Tea-time and " pre-dinner appetizer" questions

[Despegue]

After going through some " on Location" dailies, I have some questions for the HAL experts...

 

* can someone explain me what is served during the Indonesian Tea ceremony in the MDR? Is there now a daily Tea-time in the MDR? What is served? Any clothing rules for attending Tea-time?

 

*I've noticed that there is a daily "Savor and Sip" event in the Pinnacle bar with "pre-dinner appetizers" and wine by the glass for 4$... Does that mean that the appetizers are free and wine by the glass is 4$ or do the apps. cost 4$ and wine is regular pricing?! :confused:

 

Thanks so much for the assistance,

 

D.

[POA1]

*I've noticed that there is a daily "Savor and Sip" event in the Pinnacle bar with "pre-dinner appetizers" and wine by the glass for 4$... Does that mean that the appetizers are free and wine by the glass is 4$ or do the apps. cost 4$ and wine is regular pricing?! :confused:

 

Thanks so much for the assistance,

 

D.

 

The appetizers are free. The wine is sold at the reduced price per glass.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There has always been an afternoon tea at 3 PM on all HAL ships.

Usually there is a Royal Dutch Tea, Cupcake Tea and an Indonesian Tea. The Indonesian Tea serves Indonesian tea and Indonesian cakes. Depending on the ship, some ships will still other small pastries.

As for attire -- you will see people dressed in slacks and shorts, etc. Nothing formal.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We went a couple of times to the Sip and Savor. There was a choice of 2 wines (1 red and 1 white) and only 1 appetizer.

It lasts from 5 - 5:30.

[RMLincoln]

Indonesian Tea also includes Indonesian coffee, like French coffee served with a French press. There will be Indonesian sweets featuring delicious banana and coconut treats but I think they also have scones. The servers will be dressed in their batik shirts and some with batik head scarves. The entranceway will be decorated with Indonesian masks and I have seen some elaborate costumes but not sure if they still do that. Enjoy, m--

[Vict0riann]

We went regularly to the Sip and Savour on the Maasdam last year, when we had something like 19 sea days on a 42-day cruise. It was only held on sea days. There was only one wine, either red or white, which was presented and described by the Cellar Master. The appetizer was then presented by the Culinary Arts person, and there was an explanation as to why it went so well with the particular wine we were sipping. The portion was smaller, I think, than a regular glass of wine if you were paying full price - we were told it was a tasting "exercise". The Cellar Master and Culinary Arts director would hang around and chat with people after the "official" stuff, and that made for an interesting half hour or so. If you wanted a second glass of wine, it was full price, so we usually would head off to the Crow's Nest for the end of Happy Hour, instead.:)

[bcd2010]

See page 2 of this journal entry for photos of the Indonesian Tea: http://www.bcdenterprises.net/PCcruise/PDFs/909SeaDay.pdf

[Bostonjetset]

After going through some " on Location" dailies, I have some questions for the HAL experts...

 

* can someone explain me what is served during the Indonesian Tea ceremony in the MDR? Is there now a daily Tea-time in the MDR? What is served? Any clothing rules for attending Tea-time?

 

*I've noticed that there is a daily "Savor and Sip" event in the Pinnacle bar with "pre-dinner appetizers" and wine by the glass for 4$... Does that mean that the appetizers are free and wine by the glass is 4$ or do the apps. cost 4$ and wine is regular pricing?! :confused:

 

Thanks so much for the assistance,

 

D.

 

There was tea daily on our last trip. We only had two themed days though: Indonesian tea and Cupcake tea...they did not hold the Royal Dutch tea on our sailing for whatever reason. The Indonesian tea had the better quality teas, imported from Indonesia and in the triangular "silk" teabags, whilst the others just had normal US-style flat teabags in the foil envelopes. The Indo tea offered a variety of traditional desserts like coconut/brown sugar crepes [VERY delicious with an almost burnt sugar taste that was quite strong but I loved it], banana fritters, and some vanilla muffins. Scones with jam and cream were also available. The staff was wearing batik outfits and the tables had batik runners; the entrance to the dining room was decorated with Indonesian masks & fabrics and there was light Indo music playing; quite a nice experience.

 

One comment I had was that service was a bit slow. It seems they were understaffed. It was worth going to the themed teas but we did not attend the normal ones on the port days. We really enjoy afternoon tea on ocean voyages and try to always attend as it is something we rarely do at home except on occasion. So far, on lines I have sailed, Princess has the best afternoon tea service [white glove with constant attention to re-pours and additional sweets that changed daily]. Other passengers I met on my HAL trip also agreed that Princess has one of the best though they say Cunard tops them all.

[syesmar]

There are also hors d'oeuvres served upon request in the lounges during cocktail hours. They're not really advertised, but if you ask they will be brought to you in the lounge.

 

For whatever it's worth, I like to try the pre-dinner appetizers (what was called "A Little Something") even though I can't stay long. On one cruise, I got in the habit of just stopping by and asking for the appetizer to go for myself and my husband. I missed a day because we were in port 'til late and when the steward saw me walk by the next day, he said, "Is everything all right? We missed you yesterday!" So they definitely don't mind. Such great service!

 

The Royal Dutch Tea also has fare like chicken a la king and tea sandwiches.

 

Enjoy!

[sail7seas]

The hors d'oeuvres served other than Pinnacle Bar are usually only Ocean Bar and Crows Nest and then not always.

[cruz chic]

There was tea daily on our last trip. We only had two themed days though: Indonesian tea and Cupcake tea...they did not hold the Royal Dutch tea on our sailing for whatever reason. The Indonesian tea had the better quality teas, imported from Indonesia and in the triangular "silk" teabags, whilst the others just had normal US-style flat teabags in the foil envelopes. The Indo tea offered a variety of traditional desserts like coconut/brown sugar crepes [VERY delicious with an almost burnt sugar taste that was quite strong but I loved it], banana fritters, and some vanilla muffins. Scones with jam and cream were also available. The staff was wearing batik outfits and the tables had batik runners; the entrance to the dining room was decorated with Indonesian masks & fabrics and there was light Indo music playing; quite a nice experience.

 

One comment I had was that service was a bit slow. It seems they were understaffed. It was worth going to the themed teas but we did not attend the normal ones on the port days. We really enjoy afternoon tea on ocean voyages and try to always attend as it is something we rarely do at home except on occasion. So far, on lines I have sailed, Princess has the best afternoon tea service [white glove with constant attention to re-pours and additional sweets that changed daily]. Other passengers I met on my HAL trip also agreed that Princess has one of the best though they say Cunard tops them all.

 

I went to the Indonesian tea yesterday. I've enjoyed it very much in the past but it was so so this time. I love the banana fritters so that's what I had. Other tables were given choices of scones and cream and sandwiches but they never came to us. It was fine because I haven't gone hungry. They seemed more interested in taking away our plates then anything else. They did this in the MDR many times and you literally had to hold your plate while you were on your last few bites so they wouldn't take it away.

[Bedruthen]

We thought that the afternoon tea on Niuew Amsterdam recently was pretty poor. The service was abysmal, there were no sandwiches available and it was the most disappointing part of the whole cruise

Now this is how afternoon tea should look

 

[Despegue]

Thank you all for the helpfull replies!

[Bostonjetset]

I went to the Indonesian tea yesterday. I've enjoyed it very much in the past but it was so so this time. I love the banana fritters so that's what I had. Other tables were given choices of scones and cream and sandwiches but they never came to us. It was fine because I haven't gone hungry. They seemed more interested in taking away our plates then anything else. They did this in the MDR many times and you literally had to hold your plate while you were on your last few bites so they wouldn't take it away.

 

Interesting that the same issues arose on your second week. I found the service on my trip in general to be wonderful but the tea service was lacking for sure. That was the only service-related issue I spotted all week. I think they were really understaffed for the teas. Next time be sure to try those crepes! They were very good if you like burnt sugar. I tried the banana fritters as well and like you said they are also delicious.

[jwh]

We thought that the afternoon tea on Niuew Amsterdam recently was pretty poor. The service was abysmal, there were no sandwiches available and it was the most disappointing part of the whole cruise

Now this is how afternoon tea should look

 

[ATTACH]350188[/ATTACH]

 

Which ship was this on Bedruthen?

[cruz chic]

Interesting that the same issues arose on your second week. I found the service on my trip in general to be wonderful but the tea service was lacking for sure. That was the only service-related issue I spotted all week. I think they were really understaffed for the teas. Next time be sure to try those crepes! They were very good if you like burnt sugar. I tried the banana fritters as well and like you said they are also delicious.

 

Oh I'd love to try everything but I really suffer after about a week on a cruise. I rarely eat sugar at home or drink but it's open season when I step on a cruise and my body doesn't like it one bit.

[donswife]

We were on the Westerdam in Alaska last summer. There was tea every afternoon (probably except embarkation day), including Royal Dutch tea and cupcake tea, but to my disappointment, no Indonesian tea. I loved the Indonesian crew show though!