Communications Issues with Blue Angel?

[Sideways]

Interesting....I booked a November trip in March and lunches are included. I must have gotten in right under the wire?????

islanddream

Well, that is interesting. The response I got saying no more inclusive dive lunches was on March 12. Mind if I ask what day you booked? Or maybe Eva can clarify for us the reason for the change and the timing of it. Thanks for the info.

 

[cduffey]

Well, that is interesting. The response I got saying no more inclusive dive lunches was on March 12. Mind if I ask what day you booked? Or maybe Eva can clarify for us the reason for the change and the timing of it. Thanks for the info.

I booked in February after many communications miscues. I practically begged for package with lunches but was told they were no longer doing that. Maybe some customers are more valuable than others? Admittedly, we haven't been staying there for years and years as some others have. If offered, we would probably be willing to pay more for a package that included lunch on dive days since it would add convenience and budgeting advantage. Now, I'm more apt to walk down the street for lunch since it kind of feels like something has been taken away. All of theses hiccups really are making me uneasy about how smoothly this trip is going to go. I can only hope that their stellar reputation up until now will win out.

 

[DandyDon]

Some of you are making a big deal about $5/day lunches. It's a minor aspect of a very nice hotel & dive op.

 

[bcaderunr]

We just booked a 2 person, 7-day, 5-day diving package last week for mid-September. No dive day lunches OR dinner. Just breakfast with a beverage. Cost was $106 less ($53/pp) than when those amenities were previously included. Too bad. Instead of spending the full $106 at BA (plus a whole lot more on drinks) it means we'll be doing more lunch/dinners at late afternoon locales elsewhere. Additionally, I feel bad for the staff who will be missing out on all the tips we used to leave for those included meals.

And, Don, it used to be ANY meal on the menu PLUS an alcoholic drink. Not too shabby of a deal.

 

[cduffey]

Some of you are making a big deal about $5/day lunches. It's a minor aspect of a very nice hotel & dive op.

Nobody is making a big deal out of it. I booked anyway. I was commenting on the seemingly inconsistent policy of offering different packages to different customers. It seems they have some chaos happening and that concerns me when I want to have a no-surprises vacation. I am still looking forward to staying and diving with BA and trust that the problems are with communications and reservations personnel.

 

[islanddream]

Well, that is interesting. The response I got saying no more inclusive dive lunches was on March 12. Mind if I ask what day you booked? Or maybe Eva can clarify for us the reason for the change and the timing of it. Thanks for the info.

I booked on January 20, 2012.

 

[Sideways]

Some of you are making a big deal about $5/day lunches. It's a minor aspect of a very nice hotel & dive op.

If it was that big of a deal Don, I wouldn't have booked it I'm just curious as to the reasoning, and what other changes have occured. While it's only a $5-10 lunch, to me it's more a case of it being one of those "little things" that make a place special and that can keep you coming back. When enough of those "Little things" dissappear, things can get very common. The BA is awesome, I stayed there recently and have dove with them a few times in the past. It will be good to see Eva, Matthew, Mateo, Karribelle , and the gang again

 

[Colin Gray]

Sideways (Greg)

Wish I could join you again at BA!! We had a great time in Dec. Nice pics! Flooded my G11 diving Saba in Jan.

 

[Sideways]

Sideways (Greg)

Wish I could join you again at BA!! We had a great time in Dec. Nice pics! Flooded my G11 diving Saba in Jan.

Hey Colin, how ya doing! Was the flood caused by the same issues you had at BA?? Other than that, how was the diving in Saba?

 

[mjatkins]

I was commenting on the seemingly inconsistent policy of offering different packages to different customers.

I'm hoping to shed some light on some of these concerns, as I was part of the decision making process that led us to this policy change. I understand the concern about inconsistent policies, and that is exactly what we tried to avoid with this new direction. There was always some confusion as to who gets a lunch and who doesn't. One person is a diver, but their wife is not, and the kids are still in the open water course, but will become divers in two days. You had a lunch for the days you booked before you arrived, but not for days you added diving after the fact etc. It could be hard for some folks to follow who got lunch and who didn't, and which days they got it. This new policy was put into place to simplify the process, believing that the restaurant serves great food, with good service, at extremely reasonable prices. Those who are willing to pay for lunch as part of the package, would be willing to pay the same money to stay and have lunch when it is not included. The cost is the same, the lunch is still available, just the process is simplified to be more consistent.

Since there were many folks who had already been quoted a package with lunch included when this policy changed, it seemed only fair that we honour that quote if they chose to go ahead with those bookings. So for a while we were in a situation where we had a new policy, but were still accepting reservation confirmations from people who had been offered the old package.

I hope this helps clarify the lunch issue, and I certainly hope that those who enjoyed lunch with us in the past, continue to join us for lunches in the future. And thanks to each of you for caring about what is going on at Blue Angel enough to be here discussing it.

Matthew