Club Orange

[kazu]

1 minute ago, cruising sister said:

I got my bag

 

Yippee.  👏 👏 👏. After all, you paid for it LOL 😂 

[Woofbite]

Turned out it didn't matter if it applied to GTY cabins anyway because CO isn't available on Grand  Voyages.  (I wonder why not?)

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Woofbite
omitted half a sentence.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I think there are several reason, one being that there is not a specific CO Restaurant on ships that do the Grand Voyages, menus for Grand Voyages are often very different from a regular 7 day cruise and already have additional options, the number of days the Grand World Voyage is and even segments may not be cost effective. The one of the big reasons is stateroom assignments The Grand World full voyage is normaly the one that has availability to select a stateroom, the segments often end up being Guarantees in many categories. This is so those booking the full Grand World Voyage get to select the stateroom they want, then it later can be assigned for the segments. this just make it impossible for being able to offer Club Orange since one could not choose a higher level stateroom.

[scomar]

Hello,
I originally booked a VE balcony on deck 8 on Eurodam. Then found out about CO and went ahead and purchased the CO. This was at least 8 months before the cruise. When I asked about the cabin upgrade the HAL rep stated I would be upgraded to a suite. This didn’t sound right to me. So, I said to him, “You are telling me I will be upgraded from a balcony to a suite” he said yes. This takes me way above the V categories. 

Does this sound right?

Also, our sailing is about 27 days out and have not heard what cabin we will be in yet. When do I find this out?

Thanks!
 

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, scomar said:

Hello,
I originally booked a VE balcony on deck 8 on Eurodam. Then found out about CO and went ahead and purchased the CO. This was at least 8 months before the cruise. When I asked about the cabin upgrade the HAL rep stated I would be upgraded to a suite. This didn’t sound right to me. So, I said to him, “You are telling me I will be upgraded from a balcony to a suite” he said yes. This takes me way above the V categories. 

Does this sound right?

Also, our sailing is about 27 days out and have not heard what cabin we will be in yet. When do I find this out?

Thanks!
 

I NEVER trust what any HAL reps tell me, they are undertrained and very inconsistent. If you were being upgraded you would already have your new cabin assigned. Every time we have added CO we immediately got our new cabin number. You should contact HAL NOW and find out what cabin you are in with less than a month to your cruise. Here is a copy of the upgrade info from HAL's website. You will be upgraded to the highest cabin in the category you booked. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by terrydtx

[scomar]

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I NEVER trust what any HAL reps tell me, they are undertrained and very inconsistent. If you were being upgraded you would already have your new cabin assigned. Every time we have added CO we immediately got our new cabin number. Here is a copy of the upgrade info from HAL's website. You will be upgraded to the highest cabin in the category you booked. 

HMMM...  I will give them a call. Thanks for the info!

[scomar]

19 minutes ago, scomar said:

HMMM...  I will give them a call. Thanks for the info!

Called and was upgrade to VQ category. Glad I called, who knows what I would have ended up with,🙄

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, scomar said:

Called and was upgrade to VQ category. Glad I called, who knows what I would have ended up with,🙄

Is the VQ category cabin one that you are happy with? Not sure what a VQ cabin is, if you had a VE, a VA or VB would be an upgrade to higher category.

 

See what I mean about trusting what HAL reps tell you. It's not just HAL, Celebrity reps are just as inconsistent too.

Edited May 29, 2023 by terrydtx

[3rdGenCunarder]

20 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I think there are several reason, one being that there is not a specific CO Restaurant on ships that do the Grand Voyages, menus for Grand Voyages are often very different from a regular 7 day cruise and already have additional options, the number of days the Grand World Voyage is and even segments may not be cost effective. The one of the big reasons is stateroom assignments The Grand World full voyage is normaly the one that has availability to select a stateroom, the segments often end up being Guarantees in many categories. This is so those booking the full Grand World Voyage get to select the stateroom they want, then it later can be assigned for the segments. this just make it impossible for being able to offer Club Orange since one could not choose a higher level stateroom.

 

The CO upgrade at $15 per day, is WAY LESS than the price difference if you book the more expensive cabin to begin with. I'm surprised at the difference between the cost of CO and the price of the upgraded cabin for just 2 weeks (on Zaandam). HAL might not be willing to give that expensive benefit for a long cruise. 

[scomar]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Is the VQ category cabin one that you are happy with? Not sure what a VQ cabin is, if you had a VE, a VA or VB would be an upgrade to higher category.

 

See what I mean about trusting what HAL reps tell you. It's not just HAL, Celebrity reps are just as inconsistent too.

Yes, we are happy with the upgrade. The cabin they gave us is a Verandah Spa cabin on deck 10.

[KAKcruiser]

Have you checked the balcony size on the VQ?  Some of these cabins have smaller balconies.  Even though the VQ is the most expensive, sometimes you might be better off with a V or Va.

[northernphoenix]

CO upgraded us to a VQ; and we are also Thermal Spa aficionados, so the slightly smaller balcony is not a huge disappointment.  

[scomar]

30 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

Have you checked the balcony size on the VQ?  Some of these cabins have smaller balconies.  Even though the VQ is the most expensive, sometimes you might be better off with a V or Va.

We have the thermal suite package, so the location works great for us. As long as we can sit/stand on the balcony, I am good with the size.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

The CO upgrade at $15 per day, is WAY LESS than the price difference if you book the more expensive cabin to begin with. I'm surprised at the difference between the cost of CO and the price of the upgraded cabin for just 2 weeks (on Zaandam). HAL might not be willing to give that expensive benefit for a long cruise. 

Where do you get the $15 pp per day?  The CO upgrades we did last month for cruises this year and next we $25pp per day, which is still a great deal.

[singleflyer]

Just now, terrydtx said:

Where do you get the $15 pp per day?  The CO upgrades we did last month for cruises this year and next we $25pp per day, which is still a great deal.

$15/day if the cruise is 13+ days.

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, singleflyer said:

$15/day if the cruise is 13+ days.

Okay, good to know, we are on 11 day Volendam and 7 day Koingsdam with CO.

[MrSnuffleupagus]

My TA is going to attempt to book a cruise for us today going the Club Orange route for an upgrade. We are looking to cruise on the Koningsdam, hoping to book Obstructed Verandah VH, purchase Club Orange, and get upgraded to Aft-view Verandah VS. 

 

I chatted with HAL days ago, where they said this was possible. My TA called them two days ago, where they said this was possible. I called them today, where the PCC said that this was not possible.

 

There is space to purchase Club Orange, but today's PCC said we can only upgrade up one meta category. Essentially, the PCC said if I booked VH with Club Orange, that I could only upgrade to VF, which is the Verandah without obstruction. There are staterooms in the VS category still available on this cruise. I am not sure who is right. I'll know more once my TA attempts to book. 

[Windsailer]

15 minutes ago, MrSnuffleupagus said:

My TA is going to attempt to book a cruise for us today going the Club Orange route for an upgrade. We are looking to cruise on the Koningsdam, hoping to book Obstructed Verandah VH, purchase Club Orange, and get upgraded to Aft-view Verandah VS. 

 

I chatted with HAL days ago, where they said this was possible. My TA called them two days ago, where they said this was possible. I called them today, where the PCC said that this was not possible.

 

There is space to purchase Club Orange, but today's PCC said we can only upgrade up one meta category. Essentially, the PCC said if I booked VH with Club Orange, that I could only upgrade to VF, which is the Verandah without obstruction. There are staterooms in the VS category still available on this cruise. I am not sure who is right. I'll know more once my TA attempts to book. 

Not true. I recently went from a VH to a V on the Nieuw Statendam. And last February I went from a VH to a VA on the Noordam. 

[MrSnuffleupagus]

11 minutes ago, Windsailer said:

Not true. I recently went from a VH to a V on the Nieuw Statendam. And last February I went from a VH to a VA on the Noordam. 

Great to hear.
 

Did the complimentary stateroom upgrade explanation on HALs CO page have the asterisk where it states, “to the best available room within the meta category…” at the time of your upgrades?

That is what today’s PCC pointed to today. She said that VS is not within the same meta category as VH and, therefore, not permitted as a Club Orange upgrade.

[KAKcruiser]

I also went from a VH to V on the Rotterdam in March with Club Orange.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, MrSnuffleupagus said:

My TA is going to attempt to book a cruise for us today going the Club Orange route for an upgrade. We are looking to cruise on the Koningsdam, hoping to book Obstructed Verandah VH, purchase Club Orange, and get upgraded to Aft-view Verandah VS. 

 

I chatted with HAL days ago, where they said this was possible. My TA called them two days ago, where they said this was possible. I called them today, where the PCC said that this was not possible.

 

There is space to purchase Club Orange, but today's PCC said we can only upgrade up one meta category. Essentially, the PCC said if I booked VH with Club Orange, that I could only upgrade to VF, which is the Verandah without obstruction. There are staterooms in the VS category still available on this cruise. I am not sure who is right. I'll know more once my TA attempts to book. 

 

You can get upgraded within your Meta category so any Verdandah but NOT a Vista Suite (I think that is what you mean by VS).  Vista Suite is another category all together from the Verandah.  The aft cabins on deck 4 (Beethoven deck) have nice deep balconies - either VA or VB 0. 

[MrSnuffleupagus]

21 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

You can get upgraded within your Meta category so any Verdandah but NOT a Vista Suite (I think that is what you mean by VS).  Vista Suite is another category all together from the Verandah.  The aft cabins on deck 4 (Beethoven deck) have nice deep balconies - either VA or VB 0. 

 

No, VS are Aft-View Verandahs on Decks 5, 6, and 8. I just called my TA and confirmed that I can, in fact, move from VH to VS with Club Orange. She is in the process of calling HAL now to do it. It'll be my first ever cruise!

[kazu]

14 minutes ago, MrSnuffleupagus said:

 

No, VS are Aft-View Verandahs on Decks 5, 6, and 8. I just called my TA and confirmed that I can, in fact, move from VH to VS with Club Orange. She is in the process of calling HAL now to do it. It'll be my first ever cruise!

 

Gotcha.  I forgot about those on deck 5, etc.

 

Excellent news 🙂 

[TheEmerson]

On the Rotterdam TA in April I went from a Solo Oceanview to a Spa Ocenview as part of the category upgrade process.  That alone is cheaper than the normal 200% charge for a solo cruiser.  

[3rdGenCunarder]

11 minutes ago, TheEmerson said:

On the Rotterdam TA in April I went from a Solo Oceanview to a Spa Ocenview as part of the category upgrade process.  That alone is cheaper than the normal 200% charge for a solo cruiser.  

 

Yes, the CO upgrade is one of the few times solos don't get dinged for double charges.