New Program called "The Key"

[cruisegirl1]

Can anyone clear up conflicting info ?  Some are writing that on ships where entertainment is required, that key passengers still have to make reservations.  Some are writing that they bought key because  reservations were not required.  Anyone know for sure? 

 

Thanks M 

[Biker19]

Just now, cruisegirl1 said:

Can anyone clear up conflicting info ? 

No, because it's flexible -the text in the key program changed recently to say reservations are required. Some ships might enforce, others may not.

[blueridgemama]

4 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Your math is totally wrong.... 2 devices are not 2*$15,99👎

But then their CEO says their customers do not get how much they actually spend... 🙄 

 

4 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

🙄

 

 

[blueridgemama]

52 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Can anyone clear up conflicting info ?  Some are writing that on ships where entertainment is required, that key passengers still have to make reservations.  Some are writing that they bought key because  reservations were not required.  Anyone know for sure? 

 

Thanks M 

 

I recently emailed Royal Caribbean customer support and they stated that on Oasis class ships reservations are required, not suggested. The reason given was the shear number of passengers on these mega ships and available seating in the VIP/key sections.

[cruisegirl1]

51 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

No, because it's flexible -the text in the key program changed recently to say reservations are required. Some ships might enforce, others may not.

Wouldn't one need to know  ahead of time?  If one needed  reservations and can't get in, what good is reserved seating?   On the other had, why waste time making reservations?  Can only image an angry  Key cruiser who didn't  make reservations.  I suspect they will be admitted, so perhaps I answered my own question.

M

 

[cruisegirl1]

7 minutes ago, blueridgemama said:

 

I recently emailed Royal Caribbean customer support and they stated that on Oasis class ships reservations are required, not suggested. The reason given was the shear number of passengers on these mega ships and available seating in the VIP/key sections.

Thanks  for the info

M

[BeeGeeCee]

5 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Your math is totally wrong.... 2 devices are not 2*$15,99👎

But then their CEO says their customers do not get how much they actually spend... 🙄 

 

🙄

Hello!

 

Not sure how my math is off. 🙂 We pre-purchased The Key for $19.99 per day each.  We were prepared to spend $15.99 each per day for internet (two devices each), but instead decided to get The Key for $4 more per day each, but included only one device each for internet.  Which worked out fine - just turned off wi-fi on my phone and activated on my iPad, and was able to use the same code.  So I still got two devices...

 

Our pre-cruise purchase amount was $273.93, which included: The Key for both of us, a two-person lounger in Labadee, and the river tubing excursion in Jamaica.  So I do know exactly how much we spent 🙂

 

Beth

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 hours ago, BeeGeeCee said:

Hello!

 

Not sure how my math is off. 🙂 We pre-purchased The Key for $19.99 per day each.  We were prepared to spend $15.99 each per day for internet (two devices each), but instead decided to get The Key for $4 more per day each, but included only one device each for internet.  Which worked out fine - just turned off wi-fi on my phone and activated on my iPad, and was able to use the same code.  So I still got two devices...

 

Our pre-cruise purchase amount was $273.93, which included: The Key for both of us, a two-person lounger in Labadee, and the river tubing excursion in Jamaica.  So I do know exactly how much we spent 🙂

 

Beth

Hi,

two devices are about $24,99 a day maybe less .....you spend $39,98.....that is not a diference of $8 per day....

But your answer proves the CEO is absolutely right!👍😱

Edited February 8, 2019 by Thorben-Hendrik

[RadioPeri]

31 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Hi,

two devices are about $24,99 a day maybe less .....you spend $39,98.....that is not a diference of $8 per day....

But your answer proves the CEO is absolutely right!👍😱

2 hours ago, BeeGeeCee said:

Hello!

 

Not sure how my math is off. 🙂 We pre-purchased The Key for $19.99 per day each.  We were prepared to spend $15.99 each per day for internet (two devices each), but instead decided to get The Key for $4 more per day each, but included only one device each for internet.  Which worked out fine - just turned off wi-fi on my phone and activated on my iPad, and was able to use the same code.  So I still got two devices...

 

We had a 2-device package for $19.99/day, or $10 per device per day, so the price difference of $4 per person per day if you're going to have one device each is specious. In that case, The Key is costing you $10 extra per person per day. If that's worth it to you, fine, but yes, this incremental math has been fuzzy in a lot of examples cited here.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

27 minutes ago, RadioPeri said:

this incremental math has been fuzzy in a lot of examples cited here.

Well appently RCI knows their customers can't do math😱

[rockmom]

3 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Well appently RCI knows their customers can't do math😱

If you read her response, they were each getting a 2 device package before--so 4 devices.  That's where the OPs original number came from.  

[Thorben-Hendrik]

5 minutes ago, rockmom said:

If you read her response, they were each getting a 2 device package before--so 4 devices.  That's where the OPs original number came from.  

OMG then they are even more off -WOW......😱

[Mushroomgav69]

9 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

OMG then they are even more off -WOW......😱

Settle down Thorben. Everyone is not as perfect as you.🤨

If you can’t play nice you can go home.🙂😀

Edited February 9, 2019 by Mushroomgav69

[xpcdoojk]

16 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Good to know that the avg of 4 people at the Key Flowrider session is holding.

 

Shh!!!!!!  Don’t spell it out quite so clearly.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

10 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

OMG then they are even more off -WOW......😱

 

I think they are changing the pricing of internet kind of like drinks with the addition of the unlimited drinks.  My upcoming cruise it is 16.99 each for Voom right now in the cruise planner.

 

jc

[Thorben-Hendrik]

2 hours ago, Mushroomgav69 said:

Settle down Thorben. Everyone is not as perfect as you.🤨

I know!😱

[Cel_cruise]

 
I think they are changing the pricing of internet kind of like drinks with the addition of the unlimited drinks.  My upcoming cruise it is 16.99 each for Voom right now in the cruise planner.
 
jc

This is very true - for our symphony cruise in April Stream Pricing has varied significantly. While it’s $16 most days, I purchased it at $11.99....

My Key costs are as follows:

No Key:
- Internet at $12/day for 1 device (would share code occasionally with my 8 year old daughter)
- this would be better if the RCI App was working for texting onboard when we travel

With Key:
- $20/day x 2 people
- we get 2 stream accounts and the key perks

The price delta for me is pretty steep...$280 vs $84 for 1 week.

At this point I still have it reserved because the rest of my traveling party does. The show schedule was just released this week and we will make reservations and then decide for real when it gets closer - based on show/meal times and how much time there is to get ‘good seats’ and the onboard texting feature for my daughter and I.

(I don’t expect my 8 year old to be wandering alone or anything like that such that she would need Internet but there will be times when she is with other members of our party and we would like to keep in touch).

I still believe the Key would be an acceptable value if both stateroom members were going to purchase voom/stream and particularly valuable on shorter cruises if shows and a specialty boarding lunch were priorities.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blueridgemama]

1 hour ago, Cel_cruise said:

 

This is very true - for our symphony cruise in April Stream Pricing has varied significantly. While it’s $16 most days, I purchased it at $11.99....

My Key costs are as follows:

No Key:
- Internet at $12/day for 1 device (would share code occasionally with my 8 year old daughter)
- this would be better if the RCI App was working for texting onboard when we travel

With Key:
- $20/day x 2 people
- we get 2 stream accounts and the key perks

The price delta for me is pretty steep...$280 vs $84 for 1 week.

At this point I still have it reserved because the rest of my traveling party does. The show schedule was just released this week and we will make reservations and then decide for real when it gets closer - based on show/meal times and how much time there is to get ‘good seats’ and the onboard texting feature for my daughter and I.

(I don’t expect my 8 year old to be wandering alone or anything like that such that she would need Internet but there will be times when she is with other members of our party and we would like to keep in touch).

I still believe the Key would be an acceptable value if both stateroom members were going to purchase voom/stream and particularly valuable on shorter cruises if shows and a specialty boarding lunch were priorities.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Our Symphony cruise is in September so I will watch for your thoughts/review of the Key if you do end up purchasing it.

[lw2151]

On 2/3/2019 at 11:21 AM, Cruising Steve said:

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What time did you get off the ship?   We have The Key for the Harmony in June and are hoping to disembark the ship early so we can make a "before noon" flight

 

[Cruisycat]

For those who bought the key how was the benefit at ports? Did you get on and off in a special line? Or was that only for ports where you tender? I hate waiting in lines and I’m going during a peak season.

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, lw2151 said:

What time did you get off the ship?   We have The Key for the Harmony in June and are hoping to disembark the ship early so we can make a "before noon" flight

 

Be kind and don't quote a whole long post - those who have to scroll a lot will appreciate it.

 

BTW, Key won't really help you make an early flight - just join the self-debarkation line early.

[blueridgemama]

2 hours ago, lw2151 said:

What time did you get off the ship?   We have The Key for the Harmony in June and are hoping to disembark the ship early so we can make a "before noon" flight

 

 

Actually the Key benefits will be of benefit. The Key breakfast starts at 6;30am so you should be able to have breakfast and then with the priority disembarcation you should be fine making a 12 noon flight

[cccult]

On 11/9/2018 at 2:56 PM, richstowe said:

... The problem is the idea itself. I experienced this scheme at Universal Studios in Orlando , where you could buy an Express Pass to bypass the lines . It pissed me off . You could say , well then buy the pass if it annoys you . Perhaps, but I'd rather spend my money where they don't work so hard to segment their customers into classes . I accept that suites get extra perks but this is a chintzy step too far . 

 

Agreed.

plus, then you have a wave of people that feel entitled and even empowered because they dropped more coin then you, while you’re waiting in line for the private time to wrap up, they snicker at you like you’re a sucker...  This happened at 6 flags when I was in high school. The entitled people were rude, and I was feeling super ripped off. It makes you feel bad.

 

Im going in May on liberty,  they are offering this still, guess it’s making them “Royal” money.... but if interferes in my $$$$$ vacation, this will be my last royal cruise. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by cccult

[xpcdoojk]

19 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Be kind and don't quote a whole long post - those who have to scroll a lot will appreciate it.

 

I agree, while the information is useful, it is a complete pain to hit a post this long for the second or third time.  Let’s encourage people who want the information to read the whole dang thing like we mostly all did.

 

jc

 

[LMaxwell]

With so many changes to the program perhaps a Pt 2 thread is in order soon once more details are solidified?   

 

Heard from two diff sources that Chops menu is being limited (one app only) and soon the actual filet won't be avail for lunch anymore, whether Key or purchased lunch. So a steakhouse without steak. 

 Big ships adding additional lunch venue w fixed menu. 

Studying whether to offer MDR lunch to Key holders on boarding day; contention that D+/Pinn should be offered as well.  Trying to relieve WJ pressure overall.  Need differentiator without ticking off loyalty.  Think similar to lunch w officer type menu.  Might eliminate specialty lunch offerings and have MDR with special menu.  

 

More special hours for attractions are coming as well beyond rockwall and flowrider.  

 

Studying "dynamic" (heh) variable pricing for shorter 3 and 4 day cruises. 

 

Additional amenities being studies with Key - inclusion of one laundry bag per room and luggage valet. 

 

You heard it hear first.