The Key Program

Attaching the Key info from our stateroom.
 

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Other than that I have no complaints. The ship is gorgeous, the service (aside from Chops) is amazing, and we are happy and fortunate to be on vacation. Feel free to ask any Key or Symphony questions!

I have a couple of questions:
- did you get wifi for every person you paid for the Key for?
- did you get early access to you room? (I thought I read that somewhere)
- has the early disembarment for the port days been an advantage?

Thank you for sharing your experiences!
 


I have a couple of questions:
- did you get wifi for every person you paid for the Key for?
- did you get early access to you room? (I thought I read that somewhere)
- has the early disembarment for the port days been an advantage?

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

Symphony/Oasis Class does not have any tender ports so I don’t think the early disembarkment for port days applies....
 
Nancy Drew - thanks for sharing your symphony experience! I am following this closely (Are you also posting on cruise critic?).... We are traveling April 13 on Symphony.

My questions are on the priority access to events...is it all the time like Suites? Or just some of the hours?

Also - did they put signs for priority this week?

If you do use the perk - please share how it went!

I consider this to now be like Express Pass at universal...if I think about it that way - it won’t feel as bad as ‘cutting the line’.

Hope that the show seating and ship debarkation on day 8 work out well. Sorry that Chops was longer than you hoped - my last meal at Chops was a torturous 2 hr 25 min ordeal for no good reason so I understand your angst there. I will talk to my group and maybe we will speak to the waiter to let them know we are not looking for it to be too long...or maybe we will explore first and go to lunch a little later so we aren’t as antsy...but I think an 60-75 minutes should be sufficient.
 
We attended the 1977 skating show today. We had to have reservations. People without reservations were turned away. We were guided to the Suites/Pinnacles section. We arrived at 3:50 and were told there were 5 seats left. We were lucky to find 3 together, though one seat was crowded by the suites sign. At 3:52 they removed the sign and allowed anyone to sit in that section. There were no seats available, though. I would recommend showing up at least 15-20 minutes early for shows. We will see Hairspray tonight and see if it is any different as far as seating.
I will say that the ice shows almost always fill up. Same with the aqua shows.

Lunch at Chops was a disaster. We spent 1.5 hours in the restaurant. The menu is significantly limited, with 3 choices for appetizer, main, and dessert, and they still took 1.5 hours to serve us. Unacceptable. If this is a "privilege" they should not be holding us hostage.
Last cruise we spent about 1.5 hours at Giovanni's for our free lunch (we were in a CP balcony). Circumstances were slightly different though as we were already at sea and as such we weren't exactly in a rush to do anything. It was also a prix fixe menu so I'm thinking that these things are par for the course with regards to the "free" premium lunches.
 


I have a couple of questions:
- did you get wifi for every person you paid for the Key for?
- did you get early access to you room? (I thought I read that somewhere)
- has the early disembarment for the port days been an advantage?

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

Yes, each of us has a unique wifi code for one device. The internet has been good, actually.

We did not have early access to our room. Partly because we were in Chops for 1.5 hours but also the doors to the stateroom hallways were all closed, so I don't know how that would work.

We will find out about priority disembarkation tomorrow as that is our first day in port. I do think it is only for tender ports, and Oasis class ships do not tender, so that is not a perk of the program for us.

Nancy Drew - thanks for sharing your symphony experience! I am following this closely (Are you also posting on cruise critic?).... We are traveling April 13 on Symphony.

My questions are on the priority access to events...is it all the time like Suites? Or just some of the hours?

Also - did they put signs for priority this week?

If you do use the perk - please share how it went!

I consider this to now be like Express Pass at universal...if I think about it that way - it won’t feel as bad as ‘cutting the line’.

Hope that the show seating and ship debarkation on day 8 work out well. Sorry that Chops was longer than you hoped - my last meal at Chops was a torturous 2 hr 25 min ordeal for no good reason so I understand your angst there. I will talk to my group and maybe we will speak to the waiter to let them know we are not looking for it to be too long...or maybe we will explore first and go to lunch a little later so we aren’t as antsy...but I think an 60-75 minutes should be sufficient.

I'm not sure I understand about the priority access to events. Do you mean seating? We totally missed our chance for priority seating for Hairspray last night as I had the time wrong and we showed up 10 minutes late. We are supposed to have priority seating at all shows. I am going to the comedy show tonight, so I will check on the seating situation and report back.

There are no signs for priority access, at least not for the Flowrider. There is just one line for everyone. My son has a Key wristband and has never been told to skip the line, and I don't think he would be comfortable if he were encouraged to do so. He has met some friends who Flowride at the same time and I can't imagine what the other teens would think if he cut in front of all of them. If there were 2 lines from the start I think it would be much more acceptable to allow Key guests to have priority. But it would be less fun because at least for my son, talking to the other kids in line has been really fun for him. There have never been more than 6-8 kids in line at any time and each person only goes for a minute or two, so it isn't really a big deal to wait. Maybe if we go during a busier time it will be different.
 
I would just like to comment on the priority seating if I may and please someone correct me if I am misunderstanding. We sailed on Oasis last year in a grand suite and I made reservations for the shows just because that is the Type-A personality I am and they were not necessary for suite guests. I have no problem making reservations for the shows for our upcoming cruise on Harmony in September with Key. We always arrived 30 minutes before the shows just because I like to have my choice of seats (even within the reserved area) plus order drinks, get settled and not feel rushed. So I do not anticipate we will have any problems doing the same with the Key. Am I missing something? I know the seating is "reserved" for Key holders but I do not have expectation of having choice seats if we arrive a few minutes before the shows start.

If someone (nancydrew) or anyone else that has experienced Key seating at shows can comment that would be great! I just want to adjust my expectations if needed.
 
I totally agree with that. I will always book shows where that option is available. I was wondering if others have expectation with the Key that they can just show up a few minutes before the shows and still have a nice selection of seats. That was not my experience last year so I do not know if something has changed with this new program.
 
I totally agree with that. I will always book shows where that option is available. I was wondering if others have expectation with the Key that they can just show up a few minutes before the shows and still have a nice selection of seats. That was not my experience last year so I do not know if something has changed with this new program.

The original marketing SAID no reservations were required - but it was updated around the New Year.
 
My stance has been that you should book shows irrespective of what the cruise line is telling you.


I totally agree with that. I will always book shows where that option is available. I was wondering if others have expectation with the Key that they can just show up a few minutes before the shows and still have a nice selection of seats. That was not my experience last year so I do not know if something has changed with this new program.

I simply let my "butler" take care of that for me. :rolleyes1
 
John - You must be sailing Star Class. I hope to be like someday when I “grow up” lol! I truly don’t mind making the reservations- as I said I did so when I stayed Sky Class and it was unnecessary last year. I’m looking forward to sailing with the Key benefits in September since we are lowly (tongue in cheek) junior suite Sea Class passengers this time. Sailing with close friends who are in a balcony cabin so since we all have Key benefits we can stay together.

Although to be frank it seems the benefits are in flux, who knows what this program will look in another 6 months!
 
Where is the Key available to purchase? I don't see it in my Cruise Planner anywhere but it might be too early. (Jan 2020)
 
I would just like to comment on the priority seating if I may and please someone correct me if I am misunderstanding. We sailed on Oasis last year in a grand suite and I made reservations for the shows just because that is the Type-A personality I am and they were not necessary for suite guests. I have no problem making reservations for the shows for our upcoming cruise on Harmony in September with Key. We always arrived 30 minutes before the shows just because I like to have my choice of seats (even within the reserved area) plus order drinks, get settled and not feel rushed. So I do not anticipate we will have any problems doing the same with the Key. Am I missing something? I know the seating is "reserved" for Key holders but I do not have expectation of having choice seats if we arrive a few minutes before the shows start.

If someone (nancydrew) or anyone else that has experienced Key seating at shows can comment that would be great! I just want to adjust my expectations if needed.

So, we have had a hard time getting to shows on time (thanks to 2 teens who have no concept of getting ready for things quickly). We arrived to 1977 (skating show) 10 minutes early and the Key section was also the suite section. There were 5 seats left. 2 minutes later, the sign and the "guard" left and the section was open to anyone. So if priority seating is important to you, get there very early (which kind of defeats the purpose especially since they originally said you did not need reservations for shows).

Where is the Key available to purchase? I don't see it in my Cruise Planner anywhere but it might be too early. (Jan 2020)
'

It will be in the "Internet and More" section of your Cruise Planner if it is available. I think it is too early for your sailing. I can also tell you they are still tweaking the program. I have a feeling it will not last long. They have already pared down the benefits so much from what it was supposed to be. Right now I do not feel it is a worthwhile purchase at all and I would not get it again, unless they added more benefits.
 
So, we have had a hard time getting to shows on time (thanks to 2 teens who have no concept of getting ready for things quickly). We arrived to 1977 (skating show) 10 minutes early and the Key section was also the suite section. There were 5 seats left. 2 minutes later, the sign and the "guard" left and the section was open to anyone. So if priority seating is important to you, get there very early (which kind of defeats the purpose especially since they originally said you did not need reservations for shows). .

It says in all of the letters and brochures to arrive 15 minutes before showtime. If you just had reservations and wanted good seats, you would need to arrive 30-45 minutes before showtime. This is a time/line saver for shows if you understand the guidelines.

I think that many people purchased with the original ‘no reservations required’ language - for those people who are not savvy about the changes that have been made, I imagine it could be disappointing.
 

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