Tips for Azamara Newbies

[islandwoman]

DH and I will be sailing in a Continent Suite for the first time. Do we get "English Butler Service" or is that only for the Spa, Ocean, and Owners suites?.  I also see on azamara's website "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."

What does that mean?  What does a butler actually do?  I've never had  a "personal valet" or any of those other specialists for that matter. If we don't buy the upgraded drinks package, what use would we have for a "wine expert" or "mixologist"?

How many suites does one butler serve?

 

[uktog]

To be honest, the butler does very little more than the stateroom attendant.  In theory they will do restaurant bookings, though many prefer to do their own and could set up other reservations eg spa for you.  They used to bring afternoon tea but it has been reported this now only happens if you order it.  The write up on the website is like someone has swallowed a bucket of spin.  I have never known a butler mix a drink for me in the suite, they look after a large number of rooms and I would be awkward calling them to come and do it - I just go to the bar when I am ready.  They usually look after at least 10 suites

[Host Jazzbeau]

I ask the Butler to do things that you might ask the stateroom steward to do – not replenish tissues, but get a tote bag or switch out the included drinks in the cabin – to take the load off the steward.  They will also bring afternoon tea or hors d'oeuvres if requested – I'm glad they stopped doing this without being asked because we were wasting so much food that appeared when we didn't need it!  And if you want to have a small gathering in your cabin with new (or old) friends onboard, the Butler will happily organize it – this is one activity that allows the Butler to shine, so they do seem to enjoy being asked (especially if you ask well in advance and are flexible so they can schedule it around their other duties).

[blag]

Yes, Club Continent suites get a butler, who will give you a brief intro to the facilities etc. in your suite.

On our cruise which finished yesterday, afternoon tea was delivered without needing to ask. If you don't want it leave the 'Do not disturb' magnet on your door! It was not necessary to pre-order.

Your butler is there for little things, and I agree that the description you quoted is well OTT. On this cruise our butler kept a constant supply of Cranberry juice in our fridge (cystitis), arranged to have a pair of trousers turned-up for me, booked our Specialty dining, and rearranged the bookings when the date of White Night was changed, cleaned shoes twice, procured extra hangers, swapped out our bottles of spirits, sought out Schweppes tonic water to replace the inferior stuff throughout our 14-night Voyage.

Hope this helps give you an idea...

Edited December 31, 2022 by blag

[uktog]

Bear in mind there are now differences in “how they do things” between the four ships which apply to many responses on this thread. It used to be a standard way across the fleet, now it is not.
 

So for example do you need to order afternoon tea or not varies from ship to ship.   When you meet the butler get him to concentrate not on the layout and switches of the room or what he can do (although important) but how he does it. So what’s automatic, what do I need to ask for, how much notice, what’s the best time of day to chat with him re upcoming needs etc

 

Its also a good idea to clarify what he wants to do vs the stateroom attendant as that does vary and in our experience if you don’t get the demarcation right and ask the wrong person you can have some gaps in whether your expectations are met. 

[kent4489]

We were on Onward in June and the “butler” wasn’t the best. Same cabin and ship in November and had an awesome butler. We don’t require much from a butler, but he took care of our vodka, limes and Fever Tree tonic requests! Fever Tree and Schweppes were not to be found in the bars, but he kept our cabin stocked. 😀 He had a totally different personality from the “butler” we had in June.

 

[Kelownadon]

Will a standard size ipad fit in the safe on the Onward?

[andrcan]

31 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

Will a standard size ipad fit in the safe on the Onward?

My 10"x7" tablet fitted in all right. 

[lisiamc]

1 hour ago, Kelownadon said:

Will a standard size ipad fit in the safe on the Onward?

This is an 11” IPad Pro. It fits, but I never keep it in there. 

[Kelownadon]

1 hour ago, lisiamc said:

This is an 11” IPad Pro. It fits, but I never keep it in there. 

That’s exactly what I have, thanks. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I never put my MacBook Pro in the safe (even if it fits).  I trust the cabin stewards.

[luv2travel90266]

My 13" laptop doesn't fit in the safe but I have never had a problem. If you feel better lock it in a suitcase that you keep under your bed. 

[wjfan417]

We were on for 5 weeks this fall, so I took my laptop with me. Never had an issue leaving it on a desk. I also figure that iPads are so common now that I just stick it in a drawer. 

[Kelownadon]

On 1/1/2023 at 8:15 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

I never put my MacBook Pro in the safe (even if it fits).  I trust the cabin stewards.

My philosophy is why would you even want to tempt somebody who makes very little money with leaving an ipad out in plain sight or worse still a laptop that could be valued at $5,000 or more. Just not fair to the steward. Sometimes people do stupid things. No need to tempt people if you don’t have to. 

[Melissaghoti]

I trust the cabin stewards as well, but I’ve, on an occasion or two, misplaced my phone or iPad. I don’t want to do that onboard and even need to consider for a moment that anything else has happened. 

[uktog]

The find my facility now gives owners some more comfort but given what is potentially accessible on my devices my work requires them to be on my person, in a safe place at home or appropriately secure place  - their words - elsewhere. 
I wouldn’t like to “insult” the attendant by inferring I keep it in the safe so as not to tempt them, it’s in the safe because others need it to be. Maybe on some lines you might be tempting someone but not I feel on Azamara. 
On Onward the safe is smaller and you have to be careful your iPad doesn’t tip forwards towards the door mechanism when closing it or you’ll need security up to do a reset. 

[Belfastman]

The safe we had on Onward was about 30% bigger than that we had on Quest.

[islandwoman]

I always leave my laptop out because on most ships, the safe is too small to lock it away.  It never occurred to me that the cabin stewards would risk their jobs by stealing.  There are many passengers' possessions that could potentially be stolen and sold on the black market, if the cabin stewards were so inclined.  If that happened, the steward would be out of a job and the cruise line  soon out of business. As for security of data on a device, my laptop is password protected and I always turn it off before leaving the cabin.  

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Belfastman said:

The safe we had on Onward was about 30% bigger than that we had on Quest.

Strange, which room was that in?  We went almost immediately between the two and certain items could not fit in Onward that did on Quest width wise

[Riocca]

11 minutes ago, uktog said:

Strange, which room was that in?  We went almost immediately between the two and certain items could not fit in Onward that did on Quest width wise

Our CC suite on Onward had a much bigger safe than normal it looked to be designed for laptops as it also had a multi power socket in the door.

 

[uktog]

That solves the riddle, they may be bigger in the suites but for the rest of us they are much smaller - see post 1859 - because of its cover type my iPad would not go flat in an Onward safe but does on a Quest safe.  Certainly no power source and the space it went in it would have been tight I think to get the one in the picture squeezed in

 

Just shows answering questions we have to talk about both the ship and the type of premises we are "lodging" in

Edited January 3, 2023 by uktog

[Belfastman]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Strange, which room was that in?  We went almost immediately between the two and certain items could not fit in Onward that did on Quest width wise

 It was a club world suite and was similar to that posted by Riocca.

[uktog]

4 minutes ago, Belfastman said:

 It was a club world suite and was similar to that posted by Riocca.

So we have now established thats not the fit out of the non suite rooms on Onward.  For the majority of the guests its a smaller safe and as I recall an awkward semi crouching position to have to enter the code.

[lisiamc]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

So we have now established thats not the fit out of the non suite rooms on Onward.  For the majority of the guests its a smaller safe and as I recall an awkward semi crouching position to have to enter the code.

The photo I posted is from Onward, in a regular balcony cabin on Deck 6, and it’s in the first cupboard below the triangular spot where the TV once was (when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and CRTs were the norm!) It is big enough, just, for my 11” iPad Pro, but anything much bigger would be a different story. It is tilted in the photo because I couldn’t be bothered to take our passports out for the photo. I can sit on the corner of the bed to use it, but otherwise would have to scootch down a bit. 

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

The photo I posted is from Onward, in a regular balcony cabin on Deck 6, and it’s in the first cupboard below the triangular spot where the TV once was (when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and CRTs were the norm!) It is big enough, just, for my 11” iPad Pro, but anything much bigger would be a different story. It is tilted in the photo because I couldn’t be bothered to take our passports out for the photo. I can sit on the corner of the bed to use it, but otherwise would have to scootch down a bit. 

And that explains it - I have a 12.9 iPad pro, it had to be on the angle and as I say we hit issues when it touched the back of the safe mechanism and would not allow the safe to open.  It happened twice, it was only on the second time that security came up that we solved the cause of the jams.  The security guy said these safes were temperamental and that they also had many more calls to deal with wrong codes going in because of their position.  I have to agree you really are having to crouch down a bit to see the pad and hit the right buttons