Afternoon Tea Service

I recently returned from a fabulous cruise on the Odyssey with excellent service and crew.

When I previously cruised with Seabourn, the afternoon tea service was excellent, with a choice of teas to order followed by the crew offering trays of sandwiches and cakes at your table.

Now the food is no longer served but is laid out on two buffet areas either side of the entrance to the lounge. It's a minor point but was a little disappointing for a luxury line as in my opinion it was a drop in service from before.

I'm not sure if it is the same on all of the ships but I wondered what others thought about it?

When we sailed on the Encore last September/October, scones were passed on a tray to anyone having tea which was still served at your table. There was a buffet set up with additional tidbits. I understand that passing all offerings would be more elegant and enjoyable.

Buffet set up for afternoon tea (as well as pre-dinner canapés) was the norm for a number of years until it was eliminated - and replaced by roving waiter service - due to sanitary concerns as cited by health inspectors a few years ago. Seabourn made the necessary changes to satisfy the regulators and re-introduced the buffet service recently.

Apparently either approach has its fans and detractors, and this issue was discussed at length a while back on this board.

I prefer to have my tea poured by the waiter but I prefer to go and pick my sandwich and cake selection myself

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Does anyone know what brand of tea is served? I came across fabulous Jing Tea in London last year, but Crystal has used Mighty Leaf. Just curious...

We were delighted to see the tea time nibbles and pre dinner canapés served buffet style again.

Currently on Ovation, tea and scones are served while everything else is buffet style.

Does anyone know what brand of tea is served? I came across fabulous Jing Tea in London last year, but Crystal has used Mighty Leaf. Just curious...

SB has been using Mighty Leaf loose leaf teas for its afternoon tea service for a number of years. (time for a change, perhaps...)

This discussion just proves the old saying that "you cannot please all of the people all of the time".

Personally, I'm only interested in the scones.

Currently on Ovation, tea and scones are served while everything else is buffet style.

That actually works quite well for us, scones with the accompanying cream and jam are a messy ugly buffet experience and better served. Having the less messy items available for choice means we pick only the things we're in the mood for that day.