Orange Club Explanation

[stoddaj1]

Wondering if someone can explain the Orange Club details?  We are going on our first Holland cruise next week and recently read something about the Orange Club.  We like the idea of the "better" dining experience.  Is Orange something that we can pay to get at this point?  If so, what's the typical cost? We've read that it includes stateroom upgrade or something else if not available.  Our ship is sold out at this point.  Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Have you read around the board? There are many discussions.

 

One of the key points is what ship you are going to be on. The advantages of Club Orange can vary a little by ship. 

 

Club Orange is capacity controlled. If your ship is already sold out, it is probably pretty low chance you will be able to add Club Orange.

[POA1]

It would be extremely rare to see Club Orange available so close to sailing. It usually sells out far in advance. Here is the program page. Download the PDF to see what you would have gotten.

 

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

[stoddaj1]

33 minutes ago, POA1 said:

It would be extremely rare to see Club Orange available so close to sailing. It usually sells out far in advance. Here is the program page. Download the PDF to see what you would have gotten.

 

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

Thank you very much.  Any idea what the cost for this typically is?

[kazu]

20 minutes ago, stoddaj1 said:

Thank you very much.  Any idea what the cost for this typically is?

 

$25 pp per day on shorter cruises (13 days and under IIRC) and $15 pp per day on the longer cruises.

[mafig]

We had Club Orange on our last cruise (on Rotterdam).  We had our TA inquire if Club Orange was available before we booked.  

We did receive the famous Club Orange bag and can't wait to take it on our next cruise on Symphony of the Seas!😉

[mare s.]

we didn't get one on our Jan 2024 Koningsdam cruise...we did get two small regular HAL bags.

[YourWorldWithBill]

One more note: on the other message boards where there have been lengthy discussions about Club Orange, the great majority of posters said they thought it is definitely worth it. It is probably too late for you to get one of the clearest benefits, a free upgrade. I think you have to do that at booking, but you could ask.

 

As @CruiserBrucesaid, the dining benefits change by ship. The three newer pinnacle class ships have a separate dining room for CO, which is itself a really nice benefit.

[singleflyer]

I think it is especially worth if if you book a "guarantee" level room (cheapest in the category) and then get to upgrade to the top level room.  Can save you a lot of money. 

 

Plus love the dining in the special restaurant.  Much better service than in the dining room.  

 

I just booked another cruise today and added Club Orange.

 

https://singleflyer.com/2023/08/07/holland-americas-club-orange-explained/

[twosit]

If it is not available for my cruise at the present time, what are the chances it becomes available after final payment? Do they keep a wait list?

[POA1]

2 hours ago, twosit said:

If it is not available for my cruise at the present time, what are the chances it becomes available after final payment? Do they keep a wait list?

Yes there is a waitlist. This is going to sound like I'm making it up, but I am not. Your booking needs to be wait listed with the an earmark. The earmark is COW for Club Orange Waitlist.

 

I have no idea how well it works because I check CO availability before booking.(Also retreat cabana availability and upgrade room availability. It's a lot of work to vacation.)

[POA1]

We found the service in the CO dining room to be on par with fixed MDR seating. That's not a complaint. It's a compliment.

 

We did request the same server every night though. I don't think that's the norm, but it worked for us

[Rockit]

17 hours ago, mafig said:

We had Club Orange on our last cruise (on Rotterdam).  We had our TA inquire if Club Orange was available before we booked.  

We did receive the famous Club Orange bag and can't wait to take it on our next cruise on Symphony of the Seas!😉

We found that the Rotterdam for our tastes had the best venue for Club Orange. It also became our favorite ship in the HAL fleet.

Cheers,

Rockit

[twosit]

8 hours ago, POA1 said:

Yes there is a waitlist. This is going to sound like I'm making it up, but I am not. Your booking needs to be wait listed with the an earmark. The earmark is COW for Club Orange Waitlist.

 

I have no idea how well it works because I check CO availability before booking.(Also retreat cabana availability and upgrade room availability. It's a lot of work to vacation.)

I did ask them to check for availability prior to booking…it’s like pulling teeth to get info from the phone staff. Do you know if they require full payment for Club Orange in order to go on the wait list?

[kazu]

2 hours ago, twosit said:

I did ask them to check for availability prior to booking…it’s like pulling teeth to get info from the phone staff. Do you know if they require full payment for Club Orange in order to go on the wait list?

 

I have called the CO line and never had a problem finding out availability.  

 

My friends were waitlisted for CO and were not charged - they would have been IF there was an opening.

[POA1]

2 hours ago, twosit said:

I did ask them to check for availability prior to booking…it’s like pulling teeth to get info from the phone staff. Do you know if they require full payment for Club Orange in order to go on the wait list?

No. You do not have to pay for CO wait list.

[twosit]

41 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I have called the CO line and never had a problem finding out availability.  

 

My friends were waitlisted for CO and were not charged - they would have been IF there was an opening.

There is a CO telephone line? Would you mind sharing that?

[kazu]

30 minutes ago, twosit said:

There is a CO telephone line? Would you mind sharing that?

 

I would be happy to but I see the website is changed and it now says to contact your travel advisor where the phone number was there previously.

 

I believe it is the same phone number as the upsell / inventory department but I can’t swear to that, sorry.

[twosit]

Thanks

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, twosit said:

Thanks

You could call the personal cruise consultant number, 800-355-3017 and then hold until someone comes on the line. They might be able to answer the question or transfer you.

[chisoxfan]

On 2/5/2024 at 11:31 PM, twosit said:

If it is not available for my cruise at the present time, what are the chances it becomes available after final payment? Do they keep a wait list?

Just sharing my recent experiences which do baffle me. We looked to book a two week Arctic circle cruise through HAL and initially was told flatly no Club Orange available. Called a few days later and was told I had to book the cruise before availability was determined.... OK I thought although a bit of a hassle. Somehow we were disconnected. When I phoned back a different agent said, no problem, it was definitely available and we booked.

 

Yesterday, similar scenario on a Carib cruise. Agent said not available. Called back an hour later and no problem. This was done through random agents not PCC's. While I am enthusiastic about the CO program (especially on newer ships with dedicated dining) I am confused by the inconsistency of info.

So if it was me I would make several calls depending how critical this is to you.

Frankly for us it became a 'big deal' ......nobody likes knowing there is an offer out there and then being denied it. On our Carib cruise CO offered benefits and at the end of the day cost us about 800 bucks less than a 'straight' booking because of cabin upgrade. Good luck.

[YourWorldWithBill]

4 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

So if it was me I would make several calls depending how critical this is to you.

Frankly for us it became a 'big deal' ......nobody likes knowing there is an offer out there and then being denied it. On our Carib cruise CO offered benefits and at the end of the day cost us about 800 bucks less than a 'straight' booking because of cabin upgrade. Good luck.

This seems to be a common comment through many threads: call back until you get someone who knows the right answer.

[oakridger]

5 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

This seems to be a common comment through many threads: call back until you get someone who knows the right answer.

 

Sad, but true.

 

~Nancy

[Haljo1935]

10 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

Just sharing my recent experiences which do baffle me. We looked to book a two week Arctic circle cruise through HAL and initially was told flatly no Club Orange available. Called a few days later and was told I had to book the cruise before availability was determined.... OK I thought although a bit of a hassle. Somehow we were disconnected. When I phoned back a different agent said, no problem, it was definitely available and we booked.

 

Yesterday, similar scenario on a Carib cruise. Agent said not available. Called back an hour later and no problem. This was done through random agents not PCC's. While I am enthusiastic about the CO program (especially on newer ships with dedicated dining) I am confused by the inconsistency of info.

So if it was me I would make several calls depending how critical this is to you.

Frankly for us it became a 'big deal' ......nobody likes knowing there is an offer out there and then being denied it. On our Carib cruise CO offered benefits and at the end of the day cost us about 800 bucks less than a 'straight' booking because of cabin upgrade. Good luck.

I understand the frustration (and agree) of receiving inconsistent information. Because CO is capacity controlled, though, one can call and it not be available then later find an opening because someone has canceled. Yes, inaccurate answers are sometimes (ok frequently) given but sometimes "no availability" is correct at that time. 

[cbr663]

14 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I understand the frustration (and agree) of receiving inconsistent information. Because CO is capacity controlled, though, one can call and it not be available then later find an opening because someone has canceled. Yes, inaccurate answers are sometimes (ok frequently) given but sometimes "no availability" is correct at that time. 

 

It is very frustrating trying to work with poorly trained agents and many who have a challenge with providing great customer service.

 

My most frustrating experience was speaking with an HAL agent and explaining that I will not book the cruise if CO is not available and to please check Ship Inventory and if it is available I will book the cruise.  She put me on hold for a long time to tell me that yes, CO was available.  We then proceeded to go through with the booking and when we got to the point of CO she informed me that she would have to put me on hold to secure the CO.  Imagine my disappointment and frustration when she returned to the call to tell me that the last CO sold out while we were trying to book.  When she made her original call to Ship Inventory she didn't ask them to put a hold on the CO as she had a passenger on the line who was in the process of booking and will be buying it.