New Program called "The Key"

[happy cruiser1234]

I think Royal needs to change the pricing structure for longer cruises.  Right now in my cruise planner the key is listed at $51 CAD per person/per day.  (Equivalent to $38 USD)  My Anthem cruise is 12 days bringing the total $1220 CAD ($912 USD) For two people in a cabin.

Who in their right mind would pay that?

However, on a shorter 3-4 day cruise it seems to be a pretty good value.

 

I just returned from Symphony where we purchased the Key for $19.99 per day, and i was not impressed. 

The Chops lunch was limited and it was so busy the servers did not have time for us.  

The seats reserved for the shows were not in a good location at all.  Except for the Aqua show.

However we really enjoyed the private breakfast on the last day with an escort off the ship, right up to the customs officer. 

Edited April 24, 2019 by happy cruiser1234

[Iamcruzin]

37 minutes ago, happymanitee said:

It is $37.99 for my Thanksgiving Symohony cruise.  I think it is just their way of boosting sales.  They did this a few months ago.  They know people are on the fence about buying it. So, they increase the price.  And, all the people who didn’t buy it are mad at themselves for not buying it at the lower price.  Then, they drop the price again and all of those people jump to purchase it before the price goes back up. 

That’s how they got me to buy an excursion I’ve been watching.  The prive went up a lot.  Then, it went back down again. So I went ahead and purchased it instead of waiting.  

Yep it’s the oldest trick in the book. It’s called cancellation of a mark up. The only difference is that it is usually done in the beginning to establish price. They did it backwards by offering the low $19.99 price at the roll out. Now it just looks like they are greedy. At $37.99 a day pp I would up grade my room category or buy the meal plan before buying this. We actually purchased excursion at reasonable market prices through the cruise line which we never do so we will not have an issue getting off the ship in port. 

Edited April 24, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[Tree_skier]

The price for my Adventure cruise in Dec. just jumped from 19.99 to 31.99. The sad thing is I had put it in my cart yesterday but had to go out and planned to complete the purchase when I got back. Didn’t get to it until today and now a new price. I won’t be purchasing it now. That is way to steep.  

[Biker19]

Just now, Tree_skier said:

The price for my Adventure cruise in Dec. just jumped from 19.99 to 31.99. 

It'll likely come back down in a few days.

[The_Big_M]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

That was my first thought.  I knew that they were limiting it but I figured that they would just stop selling it when they reached capacity.

 

They do.

 

[MissLittle1959]

2 hours ago, panzafit said:

I was going to purchase for 2 people going with me that are in a separate room.  I put both people in the cart, selected to "pay by guest" since I was going to use 2 different credit cards.  I paid for the one person, when I went to pay for the other one they had already sold out, so I guess the one I purchased was the last one.  So now I have 1 person in a room that has a key and 1 person that doesn't.  That was several weeks ago for a June 30th sailing on Harmony.  I called to see if there was any way to add the key for the 1 person that doesn't have it since that's kinda awkward for 1 to get the perks but the other not to and they wouldn't allow it.  For a week or so The Key just said "check on board".  Now The Key isn't even listed.  I know it's been sold out but I find it odd that they removed it completely instead of just leaving the "check on board".  I guess this was kind of a long way for me to say that I can see how only 1 person in a room can end up with the Key.  At least in this type of situation. 

I didn’t think only one in a room could have the key.  

[Biker19]

Just now, MissLittle1959 said:

I didn’t think only one in a room could have the key.  

The web site will let you.

[princessliz1]

quick question, sailing on Harmony in May out of Port Canaveral, is there a designated security line for the KEY at PC? I have seen at other ports there were, but nothing specific to PC. Also, any information related to the KEY process is greatly appreciated!

[cre8tiv]

16 hours ago, Lindanuf said:

Our set sail pAss did not have a key on it and we had the key months before I printed the set sail pass.

Same here

[cre8tiv]

18 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

The web site will let you.

Hmmm, definitely not right. Wonder how the ship will handle the perks for the accompanying person. 

Will they get the early embarkation? Etc etc. 

seems to be a glitch in the system and IF they allow only one person per stateroom and give some/all the perks to others in the same stateroom it will be anIssue for many people that followed the rule ...of all guests over 6 requirement. 

We shall see, perhaps someone will post, After their cruise. 

As per RCCL thru our TA, the KEY will not show on the setsail pass. Maybe that’s an Allure thing? Who knows!

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, cre8tiv said:

As per RCCL thru our TA, the KEY will not show on the setsail pass. Maybe that’s an Allure thing? 

Most who have reported about Key have confirmed that either a sticker is placed on the Seapass card or a key symbol is printed directly on the card, regardless of ship. Some may have bought Key simply to use on Flowrider (not needed for the rest in cabin) - though with the cut back on dedicated Key sessions that math may no longer apply.

[KB Cruisin]

33 minutes ago, princessliz1 said:

quick question, sailing on Harmony in May out of Port Canaveral, is there a designated security line for the KEY at PC? I have seen at other ports there were, but nothing specific to PC. Also, any information related to the KEY process is greatly appreciated!

I would really like to know this too.  We will be sailing harmony in Port Canaveral.  Any experiences with the key in PC would be so appreciated. 

[Biker19]

41 minutes ago, princessliz1 said:

quick question, sailing on Harmony in May out of Port Canaveral, is there a designated security line for the KEY at PC?

This may have changed since January, but at that time Key customers went in the Suite line, it may not be so obvious outside the terminal and even inside the signs may not reflect that, but we observed Key holders being directed at that line.

[twangster]

30 minutes ago, cre8tiv said:

Hmmm, definitely not right. Wonder how the ship will handle the perks for the accompanying person. 

Will they get the early embarkation? Etc etc. 

seems to be a glitch in the system and IF they allow only one person per stateroom and give some/all the perks to others in the same stateroom it will be anIssue for many people that followed the rule ...of all guests over 6 requirement. 

We shall see, perhaps someone will post, After their cruise. 

As per RCCL thru our TA, the KEY will not show on the setsail pass. Maybe that’s an Allure thing? Who knows!

 

Website is full of glitches.

 

The terms and conditions state that guests 5 and under can enjoy Key benefits from a Key member.  The expectation is that everyone in a cabin 6 and older has it.  

 

No different compared to one cabin having it and friends or family in another cabin do not.  You can't share it with other guests who didn't buy it.  No different than sharing a drink package.  Could you maybe break the rules and slip someone into a Key benefit?  Possibly but that would be cheating.  

[robntawn]

I can only hope that RCCL personnel are diligent about checking Key status prior to extending benefits, especially reserved seating, private activity hours and priority embarkation/debarkation. I don’t think there is a requirement for everyone in the same room to purchase it, but those that don’t should not get benefits. 

 

I fear that it will end up similar to Priority Boarding on Southwest. In that case, only 1 family member pays extra for early boarding and then saves a row of seats for other family members who didn’t pay. Not cool, but rarely enforced by staff. 

 

You can can bet that I will be “that guy” who complains if I see this happening in November. I paid extra for my wife and I to both get these benefits, and I expect others to do the same. 

[TheRisleyFamily2021]

10 hours ago, happymanitee said:

It is $37.99 for my Thanksgiving Symohony cruise.

We are on the Symphony Thanksgiving cruise as well 🙂 May or may not keep the Key I purchased for that trip, depending on how our Harmony cruise w/ Key goes in June.  I purchased for both cruises back in February at 19.99. Glad now that I did! 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

One has to wonder how the RCI Marketing people sleep at night, knowing they have promoted and invoked The Key program and its pricing.

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

One has to wonder how the RCI Marketing people sleep at night, knowing they have promoted and invoked The Key program and its pricing.

Very well, if it means extra income for RCI.

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

One has to wonder how the RCI Marketing people sleep at night, knowing they have promoted and invoked The Key program and its pricing.

 

I'm thinking they sleep pretty well if sales of the Key are such that they can raise prices significantly.

[October17]

22 hours ago, robntawn said:

I can only hope that RCCL personnel are diligent about checking Key status prior to extending benefits, especially reserved seating, private activity hours and priority embarkation/debarkation.

On Harmony last week they  were very diligent on checking that everybody had the Key sticker for show seating, activities, and before escorting us past the debarkation queue 

[KB Cruisin]

2 minutes ago, October17 said:

On Harmony last week they  were very diligent on checking that everybody had the Key sticker for show seating, activities, and before escorting us past the debarkation queue 

So helpful to me. Thank you. We are going on Harmony and, after reading people were not paying and then could be able to sneak in with someone who paid, I was ready to cancel. If Harmony monitors it well, I will keep it. It is a lot of money which is worth it to me if it is enforced but worth nothing to me if it is a free for all.  Thank you much!!!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

23 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I'm thinking they sleep pretty well if sales of the Key are such that they can raise prices significantly.

I suspect you're spot on.  Then again...using P.T. Barnum's mindset to drive a sales strategy isn't necessarily a good thing.

 

 

 

 

[For those who aren't familiar with P.T. Barnum's most well-known saying...it"s “There's a sucker born every minute.” ]

[Sizzlechest]

On 4/23/2019 at 9:47 PM, jewopaho said:

 

Just been advised that the price has been raised to $37.99 ... yikes!!

 

I got in at $19.99 😎

[Tree_skier]

Boarded Mariner Of The Seas at 11 am. So far The Key has been a complete disaster. Nobody knows what they’re talking about. I’ll report more later. 

[kmarie86]

Yes, it sadly is $37.99 now. That's such a big price difference in a short time from when it was only $19.99. I thought about purchasing it a month ago when it was $25, but not now.