Club orange thoughts What’s to like about it

[Notalotofinfo]

Newbie here looking at club orange. What’s do you like or dislike about it ?

[Sea Hag]

Just now, Notalotofinfo said:

Newbie here looking at club orange. What’s do you like or dislike about it ?

We just came back from our first cruise with HAL and we had CO. The upgrade is great. We really appreciated the short CO line to the dining room. The lines for those without CO were long to incredibly long for the times that we like to have our meals. That short line alone was worth the cost to us. We visited customer service once and were able to walk right up to an agent. We had the CO extra entree several times and all those were really good things that weren't offered otherwise. I'll always book CO as long as they keep offering it and we keep sailing.

[Sea42]

I like the included option to upgrade your cabin within your booked category. That has saved us quite a bit of money. I also enjoy the shorter lines and the no wait for tendering.

I have used CO on both the older ships and the Pinnacle ships. I did prefer the dedicated CO dining room on the Nieuw Statendam (Pinnacle class) but still appreciated having the shorter line for the MDR on the Nieuw Amsterdam (Signature class).

I also took advantage of the expanded room service menu.

I can't think of anything I disliked.

[YourWorldWithBill]

As @Sea42said, the upgrade is worth the price of CO just by itself. But all the other benefits are very nice. Priority boarding, etc. And the separate dining room on the Pinnacle class ships is also nice enough to make CO worthwhile.

[Hobar]

What is difference, in any, between bennies in Navigator Suite and CO?

[REOVA]

32 minutes ago, Hobar said:

What is difference, in any, between bennies in Navigator Suite and CO?

Neptune Suites includes all CO benefits (except obviously upgrade cabin) but has its own concierge room (lounge) where they help you with guest issues or excursions. The lounge also has wine/liquor (for fee or limit to HIA package) and complimentary finger foods/snacks. You pay more for Neptune Suites (which are the larger cabins) so many find choosing a lower priced category and "upgrading" to a "better" cabin within that category and getting priority services at the MDR, guest services and excursion desk cheaper and enough for them. 

[alyssamma]

18 hours ago, Notalotofinfo said:

Newbie here looking at club orange. What’s do you like or dislike about it ?

It's capacity controlled.

 

Honestly, I'd say forget it...it's horrible and not worth it. The less people who do it there better...for me, lol 🙂

 

[POA1]

I am *shocked* that no one has mentioned the Club Orange Tote Bag.

[albingirl]

48 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I am *shocked* that no one has mentioned the Club Orange Tote Bag.

The best part is that it has a zipper.  I got two on my back to back in Feb., but I haven't used the bags since, sad to say. I know I will, someday.  I seem to have collected millions of canvas totes for trips to the market and don't need the zipper then. The really great thing about Club Orange is the small dining room with great staff.  I didn't even use it for an upgrade and we are already priority boarding, but I really love the quiet little place to dine on the ship. Makes for fine dining, in my opinion.  Of course, on the ship, it's all fine dining to me.

[PROCRUISE]

Have found CO most worth the price for the three pinnacle class ships due to the separate dining area. Excellent service, usually no wait to be seated ever. Priority boarding is nice but even though it says there is a special event for CO passengers, there isn't - the orange night get together includes the whole ship and isn't worth the crowds. HAL uses it to sell orange clothing another "stuff." Actually the OC tote bag isn't bad either.

Edited September 30, 2023 by PROCRUISE

[horseymike]

21 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

As @Sea42said, the upgrade is worth the price of CO just by itself. But all the other benefits are very nice. Priority boarding, etc. And the separate dining room on the Pinnacle class ships is also nice enough to make CO worthwhile.

Hi Bill,

We are booked CO first time in March 2024 on The Rotterdam departing from Port Everglades.

Pretty excited about it😃😃. That said , can you tell me how the priority boarding works ?
Thanks in advance 

[POA1]

1 hour ago, horseymike said:

Hi Bill,

We are booked CO first time in March 2024 on The Rotterdam departing from Port Everglades.

Pretty excited about it😃😃. That said , can you tell me how the priority boarding works ?
Thanks in advance 

I'm not Bill, but your Club Orange priority boarding is roughly equivalent to the Four & Five Star boarding privilege.

 

The first priority typically goes to the Pinnacle and Neptune Suites. That is usually followed by guests requiring wheelchair assistance. After that, you have 5*, 4* and Club Orange guests. (Signature and Vista Suite passengers might fall in there somewhere. I don't recall.)

 

That whole contingent is only a small fraction of the passengers, so the whole lot boards pretty quickly. Fort Lauderdale does a good job of handling embarking passengers. I would not fret.

 

If you are in the magic trifecta - a high star Mariner in a Neptune Suite who requires boarding assistance, they fire you out of a cannon onto the Lido deck. You parachute in right by the Dive-In. (Totally making that up.)

[horseymike]

Thanks POA.

I appreciate your response.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

I am *shocked* that no one has mentioned the Club Orange Tote Bag.

 

Or the Club Orange key card LOL🤣

[Notalotofinfo]

Thanks for the help

[57redbird]

40 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I'm not Bill, but your Club Orange priority boarding is roughly equivalent to the Four & Five Star boarding privilege.

 

The first priority typically goes to the Pinnacle and Neptune Suites. That is usually followed by guests requiring wheelchair assistance. After that, you have 5*, 4* and Club Orange guests. (Signature and Vista Suite passengers might fall in there somewhere. I don't recall.)

 

That whole contingent is only a small fraction of the passengers, so the whole lot boards pretty quickly. Fort Lauderdale does a good job of handling embarking passengers. I would not fret.

 

If you are in the magic trifecta - a high star Mariner in a Neptune Suite who requires boarding assistance, they fire you out of a cannon onto the Lido deck. You parachute in right by the Dive-In. (Totally making that up.)

Except in San Diego where you're just jammed into the terminal with everybody else & nobody asks/cares if you're in a Neptune or have Club Orange ---I thought maybe after we'd been 'checked in' we'd be sent to a different area but nope, still with the masses.

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by 57redbird
typo

[albingirl]

31 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Or the Club Orange key card LOL🤣

Oh, I forgot. It's orange!!! I actually like a little less bling to my presence on a cruise ship. Kinda like blending in . Like I  am an aging starlet or something lol. 24th

[albingirl]

Just now, albingirl said:

Oh, I forgot. It's orange!!! I actually like a little less bling to my presence on a cruise ship. Kinda like blending in . Like I  am an aging starlet or something lol. 24th

Sorry weird add of 24th. Whatever that means. Savor the moment?

[YourWorldWithBill]

Nothing wrong with 24th; it's probably a password for Club Orange that you suddenly remembered! Too bad the tote bag isn't completely orange (just kidding, of course).😁

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Oh, I forgot. It's orange!!! I actually like a little less bling to my presence on a cruise ship. Kinda like blending in . Like I  am an aging starlet or something lol. 24th

 

It’s not flagrant - no worries - just a strip IIRC

 

quite discreet I think.  I’ll see if it has changed in a week.

Pinnacle Class ship for me = Club Orange dining room 😉 

[northernphoenix]

Booked an obstructed verandah, CO upgrade to Spa Verandah….2 weeks out offered upsell to Neptune for the difference between CO and the upsell.  So, to compare…the only variable that i can refer to is the Neptune Lounge and size of the suite.  Same dining room (Rotterdam);same embarkation schedule as 4/5 and CO.  We are using CO for our verandah suite on NS June/24.  I would highly recommend the purchase of CO.

[Haljo1935]

On 9/30/2023 at 2:17 PM, POA1 said:

I am *shocked* that no one has mentioned the Club Orange Tote Bag.

Well, we knew you would and didn't want to steal your thunder. 🤭

One should always mention the mesh bottle pockets on the CO bag - they really are a handy feature.

[Curlingwhiz]

We have used Club Orange on our next two cruises.  The difference in price between our "desired" cabin and the cheapest cabin in the category, in both instances, was higher than just buying Club Orange.  I am now trying to do comparisons for a third cruise and although I couldn't see a ton of Club Orange improvements (as it is a smaller, older boat with no dedicated Club Orange dining room), it still works out about $300 cheaper to buy Club Orange than to choose my 'desired" cabin at the initial booking.

[AbsolutSki]

Is it possible to find out if CO is available for a sailing before booking? If you use a TA, does it have to go through them to purchase CO or can you call HAL directly?

[POA1]

3 minutes ago, AbsolutSki said:

Is it possible to find out if CO is available for a sailing before booking? If you use a TA, does it have to go through them to purchase CO or can you call HAL directly?

Yes. Your TA can find out.