Club Orange worth it?

[oaktreerb]

22 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I agree.  Looking at a cruise for the fall and my pcc told me there are only 5 spots left.  I was shocked.  

I think CO has become more popular because of the poor staffing and service in the MDR.

[kazu]

55 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

I don’t understand why, unless they are sold out.  My PCC has booked me this way at least twice.  I choose my deck 4 stateroom, add Club Orange, and he books it at the lowest veranda rate (obstructed).   The cruises have been 7 day Pacific Coast cruises on the Koningsdam.  Maybe you should reach out to the TA or person who booked your cruise for a second opinion.

 

Not sold out - bought it.  Will reach out to my TA.  Some of the people in Seattle don’t know beans.  Time will tell I guess.

 

My problem might be adding it after booking.  But I don’t want to risk losing my deck 4 cabin (have a feeling you and I have the same verandahs) and there aren’t many left.

 

 

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

I think CO has become more popular because of the poor staffing and service in the MDR.

 

Absolutely - just off the Koningsdam and did the MDR once with friends.  Once was enough.  HUGE difference between the MDR and Club Orange on that ship and I only used Club Orange for the upgrade originally.  

Had no idea of the difference - and it shouldn’t be that much IMO.

[Florida_gal_50]

9 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

I think CO has become more popular because of the poor staffing and service in the MDR.

That’s likely the case.  I think we all need to dampen our enthusiasm about club orange 😛.

[*Miss G*]

15 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Not sold out - bought it.  Will reach out to my TA.  Some of the people in Seattle don’t know beans.  Time will tell I guess.

 

My problem might be adding it after booking.  But I don’t want to risk losing my deck 4 cabin (have a feeling you and I have the same verandahs) and there aren’t many left.

 

 

 

To be honest, I can’t imagine why you can’t add it to an existing reservation.  It makes no sense as it’s just an add-on purchase.  Hopefully you can get this sorted through your TA.

[twodjs]

26 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

My problem might be adding it after booking.  But I don’t want to risk losing my deck 4 cabin (have a feeling you and I have the same verandahs) and there aren’t many left.

 

 

You do understand that a Club Orange add-on does not REQUIRE you to change cabins - the upgrade option is simply one of the perks of Club Orange. We already had our cabin - just booked Club Orange for the dining option.

[kazu]

16 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

To be honest, I can’t imagine why you can’t add it to an existing reservation.  It makes no sense as it’s just an add-on purchase.  Hopefully you can get this sorted through your TA.

 

I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear - you can add it - no problem - and I did  - but you don’t get the benefit of a reduced fare - or at least, I didn’t.

 

Far better to do it when you book IMO -  book guaranteed or lowest category and then use Club Orange.

I have it - just paid for it and no fare price break.

 

Just the same - for a peaceful dining experience - good service (which I don’t think we should have to pay for) it’s worth it right now.

[kazu]

Just now, twodjs said:

You do understand that a Club Orange add-on does not REQUIRE you to change cabins - the upgrade option is simply one of the perks of Club Orange. We already had our cabin - just booked Club Orange for the dining option.

 

Of course I do.  would have been nice to have paid a lower price though.  The dining option is the only reason I booked Club Orange.  I already have all the other perks.   I is what it is. 

[REOVA]

31 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That’s likely the case.  I think we all need to dampen our enthusiasm about club orange 😛.

Because of the Pinnacle Ships MDR, we enjoyed Club Orange on Rotterdam in November. However family members just got off NS and thought the club orange restaurant was slow and unorganized. "Like the staff was in training". Possibly HAL is selling too many packages and not training or staffing enough for demand(?).  So be aware.  Not sure if others are seeing any differences over the past few months. 

[*Miss G*]

8 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear - you can add it - no problem - and I did  - but you don’t get the benefit of a reduced fare - or at least, I didn’t.

 

Far better to do it when you book IMO -  book guaranteed or lowest category and then use Club Orange.

I have it - just paid for it and no fare price break.

 

Just the same - for a peaceful dining experience - good service (which I don’t think we should have to pay for) it’s worth it right now.

 

Ah, gotcha.  Yes, that’s exactly why I like CO too; the dining room.

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Because of the Pinnacle Ships MDR, we enjoyed Club Orange on Rotterdam in November. However family members just got off NS and thought the club orange restaurant was slow and unorganized. "Like the staff was in training". Possibly HAL is selling too many packages and not training or staffing enough for demand(?).  So be aware.  Not sure if others are seeing any differences over the past few months. 

I’ve been pretty happy with it except one morning when I had to wait a half hour to get in.  It didn’t seem like they were restricting passes on that cruise.  I generally eat in specialty restaurants at night because I’m over eating with groups of people.  I do eat on occasion at night at club orange but one night someone decided to bring a 2 or three year old in there that was making non stop noise.  The mother also decided to sing on top of it.  That wasn’t enjoyable.

[*Miss G*]

4 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Not sure if others are seeing any differences over the past few months. 

 

We had a less-than-stellar experience on the Koningsdam in September.  Previous to that (pre- and post-covid shutdown on both the Koningsdam and the Nieuw Statendam) our experiences were wonderful.  They were apologetic and told us there had been a recent change of staff.  Sounds like they’ve resolved that problem now.

[fsufancc]

Sorry for the confusion on my part but I am still unclear about the process.  We already have 2 veranda rooms for a trip in August on the Rotterdam that I am not interested in changing at this point.

 

But for future trips (and if it makes monetary sense)

1. I start by going online and seeing what veranda rooms are available and make notes of the ones I would like to have.

2. Book the least expensive obstructed view veranda cabin with my TA and ask to add CO

3. Then request TA to contact HAL and ask to upgrade to higher level veranda room - give TA some room numbers that I would like to have. 

 

So, moving from an obstructed view veranda room - can I request any category veranda room or is it just one step up to the next class?

 

Also, why would you not employ this strategy every time you book a trip (at least on Pinnacle class)?

[waiting2retire]

I book with a HAL cruise consultant. For my past 3 bookings on a pinnacle ship, I went online to identify a cabin I would like to book (Usually aft-facing or extended balcony on deck 4 aft). I then did the cost differential between that cabin and the lowest obstructed balcony. It has always come out that I am saving money by booking CO as opposed to booking my desired balcony cabin outright. 
 

I then contact my HAL CC and tell him specifically to book any cabin the lowest obstructed balcony category, then add CO and upgrade to the specific cabin number I saw as available online. He puts me on hold while contacts CO to confirm availability then finalizes the booking. 
 

I tend to book well in advance of my cruise date and CO has been available so far. I honestly don’t know what I would decide to do if it wasn’t available as the CO dining room makes it so much easier to cope with my hearing issues. Such a cacophony in the MDR. 

[Nodakboiler]

The CO upgrade benefit is optimal in the verandah category because of the many price differences- not so much in other category cabins.

[Florida_gal_50]

43 minutes ago, fsufancc said:

Sorry for the confusion on my part but I am still unclear about the process.  We already have 2 veranda rooms for a trip in August on the Rotterdam that I am not interested in changing at this point.

 

But for future trips (and if it makes monetary sense)

1. I start by going online and seeing what veranda rooms are available and make notes of the ones I would like to have.

2. Book the least expensive obstructed view veranda cabin with my TA and ask to add CO

3. Then request TA to contact HAL and ask to upgrade to higher level veranda room - give TA some room numbers that I would like to have. 

 

So, moving from an obstructed view veranda room - can I request any category veranda room or is it just one step up to the next class?

 

Also, why would you not employ this strategy every time you book a trip (at least on Pinnacle class)?

You’ve got it.  I don’t know why people don’t do it but frankly it makes me happy if they don’t.  Some say they don’t like eating in a “fishbowl”.  It’s always people that have never set foot in the place but I’m great with their decision.

[oaktreerb]

3 hours ago, fsufancc said:

 

 

So, moving from an obstructed view veranda room - can I request any category veranda room or is it just one step up to the next class?

 

 

On the Pinnacle Class ships if you add CO:  for a veranda you pay for VH guarantee and choose an available cabin VF through VQ.  My choice is a VB cabin so I save less than people who choose a VQ.  

[Iamthesea]

16 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Not sold out - bought it.  Will reach out to my TA.  Some of the people in Seattle don’t know beans.  Time will tell I guess.

 

My problem might be adding it after booking.  But I don’t want to risk losing my deck 4 cabin (have a feeling you and I have the same verandahs) and there aren’t many left.

 

 

kazu - What category are the larger verandas?  You mentioned earlier that there were "very few left" for our cruise.   I tried looking on HAL's website, but find it hard to navigate when looking for specific categories.  I do not like their booking system.   

If you decide to give yours up, let me know! 😀    I have a VA with a normal verandah. 

[kazu]

11 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

kazu - What category are the larger verandas?  You mentioned earlier that there were "very few left" for our cruise.   I tried looking on HAL's website, but find it hard to navigate when looking for specific categories.  I do not like their booking system.   

If you decide to give yours up, let me know! 😀    I have a VA with a normal verandah. 

 

VB - on the Pinnacle Class ships - Beethoven deck (deck 4) aft mostly.

Those verandahs are a LOT deeper than the others.

[Iamthesea]

Ah, yes.  Those are all gone for our cruise. Only VB's on the Sun deck, with the normal sized verandas  (actually look smaller than normal) are available.  I'll stick with my VA.

[AFNavigator]

On 1/20/2023 at 8:23 PM, kazu said:

 

Of course I do.  would have been nice to have paid a lower price though.  The dining option is the only reason I booked Club Orange.  I already have all the other perks.   I is what it is. 

Maybe we just got lucky last year but on the NS we booked the exact V-category cabin we wanted then decided a couple days later to consider adding Club Orange.  I called HAL and the agent temp rebooked us to an obstructed balcony, added Club Orange, then upgraded us "for free" back to our original V-category cabin.  The net cost was -$60 because the obstructed balcony was $410 less than the V-category cabin so adding the $350 Club Orange package was a great deal for us.

[kazu]

8 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Ah, yes.  Those are all gone for our cruise. Only VB's on the Sun deck, with the normal sized verandas  (actually look smaller than normal) are available.  I'll stick with my VA.

 

For the 14 day Midnight Sun?  No - there are still some and a few not connecting:

 

 

 

Looks like I was in now error - they were VB’s on my other sailing - now seem to be VA’s.

 

4 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

Maybe we just got lucky last year but on the NS we booked the exact V-category cabin we wanted then decided a couple days later to consider adding Club Orange.  I called HAL and the agent temp rebooked us to an obstructed balcony, added Club Orange, then upgraded us "for free" back to our original V-category cabin.  The net cost was -$60 because the obstructed balcony was $410 less than the V-category cabin so adding the $350 Club Orange package was a great deal for us.

 

Probably lucky in that you got someone knowledgeable and I didn’t, maybe 😉. I did inquire of my TA in case there is something that can be done.  

[KAKcruiser]

Ask for a pricing specialist.  Be insistent because the phone reps try to discourage this.  But, it still might be complicated because you booked through a TA.  Also, since the price and perks are probably different from when you booked, it might not be beneficial to you whereas it might not make a difference to someone who only booked a few days ago.

[Iamthesea]

7 hours ago, kazu said:

 

For the 14 day Midnight Sun?  No - there are still some and a few not connecting:

 

 

 

Looks like I was in now error - they were VB’s on my other sailing - now seem to be VA’s.

 

 

Probably lucky in that you got someone knowledgeable and I didn’t, maybe 😉. I did inquire of my TA in case there is something that can be done.  

Found them!  That is odd that they are now categorized as VA.  That's why they did not show up when I first checked under VB. 

 

Thinking about one of the two that are nearest the lifeboats and next to the HC staterooms.  They are just outside the elevators/stairs area, however. And there appears to be a storage closet outside of each.  Question, in the location of your stateroom over the dining room area, is there any downside such as noise, or food smells?

1 hour ago, KAKcruiser said:

Ask for a pricing specialist.  Be insistent because the phone reps try to discourage this.  But, it still might be complicated because you booked through a TA.  Also, since the price and perks are probably different from when you booked, it might not be beneficial to you whereas it might not make a difference to someone who only booked a few days ago.

I was under the impression that if one booked with an independent TA, that one would have to make changes or additions through that TA. 🤔

[kazu]

46 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Found them!  That is odd that they are now categorized as VA.  That's why they did not show up when I first checked under VB. 

 

Thinking about one of the two that are nearest the lifeboats and next to the HC staterooms.  They are just outside the elevators/stairs area, however. And there appears to be a storage closet outside of each.  Question, in the location of your stateroom over the dining room area, is there any downside such as noise, or food smells?

I was under the impression that if one booked with an independent TA, that one would have to make changes or additions through that TA. 🤔

 

I had one of those cabins on the Koningsdam - 4191 - no noise at all.  The odd sound with movement but not much and not often and much less than I expected with an aft cabin.

 

You need to contact your TA and they will change your cabin for you.