What exactly is Club Orange?

[Sandifer]

I have traveled on Hal many times but I admit I don’t know what club orange is.  

[colin v]

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

[Toofarfromthesea]

2 hours ago, Sandifer said:

I have traveled on Hal many times but I admit I don’t know what club orange is.  

 

Just to expand a bit, when the web description says 'enhanced' menu it just means one additional item on the menu, not a whole different menu.

[koolforkatz]

We just booked a 14 night 2025 cruise while on the Koningsdam and saved over $600 - including the extra CO price - by paying for a balcony guarantee and then being upgraded to the top balcony category.

 

The Club Orange restaurant also looks very nice. Much more intimate than the MDR.

[YourWorldWithBill]

3 hours ago, Sandifer said:

I have traveled on Hal many times but I admit I don’t know what club orange is.  

We also saved a bunch by booking the least expensive verandah on the Nieuw Statendam and tehn upgrading. One thing to be aware of: another nice benefit of CO is the separate dining availability. On all the ships you get into the MDR quickly, but on the Pinnacle class ships there is a separate dining room, which adds a different atmosphere.

There was a long thread here about whether it's worth it. You might take a look at that. Almost everyone who posted said they felt it was worth it. 

[boeckli]

16 hours ago, koolforkatz said:

We just booked a 14 night 2025 cruise while on the Koningsdam and saved over $600 - including the extra CO price - by paying for a balcony guarantee and then being upgraded to the top balcony category.

 

 

 

Please help me understand how this works. 

If you book/pay for a balcony guarantee, do you with CO get upgraded to just the top  balcony 'category' (i.e. any stateroom/location within that category) or are you able to choose a  particular stateroom within that top category.

Example: Say Noordam or Westerdam - if I book a guarantee (HAL to choose my stateroom,  thus lower fare), then add Club Orange, do I  get 'any' VA stateroom (of HAL's choosing) or can I choose a specific one (even maybe a VB in a certain location).

Thanks in advance for any clarification.  

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by boeckli

[Sea42]

27 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

Please help me understand how this works. 

If you book/pay for a balcony guarantee, do you with CO get upgraded to just the top  balcony 'category' (i.e. any stateroom/location within that category) or are you able to choose a  particular stateroom within that top category.

Example: Say Noordam or Westerdam - if I book a guarantee (HAL to choose my stateroom,  thus lower fare), then add Club Orange, do I  get 'any' VA stateroom (of HAL's choosing) or can I choose a specific one (even maybe a VB in a certain location).

Thanks in advance for any clarification.  

 

You get to choose any available cabin in the meta category that you booked.

Example - Book an obstructed view balcony and upgrade to any balcony of your choice. It does not have to be the highest category.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Sea42

[TAW1963]

1 hour ago, boeckli said:

 

Please help me understand how this works. 

If you book/pay for a balcony guarantee, do you with CO get upgraded to just the top  balcony 'category' (i.e. any stateroom/location within that category) or are you able to choose a  particular stateroom within that top category.

Example: Say Noordam or Westerdam - if I book a guarantee (HAL to choose my stateroom,  thus lower fare), then add Club Orange, do I  get 'any' VA stateroom (of HAL's choosing) or can I choose a specific one (even maybe a VB in a certain location).

Thanks in advance for any clarification.  

 

I was going to give the same answer as @Sea42, so I edited this post so you didn't get the same answer twice.  We use Club Orange to get an aft-facing VB cabin on Vista and Signature class ships and aft-facing VS cabins on Pinnacle class ships.

Edited September 21, 2023 by TAW1963

[koolforkatz]

1 hour ago, boeckli said:

 

Please help me understand how this works. 

If you book/pay for a balcony guarantee, do you with CO get upgraded to just the top  balcony 'category' (i.e. any stateroom/location within that category) or are you able to choose a  particular stateroom within that top category.

Example: Say Noordam or Westerdam - if I book a guarantee (HAL to choose my stateroom,  thus lower fare), then add Club Orange, do I  get 'any' VA stateroom (of HAL's choosing) or can I choose a specific one (even maybe a VB in a certain location).

Thanks in advance for any clarification.  

 

 

Hi - I booked this while onboard a cruise last week. I paid for and booked a balcony guarantee. I then emailed my TA to pay for the CO add-on (you can't get the upgrade until you have paid for CO). I then let her know which cabin I wanted and once CO was paid she contacted HAL and was able to get the cabin.

 

The gentleman at the cruise sales desk cautioned that he personally couldn't guarantee I would get the actual cabin I requested and that it was up to HAL. But did say they usually were able to give you what you wanted, based on availability. So in a way the upgrade I guess could be seen as a GTY itself. But it worked for us and others have posted they have had no issues either.

 

Hope that helps.

[TAW1963]

37 minutes ago, koolforkatz said:

 

Hi - I booked this while onboard a cruise last week. I paid for and booked a balcony guarantee. I then emailed my TA to pay for the CO add-on (you can't get the upgrade until you have paid for CO). I then let her know which cabin I wanted and once CO was paid she contacted HAL and was able to get the cabin.

 

The gentleman at the cruise sales desk cautioned that he personally couldn't guarantee I would get the actual cabin I requested and that it was up to HAL. But did say they usually were able to give you what you wanted, based on availability. So in a way the upgrade I guess could be seen as a GTY itself. But it worked for us and others have posted they have had no issues either.

 

Hope that helps.

I usually book a guarantee VH cabin directly through HAL by calling. I also ask for the Advantage Fare, which is a little higher, but gives me a refundable deposit.  I then have a mock-booking in front of me showing the cabins that are available, so when they call ship inventory to add CO, my chances are good that I will get the cabin of my choice.    If the cabin choice, or cabins of choice, are not available, then I can cancel the booking and get a full refund because of my refundable deposit.  However, my cabin choice usually is available, just like it is in the mock-booking, and I get a new booking confirmation showing my cabin of choice.  It also shows the cancellation fee schedule and shows that outside of the final payment period I can get a full refund, including the cost of CO, if I cancel.  

Edited September 21, 2023 by TAW1963

[koolforkatz]

I should also clarify when I made the booking with the future cruise gentleman I was told I was the first person to book this particular cruise (newly released) and as such my chances were pretty good I would get the cabin I wanted 🙂  It doesn't indicate anywhere on my confirmation nor was I told by my TA that my deposit was nonrefundable.

 

I had been regularly checking cabin availability before boarding the cruise on which I made this booking.

Edited September 21, 2023 by koolforkatz

[boeckli]

Thanks for the replies.  I know how CO works when you've started with booking under "I choose the stateroom" as I've done it before but wasn't sure if it worked the same way when starting with booking a guarantee  and then being able to choose a specific stateroom. 

[AbsolutSki]

When I read the description, it says CO is limited for each sailing.  Does anyone know what the limit is?  Is it perhaps a percentage of eligible staterooms?

[kazu]

18 minutes ago, AbsolutSki said:

When I read the description, it says CO is limited for each sailing.  Does anyone know what the limit is?  Is it perhaps a percentage of eligible staterooms?

 

It’s included for Neptune and Pinnacle Suites so the spaces are limited for the remaining cabins.  I seem to recall someone mentioning something like 70 people.

 

it’s not a percentage of staterooms - Club Orange dining room can only hold a certain number of people on the Pinnacle Class ships.  

[valancy1]

On 9/20/2023 at 1:51 PM, Sandifer said:

I have traveled on Hal many times but I admit I don’t know what club orange is.  

Here's how you do it.

If you're willing to do the math, sometimes you can save a nice chunk of change by adding Club Orange.

 

For the sake of this conversation, we will talk about a 7-day cruise.

 

Most popular category is the verandah so we will work with that, but this works with insides, Oceanview, and suites up to signature.

 

Let's say the lowest price verandah (VH--obstructed by lifeboats) is running $1,299 a person and thisnis double occupancy.  But you want a V (midship) or a VB or VS to face backwards and those are running about $1,899 pp.  $600 pp difference before taxes and fees because that's a wash.

 

Add Club Orange $25/pp per day for any sailing 13 days or less, and $15/pp per day 14 days and higher.  For 7 days it is $350.

 

Book VH for $1,299 pp=$2,598

Add Club Orange for $350*

Total before taxes & fees: $2,948

 

Cost of a VB as listed above $1,899 pp = $3,798

 

With Club Orange you get an upgrade complimentary with your upgrade. So once Club Orange is on the booking, and it is paid in full, any Vereandah category in this example would be yours to choose if it's available to be sold.

 

So you take that VB aft-facing stateroom for $2,498, a $1,300 savings for the same experience!

 

You still get the dining, priority embarkation/ debarkation/ tendering, your Club Orange line at guest services andnl shorenl excursions, and all the other stuff, but the upgrade...

 

Note that Club Orange is capacity controlled so if they are full, you'd have to be willing to think through a plan B. Club Orange must be paid in order to choose your stateroom.

 

No one can use Club Orange to upgrade to a Neptune suite and you can't go from an Oceanview to verandah.  You have to stay within the meta in which you booked.

 

You can use this on casino offers as well.