waiting2retire

We are currently on the Nieuw Statendam and have received an upgrade offer for our cruise next week on the Rotterdam. We booked a veranda cabin and purchased Club Orange for our cruise, both to get the upgrade to a higher category veranda cabin and to have meals in Club Orange, which is better for my limited hearing ability. I understand that if we upgrade to a Neptune Suite, all amenities, including access to the Club Orange dining room, will be available to us. I also know that we will not get double cruise credits since it is an upsell. My question is whether the cost of Club Orange, which we have already paid, will be refunded since the amenities are included with the Neptune Suite. I would ask onboard here, but I am not confident in receiving the correct information, and we are unable to call Seattle. Does anyone have experience and/or know the answer to this question? Might make the cost of the upgrade a bit more attractive. Thanks.

Embarked the Nieuw Statendam on the 8th for the transatlantic. The Health Questionnaire was not part of our online check in documentation and there was no health assessment at embarkation in Port Everglades. I’m sure it will all change again before we blink 😁

Just a quick heads-up on the gift cards. They are sold only in USD. They will only work for pre-purchases if the cruise was purchased in USD.

Taken from the Hilton Marina. Nieuw Statendam at berth (waiting for me 😁) with Celebrity Apex just moving in to block her.

There’s the sound 😊. And gone again…

I am also 3 star and my boarding pass on the Navigator App clearly states Priority boarding, which comes with the Club Orange benefits.

I honestly don’t know. I am on the Nieuw Statendam departing April 8 and just saw this because I was curious when you asked, so I don’t know if/when changes were made. However, we also have two shorter cruises on the Rotterdam later in April and those luggage tags do not have the orange stripe at this time. We have CO on all three cruises. Maybe it is ship specific? You might be correct about not having a specific Club Orange menu on the zuiderdam since it does not have a dedicated dining area. Hopefully more experienced (or more observant) cruisers will weigh in.

The Navigator App shows “priority boarding” on the boarding pass and shows the Club Orange menu under Dining Options. Not sure if non-CO members display the CO menu or not. Also, the luggage tag has an orange strip across it to denote CO. Enjoy!

I agree with you. Several years ago, I got turned around in Buffalo and ended up on a toll road by mistake. I didn’t even have enough US coins to pay the toll and when I offered Canadian quarters to make up the difference, was told to go ahead without paying rather than take the Canadian currency.

Since the pandemic, I rarely carry or use cash. Pretty much everything you are likely to purchase can be paid for with a debit or credit card. The exception I can think of would be if you wanted to give a tip after a prepaid tour. If you know this in advance, I would suggest, as others have, picking up a small amount of Canadian $ at your local bank for the best exchange rate. Most places will not accept USD, the same as I have yet to encounter an establishment in the US that will accept the pretty Canadian currency 😊.

I absolutely adore the heated ceramic loungers and I would sleep in them if allowed! But I must be missing something with the hydropool. I just can’t get comfortable on the metal seating rods. If I relax, I start to float and have to grip the seating to stay anchored and not let my head go under. What am I doing wrong??

I book with a HAL cruise consultant. For my past 3 bookings on a pinnacle ship, I went online to identify a cabin I would like to book (Usually aft-facing or extended balcony on deck 4 aft). I then did the cost differential between that cabin and the lowest obstructed balcony. It has always come out that I am saving money by booking CO as opposed to booking my desired balcony cabin outright. I then contact my HAL CC and tell him specifically to book any cabin the lowest obstructed balcony category, then add CO and upgrade to the specific cabin number I saw as available online. He puts me on hold while contacts CO to confirm availability then finalizes the booking. I tend to book well in advance of my cruise date and CO has been available so far. I honestly don’t know what I would decide to do if it wasn’t available as the CO dining room makes it so much easier to cope with my hearing issues. Such a cacophony in the MDR.

I am beginning to think we may have shot ourselves in the foot here and should have kept Club Orange under wraps. There is limited availability after all! 🥺

@Nodakboiler There is no box to check for gift cards. As @rodndonna says, it’s likely because we are Canadian.

Thank you so much for your response. I will leave a message for him.

I have an upcoming cruise which was booked in USD so I decided to purchase gift cards when the 10% bonus promo was on to pay the balance. Final payment is due in 4 days and when I go online to make it, I can’t see where I can use the gift cards. There is a statement that credit cards or gift cards can be used, but the information can only be input as credit card number with expiry date, CVV number, etc. What am I missing? Do I need to call my PCC? Can the chat feature help me in the morning? Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Thanks so much for sharing your bag’s adventures here. Your post has prompted me to purchase AirTags for next year’s travels in Europe on multiple transportation modes. Seems like a small price to pay for the potential benefits. Enjoy your continued reprieve from laundry!

Always blame it on the “family member” 😁. Hope you get your bag soon!

Lucky you! The Zaandam was my first HAL ship, so she remains special to me. I love the smaller ships. Feels more like a ship than a floating hotel. would the August 23 Zaandam cruise be an option for you? It’s a few days longer, and therefore more expensive, but there shouldn’t be many kids on it since they should be getting ready to go back to school. otherwise, I would suggest doing the June 10 cruise and being as prepared as poissible before you head out to the graduations. whatever you choose, enjoy your Christmas present cruise!

I bought this before my last cruise and love it! It’s small but holds my phone, my e-reader, my medallion and a couple other small items. If I want more than that (sunscreen, iPad, etc) I use a beach bag. https://www.amazon.ca/Vera-Bradley-Microfiber-Crossbody-Protection/dp/B0883DZ419/ref=sr_1_48?keywords=Vera+Bradley&qid=1669233306&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI5LjE0IiwicXNhIjoiOC43MiIsInFzcCI6IjYuNzgifQ%3D%3D&s=fashion&sr=1-48

I do hope anyone choosing the self-isolation route tells their stewards and room service not to enter their cabin. Otherwise, there is the risk of them contracting it and spreading it around the ship. I feel that reporting Covid symptoms to medical as requested will kick in the ship’s protocols that are designed to keep their staff and customers as safe as possible.

since your cruise is 15 days, the cost of Club Orange should be $15/day. You can only be upgraded within the Vista Suite category so it would depend on where your current suite is located. Sometimes the $ of a cabin depends on the deck location. On the Nieuw Statendam, the aft-facing vista suites are more expensive, but there are none available on your cruise. There does not appear to be any cabin upgrade available to you, so you would need to determine whether the other benefits of CO are worth $225 to you.

I think it is important to point out, once again, that the cabin upgrade included with CO is not random if done properly. For example, I love aft-facing balconies but they are among the most expensive balcony cabins. On a 14 day cruise, I can book an obstructed balcony for several hundreds of $$ less than the aft-facing balcony, then purchase CO for an additional $210 pp and upgrade to the aft balcony I really want, which I have identified prior to booking. I not only get my preferred cabin for less money, I get the additional CO benefits such as priority tendering and separate line at guest services, which worked very well for me on a recent cruise. I loved the separate dining room on the Rotterdam! I am hard of hearing and the MDR acoustics are a nightmare for me. Also, the service was outstanding. to each their own of course. The benefits will be worth it to some and not to others.

They glanced at to make sure I was Canadian, that’s all.