Kettles in Cabins and Suite

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Hi, could a well experienced Oceania traveller offer advice on the following.  We are staying in a B1 on Riviera on an UK round trip and a kettle cannot be provided due to safety issues.  The practical implications of this are multiple trips to Baristas to obtain boiling water, an essential ingredient for my frequent tea fix.  As all the other lines I’ve travelled on have kettles eg Viking - by request, this has put Oceania at a disadvantage for my future cruise shortlists - however as I have enjoyed much of the rest of what is on offer, I wondered whether the suites on Riviera may offer a kettle, or perhaps the balconies on Vista?   Many thanks for any advice.

[rbtan]

4 hours ago, Staffordshirecruiser said:

Hi, could a well experienced Oceania traveller offer advice on the following.  We are staying in a B1 on Riviera on an UK round trip and a kettle cannot be provided due to safety issues.  The practical implications of this are multiple trips to Baristas to obtain boiling water, an essential ingredient for my frequent tea fix.  As all the other lines I’ve travelled on have kettles eg Viking - by request, this has put Oceania at a disadvantage for my future cruise shortlists - however as I have enjoyed much of the rest of what is on offer, I wondered whether the suites on Riviera may offer a kettle, or perhaps the balconies on Vista?   Many thanks for any advice.

NO kettles. Too much of a hazard. If it's that much of a disadvantage, perhaps stick with Viking. Most cruiselines do not offer kettles. British lines such as Saga usually do, but fewer & fewer these days.

[MBP&O2/O]

Check the website. Prohibited items include ....

 

21. Items brought on board the vessel and not supplied by the Company containing any kind of heating element, such as but not limited to: immersion heaters, heating blankets, flat irons, water heaters, coffee machines with heating/hot plates, etc.

 

Which intimates they  * may * supply something. Equally of course they may not.

[Hambagahle]

I can't imagine why one would need a kettle ?  If you don't have a Butler, Room Service will deliver coffee etc (plus kettles don't make coffee).  They might also be able to deliver hot water.

 

We are in a Vista Suite on Vista for our next cruise on Oceania (which will be our fourth).  I checked what is provided in the suite - no coffee machine.  If that suite doesn't have one then for sure a veranda suite won't either.  On Regent suites above (I think) Penthouse all have Illy machines.

 

I read the excerpt of the regs above - what I take it to say is that any "machine" with a heating element that the ship already has on board is OK but you cannot bring one on yourself.

[Snaefell3]

2 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

I can't imagine why one would need a kettle ?  If you don't have a Butler, Room Service will deliver coffee etc (plus kettles don't make coffee).  They might also be able to deliver hot water.

⋮

For tea ...enthusiasts brewing water needs be at 99.99°C.  They "hot the pot" = fill the teapot with hot water and discard before filling it with the hot water they will use to brew.

 

I even suspect they want cabins on the lower decks because water boils at a lower temperature when at altitude, no?  😉

[Harters]

3 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

can't imagine why one would need a kettle

This is a duplicate thread. Reason was discussed fully on the other version. For  tea to be made properly, the water has to be nearly boiling - effectively straight from the kettle as it comes to the boil. Somebody bringing hot water isnt the same.

 

I don't think I've ever been in a British hotel room that didnt have a kettle so, like the OP, I was a tad surprised that Oceania cabins not only dn't have a kettle but, also, O bans passengers from bringing aboard a travel kettle. Of course, O is mainly catering to an American customer base with folk like the OP and me being sort of interlopers - last time I cruised with O it was just like visting America, although the cruise was from/to the UK. 😀

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

It might be "O"s rule, but it is not a safety issue - if it was then the likes of Fred. Olsen, P&O, Saga....even RCCL & Celebrity on ex UK cruises wouldn't have them in their cabins.  I have used my own travel kettle on pretty much every "O" cruise I have done (Russell Hobbs do a great one £20 at Argos) & never had any comments from chambermaid or butler on the odd occasion I have left it out.  I hate the long life milk they have on board in my tea too so buying a fresh pint has always been a ritual on port days! 

Edited June 10, 2023 by LaCroisiereS'amuse

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

2 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

For tea ...enthusiasts brewing water needs be at 99.99°C.  They "hot the pot" = fill the teapot with hot water and discard before filling it with the hot water they will use to brew.

 

I even suspect they want cabins on the lower decks because water boils at a lower temperature when at altitude, no?  😉

 

I'm guessing you are a fellow Manxie?? 🤔🤔🇮🇲🇮🇲🇮🇲😁😁 Can't be many of us on "O"!

Edited June 10, 2023 by LaCroisiereS'amuse

[Snaefell3]

49 minutes ago, LaCroisiereS'amuse said:

 

I'm guessing you are a fellow Manxie?? 🤔🤔🇮🇲🇮🇲🇮🇲😁😁 Can't be many of us on "O"!

Grandfather was.  (Where did you get the triskelion emote?!?)

 

Some folks talk about "strong enough to hold your spoon vertical".  Gandmother was always muttering about the spoon dissolving.

 

It's probably long gone, but enjoyed the "Inner Mann" restaurant in Douglas -- the menu was the day's catch on ice in the lobby.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

15 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

Grandfather was.  (Where did you get the triskelion emote?!?)

 

Some folks talk about "strong enough to hold your spoon vertical".  Gandmother was always muttering about the spoon dissolving.

 

It's probably long gone, but enjoyed the "Inner Mann" restaurant in Douglas -- the menu was the day's catch on ice in t

he lobby.

 

Inner Mann is long gone sadly but the food and drink scene has improved considerably over the last few years.  I've lived "across" for the last 20 years or so, but moving back permanently in September - I do visit frequently though & always come back with a stash of "Fairy Bridge" tea bags which make a good cup of "builders" 😁. I'm posting this via my phone so I get the 🇮🇲🇮🇲🇮🇲 from there.

Edited June 10, 2023 by LaCroisiereS'amuse
Typo

[Harters]

27 minutes ago, LaCroisiereS'amuse said:

the food and drink scene has improved considerably over the last few years.

Gosh, you'd like to hope so.  It's getting on for 10 years since we were last in Douglas. We went to an Indian restaurant that had been a finalist in the British Curry Awards. but it was absolutely dire.

 

But we did have some excellent seafood on another night.

[Hambagahle]

4 hours ago, Harters said:

This is a duplicate thread. Reason was discussed fully on the other version. For  tea to be made properly, the water has to be nearly boiling - effectively straight from the kettle as it comes to the boil. Somebody bringing hot water isnt the same.

 

I don't think I've ever been in a British hotel room that didnt have a kettle so, like the OP, I was a tad surprised that Oceania cabins not only dn't have a kettle but, also, O bans passengers from bringing aboard a travel kettle. Of course, O is mainly catering to an American customer base with folk like the OP and me being sort of interlopers - last time I cruised with O it was just like visting America, although the cruise was from/to the UK. 😀

This is Funny !!  I was born British but am not British anymore.  (Am now Swiss). So a coffee drinker.  My yorkshire grandmama always heated the tea pot.  My parents never did, calling it a waste of hot water.   Anyway now I understand why you want a kettle.   What I suggest you do is to tell your TA to write to Oceania and say you need something in your cabin so you can heat water.  Say why?  I suppose you are probably one of those who won't get out of bed before they drink tea - "bed tea" and Indian bearer once said to me !

At the end of the day decide what is important to you.  A lovely cruise with excellent food on a new ship or the tea.  Whichever wins I hope you will be happy.   Sometimes carrying our national customs around with us - a bit like turtles ! - hinders us from seeing other things which though not necessarily better are just different ways of doing things.  I wish you luck!

[Hambagahle]

4 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

For tea ...enthusiasts brewing water needs be at 99.99°C.  They "hot the pot" = fill the teapot with hot water and discard before filling it with the hot water they will use to brew.

 

I even suspect they want cabins on the lower decks because water boils at a lower temperature when at altitude, no?  😉

That is a laugh.  If you want water to boil at a lower temperature you have to be around 2000m.  We see that in the Alps.   Eggs take longer to cook at 1500m than they do at 300m.  Cakes don't rise as well or as fast the higher up you go but we are talking thousands of meters here...not one floor down.

[Snaefell3]

3 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

That is a laugh.  If you want water to boil at a lower temperature you have to be around 2000m.  We see that in the Alps.   Eggs take longer to cook at 1500m than they do at 300m.  Cakes don't rise as well or as fast the higher up you go but we are talking thousands of meters here...not one floor down.

Psst!  That was hyperbole.   

Glad you had a laugh, even if it was a different one than expected.  🙂

 

[ToxM]

Even Celebrity gets the kettles out in the cabin when it has a season from the UK. You colonials don’t understand the pathological need for tea some Brits have and in addition kettles are not common in US homes. I am sure there are some must haves you colonials need but feel to the rest of the world to be a bit silly. 

 

I only drink the stuff when I am at afternoon tea on O. 

 

 

 

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Electric kettles aren't common in countries that use 110V for domestic power as they take so long to boil.

[Harters]

2 hours ago, ToxM said:

I only drink the stuff when I am at afternoon tea on O. 

Not even then for me. Can't abide the taste of tea. 

[Hambagahle]

I love tea - Earl Grey daily at tea time.  (Get that in Horizons!).  And I have an electric kettle - and did when I lived in New York as well.  Never had any problem with it boiling.  But even though I was born in the UK though didn't live there very long I don't understand how anyone can drink tea in the morning.  Double espresso (and preferably Nespresso) for me!   Everyone has her own preferences...

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Thanks everyone, I’m not quite sure how I managed to produce a duplicate thread, sorry for the confusion.  I am now off the ship and have enjoyed my tea today with fresh milk, and freshly boiled water.  Bliss.  

[LHT28]

On 6/11/2023 at 7:27 AM, LaCroisiereS'amuse said:

Electric kettles aren't common in countries that use 110V for domestic power as they take so long to boil.

How long is too long??

 Our seems to boil in a couple of minutes

[Snaefell3]

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

How long is too long??

 Our seems to boil in a couple of minutes

They're spoiled.  😉

 

It's watts that heat the water.  UK outlets ("240v" × 13A) deliver 3000 watts, US outlets ("110v" × 15A) deliver a comparatively wimpy 1600 watts.  Almost twice as quick.

[Panama111]

On 6/10/2023 at 1:24 PM, Snaefell3 said:

For tea ...enthusiasts brewing water needs be at 99.99°C.  They "hot the pot" = fill the teapot with hot water and discard before filling it with the hot water they will use to brew.

 

I even suspect they want cabins on the lower decks because water boils at a lower temperature when at altitude, no?  😉

I sympathize. I too am addicted to tea.  The warm not quite boiled tea from room service does not cut it.  I take an insulated drinking mug to baristas and have it filled with hot water and take it to my cabin. It is better than room service

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Hi Panama, that’s something I will try if I ever travel on Oceania again.

 

[PirateShark]

My Dad's family came from England in the 1600s and we had a kettle growing up.  In fact I have nice electric one still.  Guess its in the blood 😁 so don't sell all of us Yanks short.