Club Orange worth it?

[twodjs]

jimbob22 - I'm not aware that on non-Pinnacle ships CO people get their food any faster than the rest. They simply have an extra entree on their menu. CO guests line up on the port side entrance, everyone else lines up on the starboard side. No issues.

DCThunder - IMP CO is not worth the cost on a non-Pinnacle class unless you use the cabin upgrade option. There is a limit, at least on Pinnacle class ships, because we booked for our friends who were not in a Neptune. There were 4 spots left at the time. Sorry, don't know the exact number.

 

[*Miss G*]

43 minutes ago, jimbob22 said:

But also, the plus of the CO dining room on the pinnacle class is that it avoids the touchy situation of numerous people in line to get into the MDR and seeing (and resenting) the CO people waltzing by and getting seated ahead of them.  I've not heard of any resulting fisticuffs.  How is Hal currently avoiding this type of situation?

 

Wow.  What line do you have to cruise to worry about thugs in the dining room?  😂 

 

Basically, the podium for CO and reserved tables is to the right of the open seating podium.  A bystander would have no way of knowing if the diners were CO or reserved.  You also can’t see the dedicated podium until you’re right on top it so less time to work up enough outrage to want to hit someone.  Is this a real question?  😂

[DCThunder]

6 minutes ago, twodjs said:

DCThunder - IMP CO is not worth the cost on a non-Pinnacle class unless you use the cabin upgrade option. There is a limit, at least on Pinnacle class ships, because we booked for our friends who were not in a Neptune. There were 4 spots left at the time. Sorry, don't know the exact number.

 

Thank you.  That is essentially where I'm coming down on the decision, but additional input is always very helpful.

[Iamthesea]

12 hours ago, 0106 said:

You may find this thread helpful too.  (There are several CO threads if you search.)

Be aware,  it is only the breakfast room service menu that has additional complimentary selections.

 

Thank you to Dobby36 for the link!!!

 

0106 - Thank you, also.  I was only interested in the breakfast room service.  In all of our 44 cruises, I don't believe that I have ever ordered room service at any other time of day.  I sure hope I never have to (quarantine).

3 hours ago, cruising sister said:

I just booked a cruise on NS for this May. Both my TA and the first HAL agent were clueless on how CO worked. After insisting I was right the HAL agent talked to another HAL agent and we were able to get it done. Yes, you pay for CO at time of booking. I am traveling solo and did NOT have to pay for 2. I paid for lowest fare and up graded to the cabin I wanted. I am only 1star and am really looking forward to the priority boarding and tender benefits. I will report back after I cruise to say how I liked it. 

 

We are on the same cruise.  I hope my TA can get my DH and I in at this late date.  We will mainly use it for breakfast, priority lines, like tendering, and an occasional dinner if we do not feel like going to the dining room.  Which reminds me of another question.  If we have CO, will our dining room seating time (we were assigned late seating) be taken away?  We will probably eat in the main dining room on the first night, but we are getting too old to eat too late, especially if the dining service is slow.

[mcrcruiser]

We get great value out of   buying Club Orange .We upgrade from A VH Handicap  blocked  balcony to a V category balcony .We get the CO restaurant for breakfast & dinner ,we get priority boarding & priority  tenders  ie  .Definitely a steal at the low $15 each per day we pay . 

 For lunch we usually eat in the Lido or Pinnacle if at sea  .

[kazu]

23 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

 

Thank you to Dobby36 for the link!!!

 

0106 - Thank you, also.  I was only interested in the breakfast room service.  In all of our 44 cruises, I don't believe that I have ever ordered room service at any other time of day.  I sure hope I never have to (quarantine).

 

We are on the same cruise.  I hope my TA can get my DH and I in at this late date.  We will mainly use it for breakfast, priority lines, like tendering, and an occasional dinner if we do not feel like going to the dining room.  Which reminds me of another question.  If we have CO, will our dining room seating time (we were assigned late seating) be taken away?  We will probably eat in the main dining room on the first night, but we are getting too old to eat too late, especially if the dining service is slow.

 

When I added CO, I was changed to anytime dining since it is assumed you will eat there and there are no reservations at CO. (As it was explained to me).

[mhlcanada]

Can someone post a dinner menu from CO? Just wondering if additional choice of entree is meant to be a premium item? 

[Iamthesea]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

When I added CO, I was changed to anytime dining since it is assumed you will eat there and there are no reservations at CO. (As it was explained to me).

With "anytime", we could still go to the main dining room and sit when there is availability, I suppose?  Although with having the same menu as the dining room, I don't see why we would except to have a change of venue.  

 

I was reading the PDF and found the following interesting under the Q&A.  I wonder what would be offered?

 

"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".

[Florida_gal_50]

38 minutes ago, mhlcanada said:

Can someone post a dinner menu from CO? Just wondering if additional choice of entree is meant to be a premium item? 

I can remember a few things.  One was peruvian chicken and I thought it was very good.  I think another was duck with cherries.  Not my kind of thing.  Another was a shrimp dish I believe.  I have the list at home but I'm at work right now so I will try to remember to post it when I get home.  The one I have is a 7 day rotation.

[jimbob22]

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Wow.  What line do you have to cruise to worry about thugs in the dining room?  😂 

 

Basically, the podium for CO and reserved tables is to the right of the open seating podium.  A bystander would have no way of knowing if the diners were CO or reserved.  You also can’t see the dedicated podium until you’re right on top it so less time to work up enough outrage to want to hit someone.  Is this a real question?  😂

unnamed source reported that a CO person walked in, and an old man that didn't know what was going on attacked him with a cane, yelling 'eat hickory!'.  This isn't fully verified though.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, mhlcanada said:

Can someone post a dinner menu from CO? Just wondering if additional choice of entree is meant to be a premium item? 

 

 

 

The additional entree does not show on the CO Menu. The waiter or maître d’ tells you what the special is of the night.  They usually recommend it over the regular menu.  Along with the items already mentioned are short ribs, jambalaya.  Other than one (just not to my taste) that I tried they were all very good.

 

41 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

With "anytime", we could still go to the main dining room and sit when there is availability, I suppose?  Although with having the same menu as the dining room, I don't see why we would except to have a change of venue.  

 

I was reading the PDF and found the following interesting under the Q&A.  I wonder what would be offered?

 

"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".

 

Club orange will offer you an additional entrée – a special every night that only they have and not the main dining room. And yes, you can go to the main dining room if you so choose – for the better service, etc. I’ll take the club orange dining room unless I see a difference on my next pinnacle class ship.

 

That PDF assumes there is not an upgrade available not necessarily an upgrade that you don’t want – there’s a big difference 😉 

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, mhlcanada said:

Can someone post a dinner menu from CO? Just wondering if additional choice of entree is meant to be a premium item? 

I do not have menus, but can report that the extra option generally is very good.  It depends on your tastes of course.

[Lildare]

Is breakfast for either CO or Neptune suite have 24 hour availability for room service?  I’m unable to find the breakfast menus for CO or Neptune suite.  But I know breakfast on the standard room service menu stops at 11am.  Therefore if I want breakfast food after 11am I need to go to the Dutch Cafe.  But I was curious if all day breakfast was possible for room service via CO or Neptune Suite?

[Iamthesea]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

That PDF assumes there is not an upgrade available not necessarily an upgrade that you don’t want – there’s a big difference 😉 

I understand that. I was just curious what would be offered (specialty dinning credit, etc.) if there were no staterooms to upgrade to.  It was an interesting statement.  Anyway, should my TA come through with getting us CO, we are fine in the stateroom we picked in the Veranda category (VA).  Not interested in a V or a VQ (spa) as we do not like the locations.

 

After looking at the photos of Club Orange, I notice many of the tables are 4-top or 6-top.  Very few 2-tops.  We would prefer to eat by ourselves, especially for breakfast.  Does CO try to push dining with others?

[mhlcanada]

For cabin upgrade in CO, can you upgrade from category VA to VS (aft facing veranda)? We have always stayed mid level and mid ship. Aft cabins are generally more expensive but maybe an opportunity to take advantage of with CO. Thoughts anyone?

[Caribbean Chris]

3 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

 

I was reading the PDF and found the following interesting under the Q&A.  I wonder what would be offered?

 

"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".

We were given an on board credit once when there was no upgrade stateroom available in our category. Seems like it was $100 per person but I can’t remember for sure.

[AFNavigator]

28 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

I understand that. I was just curious what would be offered (specialty dinning credit, etc.) if there were no staterooms to upgrade to.  It was an interesting statement.  Anyway, should my TA come through with getting us CO, we are fine in the stateroom we picked in the Veranda category (VA).  Not interested in a V or a VQ (spa) as we do not like the locations.

 

After looking at the photos of Club Orange, I notice many of the tables are 4-top or 6-top.  Very few 2-tops.  We would prefer to eat by ourselves, especially for breakfast.  Does CO try to push dining with others?

If you are truly interested in Club Orange, you can have your TA contact HAL to see if they will permit a temp downgrade to an obstructed balcony, buy Club Orange, then "free" upgrade back to your VA category cabin.  We did that last year (booked direct with HAL so contacted HAL direct) on the NS.  They let us do that process and it ended up saving us $60 off the V category room we had booked (and got again through Club Orange).  Essentially by buying Club Orange, we got our room for $60 less and got Club Orange benefits for "free".

[Florida_gal_50]

Amazingly I remembered about posting the entrees.  This is from the koningsdam.  I assume the Caribbean would be similar but I don’t know.  If you are on a longer cruise it probably is not helpful at all.  I got this during a random conversation with the club orange hostess at the time.

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

59 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

I understand that. I was just curious what would be offered (specialty dinning credit, etc.) if there were no staterooms to upgrade to.  It was an interesting statement.  Anyway, should my TA come through with getting us CO, we are fine in the stateroom we picked in the Veranda category (VA).  Not interested in a V or a VQ (spa) as we do not like the locations.

 

After looking at the photos of Club Orange, I notice many of the tables are 4-top or 6-top.  Very few 2-tops.  We would prefer to eat by ourselves, especially for breakfast.  Does CO try to push dining with others?

I seam to remember @Crew News getting a obc when an upgrade wasn’t available before the pandemic but iirc it wasn’t big.  Maybe they will clean your jewelry now 😉😛.  I wouldn’t hold my breath for much but why not ask.  They will not make you sit with others.  I have had pleasant chats with nearby tables but that’s as much sharing as I’m interested in.

[Crew News]

I received $50 unexpected OBC when not changing staterooms.  Kudos to my HAL PCC for making it happen.

[colin v]

4 hours ago, mhlcanada said:

Can someone post a dinner menu from CO? Just wondering if additional choice of entree is meant to be a premium item? 

Just go the navigator app and click dining, club orange and look at the dinner menu. You can see tonight's menu. It updates daily*, whether you are on the ship or not.

 

* except for days that it randomly doesn't

[Florida_gal_50]

13 minutes ago, colin v said:

Just go the navigator app and click dining, club orange and look at the dinner menu. You can see tonight's menu. It updates daily*, whether you are on the ship or not.

 

* except for days that it randomly doesn't

I don’t recall the special showing on there even though you think it would.

[0106]

4 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I don’t recall the special showing on there even though you think it would.

I just checked.  It shows on the Navigator App CO dinner menu.

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, 0106 said:

I just checked.  It shows on the Navigator App CO dinner menu.

You had me intrigued so I went to look.

 

Same as you would see in there - the special / additional entree is not listed just as it wasn’t on the menu on board.

[kazu]

41 minutes ago, colin v said:

Just go the navigator app and click dining, club orange and look at the dinner menu. You can see tonight's menu. It updates daily*, whether you are on the ship or not.

 

* except for days that it randomly doesn't