Club Orange on Nieuw Statendam - Upgrade from VA?

[Ken the cruiser]

On 7/16/2023 at 8:23 PM, POA1 said:

Search Club Orange on the HAL website. Download the PDF with the info so you know what you are getting. There is a number to call.

 

Make sure you have a deck plan handy when you call. You'll be choosing the upgrade room during the call.

 

On 7/17/2023 at 12:01 PM, Crew News said:

Before you make any choices, your credit card is processed.  After that you can choose your favorite stateroom in the same category.  Have a deck plan open in case your first choice is not available.

 

Used this just four days ago: "Once a guest has booked their cruise, they or their travel advisor can add Club Orange by contacting Holland America Line Ship Inventory at 1-888-628-8107 or 206-626-7381."

 

Does anyone know if we initially use a TA to book our cabin, does our TA have to make the call to the CO POC, or can we call them directly and book CO and pick the cabin we want to upgrade to, with our TA subsequently just receiving the upgraded confirmation?

[Ken the cruiser]

On 7/16/2023 at 1:27 PM, robnu said:

We found that when we told them that we  didnt want a room upgrade with Club Orange that they actually charged us less for Club Orange ( 450.00 for 2 weeks , they charged us 380.00) Do not know why but we liked their math!

I wonder if we were to book an aft-facing AS cabin on the Koningsdam, which I believe is the highest in the VS category, can we get a similar discount like suggested above?

[POA1]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Does anyone know if we initially use a TA to book our cabin, does our TA have to make the call to the CO POC, or can we call them directly and book CO and pick the cabin we want to upgrade to, with our TA subsequently just receiving the upgraded confirmation?

I think you have to go through your TA. At least that's how the PDF reads.

[Haljo1935]

15 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I think you have to go through your TA. At least that's how the PDF reads.

That's what it says, but some have reported doing it w/o the TA.

A call to the CO line will quickly answer that question. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We’ve been away from HAL for a while and I’m trying to develop a strategy to use with the CO “cabin upgrade” option. So far this is what I’m thinking.

 

Our goal is to book a cruise in an aft-facing (AS) vista suite cabin when the itinerary we’re hoping for becomes available at the best price using CO category upgrade rules. Are we understanding them correctly?

 

First, we book a BC vista suite cabin, which appears to be the cheapest in the VS meta category. Then contact the Club Orange POC, either directly or through our TA whichever is appropriate, and upgrade our booking to include the CO package. Once that's completed, we will request our BC cabin be upgraded to an aft-facing (AS) vista suite cabin (at no additional charge other than paying for CO).

 

Am I understanding the Club Orange upgrade rules correctly?

[Toofarfromthesea]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Does anyone know if we initially use a TA to book our cabin, does our TA have to make the call to the CO POC, or can we call them directly and book CO and pick the cabin we want to upgrade to, with our TA subsequently just receiving the upgraded confirmation?

 

When I bought and paid for CO on my upcoming Jan 2024 cruise I did it through my TA.  It was on a Saturday evening and she told me that the HAL ship inventory dept was closed so she couldn't do the upgrade then.  Made sense.  Then she said that I could contact them myself on Monday and that she would send me the contact info.  I never got the contact info but it was pretty easy to find the number*.  I called directly and the young lady said that normally it was done through the TA but that she could help me.  And she did and I got a great upgrade.  So I guess the "rule" is not hard and fast.

 

* and it was the HAL ship inventory dept. number, not a CO number - I don't even know if there is a CO number - 206-626-7381.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Toofarfromthesea

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

When I bought and paid for CO on my upcoming Jan 2024 cruise I did it through my TA.  It was on a Saturday evening and she told me that the HAL ship inventory dept was closed so she couldn't do the upgrade then.  Made sense.  Then she said that I could contact them myself on Monday and that she would send me the contact info.  I never got the contact info but it was pretty easy to find the number*.  I called directly and the young lady said that normally it was done through the TA but that she could help me.  And she did and I got a great upgrade.  So I guess the "rule" is not hard and fast.

 

* and it was the HAL ship inventory dept. number, not a CO number - I don't even know if there is a CO number - 206-626-7381.

Thanks! That’s also the same number referenced in post #32. We will definitely check with our TA first, but it’s nice to know the direct number to call just in case. 

[Ken the cruiser]

For those in the know about Club Orange upgrade process, please see post #55. Note: I posted it 10 hours ago, but it was delayed approval for some reason until a few minutes ago.

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those in the know about Club Orange upgrade process, please see post #55. Note: I posted it 10 hours ago, but it was delayed approval for some reason until a few minutes ago.

Yes that is the correct process. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Does anyone know where the separate Club Orange Dining Room is on the Pinnacle-class ships? For example, I'm looking at the HAL pdf file associated with the Koningsdam and can't find it anywhere. 🤔

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Does anyone know where the separate Club Orange Dining Room is on the Pinnacle-class ships? For example, I'm looking at the HAL pdf file associated with the Koningsdam and can't find it anywhere. 🤔

Deck 2 Starboard

hal-ko-deck-plan-010822_230418_000028.pdf

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, Haljo1935 said:

Deck 2 Starboard

hal-ko-deck-plan-010822_230418_000028.pdf 1.32 MB · 0 downloads

It looks so little. Must be the reason we missed it. 

[Haljo1935]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

It looks so little. Must be the reason we missed it. 

On the ship, I missed it every time when I walked toward the MDR, but saw it when walking the other direction, away from MDR. The entry is on the MDR end. It's long & narrow and really doesn't look like a dining room (on the outside).

When you're at the small tables next to the windows, if you look into the glass "wall" across from windows, you're looking into it.

[POA1]

9 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those in the know about Club Orange upgrade process, please see post #55. Note: I posted it 10 hours ago, but it was delayed approval for some reason until a few minutes ago.

Yes. You're pretty much on the money. You want to make sure that the room you want is available first AND CO is available. Then, you'll want to get everything done as quickly as possible. There are are limitated # of CO available on a sailing. Probably between 35 & 65 passengers (not cabins) on a sailing.

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Yes. You're pretty much on the money. You want to make sure that the room you want is available first AND CO is available. Then, you'll want to get everything done as quickly as possible. There are are limitated # of CO available on a sailing. Probably between 35 & 65 passengers (not cabins) on a sailing.

Thanks! Our plan is to book the itinerary as soon as it becomes available, like most of the other cruises we book. So, hopefully, there will be still plenty of both. 🤞

[Toofarfromthesea]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! Our plan is to book the itinerary as soon as it becomes available, like most of the other cruises we book. So, hopefully, there will be still plenty of both. 🤞

 

FWIW, I booked my Jan 13, 2024 Koningsdam Hawaii cruise on August 18 and bought CO on August 19 since there was Club Orange availability, and then got a very nice cabin upgrade (OO to D) on August 21.

[northernphoenix]

I will take this opportunity to describe our recent experience with the Club Orange pass purchase.  My cousin and I purchased the pass for the Viking Saga scheduled for Sept.16th.  We booked an obstructed balcony and was upgraded to a VQ on deck 10.  Received an upswell to a Neptune suite for $C622 pax,  Long story short.  Our awesome TA contacted Hal. We are now in a Neptune suite for the difference of the CO pass and the Upsell. Beyond excited!

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, northernphoenix said:

I will take this opportunity to describe our recent experience with the Club Orange pass purchase.  My cousin and I purchased the pass for the Viking Saga scheduled for Sept.16th.  We booked an obstructed balcony and was upgraded to a VQ on deck 10.  Received an upswell to a Neptune suite for $C622 pax,  Long story short.  Our awesome TA contacted Hal. We are now in a Neptune suite for the difference of the CO pass and the Upsell. Beyond excited!

Huge congrats - enjoy!!

Now you get benefits of CO plus breakfast in Pinnacle Grill!!

Edited September 2, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[northernphoenix]

The Neptune Suite guests on the Pinnacle class of ship use the Club Orange for both breakfast and Dinner.  We were huge fans of breakfast in Pinnacle on the Old Rotterdam (Baltic) and Statendam (Alaska Landcruise), but will be very happy with this perk.

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Huge congrats - enjoy!!

Now you get benefits of CO plus breakfast in Pinnacle Grill!!

 I think the poster is on a Pinnacle Class ship.  No PG for breakfast but they do have CO for breakfast & dinner 😉 

[Ken the cruiser]

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it's this Sep 16 cruise on the Zuiderdam.

 

7-Day Canada & New England Discovery (hollandamerica.com)

 

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it's this Sep 16 cruise on the Zuiderdam.

 

7-Day Canada & New England Discovery (hollandamerica.com)

 

 

Scroll up a few posts especially #67 & 69. Viking Saga is not that sailing 😉 

[northernphoenix]

We are on the Viking Saga departing from Amsterdam on September 16 on the Rotterdam Vll

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, northernphoenix said:

We are on the Viking Saga departing from Amsterdam on September 16 on the Rotterdam Vll

 

Keep her in good shape for us please.  Boarding in Amsterdam on October 7th 👍 

[Ken the cruiser]

37 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Scroll up a few posts especially #67 & 69. Viking Saga is not that sailing 😉 

I thought it was kind of weird they called a Canadian cruise Viking Saga. But the "Viking Saga" cruise must be sold out since I can't find any European cruise leaving on Sep 16. The only one I found was the Canadian one.

 

Update: Yup, there it is. 😂

Edited September 2, 2023 by Ken the cruiser