What is a "kettle"?

:)Ok, I know you are going to laugh at me, but that's ok. Is a kettle a coffeemaker, or is it a tea kettle that one plugs in and boils water? If that is the case, is the coffee supplied on the QM2 the instant kind? Anyone who can stop laughing long enough to answer, I appreciate it!!:p

A kettle is like a jug with an element inside to heat water. I imagine instant coffee sachets and UHT milk available. I don't drink instant coffee so take coffee bags or filters to make coffee in the cabin.

Apparently the US voltage is lower than the UK and many other countries, so electric kettles take longer to boil over there!

LondonTowner has answered your question perfectly, it boils water for tea or instant coffee.

Thank you, LondonTowner, for your reply. We don't care for instant coffee much, but we'll try it! :)

:)Ok, I know you are going to laugh at me, but that's ok. Is a kettle a coffeemaker, or is it a tea kettle that one plugs in and boils water? If that is the case, is the coffee supplied on the QM2 the instant kind? Anyone who can stop laughing long enough to answer, I appreciate it!!:p

The coffee supplied in the cabins on the QM2 are sachets of Nescafe and Cafe Hag.

Thanks for the info, Ray 66. I'm familiar with Nescafe but have never heard of Cafe Hag. It will be convenient to have coffee available in the cabin.

A kettle is also a term given to a group of people herded into one small area by a Police cordon - an action known as 'kettling''. And, no, I've no idea how the term originated.

You used to get kettles with whistles so that you knew when they came to the boil - these were used on gas or electric hobs (or even open fires). Nowadays we all seem to have electric kettles which are much more efficient and far less damaging to the eardrums.

In tea drinking Britiain they say one is never more than 10 feet from a kettle. Or is that a rat? No, I think kettles probably outnumber rats. In fact kettles are so ingrained in the British culture that you can even get small travelling kettles the better to sample strange and exotic cultures while still dosing up with PG Tips.

No, I think kettles probably outnumber rats. In fact kettles are so ingrained in the British culture that you can even get small travelling kettles the better to sample strange and exotic cultures while still dosing up with PG Tips.

It is indeed a sad reflection on British culture that people are obsessed with "oo, I must have me nice cup o'tea in the morning" and will therefore take a travel kettle with them even whilst visiting the most upmarket hotel/cruise ship etc so that they can recreate the squalor of a 1960s boarding house/camp site.

A kettle is also a term given to a group of people herded into one small area by a Police cordon - an action known as 'kettling''. And, no, I've no idea how the term originated.

 

You used to get kettles with whistles so that you knew when they came to the boil - these were used on gas or electric hobs (or even open fires). Nowadays we all seem to have electric kettles which are much more efficient and far less damaging to the eardrums.

Kettles are also used in steel making.

They are like massive bath tubs used for galvanising.

Rather difficult to cart around.

Stewart

Nescafé and Cafe Hag are still instant coffees which taste nothing like the real thing. I always buy either coffee filters where you put the filter on the top of the cup and the coffee drips through or coffee bags, which I put two into the cup and it brews like tea bags.

They are handy to take on cruises or for use in hotel rooms. They are readily available in UK large supermarkets, so I imagine you can buy them elsewhere.

As an aside - we will be on our first Cunard crossing in December and I see that one can buy speciality coffees. Is that real, proper stuff or some sort of Starbucks-like confection of syrup and brown sludge?

I am not interested in instant 'coffee'. Does the new kettle amenity come with a decent supply of decent tea bags? Is the 'milk' UHT or powdered stuff?

I don't know about the Grills just Britannia and no you don't get a decent supply of teabags - you get just two. But you can always pick some up in Kings Court.

The milk supplied is long-life supplied in those tiny pots like you get in hotels.

Thanks for the info, Ray 66. I'm familiar with Nescafe but have never heard of Cafe Hag. It will be convenient to have coffee available in the cabin.

Café Hag is decaffeinated coffee.

De caffeinated instant coffee, ugh, can't think of anything worse.

Cafe Corinthia and Sir Samuels have Illy coffee machines. There is a coffee menu that ranges from double espresso to the syrupy sludges found at "Fivebucks".

Grills staterooms have a kettle and an Illy pod machine.

Standard staterooms have a kettle but no pod machine; the only coffee there are the instant packets.

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful replies. Will try the filter idea; we can easily throw those in our suitcase. Might make the coffee a bit more palatable. I'll also look for some of the coffee bags. Now I just have to figure out what to pack for 3 nights in London and then touring around Ireland for 2 weeks! :p

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful replies. Will try the filter idea; we can easily throw those in our suitcase. Might make the coffee a bit more palatable. I'll also look for some of the coffee bags. Now I just have to figure out what to pack for 3 nights in London and then touring around Ireland for 2 weeks! :p

The Irish for a dark, aromatic, satisfying drink is:

''I'll take a pint of Guinness please.''

De caffeinated instant coffee, ugh, can't think of anything worse.

Me yes. A heart attack, for instance.

It is indeed a sad reflection on British culture that people are obsessed with "oo, I must have me nice cup o'tea in the morning" and will therefore take a travel kettle with them even whilst visiting the most upmarket hotel/cruise ship etc so that they can recreate the squalor of a 1960s boarding house/camp site.

That's because in all my trips to the USA the coffee has been rank or that sweet, sloppy mess that Starbucks ect sell. Also tea in most place is weak. So I take my travel kettle for a decent cup of tea or coffee. the thing that amazes me is that you can buy good tea and coffee in most places just not in Hotels and Cruise ships so I bring my own.