When will Club Orange have a dedicated space on N.A. and Eurodamn

[oaktreerb]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

January, 2020:  the host at the MDR for Breakfast was at the Club Orange podium on the Eurodam.  He wore his Orange tie.  Club Orange guests or not, he seated the rest of us non-Orange guests.  Where were the Club Orange guests being seated in a different area of the Eurodam's dining room?  I didn't see any difference.

 

Club Orange is a "perk" for which one wants to pay, that's OK with me.  It provides additional--and now needed--revenue to the Company.  If it makes one somehow feel "special"?  That's OK with me.  We all like to have that feeling sometime.  

 

If HAL chooses to develop this "line of thinking", like much else that has happened to the cruise product that they have offered in recent years, more work/thought is required in order to reach whatever level of cruise product that they wish to offer to their guests.  

HAL is constantly working on their product and Club Orange is a new concept for the newer ships that does not translate well to the older and smaller ships.   Not all ideas work as expected so changes have to be made.  I think the dedicated Club Orange dining rooms were built for the demo cooking experience and that was not to be.   Also America's Test Kitchen didn't work out as anticipated because of health inspector requirements.   HAL cruisers enjoy cooking demo's whether it is the cruise director and chef cookoff or a professional doing the demo.  

 

  We all look back to the great experiences that we have had that are no longer offered (especially in the Alaska cruisetours).  HAL recently made an  effort to offer more experiences in Alaska with the expedition cruises and now with the pandemic has had to sell the very ships that made those cruises possible.   They have sold ships, they have sold hotels, and they have upgraded some of their properties and I just hope they can hold on until we can cruise again.

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

HAL is constantly working on their product and Club Orange is a new concept for the newer ships that does not translate well to the older and smaller ships.   Not all ideas work as expected so changes have to be made.  I think the dedicated Club Orange dining rooms were built for the demo cooking experience and that was not to be.   Also America's Test Kitchen didn't work out as anticipated because of health inspector requirements.   HAL cruisers enjoy cooking demo's whether it is the cruise director and chef cookoff or a professional doing the demo.  

 

 

An excellent observation, I think.  America's Test Kitchen failed in part because of a lack of creativity of programming.  (How many times does one need to learn to prepare salmon?)  The cooking demos and those who participated always got good reviews.  

 

For many of the attempted "advances" in onboard offerings, there seems to have been a lack of thought about "what happens after we introduce this new concept?".  The butchering of the aft decks of the Veendam and the Rotterdam to change the pool area:  was there a "programming" idea behind this?  Or was it just a financial decision to increase the ship's capacity?  

 

Club Orange is probably  well suited for the vessels built to accommodate it.  Grafting the concept on vessels that are not equipped to do so?  My experience with what I "observed" on my two HAL cruises in 2019 on the Volendam and Eurodam, it's "odd ball".  

 

Whatever Corporate does, it is probably like playing darts.  Will it hit the bullseye or not?  Sel de Mar is a winner in whatever venue I have experienced it.  

[rkacruiser]

Just now, rkacruiser said:

 

An excellent observation, I think.  America's Test Kitchen failed in part because of a lack of creativity of programming.  (How many times does one need to learn to prepare salmon?)  The cooking demos and those who participated always got good reviews.  

 

For many of the attempted "advances" in onboard offerings, there seems to have been a lack of thought about "what happens after we introduce this new concept?".  The butchering of the aft decks of the Veendam and the Rotterdam to change the pool area:  was there a "programming" idea behind this?  Or was it just a financial decision to increase the ship's capacity?  

 

Club Orange is probably  well suited for the vessels built to accommodate it.  Grafting the concept on vessels that are not equipped to do so?  My experience with what I "observed" on my two HAL cruises in 2019 on the Volendam and Eurodam, it's "odd ball".  

 

Whatever Corporate does, it is probably like playing darts.  Will it hit the bullseye or not?  Sel de Mar is a winner in whatever venue I have experienced it.