A highlight of our transatlantic crossings is the daily afternoon tea in the Queen’s Room. On our most recent QM2 voyage, we opted for a different experience by booking a special Champagne afternoon tea. This summary is taken verbatim from my journal.
We just sat down to a special afternoon tea in the Champagne Bar. Neil and I each selected a rosé and Marty has fresh-squeezed apple juice.
A waiter offered a selection of teas—Earl Grey, English Breakfast, or Jasmine. I chose Earl Grey. It is loose leaf, the best way to enjoy tea. When the waiter showed us the selections, they were in small glass jars—nice to view the leaves!
The classical strings trio is now playing. It’s a lovely setting.
There’s a timer on the table to inform when steeping is complete. There are 3 small hourglasses—one is for black tea, one for green tea, and one for white tea. When the sand ran out, the waiter came by immediately to remove the diffuser from the pot. Great service!
And what wonderful treats! They were delivered on a 3-tier tray. Bottom level had 4 types of sandwiches, 1 each per person, cucumber, egg salad, chicken salad, smoked salmon. The middle level had scones—plain and raisin-plus clotted crème. The top level several small cakes and other sweet treats, including a chocolate and gold cookie with the Cunard logo on it.
Champagne afternoon tea is offered twice during our crossing, today and tomorrow. Cost [ed: as of spring 2025] was US$40 per person. We booked several months in advance and you can also book onboard, space permitting. According to the onboard booking system, today’s tea has sold out.
We enjoyed it greatly and would do it again.
