Taking your own kettle on Cunard

[clairemarie55]

Has anyone ever done this? I prefer to make my own coffee in the morning,,,the first up of the day is always the best ,
We haven't done Cunard yet but I think I would find it irritating to have to ring for room service and to have to wait for it to be delivered.
Iv had room service heaps of times and never mind waiting but the first coffee of the day,,,,,,,?

[Boris+]

When we first moved over to Cunard I didn't like the kettle not being in the stateroom - but you get used to it. We find it so handy and use it as our wake-up call. Room service doesn't take very long, and anyway, if you complete the card regarding early morning stuff being delivered to the stateroom, the butlers are usually very prompt indeed.

Em

[ChesterfieldJohn]

Do all cabins have butlers on Cunard?


John

[wolfie]

Has anyone ever done this? I prefer to make my own coffee in the morning,,,the first up of the day is always the best ,
We haven't done Cunard yet but I think I would find it irritating to have to ring for room service and to have to wait for it to be delivered.
Iv had room service heaps of times and never mind waiting but the first coffee of the day,,,,,,,?

Who knows what time anyone would prefer their first cup of the day?


Room service sometimes take too long , unless of course you have a butler who would then have to enter your stateroom, make some noise whilst providing you with you first of the day cuppa at a proscribed time.

Nah, far better to wake up, make your own and then await a cabin service breakfast.

Oops, forgot you mentioned that you were on Cunard; you'll have to rely on room service for your early morning cuppa, BUT, there are ways around it.

[sunsetsail2night]

I've only done three cruises on Cunard and each time I took my kettle and mugs. They have small cartons of milk in the buffet.

I like to have a drink when I want one and not have to wait for room service. I also like my drinks hot which they're not if delivered by room service.

Brenda

[Boris+]

Hi John,

The only staterooms which have a butler on Cunard are those which start with a 'Q'. However, I believe that all staterooms have stewards.

I am not totally obedient to health and safety, however when I am onboard I try and 'tow the line'. Therefore, as it states that some electrical equipment isn't suitable (can't remember the right wording), I don't take a kettle. I didn't like the system the first time, kept on worrying about the extra charges (silly me!), but now we have got used to it, and like it.

We have never found drinks (especially our first thing in the morning drink) to take a long time; maybe that is because it has been ordered on the card which is hung outside the door at bedtime (please ensure it is the entrance door to the stateroom and not the bedroom door!!!), and we have never had to wait long anyway - and have also never had drinks which are cooler than desired. We frequently order hot chocolate last thing at night, and that is really nice.

Each to their own - the main thing is enjoy the cruise.

Em

[sumdumbloke]

I've never understood this need to lug camping equipment onto a luxury cruise. What next? A small burner and gas bottle to make toast?

It's a cruise. Most people wake at roughly the same time each day, so it's easy enough to book room service. If you do it every day they'll soon get used to your ways/times too.

[Kendhni]

I have to admit I find it hard to fit my balcony barbecue into my 23kg luggage capacity ... and the bag of charcoal takes up a lot of space.

[Gill W]

I'm not one of these people who HAVE to have a cup of tea first thing in the morning, but it is pleasant to sit on the balcony first thing with a cuppa.

A kettle is nice to have, but if it wasn't supplied, I wouldn't bother with room service, I'd just go up to the buffet when I was ready.

I wouldn't bother to take a kettle though. It'd be way too much bother and would take too much room, plus taking mugs and tea bags etc.

A cup of tea in my cabin is not that much of a priority for me.

[GillD46]

I don't drink a hot drink in the morning, but Tony can't function without his coffee. We always have room service breakfast and he has his cup of coffee then, if he wants one before then, he just nips to the buffet and brings one back - it's never that far away.

[Anne D]

Has anyone ever done this? I prefer to make my own coffee in the morning,,,the first up of the day is always the best ,
We haven't done Cunard yet but I think I would find it irritating to have to ring for room service and to have to wait for it to be delivered.
Iv had room service heaps of times and never mind waiting but the first coffee of the day,,,,,,,?

I now take a travel kettle on Cunard. Mine is quite small and doesn't take up a lot of room. I bought it from Marks and Spencers. I do like to have a cup of black coffee when I get up and don't want the bother of ordering from Room Service.

Anne

[JanattheNuthouse]

I would definitely want a kettle, however small, in my cabin. My husband drinks more than one cup of tea first thing, and I like my vanilla latte coffee, both made with boiling water.

The other reason I would prefer a cabin kettle is because we don't want to use ship's desalinated water for our drinks, so we use bottled water. Immediately I get on board ship, my feet and ankles start to puff up, with the desalinated water used in cooking on board (never have a problem at home). Added to this, if I want to take a soluble Lem-Sip, I want to boil water as and when necessary, and I also use a hot water bottle for relieving my back pain..........

[lioness]

You absolutely should not take a kettle or an iron. It distinctly says in the rules that you should not do that. If you set fire to your cabin, I wouldn't like to think what the consequences would be.

You've reminded me of my flying days when doing the Haaj flights, pax would bring a primer stove. Give me a break!

[Boris+]

May I suggest salt tablets?

Lioness - if you have done a Haaj and lived to tell the tale then I can only take my hat off to you. As far as taking a kettle or iron is concerned, from my point of view you are of course completely right.

Em

[GillD46]

Why salt tablets, Em? Salt will only increase the swelling - the ship's water is salty enough as it is.

[sunsetsail2night]

I certainly didn't see any notice which said travel kettles couldn't be used. I didn't try to hide it in a cupboard and no comment was made. I think it is just an American thing that facilities are not provided for making hot drinks - the majority of hotels in America don't have them. My cruises have been from Southampton so taking a small kettle was no problem. I certainly wouldn't take an iron - they are a fire hazard.

Brenda

[ronay2006]

I would definitely want/need a kettle. I am normally up 2 - 3 hours before my partner & would have had numerous cups of coffee on the balcony by the time he got up.
Imagine how many cards I would put out for this!
(& I do not want to sit in the buffet when I have my own balcony)
In order to let him sleep a little longer I have a very large Bodum travel mug so I can have 4 - 6 cups in one thus only disturbing him a couple of times when boiling the kettle.

[Boris+]

Sorry Gill, knickers in a knot (family stuff) I read that someone didn't want desalinated water, and thought that the problem was with it having no salt in it - hence 'bring your own'!

However, there are most definitely notices which state very clearly that people should not use certain electrical appliances due to safety reasons. As the room service is free, I can't see a reason for not using the room service - and the hot chocolate is very good!

Em

[ItsmeAnnC]

From my point of view the reason for not using cabin service is that it takes so long - we have waited 45 minutes before now. I like fruit/herbal teas and by the time the "hot" water arrives it is too cold to extract the flavours. My husband is one of those who "has" to have a cuppa if he wakes in the night and needs one instantly he is up in the morning. This could be any old time, so ordering it in advance is a no-no because he might not be awake when they bring it, so we would be disturbed. I also don't want to be disturbed by room service in the middle of the night, whereas a kettle does not wake me.
Sadly our Celebrity cruise in September out of Rome does not have tea/coffee making facilities. I enquired about taking a kettle and they said if it is found they will confiscate it. So a flask for hot water seems to be the answer - thanks ronay2006!

[Kendhni]

From the CUnard FAQ's
Can I bring a kettle on board
Can I bring an iron on board

Kettles are fine as long as you let them know so that they can be tested .. irons are a no-no.
As well as possible fire risks, I think part of the problem may be that these items can be high wattage and possibly the ships circuits can not supply the ampage necessary.

[Kendhni]

PS: I also came across this one
Can I use a microwave on board

I now have visions of someone with 14 cases and a microwave balanced on top of them

[Quizzical Bob]

My neighbour went to the docks to collect some friends of his at the end if their cruise. They had taken their coffee-making machine with them, packed up in a cardboard box. They were so worried about this that they took a wrong case with them. The thing is, they weren't too bothered about it but my neighbour had to make a return trip to the terminal.

[Anne D]

Thanks Ken

I will definitely declare my kettle next time I cruise with Cunard. The FAQs facility is very useful and I don't always think to use it.

I would not bring an iron as I find it just as easy to go to the launderette to press anything necessary.

Anne

[sotongirl]

Yes, you can take a kettle with you as long as it is thermostatically controlled. In the information folder on board there is a paragraph that states " the use of irons and NON-thermostatically controlled water heaters is strictly prohibited in staterooms/suites " and I have put a photo of that in the gallery. When we were on board Queen Elizabeth in April we told the steward we had a travel kettle as we wanted to see if they would confiscate it. He said it wasn't a problem, got it PAT tested and provided us with a jar of Nescafe, teabags and kept us topped up with milk! The room service tea is dire in my opinion, the water isn't hot enough.
Lucy

[clairemarie55]

Well many thanks everyone for your interesting and informative answers,

Sorry if im being dim here but is a thermostatically controlled kettle ,one that turns itself off?

I certainly wouldn't take an iron but Im tempted by a wee travel kettle..