Is The Drink Package on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Worth It?

One thing that you seem to always hear about on cruises is the "drink package." It seems to be the order is you book your cruise, you book your excursions, and next comes the drink package. Each cruise line does their drink package a little differently, so whether or not you should get the drink package depends on which cruise line you're sailing with. This post is about Royal Caribbean's drink package, but if you want to know more about Carnival's drink package, then go to this post here. 

What is the Royal Caribbean Drink Package

There's actually several "drink packages" on a cruise. When people wear the shirts that say "watch out! I bought the drink package," they're actually referring to the Deluxe Beverage Package, AKA the alcohol package. There's also the Refreshment Package, AKA the soda and bottled water package. Last, there's the Classic Soda Package, AKA the soda package. The alcohol is the most expensive package, and the non-alcohol will be the least expensive packages. For this post, if I'm talking about a drink package, I'm talking about the alcohol package, which Royal Caribbean calls their Deluxe Beverage Package. 

What do you get in the Royal Caribbean Drink Package

The drink package is basically everything you'd get for the non-alcohol packages (sodas, juices, bottled water) plus alcohol. You get unlimited $14 and under drinks. If you're wondering, most drinks at the bars will be under the $14 limit, but the Bionic Bar and specialty drinks are usually over the $14 limit. That doesn't mean you can't order a $15 drink, it just means you have to pay the difference for anything over $14. So if you have the drink package, a $15 drink will cost you $1 Bob. 

One thing you don't get in the drink package is full bottles of wine for dinner. You can either buy it buy the glass, or you can save 40% on a bottle of wine. 

Another thing you don't get in the drink package is Starbucks drinks. There are non-Starbucks coffee cafes on board, and you can get those premium coffees for free if you have the drink package, but there is no drink package option that includes Starbucks. This means that no matter what drink package you get, if you're a big Starbucks person you'll be paying for each drink you get from there. 

How much is the Royal Caribbean Drink Package

Sadly, it depends. Royal Caribbean changes the price for each cruise. But, the price is always per person, per day. What this means is that you could go on 2 cruises and pay $70/per day on the first cruise and $100/per day on the second cruise. 

In general, people say you need to drink about 7 drinks a day to break even on the drink package, since it covers you up to $14 a drink. 

Why the Royal Caribbean Drink Package is NOT Worth It

People always assume you must get the drink package, and I mostly disagree. In fact, I think that most cruisers would actually save money if they didn't get the drink package. You don't have to have the drink package in order to drink alcohol. If you don't have the drink package, then you just charge the drinks back to your room like you would at a hotel. The drink package is just you pre-paying for alcohol, but it's not the only way to drink alcohol on the ship. 

Don't get the drink package if your itinerary has a lot of port stops

You can't use your drink package when you're not on the ship. Let's take a hypothetical scenario of where your itinerary is Day 1 embarkation day, Day 2 port day, Day 3 port day, Day 4 sailing day, Day 5 disembarkation day. Let's assume your embarkation day boarding time is 3pm, you're at each port from 8am to 4pm, and your disembarkation time is 8am. In this scenario, you only have from 3pm - 12pm to use your drink package on Day 1; from 4pm - 12pm to use your drink package on Days 2 and 3; all day to use your drink package on Day 4; and you're probably not going to even drink on Day 5. 

Given that you have to drink 7 or more drinks each day to break even, how much do you think you can drink during these time periods? While 7 drinks might be totally feasible for you one day, can you do it 5 days in a row? What about if you add in drinking at a Margaritaville or Senor Frogs while you're off the ship? Can you drink 7 more drinks in the evening after drinking ashore? With a schedule like this, it's cheaper to pay per drink, even if you're drinking 5 drinks a day. 

Don't get the drink package if the other adults in your room don't drink

If one person 21+ in a room gets the drink package, everyone 21+ in that room has to get the drink package. This is to keep people from sharing drink packages. 

So if you're traveling with someone who chooses to be sober, or who just isn't a big enough drinker to drink the 7 drinks a day to justify a drink package, maybe you shouldn't get the drink package. Because the room rate is now two drink packages, it may just be cheaper for you to pay per drink. 

Don't get the drink package if you only drink wine

Each person 21+ can bring one bottle of wine with them in their carry-on bag. If you only drink wine, and you bring a bottle of wine with you, then there's no need to buy a drink package. You can take the bottle of wine to dinner and the server will pour you your own wine each night. My personal favorite thing to do is to bring a silicone wine glass and sit out on my balcony in the evenings and enjoy a glass of wine. 

And if anyone else you're traveling with is 21+, they can bring their own bottle of wine too. So that hypothetical person from my last point who doesn't really drink can bring your 2nd bottle of wine in their carry-on bag for you, and now you have 2 bottles of wine to last you a whole trip. 

Don't get the drink package if you think you might get seasick

Literally, there is nothing worse than being drunk or hungover on a  moving ship. If you think the room spins when you lay down on land, just imagine what it feels like when your bed is bobbing in the ocean. I'm not saying you can't drink during your cruise if you get seasick, but I am saying that you more-likely-than-not won't be drinking the 7+ drinks a day you need to break even with a drink package if you're already feeling queasy. 

Why the Royal Caribbean Drink Package IS Worth It

Get the drink package if your itinerary has a lot of sailing days

Let's take a hypothetical scenario of where your itinerary is Day 1 embarkation day, Day 2 sailing day, Day 3 port day, Day 4 sailing day, Day 5 disembarkation day. Let's assume your embarkation day boarding time is 11am, you're at each port from 8am to 4pm, and your disembarkation time is 9am. In this scenario, you have from 11am - 12pm to use your drink package on Day 1; all day to use your drink package on Day 2; from 4pm - 12pm to use your drink package on Day 3; all day to use your drink package on Day 4; and you're probably not going to even drink on Day 5.

Given this itinerary, it's a lot easier to fit 7 drinks per day on most of the days. This makes it more likely that you'll at least break even on the drink package for most days. 

Get the drink package if your itinerary includes a stop at a Royal Caribbean-owned port stop

I should clarify from earlier, that you can only use the drink package on the ship and at a cruise line-owned port. For Royal Caribbean, that includes Coco Cay and Labadee. As Royal Caribbean opens their Royal Beach Club in Cozumel and their Perfect Day at Costa Maya, there may be additional port stops that you can use your drink package off of the ship.

So, let's take the hypothetical scenario from my point above. If your trip only has 1 stop, and it's at a Royal Caribbean port, then you can use your drink package every day. With this itinerary, you're more likely to break even on the drink package. 

Get the drink package if you don't plan on getting off at the port stops

On the other hand if you have no interest in getting off the ship, then you will be able to use your drink package all day even if your itinerary has a lot of port stops. The drink package is still available for you to use even when your ship is docked at a port. 

Get the drink package if you get it on sale

Prices go up as you get closer to the cruise, but you aren’t charged until right before the cruise so if it goes on sale, you can always cancel the drink package at the higher price and then buy it at a lower price. I like to use the website RoyalPriceTracker.com to notify me when drink packages or excursions go on sale. At $14 a drink, the drink package breaks even at only 4 drinks if you can get it for less than $56 a day, or 5 drinks for less than $70 a day. 

This makes it a lot more price efficient to get the drink package if you get it on a good sale. 

Get the drink package if you're a heavy drinker

If you are a heavy drinker, especially for cocktails or mixed drinks, then the drink package is probably a better deal for you. If you know that you can drink all day at the beach and then get on the ship and keep drinking, and then wake up and do it all again for several days in a row, then this is a good deal for you. Some people fully embrace "vacation mode" and are surprised at the drink bill at the end of their cruise. If you think you'll get close to breaking even on the package (and remember, this is easier to get if you get in on sale), then you might as well get the drink package. 

Should you get the drink package for your Royal Caribbean cruise

Personally, I think most people don't need the drink package, unless it's on a really good sale. 

My husband and I did the math, and for us it's just not worth it. I bring a bottle of white wine in my checked bag and have that at dinner, and my husband brings a bottle of sangria in his checked bag, and I have that in the room in the evenings. My husband will have the occasional 2-3 pina coladas during the day and we usually will share a bucket of beer on a sailing day. And we aim to make sure we have the opportunity to go somewhere all inclusive at our port stops. For us, that's enough alcohol for a trip and is significantly less than the almost $100 per person per day cost of the drink package. 

Travel Guide | Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas to Western Caribbean

Our cruise on the Carnival Vista was a great vacation, but the overall experience had us considering switching over to Royal Caribbean. I missed the Royal Caribbean ships with all the things to do. We decided to go out of Galveston again just so we didn't have to mess with the hassle of flying to Florida for a cruise. Luckily, we decided to go on another cruise right when they were having a Kids Sail Free and 2nd Adult 60% Off sale, so we got a pretty good deal for this cruise given we were only 5 months out from sailing when we booked it. We then discovered that, after this trip, I would only be 15 nights away from Ryan and I each getting 4 free drinks per day on Royal Caribbean cruises!

Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas Review

This was actually the biggest ship I've ever been on, and yet it was only about 8,000 gross tons bigger than the Carnival Vista, yet it felt much bigger. I think the way that Royal Caribbean designs the inside of their ships is what makes them feel better. The best comparison I can think of is how much bigger homes feel when they have an open-concept kitchen and living space compared to separate spaces. Mariner just felt more open and easier to navigate than the Vista.

 

The Rooms on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas

We love to get balcony rooms. I think it's partially because my husband and I are homebodies, so enjoying where we're staying is important to us. But also, traveling with a toddler means you spend a lot more time in your room, and that little extra space goes a long way. Unfortunately, our balcony door was squeaky so we weren't able to utilize it during nap time like we did on our Carnival cruise (Carnival has a door that swings open whereas Royal Caribbean has a sliding door). 

Mariner of the Seas common areas were updated in 2018, but the rooms were not and you could kind of tell because the style of the room looked dated, our door was a pale pink. Our room also felt a little smaller on Royal Caribbean because our Carnival room was able to fit a Pack n Play and a coffee table, but there was no coffee table in our Royal Caribbean room.   

Our room had 2 plugs at the vanity area and 1 plug in the bathroom. There was a phone by the bed, but apparently the plug was behind the wall because we couldn't find a plug behind or near the bed. I was very happy I had brought a European outlet adapter so we were able to have 3 plugs in the bedroom. I was also glad that I brought a portable iPhone and Apple Watch charger bank that could charge our devices on our night stands like what we're used to back home. I had brought a plug-in dusk-to-dawn nightlight for the bathroom plug, but it seemed the outlet only worked when the bathroom light switch was on, which defeated the purpose of the nightlight. 

Eating on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas

Because we were traveling with an almost-two-year-old, the My Time dining made the most sense to us, as it would allow us to keep her normal 7pm dinner time while still getting to eat in a dining room instead of a buffet. This turned out to be a mistake. On our Carnival cruise, we were able to just put our name on the waitlist as we were getting ready for dinner, and a table would usually be ready by the time we got down to the dining room. Royal also had the My Time dining in the same room as the early and late dinners, just on a different floor, whereas on Carnival the My Time dining room was on a different part of the ship than the main dining room.

For Royal Caribbean, we actually had to make reservations before our sail date, and unfortunately by the time I learned this the earliest dinner reservations were 8pm, which is our daughter's normal bedtime. Pushing her dinner to 8 wouldn't be as bad if dinner itself wasn't an hour ordeal. Thankfully, on Day 1 we went to the main dining room and were able to talk to someone who helped us get a reservation for 6:40 every night. This turned out great, as we had the same table and same waiter every night whereas on Carnival we had a different table and different waitstaff each night. This was so helpful for us as after the first night the waitstaff learned our daughter's preferences and would anticipate her needs before we even asked. For example, when your kid is seated they immediately bring out a bowl of diced fruit as an appetizer to help keep your kid entertained while they wait for their entree. Our assistant waiter noticed our daughter only ate the strawberries and that we asked for more strawberries, so every night after that he only brought her a big bowl of strawberries and she was a happy girl. We liked the food we had each night and often tried a two entrees or appetizers. 

We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches at the Windjammer buffet, which was a mistake our first port day. We circled the whole room twice and finally found a seat sharing a giant table with another family, but had to spend more time trying to find a clean high chair. Next cruise, we'll stick with the main dining room for port days since everyone seems to be on the same schedule of eating right before they let us off the ship. On sea days, it wasn't so bad since everyone was on different schedules and their mealtimes were more spread out. I noticed between the breakfast we had at the main dining room seemed to be all of the options given at the Windjammer, just that the Windjammer had more options. But, the Windjammer only had pre-made omelets with ham or cheese, and the main dining room had create-your-own omelets as an option. We got mimosas on the first breakfast at the Windjammer, and both the orange and strawberry mimosas were made with cheap-tasting champagne so we didn't like them. 

We had lunch one day at the Cafe Promenade because they had pizza which is a quick go-to to get our daughter fed. There were also little finger sandwich options if you didn't want pizza. Cafe Promenade is weird because the food in it is free, but it's right across the hallway from a bar that doesn't have free food, so it's hard to know what is free and what isn't. We also grabbed breakfast there too, they just had breads and breakfast sandwiches. The selection was small, but the food was pretty good, it seemed more geared towards coffee and tea drinkers.

On our last sea day, we had lunch at Johnny Rockets. You pay $18 and then can get whatever you want off the menu, but milkshakes cost extra. It is a small room, but it took them forever to find us a clean high chair. We ordered, got my root beer float (so good!) and onion rings (amazing!! great ranch, they need to make fried pickles!!) before we got her highchair. The burgers were good, Ryan said the 12 burger "special sauce" seemed to just be ketchup and Tabasco mixed together. 

 

What to do on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas

Given that we had signed up for The Key, it was easier for us to do activities like the rock wall climbing and Flow Rider since we had reserved times. I volunteered to be the babysitter while my husband was the adventurer doing all the things. 

 

We did the Mini Golf together the morning of our first port day, and it had such a great view as we were pulling into port! I recommend the Mariner Dunes area as a great place for a sail-away view or to watch as you sail into port. The Mini Golf was a cute little ocean-themed course, and was easy for kids to do.

We went to the ice show "Under the Big Top" and really liked it! It's 45 minutes, but the first part is loud and flashy, which scared our toddler. The rink has 2 long sides and 1 short side, and the front row of the 1 short side had a lot of audience involvement. Keep this in mind if you have small children that might be afraid of people running and jumping at them. 

We spent the vast majority of our time in the open-play toddler room. It was huge and had a surprising amount of baby and toddler toys. Our daughter loved to play in here, and we were happy to be able to sit down and relax because she's old enough for independent play. But of course we spent a lot of time playing pretend for her and looking up whether we should buy her favorite pretend food truck toy.

When our daughter was in the paid drop-off child care, we loved the Solarium! It was a much better experience than the adults-only area on our Carnival cruise. It was quiet, kid free, had 2 hot tubs, a good size pool, lots of chairs and even day beds both in the shade and sun, the bar was never packed even on sea days, and there were waiters taking drink orders and occasionally a beer cart would come by. 

5 Night Western Caribbean Cruise Itinerary

Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico

I think this was my first time at this stop. I tried looking up my past cruise itineraries, but Royal Caribbean only saves them for 7 years and apparently I haven't sailed with them in less than 7 years. Yet another reason why I have this blog. My mom told me she's been here on a cruise, and thinks I was with her on it, but I honestly can't remember. The port itself is actually really nice, we saw 2 pools (at least 1 I noticed had a swim-up bar) that seemed free, and several restaurants and a lot of shopping. I honestly think this is one of those ports where you can get by without an excursion just hanging out at the port. The day we were there, we were the only ship so it didn't feel overcrowded at all. We didn't get there until noon and had to leave by 6:30, so it was a short trip. Getting there at that time meant that we were walking through the port at a very hot time of the day, which wasn't ideal. I didn't have time to take photos of the actual port because we were rushing to make sure we made it to the meet up point on time, since a toddler slows us down, but I did grab photos on the way out. 

 Our daughter fell asleep so we carried her trike since we didn't bring the trike backpack

None of the excursions offered through Royal Caribbean seemed like something we'd want to do with our daughter, so we did our excursion outside of the cruise line. We dabbled with this in Belize and really realized that you can get a lot more of your time out of your stop if your excursion is catered specifically to you rather than a group, so we felt like we could do it again. This experience was better than Belize because we had it booked well in advance.

We ended up booking a day at Maya Chan. We paid $79 per adult and $19 for our toddler via PayPal, and got all-inclusive food and drinks plus a free ride to the beach. What's nice is that it's ran by Americans, so there was no communication barrier when booking, and they sent lots of follow-up emails leading up to the day with confirmation of our reservation and information on how to find them on the day of and what to do, so I felt very reassured doing this on our own. 

It was a little intimidating doing it this way because usually if you do an excursion through your cruise, you'll all meet as a group either on the ship or immediately off the ship and then all go to your excursion together, and Maya Chan did a really good job of trying to make it similar to that. They emailed us a map to exit the port (it is a pretty big port) and walk to a meet up spot. The map and instructions were pretty detailed and we felt fairly confident figuring out where to go. Just keep left after the dolphin area, don't continue on into the shops. They say it's a 1/4 mile, but in that heat it felt like half a mile. We were so happy we brought our Doona trike for our daughter, there's no way she could've made it without having to hold her if we didn't bring it. I'm also glad I had a stroller fan attached to it for her, because even though she wasn't walking, she was dripping sweat by the time we got to the meetup. I just wish we brought our neck fans because we were dying pushing her and carrying all our beach stuff in the heat since most of the walk is uncovered. I also wish we had brought our trike backpack because we had to carry her stroller around the rest of the trip. 

We got there and within a minute we were given paper wristbands and then a van took about 10 of us to the beach. It was about a 20-30 minute ride with traffic, but it was worth the effort! This was a perfect excursion with our toddler. Right when you get there, they have a wall of life vests in all sizes (small enough to fit our 25-pound toddler), snorkel masks, and leftover toys that prior families had left behind. We were given ice-cold filtered water, the Wi-Fi password (there's 2 Wi-Fi options, one for the Bar and one for the Beach so you have a great connection wherever you are and they're the same password for both), and then were taken to our area. 

Our area was PERFECT! A huge covered area that had 4 Adirondack chairs, 2 tables, a daybed, and a hammock! All just for the 3 of us. I had brought my baby Bogg Bag specifically so that I could use the little tray insert to have an extra table for all our stuff, but didn't even need it. 

 

We hadn't even sat down all our stuff when we were given the best rum punch welcome drinks I've ever had, and they even had a fruit punch version for our daughter. Right after that, we were given homemade tortilla chips and fresh pico de gallo and guacamole. They do use small 8-ounce cups like a lot of all inclusive resorts do, so I recommend you bring an insulated tumbler so your drink doesn't run out as fast. They were the best pina coladas we had ever had, and that's my husband's go-to vacation drink. The drinks didn't taste very strong (probably because they were so flavorful with the fresh pineapples), but when I asked for a double it was a little too strong. 

The ocean was nice, but for our time of the year the sea grass was definitely present. They had 2 guys on the beach and in the water trying to rake it away, but there was just so much that they weren't able to make a lot of progress. Once you got out a little ways, there was no seagrass. I wore my water sandals into the water because I don't love stepping on textured surfaces in open water, but I wish I'd worn my water socks instead because when I walked over/through the seagrass, some got stuck between my foot and sandals and it freaked me out. But, the water was nice and warm and they provided floating chairs on a first-come-first-serve basis, the water was nice and calm so safe for littles with the use of their provided life vests, and you could even see our ship from the beach! The beach was secluded in a jungle area and we didn't see anyone else at the beach. They also let you use their snorkel masks, stand up paddle boards, and kayaks for free. ]

For the people who didn't want to deal with the seagrass, they did have a pool. It was about half the size of a backyard pool. Unfortunately, a lot kids took the floating chairs into the pool which basically took up the entire pool, so we didn't feel we could squeeze in and try it out. The bathrooms were right by the pool.

The pool is bigger than this angle makes it look

Their service was the best service we've ever had. Lots of people always walking around in case you needed them, and occasionally they'd ask if you need something, but it was the perfect balance of being attentive without being annoying. They would even come into the ocean to serve the drinks. And one time I was going to the bar area anyways so I just went to ask for a refill myself and the bartender instantly recognized my cup and asked if I wanted another pina colada. They confirmed our cruise line and ship name, and then let us know they could take us back 70, 60, or 50 minutes before our boarding time, and then gave us a 15-minute warning before our ride was ready back.

What I really appreciated about this excursion as a toddler mom was that it wasn't a party atmosphere like a lot of places are on vacation. There was some music at the bar, but even at the bar it wasn't loud and you could easily have a conversation. Since we didn't get to port until after our daughter's lunch time, we had already eaten before we got off the ship so we didn't eat the provided lunch, but the chips we snacked on a bit were really good so I do think their lunch was also probably really good. The only kids we saw there were elementary aged or younger. Teenagers probably wouldn't love this place if they wanted a lot to do. But, I thought it was the perfect relaxing place and I would love to go there again just to sit and read a book with a drink in my hand. If I can't do that, then I'm just as happy to come back with our toddler and let her have a great day at her pace just playing in the water and the sand and taking naps on the beach.

Cozumel, Mexico

This was our second trip to Cozumel in two years (cruising out of Galveston will do that to ya), so I was so excited to put my daughter in the same outfit she wore the last time she was here. Last time, we just hung out at the Carnival port and did a little shopping and a little eating before going back on the ship. We were here from 7:30 until 4:30, so we had a good long day here. 

2023

2024

Similar to Costa Maya, we didn't really see a great toddler-friendly excursion offered by Royal Caribbean, so we booked Nachi Cocom on our own. We paid $69 per adult and $0 for our toddler to again get all-inclusive food and drinks. The reason we chose Nachi Cocom over other Cozumel options like Paradise Beach or Mr. Sanchos was that they limit the amount of guests per day. Having a toddler, it was really important to me that she felt she could run and play without getting trampled by a huge crowd. It also didn't have any big water inflatables that attract big kids who can run around and run over my daughter.

Navigating the Cozumel port to get to Nachi Cocum was an easier experience than navigating the Costa Maya port to get to Maya Chan. We again brought our Doona trike and this time remembered the trike backpack, but my husband thinks our daughter could have made the walk.We just followed the signs that pointed towards the taxi pickup. The one sus part was at the end there was a sign pointing to go to the right to get to the taxis, and then right behind that was a store with a sign pointing to the left down a hallway to get to the taxis. We thought this was a scam and went right, but actually you do go take a right until you get to the store and then take a left and go down the hallway to the taxis. What I appreciated about the taxi pickup was that they had a board with prices to the major tourist areas with a flat rate per 4 people. Whereas in Cancun all the taxis are white with a green stripe, here all the taxis were white with a red stripe, so you could feel comfortable knowing you're getting into a legit taxi. The trip was only about 20 minutes to get to the beach. 

Once you get there, they have you take a welcome photo and then later they offered us to buy it for $12. It was a cute photo, and I'm glad we bought it because with the chaos of a toddler we completely forgot to buy photos from our ship until after we got home, so this was our only professional photo of the trip. They then will take you to complete your payment and then give you paper wristbands and let you know who your waiter will be and then your taken to your beach chairs. There's actually a QR code that you need to scan to connect to Wi-Fi that we missed and had to go back, because the waiter we asked for the Wi-Fi code either didn't know it or wouldn't give it to us, so don't forget to scan the code before you leave. The Wi-Fi worked much better at the pool than at the beach. We were seated by the beach bar which made me nervous at first for nap times, but thankfully they didn't have the music too loud. 

What was the only con of our Nachi Cocom experience was that the beach area they brought us to initially had a big umbrella covering 4 beach chairs and a table, but as we were setting our stuff down, they took away the 2 beach chairs, leaving only 2 beach chairs for the 3 of us. I know that our daughter was free, but she still deserved to have her own chair and I wasn't a fan of this. At first I was just thinking they were rationing the chairs so that later-arriving guests could have a seat, but the chairs just sat out in the middle of the sun unoccupied for the rest of the day. The table they left us with was small, so I was very happy that I brought my baby Bogg Bag with my little tray insert to have an extra table so not everything had to go in the sand. 

The beach was also large and didn't seem to have a lot of sea grass, but I do recommend water sandals because there are a lot of shells. I'm glad we brought a little mesh bag for our daughter to collect shells in. There was no beach toys or floats offered, so make sure you bring your won. They have showers at the bathrooms to the right of the beach bar to wash off ocean water, and they have a food wash station near the pool to wash off sand. 

Nachi Cocom isn't a resort, but it does have a resort-sized pool. It was huge with a very large shallow ledge for adults to sit and talk or toddlers to play, an adults-only hot tub, and a swim-up bar. This was were my toddler wanted to spend the majority of the day, and we were just fine with that. 

Around the pool was a bunch of outdoor dining tables, so we had lunch by the pool. There was a good variety of options, and I really liked the food. The mixed drinks weren't the strongest, so we just stuck with beer to save on the empty calories. I never saw water sitting out like at Maya Chan, so I was glad we brought several bottled waters with us off the ship.

Regular menu

Kids menu

When it was time to go, they ordered a taxi for us and it was there about 5 minutes later. Overall, I think this would be a great sit and read a good book with a drink in your hand excursion. They specifically have signs saying they don't allow "spring break" behavior. Like Maya Chan, it seemed to be the perfect place for early elementary kids and younger to just hang out and enjoy the beach or the pool. We'd definitely come here again, but next time I do want to talk to them about having 1 beach chair per person rather than 1 beach chair per paying adult. 

Overall thoughts on this cruise

This trip was much better than our quick 2-night stay in Cancun, but felt just a little too short compared to our last 7-night cruise. But, we had a great time! It was definitely easier traveling with our daughter now that she can walk and explore the ship, but more exhausting because all she wanted to do was go up and down the stairs. Meals were also much easier with her being able to eat table food the whole time and not having to worry about formula and filtered water. 

Our next trip 

Ryan and I have agreed after going to an all-inclusive and then this cruise within a month that we just really prefer cruises right now. There's so much more variety of food to eat and things to do on a cruise, especially with a small kid. 

We really wanted to book our next cruise while on this ship (I'm only 15 nights away from Diamond status, which gets us each 4 free drinks a day!), but we're still at the growing stage of our family, and you can only cruise up until 26 weeks in your pregnancy. It just seems too soon to book a cruise when we don't know if/when I'll be pregnant before the next cruise. But, once we have that information sorted, we're on board to cruise again soon.

We have pretty much committed to being Loyal to Royal from the elevated experience you get with them. We're not completely against Carnival, and have even talked about going on the Vista again to stay in one of their Havana extended balcony rooms that has a little courtyard as a balcony (how perfect for babies!!). But, we do think we're ready for a break from Western Caribbean itineraries. I'm thinking our next cruise should go to Coco Cay because I haven't been there since they did their big renovation, and Ryan has never been there. I'm also itching to go on a larger ship, especially with little ones. I think our daughter would have loved being able to play on a splash pad on the cruise, so I'm starting to look at what the ships offer that would be best for them. 

And for our next trip.... we're going to Disney!

Is Royal Caribbean The Key Worth it for Families

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.

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. 

 

Reservations for activities were for Sea Days

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. 

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. 

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. 

How to Get Pinnacle Status on Royal Caribbean Fast

If you sailed on a ten-night Royal Caribbean cruise ship every year, it would take you 70 years to reach the Pinnacle Club. Even if you sailed on a Royal Caribbean cruise every single night, it would still take you 2 years to reach Pinnacle. That sound out-of-reach for most people's lifetimes, but it's actually easier to reach Pinnacle much faster, but it's not cheap. 

How do you become a Pinnacle member on Royal Caribbean? Each night you stay on a cruise (that you pay for, free cruises don't count), you get a point. The points add up to the different statuses on Royal Caribbean: 3 points gets you to Gold Status, 30 points is Platinum Status, 55 points is Emerald Status, 80 points is Diamond Status (what I'm currently working towards), 175 points is Diamond Plus Status, and then there's the exclusive 700 points is the Pinnacle Club Status.

So, why should you reach Pinnacle status anyways? Besides the fact of being the most elite thing you can do as a Royal Caribbean cruiser, it comes with a lot of perks. You get exclusive breakfasts every day, free unlimited Wi-Fi for the entire cruise, upgraded toiletries in your bathroom, 6 free drinks per day, free laundry, free gifts, exclusive dinner options, plus 1 free 7-night balcony cruise and then 1 free junior suite cruise. You know the special treatment celebrities get when they go to Disneyland with their family? Yeah, that's basically a Pinnacle member on a Royal Caribbean cruise. 

What's the fastest way to get to the Pinnacle Club on Royal Caribbean? The answer is: double points! If you were to book a Suite, for example a Junior Suite, you get double the points! So the timelines above instantly getting halved. Another way to earn double points? Solo cruising. Some family friends actually did this during the pandemic when cruise prices were ridiculously cheap. One person would get a Junior Suite for themselves, (Junior Suite and a solo booking, you can imaging the points!), and then the other person would just get a cheap interior room for themselves (solo booking double points for them!), and then they would use the interior room for luggage and drying wet clothes, and both sleep/get ready in the Junior Suite. Now, the obvious downside is that you would have to do a lot of room-key sharing. It also really only works for a couple. And again, a Junior Suite ain't cheap. But, if you plan on cruising a lot in your future (hello, retirement), then being a Pinnacle Member can really help you save money from having to pay for the internet and drink packages.