Done with Cunard

[exlondoner]

4 minutes ago, D&N said:

@QuestionEverything

"High Tea" is an early evening main meal, normally served before dinner for folk that want to eat earlier. It is usually a reduced menu similar to a pre theatre menu.

The attached menu from a venue that we used to frequent with friends because it offered Saturday night dancing, shows a choice of four mains, and the tea, toast, scones (no cream) and cakes were placed on the table as you ate the main course.

 

As an aside; just to prove there are cutbacks everywhere, when we were there last there were at least double that number of choices on the main course.

 

My uncles would have recognised that, though been somewhat discombobulated by Diane Sauce. 😀😀

[D&N]

And just about the only thing I might want to visit Scotland for, that's the dancing I mean, not the High Tea. Too bad I can't have French food and weather and Scottish/British dancing!

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, D&N said:

And just about the only thing I might want to visit Scotland for, that's the dancing I mean, not the High Tea. Too bad I can't have French food and weather and Scottish/British dancing!

Come now. Though I abominate porridge, despite its alleged health benefits, there is an awful lot of nice Scottish food, from kippers onwards.

[missson1967]

9 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

I'm not seeing any arguing just attempts to educate. 

Speaking of attempts to educate, and bearing in mind @QuestionEverything's location, the following link might assist: High Tea Toronto | Afternoon Tea at Windsor Arms Hotel Toronto

[Host Hattie]

2 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

Speaking of attempts to educate, and bearing in mind @QuestionEverything's location, the following link might assist: High Tea Toronto | Afternoon Tea at Windsor Arms Hotel Toronto

Thanks but we're discussing Cunard who call it Afternoon tea.

[D&N]

10 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Come now. Though I abominate porridge, despite its alleged health benefits, there is an awful lot of nice Scottish food, from kippers onwards.

But there are other differences between South East France and Scotland. I feel at home here, but very uncomfortable in Scotland, particularly since 2014.

Edited July 14 by D&N
typo

[exlondoner]

Just now, D&N said:

But there are other differences between South East France and Scotland. I feel at home here, but vey uncomfortable in Scotland, particularly since 2014.

Other differences? Now what could they be? Less golf? Yes, I get your point. I haven’t been to Scotland for a while, but when I have been, the food is something I have always enjoyed. 😀 Clearly it is best to stick to Cunard though rather than try and catch a ferry. 😀

[missson1967]

6 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks but we're discussing Cunard who call it Afternoon tea.

Thanks.  And post #54 was an "attempt to educate" on why @QuestionEverything might call it "high tea"

[D&N]

6 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

Thanks.  And post #54 was an "attempt to educate" on why @QuestionEverything might call it "high tea"

Valid point.

They mainly address it as Afternoon Tea but use the term High Tea a couple of times. I note they offer their Afternoon tea up until 5pm on certain days.

That wouldn't normally be the case in the UK. The Willowbank serve their High Tea meal between 5pm and 7pm, after that it would be dinner, which is priced by the course (a la carte).

[*Miss G*]

Americans don’t/can’t differentiate between high tea and afternoon tea. My British family (still in the UK) call “supper” tea. If you ask them what they would like for tea, they would respond with items we would know of as “supper “. 
 

Given that the poster who continues to call Afternoon Tea “High Tea”, I have no excuse for them other than they know not of what they speak  🙃

 

Of course, that leads me down the path of them not knowing what other things they speak of in their complaints. 

 

Just saying. 

[NE John]

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I know this is a losing battle, but what Cunard offer is afternoon tea. High tea is quite a substantial early evening meal, such as kippers or fish and chips, with bread and butter, and pudding, accompanied by tea, such as my uncles would have eaten after a day working in the shipyard.

 

Aren't all scones manufactured, one way or another?

I guess DW shouldn’t wear her matching pants and vest suit to afternoon high tea?…🤣

Edited July 14 by NE John

[Winifred 22]

5 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

Greetings exlondoner, Oceania does a most wonderful high tea at 3:30. Staff come to ask what tea you want out of a glossy wood container, each person gets an individual ceramic tea pot, trolleys of sandwiches like shrimp, crab etc, then another trolley with the scones (they did not look overly manufactured), real clotted cream and various jams, then another trolley with desserts of many types. Simply great.

Then that rolls into 5 pm and 2 for 1 wine - so from 3:30 to 6 pm, I do not move from my seat in the forward view lounge.

Love it. 

To be honest I have not  the slightest interest in what Oceania offer for afternoon tea especially on a Cunard board. I have never found the scones all uniformly shaped particularly in the buffet there are often some very lopsided ones but that doesn’t detract from their taste. This suggests to me hey are made onboard.  

Edited July 14 by Winifred 22

[Winifred 22]

5 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

Hi Lee, sounds so very different from our experience. We did not go back to high tea after that, neither did the folks at the same table.

Observing other cruise line boards, cruise lines are making downgrading decisions on a regular basis, so timing could be at any moment.

Lee stay well and enjoy life.

Cunard do not offer high tea. They offer afternoon tea. 

[JT1101]

Cunard does the traditional afternoon tea and IMHO they do it better than any other line. And yes all the scones and indeed all the baked stuff is made on board. And as a result the taste is great. Also, storing the raw ingredients is easier and more efficient than trying to store short shelf like finished products. 

[palive22]

The pedantry on this thread regarding the term ‘afternoon tea’ vs ‘high tea’ unfortunately comes across as petty one-upmanship between posters in trying to show how much more educated one poster is than another poster. 
 

Let us not forget the context in which the term ‘high tea’ or ‘afternoon tea’ is used on this thread. As a reminder, we are on the Cunard board of the Cruise Critic website. That is, regardless of whether the correct terminology is ‘afternoon tea’ or ‘high tea’, any person looking to engage in productive conversation on this thread would reasonably interpret the use of either term in this context to refer to the event held at 3pm in the Queen’s Room on Cunard ships in which a beverage (traditionally tea) and food (traditionally an assortment of sandwiches, scones, cakes) is served. The complaint was about the tea served at said event, and not a complaint made on the basis of a misunderstanding about the different requirements between afternoon tea and high tea (which then could arguably warrant a discussion of the difference).

 

That is to say, where a poster has not sought out a lesson on the correct terminology, and where the post can be understood clearly using a reasonable interpretation when considering the context in which the post is made, is there any need to ‘attempt to educate’ other than to demonstrate a perceived superior knowledge. 

[WantedOnVoyage]

We used to be Oceania regulars and I'll still rate their "afternoon tea" in the lounge as at least as good as Cunard even in the old days.

 

I still remember QE2 in First Class with the most wonderful deck teas... with the famous square pots... loose tea, too. All served at your deck chair on individual trays, cups and saucers, too. And Dennis Dawson who knew your tea preference.  Today's Grill Deck tea is a mere shadow of what was once offered, sadly.  I can just imagine Mr. Dawson contemplating "mugs" being used, too!  He retired just in the nick of time.  

[NE John]

On the other hand, I actually appreciate learning the different words and terms between British and American English and thank @exlondoner (who is a retired teacher) and others from both sides of the Atlantic on this site for sharing their knowledge. My “pants and vest” comment/attempt at humor a couple posts above was a cumulation of other posts regarding said differences in languages. I’ve been to the UK often, and plan to go more, and would like to use the correct terms there as much as I can while those in the UK hopefully appreciate to learn our lingo. And yes, there are quite a few posts that go off on bizarre tangents but that’s much of the fun in following CC. 

[exlondoner]

4 hours ago, palive22 said:

The pedantry on this thread regarding the term ‘afternoon tea’ vs ‘high tea’ unfortunately comes across as petty one-upmanship between posters in trying to show how much more educated one poster is than another poster. 
 

Let us not forget the context in which the term ‘high tea’ or ‘afternoon tea’ is used on this thread. As a reminder, we are on the Cunard board of the Cruise Critic website. That is, regardless of whether the correct terminology is ‘afternoon tea’ or ‘high tea’, any person looking to engage in productive conversation on this thread would reasonably interpret the use of either term in this context to refer to the event held at 3pm in the Queen’s Room on Cunard ships in which a beverage (traditionally tea) and food (traditionally an assortment of sandwiches, scones, cakes) is served. The complaint was about the tea served at said event, and not a complaint made on the basis of a misunderstanding about the different requirements between afternoon tea and high tea (which then could arguably warrant a discussion of the difference).

 

That is to say, where a poster has not sought out a lesson on the correct terminology, and where the post can be understood clearly using a reasonable interpretation when considering the context in which the post is made, is there any need to ‘attempt to educate’ other than to demonstrate a perceived superior knowledge. 

Sorry, but an attempt at accuracy is not pedantry, it is a desire for clarity. I have found that, in any discussion, clarity tends to lead to greater understanding. Of course, not everybody wants that.

[palive22]

46 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Sorry, but an attempt at accuracy is not pedantry, it is a desire for clarity. I have found that, in any discussion, clarity tends to lead to greater understanding. Of course, not everybody wants that.

Thanks, but as I said, there was no ambiguity or misunderstanding caused by referring to ‘high tea’ or ‘afternoon tea’ within the context of this thread on the Cunard forum, so no further clarification was needed. 

[Down-Unders]

On 7/13/2024 at 6:07 AM, We_like_to_cruise said:

Still waiting nearly a month for the credit on our cancelled transfer from NY port to LGA.  According to our TA, they are "still working on it"   Anytime I return an item in a store the credit appears within a day or so.

We were on the June 9 TA and due to "power problems" were 4 hours late to Brooklyn.  Cunard decided to put us on an 11:30 am shuttle for our 2 pm flight out of LGA.  Hmm, let's see, wait on the queue to disembark at 11:30 am, find our luggage, go through immigration/customs, locate the bus, wait for all of the passengers to get their luggage and themselves on the bus, drive 30+ minutes to LGA, wait for passengers to get off the bus, wait for luggage to be offloaded, check-in and find our gate.  NO WAY this will work out.  And of course the airline recommends that you be at the airport two hours before your flight!   

Forced to wait nearly an hour online at the excursion desk to cancel the shuttle and were assured we would receive our credit card credit in a few days.

 

Many of us were inconvenienced by this 4 hour delay and Cunard did almost nothing voluntarily to assist.  A fellow passenger - nothing from Cunard - advised me to ask at Guest Services for internet access. (The first cruise we ever took without a package!)  We were anxious to check what our options might be if we missed our flight.  They refused to help and told us to come back the next day where, after again waiting in a long line, we were eventually given  24 hour access to the internet.  Gee thanks - nice of you to help after we spend thousands of dollars on this voyage and YOU are screwing up our plans.

 

Still, waiting for that lousy $100 was just the icing on the cake of a very disappointing cruise experience on QM2.

We would have to agree with much of what was said on the "Cruise with Ben and David" Youtube video.  Their too-long video could use some judicious editing but to our minds we agree service and food were at best a 2/5.  

Here are some examples: Inexperienced wait staff in Britannia Dining Room, incorrect orders delivered to us, food not hot, a sommelier who lazily reached over my wife's head to hand me a glass of wine instead of walking all the way around (!) to the other side of our table for two, a staff member who said "The water dispenser is over there" when we asked for glasses of water in the buffet, a shockingly rude and unfriendly staff encounter and unfortunately more.  Pitiful.

Food was just ok in the MDR with limited choices and lackluster service.  The buffet - nothing was hot and not much variety.  Same old stuff day after day.  

The only really nice meal we had was at the Verandah Restaurant.  Yet at the end of the meal when our check was presented we were advised (three different times!) that the gratuity was not included.  A little excessive and not appropriate for such a lovely venue.

Yes, so disappointing.  We had such high expectations for QM2 anticipating an upscale experience.  I brought my tuxedo and suits to wear for dinners.  My wife dressed up each evening.  We were ready to be wowed, but Cunard did not deliver.

And, the planetarium - something we looked forward to - was still inoperative.  When I queried a staff member for thoughts on when it would be fixed, he just laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

Our room was adequate, with a fantastic cabin steward, but marred by the extensive rust on the balcony.  Don't they have any paint on this ship?

We have been on dozens of cruises on most of the major cruise lines with voyages ranging from three days to over one hundred.

Were excited to finally try Cunard, but now will cross it off our list.  

 

Thank you for your post I was not on the cruise so i cannot comment regards your grievances, but I will ask you what did you do regarding your issues on board?  It is much easier to complain than be proactive by taking your grievances to the appropriate Officer.

My experience on Cunard is they are there to help that is why they get my business, on our last cruise a few small issues sorted out pronto by very professional Officers and crew.

[terry&mike]

I am one of those people who appreciate being educated in the difference between High Tea and Afternoon Tea. It was here on these boards that I learned the difference several years ago, and as someone who prefers to speak correctly, appreciated the clarification. 

[D&N]

7 hours ago, palive22 said:

The pedantry on this thread regarding the term ‘afternoon tea’ vs ‘high tea’ unfortunately comes across as petty one-upmanship between posters in trying to show how much more educated one poster is than another poster.

Absolutely nothing to do with one-upmanship.

 

Yes we all know what folk are talking about, but you can't just ignore the wrong terminology being used without informing folk of what is correct.

 

A practical example is that someone travels from US to UK on QM2 and has what they think is High Tea. They then spend some time in the UK and come across a restaurant serving High Tea and discover it's something completely different.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, D&N said:

Absolutely nothing to do with one-upmanship.

 

Yes we all know what folk are talking about, but you can't just ignore the wrong terminology being used without informing folk of what is correct.

 

A practical example is that someone travels from US to UK on QM2 and has what they think is High Tea. They then spend some time in the UK and come across a restaurant serving High Tea and discover it's something completely different.

Until at least the 1970s, some railway services, serving Scotland and the North of England in the days of restaurant cars, offered high tea. I never had it, but believe it was certainly a proper meal, obviating the need for much else that day.

[WantedOnVoyage]

The issue here is not what but how... again, in North America, it is common to refer to what is Afternoon Tea as High Tea.  We mean Afternoon Tea, we know what that entails in terms of what's offered, but some call it High Tea. And would be amazed at what that actually consists of in Britain. And few would want it at 3:30 p.m.

 

So it's like an American saying to Ford UK, "your four-door sedan is not a good car" instead of "your four-door saloon is not a good car". They know what you mean. 

 

It's really as simple as the name. And nothing more.

 

Pedantry is most helpful if one directs it at the right issue.It's what it's called not what it is.

[exlondoner]

17 minutes ago, D&N said:

Absolutely nothing to do with one-upmanship.

 

Yes we all know what folk are talking about, but you can't just ignore the wrong terminology being used without informing folk of what is correct.

 

A practical example is that someone travels from US to UK on QM2 and has what they think is High Tea. They then spend some time in the UK and come across a restaurant serving High Tea and discover it's something completely different.

Of course, another rich area of confusion is dinner. When I was at primary school, the teacher would ask if the children had brought their dinner money, referring to lunch. Most people referred to the midday meal as dinner, and the early evening one simply as tea, or sometimes as dinner again. Luckily on Cunard, most people seem to stick with their nomenclature.