whoa

None of the Cruise Planner prices are budging...with the exception of the UDP !!  In the past, the UDP on the O class ships has been as high as $199, so while $20 doesn't sound like much, it is a bit of a discount off the highest high price that I've seen.
We love the UDP and continue to get it for every cruise where it is offered.  You get a LOT of food...lunch on embarkation day and any sea days of your cruise as well as every dinner.  The truth is, sometimes it is too much food on sea days.  But on the Oasis class ships there are a lot of options for eating specialty, so you get to try a lot of different options.
We have never ever had any problem getting reservations except on the very rare occasions when we try and make a last-minute change.  I recall having to eat at Chops at 9:30 once !!  That wasn't too cool but that was b/c we had some kind of schedule change where we had to shift everything and that was all they had.  But for the vast, vast majority of cases, you get the restaurant you want at the time (or very close) that you want.
The specialty restaurants are a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the MDR.  I always feel just a little bit special when I dine at one of the specialty restaurants.  I guess that's why they call them specialty restaurants !!  LOL  Will you, most likely, have to repeat some of the restaurants on a typical 7 night cruise ?  Yes, but you get to choose which ones you want to go back to !!  The specialty restaurants have static menus; they do not change from day-to-day like the MDR menus so just keep that in mind.  If you want a wide variety of different options every night then you are probably better off sticking with the MDR or doing a 3 night specialty dining package.  Just be aware that the 3 night package does not include any lunch meals, just dinner.
I encourage you to try the UDP and decide for yourself if it is too much of a good thing !!

Substitute hot dogs with chorizo sausage and smother with a hearty meat sauce. I'd eat that. 

What?!? No Chef's Table??? Lemme remedy that...
Scallops Carpaccio

 
Maine lobster salad

 
Smoked tomato soup (HEAVEN!!)

 
Truffle tagliatelle (SECOND HEAVEN!!!!)

 
Some of the fabulous wines we got to enjoy

 
Branzino

 
And of course, the world (pre-climate change melting)

No, I'm not talking about the background images used or some weird decision to use a blue-and-evergreen tartan plaid. I'm talking about the ways that Celebrity's site really bends over backward to screw you up while trying to do any kind of action that brings you in a direction they don't want you to go. Like what?
How about if you're doing a mock booking and just want to exit out? Here a couple of images showing the popup you get when you decide to exit the booking flow.
        
I went back in to the same booking after exiting, pretending I changed my mind and I wanted to book anyway and then decided to exit after all. The "Exit Booking" button that was on the bottom is now on the top, while the bottom white button has become "Continue Booking" -- which was a link at the bottom on the first screen! They are banking on you remembering "I clicked the white button last time, that's how I exit" and just clicking that without reading it. Which causes you to end up stuck and trying to leave over and over until you finally take the time to read it. Especially because if you keep going back, you find that the buttons don't always change positions in the same way. Sometimes you go there and the first exit screen you see is the second one I pasted, and then when you go back a few days later it's back to the first one. Or they swap the buttons around again so that "Continue Booking" becomes the blue button on top.
This is an example of what's come to be called a dark pattern, a way to get people visiting a web site to become stuck and feeling forced through a purchase flow; or making it impossible for them to do things like find how to get in touch with customer service, or unsubscribe from some product you don't want delivered every month any more. Amazon is infamous for this, as are a number of retailer sites these days. But Celebrity's site is turning out to be a horrible textbook example of this, too.
The one that really gets my goat? This:

This is a recent change, and one that it took me almost a week to catch on to. See, for the longest time the left panel has been the option for NRD, while the right panel is the Refundable Deposit option. This even looks like it should still be that, what with that "+$200 USD* for Refundable Deposit" under the button, right?
Nope! You are still selecting NRD booking if you click that big blue button. First giveaway, which I should have caught on to do but didn't because, hey, I'm just doing a mock booking and I'm in a rush, and not really looking at anything besides the Starting From number in big bold text and the word Refundable (hmm, is that really different from someone just looking to book and move to the next thing in their list?)... is the fact that those two dollar amounts are not actually $200 apart. They're $280 apart.
Second thing I should have been wary of is... Take a close look at that "+$200 USD" line of text. Notice anything odd about it?
 
 
 
 
Like the fact it's underlined? Oh, you didn't see it because it kind of blends in with the water and is really thin? Yeah, me neither.
 
 
That's right. That's not just informational text. It's a link.
If you want a refundable deposit, you have to go and click that, not the big obvious button above it. Just to get the offer of 2 perks, but without the "Save $200" part. And who is going to think to do that when they see what they think is a good deal on that bump-out balcony, and the thing that everyone knows you click to go on to the next step in any web shopping experience is a button, and what's right there but a big blue button?
This is a dark pattern to keep you on the NRD booking track. And I missed it, multiple times. I read about this crap all the time because I'm in web development and, well, I need to know what competitors to my employer are doing and what are the latest trends in web design, and ohmygodisthisstuffdisgustingIfeeldirtyjustreadingabout it!! And I still missed it.
Only reason I finally figured it out is because I took a screen shot of the final booking review screen before making payment, and sent it to my TA... who promptly emailed back to point out that my screen shot had a line referencing an NRD perk discount. That I saw but that never registered. Because the primitive lizard part of my brain was just seeing "GOOD NUMBER!! SAVE MONEY!! GET PERKS NOW, MEATBAG!! BIG BUTTON RIGHT THERE CLICK CLICK CLICK!!!"
 
Royal's site does stuff like this, too, but it's not as bluntly deceptive, at least not in all the same spots. I've seen the same BS when trying to exit a booking, where the buttons change position every few times. But at least when you want a refundable booking, they just make you go all the way to the last step before you see the checkbox to get the refundable price. (unless they changed that, too?)
Watch out for stuff like this. Otherwise you're going to call your TA a bunch of times thinking you've found a good chance to save some money, and instead walk away really annoyed and disappointed.

Perhaps some Jamie's from Anthem?
Peperonata Bruschetta
 
Simple Baked Lasagna:

Now for the Izumi enthusiasts!
Complimentary Edamame...

 
Shrimp wonton soup...

 
Pork gyoza dumplings... love gyoza!

 
Snow crab California roll and Surf & Turf roll (I believe is the name)... yumm!

Substitute hot dogs with chorizo sausage and smother with a hearty meat sauce. I'd eat that. 

Substitute hot dogs with chorizo sausage and smother with a hearty meat sauce. I'd eat that. 

Substitute hot dogs with chorizo sausage and smother with a hearty meat sauce. I'd eat that. 

Substitute hot dogs with chorizo sausage and smother with a hearty meat sauce. I'd eat that. 

I know everyone loves food so I thought my next post would be of our Day 1 dinner.
To start with we had Caeser salad (no photo since everyone knows what that looks like lol). For my main I had the Slow Roaster Prime Rib was supposed to come with potato croquette, but they ended up giving me a baked potato because of my allergies. For desert I just had berries as nothing was safe for me to eat :(. Sandra also had a Caeser salad for the starter. For a main she had the Southern Fried Chicken. She also had the berries as she had some sweets in the Windjammer.
         
I also got you guys some photos of the Windjammer dinner options.
















Hope you enjoyed ?

After 2 long years in dry dock, I just completed a cruise on Adventure of the Seas out of Port Everglades.  I sailed with my wife (my much better half) and surprised her with the Key.  I have read many reviews of the Key and I thought I would include my experience in the hope someone else might benefit.
 This was my first opportunity to purchase the Key.  When Royal introduced the Key I was quite intrigued by the offering and thought it was something worth trying; especially at the sale price of $19.99 per person per day.  My logic was similar to others, I had already committed to the luxury of purchasing the 2 device Surf + Stream so I would only be paying the difference for the Key.  It took Royal a long time to post the Key on my Cruise Planner and the initial price was $34.99.  This was way too expensive for me, so I initially gave up on the Key and purchased the 2 device Surf + Stream on sale.  Eventually, and it took months, the Key price dropped and after a couple of purchases and cancellations I got the Key for the sale price of $19.99.  It would seem Royal priced the Key beyond their customer’s interest and were forced to reduce the price.
Below is the Key welcome letter Royal provided once on-board.
 
So let’s talk about these Key benefits:
 Priority check-in and boarding.
We arrived at the port early, about 10:40, and after leaving our luggage with the porters approached security.  I looked for signage to direct Key guests but there was none so we just entered the single security queue with everyone else.  The line was short and it only took a few minutes to get to the front but once there I overheard someone ask the port employee where guests with the Key should go.  The employee opened the ropes and let those guests enter security, in front of us, bypassing everyone else in the queue.  Lesson learned, never assume and always ask.  Shame on Royal for not having any signage, still no harm, it maybe cost us 5-10 minutes.  After clearing security, I saw the Key signage for check-in and went there.  There was no line at the Suite/Key check-in area and with our expedited arrival we were on-board in less than 5 minutes.   Truth is the other check-in lines were no more than 3 people deep so the Key saved us a maximum of 10 minutes during check-in.  So to recap, arrival to on-board was probably 10-15 minutes with the Key and 20-30 minutes without the Key.  I am sure this benefit would be significantly more beneficial later in the day when most of the guests arrive.
 
Carry-On luggage drop off and welcome lunch
Once on board we went right to the dining room to drop off our luggage and have our welcome lunch. There was large signage at the dining room entrance on deck 4.  The crew there asked us for our cabin #, provided us our Key welcome letter, took and tagged our carry-on luggage and asked us if we were ready for lunch.  We told them we were and were seated immediately.
Lunch was by far the best benefit of the Key.  The dining room was relaxing and quiet.  My wife kept commenting how wonderful lunch was with a big smile.  She loves the service in the dining room and we tend to eat there for lunch (when open) and all dinners.  It was such a contrast to eating in the Windjammer on embarkation day, no looking/fighting for a table, no running around the buffet and the quiet was soooooo relaxing.  The lunch had us in vacation mode immediately and set the tone for a wonderful cruise.  Of course, the food was delicious, but we so enjoyed the ambiance. I would definitely consider booking/purchasing a specialty lunch on embarkation day if/when we don’t purchase the Key in the future, it made that much of a difference.  Shortly after lunch the cabins were ready and our carry-on luggage was there waiting for us.
 Private sessions for on-board activities
Royal provided the letter below detailing the times for the Key private sessions.
 
My wife and I took part in the Flowrider session on day 2 and I did the Rockwall on day 7, we skipped the ice skating sessions.  During normal hours, the Flowrider appeared to have a queue of ~15 people (45-60 minute wait minimum) whenever I happened by.  During the private session, we started with 5 people and ended the hour with 8.  During the hour, we each received 4-5 turns.  The crew were very attentive and encouraging, they even convinced my wife to take a turn doing stand-up (wish I had videoed that), but I think they were just great crew members as they appeared to me to be just as attentive and encouraging the whole cruise.  Personally, I enjoy riding the Flowrider although I never have the patience to wait 45+ minutes standing in the sun.  During the Rockwall session, I had the activity almost all to myself.
 Priority departure from ship to shore at port of calls
This was a failure.  The Key letter specifies that priority departure is only available during the first hour after arrival.  We went down 5 minutes after the ship was cleared and could not find the Key waiting area.  When we asked about Key priority departure at guest services, they told us we had missed it they had already left.  That evening, guest services called to ask us our opinion about the Key and embarkation.  After complementing the lunch, my wife explained what had happened earlier that day regarding priority departure.  Without prompting, the guest services agent offered my wife a complimentary bottle of wine.  My wife asked if each of us could instead order a drink at dinner.  The agent said sure, told her to order the drinks, put them on our seapass card and then call her back and she would credit our account.  We followed her instructions and we received the credit with no issue.  Surprisingly, the next day the bottle of wine showed up in our cabin.  We tried to return it but were told to keep it.
 Reserved VIP seating at the shows
For the welcome aboard show we went and found the Key seating area, it is on the second (balcony) level in the middle.  Royal had an agent at the seating area to ensure only Suite and Key guests sat there.  Once seated, my wife looked down and saw plenty of great seats available on the first level and she decided “we” would rather sit down there, so we did. For the rest of the cruise we bypassed the Key seating for any show in the theater, none of the shows were well attended so there were always many good open seats available.  We did use the Key seats at the ice show.  We arrived at Studio B a little late and found almost all the general seats filled so we made our way to the Key area and found great seats.  For the ice show, the Key was definitely beneficial since we did not have to arrive 30-45 minutes before show time.
Debarkation
My comments on the debarkation breakfast are almost identical to the embarkation lunch.  Being able to avoid the craziness that is the Windjammer that morning is a fantastic perk.  The food was delicious and cooked fresh.  They announced the times a crew member was going to be available to escort people off the ship, approximately every half hour.  When we were done with breakfast we were escorted to the gangway, bypassing everyone else in line. Our seapass cards were scanned and then we were off the ship.  We had been provided special Key tags for our luggage which was waiting for us in the designated Key luggage area.  Here again Royal failed with signage.  We looked for a special line for customs but none was marked and there was no one close to ask.  All of the Key guests moved together to enter the single customs line.  One of the guests ahead of us asked the first port employee about the Key when we were about half way through the line.  Instantly she opened a pathway for us to enter an open lane that took us to the front of the line.  This pathway was very close to the Key luggage area so it seems possible there was an intended way for Key guests to gather their luggage and enter a priority line for customs. 
In conclusion, is the Key worth it. I believe this is a personal decision each person will have to make for themselves.  There are a lot of little factors that will make the Key more or less beneficial.  For example, the Key might provide more benefits on an Oasis class ship that has more cruisers getting on and off, has more on-board activities and more desirable shows to attend than Adventure.  If anyone has any questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Be one of the first to disembark, enter the water-park, store whatever you have in the lockers, secure loungers and head straight to their highest water-slide "Daredevil’s Peak". You will be able to do this about 3-4 times before the lines begin to queue up from 45-60 minutes initially and longer as the day progresses. The "smaller" slides and wave pool will just be icing on the cake.
When we were there, the waves were choppy and the winds hit 60 mi/hr that day so we were recalled to the ship within the hour. Not too bad considering that we did the highest water-slide and were refunded the price of admission.
Can't emphasize enough that if the water-park is in your plan, disembark early.