Afternoon Tea On Carnival Cruise Ships

Cruise ship travel began in the days before planes could take people from one continent to another and as these floating hotels became more and more opulent (think Titanic), people expected all the luxuries. Because many passengers were headed either to or from England, afternoon tea became a tradition on cruise ships.

Why Afternoon Tea on Carnival Cruise Ships is the best

Different cruise lines approach the concept of Afternoon Tea different. Many lines have gotten away from this tradition all together. Some just put out tea bags in the buffet mid-afternoon. Some of the cruise lines have servers with white gloves and expect you to be at least a little dressed up. Carnival seems to just use afternoon tea as an excuse to give its passengers even more food. However, even with all that opulent food, they can also put on a good show.

Afternoon Tea on Carnival ships is served from 3:00-4:00 on sea days. That means there are multiple obstacles to actually attending this delicious event. It is in the middle of the afternoon on a sea day – just when everybody and their mom wants to be in the pool!

The second obstacle is that tea is primarily made up of deserts. After you’ve had pastries at breakfast, cake at lunch and plan on some warm chocolate melting cake with peanut butter for dinner, who has room for some cute pastries, scones and finger sandwiches?

But at least I always take the stairs?

Vacation calories don’t count?

I’ll leave the health ambiguity of the situation for another post.

What to expect at Afternoon Tea on Carnival Cruise Ships

Afternoon Tea is held in one of the main dining rooms, usually in the back or a quiet corner. You can show up any time between 3:00-4:00, but I would suggest getting there a little earlier so you can get in the first round of tasty treats. Depending on the ship, you might even be treated to live music while you wait to be served.

Like this string quartet aboard the Carnival Vista.

Looking for more information about the Carnival Vista? Check out our Carnival Vista Ship Review

There are a dozen or so small tables set for tea with real linens, a view of the water and plates waiting to be filled with yummy food from carts nearby. The first thing (hopefully) they do is offer you some tea and a pot of hot water. I requested coffee, which they were happy to bring along with our first round of finger foods.

The waiters come around with boxes of tea. There are two different types of tea they offer. Usually they first show up with the tea that is at a small upcharge (around $1.50) at which point you can request the free Lipton tea if you prefer. They provide you with your tea bag and the hot water then you can brew your own pot right there on the table. I got my own miniature pot of coffee.

Looking for more information about what is and is NOT included on a Carnival Cruise? Read: What Is Included On A Carnival Cruise

But what about the food?

With our cups full (or at least the tea pot brewing), it was time to turn our attention to the carts of food being pushed around the area. Emily is very picky and declined the salmon sandwiches and the delicious cucumber sandwiches, but I enjoyed them.

After the waiter with the finger sandwiches came around, there was a different waiter pushing the cart of sweets. There maybe many non-traditional aspects to the Afternoon Tea on Carnival, however, they do bring out the sandwiches first, followed by scones and sweets.

The cart was piled high with scones, cakes, strawberries, cream and macaroons.