mwj

You can get a full list of benefits here: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html The cost will vary by length of cruise, either $25 pp/day or $15 pp/day Besides the cabin upgrade value, we find value in the tender benefits if the cruise is port intensive with multiple tender ports. The larger ships (Rotterdam etc.) have a separate dining room for club orange, if that is to your liking.

We don't think it's a conundrum. We save substantial money by buying special fares that don't include a drink package. We will enjoy an occasional cocktail or wine. We don't need 15 daily drinks.

As Seabourn is managed through HAL, and Seabourn is up for sale https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-in-talks-on-possible-sale-of-seabourn-brand/72702, is HAL also part of the 'deal'?

The mariner rates disappeared last Thursday (9/29) for us.

We very much appreciate your notification. We were sitting on 5 $500 gift cards in our cart, and where able to checkout and receive the emails successfully. The $500 gift cards were not available unless they were already in your cart. Lo and behold, today, the AARP rewards website checkout is no longer working (again ...)

One thing that hasn't been mentioned with respect to short layovers, is luggage. Given the shortage in staffing, luggage transfer has been a significant problem. For the start of a cruise, I wouldn't want less than X time (you choose X), to minimize chances of your luggage not making it to your destination in a timely fashion.

from another topic ... online at the HAL website to my booking and then to the section - "manage payment" When the page came up and showed me the remaining balance and the payment options - I chose pay with gift cards. You are allowed to enter 10 gift cards at one time. The process is a little tedious but the website accepted all my gift cards and I paid off the cruise

The best kept 'secret' about Holland America. We attempt to book a retreat cabana for the entire voyage, unless it is a port intensive cruise. We often attempt to book the cabana immediately after booking our cruise. We can save money by booking an inside room and the cabana, rather than booking a balcony or suite. It feels like you are on a private yacht ...

For us, it depends upon the cruise and the ship. We have paid for club orange on two longer cruises, due to multiple tender ports, and for the room upgrade (VF->VB in one instance, saving us over $1000). These are the two main reasons why we would choose club orange. We consider the dining as a bonus, that we don't consider when choosing whether to book it. In both our instances, CO was $15/day/pp.