Holland America’s Club Orange Explained

Holland America’s Club Orange Explained

Club Orange is a paid add on for Holland America Line cruises.  It is completely separate from their Mariner Society loyalty program which rewards return passengers.  Club Orange can be purchased by anyone whether it is your first cruise or 100th cruise.

Cost

Club Orange costs $25 USD per person per day if your cruise is 12 days or less.  For cruises 13 days or longer, the price is $15 per person per day of the voyage.  The charge is only for the first two passengers in a stateroom, but both passengers in the stateroom must pay it.  If you are a solo traveler (as I was), you only pay for one person.

For a seven day cruise, I paid $175 total.  For a couple or family in one stateroom, the cost would be $350 total.

Club Orange benefits (minus upgrade and special event invite) are automatically included for guests in Suites.

Benefits

The two most important benefits, in my opinion, of Club Orange are the stateroom upgrade and separate dining room on Pinnacle Class ships.

For stateroom upgrade, you get upgraded to the best available room in your room category.  For example, if you originally book a limited view Verandah Stateroom, you could then upgrade to any available Verandah Stateroom, including ones on higher floors with unobstructed views or ones with larger balconies.

I was able to upgrade to a unique room with an extra window and huge balcony.

Club Orange guests on the Pinnacle Class (largest) ships also get a private dining room for breakfast and dinner.  During my cruise, I never had to wait for a table.  The staff in the small dining room are the same for every meal and immediately know you by name.  My experience was that the servers remember my beverage choices and took extra care to provide a personalized service.

Much of the food is also prepared right in the small show kitchen in the Club Orange dining room, meaning it is extremely fresh and hot when it is served to you.

At breakfast, complimentary mimosas, fresh squeezed orange juice, and coffee drinks are provided along with some items not normally included at the main dining room.  If you choose to order breakfast through room service, these extra items are also included as options.

At dinner, there is always a Club Orange exclusive item on the menu that isn’t available at the main dining room.

The other benefits were of no value to me but might have been for others.  For example, the line for embarkation was to get through security not to check in, so having Club Orange didn’t save me any time at all.  We also didn’t have tenders on my cruise so no benefit there.

I never received an invite to any special event.  I wasn’t offered a complimentary glass of sparkling wine on embarkation day but that might have been because I had a drink package.  The tote bag I received was the same that all guests received.

The full benefits listed by Holland America for Club Orange:

Booking Club Orange

If you want to book Club Orange, you would want to contact your travel advisor.  If you booked your cruise directly through Holland America, you would contact them directly to get Club Orange added.  I had been booked through a casino offer and had no problem adding Club Orange.

When you add Club Orange, you can also immediately pick your upgraded stateroom (if available), so I recommend pulling up a deck plan for your ship or do a little research to find out what room you want to ask for.

There are a limited number of spots in Club Orange.  On the my sailing on Nieuw Statendam, one of the largest Pinnacle Class ships, I was told that around 140 passengers (or approximately 5% of passengers) had Club Orange.  I don’t know if that was the limit or not, but there is a set limit due to the size of the Club Orange restaurant.  I added on Club Orange to my booking about a month out and got the exact room I wanted but obviously your experience may differ.

Is Club Orange worth the cost?

For a solo traveler, I believe the $175 I paid was absolutely worth it for the nicer room and breakfast and dinner in Club Orange.  I ate in the Club Orange dining room nearly ever breakfast and dinner.  The staff went out of their way to make me feel welcome.  The one time I ate lunch in the main dining room, I felt the service was much lower and I wasn’t treated nearly as warmly as a solo traveler.

This is the one time where being a solo traveler actually saved money.  A couple (or family) would be paying twice what I did and really not receiving twice the benefits considering I got the exact same upgrade and always had my own table (with at least one other empty seat) at the Club Orange dining room.  Still, even for a couple or family in the same room, I think $350 for the upgrade and smaller dining room would be worth it.