ceo418 Posted March 15, 2022 #1 Share Posted March 15, 2022 For our trip on Adventure of the Seas in September, I have the refreshment package (my husband has the soda package). I've read that the free iced tea on Royal Caribbean is not great...is that true? If so, is there a place on board where I can get better iced tea? The premium coffee/tea drinks at Cafe Promenade would be free with my package, I think, so do they have iced tea there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BND Posted March 16, 2022 #2 Share Posted March 16, 2022 17 minutes ago, ceo418 said: For our trip on Adventure of the Seas in September, I have the refreshment package (my husband has the soda package). I've read that the free iced tea on Royal Caribbean is not great...is that true? If so, is there a place on board where I can get better iced tea? The premium coffee/tea drinks at Cafe Promenade would be free with my package, I think, so do they have iced tea there? I can't stand the free iced tea. It has a chemical taste. It was fine until a few years ago. It tastes like they cleaned the pot but didn't rinse it well. I can't drink it anymore. Some people make their own with hot water and tea bags and pour it over ice. They don't make iced tea in Cafe Promenade like they do in Starbucks. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time4u2go Posted March 16, 2022 #3 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Just now, BND said: I can't stand the free iced tea. It has a chemical taste. It was fine until a few years ago. It tastes like they cleaned the pot but didn't rinse it well. I can't drink it anymore. Some people make their own with hot water and tea bags and pour it over ice. They don't make iced tea in Cafe Promenade like they do in Starbucks. I agree with this. The pre-made iced tea is gross. Your best bet is to get a mug of hot water, a cup of ice, and a tea bag (there's lots to choose from), and make your own. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverbeenhere Posted March 16, 2022 #4 Share Posted March 16, 2022 5 minutes ago, time4u2go said: I agree with this. The pre-made iced tea is gross. Your best bet is to get a mug of hot water, a cup of ice, and a tea bag (there's lots to choose from), and make your own. I agree with this agreement. Word is the pre-made stuff is made with cedar bark chips. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceo418 Posted March 16, 2022 Author #5 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 hour ago, time4u2go said: I agree with this. The pre-made iced tea is gross. Your best bet is to get a mug of hot water, a cup of ice, and a tea bag (there's lots to choose from), and make your own. So can I get these from the Promenade cafe? Anyplace else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted March 16, 2022 #6 Share Posted March 16, 2022 1 hour ago, neverbeenhere said: I agree with this agreement. Word is the pre-made stuff is made with cedar bark chips. I have always said that it tastes like wet tobacco leaves. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted March 16, 2022 #7 Share Posted March 16, 2022 3 minutes ago, ceo418 said: So can I get these from the Promenade cafe? Anyplace else? Windjammer, also has tea bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheSailsFL Posted March 16, 2022 #8 Share Posted March 16, 2022 3 minutes ago, ceo418 said: So can I get these from the Promenade cafe? Anyplace else? Yes, and the beverage stations in the Windjammer have good selection of tea bags. I bring a large water bottle and brew tea in the sun on balcony. So much better than that nasty premade stuff. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soremekun Posted March 16, 2022 #9 Share Posted March 16, 2022 If I had to rank the free lunch / dinner flavored beverages: 1) Strawberry kiwi 2) Lemonade 3) Iced tea 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashland Posted March 16, 2022 #10 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I usually agree about the free ice tea but actually on my recent Navigator it was pretty good. Maybe it had something to do with not cruising the last two years...but everything tasted great !! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntjoy036 Posted March 16, 2022 #11 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I was on Freedom a couple of months ago. The free iced tea isn’t bad, but it isn’t great. Compare it to a shelf stable, bottled tea. I had the refreshment package. I ordered hot tea (several to choose from) and a cup of ice from Cafe Promenade. If you order “iced tea” at Cafe Promenade, you risk getting a cup of ice water with a tea bag in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lane Hog Posted March 16, 2022 #12 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Big QuikTrip tea drinker here... Tea bags over ice will always win with me, but what they had on Liberty wasn't uniformly bad. There's the gross powdered stuff that comes from the juice dispensers for emergencies only, and then there is "brewed in the galley" tea that's presumably served in the MDR and Windjammer. They also had the brewed tea in Cafe Promenade most hours. There was also some designer tea served at Cafe Promenade as well, but it's upsell and part of the coffee card package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BazingAu Posted March 16, 2022 #13 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I made an Arnold Palmer from the premade iced tea and lemonade and it was completely fine. No chemical taste. Others in my party also had iced tea on its own and they had no complaints. Like @AshlandI was on Navigator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailey & Sophie Posted March 16, 2022 #14 Share Posted March 16, 2022 In my opinion, many brewing problems with the iced tea. ● I don't think they use enough tea bags to get a good strong tasting brew. ● I don't think they give it enough time to steep. ● In addition to the my first two points, they then pour that hot weak tea-water over ice to chill it. The melting ice further dilutes the weak-to-begin-with tea. The resulting tea is a horrible mess. I like very strong tea. I bring a jar of Lipton Instant granules and make my own. It's not the best but better than what is provided. I don't know what Royal has to offer with the drink package because I never used it for tea. We had the drink package with Celebrity and I thought their Tazo brand was horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichFish Posted March 16, 2022 #15 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Not my fav. But not tragic. I bring some cold bee tea bags with me. They make a good ice tea and you don’t have to fumble with multiple cups and pouring hot over ice while still trying to make it strong enough to taste. I get the regular black tea cold brew bags and mint tea cold brew bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeattleAl Posted March 16, 2022 #16 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I assume you can get ice out of a freestyle machine, can't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted March 16, 2022 #17 Share Posted March 16, 2022 5 hours ago, SeattleAl said: I assume you can get ice out of a freestyle machine, can't you? Yes, that should work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfguyxxx Posted March 16, 2022 #18 Share Posted March 16, 2022 6 hours ago, BazingAu said: I made an Arnold Palmer from the premade iced tea and lemonade and it was completely fine. No chemical taste. Others in my party also had iced tea on its own and they had no complaints. Like @AshlandI was on Navigator. This is exactly what we do and it is fine. I should try using the hot water and tea but who wants to wait that long for it to brew. I try and get out of the Windjammer as fast as I can 🤣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipgeeks Posted March 16, 2022 #19 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I noticed that WJ had both sweetened and unsweetened, so I had to request which one I wanted. It was also frequently ice-free (just chilled), so the server would ask if I wanted ice added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceo418 Posted March 16, 2022 Author #20 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Thank you for all the replies! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrioticgirl Posted March 16, 2022 #21 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I am a big tea drinker. If I drink the premade stuff on board, I always top the glass off with about an inch and a half of the lemonade... and it is fine. I also ask my stateroom attendant to keep me stocked with a bin of ice in the cabin. I fill a spill-proof 20 oz. stainless steel tumbler with hot water in the evening, add a couple of tea bags, and let it steep overnight so that I have my morning tea caffeine fix, lol. I also pack a variety of Crystal Light To Go packet that I can mix with bottled water or my tumbler . The peach mango green tea and pomegranate tea mixes are really tasty! 🍑 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeattleAl Posted March 16, 2022 #22 Share Posted March 16, 2022 So, are there places on the boat where you can grab tea bags? I know the cabin steward will bring some if asked, but I might want to have a bit more control on my inventory. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mil76 Posted March 16, 2022 #23 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Last two cruises they had Bigelow tea in multiple flavors at the coffee stations. Much better than that nasty London's Finest brand they used to have. Cafe Promenade also has Tazo for the drink packages. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RCLcruiser2012 Posted March 16, 2022 #24 Share Posted March 16, 2022 22 hours ago, ceo418 said: For our trip on Adventure of the Seas in September, I have the refreshment package (my husband has the soda package). I've read that the free iced tea on Royal Caribbean is not great...is that true? If so, is there a place on board where I can get better iced tea? The premium coffee/tea drinks at Cafe Promenade would be free with my package, I think, so do they have iced tea there? It is awful! RCCL do you see this?!? LOL Can we please get some good sweet & unsweet tea??? Pretty please. 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RCLcruiser2012 Posted March 16, 2022 #25 Share Posted March 16, 2022 7 hours ago, shipgeeks said: I noticed that WJ had both sweetened and unsweetened, so I had to request which one I wanted. It was also frequently ice-free (just chilled), so the server would ask if I wanted ice added. Wow! We haven't cruised in 4 years ( last one cancelled due to Covid). But they now have SWEET tea? Miracles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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