Another Club Orange question….🙈

[FengShui@Sea]

I have searched and couldn’t find the answer for this.  
 

If we book a Vista suite and then purchase CO, would we be able to upgrade to any Signature suite that was available?  TIA

 

[DaveOKC]

10 minutes ago, FengShui@Sea said:

I have searched and couldn’t find the answer for this.  
 

If we book a Vista suite and then purchase CO, would we be able to upgrade to any Signature suite that was available?  TIA

 

No.  You would just get an upgrade to the best available Vista cabin.

 

[REOVA]

It's not an upgrade to a different category. You only get upgrade within the Meta category you booked. Many people do it to pay the lower rate and try for a better cabin but some keep their cabin as a "better" cabin in HALs view is not always better in the passenger view. 

[POA1]

You can choose your cabin within the Meta category. SZ Signatures can go up to an SS or SQ. (SQ is Signature spa.) However, if you start with a Vista Suite the highest you can go up to is an As (aft Vista.) The biggest bang for the buck in terms of upgrades is in the verandah categories.

[FengShui@Sea]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

You can choose your cabin within the Meta category. SZ Signatures can go up to an SS or SQ. (SQ is Signature spa.) However, if you start with a Vista Suite the highest you can go up to is an As (aft Vista.) The biggest bang for the buck in terms of upgrades is in the verandah categories.

 

I wasn't sure if the three lower suites were considered under one category of 'suites', but it was wishful thinking.

 

Unfortunately, I did it backwards.  I booked the exact verandah cabin that we wanted, and later learned about Club Orange.  I called to have CO added to our booking, but don't want to change cabins.   To take advantage of the upgrade I will have to cancel and rebook a lower verandah, and then request the cabin we have now.  But I would just hate to lose our current cabin so it is probably not worth it.

 

Thanks all for your comments.

[FengShui@Sea]

I wasn't sure if the three lower suites were considered under one category of 'suites', but it was wishful thinking.

 

Unfortunately, I did it backwards.  I booked the exact verandah cabin that we wanted, and later learned about Club Orange.  Today I called to have CO added to our booking, but don't want to change cabins.   To take advantage of the upgrade I will have to cancel and rebook a lower verandah, and then request the cabin we have now.  But I would just hate to lose our current cabin so it is probably not worth it.

 

Thanks all for your comments.

 

P.S.  You may see this response duplicated as I tried to post it earlier and it seemed to get 'hung up' needing approval.  (?)

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by FengShui@Sea

[REOVA]

Try to call again and see if they will give OBC or other benefit by not rebooking. Some people have been lucky. 

[POA1]

2 hours ago, FengShui@Sea said:

Unfortunately, I did it backwards.  I booked the exact verandah cabin that we wanted, and later learned about Club Orange.  Today I called to have CO added to our booking, but don't want to change cabins.   To take advantage of the upgrade I will have to cancel and rebook a lower verandah, and then request the cabin we have now.  But I would just hate to lose our current cabin so it is probably not worth it.

If it makes you feel better, I did the exact same thing.

[KAKcruiser]

Sometimes they are willing to rebook you into a lower category and then upgrade you to your old existing cabin.

[crystalspin]

5 hours ago, FengShui@Sea said:

Unfortunately, I did it backwards.  I booked the exact verandah cabin that we wanted, and later learned about Club Orange.  Today I called to have CO added to our booking, but don't want to change cabins.  

This would be me. I can't go through a booking without choosing what I want!

[FengShui@Sea]

17 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

Sometimes they are willing to rebook you into a lower category and then upgrade you to your old existing cabin.

Wow, that would be fantastic.  I have reached out to my TA to see if she can swing it.  It’s about $500 difference so fingers crossed!

 

[fox02554]

4 hours ago, FengShui@Sea said:

Wow, that would be fantastic.  I have reached out to my TA to see if she can swing it.  It’s about $500 difference so fingers crossed!

 

They offered us OBC $250 when I called , ( 21 days/ SS )

[POA1]

11 hours ago, REOVA said:

Try to call again and see if they will give OBC or other benefit by not rebooking. Some people have been lucky. 

You can receive OBC if you cannot be upgraded. You do not receive OBC if you decline to take an upgrade. In our case, we booked a midship Vista Suite in category A. An upgrade to an AS (aft Vista) was available. We wanted the midship location and declined to upgrade. So, no OBC for us.

 

The same thing can happen if you book a V category verandah and decline a "upgrade" to a spa verandah. The spa verandah is more expensive and a higher category. I would not want one because it's high up, way forward, and has a balcony that is reduced depth.

 

On our second upcoming booking, we played the game correctly. We booked a VH (obstructed verandah) then added Club Orange. We used to our CO upgrade to move to one of the pointy Cat V's on the bump out. That's a verandah with more interior room and a somewhat larger than normal verandah.

 

It will also give us our second Club Orange tote bag. (This will help to end the inevitable squabbling over which one of us gets to use the bag. It's a good thing we've been married for decades. I doubt a young marriage could handle the stress.)

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by POA1

[FengShui@Sea]

3 hours ago, fox02554 said:

They offered us OBC $250 when I called , ( 21 days/ SS )

 

Good to know Dee.  That would be worth it to me.  The HAL agent I spoke to yesterday was so nice I am sure she would have allowed me to rebook to a lower verandah but my booking was through an agency so I am sure she wouldn't have been allowed to.

 

[POA1]

7 hours ago, FengShui@Sea said:

Wow, that would be fantastic.  I have reached out to my TA to see if she can swing it.  It’s about $500 difference so fingers crossed!

 

That's a good test of your TA. They'll be reducing their commission to keep you happy.

 

[FengShui@Sea]

I am learning so much from all of you.  Thank you!

 

We are in a Deck 4 VB, with the really deep balcony.  HAL cabins are smaller than most other lines so that big balcony will give us more space.  There is only one other deck 4 VB available and ours has the opposite direction the bed faces, which I prefer.  (Yes, I really am that picky!)  Oh well, first world problems I guess.  Thanks again.

 

[CT D&N]

8 hours ago, KAKcruiser said:

Sometimes they are willing to rebook you into a lower category and then upgrade you to your old existing cabin.

Yes, certainly worth a phone call to your PCC or TA. I also already had a desired stateroom booked when I first found out about CO.  A quick call to my PCC and she did a quick rebooking and in the end I was able to take advantage of the discount and keep my original/desired stateroom.

[Dobby36]

4 hours ago, CT D&N said:

Yes, certainly worth a phone call to your PCC or TA. I also already had a desired stateroom booked when I first found out about CO.  A quick call to my PCC and she did a quick rebooking and in the end I was able to take advantage of the discount and keep my original/desired stateroom.

I was able to do the same through my PCC with HAL.  Resulted in less over $ for the same cabin I already had/liked, and the same benefits etc plus club orange.  The one asterisk would be if you had valuable early booking or onboard benefits or some combo of things they weren’t longer available, you’d be likely to need to move to whatever promotions are current.  Still worth a call to see if you come out ahead in your circumstance. 

[FengShui@Sea]

So wow!  $765.60 reduction in price to get the same VB cabin on Deck 4 (after the $420 cost of CO).  My poor agent must have spent a lot of time with HAL, and in the end they had to make a new booking.  

 

A huge thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts and experiences!

 

[terrydtx]

On 10/15/2023 at 4:30 PM, FengShui@Sea said:

 

I wasn't sure if the three lower suites were considered under one category of 'suites', but it was wishful thinking.

 

Unfortunately, I did it backwards.  I booked the exact verandah cabin that we wanted, and later learned about Club Orange.  I called to have CO added to our booking, but don't want to change cabins.   To take advantage of the upgrade I will have to cancel and rebook a lower verandah, and then request the cabin we have now.  But I would just hate to lose our current cabin so it is probably not worth it.

 

Thanks all for your comments.

We booked a aft facing Verandah on the Koingsdam for next month. After we booked I had CO added and there was not a higher Verandah category cabin available so we were given $100 OBC instead which was just fine. 

 

For our Volendam cruise next year we booked a Vista Suite B category close to the aft and upgraded to a Vista A category midship which was the exact location we wanted. The difference in cost for the two Vista categories almost paid for the CO.

[zgscl]

4 hours ago, FengShui@Sea said:

So wow!  $765.60 reduction in price to get the same VB cabin on Deck 4 (after the $420 cost of CO).  My poor agent must have spent a lot of time with HAL, and in the end they had to make a new booking.  

 

A huge thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts and experiences!

 

A sign you have a good agent! 

[2Long2NxtCrz]

I'm still very new to HAL as we've just completed one cruise to Alaska on Nieuw Amsterdam. But I booked a Boston to Montreal cruise for next August on the Volendam. We're in an ocean view D category room and the booking came with Premium HIA.

 

My first question is how do I book Club Orange if I wanted it? I don't see anything in my cruise that even mentions CO. I don't know if this makes a difference, but I booked with HAL and then immediately moved the booking to my TA.

 

Thanks.

[Haljo1935]

30 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

I'm still very new to HAL as we've just completed one cruise to Alaska on Nieuw Amsterdam. But I booked a Boston to Montreal cruise for next August on the Volendam. We're in an ocean view D category room and the booking came with Premium HIA.

 

My first question is how do I book Club Orange if I wanted it? I don't see anything in my cruise that even mentions CO. I don't know if this makes a difference, but I booked with HAL and then immediately moved the booking to my TA.

 

Thanks.

You won't see CO mentioned anywhere in the cruise stuff unless you added it, then there is a one line entry for it on the invoice.

You can call HAL to see if it's available for your booking (it's capacity controlled). If it is available, they can add it for you.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

You won't see CO mentioned anywhere in the cruise stuff unless you added it, then there is a one line entry for it on the invoice.

You can call HAL to see if it's available for your booking (it's capacity controlled). If it is available, they can add it for you.

Thank you. I was scratching my head trying to figure it out.

 

 

[FengShui@Sea]

23 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Thank you. I was scratching my head trying to figure it out.

 

 

 

I first heard about it on the HAL CC Board, and then did a search on Holland's website to read more about what is included.  You can call HAL directly, or have your travel agent call.  If you want the cabin upgrade you need to pay for Club Orange when you add it to your reservation.  And if there is a particular cabin you want to upgrade to (doing a mock booking on HAL's website will show you what's available) it is best to let them know when you put CO on your reservation.