About The Key
While I was looking online at the add-ons to book, I saw that there was a sale for the "VIP passes" for their Key Program was only $5/person/day more than the Wi-Fi. So, for this sale for our cruise, we could get the Voom Wi-Fi for $20/person/day or The Key for $25/person/day, and The Key included Voom Wi-Fi + priority boarding the ship and exclusive lunch on embarkation day, priority departure at tender ports, exclusive times for ship activities, reserved seating for shows, and a priority breakfast and flexible disembarkation time. For us, the boarding and departure upgrades were worth the extra $5/day for us because we were traveling with our 21-month old daughter.
The Key embarkation process
On embarkation day, it was nice having a special line to go to since we were traveling with a toddler. We got through security SO FAST on embarkation day! There were 2 The Key lines reserved to go through security, but you're not limited to only those lines so you can go through the shortest line. When we got there a little after 11am, we were the only people going through The Key lines. While the Carnival Galveston port took almost an hour from walking in to getting on the ship, Royal Caribbean Galveston port took us less than 10 minutes, and that was with a diaper change stop.
They also let you leave your carry-on luggage before lunch, and they'll drop off your carry-on to your room for you. We brought 2 bottles of wine and some other items that couldn't be checked, but were heavy so it was nice to drop them off right after we got on the ship. Our carry on bag was already in our room by the time our room was ready around 1:30pm, even though our checked luggage wasn't delivered until around 4pm. They gave us special The Key luggage tags that had our room number on it so we didn't need to use the boarding luggage tags, but I had added those as well just in case.
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| You're given The Key luggage tags after embarkation for your drop-off bags |
Another perk that I liked was getting the lunch from their specialty dining steakhouse restaurant, Chops Grille, on the first day. Usually on embarkation day, everyone heads up to the pool deck to walk around and explore or claim a chair and start chilling, and then everyone eventually heads to the Windjammer buffet to get lunch. This can make both of these areas very packed and make it hard to find a seat. Since we had a reserved lunch in the main dining room, we didn't have to fight other guests to get a table and eat. They didn't have a kid menu, so the waiter just brought us mac and cheese which was just buttered noodles covered with 2 slices of cheese and some fries. My husband and I got the burgers and they were just okay, which I was surprised because usually steakhouses have great burgers.
The Key reservations
On the ship, we really liked having reserved times for the activities on sea days. Ryan is an Eagle Scout, so he was excited to hit the rock-climbing wall without having to wait in a really long line. When he went to rock climb, he was the only person for the first 15 minutes, and then 1 other girl came and they had the whole area to themselves. He was able to walk right up and fill out the waivers without any wait and was able to climb the wall as many times as he wanted without a wait. We had a similar experience with the Flow Rider, there was no line for filing out the waivers and he was one of 3 people doing the Flow Rider so he was able to go as many times as he wanted with only a few minute wait between runs.
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| Reservations for activities were for Sea Days |
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| Rock Wall was all to ourselves during The Key times |
We didn't do the reserved time at the ice rink, but we did take advantage of reserved seating for the ice show. I really liked our seats and thought it was a great view. The only down side is that they open the reserved seating area to everyone at 10 minutes until showtime, so you have to get there early to take advantage of the reserved seats (they recommend 15 minutes before showtime). I feel like the seating was empty enough at 15 minutes before showtime that we probably could've gotten the same seats anyways just from being early, which kind of defeats the purpose of reserved seating if people who don't have The Key can show up after you and sit in your same section.
The Key tender ports
Unfortunately for us, we didn't have any tender ports, so we didn't get priority departure on port days. Your ship can either park and let you off at a cruise pier, if the water near the coast is deep enough, and then you just go down to a lower level and walk right off the ship and down the pier to the port; or, if the water near the coast is not deep enough, then the ship will dock in the water near the port and they'll have a boat tender you over to the pier. I'm not sure why you only get priority departure on tender days, but it would have been nice to get it at each port stop.
The Key disembarkation process
On disembarkation day, again it was nice having specialty treatment. We were given The Key disembarkation luggage tags, and were able to leave the ship at any time without a reservation as early as 8am. Our bags were also in a The Key waiting area, and there weren't many other bags so we could find ours very quickly.
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| Embarkation for The Key is whenever you want |
Disembarkation can include a lot of waiting around, so many people head up to the Windjammer buffet to eat while they kill time. Just like embarkation day, this makes finding a place to sit down difficult. With the key, we had a private breakfast so we weren't fighting to get a table. The food was definitely elevated, I had crab cakes benedict and my husband had steak and eggs. What was great was that right after we left breakfast they pointed us to The Key exit and then we had our own much shorter disembarkation line. From the time we left breakfast until the time we were through the terminal and had our luggage was only about 10 minutes. I really appreciated this having a toddler who can't stand in long lines.
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| We thought the * would indicate an upcharge on items, but it was just warning you about consuming raw or undercooked food. No extra price for the steak or crab benedict |
Is The Key Worth It?
Overall, for only $50 extra (we didn't have to purchase The Key for my daughter because she's a toddler, but you must buy it for everyone in the room 6 and older) it was definitely worth it. If there hadn't been a sale and the price was much more than the Wi-Fi package we were going to get anyways, then I don't know if I would recommend it, depending on the price. If there's not a sale going on when you go to check on it, put your cruise info into Royal Price Tracker and it can notify you when the price drops. I think if they did The Key specialty disembarkation on port days as well and maybe like one complimentary drink then it could be a must-do purchase.
