Club Orange

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, dreamer321 said:

I’m currently on Koningsdam and purchased Club Orange.  I don’t think will ever book another HAL cruise without it. It made checking in on embarkation day super smooth, I was on the ship by 11:15 am.  We had to tender in Ketchikan and with priority tendering I was on the first passenger tender ashore. The Club Orange dining room staff always greeted me by name and made me feel welcome. I mentioned that I found the standard ice tea they served was unpalatable ( it’s made from tea concentrate and tastes terrible ) subsequently, I would find a large glass of fresh brewed PG Tips ice tea waiting for me at my table when I arrived. I really appreciate the way they anticipate my desires.  I walked through the zoo that is the Lido market at meals and was so happy I had a nice tranquil place to dine.

Hey, we should be saying it’s terrible so we can all get it without competition 😛😉.  Glad you like it.  I really enjoy it.

[Florida_gal_50]

8 hours ago, terrydtx said:

BTW, if you use a TA, to order CO on an already booked cruise your TA will have to call and add CO. If booked directly with HAL then call them directly to add CO.

I’m also hearing this is the case lately and I’m pretty sure they took the phone number off the info for club orange.  At least, the last time I saw it, it wasn’t there.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

I called in to book my own Club Orange. The introductory instructions were to have a deck plan ready so that we could choose an upgraded stateroom.  We were happy with our original choice, so I declined the upgrade.We had already chosen our preferred location and CO was an afterthought.  I suppose we "left money on the table" by not booking down and upgrading. But, in all honesty, we are in it for the orange room keys and the tote bag.  Since we declined the upgrade, I'm not expecting any OBC.

The tote bag is quite nice.  It’s really sturdy.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

Also, fyi, you can do CO and a new booking at the same time. I look to see what cabin I want and give that info to my TA. She books my cruise and adds CO with my preferred cabin at the same time.

Me too, except it’s my pcc.

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

This all sounds wonderful. I feel it's a shame that the service all over the ship isn't like this.  I'm beginning to think that the only way to consistently get this better service is to cruise on a more premium/luxury line.  

 

~Nancy

 

Just my impressions pre and post covid.  I tended to do smaller ships - Prisendam, R class and Vista and no need for Club Orange on those.

 

On the Pinnacle Class, I won’t sail without the Club Orange dining room now.  There is a huge difference in the dining rooms and service IMO between those classes of ships.

 

The CO dining room on the Pinnacle Class that I experienced was similar to the service we all knew.  As a solo traveller, it was very appreciated.  I had already booked my cabin and downgrading to take advantage of the CO upgrade would have meant losing a perk that made it all a wash.

So, I booked for the dining room and like @POA1 the tote bag LOL 😆 

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Also, fyi, you can do CO and a new booking at the same time. I look to see what cabin I want and give that info to my TA. She books my cruise and adds CO with my preferred cabin at the same time.

 

That's what I did for next winter's cruise. My TA booked me into the cheapest verandah and then used CO to get me an "A" verandah. The deposit amount was the original deposit price plus the cost of CO. For the cruise where I did the CO upgrade later, HAL told me I had to go through my TA, so that's what I did.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

If the newly selected CO cabin holds it, can another person be added to a CO booking?

 

I don't understand your question. If you're asking about one or two people getting CO, both people in the cabin have to pay the CO price. 

[jwb3843]

I’m new to HAL and wasn’t aware of CO when I recently booked an upcoming cruise, so when I asked my PCC to add this to our reservation I also asked if there was any way possible to rebook a lesser cabin and then use the cabin upgrade to move us back to our original cabin.  Unfortunately she said that wasn’t possible.  Has anyone ever successfully done this?

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 minute ago, jwb3843 said:

I’m new to HAL and wasn’t aware of CO when I recently booked an upcoming cruise, so when I asked my PCC to add this to our reservation I also asked if there was any way possible to rebook a lesser cabin and then use the cabin upgrade to move us back to our original cabin.  Unfortunately she said that wasn’t possible.  Has anyone ever successfully done this?

 

I think you would have to cancel the existing reservation and start over. If your deposit is nonrefundable, you'd lose that. And you might lose some OBC or other perks you got at the time of booking. 

[jwb3843]

5 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I think you would have to cancel the existing reservation and start over. If your deposit is nonrefundable, you'd lose that. And you might lose some OBC or other perks you got at the time of booking. 

 

Thank you for your quick reply!  Hmmm . . . The PCC didn’t mention that was even an option.  Our deposit is refundable and we got no OBC, but we have an Aft Vista Suite and there are no more available on this sailing so I’d be a bit hesitant to cancel in fear of someone else swooping in and grabbing it in the brief moment it would go back in the pool.  Perhaps I need to just chalk this up to a lesson learned when booking with a new cruise line and be thankful I was able to get the cabin we wanted.

 

[albingirl]

For some odd reason, we ended up with CO added to our reservation. But, since we never used it for an upgrade, we thought the dining was fabulous, especially since it was a sold out cruise. Seriously, I  wish the cruiseline would make it just as easy at all dining options on the ship. There were people there who had 4 and 5 stars complaining about the special treatment here that they felt should be theirs. So noted and I  agree.

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, jwb3843 said:

 

Thank you for your quick reply!  Hmmm . . . The PCC didn’t mention that was even an option.  Our deposit is refundable and we got no OBC, but we have an Aft Vista Suite and there are no more available on this sailing so I’d be a bit hesitant to cancel in fear of someone else swooping in and grabbing it in the brief moment it would go back in the pool.  Perhaps I need to just chalk this up to a lesson learned when booking with a new cruise line and be thankful I was able to get the cabin we wanted.

 

Your experience with a PCC is why we only book with a TA who is a professional and takes care of our needs because she works for me and not the cruise line. My suggestion is find a good TA.

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, albingirl said:

For some odd reason, we ended up with CO added to our reservation. But, since we never used it for an upgrade, we thought the dining was fabulous, especially since it was a sold out cruise. Seriously, I  wish the cruiseline would make it just as easy at all dining options on the ship. There were people there who had 4 and 5 stars complaining about the special treatment here that they felt should be theirs. So noted and I  agree.

As a 5 star I don’t begrudge anyone having club orange but I certainly remember others doing that.  I was told if I didn’t book such garbage cruises I’d get it 🙄.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

Your experience with a PCC is why we only book with a TA who is a professional and takes care of our needs because she works for me and not the cruise line. My suggestion is find a good TA.

We certainly don’t hear that enough🙄.  There are plenty of lousy ta’s.  Same goes for pcc’s.

[albingirl]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

We certainly don’t hear that enough🙄.  There are plenty of lousy ta’s.  Same goes for pcc’s.

And I  have had several PCCs because of layoffs within the organization. You really need to know what you are doing to protect your interests. It's not as easy as it was.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I don't understand your question. If you're asking about one or two people getting CO, both people in the cabin have to pay the CO price. 

N

Hi, no - I'm asking if there are 2 of us when we book the new cabin upgrade with CO, if that cabin will hold 3 or 4, can we then add a 3rd or 4th person?

[POA1]

9 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

N

Hi, no - I'm asking if there are 2 of us when we book the new cabin upgrade with CO, if that cabin will hold 3 or 4, can we then add a 3rd or 4th person?

Yes. Pax 3 & 4 would get the CO benefits by being in the cabin, but there is no additional cost after pax 1 & 2, You're only getting one tote bag for the entire stateroom, so make sure you set some ground rules regarding tote bag ownership. The bag is super duper desirable and you definitely do not want 4 people in close quarters combat to gain control of the bag. 😁

[Florida_gal_50]

10 hours ago, albingirl said:

And I  have had several PCCs because of layoffs within the organization. You really need to know what you are doing to protect your interests. It's not as easy as it was.

I posted on another thread about the last situation I had looking for a ta.  She was the most useless person ever. Lied like a sidewalk, I mean really bad.  Luckily I knew better.  I give everyone I deal with screen prints galore.  A 2 year old should be able to handle it.  I feel everyone you book with needs to be hand held.  I’ve yet to meet anyone that doesn’t at least a little.  That said the pcc I have now is so far, so good.

[Florida_gal_50]

17 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Yes. Pax 3 & 4 would get the CO benefits by being in the cabin, but there is no additional cost after pax 1 & 2, You're only getting one tote bag for the entire stateroom, so make sure you set some ground rules regarding tote bag ownership. The bag is super duper desirable and you definitely do not want 4 people in close quarters combat to gain control of the bag. 😁

I left my last one on the ship because I have 3 already.  I could have sold it here 😛😉😂.

[terrydtx]

29 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Yes. Pax 3 & 4 would get the CO benefits by being in the cabin, but there is no additional cost after pax 1 & 2, You're only getting one tote bag for the entire stateroom, so make sure you set some ground rules regarding tote bag ownership. The bag is super duper desirable and you definitely do not want 4 people in close quarters combat to gain control of the bag. 😁

If you can get 4 adults in one verandah cabin, you deserve more than one bag. . . . . . .😁

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I posted on another thread about the last situation I had looking for a ta.  She was the most useless person ever. Lied like a sidewalk, I mean really bad.  Luckily I knew better.  I give everyone I deal with screen prints galore.  A 2 year old should be able to handle it.  I feel everyone you book with needs to be hand held.  I’ve yet to meet anyone that doesn’t at least a little.  That said the pcc I have now is so far, so good.

 

It's amazing and sad how bad some TA's are. I worked with someone who was a part-time travel agent, probably working for a friend or relative. She was mainly in it for the opportunities for cheap/free TA travel. Having seen her organizational skills, I was NOT tempted to leave the TA I already had.

 

I have been lucky with TAs. In 30+ years, I have had only two. The first one got us some great deals. That was back in the day when they had access to a lot of special fares, especially on sailings out of NYC. The agency would send out postcards for last-minute deals. When I saw one in the mail I would say to DH "Hey, we got a post card from [TA]!" and he would say "Where are we going?"

 

When that TA retired, I changed agencies to use someone I had met through friends. Another gem. She knows my likes and dislikes and is great to work with. I am so happy that she and the agency she works for survived the Covid shutdown.

 

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I left my last one on the ship because I have 3 already.  I could have sold it here 😛😉😂.

 

That's what ebay is for! I am a bit concerned about @POA1's obsession with the tote bag. Perhaps you could send him your extras. 😜

[kazu]

54 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It's amazing and sad how bad some TA's are. I worked with someone who was a part-time travel agent, probably working for a friend or relative. She was mainly in it for the opportunities for cheap/free TA travel. Having seen her organizational skills, I was NOT tempted to leave the TA I already had.

 

I have been lucky with TAs. In 30+ years, I have had only two. The first one got us some great deals. That was back in the day when they had access to a lot of special fares, especially on sailings out of NYC. The agency would send out postcards for last-minute deals. When I saw one in the mail I would say to DH "Hey, we got a post card from [TA]!" and he would say "Where are we going?"

 

When that TA retired, I changed agencies to use someone I had met through friends. Another gem. She knows my likes and dislikes and is great to work with. I am so happy that she and the agency she works for survived the Covid shutdown.

 

My story is similar to yours.  I’ve had 2 fabulous TA’s (one is now retired) that know me and have treated me well.  I am so glad that my current one survived covid as well.

 

 

54 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

 

That's what ebay is for! I am a bit concerned about @POA1's obsession with the tote bag. Perhaps you could send him your extras. 😜

 

LOL - they just need to some B2B’s and will have quite the collection of them 😜 

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I left my last one on the ship because I have 3 already.  I could have sold it here 😛😉😂.

I can understand why you would do that. Having that many valuable Club Orange tote bags in your home is bound to drive up your insurance costs!

[terrydtx]

15 minutes ago, kazu said:

My story is similar to yours.  I’ve had 2 fabulous TA’s (one is now retired) that know me and have treated me well.  I am so glad that my current one survived covid as well.

I have used the same TA since 2004 and she has never let me down. My friends and family also use her now because of her work with us. I can also contact her on any day of the week and she has booked cruises for us on weekends as well. Last year when we had an issue with covid on a cruise, she took care of filing all of our insurance claims and got us a better settlement than I thought we would.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It's amazing and sad how bad some TA's are. I worked with someone who was a part-time travel agent, probably working for a friend or relative. She was mainly in it for the opportunities for cheap/free TA travel. Having seen her organizational skills, I was NOT tempted to leave the TA I already had.

 

I have been lucky with TAs. In 30+ years, I have had only two. The first one got us some great deals. That was back in the day when they had access to a lot of special fares, especially on sailings out of NYC. The agency would send out postcards for last-minute deals. When I saw one in the mail I would say to DH "Hey, we got a post card from [TA]!" and he would say "Where are we going?"

 

When that TA retired, I changed agencies to use someone I had met through friends. Another gem. She knows my likes and dislikes and is great to work with. I am so happy that she and the agency she works for survived the Covid shutdown.

 

 

That's what ebay is for! I am a bit concerned about @POA1's obsession with the tote bag. Perhaps you could send him your extras. 😜

Love the story about the postcard ❤️.  I probably would have taken the bag but I was worried about the weight of my luggage.  I had business going down but westjet premium coming back so only 50 lbs.  I have hard sided luggage so it weighs a bit empty so that doesn’t help.  I just have to much stuff and I wouldn’t want to deal with eBay.  All kidding aside I really like those bags.