Newbie question - what is Keycard Recognition

[icft]

We're new to NCL and in looking at their rewards program I noticed one of the benefits starting at bronze is "Keycard Recognition." Search as I might, I could not find anything about it. We just took our first NCL cruise and our room door recognized our keycard without this benefit, so what is this benefit?

 

Please save me from the pit of ignorance.

 

 

[UKstages]

they will print "bronze" or "silver" or "gold" etc. on your keycard, so you can proudly flaunt your status when you whip your card out.

 

it's a meaningless "benefit," especially since, when you swipe at a restaurant or retail outlet or bar, they can tell your latitudes status anyway.

 

 

Edited February 16 by UKstages

[spanishguy1970]

19 minutes ago, UKstages said:

they will print "bronze" or "silver" or "gold" etc. on your keycard, so you can proudly flaunt your status when you whip your card out.

 

it's a meaningless "benefit," especially since, when you swipe at a restaurant or retail outlet or bar, they can tell your latitudes status anyway.

 

 

I completely agree. We are Diamond and color means nothing. give us more benefits LOL

[JGander]

It makes you feel good to flash your special status key card around.

 

That's about it.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, icft said:

We're new to NCL and in looking at their rewards program I noticed one of the benefits starting at bronze is "Keycard Recognition." Search as I might, I could not find anything about it. We just took our first NCL cruise and our room door recognized our keycard without this benefit, so what is this benefit?

 

Please save me from the pit of ignorance.

 

 

Key card colors are determined by your Latitudes status for steerage. Then you get to the purple cards for suites and club balconies. And the coveted gold card for Haven guests. 
 

Other than the gold card, nothing else really matters. 

[phillygwm]

It's funny, on my last cruise my status wasn't listed on my keycard.  I'm Sapphire and it WAS listed on my boarding docs.  I lined up for priority boarding and promptly got called out by someone (not port staff or crew, just Karen) who noticed my card and assumed I was a newbie 🤣

Edited February 17 by phillygwm

[LloydJr]

45 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

And the coveted gold card for Haven guests. 

Coveted??  🤣  Did the bird just make a joke??

[LloydJr]

44 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

t's funny, on my last cruise my status wasn't listed on my keycard. 

When/where was this??  I haven't sailed since November, but every card in my stack has latitudes level indicated?   Do you have a photo?

[LloydJr]

55 minutes ago, JGander said:

It makes you feel good to flash your special status key card around.

 

That's about it.

That only applies to 2.3% of cruisers.  The rest are nice people who couldn't care less about flashing around "special status."  I wish there were more, because they amuse me greatly.  

[IAcruising]

56 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Other than the gold card, nothing else really matters. 

 

And really, the gold card doesn't often matter other than unlock the Haven door. I've stood right next to a "gold card" at the bar, and my silly little green card got served first. 

 

[phillygwm]

15 minutes ago, LloydJr said:

When/where was this??  I haven't sailed since November, but every card in my stack has latitudes level indicated?   Do you have a photo?

This was out of Miami in November, Western Caribbean.   It struck me as odd.  It didn't have an incorrect status, it had none at all.  My niece and her bf, who were first timers, even had the Welcome to Norwegian cards.  But I was never questioned by crew.  They knew who I was and I was tipping them well 🙂

 

 

Edited February 17 by phillygwm

[JGander]

10 hours ago, LloydJr said:

That only applies to 2.3% of cruisers.  The rest are nice people who couldn't care less about flashing around "special status."  I wish there were more, because they amuse me greatly.  

I agree, and many of those are Haven users who think that the card matters outside of the Haven area.

[UKstages]

4 hours ago, JGander said:

I agree, and many of those are Haven users who think that the card matters outside of the Haven area.

 

without commenting on the nature of self entitlement, which can be an attribute of any cruiser, regardless of status or cabin class, i'm here to tell you that the haven key card does indeed matter a great deal outside of the haven area.

 

there is what i have dubbed "the haven halo" that follows a haven guest around the ship. if you go to the MDR or the local, for instance, you are more likely to be seated more quickly or by a window than somebody in an inside cabin. that's just the way it works. it's all done very discreetly, but haven status - as well as elite latitudes status - is absolutely a factor in certain customer touch points throughout the ship.

[dexddd]

4 hours ago, JGander said:

I agree, and many of those are Haven users who think that the card matters outside of the Haven area.

Welcome to CC.

[dexddd]

We've had Haven cards with high lats level for long time.  No flashing anything, just give card when asked going into restaurant.  I guess the benefit must be getting a seat near doors to kitchen as that seems to be the pattern for us.

[LloydJr]

Just now, dexddd said:

We've had Haven cards with high lats level for long time.  No flashing anything, just give card when asked going into restaurant.  I guess the benefit must be getting a seat near doors to kitchen as that seems to be the pattern for us.

We typically go to the MDR for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner when they open.  On our last cruise we had window seats every time.  And we just had a normal old card.  No Haven Halo needed! 😇💩

[dexddd]

1 minute ago, LloydJr said:

We typically go to the MDR for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner when they open.  On our last cruise we had window seats every time.  And we just had a normal old card.  No Haven Halo needed! 😇💩

Think last time I recall we had window seats in a mdr was lunch on Spirit back in 2008 ironically at Windows Dining Room.

 

Whether in Haven restaurant or other, we never ask for window seats even though preferred.  I like to see where they'll seat us.  I guess our profile must be marked not by windows.  Maybe they found that on my airline preference that I like an aisle.

[LloydJr]

58 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Whether in Haven restaurant or other, we never ask for window seats even though preferred.  I like to see where they'll seat us. 

That's why we ask.  By about the third day we no longer have to ask.

[Two Wheels Only]

6 hours ago, JGander said:

I agree, and many of those are Haven users who think that the card matters outside of the Haven area.

 

There's an outside? 🤔

[Yesimapirate]

It's part of the psychological marketing that is a loyalty program.   EVERY travel program, be it airline,  hotel, cruiseline,  etc has a card that shows your loyalty (though some have switched to digital).  It's to try and make you feel special so you overlook the fact that the program's intent is to make you loyal to them while not realizing it's not the 2 way Street most people believe. 

[dcruiser50]

Just like reply already noted, just your lattitudes status printed on your card. I've found that if you slip a small tip with the card it gets you quicker service.

On a cruise last year a young women asked how I was always getting attention from the bar servers, my reply was just tip them for good service, 

[JGander]

20 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

without commenting on the nature of self entitlement, which can be an attribute of any cruiser, regardless of status or cabin class, i'm here to tell you that the haven key card does indeed matter a great deal outside of the haven area.

 

there is what i have dubbed "the haven halo" that follows a haven guest around the ship. if you go to the MDR or the local, for instance, you are more likely to be seated more quickly or by a window than somebody in an inside cabin. that's just the way it works. it's all done very discreetly, but haven status - as well as elite latitudes status - is absolutely a factor in certain customer touch points throughout the ship.

 

Having cruised Haven and non-Haven, suites and standard balconies, I can tell you that this is either your imagination or you are waving it around to create the Haven Halo affect in the same way that a Karen running around asking for managers creates an affect of people who just simply don't want to deal with their BS.

[JGander]

18 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

There's an outside? 🤔

It is that area between the Haven door and the gangway.

 

Or, since we prefer the aft suites, its the big section of the ship.

[MoCruiseFan]

17 hours ago, dcruiser50 said:

Just like reply already noted, just your lattitudes status printed on your card. I've found that if you slip a small tip with the card it gets you quicker service.

On a cruise last year a young women asked how I was always getting attention from the bar servers, my reply was just tip them for good service, 

You mea bribe!

[BirdTravels]

On 2/17/2024 at 7:44 AM, JGander said:

I agree, and many of those are Haven users who think that the card matters outside of the Haven area.

But it does. You just need to k so when to flash it.