Holland America False Advertising

[all*aboard]

Hi, I am sailing on January 26, 2020 on the Nieuw Stantendam and I received an invitation to add Club Orange onto my booking for $25pp per day. The offer stated that I would get the following:

CLUB ORANGE PRIORITY ACCESS · Priority Check-in & Disembarkation · Priority line at Guest Services & Shore Excursions · Priority access to specialty restaurant reservations · Priority access to tenders ashore in select ports CLUB ORANGE AMENITIES · Complimentary stateroom upgrade · Dedicated Concierge Hotline access · Welcome glass of sparkling wine at dinner on embarkation day · Premium bathrobes · Club Orange Key Card · Exclusive Club Orange Tote Bag (one per stateroom)

I purchased the Club Orange because I thought the upgrade would be nice since we have an inside cabin. After I paid I was told that the 'upgrade' is within the same category and the cabin they wanted to give me was another inside cabin 2 doors down from the one I had. I asked for a refund which I was given. I feel like this is false advertising and very misleading. I review Travel on TripAdvisor and other websites. I am very upset that this has happened. I contacted the customer service department and they said they would let the advertising department know about the misleading offer. However, I do not feel like this is adequate.  I have also sent this to the BBB.

[awhcruiser]

This link clearly states upgrade within the same category.  You were not mislead and the BBB will agree with HAL on that one.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=4444

[Jammu2]

This has been mentioned here before. Upgrade within the category versus upgrade to a higher category. 

 

So they gave you your money back. I dont see what the BBB is going to do about any of this.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that you didn't read the fine print before you accepted.  At least you got your money back.

[fatcat04]

I appreciate you were disappointed. We so far have not been enticed to buy CO for many reasons. Some research here at CC on this topic would have helped you a great deal. Truth is, it is not false advertising because IT IS in the fine print. I'm sorry.

*Complimentary stateroom upgrade to the best available room within the meta category at the time of Club Orange purchase

 

That you got your money back means the BBB won't even bother looking at this. I also don't understand why you would involve them since you were out nothing in the end.

Edited January 20, 2020 by fatcat04

[all*aboard]

The email did NOT have the fine print. I did not find out about the cabin issue until AFTER I paid when I was sent the updated cruise payment.

[HappyInVan]

9 minutes ago, all*aboard said:

Complimentary stateroom upgrade.

 

Looks like HAL has a different interpretation from the rest of us. That's why its necessary to consult this forum pre-purchase to understand what HAL means exactly.

[all*aboard]

7 minutes ago, awhcruiser said:

This link clearly states upgrade within the same category.  You were not mislead and the BBB will agree with HAL on that one.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=4444

The email Did NOT state this and that was what I was basing my decision on. Also, when I called HAL they said I would get the upgrade and did not say it was within my own category. I sail 3x a year on Celebrity and was just trying out HAL for a change of pace. 

[Jammu2]

Its not just HAL. For example Oceania advertises something like "4 category stateroom upgrade!!!" That certainly does not mean you go from inside to concierge.

 

Be real. $25 a day is not gonna get you all that stuff plus a balcony.

[DaveOKC]

3 minutes ago, all*aboard said:

Hi, I am sailing on January 26, 2020 on the Nieuw Stantendam and I received an invitation to add Club Orange onto my booking for $25pp per day. The offer stated that I would get the following:

CLUB ORANGE PRIORITY ACCESS · Priority Check-in & Disembarkation · Priority line at Guest Services & Shore Excursions · Priority access to specialty restaurant reservations · Priority access to tenders ashore in select ports CLUB ORANGE AMENITIES · Complimentary stateroom upgrade · Dedicated Concierge Hotline access · Welcome glass of sparkling wine at dinner on embarkation day · Premium bathrobes · Club Orange Key Card · Exclusive Club Orange Tote Bag (one per stateroom)

I purchased the Club Orange because I thought the upgrade would be nice since we have an inside cabin. After I paid I was told that the 'upgrade' is within the same category and the cabin they wanted to give me was another inside cabin 2 doors down from the one I had. I asked for a refund which I was given. I feel like this is false advertising and very misleading. I review Travel on TripAdvisor and other websites. I am very upset that this has happened. I contacted the customer service department and they said they would let the advertising department know about the misleading offer. However, I do not feel like this is adequate.  I have also sent this to the BBB.

It has frequently been mentioned on this message board about the upgrade being within your "category" (like Inside, Oceanview, etc.).  I think it is unrealistic for anyone to expect that HAL (or any other cruiseline) would bump you up more than that for you just paying $175 pp (for a 7 day cruise).  Very often a category change increases fares by several hundred dollars.  Besides, HAL was giving you what it advertised, an upgrade from what you booked.

 

When you add up all the perks that HAL is giving you for $25 per day on the Nieuw Statendam (its newest ship), it seems to me to be a good deal.  For one thing, on this ship you get to have breakfast and dinner in a nice, separate dining room.  Plus, the other features (like priority boarding ) can really be nice at busy times. 

 

Normally Club Orange cost $50 per day on this ship.  

 

 

[fatcat04]

My CO email from my Jan 2020 cruise was as follows:

 

INTRODUCING OUR EXCLUSIVE NEW ONBOARD PROGRAM - CLUB ORANGE

Club Orange offers an added level of luxury onboard Holland America Line ships

with priority access & exclusive amenities. Enhance your cruise with:

CLUB ORANGE PRIORITY ACCESS: Priority check-in & disembarkation, Priority lines

at Guest Services & Shore Excursions, Priority access to specialty restaurant

reservations & tenders ashore in select ports.

CLUB ORANGE AMENITIES: Stateroom upgrade (restrictions apply), Welcome glass of

sparkling wine, Dedicated Concierge Hotline access, Premium bathrobes, Club

Orange key card, Exclusive Club Orange tote bag (one per stateroom), Invitation

to a special onboard event chosen by the ship's captain.

CLUB ORANGE DINING: Premium in-room dining breakfast menu, priority seating in

the dining room for breakfast and dinner with an expanded menu.

TO PURCHASE CLUB ORANGE FOR US$25 PER PERSON PER DAY, PLEASE CALL US AT

1-888-628-8107 OR 206-626-7381 between 8am and 5pm Pacific Time Monday-Friday

 

Now I took that "restrictions apply" as a clue I might need to look into what that meant.

Then I easily found https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

Clicked on the .pdf and it said

"*Complimentary stateroom upgrade to the best available room within the meta category at the time of Club Orange purchase."

 

[HappyInVan]

2 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

"*Complimentary stateroom upgrade to the best available room within the meta category at the time of Club Orange purchase."

 

 

Hmmmm.

 

I think that the OP was surprised to get assigned to a lower deck. Surely it doesn't require a genius computer to figure out that a higher deck is a better room.

[Jammu2]

Wow, OP. Did you delete "(restrictions apply)" when you posted to make your claim of injury look better?

[3rdGenCunarder]

I think the use of "meta category" is confusing. I'd never seen that expression anywhere before and there was a fair amount of discussion here about what it means when CO first rolled out.  HAL needs to clarify that part of the "fine print."  Cruise lines, not just HAL, like to dangle "upgrade" to get people's attention. 

 

But realistically, you shouldn't expect a big leap in categories for, at $25 per day.

[cruisemom42]

7 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

My CO email from my Jan 2020 cruise was as follows:

 

INTRODUCING OUR EXCLUSIVE NEW ONBOARD PROGRAM - CLUB ORANGE

Club Orange offers an added level of luxury onboard Holland America Line ships

with priority access & exclusive amenities. Enhance your cruise with:

CLUB ORANGE PRIORITY ACCESS: Priority check-in & disembarkation, Priority lines

at Guest Services & Shore Excursions, Priority access to specialty restaurant

reservations & tenders ashore in select ports.

CLUB ORANGE AMENITIES: Stateroom upgrade (restrictions apply), Welcome glass of

sparkling wine, Dedicated Concierge Hotline access, Premium bathrobes, Club

Orange key card, Exclusive Club Orange tote bag (one per stateroom), Invitation

to a special onboard event chosen by the ship's captain.

CLUB ORANGE DINING: Premium in-room dining breakfast menu, priority seating in

the dining room for breakfast and dinner with an expanded menu.

TO PURCHASE CLUB ORANGE FOR US$25 PER PERSON PER DAY, PLEASE CALL US AT

1-888-628-8107 OR 206-626-7381 between 8am and 5pm Pacific Time Monday-Friday

 

Now I took that "restrictions apply" as a clue I might need to look into what that meant.

Then I easily found https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

Clicked on the .pdf and it said

"*Complimentary stateroom upgrade to the best available room within the meta category at the time of Club Orange purchase."

 

 

Exactly. 

 

I am quite sure there was something that said "restrictions apply" or a link to the t&c.  Never would've passed internal legal review without it.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

My CO email from my Jan 2020 cruise was as follows:

 

INTRODUCING OUR EXCLUSIVE NEW ONBOARD PROGRAM - CLUB ORANGE

Club Orange offers an added level of luxury onboard Holland America Line ships

with priority access & exclusive amenities. Enhance your cruise with:

CLUB ORANGE PRIORITY ACCESS: Priority check-in & disembarkation, Priority lines

at Guest Services & Shore Excursions, Priority access to specialty restaurant

reservations & tenders ashore in select ports.

CLUB ORANGE AMENITIES: Stateroom upgrade (restrictions apply), Welcome glass of

sparkling wine, Dedicated Concierge Hotline access, Premium bathrobes, Club

Orange key card, Exclusive Club Orange tote bag (one per stateroom), Invitation

to a special onboard event chosen by the ship's captain.

CLUB ORANGE DINING: Premium in-room dining breakfast menu, priority seating in

the dining room for breakfast and dinner with an expanded menu.

TO PURCHASE CLUB ORANGE FOR US$25 PER PERSON PER DAY, PLEASE CALL US AT

1-888-628-8107 OR 206-626-7381 between 8am and 5pm Pacific Time Monday-Friday

 

Now I took that "restrictions apply" as a clue I might need to look into what that meant.

Then I easily found https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

Clicked on the .pdf and it said

"*Complimentary stateroom upgrade to the best available room within the meta category at the time of Club Orange purchase."

 

 

Caveat emptor!

 

[fatcat04]

3 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Caveat emptor!

 

Words to live by.

 

Not to pile on but I am a fine print reader.

 

Interesting in that same fine print was

"Benefits apply only to the booking number listed and are not transferrable nor refundable."

 

They didn't have to give a refund as it is clearly stated it is not refundable but they did due to good and helpful customer service. It seems no good deed goes unpunished.

[Himself]

It pays to read the small print.  By the way I bit on the club orange offer a year ago and it was $50.00 a day.  I liked it!

[Roz]

I will be the first to admit that I don't have a clue what a meta category is, but if I were the OP, I would take the refund and move on.  To me $25 pp per day for the other perks would be worth it, especially for someone in an inside cabin.  Just my opinion.

[awhcruiser]

38 minutes ago, all*aboard said:

The email Did NOT state this and that was what I was basing my decision on. Also, when I called HAL they said I would get the upgrade and did not say it was within my own category. I sail 3x a year on Celebrity and was just trying out HAL for a change of pace. 

I would have been proactive and asked about the specifics on the cabin upgrade.  So sorry it was not what you expected.

[kazu]

46 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Hmmmm.

 

I think that the OP was surprised to get assigned to a lower deck. Surely it doesn't require a genius computer to figure out that a higher deck is a better room.

 

Actually that is not always the case in the booking categories with HAL 

[DaveOKC]

When I received a similar offer three months ago I called and asked about it.  At that time they explained that since I was already in the top level of my category, I would not get an upgrade.  I fully understood this and passed on the deal.

[iancal]

All of the mass market cruise lines use that gag about a fee upgrade.

 

 I suspect that, and marketing, is why they seem to have so many categories/levels within each stateroom type.   This  can be especially misleading to someone who is not familiar with cruising.   And...a so called cabin upgrade (within a cabin type) does not necessarily mean a 'better' cabin based upon your preferences.

[3rdGenCunarder]

41 minutes ago, iancal said:

All of the mass market cruise lines use that gag about a fee upgrade.

 

 I suspect that, and marketing, is why they seem to have so many categories/levels within each stateroom type.   This  can be especially misleading to someone who is not familiar with cruising.   And...a so called cabin upgrade (within a cabin type) does not necessarily mean a 'better' cabin based upon your preferences.

 

I agree. Once you get up to verandah, the cabins are pretty much the same except for location and the rare chance of being assigned a HC cabin. But there's more variety in size and layout for OV and, especially, for insides. 

 

HAL seems to have a handful of cabins within each meta category at the lowest level, encouraging people to book those and hope for an upgrade. Sometimes those lowest cabins are the same as their neighbors. This is true of the SC Neptunes on the Vista ships. There are so few that if you book a SC guarantee, you're likely to get an upgrade. 

 

[Billthekid]

We  are just back from a holiday cruise on the Zaandam.  On embarkation there was a separate check in line for Suites, 4/5* mariners and ORANGE CLUB members, but only one agent and a long line.  We (4*) just stepped over to the other agents where there was no line.  Never did see anyone with an Orange Key.  (picture please if you have one)  No separate dinning area for Orange Club.  There was separate lines for the dinning room, guest services, and excursions, but except for the guest services line, there was never a line for the other locations.  Never did see a special exclusive tote bag (1 per cabin although you pay for 2)  In fact we never receive the regular tote bag and had to go to guest services to receive one.  Priority tender were issued along with 4/5* in the ocean bar.  Lowering the value of the Mariners benefits.  No idea what a special bathrobe looks like and does it come with orange slippers?  At the regular price of $50 per day per person ($100 per cabin; $700 for 7 day cruise) there is no real value to eating in a sperate area, having a orange key, special bathrobe and tote bag, and first in line (after the excursions buyers) to board a tender.