Question about a cup of tea..

[navybankerteacher]

Agree. The HAL branded darjeeling is a good tea.

 

Still do not understand why no kettles or little coffee makers in the rooms. It can't be a fire issue, as other lines have it. It would save them trouble. Room service coffee requires the labor to deliver it, the china, silver, linens on the tray, etc. plus the labor to pick up the used trays. Any little pot now have auto shut-off. I know it is a touch of elegance, but would cut down on their costs, in this age of cut-backs. I guess downside from HAL viewpoint is the room steward may have some more clean-up to do, and folks would probably steal the pots. They could at least start a test on one category of rooms on one ship and see how it goes.

 

Rant over! :)

 

Agreed : being able to make good tea yourself in cabin would be great. However the line probably figures that people will then want coffee makers, and why not even a little hot plate.

[kakalina]

I bring my own tea. I order my tea once a year to last and love taking it with me. We normally order tea and/or cocoa at night. We keep the thermos and fill them up with hot water in the morning from the Lido. We then take our hot drinks, pot with refills, perhaps a hot roll and take it all up to the CN about 5:30am and truly enjoy watching the sun rise and the ship wake up.

[2ptu/000]

PG Tips is a common tea served in England.

 

I am quite fond of HAL's brand of tea. They serve Bigalow tea in the tea chest and also the PG Tips and I have also seen Typhoo.

 

The teas served at the Indonesian tea are very nice. I think you have your choice of 4. They are in the cute little cloth bags.

 

If you don't see decaffeinated tea, just ask for it.

[2ptu/000]

Oh, almost forgot. Never get hot water for your tea from the carafes they have at the meet and greet. They don't keep tea carafes separate and your tea will taste like coffee. Wish they would figure this out.

[POA1]

The hospitality industry generally considers in room coffee makers to be a lower end amenity more befitting the business traveler class hotel. For a long time, you saw coffee makers in something like a Hampton Inn, but never in a Waldorf Astoria - to use Hilton brands as an illustration.

[SeagoingMom]

Unless things have changed on the Z'dam since 2011, your wife will love her room service tea tray:

[Mytime2014]

the mt dew lover here had a wee giggle because it's okay to bring your most favorite tea and coffee, but don't you dare be picky about the soda. :D

[helenandfrank]

Thank you again everyone - and thank you for the photo SeagoingMom .... I am thinking I will enjoy it as well. Happy days.

[navybankerteacher]

the mt dew lover here had a wee giggle because it's okay to bring your most favorite tea and coffee, but don't you dare be picky about the soda. :D

 

When you bring, and use, your own tea you are not using the line's tea which is available to you at no charge. The big difference which, as a Mountain Dew lover, might escape you is that you do not tote around many pounds of liquid-filled cans - rather jus a few ounces of dried leaves.

[Mytime2014]

When you bring, and use, your own tea you are not using the line's tea which is available to you at no charge. The big difference which, as a Mountain Dew lover, might escape you is that you do not tote around many pounds of liquid-filled cans - rather jus a few ounces of dried leaves.

 

And tea is so much more upscale....besides, I thought the issue was that some of us were so stiff-backed that they couldn't/wouldn't try something else, as opposed to {what was the word?} spineless who would go along with anything. And in this case - it is something the line doesn't provide.

 

Not much escapes me.

[Deep68]

I know someone mentioned to ask for decaf tea. Do you know if they have a decaf English Breakfast or similar black tea.

[2ptu/000]

Yes, I believe the decaf is Biglow English Breakfast.

[Crew News]

I know someone mentioned to ask for decaf tea. Do you know if they have a decaf English Breakfast or similar black tea.

After rechecking my website pictures of the HAL Beverage Station, I noted that both Earl Gray and Constant Comment teas are decaffeinated.

[Avery's Gram]

We did a cruise around Australia a few years ago to see the total eclipse in the Coral Sea. I found the Aussies on board VERY fussy about their tea! Quite a few brought their own teapots from home to the MDR, insisted on getting them filled with really boiling water, then applied their own tea cosies! They were furious when the ship ran out of PG Tips.....also when it ran out of Australian beer! Lots of fun to travel with them!

 

Barbara M. In NH

[Avery's Gram]

Just to clarify.....I wasn't being sarcastic.....we enjoyed meeting and talking with all the Aussies and Kiwis on that trip. They were lovely, friendly, welcoming people....just take their tea and beer very seriously.

 

Barbara

[arzz]

They also have an HAL brand decaf tea. In the dining room they will either bring you the tea box or if you ask for a decaf tea and tell them you do not need the box they will bring youne house brand.

 

I am a tea lover and a few years ago complained that the hot water carafes that came from room service had an essence of coffee taste. Since then most of the time the carafes for the tea water (at least on the Amsterdam and Prinsendam) were differently shaped and no coffee taste - they however are small and you barely get a cup and a half out of them whereas the coffee carafes are much larger. I hope they are still using the separate carafes - it has been a couple of years since I have been on either of those two ships.

Edited June 22, 2014 by arzz

[Deep68]

Just to clarify.....I wasn't being sarcastic.....we enjoyed meeting and talking with all the Aussies and Kiwis on that trip. They were lovely' date=' friendly, welcoming people....just take their tea and beer very seriously.

 

Barbara[/quote']

 

I am originally from England and we too take our tea really seriously, so I can understand your experience with the Aussies and Kiwis. If my favourite tea ran out I would be mad too :) Just part of the culture we grow up in, the tea ritual is a part of everyday life. Living in the US now I have to deal with tea being made from water from a carafe that has had coffee in (yuk!) and asking for milk for my tea and being given half and half. (yuk too!). The sacrifices we make :D

[Scrapchick]

Me too… Another British transplant in the US here… I always take my own teabags on the ship. I prefer Tetley, but will never turn my nose up at PG Tips! On the Noordam several years ago the captain was from New Zealand his wife was English and there was an industrial sized bag of PG Tips on board and i remember having a great conversation about this with the captain and him telling me to take as many bags as I needed…

 

We're going back on the Noordam next week and I hope it's the same situation, but I've got some Tetley bags with me just in case….

 

I would never use a flask to keep water overnight… I like the water boiling, not just hot! And milk, never half and half...