Are they Charging for Afternoon Tea??

[West Coast Gal]

Hi have been cruising other lines and coming back to Princess after 4 years.  One of my favorites is afternoon tea . . . I thought I saw a picture . . . are they now charging $10 for afternoon tea, don't tell me it is so??? okay, you can if it is true. 

What else has changed?

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, West Coast Gal said:

Hi have been cruising other lines and coming back to Princess after 4 years.  One of my favorites is afternoon tea . . . I thought I saw a picture . . . are they now charging $10 for afternoon tea, don't tell me it is so??? okay, you can if it is true. 

What else has changed?

On the Royal/Regal/Majestic there is a $10 deluxe version (sign up in the atrium).

They still have the free one in the DR. (check the Patter).

[casofilia]

Phew!   Glad to see that the normal Afternoon Tea will still be there.

[brian1]

But,have they downgraded the normal tea to make the "deluxe" seem better.What I remember of the old normal tea is that it couldn't be improved.

[kendon]

https://destinationtea.com/destination-tea-regal-princess-cruise/

[janina]

Hopefully the other ships still offer a wonderful free afternoon tea.

[BarbinMich]

We haven't been on the Regal, but have sailed on the Royal twice, the first one in 2015 when the ship was 3 years old.  That year (and I assume prior years) they offered a "high" tea (for a fee) in the atrium, while the regular tea was served in one of the dining rooms.  As I recall the latter was free for Elite pax.  It included a selection of finger sandwiches and sweets. https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/products/activities/afternoon-tea.html

Edited August 9, 2019 by BarbinMich

[h-sar]

7 hours ago, brian1 said:

But,have they downgraded the normal tea to make the "deluxe" seem better.What I remember of the old normal tea is that it couldn't be improved.

 

No, they haven’t downgraded the regular tea. And I agree with you, not a whole lot they could do for me to make it any better than it already is, although I’m sure some might disagree. Teatime in the dining room is one of my all-time favourite things to do as a family on Princess, especially if you have multi generations travelling together. Fantastic way to bring everybody together for some quality family time before everybody goes back to their individual activities. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by h-sar

[tailspintom]

27 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

We haven't been on the Regal, but have sailed on the Royal twice, the first one in 2015 when the ship was 3 years old.  That year (and I assume prior years) they offered a "high" tea (for a fee) in the atrium, while the regular tea was served in one of the dining rooms.  As I recall the latter was free for Elite pax.  It included a selection of finger sandwiches and sweets. https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/products/activities/afternoon-tea.html

Barb, I do not believe that there is a charge for anyone in in the daily afternoon tea.  Elite passengers do have the benefit of taking their tea in their cabin / balcony.

[BarbinMich]

Thanks for the clarification.

[mthomp5]

I enjoy both the regular afternoon tea and the Royal afternoon tea offered on the Royal class ships.  For $10, I think the Royal tea was worth it’s value.  These are two of my favorite dishes from the Royal tea - berries and cream and Queen of Puddings (first time having this and it was delish!)

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, tailspintom said:

Barb, I do not believe that there is a charge for anyone in in the daily afternoon tea.  Elite passengers do have the benefit of taking their tea in their cabin / balcony.

 

As part of our Elite benefits, my travel companion and I recently had the deluxe afternoon tea delivered to our cabin on Coral Princess one afternoon.  The amount of food was ridiculous.  We had (between us) 10 finger sandwiches/rolls, 7 (full size) Scones with Jam & Cream, 10 cakes and 6 large cookies.  There is no way we could get through that - and struggled to get through somewhere approaching half of it.  Such a waste...

[Shaver John]

I have ordered the afternoon Tea in our cabin and as we so do eat so much before dinner I just asked to have 4 scones and 4 cookies and a pot of coffee.  I did get the jam and cream and this lasted me for a couple of days by putting the cream in the fridge.  It was very nice to sit on the deck and enjoy this snack. Nice they would let me just get what I wanted so I did not have to toss away good food. By the way, LOVE the scones.......

[MISTER 67]

4 hours ago, janina said:

Hopefully the other ships still offer a wonderful free afternoon tea.

I know Holland America does and it's free.

[Colo Cruiser]

3 hours ago, h-sar said:

 

No, they haven’t downgraded the regular tea. And I agree with you, not a whole lot they could do for me to make it any better than it already is, although I’m sure some might disagree. Teatime in the dining room is one of my all-time favourite things to do as a family on Princess, especially if you have multi generations travelling together. Fantastic way to bring everybody together for some quality family time before everybody goes back to their individual activities. 

I agree. They have not downgraded the regular tea.

It is still excellent.

[Colo Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

 

As part of our Elite benefits, my travel companion and I recently had the deluxe afternoon tea delivered to our cabin on Coral Princess one afternoon.  The amount of food was ridiculous.  We had (between us) 10 finger sandwiches/rolls, 7 (full size) Scones with Jam & Cream, 10 cakes and 6 large cookies.  There is no way we could get through that - and struggled to get through somewhere approaching half of it.  Such a waste...

When the Elite Tea was first introduced they had a white gloved server that would stay while you consumed mass quantities.

They used to ask for a minimum 6 hour cushion when ordering. Not sure if they still do.

[tlovesdis]

I loved the afternoon tea on the Grand!  The only thing I wish they would change is I wish they would add the option of different teas.  That's one of the things I love about tea houses is trying new flavors.  But the food and service are great and it is "included" as my dad calls it!  LOL :)

[geoherb]

6 minutes ago, tlovesdis said:

I loved the afternoon tea on the Grand!  The only thing I wish they would change is I wish they would add the option of different teas.  That's one of the things I love about tea houses is trying new flavors.  But the food and service are great and it is "included" as my dad calls it!  LOL 🙂

 

The waiters have large pots of tea already prepared, but you can also ask for something else. Darjeeling, English breakfast, chamomile, lemon herbal, and peppermint are the ones I remember. I drink only decaf teas, so I usually order a pot of chamomile.

[antsp]

We have done Elite afternoon tea a number of times on our balcony, if you do choose be sure you don’t want to eat in the evening in the Dining room, too much food.  Ahhhhhhhh

Edited August 9, 2019 by antsp

[tlovesdis]

16 minutes ago, geoherb said:

 

The waiters have large pots of tea already prepared, but you can also ask for something else. Darjeeling, English breakfast, chamomile, lemon herbal, and peppermint are the ones I remember. I drink only decaf teas, so I usually order a pot of chamomile.

Thank you for letting me know that!!

[West Coast Gal]

Wow, this is a great thread, thank you everyone!

[brian1]

16 hours ago, h-sar said:

 

No, they haven’t downgraded the regular tea. And I agree with you, not a whole lot they could do for me to make it any better than it already is, although I’m sure some might disagree. Teatime in the dining room is one of my all-time favourite things to do as a family on Princess, especially if you have multi generations travelling together. Fantastic way to bring everybody together for some quality family time before everybody goes back to their individual activities. 

Cheers,do they still have string quartets playing in the background and waiters with white gloves and tails.That's what we had on the Diamond in 2012,when we stumbled upon it by accident ,just fancying a cuppa,lol.It was like another world.

[Britboys]

16 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

When the Elite Tea was first introduced they had a white gloved server that would stay while you consumed mass quantities.

They used to ask for a minimum 6 hour cushion when ordering. Not sure if they still do.

I'm pleased to say that the stewardess who delivered and set it up did not stay whilst we consumed it - that would have been very odd.  Yes, they do still ask for 6 hours notice.

[TravelingEA]

On 8/8/2019 at 10:54 PM, Colo Cruiser said:

On the Royal/Regal/Majestic there is a $10 deluxe version (sign up in the atrium).

They still have the free one in the DR. (check the Patter).

We just got off the Regal on a Baltic cruise. There were no free afternoon teas on this cruise, only the ones for a charge.

 

[West Coast Gal]

4 hours ago, TravelingEA said:

We just got off the Regal on a Baltic cruise. There were no free afternoon teas on this cruise, only the ones for a charge.

 

BUMMER