Question for the tea drinkers out there

[Nixieh]

Hi All,

 

I am cruising to the Med on the Sapphire from Southampton in July. I drink a lot of tea (preferably Earl Grey) especially first thing in the morning as I hate coffee. I know I am not allowed to bring a kettle onboard and when I emailed Princess they confirmed no kettles would be in the staterooms.

 

My question is where exactly on board can I get boiling water? I know about room service but I doubt the water will be hot enough by the time it arrives. I always bring my own teabags so am happy to make my own. On RCI we had a kettle in their equivalent of a mini suite and on DiCL we were able to bring one onboard so this is the first time I have had to deal with this.

 

I know it's not a big deal but 14 days without decent tea is going to be tough!

[moki'smommy]

At the beverage stations next to the buffet, they will have three containers--coffee, decaf, and water. They do it right in that the water container never contains coffee, so you don't get that nasty residue taste. They also have tea bags. I think they were Twinnings, but if someone says they were Bigelow, I wouldn't argue the point. Earl Gray was definitely available.

 

DCL does not permit kettles in cabins, so if you got away with it you were just lucky!

[berlingo]

As a fellow tea drinker I feel your pain.

 

You assume correctly that the water from room service is not hot enough to make a decent cup of tea. Indeed we have not managed to find boiling water on board so convert to coffee for the duration.

 

Sorry I cannot be more helpful.

[paul929207]

You can also get hot water at the international café.

[cruzsnooze]

The International cafe on deck five has many Organic and upscale teas including Chai's and blended teas as well as tea bags with hot water.

[JF - retired RRT]

At the beverage stations next to the buffet' date=' they will have three [b']containers[/b]--coffee, decaf, and water. They do it right in that the water container never contains coffee, so you don't get that nasty residue taste. They also have tea bags. I think they were Twinings, but if someone says they were Bigelow, I wouldn't argue the point. Earl Gray was definitely available.

They're not actually "containers", they're spigots. That may be the hottest water you can get.

However, DH complained to a waiter in the buffet that the coffee in his cup wasn't hot enough (fresh from the spigot). The waiter took it into the kitchen and returned a couple of minutes later with the same cup of coffee piping hot. So, you may be able to get a really hot cuppa if you make friends with a waiter.;)

[Higgamang]

As a fellow tea drinker, I also bring my own tea. I have found the hottest water from the international cafe. I just ask for a to go cup of hot water. I have never been charged for this.

 

 

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[tropicqueen]

As a fellow tea drinker, I also bring my own tea. I have found the hottest water from the international cafe. I just ask for a to go cup of hot water. I have never been charged for this.

 

 

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I also am a decayed tea drinker.

I have been on 18 cruises, I have

always found the water that comes

out next to the coffee faucet to be

hot enough for my tea to brew.

I do bring a thermal travel mug and

let my tea steep in that.

That way I also have 2 cups and don't

Have to fight my way back through

the coffee line to get the hot water.

Tropicqueen

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

The water in the Buffett is super hot. Much better then a Tim Horton’s or Duncan donuts.

 

 

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[moki'smommy]

I brewed mine with water from the buffet.....

[Tucker in Texas]

O.K. I'm a "bad" person that likes my tea hot. I bring one of those coils with me and use it to heat the water in my cabin in the cup. You can buy them at Bed Bath and Beyond among other places. They are called immersion heaters. If you take it out of the cup and do not unplug it before you do, it will no longer work, It immediately cuts off and will never work again so I don't see it as a safety hazard. I know this because a couple of times, I have thought I had unplugged it only to find I unplugged something else that was in the adjoining socket.

[JF - retired RRT]

O.K. I'm a "bad" person that likes my tea hot. I bring one of those coils with me and use it to heat the water in my cabin in the cup. You can buy them at Bed Bath and Beyond among other places. They are called immersion heaters. If you take it out of the cup and do not unplug it before you do, it will no longer work, It immediately cuts off and will never work again so I don't see it as a safety hazard. I know this because a couple of times, I have thought I had unplugged it only to find I unplugged something else that was in the adjoining socket.

I'm pretty sure that makes it legal.

[Floridagal]

I take a thermos with me and just before bed, fill it with hot water from the beverage station. Next morning it is still hot enough to have my first cup of tea. I also take my favorite twining’s teas with me when I cruise.

[kenexx]

I always take a 2 cup capacity auto shut off kettle with me. Never been a problem so far.

[brian1]

Highest deck aft,2 cup thermos with lid is the way to go.The alternative is arriving at your cabin with half a cup after walking 800ft and up and down several decks.Don.t make our mistake booking aft on Coral and realising HC is forward on that ship,lol.

[hooked-cruiser]

Last time we were on the Crown they only had decaf tea in the self service on deck 15 and we had to take a few packets to be able to have one in the international cafe. Does anybody know if they now have decaf tea in the International now?

[moki'smommy]

Last time we were on the Crown they only had decaf tea in the self service on deck 15 and we had to take a few packets to be able to have one in the international cafe. Does anybody know if they now have decaf tea in the International now?

This depends totally on who is doing the stocking and how much they are paying attention to what they are doing. Normally there is decaf tea at the IC. But if it ran out and whoever did the stocking decided that there was plenty of tea there, they could have just neglected to get a box of any particular type. Obviously they have it on the ship as you were able to get it at the buffet area.

 

My guess is that their "behind the counter" box was empty and they were not inclined to go to wherever the additional boxes are kept. Or someone decided that "we don't serve that here." That's odd because they do serve it at the IC on the other ships!

[hooked-cruiser]

Thanks for that reply. It all makes sense now. Did you by any way work on the cruise ships?

[geoherb]

There were plenty of decaf tea bags in the buffet last week on the Regal. Also different types of herbal teas and different black teas. I did bring my own decaf green tea bags to take with me to breakfast. I used the decaf black tea bags in Horizon Court to make glasses of iced tea.

 

When I ordered tea for room service on previous cruises, I did not like it because the carafe of hot water had been previously used for coffee. I haven't ordered tea from room service since then.

[AF-1]

My suggestion would be this: bring your own thermos from home. One that keeps water hot for 24 hours; have it filled at the international café; this is where they have the expresso machines and they have the hot water spigots which makes the water over 140 degrees; they will fill your thermos for free; and you should be good to go. Hope this helps

[Kingofcool1947]

Hi All,

 

I am cruising to the Med on the Sapphire from Southampton in July. I drink a lot of tea (preferably Earl Grey) especially first thing in the morning as I hate coffee. I know I am not allowed to bring a kettle onboard and when I emailed Princess they confirmed no kettles would be in the staterooms.

 

My question is where exactly on board can I get boiling water? I know about room service but I doubt the water will be hot enough by the time it arrives. I always bring my own teabags so am happy to make my own. On RCI we had a kettle in their equivalent of a mini suite and on DiCL we were able to bring one onboard so this is the first time I have had to deal with this.

 

I know it's not a big deal but 14 days without decent tea is going to be tough!

 

Since you are fussy about tea, bring an insulated thermos (or several) and have the servers in HC or MDR fill it up with boiling water for you.

Bring a supply of your own tea.

Do you prefer loose leaf tea or tea bags? If you prefer loose leaf tea, bring a tea strainer that fits the mouth of the thermos. ;). That way the loose tea won’t get in your thermos.

That’s what we do.

Good luck, and hope you enjoy your cruise. :)

Edited February 26, 2018 by Kingofcool1947

[Kingofcool1947]

I also am a decayed tea drinker.

I have been on 18 cruises, I have

always found the water that comes

out next to the coffee faucet to be

hot enough for my tea to brew.

I do bring a thermal travel mug and

let my tea steep in that.

That way I also have 2 cups and don't

Have to fight my way back through

the coffee line to get the hot water.

Tropicqueen

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

 

Tropicqueen,

What do you mean by being a decayed tea drinker?

Enjoy your cruise.

[moki'smommy]

Tropicqueen,

What do you mean by being a decayed tea drinker?

Enjoy your cruise.

I guessed that she meant

"dedicated"

[Tucker in Texas]

I'm pretty sure that makes it legal.

 

I've never had it taken up (knock on wood) packed in my suitcase and not "hidden" in anyway.

[Yukonjake]

Mrs. Jake thinks I'm a freak because I do NOT drink coffee. This (lack of hot-enough water) is a potential problem that I have been mulling over. If they have hot enough water in the cafe, then my travel mug should be good. Mrs. and I can flip a coin to see who fetches.