Unlocking Perks on Royal Caribbean With "The Key"

What onboard amenities would you be willing to pay for that would take your cruise vacation experience from good to great? How much additional are you willing to pay?  Here’s Royal Caribbean’s thoughts on that very topic.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is beginning to roll out a program called “The Key”, a collection of exclusive benefits which are available only to guests who purchase 'The Key (although many of these perks are available free of charge to guests staying in select suites).

‘The Key’ benefits include:

• Carry on luggage storage and delivery to your cabin on boarding day
• Boarding day lunch at Chop’s Grille
• Voom Surf and Stream for each guest in your cabin
• Private hours at marquee attractions (FlowRide, rock climbing, ice skating)
• Priority disembarkation on select ships and ports and tender service ship to shore
• The best seats in the house with VIP seating at pre-reserved shows
• Choice debarkation on the final day with an à la carte breakfast in the main dining room

These additional benefits will cost you about $24.99 per person per day and if one guest purchases it, every guest over six years old in the same cabin must also purchase it. So, is it worth the money?  Maybe…it really depends on how valuable those perks are to you.  If you were planning on purchasing a Voom Surf and Stream package anyway, that alone could cost from $17 - $20 per person per day. A lunch at Chops will cost about $20 per person.  So for a bit more you’re getting several additional amenities, though its more difficult to assign  a monetary value to those. 

However, if things like having those show seats waiting for you when you dash into the theater close to curtain time, or having a block of time reserved so you don’t have to wait to use the FlowRider, then The Key may be for you.

The Key will be available on select Royal Caribbean cruise ships starting in January and must be pre-purchased through Cruise Planner prior to a cruise.