starryuk Posted June 29, 2015 #1 Share Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) We usually sail with P&O, but have decided to try another line for a change. Why HAL? well, being female it was simply because I like the more traditional look of the ships...and the black hull. I'm English. What about my morning cups of tea in bed? (P&0 supply a kettle and biscuits in the cabin!) Do I have to book room service the night before? Does the tea arrive with semi-hot water and a teabag on the side?:eek: Would they bring me a large pot of tea?:) What other differences can I expect? ...by the way, I am not seriously worried about the tea, just wondering. We are really looking forward to the new experience. Edited June 29, 2015 by starryuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted June 29, 2015 #2 Share Posted June 29, 2015 No tea kettles in the cabin -- fire hazard. You can call room service for a pot of tea. There are choices of tea bags -- check them out on embarkation day and take note so that you can tell room service what you want. Now if you want a pastry to go with your tea, you will have to fill out the card the evening before if you want faster service. First delivery time is 6 AM. No biscuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratheden Posted June 29, 2015 #3 Share Posted June 29, 2015 No tea kettles in the cabin -- fire hazard. You can call room service for a pot of tea. There are choices of tea bags -- check them out on embarkation day and take note so that you can tell room service what you want. Now if you want a pastry to go with your tea, you will have to fill out the card the evening before if you want faster service. First delivery time is 6 AM. No biscuits. Ask for PG Tips for your tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take us away Posted June 29, 2015 #4 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hate to say this but HAL changed their tea vendor from Bigelow to Fields and something and I find the tea mediocre. Haven't cruised since Dec so anyone know if it is the same vendor? May be a good idea to bring a few of your favorite tea bags or tea and infuser/tea ball with you then order hot water (if you ask for very hot water, it will help). You can order when you wake up but it will take longer for delivery than if you fill out the room service card the evening before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratheden Posted June 29, 2015 #5 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hate to say this but HAL changed their tea vendor from Bigelow to Fields and something and I find the tea mediocre. Haven't cruised since Dec so anyone know if it is the same vendor? May be a good idea to bring a few of your favorite tea bags or tea and infuser/tea ball with you then order hot water (if you ask for very hot water, it will help). You can order when you wake up but it will take longer for delivery than if you fill out the room service card the evening before. They still have PG Tips if you ask for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regnig Posted June 29, 2015 #6 Share Posted June 29, 2015 If you normally want more than 2 small cups of tea order 4 cups and they will bring you 2 of the thermal pots of hot water and 4 tea bags. If you want milk for your tea also make certain you ask for it too. Room service is great :) but if you don't ask for something you won't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsyAnne Posted June 29, 2015 #7 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Not in bed, but there is an afternoon (3:00?) tea almost every day. The Indonesian one is my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise_More_Often Posted June 29, 2015 #8 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Definitely bring tea or teabags from home. I cannot emphasize that enough. I already have ours packed for our August cruise so we don't forget them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starryuk Posted June 29, 2015 Author #9 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thank you for these tips everyone. I shall bring my own teabags, ask for 4 cups and milk, very hot water and order the night before! Sad isn't it, but little things like a nice cuppa.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted June 29, 2015 #10 Share Posted June 29, 2015 BTW, for the sake of accuracy, HAL hulls are a gorgeous blue, not black. :) We'll make you a HAL'er. ;) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take us away Posted June 29, 2015 #11 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thank you for these tips everyone. I shall bring my own teabags, ask for 4 cups and milk, very hot water and order the night before! Sad isn't it, but little things like a nice cuppa.... Feel the same way about my coffee. Oh, you need to specify what kind of milk you want as they have several (2% whole milk, etc.) or half and half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starryuk Posted June 29, 2015 Author #12 Share Posted June 29, 2015 BTW, for the sake of accuracy, HAL hulls are a gorgeous blue, not black. We'll make you a HAL'er. Whoops! Must get my eyes tested! I shall inspect the hull thoroughly close up when I embark!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dismomx5 Posted June 29, 2015 #13 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thank you for these tips everyone. I shall bring my own teabags, ask for 4 cups and milk, very hot water and order the night before! Sad isn't it, but little things like a nice cuppa.... From a different London, but the feeling's the same. I need my tea, although green is my preference! I remember paying $7.00 :eek: for a cuppa (black at that time) in Europe yeeeaaarrs ago, I was so desperate for a good cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldtrekker Posted June 30, 2015 #14 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Now if you want a pastry to go with your tea, you will have to fill out the card the evening before if you want faster service. First delivery time is 6 AM. No biscuits. Coming from the UK, I assume by biscuits the OP meant "cookies", rather than US-style biscuits (which are more like what we would consider scones). We have ordered cookies/biscuits in the afternoon with tea, but not in the morning. Perhaps if you wrote it on the room service tag the night before, they could bring some. They have never been the traditional shortbread type, however. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted June 30, 2015 #15 Share Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) Thank you for these tips everyone. I shall bring my own teabags, ask for 4 cups and milk, very hot water and order the night before! Sad isn't it, but little things like a nice cuppa.... Here is the Room Service Breakfast card that you will complete and hang on your door handle before retiring for the evening: http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Room-Service-Breakfast.pdf As stated previously, write-in your tea selection (if you didn't bring your own) or anaything else that you would like. If they don't have your write-in, they will call your room several minutes before delivery to let you make an alternate selection. There will also be tea available in the Explorations Cafe for a charge and they have free sweets of your choosing. Here is the Explorations Cafe menu: http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Explorations-Cafe.pdf Enjoy your cruise. Edited June 30, 2015 by Crew News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starryuk Posted July 1, 2015 Author #16 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Thank you for the links, Crew News. Now another question! I saw mentioned on HAL site, something about late night chocolate extravaganza. Are they saying we can go and help ourselves to a late night chocolate snack? (should we be starving at midnight??!!:D) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted July 2, 2015 #17 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thank you for the links, Crew News. Now another question! I saw mentioned on HAL site, something about late night chocolate extravaganza. Are they saying we can go and help ourselves to a late night chocolate snack? (should we be starving at midnight??!!:D) The chocolate extravaganzas were discontinued. There is a themed Late Evening Snack aimed at crew members and late revelers. Here is a link to the daily menus for the Lido Restaurant and Main Dining Room to give you an idea of what is available. Note that the Main Dining Room (DR) is not open on some port days for the Eastern Caribbean (Dec 2014): http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-eastern-caribbean-mdr-and-lido-restaurant-menus/ I also have the menus for our Alaska cruise last month if you are heading for Alaska. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder1964 Posted July 2, 2015 #18 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Not in bed, but there is an afternoon (3:00?) tea almost every day. The Indonesian one is my favorite. We went to afternoon tea @ 3PM several times on our Westerdam cruise last week. Loved the little scones, cupcakes and mini bagels with brie and veggies on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scrapnana Posted July 2, 2015 #19 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Whoops! Must get my eyes tested! I shall inspect the hull thoroughly close up when I embark!:D The sun has to be shining the right way and I had to squint like mad to see the blue. It is a very, very dark navy blue!:D I agree about bringing your own tea bags. The new brand does not make "A Nice Cup of Tea" but a very weak one. Some friends and I experimented (letting the tea steep a long time, using two tea bags, etc.) and never were able to get a really good cuppa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love the beach Posted July 2, 2015 #20 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Hate to say this but HAL changed their tea vendor from Bigelow to Fields and something and I find the tea mediocre. Haven't cruised since Dec so anyone know if it is the same vendor? May be a good idea to bring a few of your favorite tea bags or tea and infuser/tea ball with you then order hot water (if you ask for very hot water, it will help). You can order when you wake up but it will take longer for delivery than if you fill out the room service card the evening before. On my recent RCCI cruise they also had the new tea bags......yuk! I was glad I brought my own. I guess this is the case on all Carnival owned ships now.....maybe if they get enough complaints they will go back to Bigelow or Twinings which they also had in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onelegcraig Posted July 2, 2015 #21 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Just got off the Zaandam. Did NOT like the tea, I thought it was just me! Will add tea bags to my packing list next trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momatibm Posted July 2, 2015 #22 Share Posted July 2, 2015 We have a smallish thermal tea maker. We bring loose tea and make our own. We get hot water from either the lido or the Neptune lounge depending on what kind of 'upsell' we were able to snag.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJSULIBRARIAN Posted July 2, 2015 #23 Share Posted July 2, 2015 The sun has to be shining the right way and I had to squint like mad to see the blue. It is a very, very dark navy blue!:D I agree about bringing your own tea bags. The new brand does not make "A Nice Cup of Tea" but a very weak one. Some friends and I experimented (letting the tea steep a long time, using two tea bags, etc.) and never were able to get a really good cuppa. I agree - HAL's new tea bags are horrible. I will be bringing my own as well. It is rather sad that one has to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianDee Posted July 17, 2015 #24 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I also have the menus for our Alaska cruise last month if you are heading for Alaska. We're looking at booking an Alaska cruise. Would you mind sharing the menu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spursgirl Posted July 17, 2015 #25 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Returned from the Zuiderdam last weekend. We had a great time but the tea was terrible. Certainly bring your own tea bags but if your experience is like ours you will find it almost impossible to get really hot water. Afternoon tea was disappointing apart from the Dutch Tea although I couldn't find anything Dutch about it. P&O's is far superior BUT it is the only thing they do better IMO. This was my second HAL cruise and I would certainly sail with them again. Enjoy your cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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