New Program called "The Key"

[actuarian]

57 minutes ago, norway olin said:

 

Does lunch at Chops without Key on boarding day require reservations?

You can reserve lunch at Chops on boarding day without The Key through Cruise Planner (subject to availability).  If you do not make a reservation and show up there anyway, they will still seat you if there is availability but, if they are full, they may turn you away or make you wait.  However, that is the way it works for any meal at a specialty restaurant (or at most restaurants on land); seating without a reservation is always subject to availability.  The difference is that The Key may serve to reduce availability for the boarding day lunch.

[voyager70]

1 hour ago, dpostman said:

Well then I bow to you as you are clearly a better packer that we are.  I'm still hoping I can fit everything in a Full size and a carry on on our upcoming Baltic 12 nighter.  I probably will bring a swimsuit but 90% chance I won't even wear it once.

 

dp

 

 

 

We actually had two weeks of 75-90 degree (F) weather on a Baltics cruise a few years ago.  I didn't even pack a swimsuit but wished I had?

 

[dpostman]

1 minute ago, voyager70 said:

 

We actually had two weeks of 75-90 degree (F) weather on a Baltics cruise a few years ago.  I didn't even pack a swimsuit but wished I had?

 

 

That is exactly sort of my point.  The temperature can be so variable for a Baltic or Alaskan cruise that I feel like I have to be prepared for all the possibilities, and I can't see it all fitting in a carry-on.  Plus add the evening wear for formal nights and specialty dining.  I don't care what they all say about wear what ever you like, I'm not wearing a swimsuit to dinner .

 

dp

 

[norway olin]

1 hour ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Maybe!

 

19 minutes ago, actuarian said:

You can reserve lunch at Chops on boarding day without The Key through Cruise Planner (subject to availability).  If you do not make a reservation and show up there anyway, they will still seat you if there is availability but, if they are full, they may turn you away or make you wait.  However, that is the way it works for any meal at a specialty restaurant (or at most restaurants on land); seating without a reservation is always subject to availability.  The difference is that The Key may serve to reduce availability for the boarding day lunch.

 

It is funny that these two answers say exactly the same thing, but somehow the second one was preferable.  Thanks

[voyager70]

13 minutes ago, dpostman said:

 

That is exactly sort of my point.  The temperature can be so variable for a Baltic or Alaskan cruise that I feel like I have to be prepared for all the possibilities, and I can't see it all fitting in a carry-on.  Plus add the evening wear for formal nights and specialty dining.  I don't care what they all say about wear what ever you like, I'm not wearing a swimsuit to dinner .

 

dp

 

 

Exactly.  And people dressed very formally on the Baltics cruise, much more so than any other cruise I've been on, including several Med cruises.

 

[actuarian]

On 1/17/2019 at 9:40 AM, fred30 said:

 

It doesn't make the lines any longer.   It makes them substantially slower.  While everyone is standing in that long line there are lots of others with the Fast Pass walking up to the front and getting right in filling up spots while those in line are waiting for less available spots per hour.

 

Take 10 people waiting for 10 spots each hour.   If 1 of those 10  is able to fill 2 or 3 each hour there are only 7 or 8 spots left for the remaining 9 people each hour.   This increases the wait time for the normal line.

 

 

 

 

For some attractions, it makes it nearly impossible to ride without a FastPass+ except during early entry days for people who are eligible for early entry.  Other than that, the standby wait for "Avatar Flight of Passage" can reach five hours and I do not think that any ride is worth that.

Edited January 26, 2019 by actuarian

[Ivana Cruise]

On 1/24/2019 at 8:08 PM, Blondiemomm said:

did you enjoy the Key benefits? 

I did enjoy them. I felt it was well worth the price for us. 

[Abr155]

I am currently on the Anthem with the Key. We are in a balcony and have no loyalty status. We were permitted to go through the suite line security and check in! We were, quite literally, the first two guests on the ship (just happened to sit in the right spot in the section they told us to sit it). When we got on the ship, there was a man at a table with Key information. I am confident only 100 were sold Bc he asked for our names and paged through a stack of envelopes (no way it was more than 100). We also saw the list of names at the theater when they marked us off, and it couldn’t have been more than 100. He pointed us down to theater (and there were Key signs the whole way) and we dropped our carry on and got wrist bands. The envelope contained welcome letter, our internet codes (one code for each of us), special time for activities, etc. Lunch at Chops was delicious and service was great! Cabin ready right at 1, big luggage already there and our carry ons we dropped were in the closet! Going to first show tonight, so we’ll see how the reserved seating works! Oh, our SeaPass has a sticker of a key on it!  In a word, for us it was so far hands down great decision! Yesterday was flawless!  We were getting internet anyway!

 

Edited to add that we just told an agent that we purchased the key when we got to port and they pointed us in the right direction. Also edited to add that I obviously cannot 100% confirm that only 100 were sold Bc I didn’t ask or count, but it was clear from the list and envelopes that it was very limited. 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Abr155

[blueridgemama]

5 minutes ago, Abr155 said:

I am currently on the Anthem with the Key. We are in a balcony and have no loyalty status. We were permitted to go through the suite line security and check in! We were, quite literally, the first two guests on the ship (just happened to sit in the right spot in the section they told us to sit it). When we got on the ship, there was a man at a table with Key information. I am confident only 100 were sold Bc he asked for our names and paged through a stack of envelopes (no way it was more than 100). We also saw the list of names at the theater when they marked us off, and it couldn’t have been more than 100. He pointed us down to theater (and there were Key signs the whole way) and we dropped our carry on and got wrist bands. The envelope contained welcome letter, our internet codes (one code for each of us), special time for activities, etc. Lunch at Chops was delicious and service was great! Cabin ready right at 1, big luggage already there and our carry ons we dropped were in the closet! Going to first show tonight, so we’ll see how the reserved seating works! Oh, our SeaPass has a sticker of a key on it!  In a word, for us it was so far hands down great decision! Yesterday was flawless!  We were getting internet anyway!

I

Did you make reservations for the shows pre cruise? If you get a chance can you ask someone on board familiar with The Key if it is required to make show reservations pre cruise or onboard or not at all on the Oasis class ships? Look forward to your review of the program. Thanks.

[Ocean Boy]

I wonder what RCI will think of their "Key" program if they find people jumping ship from the suites and buying Keys instead as some here are talking about. Unsold suites would not be good.

[blueridgemama]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I wonder what RCI will think of their "Key" program if they find people jumping ship from the suites and buying Keys instead as some here are talking about. Unsold suites would not be good.

 

Again, there are limited numbers sold (100 per cruise)so I don't think it will have any effect on the number of suites sold. I have never been fortunate enough to sail in a suite but I am guessing that the size and amenities of the suite itself is what attracts suite cruisers.

[shera007]

On 1/18/2019 at 5:56 PM, Ivana Cruise said:

I had already made reservations for both so I’m curious if I’m going to be able to do them twice. Once with my reservation and once with Key reservation?

Did you end up getting to do both ?

 

[Ivana Cruise]

58 minutes ago, shera007 said:

Did you end up getting to do both ?

 

I didn’t even get to try. The iFly was during dinner and Northstar wasn’t going up that morning because of lightning. 

[shera007]

11 minutes ago, Ivana Cruise said:

I didn’t even get to try. The iFly was during dinner and Northstar wasn’t going up that morning because of lightning. 

Ok thanks for letting us know,glad you guys had a great cruise!

[Abr155]

9 hours ago, blueridgemama said:

I

Did you make reservations for the shows pre cruise? If you get a chance can you ask someone on board familiar with The Key if it is required to make show reservations pre cruise or onboard or not at all on the Oasis class ships? Look forward to your review of the program. Thanks.

Today we did the Northstar reservation that we made, will probably try to do the one they made for us for a different perspective (ours was 11:30 and the one they made should be sunset)!

 

Came back to the cabin today to a lovely fruit tray with a thank you from the Key program! Nice touch! Seeing Sprectas tonight-made reservations though Bc I was nervous! Will update! Let me know if you have them specific questions you’d like me to explore!

[actuarian]

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I wonder what RCI will think of their "Key" program if they find people jumping ship from the suites and buying Keys instead as some here are talking about. Unsold suites would not be good.

Other cruise lines have long had means of purchasing perks without purchasing a full suite and I do not think that it has interfered with the sale of suites.  For example, there are rooms in the MSC Yacht Club that are definitely not suites; some are even inside rooms.  Celebrity, Disney, and Cunard all provide perks with rooms that are no larger than Royal Caribbean Junior Suites and they still are able to sell their full size suites.

[SouthernAccent]

Has anyone used this on symphony yet?

[teddybear231]

Still seems very expensive for me for basically internet and lunch at chops...

[xpcdoojk]

Gotta love the flash a new program gets.

 

jc

[slyster]

14 hours ago, teddybear231 said:

Still seems very expensive for me for basically internet and lunch at chops...

 well and possibly quick embarkation and departing the ship any time you want instead of with an assigned group number.  I also think it's a nice perk to be able to be one of the first off at a port of call.  I suppose it's all about what's priority and beneficial to you.  I bet some love that some activities (flow rider, rock climbing) have special times just for key folks.  Not my cup of a tea but I'm sure others would say that. 

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, slyster said:

 well and possibly quick embarkation and departing the ship any time you want instead of with an assigned group number.  I also think it's a nice perk to be able to be one of the first off at a port of call.  I suppose it's all about what's priority and beneficial to you.  I bet some love that some activities (flow rider, rock climbing) have special times just for key folks.  Not my cup of a tea but I'm sure others would say that. 

Priority tender access can also be very beneficial to some, especially when taking a 3rd party excursion 

[norway olin]

A piece of information that may or may not be interesting.

 

On Jan 2 I reserved The KEY for our mid July Symphony cruise.

 

Yesterday The Key for the first time became no longer for sale on the cruise planner, 6 months before the ccruise.

[Orsino]

1 hour ago, norway olin said:

A piece of information that may or may not be interesting.

 

On Jan 2 I reserved The KEY for our mid July Symphony cruise.

 

Yesterday The Key for the first time became no longer for sale on the cruise planner, 6 months before the ccruise.

 

Interesting. This post prompted me to check on my upcoming cruise (10 Feb 2019, Oasis). I had already purchased The Key a few weeks ago. The Cruise Planner shows The Key as 'check onboard' so I guess our cruise is sold out for The Key. I'll try to post notes from the cruise since I'll have internet.

[RFerrington]

46 minutes ago, Orsino said:

 

Interesting. This post prompted me to check on my upcoming cruise (10 Feb 2019, Oasis). I had already purchased The Key a few weeks ago. The Cruise Planner shows The Key as 'check onboard' so I guess our cruise is sold out for The Key. I'll try to post notes from the cruise since I'll have internet.

Can’t see there being a big market for The Key after embarkation. A fair amount of the value is on embark day 

[tinkr2]

On 1/10/2019 at 1:54 PM, Biker19 said:

On 1/23/2019 at 9:58 AM, HBE4 said: