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Wintergarden Tea


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I understand that afternoon tea in the Wintergarden tends to fill up quickly. I would imagine that’s especially true on sea days, which would be the only time we could go.

 

What do you recommend one do in order to be sure to get a seat?

 

Only 2 more weeks! I can hardly stand it.

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We were on the Star in January. The seats do kind of fill of quickly, so I'd suggest getting to tea near the start time to get the seat you want. We sat near the pianist a couple of times and enjoyed a bit of banter with him. You get a tea menu to choose the flavor tea you want, and a tiered tray of sweet and savory treats. Enjoy!

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+1 On getting there early (do not know if you need to go a whole hour early). We went on a sea day toward the end of tea time and there were almost no seats and very little food left. We squeezed in and had a tiny tea but I am not sure I will bother if it is that crowded on our cruise this summer.

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We’re on the Sea now. Showed up for tea at 4:05 yesterday. A zoo. No seats. Huge decibels. Frantic servers. Chaos. On every other cruise ship, tea is a quiet, calming, civilized hour. Boy. Not here. Never again.

 

Had a decent cup in the nearby Explorer’s Lounge.

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We’re on the Sea now. Showed up for tea at 4:05 yesterday. A zoo. No seats. Huge decibels. Frantic servers. Chaos. On every other cruise ship, tea is a quiet, calming, civilized hour. Boy. Not here. Never again.

 

Had a decent cup in the nearby Explorer’s Lounge.

 

Agree completely. I've been on three Viking Ocean cruises since April 2016, and this has not changed. I'm very surprised they have not done anything about it, since I notice other significant organizational improvements with each trip.

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Eek. Not sure I want tea that badly. Wonder why it’s so chaotic? Or what they could do to improve it?
It's a popular event. And if you can snag a seat, it's a lovely time in a stunning setting where you can chat with other passengers with an excellent cup of freshly brewed tea. It's really not Viking's fault if everyone wants to go. It's an event that doesn't need any tweaking to improve it. If you want to go, show up early.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

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We’re on the Sea now. Showed up for tea at 4:05 yesterday. A zoo. No seats. Huge decibels. Frantic servers. Chaos. On every other cruise ship, tea is a quiet, calming, civilized hour. Boy. Not here. Never again.

 

Had a decent cup in the nearby Explorer’s Lounge.

 

Was this on a sea day? Our trip had no sea days, and we were off the ship around this time most days, so we had limited exposure. However, one day, we were back on the Star early, and just happened to walk through the Wintergarden, sat down and had a lovely tea. The atmosphere was quite pleasant.

 

Our upcoming cruise has three sea days, and I had planned to repeat the experience on one of those. I think I will revise that plan, and hope for an afternoon when others may still be ashore!

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It's a popular event. And if you can snag a seat, it's a lovely time in a stunning setting where you can chat with other passengers with an excellent cup of freshly brewed tea. It's really not Viking's fault if everyone wants to go. It's an event that doesn't need any tweaking to improve it. If you want to go, show up early.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

Our Cruise Critic M&M was held in the Wintergarden and we discussed the tea with on of the officers who attended. She said that early in the cruise it’s packed, but later on, not so much.

 

We had no sea days but most everyone was back onboard around 4:00pm. The first time early in the cruise, we walked through, and it was crowded. We picked a day later in the cruise and went about a half hour early, figuring we would sit and enjoy the ambiance of the room.

 

I would say the room was about half full when 4 o’clock rolled around. We were delighted to find our favorite restaurant waiter was working tea that day and he took good care of us. Valentino, the resident guitarist came in to play and he was wonderful as usual.

 

I have tea and a cookie every afternoon at home, so was looking forward to it. I loved the little teapots with the tea strainers and the little cup to place them after brewing. Need to bring my tea timer next trip [emoji12].

 

We enjoyed the sandwiches, and sweets. The scones were fantastic! All in all a lovely interlude.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Our Cruise Critic M&M was held in the Wintergarden and we discussed the tea with on of the officers who attended. She said that early in the cruise it’s packed, but later on, not so much.

We had no sea days but most everyone was back onboard around 4:00pm. The first time early in the cruise, we walked through, and it was crowded. We picked a day later in the cruise and went about a half hour early, figuring we would sit and enjoy the ambiance of the room.

 

I would say the room was about half full when 4 o’clock rolled around. We were delighted to find our favorite restaurant waiter was working tea that day and he took good care of us. Valentino, the resident guitarist came in to play and he was wonderful as usual.

 

I have tea and a cookie every afternoon at home, so was looking forward to it. I loved the little teapots with the tea strainers and the little cup to place them after brewing. Need to bring my tea timer next trip [emoji12].

 

We enjoyed the sandwiches, and sweets. The scones were fantastic! All in all a lovely interlude.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Helpful hint! Thanks for sharing. With everything to eat on a Viking cruise, I certainly can't add tea everyday, so I will wait until later in the trip to go.

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We enjoyed the afternoon tea, which included finger sandwiches, little cakes and scones. I don't think they have quite got the 'tea' element quite right, speaking as someone from the U.K. They seemed to have run out of English Breakfast Tea on our New Year cruise so we were served one of the many many alternative options. However when I queried it they did send several people to find the 'right' tea. They also had to find English Breakfast for me in the Buffet, but they were sweet about it, and couldn't have been more helpful. However since more and more people from the UK are now onboard I hope they keep the stocks high.

I am probably being pedantic now but the included cream is not 'clotted'.

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On our Viking Ocean cruise in December 2017, we always went about a half hour early and sat and read. Just reading the different teas you can choose takes some time. The edible items arrive on a three tiered tray which you share with another couple if you are sitting at a table of four. Usually there is only one sampling of each item on the tray. It was always crowded so they opened the tea to the area just outside the Wintergarden to add more seats.

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We’re also on the Sea now, with six sea days in a row. We’ve arrived at the Wintergarden anywhere between 4:30 to 4:45 and always got seats (although you may risk missing out on the included/‘clotted’ cream). They have also opened up the two side areas for more seating.

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  • 5 months later...

We did the tea 3 times on our cruise on the Viking Star. Was the Bergen to Stockholm cruise. We never had a problem getting a seat. The tea, scones, finger sandwiches, and desserts were lovely. Can't wait to try it again in a few weeks! Hubby and I decided it was so nice, we'd do it more this cruise.

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I understand that afternoon tea in the Wintergarden tends to fill up quickly. I would imagine that’s especially true on sea days, which would be the only time we could go.

 

What do you recommend one do in order to be sure to get a seat?

 

Only 2 more weeks! I can hardly stand it.

 

 

You understand right. It often fills up very quickly.

 

Viking needs to do something about this. This are our suggestion(s) (not that they will take them up):

 

1)Perhaps they could reorganise the seating arrangement. Instead of having low "fat" lounge seats, they could provide a kind of "Palm Court" style chair and tables?

 

2) They serve tea if you sit in the lounge outside Mamsens, but they did not seem to publicise it very well. Maybe they should put a sign to tell passengers that.

 

3) Their waiter service tends to be quite slow and sometimes confusing . You could be sitting for a while to get served, but after that two waiters came one after another. To quicken this up and make it a bit more slick, perhaps, they could take a leaf from their rival Oceania Cruises, and provide a buffet table service with pastries, cakes and sandwiches. The waiter service can still continue to serve tea and cakes, even though there is a buffet table. It does not have to be either one or the other, both could be available.

 

Another thing we'd like to say about the Winter Gardens, the "Mushroom" Tables are so wobbly and unstable. |Besides, they are also too small. It might give someone a "feel" of a table used by Troll (?), but it is not very practical. Maybe a rethink and redesign of the furnishings and organization of the Winter Garden is something Viking management can consider ....if they are not doing so already, as we speak!

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You understand right. It often fills up very quickly.

 

Viking needs to do something about this. This are our suggestion(s) (not that they will take them up):

 

1)Perhaps they could reorganise the seating arrangement. Instead of having low "fat" lounge seats, they could provide a kind of "Palm Court" style chair and tables?

 

2) They serve tea if you sit in the lounge outside Mamsens, but they did not seem to publicise it very well. Maybe they should put a sign to tell passengers that.

 

3) Their waiter service tends to be quite slow and sometimes confusing . You could be sitting for a while to get served, but after that two waiters came one after another. To quicken this up and make it a bit more slick, perhaps, they could take a leaf from their rival Oceania Cruises, and provide a buffet table service with pastries, cakes and sandwiches. The waiter service can still continue to serve tea and cakes, even though there is a buffet table. It does not have to be either one or the other, both could be available.

 

Another thing we'd like to say about the Winter Gardens, the "Mushroom" Tables are so wobbly and unstable. |Besides, they are also too small. It might give someone a "feel" of a table used by Troll (?), but it is not very practical. Maybe a rethink and redesign of the furnishings and organization of the Winter Garden is something Viking management can consider ....if they are not doing so already, as we speak!

 

I personally think the Wintergarden is one my favorite areas of the ship. It is really a multi-purpose space, not a dining venue. Afternoon tea is just one event that takes place there, and I hope they do not redesign or refurnish the area. But then, maybe that's just me.

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