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Too Few Cruisers Know About These 9 FREE Afternoon Teas At Sea
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Oct 8, 2024
As a HUGE fan of them, and because I see only a small percentage of passengers going to many of them, and as I think too many are missing out on one of the best culinary experiences on a cruise, I’m going to let you in on my list of the best included afternoon teas at sea, so you too know where you can indulge in this fantastic experience. “Cruise Calories Don’t Count” T-shirt you can buy it from my merchandise store in a range of colours: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/calories For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * T-Shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore * Mugs, notebooks, hoodies etc: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/tipsfortravellers?ref_id=22354 My social media: --------------------------------------------------- * Blog: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge * Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers * Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
View Video Transcript
0:00
Several times a year, my mum and I would seek out the very best English afternoon teas on land
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places like Fortnomer Masons. These would cost up to 75 pounds, 100 US dollars per person. On my travels
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I always seek out renowned afternoon teas, like at the old Catarac Hotel in Luxor, Egypt
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and at the oyster box in South Africa. Again, costing a lot. But actually, my happiest time is when I'm at sea
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because there are some incredible afternoon tea options costing me nothing, as they're included with
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the fair. Because I see only a small percentage of travellers going to many of them, and as I think
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too many are missing out on one of the best culinary experiences on a cruise, I'm going to let you in
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on my list of the very best of the best so you two can know where you can indulge in this fantastic
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experience. First, though, it's important to clear up a few things that many people get wrong
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and misunderstand about afternoon tea. Afternoon tea actually dates back to the 19th century
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In England, when the Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting
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used to get hungry late afternoon because the aristocracy at that time we only have two meals
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Breakfast and dinner at 8 or 9 o'clock at night. And she started to order a light meal of tea, bread and butter to be brought to her at 4 o'clock in the afternoon
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She started inviting her fancy friends, including royal courtiers, to join in
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And when Queen Victoria became aware of the custom, she actually adopted the ritual, turning it into a fashionable, social
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event with sandwiches, scones, cakes and pastries. Despite what many North American hotels
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especially call the event, it's not high tea. That is just plain wrong. While afternoon tea
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referred to the fancy sandwiches, scones and cakes, the aristocracy enjoyed easing their
1:47
hunger between meals, high tea was in fact for the more common folk. High tea referred to the
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evening meal that the working and the lower middle classes had returning home from work in
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factories, fields or offices. Being British, of course, it included tea, but it was a substantial meal
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It was eaten at a high table, I guess what we probably call a dining table now, hence the name
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high tea. Today you will still hear many Brits call their dinner or supper tea. A proper afternoon
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tea actually consists of tea, of course, and three key elements. Importantly, this is also the order
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they should be eaten in. Finger sandwiches, followed by scones with jam and clotted cream
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a specific type of cream made with the cream of full fat cow's milk, and finally cakes and pastries
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That why many afternoon teas served in a tiered stand which should have those elements in that order from the bottom to the top There is a much about issue whether cream or jam should go first on scones
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and more on that later, as I want to reveal now the list of the best nine afternoon teas at sea
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that are included in your cruise fares. Kuhnard is the most famous line to have afternoon tea at sea
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It's a big daily event across multiple venues. The most dramatic of these is in their quiz
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room, the ballroom. It starts with a parade of white-gloved waiters, carrying the trays of sandwiches
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scones and cakes, and live music plays. Passengers travelling in suites can have afternoon
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tea in the Princess Grill restaurant, one of the sweet-only dining rooms, where they serve
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a traditional tier of sandwiches, scones and cakes. Q-Not also serve afternoon tea out on the
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sweet-only deck, using a trolley service, and the buffet restaurant offers a self-service afternoon
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tea option as well. While Kynod are a leading line on afternoon tea with their Queen's Room
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event, it has several downsides I feel that others actually do better, as you will see shortly
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Because they don't do the tiered stands with everything on, it can be a little bit frustrating
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and a bit random as you rely on waiters passing your table, making it hard to follow the right
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order, as it were, and also there's no tea choice because they pour tea basically from large teapots
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A magnificent afternoon tea at sea is on Viking Ocean ships, so that you're not. A good night. served in the beautiful Winter Garden lounge also with live music
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Now they actually do some aspects better than QNard because they serve leaf tea with around
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25 that I counted to choose from. Guests get a tiered stand with the sandwiches and the cakes
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with different varieties of both each day and a waiter then comes around with a tray of warm scones
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clotted cream and jam. High on my list is Regent 70s and what I like is they have themed
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afternoon teas during the cruise with one of my favorites being the cup
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cakes one, with a massive range and display of these. They do not serve teared stands full of the
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goodies. Instead, regent waiters bring a trolley around to each table with the sandwiches and the
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cakes to choose from. They then normally have a big station which has a selection of scones
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Now, I really like that they have a wide choice of twining teas and they bring a box around
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to choose from, though unfortunately they are tea bags and not leaf tea
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Oceania, their sister line in the Norwegian cruise group, follow with a
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similar approach and have the trolley that also comes around each table but with a smaller
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choice compared to Regent. They also offer the same choice of teas but again of course
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their tea bags While they don have the themed extras and the larger choice the quality is very similar I found to Regent Seventies and I rate them overall really high By the way if you like this cruise calories
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don't count t-shirt, you can buy it from my merchandise store in a range of colours. A link is
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in the description. One of the surprising lines I'd not expected to ever be on my list before cruising
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with them is afternoon tea on the Italian and value line MSC cruisers that served in their
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Yacht Club. The Yacht Club is their suites ship within a ship area and the butlers serve
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afternoon tea in the Yacht Club lounge. They bring a trolley that comes to your table with a
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selection of leaf teas to choose from, followed by a tiered stand of sandwiches, scones and of course
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cakes. It feels like a really special occasion in part because it's served by the butlers and
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the choice and quality are really good. I had not expected an Italian line with the value offer
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to get such a British tradition so accurately nailed. Seaborn also has great afternoon teas
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on both their classic and their expedition ships. On classic cruise ships, it's in the
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observation lounge and on expedition ships in the Constellation lounge. Now on the classic ships
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it's daily, but I found on expedition just on sea days or when cruising in the afternoons
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Seaborn afternoon tea follows the British traditions, but the actual sandwiches and cakes are much more adventurous and less classically British. I really love
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like the good range of about nine leaf teas and they serve them with a timer to help get the
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brew time just right. They bring a tiered stand and both whipped and clotted cream and they have live
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music playing. While the sandwiches and cakes are a little bit more fancy French patissory
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inspired site, I enjoy them and I rate seaborn afternoon tea highly too. So far most of the best
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afternoon teas have been on the luxury and ultra luxury ships or for sweet guests only. So are
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there any great ones on less costly lines? Yes. There are. Holland America has been in service for over 150 years with the Dutch heritage and with
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that longevity comes a popular daily afternoon tea event. Held in the main dining room, there is normally a really long line, particularly on
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sea days, basically waiting for the doors to open for afternoon tea
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I've kept Honour America on my list, although I feel in recent years the quality of
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afternoon tea has slipped a little bit and it lacks some of the drama and the ceremony
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of some of the others. They pour tea from large teapots like QNod, not offering a choice, though you can request
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something different, which they will do a bit reluctantly, but they will actually do that
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They bring round tiered stands, which do not have a big choice, but they do have sandwiches
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scones and cakes First of all as I mentioned there not many items on the stands compared to the other lines but they do the most terrible thing with their scones because they serve them like a sandwich with whipped cream and jam in the middle This is absolutely not the way
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that you should be serving or eating scones. It's a travesty. While I feel it could be better
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overall, they still make it onto my list and I never miss an afternoon tea on holiday
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America when I'm on board. In addition to Cunard, most of the UK-based lines, not surprisingly
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offer afternoon tea with mixed success. Pino Cruises is the largest UK-based line by some margin
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and offer an included afternoon tea daily in the main dining room, which is really, really popular
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Like Honda America, they serve tea from big tea pots, they serve a plate of sandwiches and rolls
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another with cakes and scones, certainly when I cruiser on them, that was the format. Like on in America
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it lacks the ceremony and sense of occasion others I spoke about earlier provide
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It's a good if low-key afternoon tea overall. And I do wonder if one reason for this is to encourage
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people on board to pay for the fancier, more elaborate added cost afternoon tea on some of their ships
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like example won by one of their culinary partners, Eric Landlard, on Pino Britannia that I tried
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There is a non-British line which competes in the same categories, Holland America and Pino Cruises
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and has a similar approach to the included afternoon tea on both, and that's Princess Cruises
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As with those lines, it takes place in one of the main dining rooms, and I've experienced two
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very different methods on their ships on recent sailings. Sometimes there's been a modest menu of sandwiches and cakes to choose from, and then they
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bring your selection on plates, but on other ships, they've actually brought round trays
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with the sandwiches, cakes and scones around to the table. So it appears to be two different ways of doing it
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It's a good solid afternoon tea, if like it. some of the magic of the others
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Early I mentioned, one of the most argued about things with afternoon tea is how to eat the scones
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Putting the jam first and then the cream is known as the Cornish method because people in Cornwall
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England, basically, eat scones that way, while cream and then jam is how those in Devon eat them
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The most popular way to have it is the Cornish way, so jam and then cream, with 62% of British
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people saying they do that, including the late Queen Lerner. Elizabeth the second. Cornish Way is my preferred way of doing it all, so it looks like I'm in good
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company there. Do you have any favourite included in Fair Afternoon teas that are not on my list
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Let me know in the comments, but while we're talking about cruise ship dining
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do you know over in this video where I talk about what smart cruises do and do not do in the buffet
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and why. See you over there
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