Afternoon tea dress code?

[emel2]

Sailing on QV Apr 4th. It's been a long time since my last Cunard cruise on the QE2. Can't remember changing for afternoon tea.

[Scottygirl1]

Hi, I'm on QE at the moment and trust me, no one that I've noticed has changed for afternoon tea! Everyone is relaxed and wearing whatever they would normally wear during the day.

[pepperrn]

I'd have to agree with Scottygirl1; almost no-one seems to wear anything special for afternoon tea.

I did wear a jacket (and tie) once on QE2 to A.T. , and once or twice in the past on QM2 transatlantics. but no-one else seemed to bother, so neither have I recently.

I think it would be an uphill battle to get people to "dress up" during the day, esp when on cruises in warm/hot weather...

[emel2]

So shorts or jeans are ok?

[LGNYcamper]

We did the Independence Day cruise last year and everyone was dressed appropriately. There were no shorts in the Queen's Room.

 

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[Host Hattie]

So shorts or jeans are ok?

 

 

Yes, they are fine during the day. There is no additional dress code for afternoon tea.

[NSWP]

Am on QM2 Thursday, checked dress codes again... shorts are fine for arvo tea, not that we do that activity, but might do one on QM2 just for the experience.

 

I have noticed that some staunch Cunarders, living in the old world still insist on telling people, particularly new Cunard pax that shorts are not permitted at afternoon tea. Wrong !!!:evilsmile:

[NSWP]

Hi, I'm on QE at the moment and trust me, no one that I've noticed has changed for afternoon tea! Everyone is relaxed and wearing whatever they would normally wear during the day.

 

That is what we like to hear. Enjoy your voyage on QE.:halo:

[Lakesregion]

Am on QM2 Thursday, checked dress codes again... shorts are fine for arvo tea, not that we do that activity, but might do one on QM2 just for the experience.

 

I have noticed that some staunch Cunarders, living in the old world still insist on telling people, particularly new Cunard pax that shorts are not permitted at afternoon tea. Wrong !!!:evilsmile:

 

 

You are correct afternoon tea is treated no differently than having a beer on the back porch. Sadly this is the new world of slouch and let it all hang out. It does however take away from the atmosphere and eventually Cunard will eliminate this tradition because people treat it poorly.

 

I can remember 10 years ago when Ladies (not simply females) wore hats to afternoon tea in the Queen's Room and Gentlemen (not simply males) wore blazers. But that is all gone now and it is beer on the back porch with a harpist thrown in. Maybe next year Cunard will have a fiddler instead.

[emel2]

Thanks all for your replies.

[Lilydes]

You are correct afternoon tea is treated no differently than having a beer on the back porch. Sadly this is the new world of slouch and let it all hang out. It does however take away from the atmosphere and eventually Cunard will eliminate this tradition because people treat it poorly.

 

Of course they won't, it's probably the best attended event on the ships.

[ToadOfToadHall]

If people go to to The Dorchester* for Afternoon tea, I'm sure they will dress appropriately. So why don't they on Cunard# ?

 

I've often wondered this myself. The first time we went, we were not sure if we should get changed. But clearly no one else bothered.

 

 

*Other venues are available.

#Other cruise lines are available.

[harpy3]

I can understand on a Cunard cruise in some hot climate you might conceivably wear shorts if you were just back from a shore excursion and desparate for a cup of tea. But on a TA on the QM2 when there are no shore excursions, people really might wear something more presentable than shorts or jeans. That's what the Carnival ships are for.

[emel2]

I don't think it's a case of desperation for a cup of tea. But rather knowing you have to change again by 6 or thereabouts for the evening that I find a waste of time. Although I rarely wear shorts, I think a nice pair of jeans with a smart top are good for shore excursions and apparently ok for afternnon tea. I do expecct it's going to be quite warm going through the PC

[Scottygirl1]

Firstly, I must say, that we didn't enjoy the afternoon tea. We only went once to try it out but the scones were like little flat bullets. Nothing light about them and certainly not what I've ever considered a scone to be.

 

Secondly most people did dress in a respectful way on the ship so when I said that the clothing at afternoon tea was the same as the rest of the ship, that was still reasonably nice clothing. I actually did wear shorts (longer nearly to knee shorts) and a dressy top. No one looked or cared to be honest. We were on the NZ to Australia leg so it was very hot.

 

To be honest we were rather relieved to see how casual the ship was during the day, it certainly made us feel more comfortable.

[NSWP]

Interesting comments. At the end of the day, Cunard make the dress code, not the passengers. Times change and so do the dress codes. Look at Celebrity - no more formal nights, look at P&O UK - no more jacket nights, just a few formals.:halo:

[harpy3]

Lots of choices in cruising style. People should pick the cruise line with a style that matches theirs. Makes it a lot easier and fun for all. I like the option of Cunard or Crystal and dressing up--sometimes. Sometimes I don't want formal nights and I pick another line such as Oceania or Celebrity.

[Lakesregion]

Interesting comments. At the end of the day, Cunard make the dress code, not the passengers. Times change and so do the dress codes. Look at Celebrity - no more formal nights, look at P&O UK - no more jacket nights, just a few formals.:halo:

 

 

True Cunard sets the dress code but it is the passengers and how they adhere or even upgrade or down grade the code that sets the atmosphere. One can not long sustain a popular traditional harp music afternoon tea with all dressed in shorts and "T's". Eventually that leads to the Carnival ship atmosphere where even the main dining room no longer has table clothes and a full compliment of flatware and china.

 

So enjoy while it lasts. Cunard dispatching one of its three ships to Australia for an extended period of time in 2019 tells me that they are having a difficult time filling it with traditional style passengers. Cunard was at its best when they had all ocean liners and did not try to be all things to all people.

[NSWP]

True Cunard sets the dress code but it is the passengers and how they adhere or even upgrade or down grade the code that sets the atmosphere. One can not long sustain a popular traditional harp music afternoon tea with all dressed in shorts and "T's". Eventually that leads to the Carnival ship atmosphere where even the main dining room no longer has table clothes and a full compliment of flatware and china.

 

So enjoy while it lasts. Cunard dispatching one of its three ships to Australia for an extended period of time in 2019 tells me that they are having a difficult time filling it with traditional style passengers. Cunard was at its best when they had all ocean liners and did not try to be all things to all people.

 

 

Good comment, thank you, tradition is dying everywhere, even on Cunard.:mad:

 

Yes I note QE is going to Australia in 2019 for a while, the Aussies will fill it up, like they have on QM2, it is sailing full to HK from Sydney, when we board on Thursday. Attractive fares through good marketing.

Edited February 27, 2017 by NSWP

[Scottygirl1]

To be fair, the way people dressed at afternoon tea was still very 'dressy'. Clearly people were taking it seriously. My gripe was the little hard scones (is this how they are meant to be? I've never had little flat scones before). On a recent UK TV series called "The Cruise" which featured the Princess Line, the head chef was angry with the pastry chef when he saw that the scones were small and flat. He said that a scone must be high!! I too always thought a scone needed to be light and certainly higher than an inch. When cut in half for the jam and cream it only left half an inch of scone.

[NSWP]

To be fair, the way people dressed at afternoon tea was still very 'dressy'. Clearly people were taking it seriously. My gripe was the little hard scones (is this how they are meant to be? I've never had little flat scones before). On a recent UK TV series called "The Cruise" which featured the Princess Line, the head chef was angry with the pastry chef when he saw that the scones were small and flat. He said that a scone must be high!! I too always thought a scone needed to be light and certainly higher than an inch. When cut in half for the jam and cream it only left half an inch of scone.

 

Thanks for that, I wonder if they do GF scones for the likes of us Coeliacs? I will check when I board Thursday.:halo: Was afternoon tea (self serve version of course) also available in the Lido Buffet?

 

Princess push a couple of afternoon tea trolleys around the decks offering same.

[Scottygirl1]

Thanks for that, I wonder if they do GF scones for the likes of us Coeliacs? I will check when I board Thursday.:halo: Was afternoon tea (self serve version of course) also available in the Lido Buffet?

 

Princess push a couple of afternoon tea trolleys around the decks offering same.

 

 

Hi NSWP - yes they did have gluten free scones in the GF section at afternoon tea time. They actually looked and tasted not too different to the standard scones. The gluten free section was sadly lacking though - just a little bit of sad white half sized loaf, a choice of two cereals and some jelly. I know you can eat other non gluten foods from the standard section but I seriously thought there would be a better choice of breads and cakes etc.

 

Curiously, at the "lactose/dairy free" section they had some cream which I obviously thought was dairy free (made from other ingredients) cream. Upon asking no, it was real cream and was slightly to the right of the sign marking the dairy free section. I would have thought it should have been well away personally so there was no mistake.

[NSWP]

Hi NSWP - yes they did have gluten free scones in the GF section at afternoon tea time. They actually looked and tasted not too different to the standard scones. The gluten free section was sadly lacking though - just a little bit of sad white half sized loaf, a choice of two cereals and some jelly. I know you can eat other non gluten foods from the standard section but I seriously thought there would be a better choice of breads and cakes etc.

 

Curiously, at the "lactose/dairy free" section they had some cream which I obviously thought was dairy free (made from other ingredients) cream. Upon asking no, it was real cream and was slightly to the right of the sign marking the dairy free section. I would have thought it should have been well away personally so there was no mistake.

 

Thanks for that, dairy is fine for me, love it but gluten - wheat, barley, oats and rye a no no. I know they have GF bread on board, but it is normally inedible on most ships, so I give the bread away when cruising, sorry voyaging on Cunard !! Yes we do miss out on a lot of the nice tucker on the ships. This is our first Cunard adventure, hence the stupid questions. Done 20 other trips with mainly Princess, but also P&O, Carnival, Celebrity etc.:hearteyes:

[Scottygirl1]

Thanks for that, dairy is fine for me, love it but gluten - wheat, barley, oats and rye a no no. I know they have GF bread on board, but it is normally inedible on most ships, so I give the bread away when cruising, sorry voyaging on Cunard !! Yes we do miss out on a lot of the nice tucker on the ships. This is our first Cunard adventure, hence the stupid questions. Done 20 other trips with mainly Princess, but also P&O, Carnival, Celebrity etc.:hearteyes:

 

 

Actually the GF bread on board looked fairly edible, it was just that the shape was more like a loaf you'd bake at home in a small loaf tin. I presume you could take it around and toast it but then you'd expose it to crumbs. There was some small mousse type desserts and a couple of other "treats" from memory. Definitely make it known what you want (prior to cruising and on board) and I bet they will come up with some great stuff for you.

[Salacia]

We did the Independence Day cruise last year and everyone was dressed appropriately. There were no shorts in the Queen's Room.

 

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Yes, that has also been my experience on several Independence Day cruises over the years. I don't know why, but that particular cruise seems to bring out the best in passengers. Perhaps because the cost is quite high to celebrate independence?

 

Crew members also seem to enjoy that short cruise: two port stops and a ship with mostly North American passengers who have no argument with gratuities.. -Cheers,

Salacia

Edited February 28, 2017 by Salacia