Key Program for Icon 3/2024. Worth the expense?

[andrew_amy]

It's hard to find a majority opinion on this program online. Seems like a reasonable value if have young kids. Hoping for some blog feedback from members who've used this program on the larger ships like Wonder.

Thanks.

[Matt]

Not worth it. The benefits sound better than they really are in practice

 

[Keanoknick]

I think if you're already going to by Voom for everyone in your cabin, than the Key is worth it.  If you don't plan on internet, then probably not.
Of course it's all a matter of personal opinion, and if you'll use the benefits.
We've had Key on our last 3 cruises, and really enjoyed it, and made use of most of the benefits.  Plan on getting it on our next two RC cruises this year.

[FSUFAN]

YMMV (Your mileage may vary).  

Mrs Fan wants The Key due to the "skip to the front of the line" embarkation and debarkation.  She is fine around the ship and at shows and stuff, but the long snaking lines getting on and off of the ship gets her anxious.  For the cost, it should be more, but I am not King of RCCL. Give me a few drink credits or something.

[Xaa]

@Mattdoesn't like it.

Here's how I think you should best decide and this assumes you all intend to buy internet.  If not, don't consider The Key.

Take the aggregate of what you would spend for the cruise on Internet.  Subtract that from the aggregate you would pay for The Key.  Now you've accounted for the variable aspect of the daily service.  Then what remains is the cost of the fixed benefits and needs to have value for you in this regard:

• Early Boarding - Maybe you don't need it, but like any insurance policy, it's too late to buy it when you do.  I would pay 20 bucks a head just for this
• Chops Lunch - This is probably worth about 15 bucks a head
• Preferred Seating at shows (as long as you have a reservation) - If you don't go to shows, this has no value.  if you do, it may have value.  I rate it as worth about 10 bucks a head.
• Dedicated times on particular attractions - If you have kids of varying ages, this is probably more valuable than if you don't.  the times aren't great, but you do have that access.  For my situation, I rate this about 5 bucks a head
• Disembarkation Breakfast - It's nice, but I rate this only at about 3 bucks per head.
• If there are Tender Ports you might want to add a value for that.  I'll skip that value for this analysis.

So this leaves you then with an aggregate amount for these fixed items that I value at about $53 per head.  So if the amount for the Key is <=Internet +$53, I think there is value.  On a 7 day, that means $7.50 difference per person per day between Key and Internet.  On a 4 day though, it could withstand a $13.25 difference because the fixed benefits are fixed.

Hope that helps you for your decision.  Only you can value each item based on you and your party's tastes.

 

[andrew_amy]

Thanks for sharing your feedback. I watched @Matt 2021 video and read through these more recent posts with favorable reviews and inclusion criteria that has been updated since @Matt youtube video.

https://www.cruisehive.com/royal-caribbean-the-key/90734

https://chaoticallyyours.com/royal-caribbean-key/

Hoping someone can share their key experience on the larger ships like Wonder.

-Andrew

[FloatyBoaty]

My upcoming cruise will be the 4th cruise in a row that I have had the Key. I look at it similarly to @Xaa. You have to price it in total - not by day, as some of the benefits only come one time, not every day. For me, I know I would be getting internet - I just have to be able to be reached by family, even on vacation. I like the priority embarkation, but won't need it when we have a suite. I really like the Chops lunch. I don't use the special times at the rock climbing wall or whatever, and have only used the priority seating in the theater one time when I couldn't get there early. The priority seating is NOT the front row or anything close - it has been the center balcony for me recently. I will strongly consider the Key for additional cruises if the price comes down from the current rates - I don't even want to buy and reprice it, I just don't want it for 32.99/day.  

I have had the Key on Wonder, Oasis, Anthem, and next on Quantum. I don't think the Key experience was any different on Wonder than anywhere else for me.

[SallyPort]

Adding up the total is a good way to look at it before making that decision.

The only time it made sense for me was when I was cruising solo on a cruise that had a tender port and needed the internet.

After deducting the internet portion it came to something like $4.00 per day or $28 for the cruise.

The Chops lunch, luggage drop off, priority tendering, priority seating in the theater/ice show and departure breakfast (they had a steak and eggs which was pretty good) were definitely worth the $28 extra to me.

Since my DH does not use the internet, the math would be very different when we cruise together.

For example, on a 7 night cruise we have booked the Key is at $25 per person per day, the total would be $350 for both of us. The internet ($20 per day) for me would be $140.

So the price for the other perks would be $210 for both of us or $105 per person.

 

 

[RCIfan1912]

I cannot see the value in it no matter how many times I look at. Every once in a while I get curious about it but each time I can't find enough value in it to purchase. 

[TeRriii]

If your cruise is full and you need internet on board, then buy it.

You don't want to start your vacation hunting seats in Windjammer Zoo.

[derek burgan]

We watched the video posted earlier in this thread and I remarked to my girlfriend that it wasn't really fair to judge the value of The Key program during a time in the cruise industry when sailings were at limited capacity. I'm not here to say whether or not The Key is worth the value or not, but I would love to see a newer version on that video doing the exact same experience on an Oasis/Wonder/etc ship at full capacity to get a better idea of the true value. For us, the benefits of The Key were private times at activities (like the flowrider) and the seating at shows. I'm not the type of person who wants to spend 45 minutes of my cruise waiting in line/showing up early to get a good seat at the ice show/aquatheater/entertainment. The Key allowed us to go to the venues much closer to showtime and get a great seat.

[whitsmom]

We like the Key.  We like having a separate (early) embarkation line, the lunch was good and they will take our carry on luggage to our cabin so we don't have to mess with that and it was waiting for us when we were able to have access to our cabin.  We both always get the internet anyway, getting in early for the shows was nice for the bigger ships but not necessary for the smaller ones.  We really liked having our luggage in a "keys only" area when disembarking (this was a true game changer is you have an earlier flight).   So for us - it is worth it. 

[andrew_amy]

Thanks to everyone for sharing their feedback. 

[Cakemeister]

If you do buy the key, then keep your eye on the pricing. If they have a sale for less than your booked price, then you should be able to cancel and re-book.

I just finished my first cruise with The Key.

Since I drive to Galveston on the day of the cruise, I always arrive late enough so that I can just walk through all the security and check-in. This was even more true at the new terminal,  it's great! Also, I was on the Radiance, a smaller ship, with only 21xx passengers. Therefore, I did not use the priority embarkation or the welcome lunch features of The Key.

Mrs. Cake and I love the shows and we did sit in the reserved spaces. There was only one night where someone checked.

There was only one activity that had exclusive times, the rock climbing wall. I did that once several years ago when I was in better shape. I did not use this benefit.

For us, almost the entire benefit was on the last day. The departure breakfast was great, I had the steak and eggs and wow that was the best breakfast I had all week. Mrs. Cake has some mobility issues and she also gets a bit grumpy waiting in line, so we got her a wheelchair and after breakfast we went to the wheelchair area and they zipped us right off the ship, skipping the lines. We went straight to the Key luggage area, got our bags, boom and out of there, lickety-split. 

I calculated my cost for The Key at $126. Was it worth it? For me, not really because I don't mind waiting in line, but to keep Mrs. Cake happy it was definitely worth it!

I am currently seeing a $32.99 pppd price on The Key for my cruise on the Allure this fall. That's a lot. I think I paid $27.99 pppd for this cruise, which wasn't a bargain.

[Bowen]

20 hours ago, FSUFAN said:

YMMV (Your mileage may vary).  

Mrs Fan wants The Key due to the "skip to the front of the line" embarkation and debarkation.  She is fine around the ship and at shows and stuff, but the long snaking lines getting on and off of the ship gets her anxious.  For the cost, it should be more, but I am not King of RCCL. Give me a few drink credits or something.

We loved it for the special seating at the shows, but yeah it didn’t really seem worth it overall. 

[TessFromFlorida]

I will start by sharing that I am only Gold status- I think that really matters when considering the true value of purchasing the Key for my family. For me, I think the Key is totally worth it. For a one week Mediterranean sailing this summer, it was only $135 more than the Internet package alone. I would pay that just to be one of the first off the ship. Considering it includes priority seating for shows and the Chops lunch, it was a no-brainer when booking the cruise for myself and my two teenagers. I had no regrets during our Alaska cruise last summer and didn't hesitate to add it again this year. 

[Sea Squirrel]

1 hour ago, TessFromFlorida said:

I will start by sharing that I am only Gold status…For a one week Mediterranean sailing this summer, it was only $135 more than the Internet package alone. 

I was just curious, since you are Gold and your teens get the same internet as you at no additional cost as one of the Youth Benefits, is that $135 extra for the key based on just the one internet package. We’ve never got the Key but if that is the case, seems like it could be a good value for us. 

[TessFromFlorida]

Slow to reply. They Key was purchased for all three of us, and with Zoom bundled, the internet youth benefit wouldn't apply if only I was to purchase the Key for myself. The suite-class perks is what sells me on the Key  The $135 difference is for the three of us to upgrade, not per person. I purchased on Black Friday. 

[ScottD]

I can't see spending that much for what they give you. The priority boarding\de-boarding just doesn't make sense to me. We walked right on and off the ship and never had issues with luggage on our last two cruises, so I don't see the perk there.  The shows can be reserved ahead of time and we don't need internet for every person in the room. Paying for my 11 year old who won't eat anything at the chops lunch or use the reserved ice skating or rock climbing wall times just isn't worth it to us. 

[whitsmom]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:55 PM, TessFromFlorida said:

I will start by sharing that I am only Gold status- I think that really matters when considering the true value of purchasing the Key for my family. For me, I think the Key is totally worth it. For a one week Mediterranean sailing this summer, it was only $135 more than the Internet package alone. I would pay that just to be one of the first off the ship. Considering it includes priority seating for shows and the Chops lunch, it was a no-brainer when booking the cruise for myself and my two teenagers. I had no regrets during our Alaska cruise last summer and didn't hesitate to add it again this year. 

We have purchased the Key several times now and will continue to do so as long as the price is a good one. 

[sford75]

So late to this topic, but wanted to add my 2 cents. I decided to purchase The Key for our family of 3 for the Icon this coming March. We did it once before in May 2019 and it was awful. It was so bad, they actually refunded our money in full. This was the Symphony shortly after The Key first launched and crew members were clueless as to what it was. The bag dropoff location was moved and guess how they notified us...with a letter in our stateroom. Make it make sense.

With that said, we decided to purchase it for the Icon for several reasons.

1. Its about $300 more than the internet for 1 week. So for me, I'm calculating the cost at $300. 

2. With the Icon being a new ship, there will be new activities we want to do and shows we will want to see, so any priority for that will be welcomed.

3. We are going during South Florida Spring Break. Port of Miami is a madhouse for those cruises, so priority embarkation and disembarkation will be helpful. 

We don't plan on doing much in port, as we really want to take advantage of the ship, so this is our splurge.

 

[Xaa]

That's about $100 pp for the non internet benefits if I'm reading that right @sford75.  I see where you're coming from on the new ship so there will be more interest in the shows.  I also think it is possible if not likely that there might be some reserved time for Crown's edge.

On your points,

1. Make sure you calculate vs a 3 device internet plan which would be less expensive of course than 3 one device plans.  At $100 delta that's almost double my threshold.  Even with an Icon premium, it's not a bite that I would take.
2. You'll be super glad for the shows, remember you still need to secure a reservation for any of the Key benefits to be of value.
3. I think Icon will be at capacity each week so there won't be any more than any other day.  If you could secure the first arrival slot, you would probably be boarding almost concurrent with the Key folks.  I do understand wanting the insurance policy.
4. You didn't number the last one 4, but I do want to mention that if you don't plan to get off in port, you are probably also devaluing the exclusive times as most things should have small lines and be doable throughout the week while others get off in port.

I like The Key, but on my Icon sailing it's not priced where it needs to be for me, not even close. (best price still $140 pp more)  I think in your shoes, I would still skip it, but I absolutely hope that you have a better experience with it than you did the first go around.