Holland America False Advertising

[TAD2005]

The Club Orange upgrade is not worth the $50 a day, depending on your original cabin.   I seems similar to the Spa Veranda cabins, which cost many hundreds of $$$ more than a regular veranda, and all you get is the use of a Yoga mat, some lotions, and a cabin that is far forward, which is close to the Spa.   Many people consider that far forward cabins are actually less desirable (like cabins on higher decks)  due to more motion in rough seas.   

[fatcat04]

That is curious. We were on NA January 4th cruise and there was a well delineated  priority and CO check in area (huge sign) and it looked to us a reserved seating area for those folks. We were nobody no priority folks and yet we checked in at around 11am in boarding group 9, on the ship and in our cabin by noon and at lunch in the mdr at 12:45. It was the easiest embarkation we have ever had. 

[HappyInVan]

4 hours ago, RuthC said:

"Better" is in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone thinks a higher deck is better; it isn't always. 

 

Hmmmm. I prefer the view and the rarefied air. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the 100k tons NS. Might be different for a tiny vessel.

 

Happy cruising.

[Caribbean Chris]

“False Advertising” is a pretty strong term to use, and in this case, it seems unwarranted, along with the subtle threats about Trip Advisor and the BBB. 
 

ThE OP purchased something before investigating what she was buying, complained, got a full refund.

 

 

[awhcruiser]

3 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

“False Advertising” is a pretty strong term to use, and in this case, it seems unwarranted, along with the subtle threats about Trip Advisor and the BBB. 
 

ThE OP purchased something before investigating what she was buying, complained, got a full refund.

 

 

Totally agree with this post. 

[Petronillus]

18 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

Many people consider that far forward cabins are actually less desirable (like cabins on higher decks)  due to more motion in rough seas.   

 

We learned our lesson on the Koningsdam. We had a non-Neptune (Vista?) suite on Deck 6, right at the bow. On first impression it was dramatic and facially appealing, and I did enjoy the extra window facing forward (through which I had a memorably splendid view of the full moon one night). But the verandah was a disappointment. It wrapped around to the front, but the forward portion had no furniture and was usable for little besides standing and gawking, and the wind buffeted us relentlessly when the ship was underway. And the verandah proper, facing to the side, was truncated, squeezing the space allowed for the furniture, and had a solid metal wall cutting off all visibility when sitting. Most of all, we found that we had a major hike on our hands whenever we trekked to the MDR or anywhere else from midship to aft.

[lvz2cruz]

We received the same email for our Konigsdam cruise tomorrow.

The only thing other than the bag that appealed to me was the upgrade.

It would be wise for HAL to elaborate on the upgrade situation in the email.   When these offers come out, you need to respond quickly because if you spend a lot of time researching, they are no longer available when you call.   A simple added line of upgrade within the category on there would cut down on calls to them where people find out the details and don't feel it's worth the cost to upgrade.

 

 

 

[strickerj]

22 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

You can't blame HAL for that. The people working the check-in process are port employees, not HAL employees.

 

When CO was new last winter, the port staff at FLL were making a big production out of escorting priority passengers to the Orange mat that said "Club Orange."

Can we blame HAL for promising something that isn't within their control then? It seems to me if it's advertised, they should have a way to provide it.

[TAD2005]

4 hours ago, Petronillus said:

 

We learned our lesson on the Koningsdam. We had a non-Neptune (Vista?) suite on Deck 6, right at the bow. On first impression it was dramatic and facially appealing, and I did enjoy the extra window facing forward (through which I had a memorably splendid view of the full moon one night). But the verandah was a disappointment. It wrapped around to the front, but the forward portion had no furniture and was usable for little besides standing and gawking, and the wind buffeted us relentlessly when the ship was underway. And the verandah proper, facing to the side, was truncated, squeezing the space allowed for the furniture, and had a solid metal wall cutting off all visibility when sitting. Most of all, we found that we had a major hike on our hands whenever we trekked to the MDR or anywhere else from midship to aft.

Many of the far forward veranda cabins, especially on the lower decks, have solid steel railings instead of the usual glass panels that you can see through.   The steel railings are there to protect against very rough seas when the waves will smash against the sides of the ship as it rides up and over large swells.   The glass panels could shatter, so those forward cabins have steel.   You can see fine if you are standing up, but if you are sitting down, either inside the cabin or on the balcony,  your view is blocked.

 

[Aquahound]

On 1/20/2020 at 8:10 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

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. 

 

I totally agree with this post.  I'm familiar with the term meta category.  It's simply an umbrella category that is filled with smaller or sub categories.  Why HAL is using this term when it is not common in the cruise or travel industry is a little strange though.  I'm assuming because HAL uses so many room categories, they're saying all categories of inside cabins are a meta category.  I can't really blame the OP, or anyone else, for not knowing what this meant.  

 

That said, the OP did come off as quite whiny, especially with the whole reviews and BBB thing.    

Edited January 22, 2020 by Aquahound

[MisterBill99]

On 1/20/2020 at 11:07 AM, HappyInVan said:

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.

 

The OP was assigned to the same deck -- "and the cabin they wanted to give me was another inside cabin 2 doors down from the one I had."

 

And as someone else said, a higher floor isn't always better. The spa cabins are on a top floor at the front of the ship and many people do not like the location (but you could actually get upgraded to one under this program).

Edited January 22, 2020 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

On 1/20/2020 at 6:06 PM, maxmtex said:

We just returned from an 11 day Panama Canal cruise on Eurodam, and did purchase CO.  Our cost was $550 over the 11 days, and we did it to be upgraded from the lowest veranda category (VH) to anything better.  We chose this cruise (our second with Holland America) after being offered a heavily discounted casino rate for a veranda room.  Our original cabin was unassigned, and we feared being placed in a cabin with metal siding that can't be seen thru.  By upgrading we were able to select from a handful of cabins that had glass under the railing.  This made the purchase worthwhile, as I had checked on a paid upgrade a few days earlier and the cost was quoted at $900, total.  

 

The agent was clear to us, letting us know that we would not be upgraded out of the veranda class, and that in fact, our room might be slightly smaller in order to get the glass view of the sea.  One thing she got wrong was that there was a slight obstruction as we were on Deck 5, and the lifeboats on Deck 4 do block a downward view of the water. She stated that there were no veranda rooms with obstructions other than the metal railing walls.

 

The obstructed view is what you see when you look straight out from the verandah. Looking down and seeing a lifeboat (or another verandah, as was the case in my VD category cabin on Koningsdam deck 5) is not considered an obstruction. Of course, if you'd booked a VH guarantee, you also might have gotten a free upgrade to a better category (of course it is not guaranteed).

 

BTW I just checked the HAL page for Club Orange, and the picture of the stateroom they show is clearly misleading since I'm pretty sure that it shows a suite right next to "starting with a complimentary stateroom upgrade."

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

Edited January 23, 2020 by MisterBill99

[Billthekid]

I was wondering if I purchase a cabin and purchase Club Orange and HAL upgrades me to a "better cabin"  does HAL have a complete list of "better cabins" in all the categories available.  If so where can I get a copy of that list?  Or if there is such a list do agents have a copy and direct their clients to those cabins first,  leaving the "less better cabin" for the Club Orange members to upgrade to.

 

Another thought.  If you purchase a partially obstructive cabin would the upgrade be to a better partially obstructive view if there is such a thing.  The deck is not going to change just location and choice of forward or aft only.

[3rdGenCunarder]

52 minutes ago, Billthekid said:

I was wondering if I purchase a cabin and purchase Club Orange and HAL upgrades me to a "better cabin"  does HAL have a complete list of "better cabins" in all the categories available.  If so where can I get a copy of that list?  Or if there is such a list do agents have a copy and direct their clients to those cabins first,  leaving the "less better cabin" for the Club Orange members to upgrade to.

 

Another thought.  If you purchase a partially obstructive cabin would the upgrade be to a better partially obstructive view if there is such a thing.  The deck is not going to change just location and choice of forward or aft only.

 

Any time there is a change to a higher grade letter it's an upgrade. So if you want to know what's "better" than the cabin grade you have, look at the deck plans to see which cabins are a the next letter or two "better."

 

That said, one person's better is another person's worse. For example, consider OV cabins on one of the R or S class ships. I'd rather have one on main deck because I wouldn't be looking out at the promenade deck and I can see the sky. But someone else would prefer the OV on promenade deck because they can quickly get outside to walk around. 

[Billthekid]

4 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Any time there is a change to a higher grade letter it's an upgrade. So if you want to know what's "better" than the cabin grade you have, look at the deck plans to see which cabins are a the next letter or two "better."

 

That said, one person's better is another person's worse. For example, consider OV cabins on one of the R or S class ships. I'd rather have one on main deck because I wouldn't be looking out at the promenade deck and I can see the sky. But someone else would prefer the OV on promenade deck because they can quickly get outside to walk around. 

What I was referring to was the club orange benefit of an upgrade in the same catagory.   I.e. obstructive cabin  to an obstructive cabin.  Is there such a thing in that catagory?  A better view of the obstruction, it was sacasiam.  Jupp

[3rdGenCunarder]

6 hours ago, Billthekid said:

What I was referring to was the club orange benefit of an upgrade in the same catagory.   I.e. obstructive cabin  to an obstructive cabin.  Is there such a thing in that catagory?  A better view of the obstruction, it was sacasiam.  Jupp

 

Sarcasm aside, you don't seem to understand the upgrade that comes with CO. The upgrade is within the same "meta category" (inside to inside, ocean view to ocean view, etc), not the same letter category. Obstructed view is a kind of ocean view cabin. So the upgrade might get you from an obstructed view to a full ocean view.

[Billthekid]

That clears it up a little, and I know you don't go from inside to outside.  Since there are four ypes of outside cabins (port hole. fully obstructive and partial obstructive view and full view)  are they all in the same meta category?  Inside is inside each with different letter category, but different decks, and suites are suites with different letter categories, and verandas are of course verandas.   So with CO I can purchase the lowest price cabin in a category and hope there will be an upgrade to "better" cabin correct?

[3rdGenCunarder]

24 minutes ago, Billthekid said:

That clears it up a little, and I know you don't go from inside to outside.  Since there are four ypes of outside cabins (port hole. fully obstructive and partial obstructive view and full view)  are they all in the same meta category?  Inside is inside each with different letter category, but different decks, and suites are suites with different letter categories, and verandas are of course verandas.   So with CO I can purchase the lowest price cabin in a category and hope there will be an upgrade to "better" cabin correct?

 

That's supposed to be how it works. I think there's some small print about "availabilty."

 

And yes, all of the outside cabins are in the same meta category. There was a LOT of debate about what HAL meant by "meta category," but now enough people have reported their experiences that we're pretty sure "meta" categories are Inside, OV, veranda, Vista suite,  Sig suite, Nep Suite, Pinnacle Suite. There have been a few reports of jumping to the next "meta," so you can hope it happens to you.