Club Orange upgrade

[POA1]

1 minute ago, ebtrip said:

Thanks, I agree..we also prefer late dining fixed. Just wasn’t sure if it wasn’t cost effective to add CO just for upgrade 

You'll have to do the math on the stateroom cost difference. It's almost always a good deal for singles, and it gets better as you get into the higher categories.

 

Then, factor in the value of the additional entree and expanded room service breakfast.

 

And don't forget the Club Orange tote bag. That, and the fact that you'll have Club Orange room key cards are what really made it worthwhile for us*. 😉

 

*- In case it's not super obvious yet, I'm doing a long set up bit for my "Live From" in December.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, OCJayGuy said:

Annoying when that kind of stuff happens. I think im staying put in VQ for now, really not a fan of the couch placement in the Vistas and not being able to watch tv from it. I should also mention i cant wait to try the CO restaurant, so I'm staying on topic for the grouches. Ive already recommended CO to my other family members with HAL offers, and i havent even done it yet 🙂

I think you’ll really enjoy club orange.  I know I do.  What I should be saying is that it’s the worst thing ever 😛😉 because it’s getting harder to obtain.

[Windsailer]

1 hour ago, ebtrip said:

I have another question for all of you. We are now considering booking a 14 dy Asian cruise for October 2024 on the Noordam. Is it worth upgrading to CO as they do not have a separate dining room.  Appreciate your advise. Thx

I had CO on the Noordam last February. I appreciated the priority boarding (think I was the third person on the ship!), CO line at Customer Service, the extra menu item and, of course, the Club Orange tote (which I had to ask for). I have CO booked for my next 3 cruises. 

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, ebtrip said:

I have another question for all of you. We are now considering booking a 14 dy Asian cruise for October 2024 on the Noordam. Is it worth upgrading to CO as they do not have a separate dining room.  Appreciate your advise. Thx

Even without the separate dining room, CO has a special line and entrance to enter the MDR and you are priority seated over others in line for non-CO MDR seating and you get the extra entree. We always book anytime dining so CO is the answer to not having to wait to be seated. Early dining is too early and late seating is way to late, our preferred dining time is between 6:30 and 7:00pm.

 

If done right when booking, you can get the higher category cabin you want by booking a lower category and the upgrade pays for the CO. If your cruise has any tender ports the priority tendering is nice along with priority boarding.

 

For us CO is worth the cost on any HAL ship or cruise.

Edited July 8, 2023 by terrydtx

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

You'll have to do the math on the stateroom cost difference. It's almost always a good deal for singles, and it gets better as you get into the higher categories.

 

Then, factor in the value of the additional entree and expanded room service breakfast.

 

And don't forget the Club Orange tote bag. That, and the fact that you'll have Club Orange room key cards are what really made it worthwhile for us*. 😉

 

*- In case it's not super obvious yet, I'm doing a long set up bit for my "Live From" in December.

Yes, the tote bag that looks like this, but says Club Orange!! I am sure the orange striped key card is stunning. I truly am looking forward to CO on my next cruise (14 day TA Nov-Dec) and the cabin upgrade was totally worth it.

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

You'll have to do the math on the stateroom cost difference. It's almost always a good deal for singles, and it gets better as you get into the higher categories.

 

Then, factor in the value of the additional entree and expanded room service breakfast.

 

And don't forget the Club Orange tote bag. That, and the fact that you'll have Club Orange room key cards are what really made it worthwhile for us*. 😉

 

*- In case it's not super obvious yet, I'm doing a long set up bit for my "Live From" in December.

Definitely get a lanyard to wear around your neck so that all the other passengers will see the Orange stripe on you cabin card and be jealous!

 

[POA1]

Just now, DaveOKC said:

Definitely get a lanyard to wear around your neck so that all the other passengers will see the Orange stripe on you cabin card and be jealous!

 

How long do you think it would take until someone punches me in the throat?

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, POA1 said:

How long do you think it would take until someone punches me in the throat?

If they are on CC, they would recognize you immediately, LOL

[POA1]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

If they are on CC, they would recognize you immediately, LOL

I doubt it. On CC, my avatar faces right. On the super-exclusive, I'm a fancy person Orange lanyard, the photo faces left. Totally different.

[Haljo1935]

4 hours ago, POA1 said:

How long do you think it would take until someone punches me in the throat?

You've forgotten which CCL line you're sailing on - the punching is on Carnival, not HAL, lol. 🫣

And on Carnival, that fancy orange card has no value, so odds are in your favor you'll escape unscathed. 🙄🤔

[mcrcruiser]

What has your extra   item  that was added to the MDR menu when you dined in Club Orange for dinner?

[QuattroRomeo]

Do you mean what was the item?

Shrimp jambalaya, short ribs, lemon pesto shrimp fettucine to name a few.

[Crew News]

Same items for my last three CO:

Shrimp Jambalaya

Braised beef short ribs

Lemon shrimp fettuccine

Duck breast with dried cherries

Roast leg of lamb

Herb butter braised chicken

Peruvian roasted chicken

Edited July 9, 2023 by Crew News

[mcrcruiser]

26 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Same items for my last three CO:

Shrimp Jambalaya

Braised beef short ribs

Lemon shrimp fettuccine

Duck breast with dried cherries

Roast leg of lamb

Herb butter braised chicken

Peruvian roasted chicken

Thats a impressive lust ,Thank you😄

 With those added m the room upgrade  a person can't  go wrong

Edited July 9, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[oakridger]

Remember that the extra item on the Club Orange menu is offered one per day.  Not the whole list every day.  The rest of the menu is the same as the MDR menu that day.

 

~Nancy

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, Crew News said:

Same items for my last three CO:

Shrimp Jambalaya

Braised beef short ribs

Lemon shrimp fettuccine

Duck breast with dried cherries

Roast leg of lamb

Herb butter braised chicken

Peruvian roasted chicken

From other threads on CO, many say the Lemon shrimp, Duck breast and Peruvian chicken are excellent.  We have CO on our November Koingsdam cruise and can't wait.

[albingirl]

And the fun thing is, on a back to back sailing, I scored 2 bags!  How good is that.  One of the very small benefits of my very expensive cruise.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

And the fun thing is, on a back to back sailing, I scored 2 bags!  How good is that.  One of the very small benefits of my very expensive cruise.

I really do like those bags for port days. The outside mesh pockets are the perfect size for metal water bottle and sunglass case. And the bag holds a HAL beach towel yet is not so big that I feel like a pack mule.😊

[kazu]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

From other threads on CO, many say the Lemon shrimp, Duck breast and Peruvian chicken are excellent.  We have CO on our November Koingsdam cruise and can't wait.

 

food is very subjective of course, but the one item I didn’t care for was the duck.  I might have just been unlucky as the other meals were very good that I had.

 

Peruvian Chicken, shrimp jambalaya,  shrimp fettuccini were very very good.

 

enjoyed the butter chicken and lamb as well.  Didn’t do the short ribs (specialty dining) but when I peaked in on the way from my cabin people seemed to be enjoying it.

[FlorenceItaly]

Do not get your heart set on that bag, lol.  I did not receive one on my 16 day Zuiderdam transatlantic, lol.

 

[POA1]

1 minute ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Do not get your heart set on that bag, lol.  I did not receive one on my 16 day Zuiderdam transatlantic, lol.

 

Noooooo! It's the whole reason for our trip. 🤩

[DaveOKC]

10 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Noooooo! It's the whole reason for our trip. 🤩

Did not get our Orange bag on two Eurodam cruises earlier this year.

 

[Windsailer]

Did you ask your room steward  or the Front Desk for the Club Orange bag?

[FlorenceItaly]

2 minutes ago, Windsailer said:

Did you ask your room steward  or the Front Desk for the Club Orange bag?

I did not.  It didn't make that much of a difference to me.  We did search the room in case we missed it.  Some said it was on their top shelf.  We also had a poor experience with receiving the menu in the MDR.  I posted about this elsewhere or perhaps earlier in this thread.  The advantage for us was going from a VH guarantee to an assigned VA balcony.  We did enjoy the separate line at the front desk.

[Windsailer]

My bag wasn't in my cabin when I first arrived. I asked both my steward and the Front Desk (the separate CO line) for it. It showed up in my cabin later that day. I had fixed early dining. The staff were good about bring me the CO menu; when they didn't (just one of two times) I just asked to it and they delivered one seconds later.