vicd1969 Posted October 2, 2023 #26 Share Posted October 2, 2023 One plus for Club Orange is that everyone in the cabin gets its benefits, even though you only pay Club Orange for passengers #1 and #2. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FengShui@Sea Posted October 15, 2023 #27 Share Posted October 15, 2023 On 10/2/2023 at 2:40 PM, AbsolutSki said: Is it possible to find out if CO is available for a sailing before booking? If you use a TA, does it have to go through them to purchase CO or can you call HAL directly? I called HAL this morning and had CO added to my reservation that was booked through a TA. She told me was that if you want the cabin upgrade you need to pay the CO fee in advance. I want to keep the cabin I booked so will just pay the CO extra amount with my final payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare POA1 Posted October 15, 2023 #28 Share Posted October 15, 2023 10 minutes ago, FengShui@Sea said: I called HAL this morning and had CO added to my reservation that was booked through a TA. She told me was that if you want the cabin upgrade you need to pay the CO fee in advance. I want to keep the cabin I booked so will just pay the CO extra amount with my final payment. That's what we wound up doing. I'm kicking myself for not doing the upgrade, but I am stoked for the tote bag. 2 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules815 Posted October 15, 2023 #29 Share Posted October 15, 2023 Are there any dinner menus on Holland America (we'll have Club Orange access) that we wouldn't want to miss? I'm getting ready to book our specialty dining for our April TA on Nieuw Statendam. I usually don't like to book specialty dining ahead of time, but worried it might book up. Your thoughts on that? Should we just wait and have the concierge handle it for us once we board? We usually eat later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57redbird Posted October 15, 2023 #30 Share Posted October 15, 2023 A couple of things related to the dining portion of CO -- the staff all seem to be the best of the best - from the greeter on -- to us the staff almost made the meal - very personable & professional....the chef/s were able to accommodate my dietary needs & made sure they were to my liking, the wait staff made every dinner enjoyable & the wine steward knew where to find the wine hubby liked. We would purchase CO for the dining experience alone. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourWorldWithBill Posted October 15, 2023 #31 Share Posted October 15, 2023 5 hours ago, jules815 said: Are there any dinner menus on Holland America (we'll have Club Orange access) that we wouldn't want to miss? I'm getting ready to book our specialty dining for our April TA on Nieuw Statendam. I usually don't like to book specialty dining ahead of time, but worried it might book up. Your thoughts on that? Should we just wait and have the concierge handle it for us once we board? We usually eat later. Everyone has different tastes, but on some of these boards I've seen that Tamarind seems to be the most popular specialty dining option. It's our favorite. I think it's better to go ahead and book, as the times do get filled. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourWorldWithBill Posted October 15, 2023 #32 Share Posted October 15, 2023 5 hours ago, POA1 said: That's what we wound up doing. I'm kicking myself for not doing the upgrade, but I am stoked for the tote bag. I'm thinking of starting a website about the tote bags. I could sell pictures of them. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-elite Posted October 16, 2023 #33 Share Posted October 16, 2023 On 9/29/2023 at 1:47 PM, Notalotofinfo said: Newbie here looking at club orange. What’s do you like or dislike about it ? We enjoyed fresh orange juice on the room service breakfast card with Club Orange in January on Koningsdam; however, the value of purchasing Club Orange wasn't there for us. We won't pay for it again. (Tote bags left behind in the spa veranda cabins.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted October 16, 2023 #34 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Are you sure you received the proper Club Orange tote bags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted October 16, 2023 #35 Share Posted October 16, 2023 10 hours ago, X-elite said: We enjoyed fresh orange juice on the room service breakfast card with Club Orange in January on Koningsdam; however, the value of purchasing Club Orange wasn't there for us. We won't pay for it again. (Tote bags left behind in the spa veranda cabins.) As mentioned already - the main value of CO is the cabin upgrade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msteries Posted October 17, 2023 #36 Share Posted October 17, 2023 I have enjoyed the very nice service in Club Orange, but the very best advantage is that it is so much more quiet than the loud roar and echoes of the main dining room. And it is small enough that you may well get the same waiters most evenings, and if you get sent to another table, your “regular” waiter is likely to drop by and check in on you. I miss the days when you had the same servers every evening. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFO Peter Posted October 17, 2023 #37 Share Posted October 17, 2023 On 10/15/2023 at 7:36 PM, X-elite said: We enjoyed fresh orange juice on the room service breakfast card with Club Orange in January on Koningsdam; however, the value of purchasing Club Orange wasn't there for us. We won't pay for it again. (Tote bags left behind in the spa veranda cabins.) === The biggest value is in the room upgrade within the same category. You pay for the cheapest category then use Club Orange to move to a "better cabin". We do not use the bag since they attract too much attention. Thinking of taking the bag and give it to a deserving Cruise Critic traveller. Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruising sister Posted October 18, 2023 #38 Share Posted October 18, 2023 I agree the big advantage is find the cabin you want and pay for the lowest level and have the free upgrade. It was well worth the money for me. So often TA’s and HAL employees don’t know how to do it and people just think they are paying for the bag and priority seating and dining room on ships that have a dining room. The first time I did CO the special was pay for OV and free upgrade to balcony. Then add CO and I had a great balcony cabin for the price of OV. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourWorldWithBill Posted October 18, 2023 #39 Share Posted October 18, 2023 7 hours ago, msteries said: I have enjoyed the very nice service in Club Orange, but the very best advantage is that it is so much more quiet than the loud roar and echoes of the main dining room. And it is small enough that you may well get the same waiters most evenings, and if you get sent to another table, your “regular” waiter is likely to drop by and check in on you. I miss the days when you had the same servers every evening. Just a note to agree that although the most obvious advantage and hook is the cabin upgrade, we found the separate dining room in the Pinnacle class ships meant more to us than we thought it would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly g Posted October 20, 2023 #40 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Hi all. Do you get to pick the upgrade cabin you want or does HAL pick it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted October 20, 2023 #41 Share Posted October 20, 2023 5 minutes ago, Holly g said: Hi all. Do you get to pick the upgrade cabin you want or does HAL pick it for you. You get to pick. Just did this yesterday. Value of this depends on the ship and category. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacationCharlene Posted October 20, 2023 #42 Share Posted October 20, 2023 On 10/17/2023 at 2:03 PM, SFO Peter said: === The biggest value is in the room upgrade within the same category. You pay for the cheapest category then use Club Orange to move to a "better cabin". We do not use the bag since they attract too much attention. Thinking of taking the bag and give it to a deserving Cruise Critic traveller. Peter Thinking of taking the bag and give it to a deserving Cruise Critic traveller. MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE PLEASE lol (I will pay you for postage to send to California) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted October 20, 2023 #43 Share Posted October 20, 2023 I keep telling you all, don't count on it, LOL. We didn't get one on our Zuiderdam May TA, LOL. We didn't inquire as it didn't mean that much. FOR ME, the advantage was going from a VH guarantee(complimentary room) to an assigned room of MY choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted October 21, 2023 #44 Share Posted October 21, 2023 14 hours ago, FlorenceItaly said: I keep telling you all, don't count on it, LOL. We didn't get one on our Zuiderdam May TA, LOL. We didn't inquire as it didn't mean that much. FOR ME, the advantage was going from a VH guarantee(complimentary room) to an assigned room of MY choice. Same here. But sometimes it is less expensive to just pay for the upgrade than the $25/day fee, especially on the non-Pinnacle class ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted October 21, 2023 #45 Share Posted October 21, 2023 16 minutes ago, DaveOKC said: Same here. But sometimes it is less expensive to just pay for the upgrade than the $25/day fee, especially on the non-Pinnacle class ships. This was over 14 days so $15pp which is a decent deal. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TAW1963 Posted October 21, 2023 #46 Share Posted October 21, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, DaveOKC said: Same here. But sometimes it is less expensive to just pay for the upgrade than the $25/day fee, especially on the non-Pinnacle class ships. On 14-day or more cruises Club Orange is only $15/day, which makes it much more attractive for the cabin upgrades. Edited: I posted the same thing as @FlorenceItaly and at the same time essentially. Edited October 21, 2023 by TAW1963 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare terrydtx Posted October 21, 2023 #47 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Playing the cabin upgrade game, if done right, can pay for most or all the added $25pppd and all the other benefits are then free. We have sailed Celebrity in their Retreat Sky Suites 4 times since Covid and HAL 2 times with CO and CO comes closest to providing us some of the suite amenities of Celebrity for way less than booking a Sky Suite on them. We played the upgrade game correctly on our Volendam cruise next August and for the 11 nights, CO cost us a total of $55pp and we got the Vista Suite we would have booked without CO. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bajae Posted October 21, 2023 #48 Share Posted October 21, 2023 I’ll be on the Zaandam so Club Orange isn’t as attractive since there isn’t the separate dinning room. But I did the math and the cost of CO was the exact same amount as the difference between a guaranteed inside and the inside cabin I wanted. So I went with the CO. I’m not sure if I’ll get much benefit from CO but as far as I’m concerned my out of pocket was the same with or without CO so might as well go with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare terrydtx Posted October 21, 2023 #49 Share Posted October 21, 2023 4 minutes ago, bajae said: I’ll be on the Zaandam so Club Orange isn’t as attractive since there isn’t the separate dinning room. But I did the math and the cost of CO was the exact same amount as the difference between a guaranteed inside and the inside cabin I wanted. So I went with the CO. I’m not sure if I’ll get much benefit from CO but as far as I’m concerned my out of pocket was the same with or without CO so might as well go with. On the non-Pinnacle class ships CO gets you a special podium to enter the MDR, usually with no waiting and you get the extra CO entree item menu. CO passengers get seated over any non-CO people waiting in line for the MDR. If you are on an itinerary with tenders you also priority tendering with no line waits or tickets needed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njcanuck Posted October 21, 2023 #50 Share Posted October 21, 2023 1 hour ago, terrydtx said: We played the upgrade game correctly on our Volendam cruise next August and for the 11 nights, CO cost us a total of $55pp and we got the Vista Suite we would have booked without CO. How did you get upgraded to a Vista Suite. I thought the Club Orange upgrade only applied up to Balcony. We booked a obstructed balcony and upgraded to Aft balcony, on our next august Fiords cruise and it worked out about $350 less than booking at that level directly after paying the $25pp/pd. So > $700 in value for $350. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now