No, I really didn't miss the point. The complaint is basically coming down to being lazy, and expecting the keys to all be freebies. For some crafting on lightsday is just as bad as having to ride the ferry. Or fishing up moat carp.
I fully expected there to be one for riding the ferry or airship at some point during all of these, seeing as they used to be used somewhat often. Now with all the fast travel options they barely get used. After all, can you name a better way to get new players that may never used the ferries or airships to do so?
On the random factor, it is entirely possible to go for hours and not get 4 yag necklaces. Not likely, but possible. Any kind of drop related one has the potential to take a long time. The pirates are less random than you think, and more about taking the ferry at the right time. As the few times I have went out of my way for them, I didn't have any problem with encoutering them in 1-2 rides.
If and only if the pirates was the one for the KI for this set might I agree with it being unacceptable. But for a single key, that often gets junk, not so much.