The Key is a special package you can buy when cruising with Royal Caribbean. It offers a host of extra benefits compared to your standard cruise fare to make your cruise go more smoothly, especially on embarkation day.
But how does it compare with the suite perks you can get when you book the higher classes of accommodation? Is it ever worth buying The Key if you have booked a suite? Or, is it worth foregoing The Key and upgrading to a suite from a regular stateroom?
Let’s take a look.
The Key Vs. Suite Perks – Meaning
Firstly, let me just explain what I mean by both The Key and the suite perks.
The Key is a package that is available to buy on most Royal Caribbean cruises, though in limited numbers only. Anyone on the cruise can buy The Key if they want to, but you need to buy it for everyone in your stateroom aged six or over. You can’t get it for only some of your party.
Suite perks, on the other hand, are the benefits you get when you book a suite on a cruise ship instead of a regular stateroom.
Just to add an extra ripple of confusion, Royal Caribbean has two different packages for suite perks, depending on the ship you’re sailing on.
The Royal Suite Class package is for all Icon-class, Oasis-class, and Quantum-class ships, while the Royal Caribbean Suites Program applies to all other ships in the fleet.
Within both of those, you’ll get better perks if you book a higher class of suite.
The Key Vs. Suite Perks – What You Get
It’s easier to compare The Key to the perks of staying in a suite if we compare it against each suite program separately.
Here’s how The Key compares with the Royal Caribbean Suites Program:
| Benefit | The Key | Junior Suites | Grand, Panoramic & Owner’s Suites | Royal & Villa Suites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priority terminal access on departure day | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Carry-on bag drop-off | YES | No | No | No |
| Exclusive welcome lunch | YES | No | No | No |
| Private time at onboard activities | YES | No | No | No |
| Priority tender departure | YES | No | YES | YES |
| VIP access to live theatre shows | YES | No | YES | YES |
| Free internet package | YES | No | No | No |
| Exclusive breakfast on departure day | YES | No | YES | YES |
| Use of a bathrobe | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Luxury bathroom toiletries | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Lavazza coffee machine in-suite | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Pillowtop mattress | No | No | YES | YES |
| Priority departure on disembarkation day | No | No | YES | YES |
| Concierge Service | No | No | YES | YES |
| Access to the Suite Lounge | No | No | YES | YES |
| Priority dining reservations | No | No | YES | YES |
| Tours of off-limits areas | No | No | YES | YES |
| VIP pool deck seating | No | No | YES | YES |
| Fruit and water welcome gift | No | No | YES | YES |
| Complimentary room service with expanded options | No | No | YES | YES |
| Complimentary pressing service | No | No | YES | YES |
| Officer escort onboard | No | No | No | YES |
| Welcome bottle of Champagne | No | No | No | YES |
The Key offers more benefits than staying in a Junior Suite, and has a couple of important benefits you don’t get even when staying in the best suites on these older ships…
Benefits that only come with The Key are…
- free internet access
- the option to drop off your carry-on bag and have it delivered to your stateroom
- reserved time to use the onboard facilities such as the FlowRider surf simulator
They do share some of the other main benefits though, such as priority embarkation, priority tender boarding, and reserved theatre seating.
Here’s how The Key compares with the Royal Suite Class on newer ships:
| Benefit | The Key | Sea Class | Sky Class | Star Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priority terminal access on departure day | YES | No | YES | YES |
| Carry-on bag drop-off | YES | No | No | YES |
| Exclusive welcome lunch | YES | No | No | No |
| Private time at onboard activities | YES | No | No | YES |
| Priority tender departure | YES | No | YES | YES |
| VIP access to live theatre shows | YES | No | YES | YES |
| Free internet package | YES | No | YES | YES |
| Exclusive breakfast on departure day | YES | No | No | YES |
| Use of a bathrobe | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Luxury bathroom toiletries | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Lavazza coffee machine in-suite | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Pillowtop mattress | No | YES | YES | YES |
| Dine at Coastal Kitchen restaurant | No | Dinner Only | YES | YES |
| Priority departure on disembarkation day | No | No | YES | YES |
| Concierge Service | No | No | YES | YES |
| Access to the Suite Lounge | No | No | YES | YES |
| Priority dining reservations | No | No | YES | YES |
| Access to the Suite Sun Deck | No | No | YES | YES |
| Speciality bottled water in-suite | No | No | YES | YES |
| Royal Genie butler service | No | No | No | YES |
| Complimentary speciality dining | No | No | No | YES |
| Complimentary Deluxe Beverage Package | No | No | No | YES |
| Complimentary gratuities | No | No | No | YES |
| Complimentary minibar | No | No | No | YES |
| Complimentary laundry | No | No | No | YES |
There are some important differences here – mainly that the Sea Class suites don’t include priority boarding, so if you want that perk, you’d either need to buy The Key or upgrade to a Sky Class suite or better.
But also, Sky and Star Class suites now come with the free internet package, and Star Class also gets priority time at the onboard facilities and the carry-on drop off.
Royal Suite Class Deals
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The Key Vs. Suites – Cost
It’s hard to directly compare the cost of The Key against upgrading to a suite, because:
- The cost of The Key varies
- Suite prices vary depending on the ship, dates and demand
- It depends on whether you would otherwise be booking a Balcony Stateroom or upgrading all the way from an Interior Stateroom
The Key officially costs “from $35.99 per day”, though it’s often higher, and yet also often discounted below that price too.
I’ve looked at the average prices of a handful of cruises just to get an idea of the cost of a suite upgrade, but use this as a guideline only.
| Cruise | Average Stateroom Cost (per person) | Plus The Key (average) | Upgrade to Junior Suite | Upgrade to Mid Level/Sky Class Suite | Upgrade to Best/Star Class Suite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Older ship, 7 night Caribbean, Interior Stateroom | $100 per night | +$36 per night | +$100 per night | +$150 per night | +$250 per night |
| Older ship, 7 night Caribbean, Balcony Stateroom | $150 per night | +$36 per night | +$50 per night | +$100 per night | +$200 per night |
| Newer ship, 7 night Caribbean, Interior Stateroom | $150 per night | +$36 per night | +$150 per night | +$550 per night | +$800 per night |
| Newer ship, 7 night Caribbean, Balcony Stateroom | $180 per night | +$36 per night | +$120 per night | +$520 per night | +$770 per night |
Which to Choose
So, should you buy The Key or prioritise upgrading to a suite? And is it worth buying The Key if you’re in a suite already?
Generally, buying The Key isn’t worth it if you’re booking anything above a Junior Suite in either of the suites programs.
It’s true that suites on the older ships don’t get free internet access included, but it’s cheaper to buy the WiFi separately than it is to pay for The Key.
As for choosing between them, if you were only going to upgrade to a Junior Suite, then it might be better to save your money and just get The Key instead – the perks are better. But remember that a Junior Suite does also get you a more spacious room, so you have to bear that in mind.
While upgrading to a higher class of suite will be a lot more expensive, you do get a much longer list of perks, and so if you have the budget available, then it’s likely better to go for that, especially with the much better accommodations you also get too.
However, The Key is a great choice if you want to make your cruise that little bit more special without paying a suite upgrade price, as long as you make sure to book it early enough so that it hasn’t sold out!
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
