Club Orange upgrade

[ship101]

I have a question regarding Club Orange stateroom upgrade. My TA told me that we can request the upgrade stateroom  in same category only after the cruise is paid for in full.  Obviously, at that time there is less availability than if we could choose at the time of booking Club Orange, before the date of final payment.   For those of you who bought Club Orange, is that information accurate?

[pelimom]

No, the TA is incorrect.  I definitely upgraded immediately when booking.  Did this directly with the Holland America phone agent.  I tried to do it with Costco Travel, but the agent there knew nothing about Orange Club.  

[ship101]

Thank you for the fast answer.  Very useful.  

[consmarci]

I booked it when I booked and paid for the cruise (casino deal). The HAL agents can tell you how many of each category are left. You can choose anything within, as we didn't pick the top tier, but another that we preferred. You must stay within your category (inside to inside, outside to outside, etc.) 

[KAKcruiser]

You have to pay for Club Orange when you book it and then you can pick your stateroom.  But, you do not have to pay in full for the cruise - only the deposit.

[Oceansaway17]

I wish I knew why they chose the name Club Orange.

[AFNavigator]

3 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I wish I knew why they chose the name Club Orange.

It reflects HAL's Dutch heritage.

 

From a Netherlands website:  "The color orange refers to the family name of the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau.  Their ancestor, William of Orange, is the founding father of the Netherlands.  Orange symbolizes national unity, and the Dutch signify national pride by wearing orange."

[Oceansaway17]

1 minute ago, AFNavigator said:

It reflects HAL's Dutch heritage.

 

From a Netherlands website:  "The color orange refers to the family name of the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau.  Their ancestor, William of Orange, is the founding father of the Netherlands.  Orange symbolizes national unity, and the Dutch signify national pride by wearing orange."

 

I thank you kindly for your nice explanation.   

[Crew News]

4 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

You have to pay for Club Orange when you book it and then you can pick your stateroom.  But, you do not have to pay in full for the cruise - only the deposit.

My HAL PCC only charged me a $100 Future Cruise Deposit at the time she arranged for my Club Orange upgrade on the Rotterdam.  Club Orange charges were just rolled into my gross billed fare which I paid in a lump sum on the final payment due date.  This has been the case for my previous Club Orange purchases through my PCC and I have never had to call HAL Inventory.  Others have different experiences.

[MaisonRose]

1 hour ago, AFNavigator said:

It reflects HAL's Dutch heritage.

 

From a Netherlands website:  "The color orange refers to the family name of the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau.  Their ancestor, William of Orange, is the founding father of the Netherlands.  Orange symbolizes national unity, and the Dutch signify national pride by wearing orange."

Additionally: there is an Orange Party on the ship and if you are in the Netherlands on April 29-30 wearing ORANGE is almost mandatory: it’s like our 4th of July. Bring something orange on your cruise, even if it’s just a scarf in any case.

Also the heritage thing: I wear orange on St Patrick’s Day because my ancestors are from Northern Ireland. (Only à history teacher gets this!)

 

Susan

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

My HAL PCC only charged me a $100 Future Cruise Deposit at the time she arranged for my Club Orange upgrade on the Rotterdam.  Club Orange charges were just rolled into my gross billed fare which I paid in a lump sum on the final payment due date.  This has been the case for my previous Club Orange purchases through my PCC and I have never had to call HAL Inventory.  Others have different experiences.

I've mentioned this to my pcc when I used them and my ta.  I was told in no uncertain terms that I would not be able to secure the  room until I paid for Club Orange.    You are very lucky that you don't have to pay.

[REOVA]

5 hours ago, pelimom said:

No, the TA is incorrect.  I definitely upgraded immediately when booking.  Did this directly with the Holland America phone agent.  I tried to do it with Costco Travel, but the agent there knew nothing about Orange Club.  

Did HAL let you do it direct since you had a TA (Big Box)? 

[Florida_gal_50]

13 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Did HAL let you do it direct since you had a TA (Big Box)? 

Looks like since they clearly did it.

[REOVA]

30 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Looks like since they clearly did it.

Yes. Looks like it but was curious as HAL never let's me book or pay direct (other than excursions and food) as they tell me payments have to go through TA.  So this was probably  considered as an add on which might explain having to pay in full as opposed to  @Crew News which was rolled into the total price. Just trying to find the difference in procedure.  Thanks for answering. 

Edited January 14, 2023 by REOVA

[Florida_gal_50]

20 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Yes. Looks like it but was curious as HAL never let's me book or pay direct (other than excursions and food) as they tell me payments have to go through TA.  So this was probably  considered as an add on which might explain having to pay in full as opposed to  @Crew News which was rolled into the total price. Just trying to find the difference in procedure.  Thanks for answering. 

Crew news had the same situation as I did.  I book the cruise, air and club orange all at once and always have to pay for club orange.  I always book refundable fares. Trying to make sense of anything hal does consistently is a losing proposition.  

[REOVA]

10 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Crew news had the same situation as I did.  I book the cruise, air and club orange all at once and always have to pay for club orange.  I always book refundable fares. Trying to make sense of anything hal does consistently is a losing proposition.  

So you didn't have to pay for Club Orange in full when you booked it as it was rolled into final total payment for cruise? It looks like one paid a deposit until final payment due (with TA) and the other had to do full payment of CO when booked (with HAL direct) even before final cruise payment was due. I think it's getting clearer 🤪.

[Crew News]

27 minutes ago, REOVA said:

So you didn't have to pay for Club Orange in full when you booked it as it was rolled into final total payment for cruise? It looks like one paid a deposit until final payment due (with TA) and the other had to do full payment of CO when booked (with HAL direct) even before final cruise payment was due. I think it's getting clearer 🤪.

There could be many factors determining how much needs to be collected at booking time: Type of fare (basic, advantage, or HIA), use of FCD, early booking, other promotions in effect, PCC experience, number of passes purchased, etc. may have a bearing.

[NCTribeFan]

I have added CO after initial booking but before final payment, and had to pay for it when added. 

 

I've added CO at the time of booking a casino fare, which had to be paid-in-full when booked, so had to also pay for CO when added.

 

I haven't yet added CO at the time of booking a "regular" fare, but imagine I'll do so before too much longer.  And I imagine I'll have to pay for it when I book.  I use a PCC so, we'll see.

[Florida_gal_50]

10 hours ago, REOVA said:

So you didn't have to pay for Club Orange in full when you booked it as it was rolled into final total payment for cruise? It looks like one paid a deposit until final payment due (with TA) and the other had to do full payment of CO when booked (with HAL direct) even before final cruise payment was due. I think it's getting clearer 🤪.

No, I mean I booked everything at once, not bits here and bits there.  In every case, long before final, I’ve had to pony up the club orange price immediately.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Florida_gal_50

[Florida_gal_50]

9 hours ago, Crew News said:

There could be many factors determining how much needs to be collected at booking time: Type of fare (basic, advantage, or HIA), use of FCD, early booking, other promotions in effect, PCC experience, number of passes purchased, etc. may have a bearing.

I use an fcd every single time.  I don’t book hia out of the gate.  Do you?  I’m having a hard time believing the rest has any bearing as that has never been mentioned.  My pcc that I used previously has been with hal for a long time. The ta I used is very experienced and has a lot of experience with hal.

[DaveOKC]

46 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I use an fcd every single time.  I don’t book hia out of the gate.  Do you?  I’m having a hard time believing the rest has any bearing as that has never been mentioned.  My pcc that I used previously has been with hal for a long time. The ta I used is very experienced and has a lot of experience with hal.

It depends.  I check the HIA pricing vs the "regular" $50 per day add on price and then decide.  On a recent cruise I was able to get HIA for about $46 per day at booking and I took that as it included $200 in excursions plus two dinners (11 day cruise) and I wanted to lock that deal up.

Lately I have been seeing ads in my account to add HIA for $50 per day on 7 day cruises.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

It depends.  I check the HIA pricing vs the "regular" $50 per day add on price and then decide.  On a recent cruise I was able to get HIA for about $46 per day at booking and I took that as it included $200 in excursions plus two dinners (11 day cruise) and I wanted to lock that deal up.

Lately I have been seeing ads in my account to add HIA for $50 per day on 7 day cruises.

I just posed the question to crew news about having to pay or not pay for club orange right away.  If I read his post correctly he was saying paying immediately might be dependent on the fare you book with.  It doesn’t seem to matter  which way I book.  I think it’s probably pcc dependent.  I know I discussed this with my pcc at the time.  She said next time she would made note not to charge me because of my Mariner level.  That note seemed to be in invisible ink though because it always disappeared before booking my next cruise 😛.

[BobbiSox]

I just yesterday booked a Casino Offer, 20 days, $99.00 for inside guarentee. By upgrading to Club Orange, I was able to selct my own room, and I chose a mid-ship balcony (which is one of the best categories). I like CO anyhow, and that was a fabulous deal.

[REOVA]

4 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

I just yesterday booked a Casino Offer, 20 days, $99.00 for inside guarentee. By upgrading to Club Orange, I was able to selct my own room, and I chose a mid-ship balcony (which is one of the best categories). I like CO anyhow, and that was a fabulous deal.

So you got a balcony upgrade from an inside cabin by paying for CO? Was that during the free balcony promo? What was the cost of CO or upgrade? 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, REOVA said:

So you got a balcony upgrade from an inside cabin by paying for CO? Was that during the free balcony promo? What was the cost of CO or upgrade? 

I think there is a bit missing from that story.  I suspect they upgraded to the lowest balcony from that offer and got the club orange upgrade or they got someone really inexperienced and lucked out.