Can we bring a kettle - or is room service good?

[BORDER REIVER]

On our previous cruises we've always had tea/coffee making facilities in the stateroom / cabin, which is perfect for that cuppa when you wake up. The first thing I do on waking is to put the kettle on so we can have a hot drink before showering & dressing.

Also, we usually have a nice cup of tea when arriving back in our stateroom after a day on shore - the last thing you want to do is walk miles to the buffet area, queue up and drink there when you want to lie down with a cuppa beside you.

I note Cunard don't provide this service, but how prompt is room service and how good is the tea provided. Does the tea arrive immediately and is it nice and hot (not lukewarm).

If room service isn't that good, are we allowed to bring a small travel kettle with us and would the room steward provide milk, cups and biscuits?

[Ray66]

Can I bring a kettle with me?

 

Hot water can be obtained on board and due to health and safety reasons we would discourage you from bringing a kettle.

If you are bringing a kettle, please make this known when boarding the ship so that the appliance can be tested.

 

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/fleet/Kettle

[Salacia]

This thread might also be of interest http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1810550

[BORDER REIVER]

Thanks for replies. I have checked Cunard's FAQ's & there's two answers...1. No, you cannot bring a kettle and 2. If you bring one, you declare it for testing.

Some people seem to have got away with bringing a small kettle.

Has anyone tried the room service early morning tea? I've heard rumours that it's often very late and usually not very hot. I'm certainly not going to get straight out of bed and go and fetch two cups of tea from wherever they make it.

[Norfolk Brit]

Has anyone tried the room service early morning tea? I've heard rumours that it's often very late and usually not very hot.

 

My experience is that it tends to be early, not overly hot and the milk can be either present or absent.

 

Not that I'm whinging, of course, Sir Peter, I realise how difficult it is to organise such things and would be happy if my tea were stone cold, the milk had gone off, and it arrived months after I'd disembarked.

 

Mary

[Alibobs]

Hi Border Reiver, I recognise your name, do you usually post on Fred's boards?

 

We used room service quite a bit for breakfast on our last cruise.....the water was hot but never scalding.......it was never the same twice either, sometimes one tea bag, sometimes four.......milk came in a jug, cup, ramekin, glass......it became a bit of a game for us towards the end, guessing the receptacle.......always served very punctually and graciously

[3rdGenCunarder]

My experience is that it tends to be early, not overly hot and the milk can be either present or absent.

 

Not that I'm whinging, of course, Sir Peter, I realise how difficult it is to organise such things and would be happy if my tea were stone cold, the milk had gone off, and it arrived months after I'd disembarked.

 

Mary

 

Just as long as that cold tea will be served in a Q1!

 

I have to say this is something that truly was "better on QE2." Tea was made in the pantry near your cabin, so it arrived hot, and in a proper teapot. None of this nonsense of thermos/vacuum flask of water with teabag(s) on the side.

 

Edited to add: Sir Peter, please understand that the comment about better on QE2 is MINE and not Mary's. She is very happy with the current fleet. But she'd be even happier in a Q1...

[Rotterdam]

if you have time tp post this ridiculous message then you will have time to call your steward for tea & biscuits....

 

The Ritz will accomodate you but I doubt you are paying their tariff@!

 

Bring a kettle???? why don't you bring your refrigerator & Mother in Law to make the tea the way you like it!

[ombrelle]

I brought a small tea kettle on Queen Mary 2 and got away with it, but then realized didn't have to. Room service was just fine and you can have it quite early, just put the time you want on the breakfast table. :)

[Salacia]

The Cousins might cringe at this - but I bring my favorite tea bags from home. No, the water in the pot delivered from room service is not boiling hot. But then again, I'd have to go down to the Galley to get boiling hot water. Not the first thing on my list when I wake up in the morning.

 

I'm a big fan of the room service staff. Please consider giving a gratuity for good service, even if the water isn't boiling hot.

[CABINET]

I brought a small tea kettle on Queen Mary 2 and got away with it, but then realized didn't have to. Room service was just fine and you can have it quite early, just put the time you want on the breakfast table. :)

 

I wouldn't know what time I want it. I don't use an alarm clock on my holiday. What's more if I have trouble coughing through the night (asthma) I often find it beneficial to make a hot drink. I disturb my OH quite enough without having to ring room service and then wait for them to arrive an unspecified amount of time later.

 

Fortunately another kind cruiser suggesting filling a thermos with hot water which does make an acceptable fruit tea or an instant coffee but for real tea aficionados I don't think it would work at all.

[BORDER REIVER]

Hi Border Reiver, I recognise your name, do you usually post on Fred's boards?

 

We used room service quite a bit for breakfast on our last cruise.....the water was hot but never scalding.......it was never the same twice either, sometimes one tea bag, sometimes four.......milk came in a jug, cup, ramekin, glass......it became a bit of a game for us towards the end, guessing the receptacle.......always served very punctually and graciously

I probably posted on Freds boards as we sailed on Boudicca a couple of years ago.

Thanks for the info, we'll try room service.

 

To Rotterdam......not having sailed with Cunard before, I believe we asked a perfectly reasonable question and got mostly civilised and helpful answers, as you would expect from helpful and civilised people. Your suggestion about mother-in-law was ill timed and unnecessary - she passed away just a few months ago and my wife is upset by your comments.

[balf]

if you have time tp post this ridiculous message then you will have time to call your steward for tea & biscuits....

 

The Ritz will accomodate you but I doubt you are paying their tariff@!

 

Bring a kettle???? why don't you bring your refrigerator & Mother in Law to make the tea the way you like it!

 

You are American, you have your obsession with ice, ours is tea. This is why so many Brits happily make their own tea just as they like it on British ships which provide kettles in cabins.

 

It's not nice to call messages posted here "ridiculous" incidently.

 

David.

[dan dan]

My experience is that it tends to be early, not overly hot and the milk can be either present or absent.

 

Not that I'm whinging, of course, Sir Peter, I realise how difficult it is to organise such things and would be happy if my tea were stone cold, the milk had gone off, and it arrived months after I'd disembarked.

 

Mary

 

:D nice

[Mysticalmother]

I wouldn't know what time I want it. I don't use an alarm clock on my holiday.

 

My sentiments exactly!

 

Border retriever -We usually take a small travel kettle for occasional use first thing in the morning. I'm a real grump until I have had my first caffeine hit :D and I'm afraid I haven't been particularly impressed with Cunards version of fresh coffee in the past. Cafe Carinthia has been the only place to get a good cup of coffee in my experience (and that isn't open early in the mornings!) Can't speak for the tea as we are not tea drinkers. You can always get cups the night before from the self service restaurant along with milk which you can keep in your fridge. We have always found room service pretty efficient in all other respects.

 

I am sure you will enjoy your first Cunard Voyage - hope you have a lovely time. Which ship are you going on and where are you are you sailing to? ( my apologies if I have missed your post already telling us these details...)

[BORDER REIVER]

I am sure you will enjoy your first Cunard Voyage - hope you have a lovely time. Which ship are you going on and where are you are you sailing to? ( my apologies if I have missed your post already telling us these details...)

We're going on the Queen Elizabeth on 26th May - for 2 weeks Norwegian Fjords. Looking forward to it immensely.

[Alibobs]

Thevlast time we were on the QM2 we were on deck 6 directly below Kings Court and near a staircase......I was able to persuade my husband to make a couple of early morning dashes but the room service was just fine.

 

I found the Cunard board very different to the Fed board when I first posted over here but you will get lots of help from the regulars, cap'n pug wash,salacia, peppern y, Whitemarsh, cruachan, Norfolk Brit to name a few!

 

Enjoy your trip

[SEFlyer]

I am some-one who really likes my own tea maker in a hotel room and I make tea as soon as I wake up. I carry my own tea and I get fresh milk every evening for next morning's tea.

 

But I don't miss that when I am on QM2 or QE. Every night before bed I fill out the room service card and hang it on the door handle. We get fresh orange juice and tea delivered. Delivery is usually on time, sometimes a little early, rarely late. And it is hot enough, fine for a good cup of tea.

 

We enjoy the juice and tea while preparing for the day. Then off to the Britannia restaurant for a civilised breakfast and on to another fine day on a fine Cunard ship.

 

Just relax and enjoy Cunard and enjoy room service.

[BORDER REIVER]

I am some-one who really likes my own tea maker in a hotel room and I make tea as soon as I wake up. I carry my own tea and I get fresh milk every evening for next morning's tea.

 

But I don't miss that when I am on QM2 or QE. Every night before bed I fill out the room service card and hang it on the door handle. We get fresh orange juice and tea delivered. Delivery is usually on time, sometimes a little early, rarely late. And it is hot enough, fine for a good cup of tea.

 

We enjoy the juice and tea while preparing for the day. Then off to the Britannia restaurant for a civilised breakfast and on to another fine day on a fine Cunard ship.

 

Just relax and enjoy Cunard and enjoy room service.

Thank you and to others for useful comments. We will try the room service for tea and orange juice - a nice restful way of coming fully awake before showering and dressing. Standing on the balcony on Deck 8, watching the Norwegian scenery drift by, while drinking tea sounds just perfect.

[slippery]

It's a sad fact of life that perfectly reasonable questions can prompt rude, unhelpful and hurtful comments from people who have nothing better to do than carp and deride. Ignore these sad.people, ask anything you like and have a fabulous trip.

[BORDER REIVER]

It's a sad fact of life that perfectly reasonable questions can prompt rude, unhelpful and hurtful comments from people who have nothing better to do than carp and deride. Ignore these sad.people, ask anything you like and have a fabulous trip.

Thank you, we intend to enjoy the trip.

Sometimes unhelpful comments alone are purely because of a lack of understanding of other cultures. Sometimes, people who live in large countries that have little need to rely on others, neither know nor care what goes on in the rest of the world and never bother to find out about the culture of the people they will meet. Our neighbours in Europe know all about our tea culture - they don't understand it, but they know anyway. We in return know a lot of their own passions and characteristics and what to expect when in their countries.

[cunardaddict]

Cafe Carinthia has been the only place to get a good cup of coffee in my experience (and that isn't open early in the mornings!)

 

Agreed, and a lot better than Sir Samuel's. But QM2 Grills passengers are lucky as long as the Grill's coffemachine stays out of order as the Todd English coffee is agreable. It only takes a little longer to come...

 

Back to cabin service. I must give some advantage to Deveran. He organizes tea and coffee service very fast and hot. If only the tea quality on QM2 would return to former standards.

 

I never missed a kettle in the suite. And I will certainly never ever want instant Nescafe ore bagged tea boiling hot in a plastic cup (which ist "standard" in the "culture" of most hotels and cruise ships west of the european continent)...

[CABINET]

Why is it that if some people do not want a facility they feel the need to denigrate those who do :confused:.

[Whitemarsh]

Agreed, and a lot better than Sir Samuel's. But QM2 Grills passengers are lucky as long as the Grill's coffemachine stays out of order as the Todd English coffee is agreable. It only takes a little longer to come...

 

Back to cabin service. I must give some advantage to Deveran. He organizes tea and coffee service very fast and hot. If only the tea quality on QM2 would return to former standards.

 

I never missed a kettle in the suite. And I will certainly never ever want instant Nescafe ore bagged tea boiling hot in a plastic cup (which ist "standard" in the "culture" of most hotels and cruise ships west of the european continent)...

 

I'm not sure I understand how the quality could have slipped? It's a pot of tea: hot water and a tea bag. One pot of tea tastes remarkably similar to another pot of tea, from my tea drinking experience.

 

Regarding the room service, I agree with you that's it's perfectly fine. The tea always turned up quite quickly and the water was hot. So did any food requests.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I not sure I understand how the quality could have slipped? It's a pot of tea: hot water and a tea bag. One pot of tea tastes remarkably similar to another pot of tea, from my tea drinking experience.

 

Regarding the room service, I agree with you that's it's perfectly fine. The tea always turned up quite quickly and the water was hot. So did any food requests.

 

:eek:

 

HEATHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

:eek:

 

I can't differentiate among all kinds of tea, but I can tell some apart. Last I knew, QM2 served Twinings, which I think is good--and has varieties that truly vary. Another line I've cruised offers Bigelow, which appears to be bags of tea dust. And their black teas really do all taste the same.