Dawn T.

My husband and I had the Key on Anthem last October for a 9-night sailing. We were booked in a balcony cabin. We wanted a junior suite, but the prices were ridiculous when we booked (around $3,000 more). We always get 2-device Surf and Stream anyway, and we had a $100 OBC to use. We paid $19.99 per person for the Key. My husband always bids on RoyalUp when he has the opportunity. He started out with a mid-range bid for a junior suite, but decided to change it and put in the max bid. About 10 days before the cruise, we got the upgrade to a junior suite for the max bid of $1,000. Based on the price difference between the balcony cabin and the junior suite, we felt like we got a great deal. We loved the cabin, and we ate dinner in Coastal Kitchen every night. It was wonderful! We did not cancel the Key because of the upgrade, since it was to a junior suite. With the Key, we absolutely loved the embarkation day lunch in MDR with the Chops menu. We also loved the disembarkation day breakfast. We didn’t take advantage of any seating for shows or private hours for activities. We were only able to take advantage of priority disembark at one port, and it was great. We just got off the elevator, asked where to go for the Key, and they let us get in the line right at the exit. We had excursions booked in all the other ports and had to meet in the theater and they escort you off. I know getting the Key is a personal choice, and I can tell you for the Anthem cruise we absolutely loved it! We didn’t even take advantage of all it had to offer either.

Hi @SMOKEY0202. This is exactly what my husband and I are doing this September. I would rather not move hotels from Rome to Civitavecchia for the night before the cruise. Can you tell me what transfer company you used for your trips to the port and back to Rome after the cruise?

Hi @sonny! Just to add to my original post.... The $1,000 total bid was the max bid for a JS. Originally, my husband bid lower, probably in the middle. Later, he went in and maxed out all the bids (for JS, GS, and OS). He really wanted an upgrade. Best $1,000 we ever spent! We managed to get 5:30 reservations in Coastal Kitchen each night without a problem.

Good luck!

@JLMoran This is excellent news! It sounds like we might get lucky with CK.

My husband always bids on RoyalUP whenever he has the opportunity. I always tell him it will never happen. Well, we are sailing on Anthem next week, and he received an email yesterday that our bid was accepted. We originally booked a 2C (ocean view with large balcony) long ago. I wanted a junior suite, but it was more than double the balcony price. I kept checking the JS price, but it was never reduced. We ended up with a J1 (junior suite with large balcony) for $1,000 (total bid). We think it is well worth the upgrade. We get a bigger cabin, better bathroom, giant balcony, plus dinner access to Coastal Kitchen. We are hoping to get dinner reservations for CK every night. We sailed on Ovation in March in a grand suite. We had 5:30 dinner reservations every night in CK, and the place was practically empty. We’re hoping for this on Anthem. For those wondering about bid timing, he placed the bid on 7/29/19. Upgrade email arrived yesterday 10/1. Sail date is next week. 😁

We order BBCs on Royal all the time. I use the initials when ordering, and have never had to explain what it is. Welcome to cruising on Royal!

If it is available for your sailing, it would be in the Cruise Planner under Internet & More. I am sailing from Cape Liberty to Boston, Nova Scotia, etc.

I have the key on Anthem for a sailing this October. I purchased it in January of this year, so 10 months out.

@GlowTheWeird Did you book through a travel agent? I would suggest calling them. If not, I would call Royal Caribbean about your reservation. I thought it was a computer glitch, but I am a travel agent. I checked my agency booking website, and every category on this sailing is closed, except these: 3B Spacious ocean view balcony for $6,084 pp (standard pricing) 6N Ocean view $3,010 pp (BOGO50 NRD) 6V Interior $2,485 pp (BOGO50 NRD) This is very strange, but especially since it is so far out.

You absolutely must do this. This is a DEAL!

This same thing happened to us last month on the Harmony. My husband and I booked long ago, but I added my kids about a month before sailing in a guarantee balcony. I noticed that the app showed them as sea class, even though they were assigned to a regular balcony cabin. The SetSail pass printed out correctly, without a Sea Class reference. I figured it was an app glitch.

So sorry. I meant to address that in my post. We have never had a problem with the items coming back from the ship laundry. I only have to "refold" everything. 🙂

First, apologies to @tiny blonde for another post about laundry. Now @mom2mybugs and @Baked Alaska, in March, my husband and I flew from Orlando to Sydney, Australia for 4 days, then cruised on Ovation for 9 days. I specifically booked a pre-cruise hotel that had guest laundry facilities. We washed all our clothes before boarding the ship. We are D+, so we also each got a free bag of laundry while onboard, which we used. We had to stay an extra day due to flight availability, and I had planned to do laundry again at the hotel post cruise, but that didn't happen. 😏 P.S. I also vote for using the OBC in a restaurant!

I always use mine as a reduction to the cruise fare. We almost never have a balance due onboard, so it wouldn't make sense for me to use it for OBC.