Holy cow "The Key" went up in price big!

[brookmill18]

What category is it under in the cruise planner--activities?

[norway olin]

1 hour ago, brookmill18 said:

What category is it under in the cruise planner--activities?

It is under "internet and more".

[btregoning]

On our September 22nd cruise on the Harmony:

 

Original price I saw:  $24.99 - maybe

Late last week:  $37.99 - no way

Today: $29.99 - not gonna do it

 

I am more intrigued by the dynamic pricing on rccl.com daily, than I am by this actual product.

[mousefan73]

On 4/29/2019 at 1:19 PM, TTraub1250 said:

It is not called supply & demand pricing anymore.  The Universities have a new name for it and they have a whole course on " Marketing Analytics".  They teach this new generation to use real time data to adjust pricing much quicker, respond to competitor pricing changes, and be able to counter whip sawing in the market place with statistical analysis, instead of flying by the seat of your pants market pricing.

Edited May 4, 2019 by mousefan73
Can i delete ?? Grabbed wrong quote.

[tinkr2]

On 5/3/2019 at 6:03 AM, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

The rest of the "benefits" are predominantly "fluff", as they can be procured at an equal or lesser cost. 

Thats right here, like 5 comments up. The rest are from the long key page and I certainly do not have time on this beautiful day to sift through it. But you most definitely said some similar version of them. Have a great day. I have to go pack for a cruise with my worthless benefits.

 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

 

2 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

 Have a great day. I have to go pack for a cruise with my worthless benefits.

Happy sailing...bring your wallet. 🤣

[blueridgemama]

3 hours ago, tinkr2 said:

Thats right here, like 5 comments up. The rest are from the long key page and I certainly do not have time on this beautiful day to sift through it. But you most definitely said some similar version of them. Have a great day. I have to go pack for a cruise with my worthless benefits.

 

 

If you do write a review of The Key when you get back please consider posting it in the thread for reviews only. The thread is: Key Reviews

[tinkr2]

7 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

 

If you do write a review of The Key when you get back please consider posting it in the thread for reviews only. The thread is: Key Reviews

Sure . I will give an opinion but I am not sure it will be much help for future Harmony guests. A once in a blue moon 3 day cruise that is arriving empty will be pretty different from other sailings. I will be surprised if there is a luggage drop off and the shows may be less crowded bc you have to 2 a night to see them all, and not many will do that.

[neverbeenhere]

Along with art auctions, onboard shopping, drink packages and any other way a passenger wants to spend their money, I encourage them to spend money on The Key also. 

 

 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

6 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Along with art auctions, onboard shopping, drink packages and any other way a passenger wants to spend their money, I encourage them to spend money on The Key also. 

We smell what you're cookin'... 🤣

[whyrlygig]

We purchased it at $19.99 for Navigator (7 day last week).  I am not sure we would do it again if the price is higher than we paid.  We used it for many of the features tho I could live without some of them.  For instance the Chops lunch was painful long and we would skip that next time.  The priority show seating was nice but was unnecessary because (other than the ice show), it was never full.    The priority activities were at times we had other things booked so we didn't use any those.  We loved avoiding all the long lines as well as the quiet breakfast the final morning.  

[JAMESCC]

On 5/4/2019 at 2:37 AM, btregoning said:

On our September 22nd cruise on the Harmony:

 

Original price I saw:  $24.99 - maybe

Late last week:  $37.99 - no way

Today: $29.99 - not gonna do it

 

I am more intrigued by the dynamic pricing on rccl.com daily, than I am by this actual product.

Yes to this, I feel the same exact way. Its a no go at this price.

[JAMESCC]

11 hours ago, whyrlygig said:

We purchased it at $19.99 for Navigator (7 day last week).  I am not sure we would do it again if the price is higher than we paid.  We used it for many of the features tho I could live without some of them.  For instance the Chops lunch was painful long and we would skip that next time.  The priority show seating was nice but was unnecessary because (other than the ice show), it was never full.    The priority activities were at times we had other things booked so we didn't use any those.  We loved avoiding all the long lines as well as the quiet breakfast the final morning.  

If I see it for 19.99 at some point I will buy it right on the spot. That is an incredible price. Lucky you.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

11 hours ago, JAMESCC said:

If I see it for 19.99 at some point I will buy it right on the spot. That is an incredible price. Lucky you.

That price has been reported by numerous people...including a number of them that still posted that wouldn't get it even at that rate. But of course for those who would...it beats the higher price-gouging terms.

[Iamcruzin]

22 hours ago, whyrlygig said:

    The priority activities were at times we had other things booked so we didn't use any those.  

This is an important thing to consider when deciding on purchasing the key. If one of the reason's you are purchasing it is to use flow rider or the other private activities the scheduled time could conflict with any  pre booked excursions  

[tbretthauer1]

We booked the Key for the August 25th sailing on Harmony and paid $24.99/person.  It is worth every penny to me but that is a subjective thing with this type of program.

[KB Cruisin]

1 hour ago, tbretthauer1 said:

We booked the Key for the August 25th sailing on Harmony and paid $24.99/person.  It is worth every penny to me but that is a subjective thing with this type of program.

For me, the problem is the chaotic implementation.  I bought it for the same price.  We leave in a few weeks. I would definitely find it worth it if all the things that were promised actually happen, but, from the reviews, it seems the value keeps getting diluted further and further.  I just don't know how it will be implemented right now.  Thinking of canceling for that reason.  It is a lot of money if you don't get what was promised.  Hopefully, for you, it will be much more consistent by August so you will know if you will get the value promised or not.  

[trihawks1]

We purchased The Key for the $24.99 pp price for our cruise on Oasis in december  just to see how we like it.  I figured it would be more beneficial on an oasis sized ships where you have reservations for almost everything unlike Freedom, Voyager, class etc. not sure if I would do it for the higher price or not.

 

We will definitely use the internet because my husband brings his laptop and goes thru all his emails. Last cruise he had over 2,500 emails for an 8 night cruise. To have two device internet will be nice. We won’t use the flow rider, rock climbing, zip line. However we will like the reserved seating at various shows. We also will enjoy not having to tote around our carry on items until the cabins are open. Trying to navigate a new ship to us plus eating with two carry ons, laptop, backpack, and my cpap machine plus a purse...this will be nice!  Also disembarkation after a leisurely breakfast will be nice...not having to locate your luggage and stand in a longer line than maybe normal for customs will be nice. Having a nice lunch without our carry on baggage in chops will be nice and a good way to start our vacation. 

 

We did splurge this time and we have a Junior suite. The only thing that the Junior suite got us for perks was priority embarkation, coastal kitchen which we won’t do, and of course the larger cabin (wall in closet, larger balcony, tub/shower combo, and larger overall cabin). Many say they would just pay for a Grand Suite. I have watched for over 6 months and a grand suite has been between $1800 and $2500 more than my junior suite. So to pay $375 for the two of us to have some of the upgraded perks is worth it to us.

[tbretthauer1]

5 hours ago, KB Cruisin said:

For me, the problem is the chaotic implementation.  I bought it for the same price.  We leave in a few weeks. I would definitely find it worth it if all the things that were promised actually happen, but, from the reviews, it seems the value keeps getting diluted further and further.  I just don't know how it will be implemented right now.  Thinking of canceling for that reason.  It is a lot of money if you don't get what was promised.  Hopefully, for you, it will be much more consistent by August so you will know if you will get the value promised or not.  

 

What ship are you reading about chaotic implementation. I have seen several reviews for oasis class ships and they have all been exceptionally positive.  

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 hour ago, tbretthauer1 said:

 

What ship are you reading about chaotic implementation. I have seen several reviews for oasis class ships and they have all been exceptionally positive.  

Actually...the reviews in the 2600+ post thread about The Key shows numerous people with non-positive experience posts on a variety of ships.

[tbretthauer1]

12 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Actually...the reviews in the 2600+ post thread about The Key shows numerous people with non-positive experience posts on a variety of ships.

I just joined CC today so haven’t read it. The YouTube videos for it were positive. That’s all I saw. 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 minute ago, tbretthauer1 said:

I just joined CC today so haven’t read it. The YouTube videos for it were positive. That’s all I saw. 

Welcome.  There is a huge thread called "New Program called The Key". It likely will answer any question you have about the program.

[tbretthauer1]

2 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Welcome.  There is a huge thread called "New Program called The Key". It likely will answer any question you have about the program.

Thanks

[tbretthauer1]

10 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Welcome.  There is a huge thread called "New Program called The Key". It likely will answer any question you have about the program.

Ok, from what I am seeing, the smaller ships struggle with it but Harmony seems to get rave reviews which is what we are on.  It’s also what I watched the video for which explains a lot. Thanks. 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

20 minutes ago, tbretthauer1 said:

Ok, from what I am seeing, the smaller ships struggle with it but Harmony seems to get rave reviews which is what we are on.  It’s also what I watched the video for which explains a lot. Thanks. 

The various "issues" surrounding The Key center mostly on these items...and there are mixed reviews on ALL ships:

 

1) Value for the money (depends on which of its benefits you'll actually use/get)

2) Execution - boarding and disembarking...will it really be noticeably a benefit

3) The cost varies depending on when you sign up in the pre-cruise Cruise Planner lifecycle

4) Would you be better off reserving some of the features you plan to use in contrast to The Key overall cost (per person) for some "benefits" you may never use

 

There is no right or wrong answer. It comes down to what is best for you - but these 4 points should be pondered for your own situation before buying The Key.