Club Orange

[cruise*enthusiast]

What does the Club Orange include and how much is it for a 7-day Alaska cruise?  Is it worth the extra cost?  Thanks!

[POA1]

$25/pp/day.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/onboard-experiences/dining/club-orange

[cruise*enthusiast]

2 minutes ago, POA1 said:

$25/pp/day.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/onboard-experiences/dining/club-orange

Thank you!!

[POA1]

You're welcome. Bear in mind that CO has a limited capacity. If you think you want it, you should add it early. If you wish to take advantage of the upgrade, you need to pay for it right away. It's non-refundable. Add the cruise protection if you worry about the possibility of canceling.

[rubytue]

We were on a pinnacle class ship, with a separate club orange dining room. We got club orange for the room upgrade, by we loved the club orange dining room. We ate every dinner there, and we usually do maybe one or two meals in the dining room. It was much less noisy. Not people talking noise, but the clanking of dishes and silverware and those noises that I find intolerable.  Just a peaceful dinner experience.  My husband, who hates to pay for things, said that made it so worth it. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

We agree with @rubytue: the upgrade that's included with the CO memberships pays for CO, and the dining room (If it's a Pinnacle class ship) is really nice. But even if you don't have the separate dining room you get the room upgrade and other perks, such as priority boarding, etc. And you get priority entry to the main dining room. 

[cruise*enthusiast]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

We agree with @rubytue: the upgrade that's included with the CO memberships pays for CO, and the dining room (If it's a Pinnacle class ship) is really nice. But even if you don't have the separate dining room you get the room upgrade and other perks, such as priority boarding, etc. And you get priority entry to the main dining room. 

It is a Pinnacle Class ship. Sounds great!

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 hours ago, POA1 said:

You're welcome. Bear in mind that CO has a limited capacity. If you think you want it, you should add it early. If you wish to take advantage of the upgrade, you need to pay for it right away. It's non-refundable. Add the cruise protection if you worry about the possibility of canceling.

 

If you take HAL's insurance, that gets increased automatically when you add CO. My TA said that HAL treats adding CO like a fare increase.

[Toofarfromthesea]

19 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

What does the Club Orange include and how much is it for a 7-day Alaska cruise?  Is it worth the extra cost?  Thanks!

 

You would do well to check availability before you book your cabin.  If it is available you can book the cheapest cabin in your preferred category and then get the free upgrade to the best available cabin in your category.  I ended up with the free upgrade putting me in a cabin that would have cost around $1,000 more if I had booked it originally.  I wasn't even aware of this strategy when that happened, it was just dumb luck.  But now that I know, it will be part of my booking strategy going forward.

[POA1]

18 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

We agree with @rubytue: the upgrade that's included with the CO memberships pays for CO, and the dining room (If it's a Pinnacle class ship) is really nice. But even if you don't have the separate dining room you get the room upgrade and other perks, such as priority boarding, etc. And you get priority entry to the main dining room. 

And the Club Orange Tote Bag. Don't forget the most terrific amenity ever! 😉

[YourWorldWithBill]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

And the Club Orange Tote Bag. Don't forget the most terrific amenity ever! 😉

I was feeling some despair when I couldn't find my tote bag. When I looked behind me, there it was! Still with the orange line. All is in order in time for the holidays.

[POA1]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I was feeling some despair when I couldn't find my tote bag. When I looked behind me, there it was! Still with the orange line. All is in order in time for the holidays.

As Tiny Tim said, "God bless us, everyone!"

[Petronillus]

Many thanks to the OP for starting this thread!

We booked a "bucket-list" cruise for late January-February 2025, Oosterdam starting in Buenos Aires, Argentina and ending near Santiago, Chile with a few days cruising along the coast of Antarctica. Following the info provided here, we just had our PCC re-fare it for us, starting with the lowest-fare category-V cabin (VH), adding Club Orange, upgrading to a category VA, and thereby saving ourselves a few thousand $$$$.

Best of all, I now know how to go about it when I book far enough ahead to be able to factor in CO.

[DaveOKC]

On 12/24/2023 at 10:41 AM, POA1 said:

And the Club Orange Tote Bag. Don't forget the most terrific amenity ever! 😉

Last two cruises on Eurodam - NO Club Orange bags!  All in last 3 months.

[Boatdrill]

Question: would it ever make sense to book CO just to get the upgrade, and do without the other perks  ? 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Boatdrill said:

Question: would it ever make sense to book CO just to get the upgrade, and do without the other perks  ? 

 

It certainly can.  Especially in verandah categories.  It’s just a question of doing the math.

 

Well worth it on the Koningsdam.  I already had chosen my cabin on the Rotterdam but after the CO dining experience, I booked it on that ship just for the dining room.  There was no math in that calculation 😂.     I didn’t need the other perks - I had them all but the coveted Club Orange bag.

 

Check the price difference between the lowest category and the cabin you want and weigh it against the cost of Club Orange.  It’s paid off for a few smile

[DaveOKC]

On two recent Eurodam cruises I booked a Verandah guarantee and then upgraded to an aft facing specific cabin (VB level).  The cost was a small amount less to book without Club Orange, in this case, but I think it often is less expensive (according to reports).

 

One thing to consider however, is that if you get an upsell offer to a Neptune, they will apply the Club Orange fee to the upsell charge.  In my recent cruise, the Club Orange fee offset the upsell fee, so taking the upsell was free!  You do have to ask for this when upgrading.  

[terrydtx]

On 12/23/2023 at 3:57 PM, rubytue said:

We were on a pinnacle class ship, with a separate club orange dining room. We got club orange for the room upgrade, by we loved the club orange dining room. We ate every dinner there, and we usually do maybe one or two meals in the dining room. It was much less noisy. Not people talking noise, but the clanking of dishes and silverware and those noises that I find intolerable.  Just a peaceful dinner experience.  My husband, who hates to pay for things, said that made it so worth it. 

We had CO on the Koningsdam last month and the CO dining room was so much better than the MDR. The daily chef's special were outstanding and cooked to order in front of us. Overall the food in CO seemed better than any previous MDR dining. We will only sail with CO in the future.

 

@Boatdrill,We used CO to book our Volendam cruise next August. We wanted a Vista Suite midship (A) so we booked a VS category B towards the aft of the ship added CO then took the free upgrade to a Category A midship VS. The cost difference between the B and A paid for CO. Also this cruise has 4 tender ports so we will now have priority tender service too.

Edited December 28, 2023 by terrydtx

[AnnieBelle]

We just booked an Alaskan cruise on the Eurodam and are in a signature suite. By adding club orange our price dropped by $95 and we will be in the same cabin. This will be my first time with club orange. 

[Toofarfromthesea]

19 hours ago, Petronillus said:

Many thanks to the OP for starting this thread!

We booked a "bucket-list" cruise for late January-February 2025, Oosterdam starting in Buenos Aires, Argentina and ending near Santiago, Chile with a few days cruising along the coast of Antarctica. Following the info provided here, we just had our PCC re-fare it for us, starting with the lowest-fare category-V cabin (VH), adding Club Orange, upgrading to a category VA, and thereby saving ourselves a few thousand $$$$.

Best of all, I now know how to go about it when I book far enough ahead to be able to factor in CO.

 

Well done.

[Toofarfromthesea]

18 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

Question: would it ever make sense to book CO just to get the upgrade, and do without the other perks  ? 

 

You certainly aren't forced to use the other perks.  

[Petronillus]

On 12/27/2023 at 4:42 PM, Boatdrill said:

Question: would it ever make sense to book CO just to get the upgrade, and do without the other perks  ? 

 

5 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

You certainly aren't forced to use the other perks.  

Don't laugh. I used to work for a company (which shall remain nameless) that had an employee cafeteria and an executive dining room and a senior executive dining room, in ascending order. There were no guest privileges; i.e., no one in a higher-ranked eatery could invite anyone into that sanctuary. The higher-ranked executive could dine in a lower-ranked venue but rarely would because in that case he/she had to pay an out-of-pocket charge. (A flat sum, in a nominal amount, was deducted from the executive's monthly pay for his/her dining privilege.) Talk about creating and maintaining silos!  Sheesh!

[dobiemom]

We were on the Nieuw Statendam earlier this month and had Club Orange. It is worth it if you get it when booking your cruise and get a cabin upgrade. And on a Pinnacle Class ship (for the separate dining room).

 

I took advantage of the cabin upgrade: I wanted a V cabin so I booked a VH, bought CO, and got a free upgrade to my V.  All through my wonderful TA. 

 

Hananto (waiter), Nana (asst waiter), and Siri (Asst Maitre D) made our Club Orange dining experience wonderful. We had the same table for breakfast and dinner (there were 6 in our party). Ate in the MDR once for brunch. 
 

So between the cabin upgrade and CO dining, it was SO worth it! (I’m 4* so already get priority access.) And of course the Club Orange tote bag. 😉 

Edited December 29, 2023 by dobiemom

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

We were on the Nieuw Statendam earlier this month and had Club Orange. It is worth it if you get it when booking your cruise and get a cabin upgrade. And on a Pinnacle Class ship (for the separate dining room).

 

I took advantage of the cabin upgrade: I wanted a V cabin so I booked a VH, bought CO, and got a free upgrade to my V.  All through my wonderful TA. 

 

Hananto (waiter), Nana (asst waiter), and Siri (Asst Maitre D) made our Club Orange dining experience wonderful. We had the same table for breakfast and dinner (there were 6 in our party). Ate in the MDR once for brunch. 
 

So between the cabin upgrade and CO dining, it was SO worth it! (I’m 4* so already get priority access.) And of course the Club Orange tote bag. 😉 

That was our experience on the K'Dam in November with CO, except they were out of the Orange Tote Bags so all we got was a gray one. Loved the food in CO for dinners, so much better and hotter than the MDR.

[mshaines]

Seriously considering rebooking an NCL Alaska cruise on the Koningsdam.  We're booked in the Have on the Encore just having trouble justifying the price since we don't care about a lot of the large ship amenities.  Would definitely want CO, but not necessarily attached to having a Neptune Suite and availability this summer is seeming limited.  Forgive the dumb question (and hijacking the thread), but what is the best way to figure out whether CO is still available?  Just call HAL?  (I typically book online using one of the TAs that does good OBC or refund after the cruise; service when you call them can be somewhat mixed.)  TIA!