Club Orange is Excellent

[Crusinsusan2]

Zaandam PG is another. Way too dark for breakfast, not a window to the outside and crammed with bench seating. Excellent for quiet lunch, or dinner in a booth but not a way we would ever choose to start our day. Yes they are all designed different but we have not found anything consistent or good fit for us for the PG for breakfast's regardless of ship.

 

       

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Having had breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill on the Prinsendam, I would say no other PG can even come close to its excellence. 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

Having had breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill on the Prinsendam, I would say no other PG can even come close to its excellence. 

 

I totally agree with this statement.

 

For me, so far, it’s been the best Pinnacle Grill in the fleet.  Hoping it still is in 5 weeks 😉 

[OlsSalt]

Just to show how hard it is to please all the people all the time, we had just the opposite reactions to the interior PG dining room breakfast feeling:

 

We loved the R class ship (Zaandam, Rotterdam, Volendam, Amsterdam) which have had the interior Pinnacle dining for breakfast. Lack of outside windows did not matter to us - after all we were in a Neptune Suite, so we had plenty of outdoor balcony time on the huge balcony. There was no sense of feeling crammed in at all - it was the large, spacious tables well spread out around the room, the quiet low-key atmosphere and the highly attentive PG staff that more than made up for lack of outside daylight.  It made for a very convivial morning setting. 

 

When they changed  and moved the Neptune suites breakfasts  up to the Upper Dining Room (for the outside daylight)  we found we were very unhappy campers - it was too bright early in the morning and they even piped in fake bird songs.  We ended up asking at least for a table for four for just the two of us to make up for the dining room switch to see if we could get back that same PG breakfast feeling.  But it was the same dining area we had for dinner, so there was nothing really unique as a Neptune perk in our minds. In fact the first morning we were seated at our very own evening dining table for two - too small.

 

 That was the time we stayed away from the PG breakfasts and now no longer consider them a perk if they are offered int he Upper Dining room. We wanted the old interior PG specialness but I guess this is now no longer available -a  real Neptune deal killer for us. 

 

Even on the Prisendam, which was our favorite PG breakfast setting, they had to draw the curtains because there was so much bright sunlight entering the room. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by OlsSalt

[frankc98376]

We were on Amsterdam I believe last year and breakfast was back in the PG.  Staff said was moved back to PG due to many complaints about being in MDR

[canadianbear]

Having just had a lovely dinner in the Pinnacle last night on the Kongingsdam I said to my husband how sad it would be to have breakfast in the fish bowl they call Club Orange and not the Pinnacle.  For him it doesn’t matter as he likes the Lido but I’ve always enjoyed the Pinnacle for breakfast.

 

 We will be on the NA next month in probably our last Neptune suite.  Trying Celebrity Sky suite in a couple of days to compare.  Time will tell for us.  I’ve learned my claustrophobia is just fine as long as I have a balcony so no need for Neptune suites any longer.  

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

On 3/5/2019 at 5:51 AM, Tampa Girl said:

 

This is really not an extra perk.  Only the NS passengers get it free, and it replaced the perk of breakfast in the Pinnacle.  I am somewhat surprised that non-NS passengers feel that $100 day for the privilege of dining separately from the rest  of the ship and priority tendering is worth it.  A little bit of elitism?

 

On 3/5/2019 at 5:51 AM, Tampa Girl said:

 

This is really not an extra perk.  Only the NS passengers get it free, and it replaced the perk of breakfast in the Pinnacle.  I am somewhat surprised that non-NS passengers feel that $100 day for the privilege of dining separately from the rest  of the ship and priority tendering is worth it.  A little bit of elitism?

No....elitism.... you mean I am special,  segregation from the un washed masses...   Just silly and an ego please.

Maybe we can have more and more class systems    Inside passengers can only eat in the Lido or pay $10 pd.  Only outside cabins  can eat in the Main Dining room before 7  or pay $10   Veranda passengers anytime. Main Dining room.   Since people find affront to Club Orange....I propose "  Mystic Knights of the Sea"  !!!

If you feel you need to be protected from the  lower class people on a cruise...  you  have bigger problems.

[Cruzaholic41]

1 minute ago, Hawaiidan said:

 

No....elitism.... you mean I am special,  segregation from the un washed masses...   Just silly and an ego please.

Maybe we can have more and more class systems    Inside passengers can only eat in the Lido or pay $10 pd.  Only outside cabins  can eat in the Main Dining room before 7  or pay $10   Veranda passengers anytime. Main Dining room.   Since people find affront to Club Orange....I propose "  Mystic Knights of the Sea"  !!!

If you feel you need to be protected from the  lower class people on a cruise...  you  have bigger problems.

 

You come across as jealous. 

[Tampa Girl]

1 minute ago, Hawaiidan said:

 

No....elitism.... you mean I am special,  segregation from the un washed masses...   Just silly and an ego please.

Maybe we can have more and more class systems    Inside passengers can only eat in the Lido or pay $10 pd.  Only outside cabins  can eat in the Main Dining room before 7  or pay $10   Veranda passengers anytime. Main Dining room.   Since people find affront to Club Orange....I propose "  Mystic Knights of the Sea"  !!!

If you feel you need to be protected from the  lower class people on a cruise...  you  have bigger problems.

;

If you are directing your last sentence at me, you have completely misunderstood my post.  I was not saying that I want to feel elite.  I was wondering whether people willing to pay $100 a day for these questionable perks are doing so because they want to feel elite.  As someone has already observed, some may feel that this price is worth a quiet dinner in a small corner of the MDR.  I don't happen to share that feeling.

[bEwAbG]

The fact that there are people saying they find it worth paying the extra cost shows why HAL is trying it, though.  One cabin opting in is a lot of extra revenue for something that costs them next-to-nothing to provide.

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

14 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

You come across as jealous. 

Hardly....I am  very amused at all this faux garbage designed to separate people from their money playing to their ego..     Its like having a presidential suite at a motel 6.... 

[Hawaiidan]

13 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

;

If you are directing your last sentence at me, you have completely misunderstood my post.  I was not saying that I want to feel elite.  I was wondering whether people willing to pay $100 a day for these questionable perks are doing so because they want to feel elite.  As someone has already observed, some may feel that this price is worth a quiet dinner in a small corner of the MDR.  I don't happen to share that feeling.

I do so apologize to you....I was making a generic reference as to what motivates people  not you

  What need do they feel..  It  is nothing more than another ploy to generate more money.....AND...hey... look at how people are screaming over a $10  second plate charge  While others are all too eager to say down $50 -70-100 pp day!  Gets very confusing to me.

[twodjs]

But there is lost revenue to HAL because of the loss of top paying guests who are choosing not to book Neptune suites or book with other lines. The perks offered to Suite guests are already bleak compared to other cruise lines, and now replacing the Pinnacle Grill breakfast with a breakfast at Dennys (and trying to convince us it is somehow a fabulous perk) is quite insulting! Smoke and mirrors won't do it. We are smarter than that! No wonder they need to firesale suites at times. They need to step up their game. Happy premium guests = big profits without marketing costs. The real value will sell itself.  

[bEwAbG]

Isn't the menu the exact same?  The only difference for suites is where the food is being served.  While I understand you feel that is a downgrade, I'm not sure the room in which it is served is such a deal-killer for most.  No one has yet seen how it will work on the other ships that plan to do it in the MDR instead, but it would not be impossible to create a nice atmosphere in the MDR for breakfast, especially if they're carving out a niche for dinner, too.

 

I book suites for the space of the suite, not for the breakfast in PG.  I cannot imagine too many people would downgrade their room experience because of where breakfast is served.

Edited March 6, 2019 by bEwAbG

[Hawaiidan]

22 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

The fact that there are people saying they find it worth paying the extra cost shows why HAL is trying it, though.  One cabin opting in is a lot of extra revenue for something that costs them next-to-nothing to provide.

 

 

Both HAL management   and P.T. Barnum share the same philosophy.

[twodjs]

7 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

 

I cannot imagine too many people would downgrade their room experience because of where breakfast is served.

Well, posters in this thread and other threads since the CO news broke are saying exactly that.

13 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

No one has yet seen how it will work on the other ships that plan to do it in the MDR instead, but it would not be impossible to create a nice atmosphere in the MDR for breakfast, especially if they're carving out a niche for dinner, too.

 It has been announced that on the ships where part of the MDR is utilized, they will rope off a section for CO and suite guests. Don't see how a rope creates a nice atmosphere. Anyone can book a seat in the MDR and have that seat every night of the cruise, at no extra cost.

[Tampa Girl]

42 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

I do so apologize to you....I was making a generic reference as to what motivates people  not you

  What need do they feel..  It  is nothing more than another ploy to generate more money.....AND...hey... look at how people are screaming over a $10  second plate charge  While others are all too eager to say down $50 -70-100 pp day!  Gets very confusing to me.

 

No problem; thanks for the clarification.  I was hoping that you were using the generic "you."  

[bEwAbG]

42 minutes ago, twodjs said:

Well, posters in this thread and other threads since the CO news broke are saying exactly that.

 

I'm seeing the same handful of posters saying that moving the breakfast location is a problem  over and over but not a broad cross-section of posters.  

 

42 minutes ago, twodjs said:

 It has been announced that on the ships where part of the MDR is utilized, they will rope off a section for CO and suite guests. Don't see how a rope creates a nice atmosphere. Anyone can book a seat in the MDR and have that seat every night of the cruise, at no extra cost.

 

The announcement only says "a dedicated section of the Dining Room will be set-aside for the exclusive use of Club Orange guests for breakfast and dinner."  There have been zero details as to what that means so assuming it's simply going to be a rope is supposition at this point. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by bEwAbG

[OlsSalt]

I can see the back section, facing the aft windows of the Upper Dining Room on R and S class ships, which are relatively "U" shaped, as a dedicated CO area - CO passengers simply walk back to it and there is no further cross or through traffic to that location by the other non-CO passengers.  

 

All the other Upper Dining tables along the side windows, along  the two story atrium opening and the centers  along the other two arms of the "U" remain available for non-CO passengers.  No reason for non CO passengers to even know this aft area was even dedicated for CO passengers. 

 

Unless one is in midnight sun country, there is no real "view" out the windows anyway once the sun goes down. So even with the loss of this separate aft dining area for us as non-CO passengers, it would not entice us to pay the surcharge to be seated there. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by OlsSalt

[twodjs]

18 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

 

I'm seeing the same handful of posters saying that moving the breakfast location is a problem  over and over but not a broad cross-section of posters.

First of all, a broad cross-section of posters do not book suites on HAL. If HAL would actually notify all guests booking suites and 4 star Mariners of their downgrading of perks, and the co-mingling of the perks (not just breakfast) with CO, you would see a much stronger response. Mariners, in general, are not aware of the changes. Please review all the comments about the CO program since it was revealed back on Oct. Hundreds of responses, with a vast majority negative toward the concept and implementation of the program. Unlike you, others do value perks and to take away exclusive perks that 4 star Mariners have cruised for years to obtain, and to give those to anyone who wants to feel special for a price is insulting to long-time supporters of HAL. It's not just about where we eat. That is the tip of the iceberg.

[OlsSalt]

One thing we will never know is how many Neptune Suite were sold as upsells, handed out gratuitously or sold for full price. Neptune revenue simply may not justify further perks and additional personnel. Certainly they do for those who pay full price, but how many actually meet that criteria?

 

As others have pointed out, for the price of a Neptune, there is a lot of competition already out there. Even more so today than when these Neptunes were first installed on the older HAL ships.  We love the Neptune real estate, but they do have a price point that makes one consider other options. 

 

Should they be marketed as a competitive price point more for the additional real estate only, but not for any higher level of perks and/or pampering. Or sold as "family" cabins.

Edited March 6, 2019 by OlsSalt

[bEwAbG]

5 minutes ago, twodjs said:

First of all, a broad cross-section of posters do not book suites on HAL. If HAL would actually notify all guests booking suites and 4 star Mariners of their downgrading of perks, and the co-mingling of the perks (not just breakfast) with CO, you would see a much stronger response. Mariners, in general, are not aware of the changes. Please review all the comments about the CO program since it was revealed back on Oct. Hundreds of responses, with a vast majority negative toward the concept and implementation of the program. Unlike you, others do value perks and to take away exclusive perks that 4 star Mariners have cruised for years to obtain, and to give those to anyone who wants to feel special for a price is insulting to long-time supporters of HAL. It's not just about where we eat. That is the tip of the iceberg.

 

I was simply addressing your assertion that they're "replacing the Pinnacle Grill breakfast with a breakfast at Dennys," which is simply not true.  You can argue the degradation of the other perks all you want, but you're either mis-characterizing or misunderstanding the actual change.  They are serving the same food but in a different location.

 

Beyond all of that, HAL has already offered a separately-priced "suite amenities package" in the past that mimicked some of what Club Orange is offering, too, so the aspect of being able to buy additional perks is nothing new.

[twodjs]

8 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

 

I was simply addressing your assertion that they're "replacing the Pinnacle Grill breakfast with a breakfast at Dennys," which is simply not true.  

The CO area sure looks a lot more like Dennys than the Pinnacle Grill. I know the menu is the same - it's about the ambiance. And on the rest of the ships we'll be seated in the MDR. How is that a special perk?

[rkacruiser]

4 minutes ago, twodjs said:

The CO area sure looks a lot more like Dennys than the Pinnacle Grill. I know the menu is the same - it's about the ambiance.

 

Regarding the ambiance, I agree with you.  The Nieuw Statendam's, and I assume the Konginsdam's, Pinnacle Grill is the most elegant of the PG's that I have patronized.  I like the PG's ambiance on the Vista/Signature Class ships as well as on the Prinsendam, but I thought NS's PG was a bit nicer.  

[PatLuv]

On the 26th we will be sailing on Koningsdam in a Vista Suite.Today,our travel agent sent us an e-mail from HAL  with an offer for Club Orange on our sailing for 50$ a day. The perks are nice,but we don't feel paying the extra 50$ a day is worth it.We can use that money on an excursion.