cobra614

Well here I was stalking the cruise planner for the ultimate drinking package for a good price (haven't found it yet) and today I go ahead and buy the Coco beach club floating cabana for our upcoming cruise.
 
At this point I might as well spring for the DBP.....
 
YOLO

Well here I was stalking the cruise planner for the ultimate drinking package for a good price (haven't found it yet) and today I go ahead and buy the Coco beach club floating cabana for our upcoming cruise.
 
At this point I might as well spring for the DBP.....
 
YOLO

Well here I was stalking the cruise planner for the ultimate drinking package for a good price (haven't found it yet) and today I go ahead and buy the Coco beach club floating cabana for our upcoming cruise.
 
At this point I might as well spring for the DBP.....
 
YOLO

Hoping for a better price.
 
Our first cruise a couple of months ago I regretted not getting a cabana at Labadee, not this time!

Just keep an eye on it up till your cruise....if they don't sell the price will drop

My wife and I went on our first cruise ever this past July on Symphony  and we got the key at the same price. Since we wanted internet I thought it was a no brainer.  Also got the DBP for$49pp. 
We have a May cruise on Harmony and the key is currently priced at $37.99 and the dbp is $65pp. No way at those prices!!!
Gotta keep stalking the cruise planner I guess.

We just went on our first cruise on Symphony with some family that recommended it. They previously cruised on Harmony.  One of them wondered why they moved things around. Took him almost 2 days before he realized he was on a different ship.

Since the never ending question of whether or not the Key is worth it, I thought I'd add to the discussion with my review of the program.
This was a weekday 4 night sailing that my beautiful wife and I did without kids. So just 2 of us and we got a good price of $19.99 per person/per night(total of $159.92).
We were going to get a 2 device internet package already so this played a major role in trying out the program. If we weren't getting the Key we would have paid $23.99/night (total of $95.96) for the 2 device package, so that would have put us at the Key being an additional $63.96
Embarkation day - we got to the port at 10am so we got a private seating area to wait for the ship to be ready. We were 2nd group to board the ship after the Pinnacle and Suite section. Pretty nice to beat the big groups of everyone else. This ended up being a really relaxing start to vacation which is nice because embarkation day can tend to be kinda hectic.
Once on the ship we stopped at the dining room for a Key luggage drop off, also super nice to counter the busy first day. After dropping off our extra luggage we sat down for a "Chops lunch by the MDR". This was a big disappointment as they set expectations too high calling it a Chops lunch. While the steak was good, it was not the same as a Chops steak. The biggest disappointment was from the much different atmosphere and lacking service. I don't blame the staff for the lacking service though, it's gotta be so tough to try and turn over the ship all in a few hours and also try to provide yet another service. Lunch was very slow and I feel like I wasted the early arrival waiting around for a lackluster lunch that went on for almost 2 hours. While this was much less hectic than the windjammer, it's advertised as something that it's not. I wish I'd of just grabbed windjammer food and jumped on the flowrider and took advantage of the small crowds. Key "Chops" lunch was a major dud.
No tenders on this sailing, but if there was I bet this is where I would be raving about my favorite part of the Key.
Special Key only activities:
Rock climbing wall - Not necessary since the lines are never very much
Ice skating - We didn't feel like iceskating so we didn't utilize this, but if you like ice skating this is a very nice perk. We have done the Open skate before and it's crazy! It's overcrowded and super hectic. Having this private skate time is the way to go!
Water-slides - Love the waterslides and during our 1 hour key time we went over and and over and over until I couldn't handle the stairs anymore. A nice perk to avoid lines for sure.
Skypad - I was very excited for this as I thought it looked very cool. Turns out you can always go with no lines because the Skypad is a complete fail by Royal. I only did it once and once again I wish I'd of just done another ride on the Flowrider. Sad to say the Skypad is a huge dud, it's not every worth doing once. You aren't missing anything
Flowrider - Yes please, love love love the Flowrider! Only problem here is you only get 1 hour of Key only and it seems every Key member took this opportunity to try it out. The line ended up being just as long as the open ride times. Still, anytime I can go on more of this, sign me up.
Special Seating at shows - This is especially awesome for the Ice Show. The Ice show is so A MAZ ING. We waited in line early for the first showing because even though we got private seating my wife wanted her first pick of front row seats. We loved the Ice show so much though that we went last minute to the second showing and sat in the Key/suite section. Nice seats, totally a great perk of the Key, but the show is so fun and interactive that I do recommend trying to go early and get front row seats at least once. If you don't know, the Ice show is super popular for good reason and you need to make it a priority on your cruise! We also used the Key/Suite seating for a couple of the headliner shows, center stage on balcony level. My wife prefers front row seating, but I was perfectly content with these seats as I won't get scowled at if I fall asleep. Still if you don't want to show up early for prime seating it's very nice to have the option. Only problem is other people used this seating as it isn't labeled very well and no one regulates it.
Disembarkation day we got a private breakfast in the MDR. The wife and I both got NY steak and eggs. This steak was better than the lunch steak, as was the whole experience. This was by far the best breakfast we had all cruise. They also hold your luggage while you are eating, if you kept your luggage for a self assist disembarkation as we did. The Key does offer a special luggage checkout system, but we like to self assist if we don't have the kids. After breakfast we met up with a Key disembarkation staff that lead us to the front of the line to exit the ship. Pretty cool, but we definitely got some dirty looks from the other guests.
Overall the Key was very much worth it for just the 2 of us. $63.96 was a steal for all the extra perks we got. $19.99/person is a steal of a deal though as we've seen it as high as $35/person. What's the highest I would go for the wife and I??  Well that depends on the ports and ship. Tender port on an Oasis I might go as high as $29.99, but a simpler ship I wouldn't go over $19.99. I'm not sure if we'll try it on our upcoming sailing with the 3 kids as this is a lot of extra money. I would probably have to find another $19.99 deal to keep the total cost down. I hope this review finds you well and my rambling didn't get too confusing. Nevertheless I am ready for another cruise, February can't come soon enough!
 
 
 
 

Not a chance we won't know about a price drop.  I always post when I find something, and I'm confident others will as well.

"Lets see.....if we increace our prices, then drop them to the old price, they will feel like theyre getting a deal!" 

I booked our first cruise ever for this past July last December,  watched the cruise planner almost every day and bought the key for $19.99 and the deluxe beverage package for $49 plus gratuities on Symphony.  I just booked a May 2020 cruise today on harmony today (thanks Stehpanie from MEI) and the key is $37.99 and the deluxe beverage package is $65 before gratuities.  No way I'll pay those prices, so I will be stalking the cruise planner for sure.

We use our RCCL Visa on every cruise and usually have a final bill in the neighborhood of $20K depending upon the length of the cruise.  The CC company has never questioned the charges with the single exception of one cruise a few years back.  But even that one, it was not the amount, but simply the fact that they somehow thought the charges were elicit until we got it squared away (this is when Sebastian came to the rescue).
We get double points for all RCCL purchases, so that’s an easy $400 worth of OBC for basically doing nothing.  I don’t think the CC company cares. They hope we will run up a balance and not pay it off (which we NEVER do).  I’ve often worried that the ship would balk at us taking large sums of their cash off the ship but they never seem to mind so I guess it’s a win-win-win for everyone.  The ship gets a very high revenue number, the credit card company gets to charge Royal for the credit card transaction and hopes for some interest from us (which they don’t get) and we get our double points.

This is really a great question....and one I'm afraid I cannot answer with any certainty.  I will give you my opinion....but that's all it's worth.
After many years of trying to work the program to my advantage, trust me when I say that I have tried it all !!
1.  I do not believe that cashing in and re-buying chips will help you.  Honestly, to my knowledge, the only thing that they track with the "card swipe' at the tables, is how long you play and how much you win or loose.  The table swipe, IMO does NOT have anything to do with the rate at which you acquire points.
2.  Points acquisition has waaay more to do with the amount of your wager than it does with how much money you bring to (or take away from) the table.  That's why the table players are at such a disadvantage as compared to the slots players.  With slots, every single wager you make is recorded.  With table games, they come by periodically and make "notes" on an iPad about what your wagers are but if you vary your wagers (I do not....Dan does) and they happen to only pass by when you are making lower wagers, then that is what they are recording.  Conversely, if they happen to pass by when your wager is up, you will get credit for more and your multiplier will be higher.
3.  Frankly, the best thing you can do to be noticed is play at the high stakes tables.  Dan always makes a point of playing at least 1 full night at the $25-$50 per hand blackjack table.  Since the minimums at those tables are higher to start with, your time at those tables will net you more points all the way around.  Dan never EVER plays as many [total] minutes as I do but he almost always ends up with more points at the end of the cruise than I do b/c he spends time at the high stakes tables and I go nowhere near them !
Again.....this is all conjecture.  They keep their ratings secrets SECRET so I really have nothing to go on but LOTS of experience.
One last thing.  Don't listen to the people who tell you that they do not give you "credit" for losing money.  This is one thing I DO know for sure.  If you have lost a lot of money over the course of the cruise, they DO consider that in determining what kind of certificate you will get (but NOT with the number of points you are awarded).  Winning will not penalize you but losing DOES count in your favor.  I once had a certificate re-issued from a small $$$ off certificate to a free balcony certificate based solely on the amount of money that I had lost (nothing to brag about, for sure !).  On that cruise, both Dan and I earned free balcony certificates (the only time that has ever happened !).  Many would say that we just 'prepaid" our cruises, which is a fair analysis !

My assistant waiter on my last cruise said that if they are rated below 9 from 3 different people on a single sailing they can lose their job or be demoted.  I dont know if this was a scare tactic but as much as they ask their employees NOT to ask for ratings it still happens quite a bit. 
 

Just a couple of comments for this thread....
 
I'll start by clarifying that I have never worked for RCI, but I did work in the casino game for twenty years, with some of that time on another cruise line.
 
Your buy in will make zero difference to your rating. Your win/loss will make zero difference to your rating.
 
On table games, the only thing that counts is average bet and time played. Depending on how they actually work out the average bet, you should increase when you see the inspector or pit boss watching... that's if the figures are entered manually by the staff. In some cases, casinos base the rating on the table minimum you are playing, so playing $25 per hand on a $10 table will not earn you the same points as playing $25 per hand on a $25 table. I don't know if RC is one of those or not.

Royal's new policy is blackjack pays 3:2 on tables that are $15 a hand and higher.. Anything under $15 a hand pays 6:5.. Also on Holiday sailings they make the tables $25 and over for 3:2 which is annoying but as we know they make up the rules as they go along lol. 

Husband and I went on our one and only Royal cruise in late June - early July and he earned Prime status on the last night of the cruise. He  left the casino in the wee hours of that night  (morning, really) with the cruise certificate in his hand. On the back of the certificate is a list of cruises - some as short as 4 nights (I believe) and some as long as 7 nights. There may have been 1 8-night cruise as well. In any case, you have 30 days to call Casino Royale to book one of the listed cruises. If none of them will work for you, the certificate is redeemable for $500 off the price of a cruise of your choosing. The cruise that you reserve must sail within a year's time. 
We weren't picky and one date/ship worked out for us. From what I recall, the cruises offered were starting in September 2019 and went to April 2020, and I have read that they are updated every quarter. So maybe in October, another list will be available, but I don't believe that you can use any list but the one that is on the certificate, or the trade-in value. 
2400 points earned will gain you a cruise for 2 for an interior stateroom. If you have better luck, you may earn a comped OV stateroom (3600 points) or balcony (4800 points.) I think that some people earn suites as well, of course, by racking up even more points. I believe that these certificates are always for 2 people, but I am sure that someone here will correct me if I am mistaken. I understand that these higher-level certificate will have a higher trade-in value, but again, that factoid was gleaned from reading message boards and Facebook group posts. 
Don't stop at 2499 points - that will earn you the interior cruise certificate, but you will need 2500 points to earn Prime tier. If you earn Prime status on your January cruise, in April, 2020, you should receive a "code" for your free annual Prime cruise (not the same one as the certificate cruise!) This can be a cruise of your own choosing, up to 8 nights, I believe,  but no holiday cruises. Husband hasn't received this code yet, obviously, so we haven't experienced this yet, but we received the information about the annual cruise in an email from a Casino Royale rep. 

Congratulations on your first Star Class.  If you're like us, it will not be your last !
One of the MANY things about SC that is so wonderful is that you can have any kind of event in your suite, invite ANYone from the ship, regardless of their accommodations, as often as you want.  You can serve dinner from any specialty restaurant (as long as it is during normal operating hours of the restaurant) for as many people as you want and there will be no additional charge - even for upcharge items such as surf & turf at Chops or the Seafood tower.  Your guests do NOT have to be in SC nor do they have to have a dining plan.
As far as party organizing goes, your Genie will take care of everything.  I will add that some Genies are better party-planners than others.  I will also say that I have never had a BAD party planned by a Genie.  Reyno is, hands down, the best party planner EVER.  His high energy and flair for going over-the-top are perfect for planning an AWESOME party.  Unfortunately, I think Reyno is on Symphony these days.  Part of your SC amenities is the ability to have all of the water, juice, soda, and beer you could ever want, delivered (and stocked) to your suite.  With that in mind, you have the makings for a pretty darned good party without adding ANY additional cost.  If you choose to have wine delivered, you will be charged but you will get a pretty good discount on it.  Liquor is an entirely different issue.  If you want liquor, it's going to cost you.  I have done 4 suite parties out of the 6 SC cruises I have done and I have never had any liquor served or needed a bartender.  Hey...they're getting this for free, they can be happy with beer and champagne (we did order sparkling wine a couple of times.  I think it cost us a whopping $80 total).  The Genie will order food for you...whatever you want.  We usually use Jamie's/Giovanni's b/c the appetizers and finger food from those restaurants offer the best variety.  The Genie will arrange for room service to deliver all of the plates, napkins, silverware, glasses, ice...absolutely everything.  Then, room service will come and clean everything up.  Just remember to tip well as there is a lot of coordination needed to pull this off and it's a lot of work for those who make it happen.
The cruise critic (or Facebook) cabin crawl is a great time to have a party.  It is a great way to show off your suite and people generally really love having a chance to see a SC suite.  It's good for Royal b/c it is a wonderful advertisement for their SC suites and program.  I know for sure that we have been responsible for more than 1 SC "sale".  If you are able to jump into someone else's cabin crawl, that is PERFECT.  If you have to organize one yourself, that is a bit more work but sometimes if you want to have a CC to show off your cabin, you have to be the one to organize it.  The best CC party we ever had was one where our friends also had a SC suite.  We started the CC in our suite with a party and ended the CC in their suite with a party.  It was AWESOME. Reyno and Alexandra (no longer with RCCL, unfortunately) were the party organizers for that one.  WAAAY over the top.  So much fun.
I think the best advice I can give you as a first time SC guest is....don't forget to just enjoy your suite.  I have only had 1 bad SC suite (UGH Anthem, 10720.  This room should NOT be SC) but even in that suite, take the time to just enjoy the size, the location, the ambiance, the balcony.  7 days goes by so fast (do B2B SC...that's incredible !) and you can get caught up in all of the eating and shows and forget to just enjoy your surroundings.  ...and one word of caution.  When you are SC you are VERY popular.  There are constant interruptions from phone calls to deliveries to people just popping by to see if you need anything.  It can be very annoying.  On our last SC cruises (the B2B on Anthem) we asked our Genie to PLEASE try and minimize the interruptions and she did.  I don't know HOW she did but we had very few phone calls or deliveries on the first half of our B2B.  We had a few more on the second leg but by then we were well rested and it wasn't so disrupting.
Also....unlimited laundry !  What a great perk and there is very little written about it.  If you choose, you can have your laundry done every single day.  Just beware of the little tags they put in your clothes.  They are very itchy and I STILL find them in some of my clothes.  It's so nice though, to come back home with all clean clothes instead of the MOUND of dirty clothes that we usually bring home.

You have to book your free cruise from the certificate within 30 days of your last cruise also.

My feelings on this is to look at your casino time as entertainment and the cost of that entertainment.  What price are you comfortable putting on an hour of casino time?  Then you just allocate yourself that amount of money to spend. 
You can't really say spending X amount of dollars will get you to a certain level because you don't have an exact idea of how much you are going to win or lose.  It's easiest to track the points on the slots.  It will show you how many points you've accumulated.  It's 1 point for every $5 played.  You insert $100 into the machine and play through it all and you will have 20 points at a minimum.  But you can't calculate how many points you are going to earn as you play on your winnings from that initial $100.
The only sure thing is that if you don't put your SeaPass into the machine you won't get any credit for playing. 

On my cruise they dropped from $1299 to $999. Still a hard no from me tho.

Towel clips.  I think thieves are less likely to want to spend time messing with clips versus a quick grab and dash towel sneak.

Ultimately, you have to decide and weigh out what is best for the entire family.  For us, we usually fly in the day before a cruise so we are looking for what is most convenient.  We've rented a car to drive around Orlando and the surrounding area before.  Not pre-cruise but when we do Disney for a week.  Hubby does not find it stressful at all.  Driving in the GTA is much worse.
In 2017 all 14 of us did DCL.  All the kids are a bit older now so it's Royal.  I am the mastermind and the planner.  The rest will just follow lol.  They don't even know how to access the cruise planner.  I will eventually have the help of a Genie though for that sailing ?

Yeah, I guess I left that part out, didn’t I ?
??
We just take the Royal Caribbean shuttle back to the airport.  I think it’s $37.50 PP.  it’s the only time we ever use the Roal shuttle.

Yes.  Cortran's does round trip for $40pp and one way for $20.
Email them.  They are very responsive.  I had already read so many great reviews prior to emailing them.  A few weeks ago, I decided to inquire about a shuttle for my family (14 of us) for Harmony next year.  What I wanted to find out from them was how long the wait would be to fill the shuttles or for them to go around and pick people up.  Jamie, the owner, responds to all the emails.  He not only offered to pick us up at the valet area at the Hyatt Regency but we would get a private shuttle because their smallest shuttle actually holds 14 at no additional cost.  After hearing this, I read more reviews about them and even without the private shuttle, many people have said that there is almost no waiting with them and they are very efficient.  As long as you have a phone to call them, they will work with you if something comes up and you are delayed.  I read Trip Advisor and reviews off their FB page.