The Key- is it worth it?

[sne26]

My family is traveling with Royal Caribbean in a couple weeks for the first time.  We have only ever been on a Carnival ship before, and have only sailed a few times.  Is it worth it to purchase 'The Key"? 

[taglovestocruise]

3 minutes ago, sne26 said:

My family is traveling with Royal Caribbean in a couple weeks for the first time.  We have only ever been on a Carnival ship before, and have only sailed a few times.  Is it worth it to purchase 'The Key"? 

NO. Family of four paying $750 for a week.  One  free lunch,  priority show seating that is worthless, dropping your carry on off a few minutes early.  Maybe a stretch to say yes if everyone in your party is getting surf and stream. It is a money grabber going after the Look at me crowd. 

[sne26]

Thank you!! 

[renza]

Definitely NOT. Only worth it for solo maybe. 

[George C]

We book suites so definitely not worth it 

[rebeccac]

The only time I even consider it, is if the price is REALLY close to the cost of purchasing the internet.  Even then it is still generally going to be significantly cheaper to just buy one internet package with however many devices you think your family will use at once.  

[Txdnadoc]

On our Odyssey of the seas cruise in April,  it was definitely worth it. We bought it for just slightly more than internet.  Great seats at the shows, and a calm lunch after boarding. The big advantage for us was the included key-only Northstar, iFly, bumper cars,  etc at key-only times on a very crowded ship. With kids on Quantum class, I think it's worth it.  

[MCazer]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:48 AM, taglovestocruise said:

NO. Family of four paying $750 for a week.  One  free lunch,  priority show seating that is worthless, dropping your carry on off a few minutes early.  Maybe a stretch to say yes if everyone in your party is getting surf and stream. It is a money grabber going after the Look at me crowd. 

I’m not really part of the look at me crowd at 58. But my family of 5 adults, who had their trip canceled back in 2020 and who live in different parts of NY, and wanting to make the most of this once in a lifetime trip together, I think it is perfect. I was able to snag it when it was on sale. 

 

We will need to be off the ship quickly in tendered ports to meet up with our private tours. So especially Santorini it is imperative.  
 

All the rest of the perks are frosting on the cake. 
 

 

[Broken07]

The key was worth it for us on the Oasis this past week. Ships are full and the lines were long. We never waited to rock climb, flow rider, ice skate, zip line or ultimate abyss. Times for key guest were doable. Getting off the ship was fast and we always get internet so the price was a 3 dollars difference. If it’s in the budget go for it. If I’m not in star or sky on oasis/quantum class we always get the key - more so for my daughter then anything.  

[time4u2go]

Nope. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

We’ve done it once as a couple and it was decent although we probably didn’t make the best use of it.

 

For a family cruise of six or eight of us I really don’t think it’s worth the money.

[TwoAdriftAtSea]

Yes purchasing the key was a no brainer as it was cheaper than purchasing just the voom internet.

Today I received an email for 40% off the key for an upcoming Aug 20th Explorer of the Seas cruise, thankfully I hadnt already purchased the 'net package.

 

With that said I will know during the cruise if "the key" perks are something I would purchase again if the price were higher.

Edited July 18, 2022 by TwoAdriftAtSea
added

[time4u2go]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:37 AM, sne26 said:

My family is traveling with Royal Caribbean in a couple weeks for the first time.  We have only ever been on a Carnival ship before, and have only sailed a few times.  Is it worth it to purchase 'The Key"? 

Will your family need internet service?

[Joebucks]

More so if you are already going to be purchasing Wifi. Other than that, it's kind of a waste of money.

[Southern latitudes]

We found it to be not much higher than an internet package for 4.  We also have a tender port.  It's our first time using it, so we will see if it is worth it.  I like the idea of priority embarkation and debarkation with a relaxing lunch first day and breakfast last day-that made it worth the slight extra over the internet, which we would purchase anyway.

[Mim Lloyd]

I wasn't even considering The Key for my Explorer cruise next year, but last week it was actually CHEAPER than just Surf & Stream by over £5 per day (approx $6) so we bought it. It's still cheaper now.

[Surfguyxxx]

On 7/17/2022 at 7:38 AM, Txdnadoc said:

On our Odyssey of the seas cruise in April,  it was definitely worth it. We bought it for just slightly more than internet.  Great seats at the shows, and a calm lunch after boarding. The big advantage for us was the included key-only Northstar, iFly, bumper cars,  etc at key-only times on a very crowded ship. With kids on Quantum class, I think it's worth it.  

Great seats at the shows?  Front row?  Please explain where they were.  Thanks.

[taglovestocruise]

2 hours ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Great seats at the shows?  Front row?  Please explain where they were.  Thanks.

Up stairs in the balcony, crappy seats. Decent seats at the ice show, still need to get there early as the first 4 rows fill quickly.  Off to the side for the Aqua show, nothing special.  

[Txdnadoc]

18 hours ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Great seats at the shows?  Front row?  Please explain where they were.  Thanks.

We sat in the suite section, which wasn't front row but in the venues on odyssey front row isn't ideal. More like front rows on upper levels.

[renza]

When people say it’s just a little bit more than the internet they are not calculating the internet correctly. For instance my internet is $21 a day per device right now, but if I bought 4 devices under one name it comes to $328 only $82 each internet. If you bought one at $21 it’s $147 for the week. So if you have 4 people and are paying more than $328 for the week for the key it’s not worth it. The key is of little benefit especially on Oasis class. 

[drjohn4]

I had the Key for our family on a recent Odyssey sailing and I thought it was worth it.  I don't like waiting in lines or having to get to shows super early so that was worth something to me.  We were sent at boarding to a special area and had no waiting at all to check in.  At the Key lunch we had great food in the dinning room with great service.  The other nice benefit was having a crew member at the embarkation lunch to book complimentary times for iFly and North Star - both during sea days that normally would have been an extra charge.  I also liked being able to show up closer to show time for the shows and get decent seats.  Some of these benefits overlap with suite benefits, so they may not be as valuable if you are in a suite.  For us it was worth it.  

[vjmatty]

3 minutes ago, drjohn4 said:

I had the Key for our family on a recent Odyssey sailing and I thought it was worth it.  I don't like waiting in lines or having to get to shows super early so that was worth something to me.  We were sent at boarding to a special area and had no waiting at all to check in.  At the Key lunch we had great food in the dinning room with great service.  The other nice benefit was having a crew member at the embarkation lunch to book complimentary times for iFly and North Star - both during sea days that normally would have been an extra charge.  I also liked being able to show up closer to show time for the shows and get decent seats.  Some of these benefits overlap with suite benefits, so they may not be as valuable if you are in a suite.  For us it was worth it.  

 

The Key waives the sea-day cost of activities? I didn't see that listed in the cruise planner description.  Were you able to pick decent times or were you stuck with 8 am and such?

[drjohn4]

1 minute ago, vjmatty said:

 

The Key waives the sea-day cost of activities? I didn't see that listed in the cruise planner description.  Were you able to pick decent times or were you stuck with 8 am and such?

iFly was the first available times in the morning, 9AM if I remember correctly.  The North Star was in the afternoon around 3:45.  There were specific iFly and North Star times blocked for the Key, you didn't get to pick any time, but they were on the sea days which are usually an extra charge.

[Saturngrl]

I did The Key on my last Allure sailing when the program was new (2020).  I loved the dedicated entry/check in and luncheon on Embarkation Day.  The reserved seats for the Aqua Show were terrific!  We also loved the Disembarkation Day breakfast in the MDR and being able to walk off the ship when we wanted to easily find our luggage in The Key baggage section.  The Internet package also was value-added for me. 

 

It was a no-brainer for me to purchase The Key for my DH and me for our 2023 cruise! 

[jfgunner]

For those who have purchased The Key, (whether you thought it was worth it or not).....   

 

WHEN is the best time to purchase it?    Greek Isles Cruise in July 2023 (346 days away!).    Current Cost is a 15% "Discount😂" so it is $34.99/person/day instead of $41.99/person per day.    

 

Based on others' experience, how soon should I just get this or is it likely to be 40% off later?   How far before the cruise will it sell out? What was your experience in offers to purchase The Key? 

 

We have determined it is wroth if for us based on: 

- Grandma being 70 years old and appreciating a couple of shorter lines (this alone might make me book it soon!). 

- Less of a wait to Tender to Santorini on a day that we are in port from 1 PM to 11PM. 

- Having two teenagers and myself who definitely want internet. 

 

Thanks everyone!