Club Orange

[islandwoman]

I am considering buying Club Orange for an upcoming cruise.  I am fairly certain that there will be no cabin in my category available for an upgrade.  hollandamerica.com says, "If a stateroom upgrade is not available at that time, guests will receive an alternative benefit determined by our Ship Inventory team."  What "alternative benefit" could I expect to receive?

[cccole]

Check the recent thread by Kentuckycruiser.  It seems like a scam to me.  HAL does not seem to be honoring CO confirmations.  JMO. Cherie

[CruiserBruce]

They had been giving OBC. How do you know there aren't any available cabins that could be an upgrade?

 

Kentuckycruiser's situation is different. It has to do with overselling the CO package, not available cabins for an upgrade.

[0106]

Can you we book your cruise for the lowest cabin in your desired category and then buy CO to move up to the cabin you selected without losing any benefits from your booking?  IMO, the only benefit of CO on a non-Pinnacle class ship is the cabin upgrade.  On Pinnacle ships the CO dining room is very nice.

[oaktreerb]

Actually, on a non-Pinnacle ship the CO priority line for open seating in the MDR would be helpful from what I have witnessed.   I don’t think you should expect any compensation in lieu of an in category upgrade.  All of a sudden CO has become popular.  People have finally figured out how to take advantage of the in-category upgrade benefit.

[islandwoman]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

They had been giving OBC. How do you know there aren't any available cabins that could be an upgrade?  .

hollandamerica.com.  Looking for a cabin in that category, shows that few are available to book, none "better".

[islandwoman]

35 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

I don’t think you should expect any compensation in lieu of an in category upgrade.

That's what it says here:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/activity-types/dining/club-orange/Club_Orange_Benefits.pdf

 

"What if there is not a better stateroom available for the
complimentary upgrade?
Guests will be upgraded to the best available stateroom
within the meta category at the time of Club Orange
purchase. If a stateroom upgrade is not available at that time,
guests will receive an alternative benefit determined by
our Ship Inventory team."

[islandwoman]

I don't understand what Holland America means by "meta category".  For example, if I am in a Signature Suite, category SS, is that the "meta category"?  What could be "better" (or worse) within that category?

[oaktreerb]

24 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

That's what it says here:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/activity-types/dining/club-orange/Club_Orange_Benefits.pdf

 

"What if there is not a better stateroom available for the
complimentary upgrade?
Guests will be upgraded to the best available stateroom
within the meta category at the time of Club Orange
purchase. If a stateroom upgrade is not available at that time,
guests will receive an alternative benefit determined by
our Ship Inventory team."

You are right.  I hope you get some OBC.  They also used to offer a special onboard event.  Mine was jewelry cleaning (which is free anyway in the shops).  Only HAL can tell you what the compensation would be.  I choose my VB veranda stateroom, my PCC calls to confirm CO availability and charges me for a VH obstructed veranda. (Koningsdam)

[Cruise Suzy]

11 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I don't understand what Holland America means by "meta category".  For example, if I am in a Signature Suite, category SS, is that the "meta category"?  What could be "better" (or worse) within that category?

If you are in Signature Suite, any of the Signature Suites would be in your Meta Category - SS, SY, SZ.  If you are in a Verandah stateroom, ANY Verandah would be in your Meta Category. And so on.

Edited June 1 by Cruise Suzy

[islandwoman]

55 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

If you are in Signature Suite, any of the Signature Suites would be in your Meta Category - SS, SY, SZ.  If you are in a Verandah stateroom, ANY Verandah would be in your Meta Category. And so on.

So if my cabin is a category SS, and it's the most expensive of the Signature Suite categories (I can't verify that because the site keeps locking up on me), I couldn't get an upgrade?

[KAKcruiser]

You could book the lowest category SZ and then get upgraded to the best available SS.

[CruiserBruce]

8 hours ago, islandwoman said:

hollandamerica.com.  Looking for a cabin in that category, shows that few are available to book, none "better".

It's common that you can't see all cabins via the website. There is also a key difference between "unavailable " and "unassigned".

 

Curious what level you are considering booking. As mentioned, a commonly recommended is to book the lowest cabin in a meta category, thus an upgrade is almost always a financial benefit. How far out is the cruise you are looking at?

[islandwoman]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Curious what level you are considering booking. As mentioned, a commonly recommended is to book the lowest cabin in a meta category, thus an upgrade is almost always a financial benefit. How far out is the cruise you are looking at?

I have already booked the SS.  Those were the only Signature Suites showing availability at that time. Actually they were the only cabins above "outside" showing availability.  For several days before that everything was "sold out" except inside, and today again. I only thought about buying Club Orange after I was already booked, mostly for the dining.  But now I'd like to learn what else might come with it.

My cruise is in August, 2024.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, islandwoman said:

I have already booked the SS.  Those were the only Signature Suites showing availability at that time. Actually they were the only cabins above "outside" showing availability.  For several days before that everything was "sold out" except inside, and today again. I only thought about buying Club Orange after I was already booked, mostly for the dining.  But now I'd like to learn what else might come with it.

My cruise is in August, 2024.

I am not an expert in the SS category, but isn't SS the top of the category? If so, then yes, there is no where to upgrade you to.

 

A cruise 2 months away is also a serious limitation on availability of cabins.

[oaktreerb]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

It's common that you can't see all cabins via the website. There is also a key difference between "unavailable " and "unassigned".

 

Curious what level you are considering booking. As mentioned, a commonly recommended is to book the lowest cabin in a meta category, thus an upgrade is almost always a financial benefit. How far out is the cruise you are looking at?

You don’t have to actually book the lowest rate cabin.  You can book any cabin in the category and pay the lowest cabin in that category rate if you add CO.  

[KAKcruiser]

Are you sure this is true?  I thought you had to actually book the lowest price cabin to get that price.

[islandwoman]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

You don’t have to actually book the lowest rate cabin.  You can book any cabin in the category and pay the lowest cabin in that category rate if you add CO.  

I can see how that would work.  You'd make a temporary booking for the lowest priced cabin (or your TA would do that for you), buy Club Orange and then immediately upgrade to the cabin you want.  But would it work if there are no lower priced cabins to be had? 

[julia]

Actually, with your cruise being so close, you might want to scrap the CO idea entirely.... odds are it's already sold out.

[oaktreerb]

2 hours ago, islandwoman said:

I can see how that would work.  You'd make a temporary booking for the lowest priced cabin (or your TA would do that for you), buy Club Orange and then immediately upgrade to the cabin you want.  But would it work if there are no lower priced cabins to be had? 

You don’t need a temporary booking.   The lowest rate in the veranda category is an obstructed guarantee.  You really can’t do this yourself.  Your TA or PCC has to verify CO availability.  It won’t work if CO is full.  

If you already have a SS booked, call whoever booked your cruise and ask them if CO is available.  If so, see what your stateroom rate would be after adding CO.  People brag about how much they saved but it really depends on your category and your choice of stateroom.  If you booked your cruise online by yourself you would have to call HAL.

[BSR]

11 hours ago, islandwoman said:

I have already booked the SS.  Those were the only Signature Suites showing availability at that time. Actually they were the only cabins above "outside" showing availability.  For several days before that everything was "sold out" except inside, and today again. I only thought about buying Club Orange after I was already booked, mostly for the dining.  But now I'd like to learn what else might come with it.

My cruise is in August, 2024.

I booked a SS cabin last year and added Club Orange.  Since there wasn't any cabin higher to be upgraded to I was given OBC.

[terrydtx]

Last November we were on the Koningsdam and purchases CO well after we booked the last aft facing Verandah cabin. There was not a higher category verandah cabin, so we got $100 in OBC.

[islandwoman]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and sharing your experience.  I asked my TA to buy us Club Orange for our upcoming and already booked cruise.  The purchase went through without a hitch.  I don't know yet what we'll get instead of an upgrade.  Since we already have the cabin we want, I'm hoping for OBC. Our TA sent us a confirmation updated to reflect the Club Orange purchase, but no mention of additional OBC.  Is there somewhere on hollandamerica.com that I can see OBC for particular cruises?

[KAKcruiser]

You are only eligible for OBC is there is no other cabin available in your meta category to upgrade you to.

[POA1]

Tu add to this... If you are in a cabin you really like and there is an upgrade available - and you decline the upgrade, you don't get OBC.  You only get the OBC if there is no upgrade available.

 

When I was young and stupid (mid-April of last year) I booked a category A, midship Vista Suite on the Nieuw Statendam. It was in a great location. We added Club Orange. A category AS aft Vista Suite was available. I declined the upgrade because we wanted the midship location.

 

Because I declined the upgrade, no OBC for me. The smart thing, which I did when I was older and wiser (late 2023) would have been to book the lowest category of Vista Suite, BC, and then upgrade to the midship category A. (Upon receiving wisdom, I booked a VH guarantee on the Rotterdam. We upgraded it to a category V.)

 

We did, however, get both the regular 150th Anniversary tote bag and the fabulous Club Orange tote bag. (If you need help toting, we're the go-to couple.)

 

Don't let them try to fook you. Priority embarkation, room upgrades, and that extra entrée choice are not the real reason for choosing Club Orange. It's the sweet, sweet tote bag.*

 

*The Club Orange tote bad has a zipper top and mesh side pockets for plastic water bottles (which you cannot buy or bring onbosrd.) Poohby Joe not included in Club Orange amenities.

 

 

Edited June 8 by POA1