ANTHEM OF THE SEAS - SKY CLASS OWNERS SUITE - DO I NEED THE KEY?

[JohnC71]

HELLO ALL,

 

CRUISE IS IN NOVEMBER 2019, I ORIGINALLY HAD A BALCONY ROOM BOOKED - SO IN PLANNING AHEAD - I ALREADY PURCHASED "THE KEY", ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGES FOR MYSELF AND WIFE, AND DRINK PACKAGES.

I NOTICED YESTERDAY - PRICING HAD DROPPED ON MY CRUISE - I CALLED IN AND THEY RE-PRICED - I WAS GOING TO GET A $850 REFUND - WHILE ON THE PHONE I DECIDED TO RUN PRICING ON THE SUITE CATEGORY - WE OPTED FOR THE OWNERS SUITE - 1 BEDROOM - AS MY WIFE DIDNT LIKE THE IDEA OF OUR 4 YEAR OLD BEING ON A LOWER LEVEL (COMPARING TO THE LOFT STYLE SUITE) - SO THE RE-PRICING ENDED UP COSTING ME MONEY - LOL

ANYHOW - I HAVE STARTED TO READ UP ON PERKS WITH THIS SKYCLASS SUITE VS PERKS WITH "THE KEY"

IT ISNT MUCH MONEY TO KEEP "THE KEY" ($419.86 TOTAL FOR BOTH OF US) IF IT MAKES SENSE TO DO SO - AS I ONLY NEEDED TO BUY IT FOR ME AND WIFE AS MY KIDS ARE TOO YOUNG TO REQUIRE THE PURCHASE

ONE OTHER ITEM TO NOTE - WE ARE GOING WITH OTHER FAMILY - 3 ADDITIONAL ROOMS - THEY ARE IN BALCONY ROOMS AND ALREADY PURCHASED "THE KEY" - SO IF THERES SOMETHING WERE GOING TO MISS OUT ON WITHOUT "THE KEY" THEN I WILL PROBABLY JUST KEEP IT.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK WE SHOULD DO? 

APPRECIATE EVERYONES ADVICE AND RESPONSES

[AshleyDillo]

Absolutely not worth it with Sky Class benefits.  You will have access to special seating area at the shows and get expedited boarding onto the ship.  You get free Voom internet with the Sky Class suite.  You will have access to Coastal Kitchen, so the embarkation Chops lunch can be replaced with that.  The value of the KEY benefits is diminished when you already get these perks with your Sky Class suite.  Take that $419.86 and consider purchasing a dining package or an excursion instead.

[Lovetocruise2002]

I would also vote for dropping The Key with Sky Class.  Sky class benefits exceed the Key benefits so that would be a waste of money.

[twangster]

They'll get a Chops lunch on boarding day and exclusive hours at certain activities that you will not as Sky Class.  

You already get Voom with Sky Class so that's a huge part of The Key wasted.  You can eat lunch in Coastal Kitchen.

The only reason to buy The Key is to hang out with your friends at lunch on day one and to participate in exclusive hours at activities with them.  For me that would not be worth it.  

[JohnC71]

Just now, twangster said:

They'll get a Chops lunch on boarding day and exclusive hours at certain activities that you will not as Sky Class.  

You already get Voom with Sky Class so that's a huge part of The Key wasted.  You can eat lunch in Coastal Kitchen.

The only reason to buy The Key is to hang out with your friends at lunch on day one and to participate in exclusive hours at activities with them.  For me that would not be worth it.  

I WAS JUST TYPING A QUESTION ASKING ABOUT THOSE CERTAIN ACTIVITES - RIPCORD, FLOWRIDER ETC

 

HOWEVER, REGARDING CHOPS LUNCH - WE ALL ALREADY BOUGHT THE ULTIMATE DINING PACKAGE - SO I AM ASSUMING I COULD EAT CHOPS LUNCH ON EMBARKATION DAY, MAYBE I WOULD NEED SOME DOCUMENTATION IF I HAVENT GOTTEN MY CARD YET SHOWING THE DINING PACKAGE?

[AshleyDillo]

The only activity where you won't have an advantage is the Flowrider.  Your Concierge will be able to secure you reservations for Ripcord and NorthStar and you can also just sign up for those in the cruise planner.  You just won't have access to the dedicated scheduled times for Key members.  I haven't come across an Anthem schedule with Key hours, but from what I've seen across the other ships the Key times are very infrequent (maybe an hour or two at inconvenient times) for the dedicated time.  I believe you can book a class on the Flowrider for cheaper than the cost of your total Key purchase if that's a make or break for you. 

But I really see no value in the Key for you with everything you get with your suite.

[AshleyDillo]

6 minutes ago, JohnC71 said:

MAYBE I WOULD NEED SOME DOCUMENTATION IF I HAVENT GOTTEN MY CARD YET SHOWING THE DINING PACKAGE?

Your dining package will be coded onto your SetSail pass which is what you will use to board the ship.  That's all you need to prove you have the dining package when you go to the restaurant for embarkation lunch. 

[JohnC71]

AWESOME - APPRECIATE ALL THE RESPONSES 

I WAS LEANING IN THAT DIRECTION - BUT WANTED TO ENSURE IT MADE SENSE PRIOR TO CANCELING - AS I DEF HAVE SOME TIME BEFORE I NEED TO CANCEL

 

WILL CONCIERGE ASSIST WITH DINNER RESERVATIONS FOR A BIGGER PARTY SIZE THEN WHATS IN MY ROOM - MEANING IN MY SUITE ROOM THERE IS 4 PEOPLE (2 ADULTS, 2 KIDS)  HOWEVER AS I MENTIONED EARLIER WE ARE TRAVELING WITH 3 OTHER ROOMS. SO WOULD BE LOOKING FOR THEM TO HELP WITH RESERVATIONS FOR 8-10 DEPENDING ON THE NIGHT

[AshleyDillo]

2 minutes ago, JohnC71 said:

WILL CONCIERGE ASSIST WITH DINNER RESERVATIONS FOR A BIGGER PARTY SIZE THEN WHATS IN MY ROOM

This is where you may be in luck for having the suite privileges as with the dining packages you can't reserve dining times ahead of time.  Typically you have to wait until you get onboard and reserve like everyone else with a dining package. However being in a suite, the concierge should reach out to you a week ahead of time to introduce themselves.  You reply back to that email and ask them to make your dining and activity reservations.  You will need the booking reservation numbers for all of the rooms involved.  They will tell if you they are able to help you out with the other rooms.  This will be much easier if you can get all of the reservations linked together.  

If they can't do it ahead of time for some reason just make your reservations and then once you get onboard immediately go see if they can get the rest of your party reserved with you.

[Matt]

Glad to see you on the boards @JohnC71 , but just a heads up, typing in all capital is interpreted online as "yelling" and a faux pas. 

[JohnC71]

28 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

This is where you may be in luck for having the suite privileges as with the dining packages you can't reserve dining times ahead of time.  Typically you have to wait until you get onboard and reserve like everyone else with a dining package. However being in a suite, the concierge should reach out to you a week ahead of time to introduce themselves.  You reply back to that email and ask them to make your dining and activity reservations.  You will need the booking reservation numbers for all of the rooms involved.  They will tell if you they are able to help you out with the other rooms.  This will be much easier if you can get all of the reservations linked together.  

If they can't do it ahead of time for some reason just make your reservations and then once you get onboard immediately go see if they can get the rest of your party reserved with you.

Thats a great point - Thanks for all your help!

[JohnC71]

25 minutes ago, Matt said:

Glad to see you on the boards @JohnC71 , but just a heads up, typing in all capital is interpreted online as "yelling" and a faux pas. 

Appreciate the welcome.  

I could understand it being interpreted that way if I wrote a one liner.  However you can see that if I wrote a full email asking questions, responding and thanking those that assisted.

I guess I assumed I could browse and interact with this forum while at work.  For whatever reasons, the programs I am required to use at work need capitalized letters for commands and entry.

Since you mentioned/asked, I made sure to take the caps lock off on this one - hope it helps your day go well.

 

To all those who assisted, I truly appreciate it, and would like to assume I didnt come across as yelling at anyone.  If I did come across that way to anyone, then my sincerest apologies to you.

 

Hopefully, I didnt make any spelling or grammatical errors in this post.....

[WAAAYTOOO]

As others have mentioned, the Key is really a waste of money if you are Sky class.  Since you have the Ultimate Dining Package, you will already be entitled to the embarkation lunch - somewhere.

The absolute ONLY Key amenity that you will not get with Sky class is the one where you are permitted to drop your luggage off at the theater and have it delivered to your suite.  If you think that is worth $419.86, then by all means, keep The Key.

 

[JohnC71]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

As others have mentioned, the Key is really a waste of money if you are Sky class.  Since you have the Ultimate Dining Package, you will already be entitled to the embarkation lunch - somewhere.

The absolute ONLY Key amenity that you will not get with Sky class is the one where you are permitted to drop your luggage off at the theater and have it delivered to your suite.  If you think that is worth $419.86, then by all means, keep The Key.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

This may sound like a stupid question, this means I bring my own luggage to the room? 

 

I guess my follow up question would be, what if the room is not ready yet. Is there somewhere to drop it while we eat lunch/explore a bit while waiting for room to be ready? Or am I stuck waiting with all my luggage in tow?

 

[AshleyDillo]

2 hours ago, JohnC71 said:

I guess my follow up question would be, what if the room is not ready yet. Is there somewhere to drop it while we eat lunch/explore a bit while waiting for room to be ready? Or am I stuck waiting with all my luggage in tow?

Actually the way any cruise works is that you check your luggage before you board and it gets taken to your cabin on board.  The only thing is that they are doing that for the entire ship, so you don't know exactly when your bag will make it to your room.  Usually it's by late afternoon on the first day.  So what you want to do is pack a small bag/backpack or carry-on with your valuables/electronic devices and anything you may need before you get your luggage.  You just keep that with you until they open the rooms (usually 1:00pm.)

[WAAAYTOOO]

You would only have your carry-on luggage with you as your big bags would have already been checked at the curb with the longshoremen. Since you have the UDP, you would have to take your carry-on bags with you to whatever specialty restaurant you eat at on embarkation day but that’s not a huge inconvenience. They always have a place to leave luggage by the door.  Then, after you eat lunch, if it’s still too early to go to your room, you can always take your carry-on luggage and go to the Concierge Lounge.  That’s not nearly as impressive on Anthem as it is on the O class ships but it’s somewhere quiet and convenient to wait for your room to be ready.  Chances are, though, that by the time you finish eating lunch, the rooms will be ready. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Not sure if we just got lucky or if it was because we got the port early but for the Anthem GC in July, all of our luggage the we left with the porters curbside were outside of our stateroom by the time we showed up at 1pm.  It was such a nice surprise.  Last cruise on Symphony we also got it by 1:30pm.  But you never know, it can really vary.

[JohnC71]

Ok great. Once again thank you all for input and help.  

 

It definitely makes sense to cancel the key and use that money towards something else. Maybe I'll put it all on red when I see the first roulette table.