Guidance on "The Key", boarding, and Ft. Lauderdale?

[goblynn]

Obviously, things are still up in the air with the pandemic, but I'm hoping some of you more-experienced cruisers will have insight.

We've (re)scheduled our cruise to now sail October 29th, 2021. It'll be our first time sailing out of Fort Lauderdale AND having a late departure, so we have some questions:

-is it better to book a hotel/shuttle package, or is port parking safe and accessible?

-our itinerary says we sail at 9pm, so when might we expect boarding to begin? We're only Gold level members, and not in a Grand (or higher) suite on Navigator.

-is buying into The Key program worth it? Not only for boarding, but for seating at shows, private activity hours, and leaving at ports of call earlier than other passengers?

We have three families traveling together, so the cost of The Key isn't small for all of us, but we're willing to pay if it actually might benefit us with time onboard and in giving the children better chances at getting into activities like the escape room, for instance.

Thanks so much for anything you can share!

[Sea Dog]

If you were planning on buying the stream package it may be worth it to you. We bought it and liked it. Mainly for internet package, but having lunch at Chops on Embarkation and expedited departure on port days  made it worth it for us, but it's not for everyone.

[firefly333]

There has been some speculation about ships leaving later and the key have embarkation lunch ... how? Maybe move it a day later? Wouldnt be fair to just not get it if you bought the key. No one knows. It's a wait and see.

[xpcdoojk]

So, the key to the key is how it is priced compared to the internet package if you would buy that anyway.  It used to be worthwhile because you got multiple extra hours on the FlowRider, etc.  Although that seems to have gone away before Covid.  I figured it was a good value the one time I bought it, but I got 5 extra Flowrider sessions because of it.  The sailing following ours they only got 1.  At which point for me the math didn’t work.

[Ourusualbeach]

The off site parking at FLL is great.  Park n Go  This is the one port that I use offsite partaking for.  Secure, right outside the port gates and they have a ton of shuttles. 

[goblynn]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

If you were planning on buying the stream package it may be worth it to you. We bought it and liked it. Mainly for internet package, but having lunch at Chops on Embarkation and expedited departure on port days  made it worth it for us, but it's not for everyone.

We had intended to get only one internet package, so the cost of buying Key for all four of us (in our cabin) far exceeds the cost I originally planned on. It's the other benefits that are really catching our eye, even on something as short as a 3-night cruise.

[goblynn]

4 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

So, the key to the key is how it is priced compared to the internet package if you would buy that anyway.  It used to be worthwhile because you got multiple extra hours on the FlowRider, etc.  Although that seems to have gone away before Covid.  I figured it was a good value the one time I bought it, but I got 5 extra Flowrider sessions because of it.  The sailing following ours they only got 1.  At which point for me the math didn’t work.

I think that's one of the things that will also be a wait-and-see situation, much like the prior poster's comment about departure lunch vs later sailings. There's so many things we don't have a basis of comparison for, and now it's all changed anyway because of covid!

[goblynn]

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The off site parking at FLL is great.  Park n Go  This is the one port that I use offsite partaking for.  Secure, right outside the port gates and they have a ton of shuttles. 

That's REALLY helpful to know--I'd expect to pay something extra for a hotel to allow parking and provide a shuttle, but my googling seems to show a lot of them still charge independently for the shuttle. With ten passengers in all, that adds up quickly. I think this makes it well worth looking into parking there directly and saving ourselves the additional handling of a shuttle.

[CaroleSS]

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The off site parking at FLL is great.  Park n Go  This is the one port that I use offsite parking for.  Secure, right outside the port gates and they have a ton of shuttles. 

I will second the nod to Park N Go. We've used them for many of our cruises and have never been disappointed! They have a frequent stay program that you should sign up for. I think for every 10 days you park there you get one day free. Great company!

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, goblynn said:

There's so many things we don't have a basis of comparison for, and now it's all changed anyway because of covid!

Welcome to CC.

This will be the way forward for quite some time.

[PrincessPatti]

When I lived in South Florida, I parked at Port Everglades many times.  I have never used the Park ‘N Go, but I know some that have and love it.  I just liked the convenience of getting in my car and leaving.  
 

Now that I fly in no matter which Port I am sailing from, I drop my checked luggage at the Port, return my rental car, and then take the shuttle or a taxi back to the Port.  That way, I have less loading and unloading and I get off the shuttle and go straight to the ship.

[SAPMAN]

I am new to Royal.  Am on the Sept Adventure of the Seas sailing.  However, I see no option to buy The Key package.  Do they not sell it on some cruises?  Do they wait until close to sail date to sell?  Or is there another way to purchase?    I think I would like to buy The Key, but heard only a certain number are sold.  Thanks.  

[Biker19]

27 minutes ago, SAPMAN said:

  I think I would like to buy The Key, but heard only a certain number are sold. 

That is true and there could be a whole host of reasons why you don't see it in the planner. In the COVID era, you may want to reassess if the benefits (which could be "modified") are worth the cost.

[bouhunter]

On 3/16/2021 at 1:54 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

The off site parking at FLL is great.  Park n Go  This is the one port that I use offsite partaking for.  Secure, right outside the port gates and they have a ton of shuttles. 

Agree, Park n Go is great.  Last time we were there was March 15 2020, getting off a HAL ship.  It was so odd how empty and quiet it was.  They were prepping to store cars for the rental companies as everything was shutting down 😞

 

[billslowsky]

On 3/16/2021 at 1:54 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

The off site parking at FLL is great.  Park n Go  This is the one port that I use offsite partaking for.  Secure, right outside the port gates and they have a ton of shuttles. 

The "ton of shuttles" is especially important when you're getting off the ship.

[Iamcruzin]

Pre covid I remember people posting their scheduled times for the shows and activities.  They were scheduled for non peak  times in the early morning, dinner time in the evening or mid day on a port days. These were times that there wouldn't be a line anyway. Someone was actually scheduled for an activity when they would have been eating the chops lunch on boarding day. I don't know what will happen when they restart and have covid protocol  but I didn't get the impression that it was worth it if it was more than $19.99 a day and you were going to buy everyone surf and stream anyway.

[karena1]

On 3/16/2021 at 1:54 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

The off site parking at FLL is great.  Park n Go  This is the one port that I use offsite partaking for.  Secure, right outside the port gates and they have a ton of shuttles. 

Totally agree, we use Park n Go any time we cruise or fly out of FLL.  They are great.

[SAPMAN]

21 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That is true and there could be a whole host of reasons why you don't see it in the planner. In the COVID era, you may want to reassess if the benefits (which could be "modified") are worth the cost.

 

[SAPMAN]

Thanks.   Guess I need to keep checking.  Wish there was a way I could show interest and they would contact me when available.  

[TheRisleyFamily2021]

There are many reviews of people using "The Key" here on the CC boards. We used it on Harmony and again on Symphony (my parents paid for the second time around - not my decision!)  Bottom line:  I did not feel the extra benefits were worth the price.

 

Some considerations:  Lunch at Chops is $24.95, and that is without a sale price.  Do you really need surf AND stream? Do you plan on being online that much? (My 12 year old and I shared ONE code on each our last three cruises with no issues, and only surf.. we were on vacation, not me working from a deck chair).   How inexpensively can you get The Key on your cruise planner? You have to haunt your cruse planner a LOT to catch the sales.  I managed to snag it for $17.99 a day, but that was just after they first offered it. They have slashed the benefits since then - the second cruise there were far fewer Key exclusive activity times (most only offered once) and they were at REALLY bonkers times - early AM, 1PM TO 2PM during boarding (shouldn't you be enjoying your chops lunch?), etc.

 

There was absolutely NO advantage at check-in. Both cruises the "Key exclusive" check in lines to which I was directed were 2 people deep. I opted to simply walk up to one of the MANY representatives standing around with their iPad and checked in the first time, and the second we just walked to the end of the check-in counters to an empty one. Boarding was a whopping TEN minutes early. Whoopee!  (Make sure you get the kids their muster station bands early if possible in the waiting area, otherwise they will snag you on the gangway.) 

 

It was nice to leave our "carry ons" at the restaurant lobby, but there again we quickly realized that swimming would require we take our bags. It was a comedy. The second "Key cruise"we didnt even bring carry on bags, just took my usual beach bag with what we needed, and let porters deal with all of the suitcases,  carry-ons, and cases of water at rhe dock. 

 

We didn't need to tender at any ports, so that may be a factor you wish to consider - not standing in line for the tenders could be important to you. Then again, is it worth $27 a day per person not to stand in line??  The lines at a very low attendance  day at Disney were 10 times longer than the tender lines!

 

It was of no benefit to get off the ship on either private island 5 minutes earlier than anyone else. 

 

Shows on the first  cruise were ALL open to Key guests, you just walked in. The second time they had begun requiring a reservation anyway, you could not go on the spur of the moment.  The Key seats were not all that wonderful, TBH (balcony center) and hard to see. We just go early to get good seats, and them go grab drinks and socialize. There is not Key seating at every show, not even the super popular ones like "Love and Marriage" or the scavenger hunt game (sorry, can't recall what they call it!)  Even if you go later you can still snag seats in the balcony pretty near to the "Key" rows. 

 

Early booking for the escape room was NOT included as a Key Activity (is it now?)  but it was not difficult to book anyway - many people have no idea what it is, or they see the price and decide not to do it.  I booked three times and had it canceled because there weren't enough people to participate! (Some ships it is minimum 4, some 6).

 

I honestly don't recall what all of  the Key activities were...

Flowrider, zipline, dry slide, Rock climbing wall (which was not busy most days anyway). Dedicated Flowrider time was OK but still long lines.  Paying for the semi-private Flowrider lessons instead was THE best decision I made on our last two cruises! Absolutely the highlight of my son's cruises, he didn't need to be afraid to try it!

 

Just my opinions offered. Well, my parents too, they thought it was a bust.   Other people have found the Key to be useful. I would suggest going back and reading the KEY reviews of experiences on YOUR ship. It may be different on different ships, and perhaps they used their time during the pandemic to work out the downsides to the program? 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited May 15, 2021 by LiamsMommy2008
Edited for clarity

[Saturngrl]

My friends and I had our last cruise on the Allure out of Ft. Lauderdale in January 2020.  I will echo the posters who like Park n' Go.  I parked at the port once and have sworn by Park n' Go for all of my other cruises out of Port Everglades.   With advanced reservation, the cost is less than half of what is charged at the port.   There is no searching for a parking space.   You drop off your car at the entrance, board a waiting shuttle and are transported to the pier quickly.   Upon return, they have plenty of shuttles to return you to your waiting car.  Quick exit, with a cold bottle of water in hand, and you are on your way! 

 

We LOVED The Key!   The embarkation luncheon was nice, the internet access great and reserved seating at shows were awesome.   Disembarkation included a private waiting area and designated baggage pick up in the terminal.   Well worth the money for us!