If you had The Key, was it worth it in your opinion?

[GrandmaOhio]

Trying to decide if I want to order The Key for our upcoming Med cruise. Anyone care to share their experiences? It is currently $28.99/person per day.  Any chance the price might drop?  Thanks!

[leisuretraveler223]

I've had The Key for free twice.  I didn't think it was worth it when it was free. I certainly wouldn't entertain paying anything for it.

[Scoobydobe7]

No, the only way I would pay for it again was if it is the same price as internet.   

[GJustice]

Got a Black Friday deal for 18.99 so bought. Won't pay much more than that. 

[Tree_skier]

11 minutes ago, GJustice said:

Got a Black Friday deal for 18.99 so bought. Won't pay much more than that. 

 

11 minutes ago, GJustice said:

Got a Black Friday deal for 18.99 so bought. Won't pay much more than that. 

Same for me.  That price is so close to the internet price that with the embarkation lunch, which I usually purchase, I'm already at the break even point.  Everything else is just gravy.  

[newmercies]

I purchased it twice, only when it was close to the cost of the internet which I had already planned on purchasing.  I think the answer really ends on what ship & ports you're cruising too, as some of the benefit is priority tendering. 

The Royal link is https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-key-program

Only you can decide if it's worth it based on your cruise and your needs.

Melinda

[Sail2k]

We have purchased it multiple times and like everyone else if it is near the internet price, which I must have to stay in contact with work, then we get the Key.

 

For us it is worth the easy of everything, but the best perks for us is the reserved seating for the shows on the Oasis class ships and the ease of checkin and boarding (drop off bags).  We have it for our upcoming Icon sailing which will be great for getting good seats and supposedly they will have a fast lane for various things.  We shall see

[mtempelaar]

We had it.  Originally it was supposed to help us in a variety of the bulleted perks.  We were specifically aiming for the internet service, priority lines and priority tenders in a tender heavy itinerary.  But....hubby and I got upgraded to a grand suite so had access to the concierge so it lost a lot of value.   Still, we really did it for the internet access as the price was comparable at the time of purchase.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I considered it for my Feb cruise - mainly because I'm solo and it would be great to drop off my bags and not have to worry about them since Royal doesn't let you drop them off yourself like their sister Celebrity does. But when I subtracted the internet cost from it, the difference was too much to justify the cost just for embarkation lunch, luggage service, and departure breakfast (which is pretty much what I'd use it for...I don't always agree with what they think are "premium" seats and there are no tender ports on my cruise). So I just got internet and will just drag my carry-ons around like I have before.

[LindaD22]

We do get The Key when it’s priced near the cost of internet alone. 

[Keksie]

Yes.  We like to drop our luggage off, have a lovely quiet lunch, internet for two, have a quiet leisurely last day breakfast.  I also like to know we can get on the ship early without getting up at midnight to secure an early time.  It is worth it to us.  

[CanobieFan]

I've had it once and we booked it when it was on sale. It actually got so low it was cheaper to buy the key for our 8 day cruise than it was to get the internet package!. We did the included lunch thing but were underwhelmed (I'm a vegetarian, so Chops was meh) and outside of that, used the seating area for one of the shows, once, but felt out of place when one of the crew members basically snapped at us for sitting in the pinnacle / suite / KEY areas, with our key benefits,, making us feel honestly uncomfortable.

[Den7Cruiser]

On 1/30/2024 at 5:51 AM, Keksie said:

have a quiet leisurely last day breakfast.

Can anyone tell me what the Key breakfast looks like and where they have it?  Trying to figure out if I want to do an excursion the last day before heading to the airport or if it's worth it to hang out at the Key breakfast and be one of the last ones off the ship.  TIA

[Keksie]

4 hours ago, Den7Cruiser said:

Can anyone tell me what the Key breakfast looks like and where they have it?  Trying to figure out if I want to do an excursion the last day before heading to the airport or if it's worth it to hang out at the Key breakfast and be one of the last ones off the ship.  TIA

It was in a section of the MDR.  Eggs Benedict and other yummy breakfast items.  Plus, it was not chaos.

[xpcdoojk]

When it was initially offered and it was close to the internet price it was a no-brainer if you used the FlowRider, as we got an extra 5 hours with fewer people in line, right after that it went to 1 hour… suddenly not such a deal.  

 

If you are buying two internet packages it is still probably an ok buy.  Since I retired 12/31/2023, I don’t need it for work, so we manage with 1 internet account so the Key is probably done for us.  

 

Jc

[Calvin]

I bought the Key, largely because it was only a nominal amount above the internet service.  On a 7 day cruise, I would likely purchase it again, but not on a 15 day cruise, because they charge a daily fee.  I'm a big kid so I always like to embark as early as possible.

[Norwich Cruiser]

Not worth it to us.

[AUgirl]

Yes it was worth it to us. But has most have mentioned, we bought The Key when it was only a couple of dollars more than the internet. We bought it last year when it was around $20 and the internet was $18 per person per night. This year we purchased The Key again when it was $28 per person and the internet was $20. We'll be tendering in Mykonos and Santorini, so the priority tendering is definitely worth the extra amount of money. Plus we enjoyed the embarkation lunch last year - it was very good and a nice, relaxing way to begin the cruise. We didn't get to experience the departure breakfast (because we had to disembark super early), or other amenities on the last cruise, but still felt like we got our money's worth.