uktog

Do let us know the reaction to your request

Managing expectations, first night might be the one night this would be a challenge as the butlers are usually extremely busy then so they may indicate they cannot do this or can only do it in a limited way. Wine topped up, certainly they do not do that at any time, they will at best leave you a bottle. Course by course serving - my experience - some do some decline to

Thanks for the balanced responses. Helps establish a perspective on something that’s perfect for some and has rough edges but works for others. As in the big bad world it’s sometimes a good purpose to temperature check with a specific question.

There has been a lot of discussion on a thread about whether there are issues on Onward or not about the value and skills of the butlers, but the issue is not limited to Onward. Previously there was a relatively simple list about what the butler would do for you - very few people I suspect had the butler do everything (packing and unpacking for example) but the list was understood. Recently, there have been issues with butlers not even doing that list, but that has thrown up the issue of training and it seems that to fill gaps due to expansion and staff not returning after covid, some waiters have been promoted to the role without full "butler" training. I have also heard anecdotal stories whilst onboard of basic things these butlers did not know so its not just what is on their board. So whilst everyone is managing expectations downward and hoping everyone understands Carson from Downton will not be at their beck and call, Azamara has issued a new description of the role of the butler on their website which muddies the water with its fluff. Back to the Downton image?? Dedicated English Butler Service Our butlers are remarkably adept at tending to the details that make you relaxed and happy. Think of your butler as your personal valet, party consultant and planner, wine expert, mixologist, afternoon purveyor of fabulous treats, reservations specialist, and all-purpose support system. As one poster has said, the butler service may well be an over promise and under deliver - based on this narrative I can see how that could be said. It got me thinking, finding competent butlers is not unique to Azamara, other lines are struggling. Some are now using a different business model - no butlers. Butlers were a "suite legacy" from the RC/Celebrity days. Indeed when Azamara first started they tried to use the line all attendants were butlers, that one had to be shut down pretty fast. I am wondering what the future for butlers is on Azamara now there are new owners. Is it that Azamara really invests in recruiting, training and rewarding staff to operate as butlers not higher end waiters/stateroom attendances? Its really stretching the imagination to say that for most guests the service is an English Butler Service (That does not mean English Butlers, it means Butlers trained to the standard applied in English stately homes a la the British Butler Institute (google it) Or is it that they remove the service for all but Club Ocean and Club Owner suites which is probably the more sustainable option? Thoughts???

I wonder if Azamara will move away from having them for all but the biggest suites. Fits the trends elsewhere. I will start a new thread on that to stop this one going off track as the butler issues are not unique to Onward.

Yuk

The Beach Limerz fact sheet 2022-23, I have highlighted the key info BeachLimerZ® “Whe r e Fo od & Dri n k Mak e Wav e s ” (268) 7364711 (268) 7211769 (268) 562-8574 / 2022/2023 DAY PASS INFORMATION Day Passes are USD75 PP (incl. Gov’t tax) and include: (a) Use of Water Sports equipment (kayaks, body boards, SUPs, snorkeling equipment) and Water Toys (b) Use of Chaise Lounges and Beach umbrellas (c) DRINKS - Rum Punches 3, OR Wadadli Beers 3 AND Waters 2 PP (d) LUNCH - Chicken or Fish or Hamburgers Sides – Fries or Rice or Garden Salad. Dessert - House made Bread Pudding drizzled w/coconut rum sauce. Children under 12 but over 5 pay USD35; children 12 - 15 pay US45. LUNCH for Children: Chicken Fingers and Fries or Mac and Cheese or Pita Pizza. DRINK for Children: 2 Fruit Punch +1 Water Groups of 10 or more pay USD70 PP (including tax). Please note this discount does not apply if your group of 10 includes children under 16. ** We are located seconds from Fort James itself and some guests enjoy a walk around the old Fort which itself dates back to the early 18th century and retains most of the old structure including canons. Distance from port - about 1.5 miles. Currently the recommended taxi fare is US$7 PP each way if 4 or more passengers. Less than four the fare is $8.00 PP ** DAY PASSES ARE USD70 IF PURCHASED IN ADVANCE AND USD75 IF PURCHASED ON SITE AT BEACHLIMERZ The deposit for the regular DAY PASS is USD40 PP. Please note that the deposit is USD20 for children over five (5) but under (12) and is USD23 for children over twelve (12) but under sixteen (16). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PAYGO INFORMATION PAYGO is USD45 PP (incl. Gov’t tax): Spending at least USD45 PP at the Restaurant-Bar, you will have beach chair and umbrella included. The deposit for the PAYGO is USD25 PP. _____________________________________________ We accept MasterCard / Visa / but we prefer Paypal. If you would like to pay with PAYPAL please use the following LINK: https://paypal.me/BeachLimerzANU?country.x=IT&locale.x=en_US BeachLimerZ® “Whe r e Fo od & Dri n k Mak e Wav e s ” FAQs • What time do you open? We open at 9:30AM. Opening hours may be adjusted depending on ship’s arrival time. • What is your cancellation policy? (i) A 100% refund less a 10% administrative fee if you got to Antigua and your captain did not allow you to leave the ship due to weather conditions or any other reason. (ii) Should it be raining heavily accompanied by thunderstorms and you arrive at the restaurant but are unable to lie on the beach and go into the water for most of the day due to safety concerns, we will do a partial refund** (iii) Except where otherwise expressly stated herein we will issue you a full refund less a 10% administrative fee if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid e.g. storms, war, a pandemic etc. • Do you limit the number of day passes? Not really. We are a small semi secluded facility and our focus is relaxation but with much fun. We don't have motorized watersports equipment -leatherback turtles nest on the beach and we try to protect them at all costs. Further we do not have an arrangement with any of the tour companies and so have never had scores of visitors descending on us.

Yes these are the increased figures we have been sent. I am concerned though there is a change in response to the faq from last time we went. Then it did to see in answer to a question that the limited the number of the passed issued. No the response says they do not citing that the beach is extensive. Due to food allergies we cannot really enjoy the higher-priced pass and we first not use water toys. I am now wondering if there are better options elsewhere for us because to be honest we just need two chairs one umbrella and probably one or two soft drinks each

A much shorter list than on Journey and Quest

I like that about Viking but that falls into my self sufficient habit. Suite equals bigger room and earliest access to speciality and excursions booking a good model for us. I see the new Explora is also not planning to have butlers based on their current advertising.

Two issues currently 1. Post 112 details what the butler would not do. All were pretty reasonable requests met with a “sort it out yourself response” 2. The new advertised job description leads you to believe your butler is nearer the downton experience- mixologist, wine consultant (really) travel specialist (the response the guest got was book your excursion yourself). We only use a butler to get us breakfast or occasionally to change a dinner reservation (never to make it, had bad experiences there where by the time the butler got round to it late the first evening our preferences were gone). We’ve found great butlers and our last experience in late 2019 with a promoted waiter was a contributing reason to why we stopped using suites as our first preference. Im sure if they trained the new appointees better the standard would return to the past.

I understand it’s very often not a broken machine. All remote ATMs have the same issue 1. They need a very strong WiFi connection to run the security software that talks to the banks and reads the cards. Reality is that’s extremely difficult on ships. We sailed on a very new ship last year, it struggled 2. They need a supply of notes in very very good condition. If you are land based it’s easier to keep that supply going. Moving from port to port it’s not. I think it just confirms bring the cash with you or get it ashore. The ships ATM is very much a final option

Seriously, we have had many Azamara butlers, all nice people, but the idea that most were wine experts, mixologists, reservations specialists or a support system is not what they are. Very few of them can "think out of the box"which is what that description implies. And a reservations specialist doesn't just send you to the shore ex desk I too have seen the piece of paper Nippy Sweety refers to. There may be a picture somewhere I will look UPDATE Although its sideways here is a previous post with the list I have seen before

Or maybe its that Azamara have not invested enough in recent butler training

I would be very careful going for an upgrade as you could get bath/shower given that they are less popular rooms that shower only. Your only option then is to shower in the spa showers however, we are now reading that there is no access to the showers on Onward unless you are in the large suites. So probably best "buy" the room you want from the start.

Not really it’s not safe either going in or out unless you’ve got full knee flexibility and good balance

Elro is a properly trained butler from the days they used an external company to train them. Trouble is these days there’s no consistency in experience between properly trained butlers and newly promoted waiters etc which does not help the guest

One where I can talk to others in my immediate group without shouting and can likewise hear what they are saying One where the volume is appropriate to the purpose eg is it background or is the performer the purpose of the venue

Very well put! It’s often only about square footage I am not sure how you are finding the food in other venues but we found the gap in quality and service between the main dining room and the specialities to be far narrower than in the past such that an occasional pay as you go for speciality dining was more than enough. Your butler has probably not had much training, not like they used to be in the past. Many are waiters who have been jumped into the role and no specific butler training other than an overview from existing butlers. If you want to make a point fill in the mid cruise survey highlighting this issue to the Hotel Director or seek them out for face to face feedback

Agree if they genuinely made the change purely on the back of a few cruise critic posters that was a huge mistake and showed a lack of broader thinking - worrying for such a significant investment at the time. Its fine to listen to these boards on matters such as itineraries, entertainment or food etc, but that decision had significant "capital" and "long term" consequences. Yes listen to your customers, but choose your sounding board wisely and consider can the advice be undone and at what cost. The shower vs tub issue was not an easy one to be able to be undone and most of the noise came from people who cruised in the big suites anyway. It also went against the conventions that all land based hotel venues were adopting at that time. The decision has certainly reduced our options for late bookings and we cannot use the current upgrade programme. It caused us to see how we got on in verandas only to find we could just. We then looked at other cruise lines verandas and found better equipped offering for the same or less cost. Long term consequence - less revenue for Azamara.

The AV team should be checking for that and making appropriate adjustments.

Last month, two ATMs onboard Journey. One dispensed dollars, the other euros. HOWEVER they were off line some of the trip. Honestly if it is a private tour and so you absolutely need the Euros, I would get them before you come or get them before you board in the country. The ships ATM is a backstop only in my mind

The Den is our favourite place usually on Azamara vessels. Never had issues there with loud pre recorded music though we did recently have issues with the entertainer there on one ship who pumped up her volume not recognising her role was to provide background music. Fortunately, the Cruise Director had also spotted this and tried to address this with the lady. I am not sure she completely got the message over, but at least he tried. So I am now hearing, (pardon the pun) on Onward I have a video wall in what should be a relaxing bar -ok maybe I dont get it but if its such a unique concept will the majority of guests have similar issues (hope they dont use the fire backdrop in the Caribbean!!) or high volume noise in the Den. Trying very hard to be positive about the pre and post dinner drinking options for our upcoming cruise but I'm struggling a little. Maybe our livers will be happy

Not everyone has access to WiFi calling through no fault of there own.

Such a shame there’s not “proper music” in the Atlas Bar. The idea of a video wall is an absolute turn off. Remember when they got rid of the pianists in the Den with a plan to use a video wall during the great 2018 entertainment fiasco. That idea didn’t last long. I wonder if they’d still got a spare wall in storage and decided to try the idea again.