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Newbie: What is the Key and why should we get it?


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1 hour ago, Lovestotravel said:

Follow-up question: If we don't have the Key, can we still try to board early if we get there before noon? 

I guess it depends on what you mean by “early”.  You will certainly be able to board as soon as general boarding begins but there will be priority boarding pax who will go before you.   It generally goes very quickly though. Probably no more than a 10 min wait until they will open boarding to everyone.

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15 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I guess it depends on what you mean by “early”.  You will certainly be able to board as soon as general boarding begins but there will be priority boarding pax who will go before you.   It generally goes very quickly though. Probably no more than a 10 min wait until they will open boarding to everyone.

Thanks.  What time is "general boarding" usually?  I see people getting on as early as 10am, but I am guessing they have the Key or are priority boarding?  We hope to fly in the day before the cruise, so want to get on as soon as we can. 

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Boarding starts as soon as the ship is cleared from the prior cruise.  It can be as early as 10am.  They board in priority order starting with the back-to-back cruisers, Suites, The Key, Pinnacles, Diamond Plus, Diamond and then down.  There's really no set time when general boarding starts as it depends on how many of the priority boarders are already there.  My advice is to just show up at 10am and avoid the later rush.  

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13 minutes ago, Lovestotravel said:

Thanks.  What time is "general boarding" usually?  I see people getting on as early as 10am, but I am guessing they have the Key or are priority boarding?  We hope to fly in the day before the cruise, so want to get on as soon as we can. 

If you get to the port at 10, there are fewer crowds.  You can go through security, check in and be on the ship by 11 usually.  I haven’t found it to take long at all, and I’ve never had the key or suites.  Have a great cruise! Jane

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5 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

If you get to the port at 10, there are fewer crowds.  You can go through security, check in and be on the ship by 11 usually.  I haven’t found it to take long at all, and I’ve never had the key or suites.  Have a great cruise! Jane

OK, great!  This is good to know! Thanks so much!

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The one and only key that you need the entire cruise is your Sea Pass card to get into your room.  We place our key rings and cell phones and wallets in the safe until we disembark.  Like RickinSTL stated we to also like to disconnect.  Their is nothing finer than the open sea and salt air and the waves lapping up onto the ship.  Other than an occasional dolphin or a passing ship.   It is very peaceful.

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I had "The Key" program on my last cruise in Early May 19 on Independence of the Seas out of Fort Lauderdale. I like the program as it gives you some suite like niceties such as early boarding and early debarkation, selected seats at venues and the ability to eat at a specialty restaurant (Chops for us) on the first day of the cruise and in MDR for breakfast at the end of the cruise.  It came down to money as I got it on a sale day and had some OBC already so the price was pretty low for me.  I like the program overall; but, it has to fit into the cruise budget, and if it doesn't, than I am fine without it. I still get to the port early by 1000-1030 so I'm going to be on early anyways. I just have to go to the Windjammer for crazy lunchtime crowds and drag around my carry-ons until 1300 when the rooms open up.

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I had the Key on my recent Symphony cruise. I don't think I would get it again. RCL seems to be smoothing out embarkation and now that we're Diamond, I think we would get on the ship fairly quickly any way. Lunch at Chops was nice the first day. We don't do rock climbing or the Flow Rider so that's not a plus for us. Normally, I like to put my cell phone in the safe for the duration of the cruise. Because Voom was included, I tried using the apps and found the whole thing really frustrating. It seemed signal strength was very hit or miss. (yes, I am a technological dinosaur) Not a plus for us. We did get nice seats at the shows but there were often many good seats still available. This was a plus. For us, the single biggest plus was on disembarkation day. The breakfast was nice but getting escorted off the ship, ahead of the lines, was really nice. One thing I found confusing was port days. It was not clear whether the Key gave you any benefit about getting off the ship and the crew certainly did not seem to know. That has to be better communicated. Overall, I think younger folks who use the sport facilities and anyone who really likes Voom might find the Key to be worthwhile.

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We purchased the Key on our 5/19/19 cruise on Allure along with our friends. The Key was worth every penny to us especially at $19.99! The overall experience was so amazing that we unanimously feel we have to purchase the Key from now on as long as it's offered at a reasonable price! We are only Platinum level in C&A and it's unlikely we'll be able to book a suite anytime soon so the Key was the only way to get some of that amazing VIP treatment!

We all wanted the VOOM package anyway, so for effectively less than $10/person per day more, it was a no-brainer for all of us! Priority check-in and boarding (Ft. Lauderdale/Port Everglades) was a mess for us and seems to be hit or miss with the Key program (our only sore point). Just make sure your SetSail pass has the Key logo on it to avoid aggravation! We had to speak to a number of terminal employees before they finally let us cut the line and board (they had just let the suite and Key guests board when we got to the boarding area) since our SetSail pass did not have the Key logo and they had no way to validate (no scanners, etc.).

The ability to drop off all of our carry-ons as soon as you board the ship for delivery to our cabin was really nice... no more dragging carry-ons around while your explore the ship and have lunch until your cabin is ready. The complimentary lunch on embarkation day (Chops Grille for us) was excellent... no fighting the crowds in the Windjammer. 

Regarding priority port of call debarkation, we only received an earlier assigned time for Jamaica (memo left in cabin the evening before with time and place to meet). We went to Guest Services earlier in the cruise and it was explained to us that on the other port days when there is no earlier Key departure time, we just need to get down to the gangway early and if there is a line, let them know and they would escort us to the front. We spoke to a crew member at the gangway that first port day and she confirmed that we just need to let them know. We only cared to get off the ship early in Labadee as the Nellie's Beach cabanas were assigned first come, first served and we had our pick! We wound up being the second group in line anyway so it really did not matter that we had the Key. 

We never had the time to take advantage of the private hours for the zipline, etc., but that may be a really nice perk if they include any of the slides on the other ships. The best perk for us was the "VIP" seating for all of the shows! Instead of racing down to the show after dinner 30-40 minutes prior to the start in order to get a decent seat, we only had to show up 10-15 minutes prior and we would be escorted to a designated center reserved section next to the suite guests which was roped off. Excellent seats! 

Finally, the special debarkation breakfast in the MDR was very nice. Even better was the escort off of the ship when we were ready (you do not get an assigned time with the Key - you disembark when you want to). You meet at a designated location (Champagne Bar for us) and they escort you through the terminal past everyone else to your luggage in a designated area next to the Star class banners and lane (the general line to get through customs was mobbed - snaked around the terminal!). A porter met us there and loaded our bags on a cart and led us through the Star class lane to a dedicated customs desk (no one ahead of us) and were out to the street in less than 10 minutes (ship to taxi)!

Generally, I would say that if you want the VOOM package ($10+ per device) and you are able to purchase the Key at say $19.99-$24.99, then it's an easier decision. If you don't want the VOOM package, then for many it's not worth it. If you don't care about prime seating and the convenience of only having to arrive 15 minutes before the show, then it's not worth it. Also, if you are booking a suite, then you will already be receiving many of the perks (reserved seating, priority boarding, etc.).

It's an individual decision as you can see from the varying experiences and opinions, but we all would get it again at the right price!

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