Club Orange Newbie

[SleeStack1]

We have only been on (3) cruises...two on HA.  We have one on NCL next week and then another HA cruise next December.

 

We booked ClubOrange for the 12/2023 cruise.  Its an 11 day southern Caribbean cruise on the Eurodam.  We know there isn't a separate CO restaurant but are willing to trial run CO anyway.

 

With our room upgrade cost factored in, the net cost of CO came to +$70 for the entire trip.

 

I guess the daily mimosa may not be a thing anymore, bummer.  I was hoping to at least have a couple.  We don't do drink packages.

 

I've read there haven't been special CO events lately.  Has anyone experienced one recently?

 

It seems that $70 will ultimately get us priority boarding (maybe), a bottle of sparkling wine, a tote bag, and the extra entree listing.  I don't believe there's any tender ports, so no value there either.  Maybe we overpaid for CO?  😆

 

One question...if there is a future fare drop...is it harder to get any compensation with a CO booking?  We booked VE and upgraded to V.

Edited December 31, 2022 by SleeStack1

[KAKcruiser]

Theoretically you should be able to get a price adjustment if the VE category goes down since that is the category you paid for.  In reality, you might not get too far with the regular customer service reps who sometimes have trouble figuring it out.  Then you have to demand to speak to a price specialist who will adjust the price with no problem.

[jimbob22]

2 hours ago, SleeStack1 said:

I guess the daily mimosa may not be a thing anymore, bummer.  I was hoping to at least have a couple.  We don't do drink packages.

 

Rotterdam has a half priced happy hour every day from 4 to 5pm--but I don't know if all the ships have this.  We took advantage of that a couple of times (and their pours were generous, moreso that prior cruises we've been on).  We don't drink nearly enough to warrant getting drink packages.

[*Miss G*]

You get the expanded breakfast menu so the complimentary mimosas are on that.  If you want two each, order 4.  Here is the link to the Expanded Breakfast Menu.

 

[oaktreerb]

With the crowds outside the MDR for early open dining recently unless you have fixed dining it would be worth $70 to have a dedicated line for dining room seating!  I have not seen any special CO event since Covid.  You can have your jewelry cleaned in the shops but you could probably have that done anyway.  I’m not sure if you can get mimosas and fresh orange juice in the MDR.  It is available for room service breakfast.  Haven’t seen the sparkling wine.  The CO priority line at the service desk is nice to have if you have issues.

[djvand]

I was wondering the same about the mimosas in the Orange dining room.  IF they include in room service maybe they will in dining room.  Can anyone confirm?

[Balliett]

Mimosas were offered daily at breakfast on the Koningdam, Orange Club, in December.  This ship does have a separate breakfast-dining room.  

[REOVA]

10 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

  The CO priority line at the service desk is nice to have if you have issues.

Yes that may be worth the $70 right there. 😁 Also priority lane at the EXC desk. Time is money. 

[AFNavigator]

On 1/1/2023 at 1:24 AM, REOVA said:

Yes that may be worth the $70 right there. 😁 Also priority lane at the EXC desk. Time is money. 

The priority embarkation and priority tender access are nice time savers too.

[REOVA]

1 minute ago, AFNavigator said:

The priority embarkation and priority tender access are nice time savers too.

Yes, since OP is not yet 4* or 5*

[DaveOKC]

9 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

The priority embarkation and priority tender access are nice time savers too.

My brother just off the K with CLub Orange and said no priority in boarding, just checking in.  Anyone else experience this?

 

[REOVA]

17 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

My brother just off the K with CLub Orange and said no priority in boarding, just checking in.  Anyone else experience this?

 

I think someone previously posted that the port crew did not necessarily know about CO and they had to "remind" them. Not sure how often it happens or which port. Also same with boarding times which some follow strict, no matter status. You check in, get a boarding card and they call the letter/number on card. 

[oaktreerb]

30 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

My brother just off the K with CLub Orange and said no priority in boarding, just checking in.  Anyone else experience this?

 

yes, in San Diego.  Non HAL staff were very aware and acknowledged 4*+ priority but not CO.

[DaveOKC]

11 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

yes, in San Diego.  Non HAL staff were very aware and acknowledged 4*+ priority but not CO.

It was in SD

 

[highland cruiser]

My sister and brother-in-law have club orange on the Koningsdam Jan. 14 boarding in San Diego.  Their boarding pass says priority boarding.  No mention about club orange.  Their boarding time in group B.

We are on the same cruise with them.  We are 5 * and have priority boarding  on our boarding pass and we were in Group E, boarding an hour later.  Called my TA and she got us changed to Group B.  The HAL rep said that boarding assignments are random and she had no idea why we got Group E as we also have club orange.   She also said on our  room card there would be an orange stripe to designate we have club orange.  My TA recommended that we take our booking confirmation that lists what perks we have to show front desk that we have purchased club orange in case there is a problem. 

We purchased Club Orange when we did the room upgrade.  

 

Go figure!!  I wasn't worried.  I knew we would still get on the ship.  😆

[AFNavigator]

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

My brother just off the K with CLub Orange and said no priority in boarding, just checking in.  Anyone else experience this?

 

We were on NS out of port everglades 2 weeks ago.  The gate agent was steering us to the regular processing line until I showed her the "priority" marking on our boarding passes.  She then moved us to the priority lane.  Their system apparently does not automatically indicate a priority status.

[VermeulT]

The biggest value of adding CO to your booking is the upgrade. For $70, the OP got a room upgrade worth possibly hundreds.  The separate dining on the newer ships is gold to me too.  Quiet. Quick. Hot food. The priority lines at boarding and the front desk came in handy too.

[AFNavigator]

2 hours ago, VermeulT said:

The biggest value of adding CO to your booking is the upgrade. For $70, the OP got a room upgrade worth possibly hundreds.  The separate dining on the newer ships is gold to me too.  Quiet. Quick. Hot food. The priority lines at boarding and the front desk came in handy too.

Totally agree the within-category cabin upgrade is the biggest value.  We bought Club Orange for $350 for the week then had HAL upgrade us from an obstructed balcony to a V-category balcony.  The upgrade value was $410 so Club Orange basically saved us $60 to get the cabin we wanted ($410 upgrade - $350 CO cost).

[Alfisti]

Port Everglades staff don't seem to know much about Club Orange.  I tried pointing it out (priority boarding on our passes) but the representative just handed me a card and insisted we have to wait.  

 

While waiting the agent was announcing that 4*, 5*, Club Orange, etc could board at anytime.  So we went and the other reps there collecting cards had no clue what we were talking about but finally just let us board.