there were no signs indicating that the Key guests get priority boarding. As you can see on the benefit list below, it is not shown. However, regular boarding process was fairly quick and smooth. We got through everything in 10 minutes.

 

 

 

DROP OFF CARRY-ON LUGGAGE

We headed to Royal Theater on Deck 4 to drop off our carry-on. They have a list of guests who purchased the Key and the VOOM code is also being distributed here. There were about 100 guests who purchased the Key according to the list, but we never ran into all 100 Key people throughout the trip. It was always the same 10 people that were actually utilizing the benefit to its fullest. 

 

 

 

 

 

LUNCH AT CHOPS

 

Very enjoyable lunch. We both thought it was going to be super crowded after seeing the list, but it was surprisingly empty. (We went there around 1pm) Most of the other guests were Diamond members. 

 

 

 

 

SHIP ACTIVITIES

 

 

We definitely enjoyed all the private hours for onboard activities. Again, we ran into the same 10 ~ 15 Key people and never felt like there were 100 other Key guests. However, there weren't any signs indicating that it was for Key guests only, so there were always non-Key guests lining up to go next and the staff members had to tell them. 

 

 

VIP SEATING AT SHOWS

 

YOU DO NEED TO MAKE RESERVATIONS!! They block off a section for the Key guests, but you cannot seat there unless you have a reservation. We did not know this until after the first night. 

 

 

 

You get a Key symbol on your seapass which is how they know that you purchased the Key.

 

 

THE KEY BREAKFAST

 

The breakfast was held at the main dining room on deck 4 for all Key guests. 

 

 

 

 

 

LUGGAGE PICK UP AND CHOICE DEPARTURE

 

You get the Key luggage tags the day before your departure. We were able to enjoy the Key breakfast on our last day and skip the line to leave the ship. Our bags were waiting for us in a separate area for the Key guests. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[parrotfeathers]

1 hour ago, JezzaC said:

I am not going to make any reservations for shows and will want on service on the ship as The Key was sold to me.

 

So you are going to risk not seeing a show just to prove a point?  

 

[tinkermom]

Just got off Allure if the Seas and we decided to use our onboard credits to help purchase the new “Key” program access.  We definitely think it’s worth it.  It is almost like you are being treated like a suite guest.  Reserved seating at all shows was very nice so we didn’t have to get there early to get good seats. It was such a great boarding expernce and then we had a quiet lunch at Chops grill.  Our cabin was ready when we finished lunch so we went straight to our cabin from there.  Seemed like every time there was a line (except for the crazy Windjammer restaurant ) we just showed our seapass card that had a little key sticker on it , and we were taken another way and treated special.  Last night we were given special tags for our luggage and told we could get off the ship anytime from 7:30 - 10:30 am.  We had a special menu breakfast this morning in the Grand dining room on deck 4. After leaving the ship we were escorted through the suite exit and our luggage was in a special area.  

 

Just thought I would share our experience and thoughts in case anyone was considering purchasing the Key program.

[37645]

Is the lunch only for one day? And can it be changed to a different place is you can’t eat at Chops. Thanks 

[Jimbo]

Please tell more on how they handled your Luggage at end of the cruise. Was it taken the night before and put somewhere special or do you do like express walk off service and have your luggage when you went down for breakfast?

 

Did you reserve shows ahead of time, or just walk down to any show you wanted to without a reservation?

 

Any idea how many bought the Key for your cruise?

[Ourusualbeach]

19 minutes ago, 37645 said:

Is the lunch only for one day? And can it be changed to a different place is you can’t eat at Chops. Thanks 

Lunch is only for day 1 

[37645]

Lunch is only for day 1 

Alright thanks. Then Key is much too expensive without much benefits from my perspective.

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk