QuattroRomeo

Yes it was tasty but I didn't really like the texture of the rice; too firm.

More Orange room goodies: Breakfast buttermilk pancakes; Gold Rush Soup, Seafood Devilled Eggs, Salmon with Alaskan Amber Beer Bearnaise, Cod Caponata a la Normande, Chocolate Whiskey Torte. All very nice, although the torte was a little short on whiskey..

More Orange dining: Crab & artichoke dip (very nice); holey bread!; lamb (some pieces were tough), Shrimp Jambalaya (the special).

Seafood cocktail, Peruvian Chicken (the special), and Strawberries Romanoff. The seafood cocktail was very tasty. The chicken was a bit overcooked but nice flavours; could have been a bit punchier.

Some menu photos from Club Orange. They never included what the actual special entree was- the server told you, Often they showed you a sample plate.

Opposite the doors to Club Orange dining room, there is the Taste Bar, which, as the name suggests, is used for tastings!

Okay, down to deck 2 between midship and aft toward the Club Orange Dining Room. Following the hallway all the way aft would lead you to the MDR.

The port side also used to have an extension of the Crow's Nest area into a table games sitting space. It is now set up with desks for classes like origami and colouring.

By the exit there is the door to outside where the cabanas are- The Retreat. Actually doors on both port and starboard:

Since we are looking on deck 12 for the Explorations Cafe, opposite it now is the Shore Excursions area, It used to be a nice sitting area with chairs by the unobstructed windows- ideal for scenic viewing like that in Glacier Bay. To the right used to be the very small library. It seems like a poor place for shore excursion information and booking- not very convenient.

Explorations Cafe deck 12 forward.-starboard.

There were times that the Dutch Cafe was painfully slow. I found Ewelina to be the best server there but she couldn't do everything! When the lineup went down the hall to the Photo Gallery and I needed my latte, I hoofed it up to Explorations Cafe instead! This is deck 12 forward, so you need to get to the forward elevator. This cafe has faster service but limited offerings as far as food goes, usually just a few biscotti. They do have coffees in regular and large sizes, though, whereas the Dutch only offers regular. (Can you tell I like coffee)? The showcase up there has tinned water and pop for sale, and Tazo tea. Explorations Cafe does not have the "1873 coffee" though, the signature HAL brand that the Dutch Cafe makes the excellent drip coffee from. (Also made in the Pinnacle Grill but only if you eat there). One thing that they advertise but don't actually sell is the lb. Bag of 1873 coffee. I asked Ewelina and she said they don't have it programmed to ring in...! ☕️

I love the little houses under glass at the bar stool tables next to the Dutch Cafe:

Views of Dutch Cafe from the atrium, and the Cafe bump out room, that overlooks the promenade deck:

Sorry to hear that, Sue! It's always a disappointment to be ill on vacation. Glad they took care of you! I see many of your cruises are on non-Pinnacle ships. Do you enjoy them as much ? Or is it difficult to compare with the circumstances of this last one?!

Occasionally, Dutch Cafe has palmier cookies and almond cookies with marzipan filling, usually displayed in a jar instead of the showcase. The items in the showcase and these cookies, are free. The specialty coffees and liquor have a charge. There are a few packaged items, like licorice, that have a charge, but are clearly marked.

of course, the bossche bol-

Roaming around the ship a bit, to the atrium on Deck 3, which leads us to the popular Dutch Cafe!!

My favourite at NY Deli- reuben sandwich and salad. I also like the Central Park Pizza but managed not to double up this time!.. This restaurant does not charge extra fees. Water, iced tea and lemonade are also available gratis:

New York Deli - deck 10 midship:

A few ship photos on embarkation day in Vancouver:

Welcome to CruiseCritic and to cruising! Glad that these things are helpful. Club Orange is an add-on that you can purchase pre-cruise, if it is still available. On 3 certain HAL ships, called Pinnacle Class, there is a separate small dining room and you can go there instead of the much bigger MDR (Main Dining Room).The menu is the same as MDR plus another entree choice. There are a few other features, the biggest being a cabin upgrade in the same category. The price is $25 pp/day up to 13 day cruises, and $15 pp/day on longer cruises. There are many threads on CruiseCritic about it so I will find one and link you to it later. Family OV is a larger Oceanview cabin. It has a big window and 1.5 bathrooms. I will post some photos. The tiles are indeed coasters-they have cork on the back. They are gifts from HAL once you get Mariner status (after 1 cruise).

I wish!! But no. Technically, they offered me something- it was an identical inside on a higher deck. Not something we consider an upgrade, but they do.

Once on board, we made our way to the stateroom to drop off our carry-on bags. The doors were still closed at our end of the hallway but we were able to open them, found our room was ready and keycards waiting. So we watched the safety video, unpacked a little, and headed out to scan our cards at the muster station. It was too early. Had to return around 12:30 for that. So I took a few photos and then we headed up to deck 10 for a visit to New York Deli- our first food stop of the cruise.