Club Orange Reviews

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

We will not cruise on a Pinnacle class ship if we can't add CO. My DW and I detest the huge crowded MDR's that are more like a banquet halls than a fine dining restaurant.  What we like about Celebrity's suites only Luminae is the intimate fine dining atmosphere. The CO dining room comes closest to our Luminae experiences. We will book the Nieuw Statendam next week while on the Volendam for August 2026 to cruise 14 nights around the UK, Ireland and Scotland. We also will get the early booking HIA bonus and CO is still available.

 The Club Orange upgrade is worth it all & then you get the CO dining experience with it  . Very nice indeed . In our situation I would beeok as soon as the sailing we wanted was released so we can get inro a CO upgraded handicap cabin ;as they are scarce  . Unfortunately HAL is taking KDam from the SD market in spring of 2025 to the East Coast . They replaced KDam with Nieuw Amsterdam which as you know had no CO dining room ,It vis part of the MDR  but ,we still upfraded to get a V cat handicap  

[Dave JS]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We will not cruise on a Pinnacle class ship if we can't add CO. My DW and I detest the huge crowded MDR's that are more like a banquet hall than a fine dining restaurant.  What we like about Celebrity's suites only Luminae is the intimate fine dining atmosphere. The CO dining room comes closest to our Luminae experiences. Our cruise last year on the Koningsdam with CO is what got us to finally cut the Celebrity cord and come back to HAL. We will book the Nieuw Statendam next week while on the Volendam for August 2026 to cruise 14 nights around the UK, Ireland and Scotland. We also will get the early booking HIA bonus and CO is still available.

Is there a particular reason to chose the Aug 2026 vs the July 10 2026?

[Dave JS]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

 The Club Orange upgrade is worth it all & then you get the CO dining experience with it  . Very nice indeed . In our situation I would beeok as soon as the sailing we wanted was released so we can get inro a CO upgraded handicap cabin ;as they are scarce  . Unfortunately HAL is taking KDam from the SD market in spring of 2025 to the East Coast . They replaced KDam with Nieuw Amsterdam which as you know had no CO dining room ,It vis part of the MDR  but ,we still upfraded to get a V cat handicap  

On this plan

https://www.cruisemapper.com/deckplans/ms-Nieuw-Statendam-1337/deck02-4057

Club Orange dining room for Nieuw Amsterdam appears to have the CO dining Room between the Ocean Bar and the MDR.

[Stpatsirish]

4 minutes ago, Dave JS said:

On this plan

https://www.cruisemapper.com/deckplans/ms-Nieuw-Statendam-1337/deck02-4057

Club Orange dining room for Nieuw Amsterdam appears to have the CO dining Room between the Ocean Bar and the MDR.

That is the Nieuw Statendam

[Crew News]

4 minutes ago, Dave JS said:

On this plan

https://www.cruisemapper.com/deckplans/ms-Nieuw-Statendam-1337/deck02-4057

Club Orange dining room for Nieuw Amsterdam appears to have the CO dining Room between the Ocean Bar and the MDR.

Just for clarification, the Nieuw Amsterdam does not have a dedicated dining area rather CO guests enter through the right MDR doors and the CO podium personnel will take you to an unreserved table of your choice.

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, Dave JS said:

Is there a particular reason to chose the Aug 2026 vs the July 10 2026?

We have a land only trip in the end of June for two weeks. The August dates work better for us.

Edited August 14 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

56 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We have a land only trip in the end of June for two weeks. The August dates work better for us.

@Dave JSI should add, DW liked the August 21 itinerary better than the July 10 2026. They are slightly different with the August 21 having an overnight in Edinburgh Scotland.

Edited August 14 by terrydtx

[CNSJ]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We will not cruise on a Pinnacle class ship if we can't add CO.

Understand and I pretty much am aligned with you @terrydtx.  On very port intensive itineraries I am less concerned about CO as after a a long day walking the hilly and stairy streets of historic cities (Europe) DW is ready for a quick trip to the Lido.  CO for long voyages with Sea Days is a must for us. 

 

I wish they could find a way to add a CO dining room to the Vista and Signature Class during a future dry-docking.  Maybe they can find a way to carve out part of the MDR.  If the revenue numbers support it, it may be worth a try.  But at the same time, HAL should resist the "ship in a ship" concept that NCL and MSC have done.  Cunard is in a world of their own. 

 

[POA1]

On 8/12/2024 at 10:12 PM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Did you get an alternative gift in exchange for no upgrade?  My understanding is you get OBC or something if there are no more upgrades, but I'm not sure what happens if you opt out.  Still, 13 nights at sea with only a couple ports, upgraded dining sounds tempting.

If you opt out and there is an available upgrade, you don't get OBC. It's only for when there is no better cabin available. I learned that the hard way. And beware the spa cabins that are an upgrade over even the aft rooms on the Pinnacle class.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

18 minutes ago, POA1 said:

If you opt out and there is an available upgrade, you don't get OBC. It's only for when there is no better cabin available. I learned that the hard way. And beware the spa cabins that are an upgrade over even the aft rooms on the Pinnacle class.

 

Glad we upgraded then.  Both of our upcoming cruises are 13 nights, so $650 each for CO.  We got $360 in cabin upgrades for the TP, and $588 for the Mediterranean cruise.  Had we started from base fares, which we'll do moving forward, the cabin upgrades would be worth it alone.

 

[Emme1233]

59 minutes ago, POA1 said:

If you opt out and there is an available upgrade, you don't get OBC. It's only for when there is no better cabin available. I learned that the hard way. And beware the spa cabins that are an upgrade over even the aft rooms on the Pinnacle class.

Why beware of the spa cabins?  We did CO and went with one on deck 10. Is there a problem with them? We will be on the koningsdam

Edited August 14 by Emme1233

[*Miss G*]

22 minutes ago, Emme1233 said:

Why beware of the spa cabins?  We did CO and went with one on deck 10. Is there a problem with them? We will be on the koningsdam

 

Some people don’t like them due to the forward position and smaller (in depth) balconies.  My daughter and son-in-law prefer the spa cabins while I prefer the regular verandahs.  One nice thing about the spa cabins is their proximity to the take-away restaurants, the Crow’s Nest, and the Lido pool (as well as the spa).  They also have clear views outside as there are no lifeboats and tenders in the area.  

 

I have been on Deck 10 in a Spa Neptune Suite but wouldn’t get one there again.  They are furthest forward so the wind is an issue on the balcony.  Not so bad further back though.

[Emme1233]

Thanks for the feedback. I thought there was something horribly wrong with them. I know what you mean about those very forward suites…nice view, but totally unusable when at sea. 
 

Being up and forward doesn’t bother us, so it should be fine, thanks again. 

[a.madruga]

1 hour ago, Emme1233 said:

Thanks for the feedback. I thought there was something horribly wrong with them. I know what you mean about those very forward suites…nice view, but totally unusable when at sea. 
 

Being up and forward doesn’t bother us, so it should be fine, thanks again. 

we were on one and it's true about balcony some what smaller but closer to SPA and a clear view

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, a.madruga said:

we were on one and it's true about balcony some what smaller but closer to SPA and a clear view

Do they have any overhang to protect from the sun and provide shade?

[POA1]

2 hours ago, Emme1233 said:

Why beware of the spa cabins?  We did CO and went with one on deck 10. Is there a problem with them? We will be on the koningsdam

Nothing wrong. They're just higher category than aft. Most people would not see it that way.

[shiner6]

Surprise! I was just looking at my folio and saw an added charge due before our cruise next week. Lo and behold, it is for Club Orange. It has been sold out, so I was waitlisted.  I received no notice about this, it was just suddenly there!

Our cruise is on the Zuiderdam and it is a sold out cruise, so not sure what to expect for an upgrade. This will be our first time doing Club Orange. Any advice?

[a.madruga]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Do they have any overhang to protect from the sun and provide shade?

we don't recall one 

[POA1]

3 hours ago, shiner6 said:

Surprise! I was just looking at my folio and saw an added charge due before our cruise next week. Lo and behold, it is for Club Orange. It has been sold out, so I was waitlisted.  I received no notice about this, it was just suddenly there!

Our cruise is on the Zuiderdam and it is a sold out cruise, so not sure what to expect for an upgrade. This will be our first time doing Club Orange. Any advice?

Grab a deck plan and call. You might find something great.

[SSFrance69]

On 8/12/2024 at 10:03 PM, terrydtx said:

If you want CO for your TA cruise, you can add to your current cabin and refuse the upgrade. We did that last year on the Koningsdam to keep our prized aft facing veranda cabin.

That's exactly what we did. Being a first time HAL cruiser, I didn't realize that with Club Orange comes and upgrade. Well we had already booked an aft facing verandah and didn't want to chance losing it, so we just refused the upgrade. I have no regrets. The other perks seemed worth it alone and I can only imagine how nice those aft veranda views are going to be in Alaska. You mentioned Luminae. Have you ever tried Blu? We did a sailing to Bermuda last year on Summit and sailed Aqua. Because it's an older class ship, we were able to snag an Aqua stateroom with an aft facing veranda. It was amazing and we loved the food, ambiance and size of Blu. We were about to completely give up on Celebrity, but that experience was enough to keep them in the comparison loop when looking at cruises. We've got an Aqua stateroom on Ascent next sprint, the HAL Alaska on Koningsdam in July with CO and then hope to hop back on another Oceania ship in 2026. Just waiting for sailings to be announced.

[gizmodog]

Does club orange really work well, I am not even interested in the room upgrade I like my cabin but do you really have a separate line for embarkation? Do you get tender tickets to not wait in line? 
I am most interested in the club orange restaurant. This would be on the Rotterdam. I’m assuming it’s not as crowded and is it the same menu as the main DR? Would just love some opinions. Most people seem to just go for the room upgrade, I am mainly interested in everything else.

thanks so much

[Ipeeinthepools]

33 minutes ago, gizmodog said:

Does club orange really work well, Yes I am not even interested in the room upgrade I like my cabin but do you really have a separate line for embarkation? After you check-in you are sent to one of the first groups to board Do you get tender tickets to not wait in line? Yes.  Actually you don't get tickets but are escorted to a place where you board the tenders.  
I am most interested in the club orange restaurant. This would be on the Rotterdam. I’m assuming it’s not as crowded and is it the same menu as the main DR? Yes, it's not as crowded, but you can run into times at peak periods when you will need to wait a few minutes for a table.  It's the same menu as the MDR plus one or two more selections.  It's also much quieter which is a big plus for me.    Would just love some opinions. Most people seem to just go for the room upgrade, I am mainly interested in everything else.

thanks so much

 

Edited August 15 by Ipeeinthepools

[CruiserBruce]

Thanks to the Mods for merging this with one of the dozens of threads on Club Orange!!!

[KAKcruiser]

I can't believe they just added the club orange charge.  Shouldn't they contact you first to make sure you are still interested?  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

8 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

You mentioned Luminae. Have you ever tried Blu? We did a sailing to Bermuda last year on Summit and sailed Aqua. Because it's an older class ship, we were able to snag an Aqua stateroom with an aft facing veranda. It was amazing and we loved the food, ambiance and size of Blu.

 

I've never tried Luminae, but we sailed on the Summit 8 years ago from Puerto Rico to New Jersey, which included an overnight in Bermuda.  It was our first time in Aqua Class, and we absolutely loved it and Blu.  I'm hoping that the OC restaurants on Pinnacle Class are a similar experience.

 

Edited August 15 by Stateroom_Sailor