Grand Dutch cafe

[gizmodog]

Is there a charge for food in the Grand Dutch Cafe? 
also, on an 18:day cruise how do you purchase club orange? I cannot find it on their web site.

[Paulinda]

there is a charge on certain items.  We loved the pea soup they served and some of the delicious bakery at no charge.  I believe the items they charge were for drinks, perhaps even the coffee.  The cost was nominal. Have a wonderful cruise!

[kirkc]

Club Orange must be booked directly with HAL and is capacity controlled.it has been discussed at length here. Try a search.

[SusieKIslandGirl]

I think you can call the general Holland America customer service phone number and they will connect you with the correct department.

[BetsyS.]

Drinks at Dutch cafe are covered by HIA if you have it. I loved their pea soup too. 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Try the pea soup.

[Huskerchick]

The fries and the ham and cheese sandwich were fantastic and on my must try again list for our Rotterdam cruise next month. They also had a very good espresso martini. Now I'm hungry and thirsty 😂

[FOPMan]

There are charges for alcoholic beverages., sodas,, and coffee drinks. As noted, HIA can be used. No charge for foodstuffs.

[QuattroRomeo]

Since you asked about the food costs, pretty much everything is no charge. There are sandwiches, pea soup, fries, and occasionally smoked salmon. For dessert- apple pie, bossche bol (large cream puff), cookies, pound cake, mini pancakes and a few other treats. No charge for any of these.

 

A couple of packaged items do have a charge but are clearly marked, such as licorice candies and stroopwafel. 

 

The coffees, pop, beer and liquor do have a charge but if you have a drink package the drinks here are included.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, gizmodog said:

Is there a charge for food in the Grand Dutch Cafe? 
also, on an 18:day cruise how do you purchase club orange? I cannot find it on their web site.

 

Here is the menu for the GDC.  Everything without a price is free.  There will also be a few types of fresh cookies which aren’t listed.  (Which are also free.)

 

Grand Dutch Cafe Menu

 

Whenever I have purchased Club Orange it has been through a PCC at HAL.  If you are booking through a TA you can have them do it.

[Haljo1935]

GDC is a great lunch option - very fresh as they'll prepare it in their kitchen in the back and bring out to you. As mentioned, only packaged food has a cost, the rest is no cost. Coffee, tea & alcohol are covered on beverage packages, if you have one.

 

 

 

[Crew News]

2 hours ago, gizmodog said:

also, on an 18:day cruise how do you purchase club orange? I cannot find it on their web site.

After booking your cruise, you can add Club Orange by contacting Holland America Line Ship Inventory at 1-888-628-8107 .  Have your credit card ready as well as a deck plan if you want to upgrade your stateroom in the same category (example:  verandah to better verandah stateroom).  CO price for 18-day cruise should be $15/pp/day.

[Blackduck59]

I think that one of the "upgrades" they should do during the next refits for all ships is to add Grand Dutch Cafe to all ships that don't already have it. Which of course is the majority of the fleet. At the very least add some of the special pastries to "cafe" venues on the non Pinnacle ships.

[Crew News]

15 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think that one of the "upgrades" they should do during the next refits for all ships is to add Grand Dutch Cafe to all ships that don't already have it. Which of course is the majority of the fleet. At the very least add some of the special pastries to "cafe" venues on the non Pinnacle ships.

A remodeling of the centrally-located Deck #2 Pinnacle Bars could add both pastries and specialty coffees.  Another barista would be needed but the Pinnacle Bar would have longer hours to generate revenue.

[cruiseaholic78]

5 hours ago, gizmodog said:

Is there a charge for food in the Grand Dutch Cafe? 
also, on an 18:day cruise how do you purchase club orange? I cannot find it on their web site.

The GDC questions have been answered, now the CO, this is something that to me has the most value on the Pinnacle ships. We booked (if CO is available which is not always the case) the guarantee Veranda category and upgraded to our veranda cabin of choice. You also get some extra’s shown below.

 

The total cost of this was  cheaper than the price of our preferred cabin. On the smaller ships the price difference is  not usually worth it, the maths just have to add up, I do not know how they work for other categories. 
https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/activity-types/dining/club-orange/Club_Orange_Benefits.pdf

 

If the maths work for you I would get the CO the booking process.

Happy planning

 

[*Miss G*]

10 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Whenever I have purchased Club Orange it has been through a PCC at HAL.  If you are booking through a TA you can have them do it.

 

 

8 hours ago, Crew News said:

After booking your cruise, you can add Club Orange by contacting Holland America Line Ship Inventory at 1-888-628-8107 . 

 

 

Reading over the above two statements, I think I would like to add clarification:

 

—>  When making the initial booking through your TA or PCC, let them know you would like Club Orange when they ask about the stateroom category.  That will trigger the lower price and they will then let you pick from the higher available cabins within that category. 

 

—>  If you are adding Club Orange after you have already booked, call the number in @Crew News post, above.

[mcrcruiser]

We use  Club Orange exclusively on Koningsdam for our longer cruises .The cost per person is $15 per day & well worth that cost ,We get the cabin upgrade ,the club Orange dining room with one extra entre for dinner over the MDR menu, Priority boarding ,Priority tenders & a special line at customer relations desk 

 

So we book our cruises very early in the process & on long cruises over 14 days we book Club Orange 

 

 

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

I’m sitting in club orange as I type. Lovely fresh flowers on all the tables.

 

To keep it simple, if you drink it there is a change. If you eat it off the menu you already paid for it in your fare. 

 

I’ve spoken to three people on this sailing and all have stated they are experiencing long waits for club orange dining. Apparently the breakfast is only open from 7:30 to 9:00 (same hours as mdr). My friends showed up at 7:45 yesterday and all tables were full. They have also had to accept group tables for dinner as the two tops have been full. Rumor has it HAL increased the number of club orange passed sold on each sailing which maybe contributing to increased wait times. Sometimes things settle down as the cruise progresses also. Everyone said they are happy with the food. 

[AV8rix]

6 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I’m sitting in club orange as I type. Lovely fresh flowers on all the tables.

 

Uh, no. You are actually sitting in the GDC. Just sayin'😉😉😉

[OlsSalt]

Just now, AV8rix said:

Uh, no. You are actually sitting in the GDC. Just sayin'😉😉😉

 

What???  You mean Club Orange does not serve its coffee in paper cups? 😜

[FOPMan]

And on the Pinnacle ships, CO does not have that view. 🙂

[happytotravel]

Afternoon Everyone

 

Is the Exploration Cafe on the Volendam similar to the Grand Dutch Cafe?

Thank you, happytotravel

[Crew News]

48 minutes ago, happytotravel said:

Afternoon Everyone

 

Is the Exploration Cafe on the Volendam similar to the Grand Dutch Cafe?

Thank you, happytotravel

Similar in that it serves specialty coffees and very limited snacks.

 

Edited February 20 by Crew News

[OlsSalt]

I think disorientation is expected after consuming one large Bosch Ball (sp?) in the GDC. Makes one go so Dutch, they start seeing everything in shades of orange. 

[BermudaBound2014]

7 hours ago, AV8rix said:

Uh, no. You are actually sitting in the GDC. Just sayin'😉😉😉

Hahahaha- that is so funny. I make mistakes all the time but I swear I knew where I was. It was too early for the drink package to kick in and sadly, I don’t even have a bocce ball sugar high to blame. Just me being and idiot :).