Tell me about your "THE KEY" experience in 2022

[MCazer]

Have booked THE KEY for upcoming Italy/Greece Odyssey of the Seas in August. Mostly for the tendering perk, and wifi.  Got a good price.  

But would love to know more specifics.  What everyone was able to accomplish with it.  How was the lunch for embarkation.  Seating at shows, shorter wait times, etc.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by MCazer

[FLConnie]

7 minutes ago, MCazer said:

Have booked THE KEY for upcoming Italy/Greece Odyssey of the Seas in August. Mostly for the tendering perk, and wifi.  Got a good price.  

But would love to know more specifics.  What everyone was able to accomplish with it.  How was the lunch for embarkation.  Seating at shows, shorter wait times, etc.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

If you have a Suite, most of the Key perks are included

already.

[MCazer]

5 minutes ago, FLConnie said:

If you have a Suite, most of the Key perks are included

already.

Don't have a suite, have 3 balcony cabins

[FLConnie]

2 hours ago, MCazer said:

Don't have a suite, have 3 balcony cabins

I was just researching it over the weekend so the other thing I saw is priority disembarkation at TENDERED ports. So you might check your docs to see if any are tendered. None of ours were. Then I looked at our suite to see what was included because the wifi with Key did sound like a good idea, but everything but the rock climbing and those activities which we won’t do were included with suites. Hope this helps you decide! FYI they drink and wifi package is a good deal too if you are doing it. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by FLConnie

[rudeney]

When considering the price of The Key, many people buy it because it's just a few dollars more than Voom S+S.  For example, on our upcoming cruise, 1 device Voom S+S is $22.49/day and the key is $29.99, so only $7.50 per day more ($15 for the two of us).  But, if we bought the 2-device Voom S+S, it's $37.99.  That makes The Key for two people cost $21.99/day more.  

[crusnbee]

Had the key on Jewel Dec 29.

 

Chops lunch in MDR was OK. Not the full Chops menu. It was nice and peaceful in there though.

 

The wifi was great for us, and we got the key for like $15.99, so it was worth it. No tender ports. The key lets you get off the ship when you want also, but we did self assist, so no benefit for us there.

[MCazer]

Two ports with tendering. And we have private tours (not Royal) at each, and need to be off right away.  So that is the main reason we are going with it.  I have never needed the Key before that.  I get 4 drinks for my loyalty with Royal, so the wifi/drink package doesn't really work either.  

 

I guess I was hoping to get more info from people who have used the KEY this year and what they were able to do with it.  Someone online said that they got free room service which is another perk.  They are currently on the ship right now, so hoping that sticks around too.

 

[twins_to_alaska]

The free room service was an older perk that is no longer included. I was grandfathered in for that on my cruise in May based on when I had purchased the Key (in 2021) when the perk was included.

 

I was in a suite, no tendering, and walked off unassisted so Key didn't help with that. I really enjoyed dropping off my carry ons and having them delivered to my room and the Chops lunch. As a solo I was going to get the internet anyway and the Key only cost me $17.99/day. I didn't use the limited activity times or go to any shows. A bowl of fruit (way too much for one person) was delivered to my room but could have gotten the same from the buffet (maybe not the strawberries and grapes?)

Edited June 23, 2022 by twins_to_alaska

[MCazer]

42 minutes ago, twins_to_alaska said:

The free room service was an older perk that is no longer included. I was grandfathered in for that on my cruise in May based on when I had purchased the Key (in 2021) when the perk was included.

So odd, because a gentleman on the Odyssey of the Seas right now (in a facebook group) said that he was able to get that perk. I will also be on the Odyssey in August.   I wonder if he purchased the KEY a long time ago as well and was grandfathered in.  I will have to search for his post and ask him. Thank you.

[sunlover2]

following

[MCazer]

Gentleman onboard the Odyssey at the moment booked the KEY in April. So not sure if that would grandfathered in or not.  Only time will tell.

[cruizzing]

We had the Key in April on Odyssey when traveling with kids (non-suite). We used the key line to embark the 1st day which saved time in line and did the embarkation Chops limited menu lunch in the dining room which was good and not crowded.

Dropping off bags was a nice perk and they were in our rooms waiting for us after we finished lunch.

We used it for The Effectors seating - they had seats reserved in the middle section, lower deck of the theater which were good as we had watched it from the balcony (side) the day before in different seats and the middle straight on view was much better. Probably could have gotten similar seats by showing up early though, but we went right from dinner.

They had Key times for Ifly. A few in our party did the free offering, but DD wanted to do it again and they were booked full.  I asked if they had any Key times left and they were able to squeeze her in one of those Key slots.(still had to pay, but could at least grab a slot later in the cruise).

We did the debarkation day breakfast and enjoyed that. We didn't walk our bags off and they were in a spot designated for Key and easy to find. 

Like others mentioned,  room service was an older perk. Found the below excerpt in my email that looks like they weren't doing the dining room meals and were offering room service instead. We didn't have the free room service perk for this cruise, but didn't do room service anyway. 

Overall, we found it valuable even though we didn't maximize its benefits (no rock climbing, no flow), but the perks we used were worth it to us. BUT, I realize that others may not value the benefits similarly, but we would purchase it again.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

• Instead of a complimentary embarkation lunch, we’ll provide you with complimentary room service for your entire cruise, along with 25% off all onboard dining purchases!

[bonsai3s]

19 hours ago, MCazer said:

Two ports with tendering.

 

One is Santorini...what's the other? (having a senior moment here 🙂)

[MCazer]

3 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

One is Santorini...what's the other? (having a senior moment here 🙂)

Santorini and Mykonos (although Mykonos is if our ship gets there after another ship)

 

[bonsai3s]

3 hours ago, MCazer said:

Santorini and Mykonos (although Mykonos is if our ship gets there after another ship)

 

Thanks...makes sense now.

 

Odyssey last month, we were able to dock...no need for tenders.  The "Sea Bus" was across the street...4Euros/person/roundtrip to town.

 

Santorini...tender to dock approx. 10 minutes...cable car up to Fira about 8 minutes (6Euros each way).  We took the bus to Oia...took about 30 minutes (1.60 Euros/person/each way.) 

Happy sailing!