suite accommodation

[brandon_doke]

so this is going to be my first time sailing in a suite. i’ve planned a trip for me and my boyfriend to go on icon of the seas in april 2024 for the western caribbean. i’ve gotten the key in the past and they would take our luggage once we were on the ship and checked our bags at the key booth. do people in a suite room get a different process like that where they would only check bags from people in suites? 

[twangster]

Welcome to the message boards!

Only Star class suites have a separate luggage handling process.  All other suites use the same luggage process that the rest of the ship uses.

[Xaa]

I wish you were my boyfriend!  Nice trip!  Welcome.

[PRMLVM]

4 hours ago, brandon_doke said:

so this is going to be my first time sailing in a suite. i’ve planned a trip for me and my boyfriend to go on icon of the seas in april 2024 for the western caribbean. i’ve gotten the key in the past and they would take our luggage once we were on the ship and checked our bags at the key booth. do people in a suite room get a different process like that where they would only check bags from people in suites? 

Were you able to check ALL your luggage through the Key?  Or just smaller carry-on size?  I thought I read about a weight/size limit for Key luggage holds.

[Ampurp85]

11 minutes ago, PRMLVM said:

Were you able to check ALL your luggage through the Key?  Or just smaller carry-on size?  I thought I read about a weight/size limit for Key luggage holds.

It is just your carry-on bags but your luggage will have key on the tags. 

[brandon_doke]

4 hours ago, PRMLVM said:

Were you able to check ALL your luggage through the Key?  Or just smaller carry-on size?  I thought I read about a weight/size limit for Key luggage holds.

when i cruised in february 2023, we were able to check all of our luggage including our carry ons. i know matt doesn’t really care for it but i thought it was a total win because it was just a couple of dollars above the wifi package and the key includes priority boarding and departing, wifi for 1 device for each person with the key, and select timing for certain activity’s for key members only

[OCSC Mike]

5 hours ago, brandon_doke said:

it was just a couple of dollars above the wifi package

Not anymore. Prices for The Key have gone way up.

[Xaa]

27 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Not anymore. Prices for The Key have gone way up.

Base price is high now for sure, but watching diligently it can still be scored close to WiFi pricing on many cruises.  That's really the thing about The Key though.  The daily delta between it and WiFi extended across the days of the cruise then is the aggregate value you need to get from the lunch, the baggage handling, the priority embarkation/debarkation, special seating and reserved times for certain activities.  For me that extended delta needs to be in the $50 range and if it is I find value in the Key. If not, it's a pass for me.  When you start getting an extended delta in the neighborhood of $75-$100, I prefer to use that toward a 3-night dining package instead...

[OCSC Mike]

I’ll leave it to you guys. My wife & I share one person, one device, so no interest in The Key for us personally. I just know I’ve seen crazy prices like $40-50pp when internet is $20.

Hope you find a good deal!

[Xaa]

Yeah, it's not even a consideration if everyone isn't getting WiFi.  That's just too big of a nut to overcome value wise.

At this very minute the delta on my next cruise between WiFi and The Key is $17 pp/day which makes it an absolute no go.  On my last cruise, it started at about $14 more PP/Day, but when it dropped to a $5 delta then it was just 35 bucks pp for the entire cruise and there is value at that delta.

I wonder if they are selling any The Key at $45/day which I have seen listed on my next cruise.  I suppose they do, but for me, it would seem silly to spend $315 pp on The Key when UDP is $243 +grat.

Because of the wide swings, it's an item that really has to be watched if you're interested in the perks at all.

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Xaa said:

I wonder if they are selling any The Key at $45/day which I have seen listed on my next cruise.  I suppose they do, but for me, it would seem silly to spend $315 pp on The Key when UDP is $243 +grat.

My impression/guess is that many new cruisers are buying The Key at those prices since they are not well-versed in the stuff you've mentioned. I see a lot of anecdotal mentions on my FB roll calls.

[ScooterScott22]

Just looked over this thread and wondering if I am missing something.  We had booked The Key for last month's cruise and cancelled it when we switched to a suite.  Since almost all of The Key perks are similar of lesser than the suite perks, it was not worth it.  The priority embarkation/disembarkation and wifi (one per guest) are the biggest influence here and they included in the suite, right?  The boarding lunch would be easily trumped by having access to Costal Kitchen.  Not sure there really is any value to The Key if you have the suite booked.

[OCSC Mike]

16 minutes ago, ScooterScott22 said:

Just looked over this thread and wondering if I am missing something.

The OP said they've had The Key before but they now have a suite booked, not both, and they were asking about how baggage works with a suite (as opposed to The Key).

[smokeybandit]

The thing I don't get about the Key luggage perk is why anyone would need it?

If you didn't need it to board, why not just check it?

 

And if you needed it to board, why wouldn't you want to keep it with you?

[twangster]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The thing I don't get about the Key luggage perk is why anyone would need it?

If you didn't need it to board, why not just check it?

 

And if you needed it to board, why wouldn't you want to keep it with you?

There are all kinds of scenarios.

Maybe they have medical equipment like a CPAP or medication.  Never a good idea to check that stuff, better to carry it on.  But who wants to drag that around?

Bringing bottles of wine?  That goes in carry on, which is a drag to haul around for a few hours.

Maybe you are @AshleyDillo bringing someone all the crystal blocks she doesn't want.  Why drag them around?  

[Xaa]

7 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The thing I don't get about the Key luggage perk is why anyone would need it?

If you didn't need it to board, why not just check it?

 

And if you needed it to board, why wouldn't you want to keep it with you?

It let's you carry a little more on.  We bring bottles of wine.  If embarking in colder months from Bayonne, we like to shed out coats as well.  When we have The Key, we'll also carry on our outfits for night 1 dinner on the off chance our bags are delayed making it to the room.  We've never actually needed that insurance policy.

[ScooterScott22]

14 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

The OP said they've had The Key before but they now have a suite booked, not both, and they were asking about how baggage works with a suite (as opposed to The Key).

Thanks, I came into this a little late and was reading through it, there was some discussion on the Delta related to price.  It seemed like there was some rationalization on the value of the perks between the two.  Guess I just have to follow closer.

[Pattycruise]

16 hours ago, ScooterScott22 said:

Just looked over this thread and wondering if I am missing something.  We had booked The Key for last month's cruise and cancelled it when we switched to a suite.  Since almost all of The Key perks are similar of lesser than the suite perks, it was not worth it.  The priority embarkation/disembarkation and wifi (one per guest) are the biggest influence here and they included in the suite, right?  The boarding lunch would be easily trumped by having access to Costal Kitchen.  Not sure there really is any value to The Key if you have the suite booked.

Those items are not included in all of the suites.  It would depend on the suite class/ship. 
 

[AshleyDillo]

On 5/19/2023 at 10:07 PM, twangster said:

Maybe you are @AshleyDillo bringing someone all the crystal blocks she doesn't want.  Why drag them around?  

If you really want to construct a glass shower wall, it's probably more cost efficient to go with the glass blocks they sell on Amazon than to offer to cover The Key for me.