Club orange- worth it?

[mcrcruiser]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

Here is the number to the office that assigns the Club Orange staterooms:

 

"Once a guest has booked their cruise, they or their travel advisor can add Club Orange by contacting Holland America Line Ship Inventory at 1-888-628-8107 or 206-626-7381."

Thanks very much Crew News .We phoned that number ,spoke with a fella named Jay & he added Club Orange  to our booking 18 night on koningsdam  Hawaii Jan 23 ,2023 @  $540 total & we went from deck 4 handicap  obstructed to Navigation Deck into a VA handicap  with a great view . Thanks again ,much appreciated .Just $30 per day total 

Edited November 16, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[Crew News]

18 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Thanks very much Crew News .We phoned that number ,spoke with a fella named Jay & he added Club Orange  to our booking 18 night on koningsdam  Hawaii Jan 23 ,2023 @  $540 total & we went from deck 4 handicap  obstructed to Navigation Deck into a VA handicap  with a great view . Thanks again ,much appreciated .Just $30 per day total 

CC is a forum for helping fellow cruisers.  Enjoy the Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and steak for breakfast. 

[mcrcruiser]

13 minutes ago, Crew News said:

CC is a forum for helping fellow cruisers.  Enjoy the Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and steak for breakfast. 

Thanks we will assuredly .Thanks again 

[oaktreerb]

2 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

 

Our two experiences so far with CO have been excellent, with top notch dining room service. I requested a specific table the first day and the Manager in both cases confirmed it instantly for us to enjoy the entire time. 

 

Club Orange does not reserve tables.  However, if someone were traveling with a canine companion Club Orange would most likely make a special needs exception.  The dining room is really busy, especially for breakfast.  The taller bar height tables are the most likely to be available.

[Florida_gal_50]

32 minutes ago, Crew News said:

CC is a forum for helping fellow cruisers.  Enjoy the Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and steak for breakfast. 

You'll need to pay for the steak though.  It's not included.

 

[Sharon in AZ]

4 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Wow did I get a shock .Club  Orange for us would be $279 each  per day  . This was quoted to us by a HAL  representative .Apparently ,the $25 extra was if a pax had booked into a Neptune suite 

We have a huge balcony ,although we are partially blocked  in our VH handicap ,we can see out 

This can't be correct, I think the rep didn't know and should have found out for you.  I added Club Orange for $25pd and we are in a Vista Suite.  If you are in a Neptune Suite it is included.

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

This can't be correct, I think the rep didn't know and should have found out for you.  I added Club Orange for $25pd and we are in a Vista Suite.  If you are in a Neptune Suite it is included.

It has been corrected by HAL .We booked Club Orange for our 18 night Hawaii cruise aboard Koningsdam  Jan 31 ,2023 & total cost was $540  .The up grade from a VH to a VA handicap was well worth the CO upgrade alone plus the CO perks 

[dot73]

I'm a solo passenger and would like to try CO.  My worry is that I will eat alone. At the MDR, I am usually placed at a larger table with other passengers, which is great.  Does anyone know whether CO does the same thing?  Thank you.

[Sharon in AZ]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

It has been corrected by HAL .We booked Club Orange for our 18 night Hawaii cruise aboard Koningsdam  Jan 31 ,2023 & total cost was $540  .The up grade from a VH to a VA handicap was well worth the CO upgrade alone plus the CO perks 

Super!  I am glad it all worked out for you.  I think you will really enjoy Club Orange.

[Hlitner]

40 minutes ago, dot73 said:

I'm a solo passenger and would like to try CO.  My worry is that I will eat alone. At the MDR, I am usually placed at a larger table with other passengers, which is great.  Does anyone know whether CO does the same thing?  Thank you.

Just thinking out loud that your concern is valid.  Since the subset of passengers who book CO is quite small, it is very possible that few or none would want to table share.   We have seen this happen on Princess with their Club Class folks where there were simply not enough wanting to share (at a particular time) to handle the singles.  We met one lady who decided to just dine in the MDR so she would be assured of having tablemates.

 

Hank

[Crew News]

51 minutes ago, dot73 said:

I'm a solo passenger and would like to try CO.  My worry is that I will eat alone. At the MDR, I am usually placed at a larger table with other passengers, which is great.  Does anyone know whether CO does the same thing?  Thank you.

The  Nieuw Statendam CO has two community tables that can be selected and often are fully occupied during the peak dining hours.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, dot73 said:

I'm a solo passenger and would like to try CO.  My worry is that I will eat alone. At the MDR, I am usually placed at a larger table with other passengers, which is great.  Does anyone know whether CO does the same thing?  Thank you.

I think your concern is valid.  I am trying to stay away from others as much as possible.  I was asked if I wanted to share for breakfast the other day and I said no I’d wait.  On the koningsdam it hasn’t been that busy at night so I think it wouldn’t likely happen.  Would all ships be like that? Not sure.  I’ve met several lovely people in the specialty restaurants sitting in close proximity though.

[mcrcruiser]

5 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I think your concern is valid.  I am trying to stay away from others as much as possible.  I was asked if I wanted to share for breakfast the other day and I said no I’d wait.  On the koningsdam it hasn’t been that busy at night so I think it wouldn’t likely happen.  Would all ships be like that? Not sure.  I’ve met several lovely people in the specialty restaurants sitting in close proximity though.

It still is wise to keep social distancing until  this virus is behind us . By years end the new Pfizer pill will have full FDA approval ;which should help immensely in the fight against covid  along with the vaccinations 

[mcrcruiser]

My wife & I have dined by ourselves for years .Our main reason had been to timely get to the  main shows  in the evening  .We certainly can understand a single wanting  company   over dinner 

[kluv2cruz]

8 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

It has been corrected by HAL .We booked Club Orange for our 18 night Hawaii cruise aboard Koningsdam  Jan 31 ,2023 & total cost was $540  .The up grade from a VH to a VA handicap was well worth the CO upgrade alone plus the CO perks 

$540 per person or total for both of you? My TA quoted me $35 /day so that would be $630 for you 18 night Hawaii. Hmmnn, seems like my quote was higher than yours. But then yours appears to be $30 x 18 = $540. Right?

[Crew News]

16 minutes ago, kluv2cruz said:

$540 per person or total for both of you? My TA quoted me $35 /day so that would be $630 for you 18 night Hawaii. Hmmnn, seems like my quote was higher than yours. But then yours appears to be $30 x 18 = $540. Right?

My HAL PCC explained that cruises 14 days and more will have $15/p/p/day; 8-13 days are $35/p/p/day; and 7 days and less are $50/p/p/day.

[Caribbean Chris]

4 hours ago, Crew News said:

My HAL PCC explained that cruises 14 days and more will have $15/p/p/day; 8-13 days are $35/p/p/day; and 7 days and less are $50/p/p/day.

It definitely varies by length.
 

However, our cost was lower for 7 days and less. It was $25 pp/per day ($50 for two) on the short (originally 4-day but changed to 5-day) Rotterdam sailing on November 5. This was booked directly by calling the HAL Club Orange phone number. So, YMMV.

[Florida_gal_50]

6 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

$540 per person or total for both of you? My TA quoted me $35 /day so that would be $630 for you 18 night Hawaii. Hmmnn, seems like my quote was higher than yours. But then yours appears to be $30 x 18 = $540. Right?

First of all the person you quoted was given the amount is usd.  I’m assuming yours is Canadian.  That’s how mine was quoted.  I also paid 2 different rates for mine even though they were both 7 days.  The California coast one was higher.  My paperwork that breaks it down is at home so I can’t tell you exactly what it was.

[hmorrow]

7 hours ago, Crew News said:

My HAL PCC explained that cruises 14 days and more will have $15/p/p/day; 8-13 days are $35/p/p/day; and 7 days and less are $50/p/p/day.

Our cruise is 7 days, and we paid 25 pp per day, not 50pp per day

[dot73]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Just thinking out loud that your concern is valid.  Since the subset of passengers who book CO is quite small, it is very possible that few or none would want to table share.   We have seen this happen on Princess with their Club Class folks where there were simply not enough wanting to share (at a particular time) to handle the singles.  We met one lady who decided to just dine in the MDR so she would be assured of having tablemates.

 

Hank

My cruise isn't until May so hopefully there will be another solo on the roll call that may have also bought the CO and will want to share a table. If not, I can eat alone like I usually do in Canaletto or the other specialty restaurants.

[dot73]

15 hours ago, Crew News said:

The  Nieuw Statendam CO has two community tables that can be selected and often are fully occupied during the peak dining hours.

That would be great. I love sitting at a large table.

[Hlitner]

31 minutes ago, dot73 said:

That would be great. I love sitting at a large table.

That would be great.  One practice we really like on Seabourn is what they call "hosted tables."  That line encourages senior officers, staff, and entertainers to interact with the passengers.  They routinely will host tables in the MDR and those interested have simply to let the dining hosts (who staff the entrance of all the dining venues) that they are interested in the hosted tables.  The staff does the rest.  DW and I always volunteer to go to those tables (they need some couples as well as singles) and they are lots of fun.  On our most recent cruise we dined with the Captain, Staff Captain, Assistant CD, lead singer, and were given an opportunity to dine with the Chief Engineer which we declined because of another commitment.   One item of interest was that both the Captain and Staff Captain had come over to Seabourn from prior Senior Officer jobs with HAL (HAL and SB operate as sister companies).  They told us that SB differs from HAL in that the company really encourages the Senior staff to dine and interact with passengers.   We do remember when HAL had a similar policy and you would often see numerous tables in the MDR hosted by Officers and sometimes the Officer's spouses (when they were aboard).   HAL (and other mass market lines) have mostly abandoned that policy.

 

Hank

[mcrcruiser]

9 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

$540 per person or total for both of you? My TA quoted me $35 /day so that would be $630 for you 18 night Hawaii. Hmmnn, seems like my quote was higher than yours. But then yours appears to be $30 x 18 = $540. Right?

Yes the Holland America representative   told me  $540   cost for our 18 night Hawaii cruise Jan 31 ,2023  . We were upgraded from a VH  handicap cabin on deck 4 to a VA handicap cabin on deck 8  .We paid in US dollars

Edited November 17, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[dot73]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

That would be great.  One practice we really like on Seabourn is what they call "hosted tables."  That line encourages senior officers, staff, and entertainers to interact with the passengers.  They routinely will host tables in the MDR and those interested have simply to let the dining hosts (who staff the entrance of all the dining venues) that they are interested in the hosted tables.  The staff does the rest.  DW and I always volunteer to go to those tables (they need some couples as well as singles) and they are lots of fun.  On our most recent cruise we dined with the Captain, Staff Captain, Assistant CD, lead singer, and were given an opportunity to dine with the Chief Engineer which we declined because of another commitment.   One item of interest was that both the Captain and Staff Captain had come over to Seabourn from prior Senior Officer jobs with HAL (HAL and SB operate as sister companies).  They told us that SB differs from HAL in that the company really encourages the Senior staff to dine and interact with passengers.   We do remember when HAL had a similar policy and you would often see numerous tables in the MDR hosted by Officers and sometimes the Officer's spouses (when they were aboard).   HAL (and other mass market lines) have mostly abandoned that policy.

 

Hank

About 15 years ago, I had an opportunity to sit with a couple of officers on Princess and on HAL. I really enjoyed that.  I haven't been on Princess in a while but HAL doesn't seem to do that anymore.

[Hlitner]

6 minutes ago, dot73 said:

About 15 years ago, I had an opportunity to sit with a couple of officers on Princess and on HAL. I really enjoyed that.  I haven't been on Princess in a while but HAL doesn't seem to do that anymore.

We do know it was a deliberate change in HAL policy, but Officers are mum on the reason(s).  There has been some speculation here on CC but like many things on CC it is just speculation.  When HAL Senior Officers move over to Seabourn they adjust to a completely different policy/culture in dealing with passengers.  As one who has cruised extensively on HAL, it was a surprise to find this big difference on Seabourn.  The topic did come up with the Staff Captain who tactfully handled the issue by saying that finding the time on a larger ship is more difficult :). 

 

Hank