Are There Problems on Onward?

[uktog]

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

[durante]

A singer and her group were playing a set in the Living Room @6pm last night on Onward - it was far too loud My ears were hurting after 10 mins.

[kml246]

1 hour ago, durante said:

A singer and her group were playing a set in the Living Room @6pm last night on Onward - it was far too loud My ears were hurting after 10 mins.

 

Disappointing. I don't get it. Seems like this is an issue on many lines. 

 

TURN IT DOWN - WE'LL STILL HEAR YOU!  I had to shout over the music 🙂 

[Riocca]

2 hours ago, durante said:

A singer and her group were playing a set in the Living Room @6pm last night on Onward - it was far too loud My ears were hurting after 10 mins.

We were in there last night at about 6.30pm sitting near the bar didn’t think it was any different from the volume level on Quest in September. Possibly could be the positioning of the speakers on Onward creating hotspots volume wise.

[uktog]

17 minutes ago, Riocca said:

We were in there last night at about 6.30pm sitting near the bar didn’t think it was any different from the volume level on Quest in September. Possibly could be the positioning of the speakers on Onward creating hotspots volume wise.

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

[kml246]

23 minutes ago, uktog said:

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

 

On Caribbean Princess in February, the majority of the passengers were seniors. People were leaving the pool area because the music was painfully loud. Both the band and the DJ were crazy loud all the time. I complained numerous times and nothing was done. I showed them the screen below - music was 88 decibels and I wasn't right by the speakers. It was the first time we were glad when the cruise ended. 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

Disappointing. I don't get it. Seems like this is an issue on many lines. 

 

TURN IT DOWN - WE'LL STILL HEAR YOU!  I had to shout over the music 🙂 

I'm with you. I don't get it either. Celebrity are much worse for this than Azamara, but I don't like the trend. White Night on Journey was fine for me and a great performance. It was way too loud on Quest the week after. Led by the Cruise Directors?  We left White Night early on Quest because of the loudness and general performance. Two of the dancers writhing about up by each of the pool hot tubs trying to get the crowd dancing looked like they were pole dancers at a strip club. It was embarrassing. Well to me at least!  

 

Phil 

[kool kruiser]

In response to the above posts:-

Definitely no poolside musak.

None in other locations, except VERY quiet on Sunshine Terrace at breakfast time.

Vasi, the terrific Den entertainer, had her volume at, IMHO, a perfect level.

White Nights volume great.

Cabaret Lounge sound levels rather loud for us, but not ridiculous.

Unable to comment on Living Room, as we did not frequent this particular venue.

 

Now to the Atlas bar. In May, the video screens could not be used, due to lack of appropriate certifications. This time, fully operational and they made a great positive improvement to the atmosphere. Easy to avoid by moving to other areas of the bar if it's not your thing. Live music here a definite no no, as it would overpower, however restrained. In summary, we love the three screens !!

[Riocca]

I think I can remember Lee Hetherington saying that Princess had installed new sound systems in the refit prior to selling the ship to Azamara, could this be the source of the problem?

Not been in the Den as yet on an evening but haven’t experienced any problems in the Living Room or Show Lounge to date, will try and pay attention to detail for the remaining days of the cruise.

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, kool kruiser said:

In response to the above posts:-

Definitely no poolside musak.

None in other locations, except VERY quiet on Sunshine Terrace at breakfast time.

Vasi, the terrific Den entertainer, had her volume at, IMHO, a perfect level.

White Nights volume great.

Cabaret Lounge sound levels rather loud for us, but not ridiculous.

Unable to comment on Living Room, as we did not frequent this particular venue.

 

Now to the Atlas bar. In May, the video screens could not be used, due to lack of appropriate certifications. This time, fully operational and they made a great positive improvement to the atmosphere. Easy to avoid by moving to other areas of the bar if it's not your thing. Live music here a definite no no, as it would overpower, however restrained. In summary, we love the three screens !!

Agreed, three screens are quite small and easily ignored if you want to.

[Laganlady02]

I found the video wall in the Atlas Bar a great addition  and not at all loud.

Regarding the fire backdrop the only time I saw this used was for the private big suites get together. Special cocktails were created for the event which included the burning of some spices which along with the fire backdrop was very effective.

[lsnhc]

This is our first cruise since Covid and our 3rd Azamara sailing. We got a last minute upgrade to a Club Continent suite and were definitely excited to take advantage of all of the perks, and frankly so far, we are significantly disappointed. The suite itself is very nice - certainly an upgrade from the balcony cabin we originally reserved, but candidly,the other "benefits" are pretty much a joke. The "personal butler" is pretty much a figment of Azamara's imagination - he is a cabin steward in a cutaway jacket and tie. When we first got onboard, we requested that he make reservations for us at the two extra-charge restaurants, supposedly available to suite guests every evening at no additional charge. He wrote down our requests and said he would take care of it. The long and short of it - virtually none of our desired times and venues were available for the entire duration of the cruise. When we inquired as to why this was happening, he said they were already reserved and I would have to deal directly with the restaurant manager (who simply repeated that our requests could not be accommodated). Obviously, the dining component of the suite category is a very desirable benefit, but if doesn't actually exist in reality, they should not promote it. Parenthetically, we heard our suite "neighbors" complaining about the same issue. Even though the "welcome letter" said that the butler would assist making excursion reservations, again, the only assistance was telling us to go to the excursion desk!! In fairness, he did take care of a couple of minor requests - firmer pillows and a bag of laundry - but it's abundantly clear that the expectations of having a "butler" do not begin to match the reality. Let me be clear: We really like Azamara for a lot of reasons and would definitely consider sailing again, but we do feel significantly let down from our expectations and if we were to book a suite in the future, we would know that the only real benefit would be the larger cabin (and a separate check-in line!)
 

[uktog]

5 minutes ago, lsnhc said:

This is our first cruise since Covid and our 3rd Azamara sailing. We got a last minute upgrade to a Club Continent suite and were definitely excited to take advantage of all of the perks, and frankly so far, we are significantly disappointed. The suite itself is very nice - certainly an upgrade from the balcony cabin we originally reserved, but candidly,the other "benefits" are pretty much a joke. The "personal butler" is pretty much a figment of Azamara's imagination - he is a cabin steward in a cutaway jacket and tie. When we first got onboard, we requested that he make reservations for us at the two extra-charge restaurants, supposedly available to suite guests every evening at no additional charge. He wrote down our requests and said he would take care of it. The long and short of it - virtually none of our desired times and venues were available for the entire duration of the cruise. When we inquired as to why this was happening, he said they were already reserved and I would have to deal directly with the restaurant manager (who simply repeated that our requests could not be accommodated). Obviously, the dining component of the suite category is a very desirable benefit, but if doesn't actually exist in reality, they should not promote it. Parenthetically, we heard our suite "neighbors" complaining about the same issue. Even though the "welcome letter" said that the butler would assist making excursion reservations, again, the only assistance was telling us to go to the excursion desk!! In fairness, he did take care of a couple of minor requests - firmer pillows and a bag of laundry - but it's abundantly clear that the expectations of having a "butler" do not begin to match the reality. Let me be clear: We really like Azamara for a lot of reasons and would definitely consider sailing again, but we do feel significantly let down from our expectations and if we were to book a suite in the future, we would know that the only real benefit would be the larger cabin (and a separate check-in line!)
 

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 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

1 hour ago, kml246 said:

 

On Caribbean Princess in February, the majority of the passengers were seniors. People were leaving the pool area because the music was painfully loud. Both the band and the DJ were crazy loud all the time. I complained numerous times and nothing was done. I showed them the screen below - music was 88 decibels and I wasn't right by the speakers. It was the first time we were glad when the cruise ended. 

 

What is a good level?

is a 

[Laganlady02]

20 minutes ago, lsnhc said:

This is our first cruise since Covid and our 3rd Azamara sailing. We got a last minute upgrade to a Club Continent suite and were definitely excited to take advantage of all of the perks, and frankly so far, we are significantly disappointed. The suite itself is very nice - certainly an upgrade from the balcony cabin we originally reserved, but candidly,the other "benefits" are pretty much a joke. The "personal butler" is pretty much a figment of Azamara's imagination - he is a cabin steward in a cutaway jacket and tie. When we first got onboard, we requested that he make reservations for us at the two extra-charge restaurants, supposedly available to suite guests every evening at no additional charge. He wrote down our requests and said he would take care of it. The long and short of it - virtually none of our desired times and venues were available for the entire duration of the cruise. When we inquired as to why this was happening, he said they were already reserved and I would have to deal directly with the restaurant manager (who simply repeated that our requests could not be accommodated). Obviously, the dining component of the suite category is a very desirable benefit, but if doesn't actually exist in reality, they should not promote it. Parenthetically, we heard our suite "neighbors" complaining about the same issue. Even though the "welcome letter" said that the butler would assist making excursion reservations, again, the only assistance was telling us to go to the excursion desk!! In fairness, he did take care of a couple of minor requests - firmer pillows and a bag of laundry - but it's abundantly clear that the expectations of having a "butler" do not begin to match the reality. Let me be clear: We really like Azamara for a lot of reasons and would definitely consider sailing again, but we do feel significantly let down from our expectations and if we were to book a suite in the future, we would know that the only real benefit would be the larger cabin (and a separate check-in line!)
 

You have to make specialty dining reservations as soon as you board as they fill up quickly, especially on a 7 night cruise.

The butler can be used to cancel a reservation or to try and book an additional reservation. The benefits of a CC are much more than the extra space.

This month on Onward our butler was Elro, who has many years experience in this role and provided an excellent service.

[uktog]

11 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

What is a good level?

is a 

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

[uktog]

21 minutes ago, Laganlady02 said:

You have to make specialty dining reservations as soon as you board as they fill up quickly, especially on a 7 night cruise.

The butler can be used to cancel a reservation or to try and book an additional reservation. The benefits of a CC are much more than the extra space.

This month on Onward our butler was Elro, who has many years experience in this role and provided an excellent service.

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

Edited October 31, 2022 by uktog

[kml246]

34 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

What is a good level?

is a 

 

The 88 decibels I posted was from my lounge chair, about fifteen feet BEHIND the speaker. It was much louder close up. As @uktog said, if you need to shout to have a conversation, then it's too loud. 

Edited October 31, 2022 by kml246

[marinaro44]

Please, no music at breakfast.  Good grief.

 

Suite passengers are not entitled to dine every night in specialty restaurants.  They make reservations, first come first served, just like everyone else.  The difference is that suite passengers are not charged additional for dining there.

[lsnhc]

12 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Please, no music at breakfast.  Good grief.

 

Suite passengers are not entitled to dine every night in specialty restaurants.  They make reservations, first come first served, just like everyone else.  The difference is that suite passengers are not charged additional for dining there.

I'm not inferring that suite passengers should get priority (that's a topic for another day). My issue is the gross misrepresentation of the role and benefits of having a "butler."  Azamara makes a big deal of this being a perk with a suite. In reality, it is more of an illusion than reality. 

[marinaro44]

38 minutes ago, lsnhc said:

I'm not inferring that suite passengers should get priority (that's a topic for another day). My issue is the gross misrepresentation of the role and benefits of having a "butler."  Azamara makes a big deal of this being a perk with a suite. In reality, it is more of an illusion than reality. 

You seemed to be blaming the butler for not getting all the dates and times you asked for.  If enough others booked those dates and times earlier, there's nothing the butler could do.  The butler's and the restaurant manager's responses were correct. 

 

The dining component of the suite package is that it is without charge, and the butler can make reservations for you if the dates and times you ask for are still available.  Specialty restaurants are not exclusively for suites, thankfully.  They are open to everyone, and are popular.

[lsnhc]

No.... My biggest complaint here is that Azamara grossly misrepresents the whole butler thing, restaurant reservations notwithstanding. 

[uktog]

44 minutes ago, lsnhc said:

No.... My biggest complaint here is that Azamara grossly misrepresents the whole butler thing, restaurant reservations notwithstanding. 

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

[marinaro44]

I've always been satisfied with our butlers.  Maybe because I have correct, realistic expectations about the making and availability of specialty restaurant reservations.  I still see little specific here indicating that Azamara has "grossly misrepresented" butler service.

[Nippy Sweetie]

I entirely agree with @lsnhc. Our 'butler' was a very nice man but really didn't do more than a cabin steward. I don't think Azamara understand what butlers actually are or should do. It was far more than making reservations.

We did complain on our mid cruise survey which triggered a series of visits and phone calls from various 'managers'. I just showed them their printed list of what we could expect from our butler and compared it with what he actually did. I wished I hadn't. It didn't lead to any improvement and only made the poor soul anxious. He was doing his best but can't have had any training. 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Nippy Sweetie