making tea

[peck]

Mainly aimed at the Brits out there. Do you take a kettle on board and a teapot etc so you can brew a decent cup of tea and if so what wattage is it ok to use and which plug adapter to allow use of a british 13amp plug.I am sailing on Jewel of the Seas and on my last 2 cruises I always wished I had packed the essentails for a decent cup of tea.

 

Please help.

 

Bill

[bruce-r]

I think the question should be; "are electric kettles allowed on the ship?".

[peck]

In RCCI website what not to pack do's not include electric kettles, but I realise that the wattage of such electrical items is important and I am trying to establish what that wattage is. Can anyone help.

[uksimonusa]

In RCCI website what not to pack do's not include electric kettles, but I realise that the wattage of such electrical items is important and I am trying to establish what that wattage is. Can anyone help.

 

A normal 240V Kettle from the UK is about 3000 watts, you may find that it would work using an adapter in the European socket, but I imagine 3kw would be above what the circuit could take.

 

They did provide kettles on the Independence when she sailed out ot S'ton, may be someone who sailed her can tell you if they were 240 v or 110v and maybe even the wattage

[peck]

Thanks Simon, I think the wattage is key. You just cannot make tea unless you have boiling water as you know.

[angelina46]

hi,

just got off the brilliance and there were kettles in all cabins! something new and appreciated. i believe they are only on european routes

angelina46

[want2seaitall]

I love the fact that cc is an international message board. I've really enjoyed reading the cultural variety.

 

You Brits really seem to LOVE your tea. I'm guessing your tea is like our coffee here in the states.

[Missus Makkem]

I love the fact that cc is an international message board. I've really enjoyed reading the cultural variety.

 

You Brits really seem to LOVE your tea. I'm guessing your tea is like our coffee here in the states.

 

We sure like our tea, unlike Bostonians;)

[peck]

I was on Splendour in the summer in the Med and there was no kettles. The water for tea and coffee making on RCCL is not at boiling point and that is just whats needed to make a good cup of tea an essential part of waking up, you just cannot start a day with it.

I guess the best thing to do will be to take a low wattage kettle and ensure that the morning remains civillised.

OK us Brits are crazy, but we sure know how to party on your ships as well.

 

Bill.

[Leafpeeper]

We always bring our electric tea kettle onboard to make instant coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. We like our water HOT to brew a decent cup of tea. Best of all, our tea kettle shuts off automatically--although I always unplug it and put it away after using it. I wonder if you could order a tea kettle from an American company like Walmart and have it shipped to your house before sailing.

[NorbertsNiece]

Thanks Simon, I think the wattage is key. You just cannot make tea unless you have boiling water as you know.

 

110V on Independence. You can bring back a whole variety of tea bags from WJ as well as the ones they leave you. Kettle in room works just fine.

The list of prohibited items can be found here :

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/customersupport/faq/details.do;jsessionid=0000MnhvQoube7fsr7RRwsPFz4n:13dlld2p2?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Policies&faqId=2608&faqSubjectId=333&faqType=faq

[want2seaitall]

We sure like our tea, unlike Bostonians;)

 

We always bring our electric tea kettle onboard to make instant coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. We like our water HOT to brew a decent cup of tea. Best of all, our tea kettle shuts off automatically--although I always unplug it and put it away after using it. I wonder if you could order a tea kettle from an American company like Walmart and have it shipped to your house before sailing.

 

Missus...see Leafpeeper is from Plymouth, MA and they are bringing their tea. I'm a transplant from Boston now living in FL...and its not that we didn't like tea...we just didn't like paying the tax on tea. :D

[peck]

Bet you pay your tax now!:) Does anyone know the voltage on Jewel of the Seas

 

True Brit

Bill

[Chip and Dale]

Mainly aimed at the Brits out there. Do you take a kettle on board and a teapot etc so you can brew a decent cup of tea and if so what wattage is it ok to use and which plug adapter to allow use of a british 13amp plug.I am sailing on Jewel of the Seas and on my last 2 cruises I always wished I had packed the essentails for a decent cup of tea.

 

Please help.

 

Bill

 

Hi Bill

sorry if this has already been answered, but this is what I did on the last cruise.

 

We were on the Serenade in Nov and I drink green leaf tea. I love black tea as well, my boss is English and has me hooked on leaf tea, but we have both switched to green tea for health reasons. For occasions when it just did not work out like on the flights I carried tea bags with me, a special blend that I like and had enough in case I needed them while onboard.

 

Each morning I ordered tea for me and coffee for DH. I never used the tea they gave me, it was Lipton YUK. I kept the little thermos pot and put my tea leaves in it to make my tea. When I was done I cleaned out the leaves and would store it on the shelf in the closet. The Cabin steward knew what I was doing and thought it was a great idea. I would put tea leaves in it and take it with me to the Windjammer and have someone fill it with hot water for me. Everyone who did this for me recognized what I had right away. It worked perfectly and I sat many times on the balcony enjoying my pot of tea, it was heavenly. I will do this on every cruise.

 

I carried a small bag of tea leaves with me to the dining room when we went and made a small pot and had them keep bringing me hot water for refills if need be.

 

You can heat hot water in the coffee maker for tea if need be in the suites where they are provided but they are not provided in any of the cabins below a suite.

 

Hope that this helps.

From one tea lover to another.

Dee

[ancldaca]

Dee!!! That's pretty much what I like doing as well on cruises. The hot water from the buffets works very well and I usually try to kidnap a carafe on the first day for these purposes. However, I don't mix the tea inside the carafe but use higher quality tea bags. I figure since I complain about the coffee taste in the carafes.........

 

Which reminds me. On my recent AOS cruise, the tea water was brought in smaller carafes not the large ones; room service explained it was their way of separating coffee carafes from the hot water only ones. My problem with that is that I drink a lot more in a sitting than those puny carafes can hold.

[OnTheBrink]

Subbing to this thread for ideas...

 

I was at the tea shop today and looked at the bags you can get to make your loose leaf "portable". I didn't buy them, but I can see how they'd be handy.

 

Those that do loose tea on the cabin: How do you strain it after it steeps? Do you take something with you for that?

[peck]

I always take a small stainless steel strainer, they are light and do not take up much room in your luggage.

I have tried the hot water on Splendour but the water is not boiling and ok it makes a passable cup of tea but you do really need boiling water, hence the kettle request and then you can make a brew anytime in your cabin and the wife is your best friend when you wake her up with a freshly brewed pot of tea.

 

Bill

[Happy ks]

Dee!!! That's pretty much what I like doing as well on cruises. The hot water from the buffets works very well and I usually try to kidnap a carafe on the first day for these purposes. However, I don't mix the tea inside the carafe but use higher quality tea bags. I figure since I complain about the coffee taste in the carafes.........

 

Which reminds me. On my recent AOS cruise, the tea water was brought in smaller carafes not the large ones; room service explained it was their way of separating coffee carafes from the hot water only ones. My problem with that is that I drink a lot more in a sitting than those puny carafes can hold.

 

Order 2-3 of them ;)

[Happy ks]

While I'd not take along an electrical appliance such as a kettle (would it not fall into the same category as a coffee maker on the disallowed list?), I have considered a French press for coffee.

 

Our last cruise, a 13 night, the coffee was horrid, undrinkable. The only place we could get a decent cup was at Seattles Best, even the dining room coffee was icky.

 

I had found a travel French press before we left, but everyone said it was overpacking and since I like to pack light, well I just didn't buy it. I now wish that I would have sacrificed the space one pair of my shoes took up and that I had brought the press along. Live and learn, I'll buy it when I see it again!

 

I suppose I'm as particular about my coffee as Brits are about their tea :)

[Missus Makkem]

While I'd not take along an electrical appliance such as a kettle (would it not fall into the same category as a coffee maker on the disallowed list?), I have considered a French press for coffee.

 

Our last cruise, a 13 night, the coffee was horrid, undrinkable. The only place we could get a decent cup was at Seattles Best, even the dining room coffee was icky.

 

I had found a travel French press before we left, but everyone said it was overpacking and since I like to pack light, well I just didn't buy it. I now wish that I would have sacrificed the space one pair of my shoes took up and that I had brought the press along. Live and learn, I'll buy it when I see it again!

 

I suppose I'm as particular about my coffee as Brits are about their tea :)

 

I like coffee as much as tea and have a mug with a liner that takes ground coffee, perfect for a good cuppa coffee. just need to take the liner with me.