Afternoon Tea on Cunard

[Rob Lightbody]

Cunard tries to sell itself nowadays as "the fine line" and their advertising appears to align themselves to posh London hotels.
But their afternoon tea, is a weird sort of Americanised theatrical version of British afternoon tea (still being served in the London hotels, if anyone at Cunard wants to take a look).

The waiters come on to a teddy bears picnic music for some reason, along with clapping in time to the music... to me it just seems weird.  I am guessing this isn't just a Cunard thing - is it?  How long has it gone on for?  Which ships?  Any assistance to help me understand appreciated.  I also think some of the musical accompaniements during afternoon tea aren't right - to me it should just be light piano music.

When I was lucky enough to find myself on Silversea recently, this American-Italian line managed to pull off a better version of British afternoon tea than I saw on Cunard.  Quiet, discreet and delicious.

[Peter Mugridge]

I think you're right in that it sounds like it's American senior management types imposing what they ( incorrectly ) think is the British way of doing things.

[cunardqueen]

The waiters come on to a teddy bears picnic music for some reason, along with clapping in time to the music... to me it just seems weird.   

Let me try that next time l have afternoon tea at Grosvenor House London, it might start a new trend , but they really shouldn't start mucking about with such a British thing. And whats with this clapping thing 

However l recall a great many years ago at The Ritz (The one in London) in 1991 you were offered 2 sittings 3 and 4.30pm at the princely sum of £17.50. Today it's offered from just before lunch till early evening, and your limited to 90 mins and lord knows what the price is. But then its a major source of income, and you can never really be sure exactly what is made on site these days

Mindyou the Americans . lovely people as they are, can't even make a decent cup of Tea