Orange Party

[annmarz]

New HAL cruiser here.  Can someone please explain what the "Orange Party" is?  Is it separate from the Pub Crawl which has been discussed? Do most passengers wears orange?

[Shmoo here]

17 minutes ago, annmarz said:

New HAL cruiser here.  Can someone please explain what the "Orange Party" is?  Is it separate from the Pub Crawl which has been discussed? Do most passengers wears orange?

Our Orange Party on our recent cruise was a poolside event with music, trivia, and other extremely loud celebrations.  The Pub Crawl is one of the events during the Orange party.

 

From what I could see, most people wore orange to some degree.

 

 

[0106]

Here's what's on the HAL Website: 

Pack your best orange outfits and accessories to show off on the dance floor. Wear your wild wigs, giant hats, boas and bowties—whatever you want, as long as it’s orange! Enjoy live performances from our amazing bands, indulge in craft beers, classic cocktails, and Dutch-inspired appetizers. Celebrated one night on each cruise, we give a nod to our Dutch heritage, a la King’s Day, during the Holland America Orange Party.

You don't have to wear anything orange to participate; I wear an orange scarf.  The Shops feature orange accessories on the day of the party. How elaborate and festive the party is varies from ship to ship. The appetizers are no additional charge; beverages are regular price. The "pub crawl" starts as the Orange Party begins and ends at the bar where the party is held.

[grannyshell]

We're fairly new to cruising/HAL but on the 4 cruises we've done so far the orange party has been held in BB Kings starting at 9pm with the festivities lead by the activities director. On our last cruise in Sept. there were lots of Dutch folks aboard so the party included some awesome Dutch dancing in which many of the officers took part. They also had sort of a quiz show for the officers/staff who were split into teams. Passengers wear varying amounts of orange attire (I have a sparkly headband and hubs has an orange tie), some people go all out with full orange outfits (one guy was wearing an orange tiger suit lol). Many are in between with nice orange tops. The shops sell little orange accessories that day. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the costume contest and the audience votes. At one point staff came through with little pastries. All in all, a very fun time.

[VMax1700]

Attending the Orange Party is free, whereas the Pub Crawl is a pay event.  

If you have HIA or a Beverage Package your drinks are covered (up to the $ limit) at the Orange Party.  Pub Crawl is charged to your account, and you get a few drinks at the bars.

Edited October 17 by VMax1700

[EatonDoolittle]

Slightly off topic, but with Halloween,  and autumn in general,  coming up shortly, now is a good time to find inexpensive and packable orange doo-dads to bring on your cruise. 

 

Example, I found an orange lei at the Dollar store, which works fine for me. 

[borasue]

Here's a couple shots from the Orange Party on the Nieuw Statendam Dec 2023 in BB Kings.  Even the crew gets into the spirit.  As @VMax1700 said, the party is free - the pub crawl is a pay event.  

[BermudaBound2014]

It's HAL's version of 'white night' on the other main stream lines. Just wear orange and bring your dancing shoes.

 

On my cruise, the orange party was held at the Lido. The retracting roof on the K'dam was broken so only half retracted which made the event a bit hot for dancing. They brought the BBKings band to the lido to play for the night. For me, it was one of the only events (of a 35 night cruise) that had a really great fun vibe. I really enjoyed it. 

 

On my cruise, the pub crawl (paid event) was an entirely different night and had no correlation to Orange night.

 

 

 

 

[EtaC]

Depending on the university one went to you may want to dig into your closet for some orange clothes. On my recent cruise I saw a lot of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Illinois, and Tennessee shirts.

[BabsinTX]

We had our first HAL cruise on Eurodam in September.  We didn't know what the Orange Party was about, and we went to play trivia beforehand.  It was amazing!  Some other guests gave us bright orange sunglasses, which I'm saving for our next HAL cruise.  The Rolling Stone band was truly wonderful and we're sorry we didn't see them earlier in the cruise.  Enjoy!

[cavecreekguy]

I believe it's called the Bar Hop these days, not Pub Crawl.

 

I loved how the Orange Party was in full swing when we hoppers arrived.

 

Edited October 17 by cavecreekguy

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, cavecreekguy said:

I believe it's called the Bar Hop these days, not Pub Crawl.

 

I had to go back to my photos but you are absolutely correct. We had one 'bar hop' on the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise in 2024 and it was in conjunction with St. Patties Day. We didn't have a bar hop on the same night as the orange party.

 

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 10/17/2024 at 3:34 PM, EtaC said:

Depending on the university one went to you may want to dig into your closet for some orange clothes. On my recent cruise I saw a lot of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Illinois, and Tennessee shirts.

And of course, Syracuse Orange

[Shmoo here]

On 10/17/2024 at 12:34 PM, EtaC said:

Depending on the university one went to you may want to dig into your closet for some orange clothes. On my recent cruise I saw a lot of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Illinois, and Tennessee shirts.

[d9704011]

Especially good for those with colour discrimination issues...

 

Edited Saturday at 10:46 PM by d9704011

[Queen of Oakville]

Is this on every cruise?

 

thanks for the head's up especially the halloween tip!

[happytotravel]

Yes, this  is done on every cruise and is a lot of fun.  On the Volendam this past June the party was held in the Crow's Nest with dancing and eating little Dutch goodies.  Very festive!

 

I wore orange flowered earrings, orange flowered shoe clips and an orange top.

happytotravel

[BermudaBound2014]

We can't forget Clemson..........

 

 

 

 

 

And Amazon........

[Blackduck59]

I just bought some nice orange maple leaf costume jewellry for my wife. I will get a tie with an orange stripe. I wouldn't normally wear a tie but it is an easy way to add orange to any outfit. For us the whole orange thing is "less is more" others choose the embrace it more. Each to their own.

[VMax1700]

I suppose that as I was born to a protestant family in Northern Ireland I could wear my orange sash to the party that celebrates the House of Orange and all that it stands for in Irish history.

 

 

But, hey, a party is a party! 

[Menocchio]

On 10/17/2024 at 8:05 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I had to go back to my photos but you are absolutely correct. We had one 'bar hop' on the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise in 2024 and it was in conjunction with St. Patties Day. We didn't have a bar hop on the same night as the orange party.

 

 

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

I suppose that as I was born to a protestant family in Northern Ireland I could wear my orange sash to the party that celebrates the House of Orange and all that it stands for in Irish history.

 

 

But, hey, a party is a party! 

Yeah, I was about to say an Orange party with St Patrick's Day is an... interesting combination. If you want the cocktail that's a stout floating on a lager or pale ale, be careful how you ask for it. 

[VMax1700]

5 minutes ago, Menocchio said:

 

Yeah, I was about to say an Orange party with St Patrick's Day is an... interesting combination. If you want the cocktail that's a stout floating on a lager or pale ale, be careful how you ask for it. 

Specially as I live in Cork now!

Even asking for a Jaegerbeumb* has risks!

(*acknowledging the genius of Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther)