Recent experience on afternoon tea?

[travelbug2225]

One thing I am looking forward to is the afternoon tea on Rivera. I read some reviews said  they not as good as it used to be. I have been on Nautical once but never went to afternoon tea.  Some reviews are from January 22. I just wondering what is it right now. Anyone have pictures or want to share recent experience?  Thank you 

[KS&JW]

I was on Riviera in April and thought afternoon tea was lovely and the same as previous cruises.  The selection was good and it changed from day to day. Service quality was good as well.  They only served food from carts, but that was good enough.  The ship was less than 50% full at that point, so service levels were very high due to crew to passenger ratio.

[Noxequifans]

We noticed on our last trip a few years ago that the size of the serving carts was smaller. Also, staff level was reduced. Not sure we will attend afternoon tea again .... when we sail. 

[bradpole]

I just thought I'd offer my own 2 cents....

 

Overall afternoon tea is still a lovely affair, in fact I'm looking forward to enjoying it on our next sailing!

 

Is the selection as massive as it once was, with the tables setup in the back of Horizons for you to server yourself?  No.  This is not a change from covid, our last "Before Covid" cruise on Insignia in the fall of '19 the tables weren't there.  

 

Is the selection of high quality and presented lovely on the cart wheeled between tables (under a plexiglass dome now)?  Yes!  Afternoon tea is still a lovely affair, and of all the cruise lines we've travelled on Oceania does it the best in our humble opinion.  

 

We were onboard Riviera in December, and that particular cruise was nearly booked to capacity and never noticed any decline in service levels around the ship or at afternoon tea.  

[MEFIowa]

17 minutes ago, bradpole said:

... We were onboard Riviera in December, and that particular cruise was nearly booked to capacity and never noticed any decline in service levels around the ship or at afternoon tea.  

We were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 W. Caribbean with only 719 passengers. I only went once. Think it was Day 2, a sea day. Horizons was quite full that day. IIRC my wife did it 3 times. I had hoped for bigger selection of teas (e.g., I love Russian Caravan), but it was pretty limited to only a few of the major standards (e.g., Earl Grey). Wife is actually more of a coffee drinker so the tea was kind of "exceptional" for her, out of her norm. Thinking it was Twinings in bags. The food on smallish carts was mainly carbs and I stayed away from them on the trip, so I just sipped my tea with her the one time. Saving up for dinner at 6:30 PM. We never did the tea on any of the days we did excursions and we did excursions every day we could in port.

[bradpole]

39 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 W. Caribbean with only 719 passengers. I only went once. Think it was Day 2, a sea day. Horizons was quite full that day. IIRC my wife did it 3 times. I had hoped for bigger selection of teas (e.g., I love Russian Caravan), but it was pretty limited to only a few of the major standards (e.g., Earl Grey). Wife is actually more of a coffee drinker so the tea was kind of "exceptional" for her, out of her norm. Thinking it was Twinings in bags. The food on smallish carts was mainly carbs and I stayed away from them on the trip, so I just sipped my tea with her the one time. Saving up for dinner at 6:30 PM. We never did the tea on any of the days we did excursions and we did excursions every day we could in port.

We were the cruise before yours.  I can't speak to the teas on offer, I'm like your wife, I am a coffee person.  Most days I'd bring a coffee from Barista's to sip on while nibbling on the snacks.  

[aqua]

I went to tea twice on Sirena in May/June.  The carts had several sweet and savory selections but there were only one or two decaffeinated teas available.  Overall it was a lovely event that I enjoyed attending.  I think it is very nice that they hold it daily.  

[Rosroz]

To be honest the afternoon tea is ok, both the savouries and sweets are good , however I’ve yet to have a “proper” cup of tea, they bring a tea bag on the side of your cup and saucer and then some hot water in a pot , that is not  how you make  tea ! So much fuss is made over the afternoon tea , but it is so pretentious and is far from the real thing. However each to their own, enjoy if you want , but coming from the U.K. I don’t think I’ll bother.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

9 hours ago, Rosroz said:

To be honest the afternoon tea is ok, both the savouries and sweets are good , however I’ve yet to have a “proper” cup of tea, they bring a tea bag on the side of your cup and saucer and then some hot water in a pot , that is not  how you make  tea ! So much fuss is made over the afternoon tea , but it is so pretentious and is far from the real thing. However each to their own, enjoy if you want , but coming from the U.K. I don’t think I’ll bother.

 

If I do go to afternoon tea I ask them to get me a pot of hot water from one of the coffee machines - its still not as hot as from a kettle, but much better than from the urn.

[bradpole]

For the OP, I happened across this video this morning.  At the 10:34 mark you can see an example of the tea cart.  The part when he shows the bottom of the cart (enclosed in plexiglass) that was filmed at the end of last year on Marina, the top was filmed pre-covid onboard Insignia.  It looks the same today but is enclosed in plexiglass.  

 

 

[ToxM]

Get fresh water for the teapot - they carry them around and they cool. 

 

The offerings in the carts are great, there is a very very small table with scones at the entrance on one side, but the carts will make several rotations around the room. 

 

Enjoyed the donut and cupcake afternoon teas. 

 

Scones are up to scratch as well. 

 

As good as pre covid, just a little bit different. 

 

 

[Ginnyfyr]

Hubby and I did our first Oceania cruise last month on Regatta and we really enjoyed afternoon tea. He is not a tea drinker but he tried some different teas (i.e. green jasmine) and was pleasantly surprised! Decent selection of little sandwiches and desserts in the carts, and there was a lovely 4 piece quartet playing in the centre of Horizons. It was a nice way to wind down after excursions in port. 

[Norseh2o]

Afternoon tea on the Regatta in April, 2022 and the Insignia in June, 2022 was very good. I prefer herbal tea in the afternoons and the selections were adequate. The scones were tasty. When chocolate treats were featured with the teas, the Horizon Lounge was rather full. The strings music made teatime even better. Regrettably, afternoon Trivia started during teatime and one needed to rush through tea in order to arrive in time for Question #1 of Trivia.