Question re: boarding

[Mr. Candyman]

8 minutes ago, tigergrl0204 said:

Yes it is, which is why I'm trying to pro-con it all. It makes it difficult being a first time RCL cruiser and not really knowing how things work in general.  I'm leaning towards cancelling it, but I haven't completed my pro-con list and discussed with the hubby (who quite frankly is not involved in any aspect of our vacations so hard to really discuss with him).  My 2 other questions are: 1) is every other place aside from MDR open for breakfast on debarkation day?  2) If I have me by myself or possibly one other kid with me to wait in line for the seats to a show, does it upset everyone in line if the rest of my family were to show up right before they open the doors for seating?  A pro to The Key was having the ability to not have to wait in line for 30-40 min to get decent seats, but that seems to be one of the few reasons to keep it.  

I would say you don't know what you miss until you don't have it.  Experience the cruise without having The Key, save the money and use it towards an excursion or something on the cruise.  If you find the waiting wasn't to your liking, then you can opt to purchase on your next cruise with RCI.   I wouldn't base your decision on boarding/disembarking...look at the other perks that come with it and decide if they are necessary.   

Edited April 30, 2019 by Mr. Candyman

[brillohead]

Honestly, as long as you have reservations and show up 15 minutes before the show, you're going to be fine about 99.99% of the time (for everything except the late-night adults-only comedy show).  

The fact that they open things up to people without reservations 10 minutes before the show tells you how many people make reservations and just never show up -- there will be plenty of empty seats.

[Ourusualbeach]

54 minutes ago, tigergrl0204 said:

Yes it is, which is why I'm trying to pro-con it all. It makes it difficult being a first time RCL cruiser and not really knowing how things work in general.  I'm leaning towards cancelling it, but I haven't completed my pro-con list and discussed with the hubby (who quite frankly is not involved in any aspect of our vacations so hard to really discuss with him).  My 2 other questions are: 1) is every other place aside from MDR open for breakfast on debarkation day?  2) If I have me by myself or possibly one other kid with me to wait in line for the seats to a show, does it upset everyone in line if the rest of my family were to show up right before they open the doors for seating?  A pro to The Key was having the ability to not have to wait in line for 30-40 min to get decent seats, but that seems to be one of the few reasons to keep it.  

We have never waited in line 30 to 40 minutes to get decent seats.  The only time we’ve ever waited in line was for the ice show and that was only for 15 minutes and we wanted front row seats.

[jean-lynd]

2 hours ago, tigergrl0204 said:

Yes it is, which is why I'm trying to pro-con it all. It makes it difficult being a first time RCL cruiser and not really knowing how things work in general.  I'm leaning towards cancelling it, but I haven't completed my pro-con list and discussed with the hubby (who quite frankly is not involved in any aspect of our vacations so hard to really discuss with him).  My 2 other questions are: 1) is every other place aside from MDR open for breakfast on debarkation day?  2) If I have me by myself or possibly one other kid with me to wait in line for the seats to a show, does it upset everyone in line if the rest of my family were to show up right before they open the doors for seating?  A pro to The Key was having the ability to not have to wait in line for 30-40 min to get decent seats, but that seems to be one of the few reasons to keep it.  

We made reservations for the shows we wanted to see so we never had to wait in line. There were plenty of seats available for every show we went to except for the aqua show. 

 

The windjammer, cafe promenade, park cafe, solarium bistro and main dining room were all open for breakfast on debarkation day.

 

I hope this helps!

[sailor05]

Here is a discussion about the Key. Skip to the last few pages to see what others who have done it think about it. I think you'll find most would never do it again. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2601591-new-program-called-the-key/