Afternoon Tea on Zenith

[Jeanne S]

The brochure lists this as the usual tea time 4pm daily. Is this held in a dedicated room as on Cunard or Radisson or is it in the Buffet area as on RCCL?

 

How is the tea, sandwiches, scones, jam and pastries, service, etc? We are late dinner and always look forward to having tea at 4pm on Bermuda Cruises.

 

Thanks

 

Jeanne

[stephy1]

Celebrity ususally does a formal tea on a sea day, in the dining room. The rest of the time it's in the Lido.

They have a selection of finger sandwiches, cookies, cakes and croissants.

 

Stephanie

[Jeanne S]

Thanks Stephanie. Only on sea days? How did you find it?

[StephenJohnson]

The Celebrity Daily lists all meals, snacks, etc. in a nifty little box section.

[clan]

Jeanne--I think there might only be one "formal" tea per cruise. All others are serve yourself at the buffet area. It's good to tide you over until late dinner, but it's nothing fancy.

[dmarch@islc.net]

Causal tea in everyday in the buffet area. Very good!

[CruisingChick]

The formal tea in the dining room has a dress code. I know men need to wear slacks and jackets, that's why I can never get my husband to come. He's not about to put on slacks and a jacket at 4PM on a sea day.

[stephy1]

There is a dress code for the formal tea in the dining room, but I don't recall jackets being required for men. They just ask that you not wear shorts, etc.

They list it in the section where the food hours are on the daily schedule, and generally they try to schedule it on a sea day. The rest of the week it's in the Lido area.

 

Stephanie

[Jeanne S]

Thanks everyone. At the formal tea, is everything served or do they just serve tea and have the other offerings on a table buffet style?

[Jeanne S]

Which sea day or is it both?

[Jeanne S]

Does anyone know the specific day afternoon tea is served?

[CaroleV]

The one & only formal tea is Firday afternoon.

[Jeanne S]

Thanks Carole:

 

How were the scones and clotted cream?

[Scout Finch]

Being half-Irish, I am an admitted tea "snob". Is the tea made properly -- i.e., boiling water in a pot with tea bags or loose tea? Or do they simply give you a tea bag and a cup of hot water?

[Jeanne S]

Was informed on another thread by someone recentely off the Zenith the Tea is Thursday after sail away from St. George and is in the Caravelle Restaurant not the Windsurf.

[cruisebunny32]

I love the afternoon tea in the Cafe. They have it every day from 4-5pm. They have the yummy sandwiches, cakes, pies, cookies and those great baby cresent rolls with cheese inside. It is a great tide over till dinner, esp late seating. You can also order sandwiches, fruit and cheese and pizza through room service. I have never done for Formal tea, so I can't answer your questions there. You will love the Zenith, and Bermuda! Happy sailing

[CruisingChick]

Cruisebunny,

 

OMG, what have I been missing all this time by not going to the "informal" tea. Gee, maybe I need to skip lunch one day and go.

 

Anne Maria

[Jeanne S]

It really is not considered a proper Afternoon Tea if scones and clotted cream are not served. Will be going to the Farimont Hotel in Hamilton where they do it right.

 

On QE2 in the Queen's Grill they served tea from the pot with Tetley tea bags hanging over the side - the Plaza Hotel in NYC it was not. At least the scones and cream were good.

[StephenJohnson]

It really is not considered a proper Afternoon Tea if scones and clotted cream are not served. Will be going to the Farimont Hotel in Hamilton where they do it right.

 

On QE2 in the Queen's Grill they served tea from the pot with Tetley tea bags hanging over the side - the Plaza Hotel in NYC it was not. At least the scones and cream were good.

Not considered a proper afternoon tea by whom? Normally Scones would only be served with High tea, a completly different critter than Afternoon tea. Not that the meals on most lines correspond much to the traditional version of either ;)

[theawesome1]

Oh, The Fairmont in Hamilton, not cheap but a true event to enjoy. There you can hear a pin drop, folks just stir their tea as they chat. Very fun to watch. Clotted cream on scones is heaven as is their bread pudding with clotted cream, not chocolate sauce as USA does to it. Tea was lose in a tea holder at the bottom of the pot that was coered to serve with a tea cozy. I kept putting my pinky out when I sipped. Just my way of being British for an afternoon. My friend who took us there got a kick out of it.

 

High Tea is what we like, not the daily cr*p. We like the white glove service, lemon sliced for the tea not juice from a bottle. Celebrity does it correctly & I do enjoy it.

[smoothdancer]

Pardon for asking...What is clotted cream?

[ABSCruiseLuvers]

Pardon for asking...What is clotted cream?

 

Clotted cream is a high fat cream that is heated to a point just below boiling which thickens it. It has a almost sweet taste unlike creme fraîche which has more of a sour taste and is a culture. It is used with jam on yeast rolls or scones for tea. I am sure others could add more to this for me.

[theawesome1]

ABSCruiseLuvers - you stated it perfectly! Oh, I really do love it & here in Cleveland we have the Ritz Carlton afternoon high tea to enjoy when we are not on a ship for a while. Sometimes you just need a fix that is legal ;-)

[Jeanne S]

Traditional High Tea in Britain I agree is not the same as Afternoon Tea. High Tea is more of a supper and has its origins in working class Britain in the 19th century when men would return home after a long day at work for a High Tea which included the addition of Hot Dishes – scones were not always a part of this but are always part of Afternoon Tea in England and in the fine hotels of the USA. Cunard offers a Children’s Tea at 5:30 PM which is similar to this (Macaroni and Cheese and hot dogs with the peanut butter finger sandwiches).

 

HAL does offer a HIGH TEA that is the same as afternoon tea, but this is a Dutch Line, not Brit. Celebrity lists Afternoon Tea not High Tea in their brochure.

 

In Bermuda - a British colony, it is Afternoon Tea.

[ABSCruiseLuvers]

Traditional High Tea in Britain I agree is not the same as Afternoon Tea. High Tea is more of a supper and has its origins in working class Britain in the 19th century when men would return home after a long day at work for a High Tea which included the addition of Hot Dishes – scones were not always a part of this but are always part of Afternoon Tea in England and in the fine hotels of the USA. Cunard offers a Children’s Tea at 5:30 PM which is similar to this (Macaroni and Cheese and hot dogs with the peanut butter finger sandwiches).

 

HAL does offer a HIGH TEA that is the same as afternoon tea, but this is a Dutch Line, not Brit. Celebrity lists Afternoon Tea not High Tea in their brochure.

 

In Bermuda - a British colony, it is Afternoon Tea.

 

In any event don't get your hopes up for afternoon tea like you would find at the Dorchester Hotel. But it is very nice and the pastries are all prepared from scratch by hand. But you will have to go ashore to find proper tea I think.