The Key

[JDHOWARD]

Hello!

Have any of you gotten The Key? I am on the fence about it- would love to hear thoughts of those who have used it!!

Thanks

Julee

[MikeS22]

Hello, Yes have signed up for the key - to be honest and things may well have changed dramatically since the pandemic as next week will be our first cruise back since 2019, but the 'simple chance' of skipping any Q's for check in and the same for disembarkation, make this worth every penny for us - as well of course as prime seats for shows and zoom included for one device etc etc. We've recently been notified by RCC that people with 'the key' for our cruise can check in for 11.30am - as it happened, this is our time anyway, but sure that anyone with a later time will be delighted - we've also been told to follow signs for 'the key' so hopefully will skip any big Q's accordingly. What I WOULD suggest, is keep checking in on the price - we got it when it was a 40% saving and I've noticed recently that the price does vary considerably - hope this helps and good luck

[FireFishII]

I thought long and hard about the Key.  I read a lot of blogs and watched Matt's video on what the Key covers. He said that with some effort, you can get almost the same perks that you would get with the Key.  For example, last night at Midnight, I was able to snap up an 11 am embarkation time.  I won't get the Chop Luncheon meal that the Key members will get.  I did get a really good deal on the VOOM surf & stream package.  Yeah, I won't get the prime seats for the show but Matt said you would have to show up 45 minutes early for those seats.  Well, if I show up 45 minutes early for a show, I should get some pretty good seats too.  Finally, disembarkation time - Yeah, I won't get my choice of time so I don't know if that will affect my plans on getting off the ship early to pick up a rental car and drive back for my siblings, who will be getting off later. 

I guess you can guess, I did not get the Key.  One more piece of advice I read about - for first time cruisers, the Key may be a good thing to get but once you are at Diamond level, you get most of the perks anyway. 

Good luck with your decision.  I wish you calm seas and fair weather on your cruise.  

[whitsmom]

We purchased the Key for both of our upcoming cruises (Harmony-July and Jewel-August).  This is the first time with the Key also.  I like the fact that we will have our own check in line (hopefully) and disembark as our July cruise we have a 12:05pm flight out of Orlando from Port Canaveral.  We were going to get WiFi package for all 4 of us anyway so that helped us decide to purchase the Key. After we purchased the Key, we got an email telling us that in lieu of Lunch at Chops on boarding day, we would get fee-free room service for the entire cruise.  Of course, lunch at Chops is back on.  However, my son-in-law called RCI regarding the room service email and they told him to print it out and go to guest services as they "might" still honor that.  Not sure I would even do that anyway but that is what they said.

[Matt]

 

[BrianB]

I have bought the Key many times and have learned some lessons. Here’s my take;

I would watch the price fluctuate and if it came close to the price for purchasing Voom internet, I would snag it as I would get Voom anyway. Even though the Voom price also dropped at that time…I still convinced myself that it was a good bargain.

I’m usually going on ships from Port Liberty in NJ and mileage may vary at other ports, but…in NJ, Key members are allowed to check in and board early. The Guardian of the Portal announces through his handy dandy electric megaphone that Key members may enter through the hallowed doors pretty much as soon as they open. Regardless of the time on your boarding pass. This is, of course, to ensure we get the benefit of the Key luncheon (which ends around 1:30pm) and we get to drop off our carry ons. 

As far as early entry to the shows…this usually never happened. A lot of people show up early and begin to line up. When the doors open, they just admit anyone with a reservation. Only once on the Anthem, did they open the doors and announce, “Suites, Pinnacles, Diamond Plus and Key members first!”. 

So far on the Anthem, Wonder and Oasis…the ‘reserved seating’ for Key, Suites and Pinnacles at the shows was in less-than-ideal areas of the venues. Usually way up in the balcony of the theater and Two70….or off to the side in the upper rows of Studio B. I felt more like we were being hidden away rather than given good seats. 

I never took advantage of the ‘private times’ for the Flow Rider or the Rock Wall…but the times offered were pretty slim. Usually very early on one or two days of a seven day cruise. 

Since the restart, Key priority disembarkation at the various ports was nonexistent. Just had to join the line. 
On the Anthem, on the final morning…disembarkation for Key members was usually prioritized. I always did the early walk-off with all of my luggage. Sometimes they would take Key, Suites and Pinnacles from the line and place us up front. Other times they had us wait near the Excursions desk directly across from the exit and we were the first to move off the ship. It seemed to change depending on who was the supervisor in charge at the time. It was never consistent.

Bottom line…I would get it mostly for the Voom. Plus, I usually sail solo so I only had to pay for one. Early boarding and the Chops lunch were pretty good, along with dropping off my carry on and jacket. The only other perk for me was the priority disembarkation on the final day. But, then again, I was usually one of the first in line anyway. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[loki007]

We always buy the Key. For us the difference in cost between the Key and just WIFI make it worth it, especially now that ships are sailing at higher capacities. We really love many of the features…priority boarding, Chops Grill Lunch on boarding day, reserved seats for shows, special times for activities (my kids like that), and one of the best features in on disembarkation day. A really nice sit down breakfast, then escorted off the ship past all the people waiting in line…Nice! 

[XtremeGK]

Some ships seem to still include room service (on a very hit-or-miss level). We're sailing Adventure at the end of the month and given our cabin set up (DW and DS in one cabin, me solo in another), I only had to pay for one person, so I got it at $2/day more than Voom. Would get Voom anyway. If room service is by chance included, it will pay for itself even without using the Chops lunch or other perks. If it's not, it's still a reasonable price for Voom.

[Ampurp85]

6 hours ago, XtremeGK said:

Some ships seem to still include room service (on a very hit-or-miss level). We're sailing Adventure at the end of the month and given our cabin set up (DW and DS in one cabin, me solo in another), I only had to pay for one person, so I got it at $2/day more than Voom. Would get Voom anyway. If room service is by chance included, it will pay for itself even without using the Chops lunch or other perks. If it's not, it's still a reasonable price for Voom.

Weren't they just honoring it for the people who booked it under those conditions?

 

[BobbyLovesCruizn]

I got the key for $1 over the price of Surf and stream (grandeur), so the embarkation day lunch makes it worthwhile alone (if you're getting internet anyways).  Its price point all day long for me.  hoping once I get on board they have a couple unpublished perks like free room service and 25% of specialty dining (they had that on Adventure OTS 4/6).