shaydav19

Flowrider. Then in my hammock "cruise napping" on my balcony, icing my knee... from the flowrider.

The first is walking in the morning to watch the sunrise on the ocean each day. Then sauna to sweat out the alcohol from the night before. And then a mimosa with breakfast ??

The first is walking in the morning to watch the sunrise on the ocean each day. Then sauna to sweat out the alcohol from the night before. And then a mimosa with breakfast ??

The first is walking in the morning to watch the sunrise on the ocean each day. Then sauna to sweat out the alcohol from the night before. And then a mimosa with breakfast ??

No.  The very fact that Royal allows you to purchase the refreshment package in lieu of the deluxe package is somewhat unusual.  Most lines require everyone in the cabin above the age of 21 to purchase the UBP if anyone does.  If you want the UDP, you will have to purchase either the UDP or refreshments pkg for your mother.  That's just the way it is.  Nobody gets around this rule.

Hello,
Passing this on.  I found $499 price this morning when checking my Cruise Planner.  My sailing is on the Oasis 12/13/2020
 

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.

UNLIMITED DRINK PACKAGE HAS DROPPED TO $57.00 PP PD, FROM $65.00 !   BON VOYAGE!

I had a nightmare that I missed my Aug. 17, 2019 birthday cruise with my best friend because I left my travel documents at home!  I woke up at 3 AM in actual tears and nearly hyperventilating.   Got out of bed placed all cruise docs in my travel safe and attached said safe to the luggage!  It was only 2 months prior to travel so no biggie right! ?

I had a nightmare that I missed my Aug. 17, 2019 birthday cruise with my best friend because I left my travel documents at home!  I woke up at 3 AM in actual tears and nearly hyperventilating.   Got out of bed placed all cruise docs in my travel safe and attached said safe to the luggage!  It was only 2 months prior to travel so no biggie right! ?

I had a nightmare that I missed my Aug. 17, 2019 birthday cruise with my best friend because I left my travel documents at home!  I woke up at 3 AM in actual tears and nearly hyperventilating.   Got out of bed placed all cruise docs in my travel safe and attached said safe to the luggage!  It was only 2 months prior to travel so no biggie right! ?

These are all terrifying!
If I start having cruise nightmares (and here I am, getting ready for my second-ever cruise in a couple of months...), I'm blaming all of you! ?

The forgotten passports is a recurring one for me. Here's my most weird one...to date anyway. It's embarkation day, and we get to our room. First odd thing is that our suite door is on the pool deck. DH takes a nap so I take the kids to explore the ship. It's really windy and rough as we sail away, but we keep walking forward where we find the helipad is more like a catamaran - you know, with the nets you can lay down on. We're really getting sprayed so we cross the nets to get to the port side and start to head to the aft of the ship, which is where we notice that we're not really in open water. It's more like a narrow canal, and the ship is really rocking now - Deadliest Catch style rocking over the giant waves. The ship goes into a tunnel as we reach the back and it breaks apart right in the middle. Somehow, the kids and I are left standing on dry land in this tunnel holding a shrunken back half of a ship (like a big model), and the front half is sailing away, all the water in the tunnel going with it. So we turn around and carry the shrunken back half of the ship back into the day light to try to find someone who can un-shrink all the passengers who are on this little ship. ?
Analyze away! 

All of my “panic” dreams are about not being able to get where I’m going.  No matter how hard I try I just can’t get there....or can’t complete whatever task I am trying to do.  I’m sure there’s some deeply suppressed mommy/daddy issues somewhere....

MY nightmare would be if RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com shut down,  I would have NO WHERE to get my Cruise information from anymore....  ? 

This is pretty much what's it's like ...

This ^^^^^ And I can"t stress this enough.....this^^^^^^^^^
 
Of course, there isn't necessarily a right answer to this question, it is just a matter of preference. Some people are on the ship purely for relaxation and so the balcony makes sense. Myself, I cruise for the experiences. I've often said I don't even need a cabin just get me on the ship. I'll sleep on a deck chair and shower in the gym. (My wife disagrees with this philosophy).

I am cruising with my wife, and two boys (8 and 4) and we are in one room. I looked at booking two rooms, larger rooms, etc. and it was an astronomical price difference. I can only share what ive learned in my research: 
There are rails that you can request. People on here, and even your room steward may tell you nobody under 6 or so should be on the top bunk. I say, you know your kids. I have zero fears with my 4 year old being on a bunk (he sleeps on a top bunk now). Heck, falling out of a top bunk in the middle of the night as a kid is a right of passage. I have slept in a pullman, as a full grown adult, and had no issue. So I cant imagine a 13 year old would. As far as enough room to relax.....depends on how you like to relax? Itll be cramped.  
 

Agree.  I also don't like the hard sell on products after and the request for a larger gratuity than the compulsory 18%.  I get my massages back home before and after.

IMHO,  Cruise massages are over priced and overrated.  And you are taxed a large gratuity.   Also, I have always found that a few hours after a massage I am really sore and don't want to spend my ship time that way.   My best friend and I have taken to going to a day spa after we return from the cruise and we just search for the best local deal (She's in Miami).   We use that to jump start our detox after a week of indulgence!

As all my cruising stress is on embarkation day, my recurring cruise "nightmares" deal with getting the family on the ship, children left at the terminal, lost children on the ship, can't find my cabin and watching the ship sail away without me.  Some how this happens all in one dream.
I'm sweating just thinking about those dreams.  ?

I had a nightmare that I missed my Aug. 17, 2019 birthday cruise with my best friend because I left my travel documents at home!  I woke up at 3 AM in actual tears and nearly hyperventilating.   Got out of bed placed all cruise docs in my travel safe and attached said safe to the luggage!  It was only 2 months prior to travel so no biggie right! ?

Ditto.......the only thing that doesnt get to relax on my cruises is my liver....
. 
Bottom line: TO EACH, THEIR OWN!!!!  If you want to go big, or go home.....GO ALL THE WAY!!!!!  If you want to never spend another dime once on board....you can do that and still have a good time.......so, ive heard. Our difference is what makes our time on this big blue ball equal parts amazing, and frustrating. HAPPY CRUISING, ALL! 
 

UNLIMITED DRINK PACKAGE HAS DROPPED TO $57.00 PP PD, FROM $65.00 !   BON VOYAGE!

They may do Greece, Spain or France IF this continues to play out. Some people say the virus will die when hot weather hits, obviously this is a lie because Iran and Italy have warmer climates. I think when more transparency comes into play we will be able to get a handle on things. The hyperbolic media is definitely making things worse. I am young, just survived the flu so I ain't worried about no beer virus.