Club Orange

[terrydtx]

51 minutes ago, aussiedisneyfan said:

Our friends purchased CO and there were no upgrades available.  They were given $100 OBC total instead.

Did have to wait until they boarded to find out about the $100 OBC?  We are in thr same situation on the Koingsdam, with booking the aft facing Verandah which is the highest Verandah category. 

[nw gardener]

I added CO a few months ago to my June booking and no upgrades were  available , and we were already  in an aft veranda as well.  We were given 100 off the CO price, I use the big box TA. The big box agent had never heard of CO so I explained it to her before she called HAL, and she may have done some wrangling with a supervisor.  

[Sea Hag]

I have a question on CO that I either don't see an answer to or that I'm not clear on. I booked our first cruise on HAL a couple of months ago, and didn't find out about CO until afterward. No worries on that one. But for the next one I book, I'd definitely like to get CO. My question is that, if there's a cabin upgrade available, so you get an exact cabin assignment when you add CO? If so,are you given some options on which cabin is assigned? 

[terrydtx]

43 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

I have a question on CO that I either don't see an answer to or that I'm not clear on. I booked our first cruise on HAL a couple of months ago, and didn't find out about CO until afterward. No worries on that one. But for the next one I book, I'd definitely like to get CO. My question is that, if there's a cabin upgrade available, so you get an exact cabin assignment when you add CO? If so,are you given some options on which cabin is assigned? 

You can book CO anytime after you book a cruise on HAL, as long as they still have CO available. HAL only sells a set number of CO on each cruise.  We booked CO for our November Koingsdam cruise two months after we booked, but there were no upgraded cabins we wanted since we were in an aft facing Verandah.  For our Volendam cruise next August, we booked CO after we booked and moved from a B Vista Suite to an A Vista suite and got to pick the cabin we wanted,

[Sea Hag]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

You can book CO anytime after you book a cruise on HAL, as long as they still have CO available. HAL only sells a set number of CO on each cruise.  We booked CO for our November Koingsdam cruise two months after we booked, but there were no upgraded cabins we wanted since we were in an aft facing Verandah.  For our Volendam cruise next August, we booked CO after we booked and moved from a B Vista Suite to an A Vista suite and got to pick the cabin we wanted,

Thanks! 🙂

[SueMo]

On our upcoming  14 day British Isles cruise, six of the ports are tender ports, so for the priority tendering benefit alone we booked CO.  At first there was no availability, but our TA started calling HAL daily around the time of final payment (when some people decide to cancel) and snagged us a spot.  So if you don’t succeed at first… try, try, again!  

[terrydtx]

22 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

Thanks! 🙂

BTW, if you use a TA, to order CO on an already booked cruise your TA will have to call and add CO. If booked directly with HAL then call them directly to add CO.

[Haljo1935]

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

BTW, if you use a TA, to order CO on an already booked cruise your TA will have to call and add CO. If booked directly with HAL then call them directly to add CO.

When using a TA, can they do a 3-way when adding CO call so you can get the cabin you want? Otherwise, what assurance is there of getting what you want?

[Woofbite]

What happens if you have a guarantee balcony cabin and add CO?  Will you get a definite cabin assignment?
 

 

[terrydtx]

31 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

When using a TA, can they do a 3-way when adding CO call so you can get the cabin you want? Otherwise, what assurance is there of getting what you want?

Easy, I did a fake booking to see what cabins were available and gave my TA the ones we wanted, my sister and her husband are cruising with us, they added CO and we got the two cabins we wanted next to each other. We both use the same TA.

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, Woofbite said:

What happens if you have a guarantee balcony cabin and add CO?  Will you get a definite cabin assignment?
 

 

Yes, it will be the highest level of category above gty available, or you can decline the upgrade and keep the gty.

[Florida_gal_50]

You do have to pay for club orange immediately or they will not let you upgrade to the cabin of your choice of what is available in that category.  This is true even if final is a long way off.

[dreamer321]

I’m currently on Koningsdam and purchased Club Orange.  I don’t think will ever book another HAL cruise without it. It made checking in on embarkation day super smooth, I was on the ship by 11:15 am.  We had to tender in Ketchikan and with priority tendering I was on the first passenger tender ashore. The Club Orange dining room staff always greeted me by name and made me feel welcome. I mentioned that I found the standard ice tea they served was unpalatable ( it’s made from tea concentrate and tastes terrible ) subsequently, I would find a large glass of fresh brewed PG Tips ice tea waiting for me at my table when I arrived. I really appreciate the way they anticipate my desires.  I walked through the zoo that is the Lido market at meals and was so happy I had a nice tranquil place to dine.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

BTW, if you use a TA, to order CO on an already booked cruise your TA will have to call and add CO. If booked directly with HAL then call them directly to add CO.

 

Nope - I use a TA and called the CO number directly and had it added.  My TA sent me the new confirmation.

 

I save my TA for the heavy duty lifting and do that stuff on my own.  I’ve done it twice now with no problem.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, Woofbite said:

What happens if you have a guarantee balcony cabin and add CO?  Will you get a definite cabin assignment?
 

 

 

Yes - you choose.  If the cabin of your choice happens not to be highest category in your cabin range, that’s fine too.  Take a look at the deck plans and available cabins before you call.

[terrydtx]

59 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Nope - I use a TA and called the CO number directly and had it added.  My TA sent me the new confirmation.

 

I save my TA for the heavy duty lifting and do that stuff on my own.  I’ve done it twice now with no problem.

When I called the CO number last month I was told  I had to go through my TA to add CO. My TA makes a nice commission from all our travels and I am sure she is more than happy to take care of us.

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

When I called the CO number last month I was told  I had to go through my TA to add CO. My TA makes a nice commission from all our travels and I am sure she is more than happy to take care of us.

 

Interesting.  I had no problem and my TA will still get the commission since it’s her booking 😉 

She did a lot of heavy lifting for me when I lost my husband so if I can save her a bit of work, I will.  I know she wouldn’t mind but it’s quite easy for me to call - or at least, it has been.  CO was sold out a day later so it was probably best I did it when I did.

 

 

[Haljo1935]

If the newly selected CO cabin holds it, can another person be added to a CO booking?

[POA1]

7 hours ago, Sea Hag said:

I have a question on CO that I either don't see an answer to or that I'm not clear on. I booked our first cruise on HAL a couple of months ago, and didn't find out about CO until afterward. No worries on that one. But for the next one I book, I'd definitely like to get CO. My question is that, if there's a cabin upgrade available, so you get an exact cabin assignment when you add CO? If so,are you given some options on which cabin is assigned? 

I called in to book my own Club Orange. The introductory instructions were to have a deck plan ready so that we could choose an upgraded stateroom.  We were happy with our original choice, so I declined the upgrade.We had already chosen our preferred location and CO was an afterthought.  I suppose we "left money on the table" by not booking down and upgrading. But, in all honesty, we are in it for the orange room keys and the tote bag.  Since we declined the upgrade, I'm not expecting any OBC.

[alyssamma]

Also, fyi, you can do CO and a new booking at the same time. I look to see what cabin I want and give that info to my TA. She books my cruise and adds CO with my preferred cabin at the same time.

[cbr663]

3 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

I’m currently on Koningsdam and purchased Club Orange.  I don’t think will ever book another HAL cruise without it. It made checking in on embarkation day super smooth, I was on the ship by 11:15 am.  We had to tender in Ketchikan and with priority tendering I was on the first passenger tender ashore. The Club Orange dining room staff always greeted me by name and made me feel welcome. I mentioned that I found the standard ice tea they served was unpalatable ( it’s made from tea concentrate and tastes terrible ) subsequently, I would find a large glass of fresh brewed PG Tips ice tea waiting for me at my table when I arrived. I really appreciate the way they anticipate my desires.  I walked through the zoo that is the Lido market at meals and was so happy I had a nice tranquil place to dine.

 

We are recently off the Koningsdam and we also enjoyed the CO dining experience.  The first night there was a long wait (30 - 40 mins) so we went to the MDR and that was a mistake.  I am hearing impaired and with hearing aids the loud environments of the MDR and the Lido are simply too much at times.  The CO dining room was so much more quieter and enjoyable.  We also realized that because of this we would never use CO for any ship without a dedicated CO dining room.

 

We also had excellent service.  I really enjoyed at breakfast when the waiter simply asked me, "what would you like, we will get it for you" as none of the menu items met our needs.  They remembered it every morning and we never had to ask again.

 

I do wish that the CO dining menu had different options than the MDR plus one, but I understand that they are limited as not every ship as the dedicated CO dining space.  What we had we enjoyed, it was presented really well and was always hot. 

 

Now if it was open for lunch also.....

[bajae]

On 5/10/2023 at 6:09 PM, oaktreerb said:

, and an extra entree….

 

 

 

 

Question, are non CO passenger limited to one entree? I always that someone could order as may items off the MDR menu as they wanted.

[oakridger]

10 minutes ago, bajae said:

Question, are non CO passenger limited to one entree? I always that someone could order as may items off the MDR menu as they wanted.

 

The extra Club Orange entree referred to is an "additional choice" beyond the regular MDR menu selections of the day.  In the MDR you may order extra entrees, sides, appetizers or desserts if you want. (of course, please only order what you can eat).  The MDR and Club Orange offer some added cost entrees such as lobster and steak which will be charged for each order.

 

~Nancy

[bajae]

2 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

The extra Club Orange entree referred to is an "additional choice" beyond the regular MDR menu selections of the day.  In the MDR you may order extra entrees, sides, appetizers or desserts if you want. (of course, please only order what you can eat).  The MDR and Club Orange offer some added cost entrees such as lobster and steak which will be charged for each order.

 

~Nancy

Thanks, that makes sense. 

[oakridger]

4 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

 The Club Orange dining room staff always greeted me by name and made me feel welcome...I really appreciate the way they anticipate my desires... was so happy I had a nice tranquil place to dine.

 

This all sounds wonderful. I feel it's a shame that the service all over the ship isn't like this.  I'm beginning to think that the only way to consistently get this better service is to cruise on a more premium/luxury line.  

 

~Nancy