Club Orange worth it?

[_CruiseLover]

We are looking at a 14 day Norway cruise on Rotterdam during July 2024. It has been a couple years since we have done a cruise on Holland and I have heard about Club Orange. We would be sailing in an inside cabin. To my knowledge I can pay to eat at Club Orange for the duration of the cruise. Is that true? Is it worth it? Does it book up in advance fast? How would I book it?

 

I have really enjoyed the Blu restaurant in Aqua Class on Celebrity so I was wondering if it is that same kind of upgraded dining. I thought it would be a nice way to jazz up our accommodation in our inside cabin for 14 days. Thanks in advance.

Edited January 15, 2023 by _CruiseLover

[REOVA]

16 minutes ago, _CruiseLover said:

We are looking at a 14 day Norway cruise on Rotterdam during July 2024. It has been a couple years since we have done a cruise on Holland and I have heard about Club Orange. We would be sailing in an inside cabin. To my knowledge I can pay to eat at Club Orange for the duration of the cruise. Is that true? Is it worth it? Does it book up in advance fast? How would I book it?

 

I have really enjoyed the Blu restaurant in Aqua Class on Celebrity so I was wondering if it is that same kind of upgraded dining. I thought it would be a nice way to jazz up our accommodation in our inside cabin for 14 days. Thanks in advance.

On Pinnacle class ships, I recommend CO (especially if you are not 4 or 5*). The separate restaurant is not different in menu, except 1 different added entree each night) but the service and ambiance is much better than the large, noisy and sometimes chaotic MDR (IMO). You pay for CO when booking and choose your cabin (upgrade within same meta category unless you pay extra (may be discounted) for different category. 

 

The CO restaurant is not a reservation type, just walk in (or tell the host on the first night what time you want and they will look for you, although they cannot reserve a particular table...wink wink)

[Ferry_Watcher]

From what I have read online, depending on which HAL ship you are sailing, some ships will give you "more bang for your buck".

Which ship are you sailing?

[jimbob22]

Some say that on the pinnacle class it's worth it because CO has its own dining room.  I think the CO dinner menu has an extra choice or two (beyond the same MDR menu), perhaps someone else here can elaborate.  If you mostly tend to be a lido-eater, then this would probably be less 'worth it'.  

 

It would be $420 for you and a spouse.  Obviously, that could alternately be put towards a few dinners at Canalleto and some other specialty dining...

 

But we haven't done CO; there may be some aspects I don't grasp.

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Worth it on the Rotterdam and her two sisters? Without a doubt!

[jimbob22]

9 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Worth it on the Rotterdam and her two sisters? Without a doubt!

can you elaborate a bit on what you found to be the best perks and why? Not that I'm entirely poopooing it.

 

If my parents (in their 80s) came on a Hal with us, I'd urge them to do it b/c a) the priority boarding would be good for them, as we were on our feet fairly still for a good 45+ minutes a few weeks ago while boarding and b) they're used to doing regent/silverseas and would probably like the higher status seated dining. 

[AFNavigator]

33 minutes ago, jimbob22 said:

Some say that on the pinnacle class it's worth it because CO has its own dining room.  I think the CO dinner menu has an extra choice or two (beyond the same MDR menu), perhaps someone else here can elaborate.  If you mostly tend to be a lido-eater, then this would probably be less 'worth it'.  

 

It would be $420 for you and a spouse.  Obviously, that could alternately be put towards a few dinners at Canalleto and some other specialty dining...

 

But we haven't done CO; there may be some aspects I don't grasp.

 

 

The greatest monetary perk of Club Orange is the included "within meta-category" cabin upgrade.  If you plan to stay in an inside cabin, that benefit is of no value to you in the Club Orange cost.

 

If you are interested in paying the relatively modest cost to upgrade to an obstructed balcony, then you buy Club Orange and have them upgrade you to whatever balcony cabin you prefer at no additional cost (above the Club Orange cost of course).  We did that on our recent NS cruise and the $350 Club Orange cost got us a "free" cabin upgrade to the V-category balcony we wanted...a $410 value.  In other words, Club Orange actually saved us $60 to get the exact cabin we wanted.

Edited January 15, 2023 by AFNavigator

[westcoastsue]

What nobody is mentioning is the upgraded cabin within the same category,

[Copper10-8]

4 minutes ago, jimbob22 said:

can you elaborate a bit on what you found to be the best perks and why? Not that I'm entirely poopooing it.

 

If my parents (in their 80s) came on a Hal with us, I'd urge them to do it b/c a) the priority boarding would be good for them, as we were on our feet fairly still for a good 45+ minutes a few weeks ago while boarding and b) they're used to doing regent/silverseas and would probably like the higher status seated dining. 

 

Same food as in the MDR

Nice relaxed atmosphere inside CO

Always escorted to your table by the host

Your waiter(s) still has time for personalized service

 

If it's busy in there, like it usually is on sea days depending on what time you present yourselves, you might have a little bit of a wait, but there are usually seats available for that in the Blend across the entrance to CO, and/or at the windows outside - The longest wait we had on our recently ended cruise on K-dam was about 8-10 minutes 

[DaveOKC]

IMO, well worth it on a 14 day cruise (lower per day price than a 7 day - $15 vs $25) on a Pinnacle class ship (has separate dining area).  Plus the upgrade is great also.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, DaveOKC said:

IMO, well worth it on a 14 day cruise (lower per day price than a 7 day - $15 vs $25) on a Pinnacle class ship (has separate dining area).  Plus the upgrade is great also.

 

I had forgotten about that lower price so thanks for mentioning.  It was  ridiculously busy on the koningsdam in November.  I had to wait between 15 to 30 minutes in the morning.  I only went a couple times at night and I went early.  

[oaktreerb]

On the Rotterdam, yes it’s worth it.  When you book your cruise, decide which inside cabin you want to book and add Club Orange at that time.  You will be charged for the cheapest inside cabin and upgraded to your inside cabin of choice.  You can’t add Club Orange if you are self booking the cruise online.  Keep it simple!

[alyssamma]

3 hours ago, _CruiseLover said:

We are looking at a 14 day Norway cruise on Rotterdam during July 2024. It has been a couple years since we have done a cruise on Holland and I have heard about Club Orange. We would be sailing in an inside cabin. To my knowledge I can pay to eat at Club Orange for the duration of the cruise. Is that true? Is it worth it? Does it book up in advance fast? How would I book it?

 

I have really enjoyed the Blu restaurant in Aqua Class on Celebrity so I was wondering if it is that same kind of upgraded dining. I thought it would be a nice way to jazz up our accommodation in our inside cabin for 14 days. Thanks in advance.

You also get upgraded within your cabin category and you get priority tender, which on your sailing may be a big plus.

[Ferry_Watcher]

To get the cost of Club Orange, does one have to call and talk to a representative?

[oaktreerb]

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

To get the cost of Club Orange, does one have to call and talk to a representative?

yes.  It has been $25pp per day or $15 pp per day for longer cruises.  Ours was $15 pp per day for an 18 day cruise.  Everything is subject to change, however.

[jimbob22]

3 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

The greatest monetary perk of Club Orange is the included "within meta-category" cabin upgrade.  If you plan to stay in an inside cabin, that benefit is of no value to you in the Club Orange cost.

 

If you are interested in paying the relatively modest cost to upgrade to an obstructed balcony, then you buy Club Orange and have them upgrade you to whatever balcony cabin you prefer at no additional cost (above the Club Orange cost of course).  We did that on our recent NS cruise and the $350 Club Orange cost got us a "free" cabin upgrade to the V-category balcony we wanted...a $410 value.  In other words, Club Orange actually saved us $60 to get the exact cabin we wanted.

my memory of the prices was wrong, I initially thought it was 30 per person per day, whereas 25 is a significant difference.  We actually did sail in the most obstructed balcony possible on Rotterdam, so paying $350 for unobstructed+CO is actually a deal worth pondering...

[Senior Sea Dog]

I have twice sailed on HALs Pinnacle class ships using CO . The first ship (KDAM) in Jan2022 I booked an aft Vista suite through a TA. I later to decided to Add CO to my cruise, After paying for CO they offered me an upgrade to a Neptune suite for $330 per person which was melded into cruise fare.( yes got spoiled) Understand cruising had been just resumed. I then went on to the Rotterdam TA in Oct but after the experience on  KDam I called to add CO to the cruise. I enjoyed the perks so well I booked anther cruise on the NS while on the Rotterdam. I booked. with the advice of the on-board future cruise director, I booked the lowest vista cabin. After returning I had the TA add club orange and the moved me to the highest-class Vista suite . I paid $25 per day on 7-day Kdam and 15 per day on the other two which are both 15-day cruises. I had no waiting on first cruise but had up to 10 minuities on the Rdam. I enjoyed the early boarding and separate lines at cruise services as I am a minor mariner. You do have or have your TA call for the upgrade and pay for CO at that time

SSD.

[AFNavigator]

2 hours ago, jimbob22 said:

my memory of the prices was wrong, I initially thought it was 30 per person per day, whereas 25 is a significant difference.  We actually did sail in the most obstructed balcony possible on Rotterdam, so paying $350 for unobstructed+CO is actually a deal worth pondering...

I believe it used to be $35/day, or perhaps even $50 when the program first began.  HAL appears to have settled on $25/day/person as the going rate for 7 day cruises.  Maybe they weren't getting a high enough take rate at the higher price.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

14 minutes ago, AFNavigator said:

I believe it used to be $35/day, or perhaps even $50 when the program first began.  HAL appears to have settled on $25/day/person as the going rate for 7 day cruises.  Maybe they weren't getting a high enough take rate at the higher price.

 

It was $50 in the very beginning.

[PROCRUISE]

We tried Orange Club, for the first time, on our December cruise aboard the Statendam.

 

The priority boarding was very convenient, the Orange Club tote bags was actually petty nice. There was Orange Night (open to the whole ship, over crowded and noise level made it impossible to converse) but NO actual event for just Orange Club members. The BIG selling point for us was the separate Orange Club dining area. It was so peaceful, quiet and relaxing and service was outstanding. We're early dinner eaters so we just arrived anytime from 5pm - 6pm and seated immediately. In addition, the meals were served HOT and not just slightly warm. Liked this aspect so much,  we paid to add it to our 11 night cruise on the Rotterdam in February.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 minutes ago, PROCRUISE said:

We tried Orange Club, for the first time, on our December cruise aboard the Statendam.

 

The priority boarding was very convenient, the Orange Club tote bags was actually petty nice. There was Orange Night (open to the whole ship, over crowded and noise level made it impossible to converse) but NO actual event for just Orange Club members. The BIG selling point for us was the separate Orange Club dining area. It was so peaceful, quiet and relaxing and service was outstanding. We're early dinner eaters so we just arrived anytime from 5pm - 6pm and seated immediately. In addition, the meals were served HOT and not just slightly warm. Liked this aspect so much,  we paid to add it to our 11 night cruise on the Rotterdam in February.

I like that the food is hot as well.  That's a rarity in the mdr.

[goldsmip115]

7 hours ago, jimbob22 said:

can you elaborate a bit on what you found to be the best perks and why? Not that I'm entirely poopooing it.

 

If my parents (in their 80s) came on a Hal with us, I'd urge them to do it b/c a) the priority boarding would be good for them, as we were on our feet fairly still for a good 45+ minutes a few weeks ago while boarding and b) they're used to doing regent/silverseas and would probably like the higher status seated dining. 

 

[goldsmip115]

If your parents are accustomed to Regent or Silversea they will be severely disappointed.  There is no comparison to those two upscale lines vs HAL.

[jimbob22]

3 minutes ago, goldsmip115 said:

If your parents are accustomed to Regent or Silversea they will be severely disappointed.  There is no comparison to those two upscale lines vs HAL.

Oh I know.  They'd have enjoyed being with their child and grandchildren (had they come with us).  They are the strange case of people that never went on a single mainstream cruise line b/c a rich relative spoiled them by taking them on an upscale cruise long ago.  Tbh, I think they'd have been shocked to find out that the clientele and food on Hal are quite comparable to many of their cruises...

[QuattroRomeo]

Is the CO dining room on the Rotterdam open for lunch on embarkation day?