Afternoon tea on Journey

[mrs. jones]

We'll be sailing on Journey for the first time in April. I love afternoon tea and my gold standard so far on cruise ships is Oceania which served real clotted cream with the scones, along with a pastry cart from confectionary heaven. Has anyone had tea with Azamara and how was it?

[Susan-M]

I had afternoon tea on Quest (they have them on sea days). The scones were very nice (so good that I had two:o) but pretty sure that the cream was whipped instead of clotted. The harpist performed on the day that I was there. Unfortunately I couldn't linger as I was in a hurry to make it to a galley tour.

 

Enjoy!:)

[lisiamc]

They have tea in the buffet every afternoon as well. I remember seeing fruited scones at least one day, but didn't have any (ack - raisins!:eek:) They also had nice little sandwiches and little cakes and cookies.

 

Lisa

[LHT28]

They have tea in the buffet every afternoon as well.

 

Lisa

 

In the buffet:confused::confused:

 

:eek:

[Susan-M]

In the buffet:confused::confused:

 

:eek:

 

Not a formal tea, but you can get a cup of tea there anytime, and on days when there isn't formal tea (in Aqualina the day I went), they serve sandwiches, pastries and ice cream in Windows for about an hour (~4-5 p.m.) ... all quite delicious!

[mrs. jones]

I appreciate your responses and must admit to being greatly disappointed! Tea time on Oceania is just lovely, casual dress but with white gloved servers, all kinds of tea, finger sandwiches and the aforementioned scones and desserts. A string quartet always played and I found the whole experience such a wonderful treat returning from a hectic day on shore. We only have one sea day so I guess I'll have to find another way to load up on calories. Shouldn't be too challenging!

 

Thanks again.

[Susan-M]

I appreciate your responses and must admit to being greatly disappointed!

 

I wouldn't get too disappointed yet, but would wait until you've been to the afternoon tea and then decide. I thought it was very nice. I haven't experienced Oceania's tea to compare the two, but I wasn't paying Oceania's fares either on our cruise.:)

[mrs. jones]

Hi Susan,

 

Thanks for your input. I'm sure that I'll find much to like about Azamara's tea. My disappointment is in only having one day to enjoy it. It became my substitute for lunch on other cruises but I've been delighted to learn that the pool grill serves gyros, another favorite, so I may be switching from an English tradition to a Greek one!

[lisiamc]

Mrs Jones

 

I just thought of another possible replacement for formal tea in the dining room. At the Mosaic Cafe, they have nice little sandwiches and small, delicious desserts. They also have a harpist playing at selected times. It's a really nice place to sit and have a snack in the afternoon. The only drawback is that you would have to pay for the tea. (The food is free.)

 

Lisa

[Parknslide]

We had afternoon tea on the Journey in Nov. Not impressed---nothing special and not worth the calories. Also had afternoon tea one afternoon in our cabin---also unimpressive.

[LHT28]

I appreciate your responses and must admit to being greatly disappointed! Tea time on Oceania is just lovely, casual dress but with white gloved servers, all kinds of tea, finger sandwiches and the aforementioned scones and desserts. A string quartet always played and I found the whole experience such a wonderful treat returning from a hectic day on shore.

Thanks again.

That is what afternoon tea is all about

Only one one other cruise line did they have TEA in the buffet all the others had table service.

Mind you some people on O just cannot wait for the trolley so they attack the serving area:D

[Susan-M]

That is what afternoon tea is all about

Only one one other cruise line did they have TEA in the buffet all the others had table service.

 

Azamara doesn't have their formal tea in the buffet restaurant.

[LHT28]

Azamara doesn't have their formal tea in the buffet restaurant.

 

So above it was stated that they have tea in the buffet you mean like the self serve station?

 

So do they have proper afternoon tea daily or just some days?

Oceania has the self serve station but also has proper afternoon tea everyday in Horizons ( Looking Glass on A)

[Susan-M]

So above it was stated that they have tea in the buffet you mean like the self serve station?

Yes, self serve, and only provided there on the days that formal tea wasn't held.

 

So do they have proper afternoon tea daily or just some days?

Yes, just on sea days on our cruise, held in Aqualina.

 

Oceania has the self serve station but also has proper afternoon tea everyday in Horizons ( Looking Glass on A)

The sandwiches and pastries provided in Windows (buffet) on port days were very good and seemed to be quite a hit with a lot of people, as was the ice cream served in that area. The grill was another popular spot for those who were hungry when returning from a port day. The formal tea was well attended, but we were on a port-intensive cruise and I'm not sure that formal tea would have been well attended on port days.

[LHT28]

The sandwiches and pastries provided in Windows (buffet) on port days were very good and seemed to be quite a hit with a lot of people, as was the ice cream served in that area. The grill was another popular spot for those who were hungry when returning from a port day. The formal tea was well attended, but we were on a port-intensive cruise and I'm not sure that formal tea would have been well attended on port days.

Thank you for the explanation

 

On O they have Afternoon tea everyday (at least on all of our cruises)

They also have burgers etc...by the pool & Ice cream, milkshakes in the same area

Afternoon tea is always well attended on O as well...some days standing room only

[Aussie Gal]

I must admit that I loved the milk shakes on Oceania. We would often have them instead of lunch. Do they have these on Azamara?

 

We are not afternoon tea people at all. We find there is just too much food on board and we know we wouldn't be hungry enough for dinner so we didn't attend any afternoon teas in the 35 days we were on board. I used to chuckle to myself though at the queue of people waiting to catch the elavator up to the Horizon lounge each afternoon. It was as though they hadn't eaten for a week.

 

Jennie

[JennAngel9]

We just booked a cruise on the Journey and are also fans of afternoon tea. We recently read (I think on the CC "official review") that we would be able to have afternoon tea in our stateroom each day-- is this true? If so, is it upon request during traditional tea hours or do you have to be in your stateroom at the magical moment the steward comes by with the trolly (as we've experienced in Celebrity's suites :/) ?

[Project_gal]

We If so, is it upon request during traditional tea hours or do you have to be in your stateroom at the magical moment the steward comes by with the trolly (as we've experienced in Celebrity's suites :/) ?

 

JennAngel

 

Yes, it is true and, according to the "rules" you sould complete the form in your room each day to request tea and be in your room to receive it BUT we found that it came regardless!

 

Sue

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We were so busy on our week, either out and about or having fun by the pool no time for afternoon tea, oops we did have Long Island Ice Tea does that count:D

[kirstys]

Remember there are lovely little cakes and sandwiches in Cova/Mosaic Cafe every day as well. The petite lemon meringues are delicious!

[disneyfan1313]

Tea on the Quest was actually a bit disappointing compared to what I have had on other lines.

 

Tea was normal bagged tea (no loose choices) with no herbal selections. Pastries were normal buffet ones with generic whipped cream for the scones. It wasn't bad - just nothing special. Service was not white glove and quite rushed with no offer to pour the tea or get additional hot water.

[JennAngel9]

Thanks everyone for your input. DH and I often travel with our own tea (I highly recommend Mariage Freres-- for it's excellent taste and quality AND the fact it can be bought in a box of tea bags, which makes it easier for travelling with) and will even bring it with us to the dining room and simply request hot water. So far, I have not been able to convince him that devonshire cream is an equally necessary travel accessory. ;)

 

I'm still a bit unclear on how tea service in the rooms works-- sounds like you have to be there when they come by, but are supposed to specifically request that the come by? We will definitely check out the offerings at the cafe. We are quite accomplished scavengers when it comes to putting together a makeshift tea. On a recent Celebrity cruise, we resorted to getting a couple of cookies from the pool area and bringing them back to the room, ordering hot water with cream and sugar from room service, and added our own tea bags.

[Project_gal]

I'm still a bit unclear on how tea service in the rooms works-- sounds like you have to be there when they come by, but are supposed to specifically request that the come by?

 

There is a small card in your stateroom to be comleted each day and be put out by, I think, 11:00am. The trolley then comes round about 15:30. We found that they rang the bell even if we did not put out the card. If we were not in, they usually left my husband his pot of tea. [standard is a cup/mug but they knew that my husband wanted a pot.] We tended not to have the food [which was great] to be good!

 

We will definitely check out the offerings at the cafe. We are quite accomplished scavengers when it comes to putting together a makeshift tea.

 

Just go straight to the Mosaic Cafe. They have the same sweet offerings most of the day as on the tea trolley plus the most wonderful savoury rolls [all free] which make a fantastic light lunch. The staff positively encourage you to select some items and take them away if you do not want to stop and enjoy them at the cafe.

 

Sue

[mrs. jones]

Tea on Journey was one of the biggest disappointments of the experience with Azamara. I knew from prior reports to lower my expectations but they weren't low enough! Not quiet sure why they even bother to have it. When it is offered in the dining room you are seated at a table with a tray of pastries, a server delivers a pot of hot water and a selection of tea bags, then disappears. The strangest part of the whole experience is the mysterious substance that is offered as "jam". It was a gelatinous mass of indistinguishable flavor and origin. Quite strange! Maybe tea is not the strong suit of the line, but how the heck do you mess up jam? Open a jar for heaven's sake! Anything would have been an improvement over the mystery glob.

 

My randomly seated tea mates all agreed that the experience was not only disappointing but strange and perplexing as well.

[Jade13]

I appreciate your responses and must admit to being greatly disappointed! Tea time on Oceania is just lovely, casual dress but with white gloved servers, all kinds of tea, finger sandwiches and the aforementioned scones and desserts. A string quartet always played and I found the whole experience such a wonderful treat returning from a hectic day on shore. We only have one sea day so I guess I'll have to find another way to load up on calories. Shouldn't be too challenging!

 

Thanks again.

 

The best tea I have been to is on HAL and it is their Royal Dutch Tea which includes a string quartet. They also have an Indonesian tea on some trips. Celebrity didn't do tea (on the 5 night cruise) unless you had been on Celebrity/RCCL 5 times and had a special invite. Other smaller ships have just had the tea out in afternoon. I guess I don't expect much any more on ships in regards to afternoon tea and just hope that I can get some.