On Tuesday, May 21, 2024, Holland America Line made a timely announcement on International Tea Day. Over the next few weeks, the cruise line will begin offering a traditional Royal Dutch Tea experience on all of its 11 ships.
Although the Seattle-based cruise line is now owned by Carnival Corporation, it was originally founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in April of 1873. Making the tea service available fleet-wide is a way to pay homage to the cruise line’s 150 years of Dutch heritage and traditions.
The traditional tea service will take place in the afternoon on sea days in the main dining room of each ship and will consist of three courses, or tiers, that will feature Dutch snacks and treats.
When guests first sit down, they’ll first be asked to select their tea. The galley will be well-stocked with a delicious variety of teas, such as loose-leaf Earl Gray, English Breakfast, Mint, Green, and Chai teas.
Once passengers have something to sip, they can start tasting a mix of traditional Dutch sandwiches, including bay shrimp on brioche bread with Dutch cocktail sauce, egg Salad and cress on white bread with mayonnaise and mustard, smoked salmon and dill on whole wheat with cream cheese, and coronation chicken on whole wheat with curry, yogurt, dried apricots, and cilantro.
Of course, no tea service would be complete without fresh scones. Between the sandwiches and dessert, raisin and plain scones will be served with jam and whipped cream – sort of as a palate cleanser.
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Last but not least, guests will move on to the sweets. A variety of Dutch treats will be offered, including Moorkop (a cream puff with whipped cream and mandarin), Boterkoek (a butter cake with almond slices), Gevulde Koeken (a short sugary pastry with marzipan), Appletaarts (Mini Dutch apple tartlets with a cookie base), and Maple Stroopwafel Napoleon with cream and fresh berries.
Gourmet Dining Experiences Offered By Holland America Line
Like many of the major cruise lines, Holland America Line is all-inclusive, meaning a variety of restaurants and eateries onboard are included in the price of the cruise.
On Holland America, this includes the main dining room for fine dining, and more casual fare from the Lido Market (a casual marketplace with options ranging from breakfast to late night snacks), Dive-In (a poolside grill), and New York Pizza (a poolside pizzeria with fresh Italian salads and personal pizzas).
For guests craving a more elevated dining experience, the cruise line offers a variety of specialty venues for an additional fee. These include Pinnacle Grill (a steakhouse), Canaletto (Italian cuisine), Tamarind (serves traditional Chinese and Japanese cuisine), Rudi’s Sel De Mer (serves classic French dishes and seafood), and Nami Sushi.
But Holland America takes onboard dining to the next level by constantly looking for opportunities to refresh menus and provide unique and tasty culinary experiences for guests.
For example, the cruise line introduced a first-of-its-kind fresh fish program at the end of 2023, through which the ships source 80 different types of fresh seafood from 60 ports around the world. This ensures passengers are always fed the best-quality seafood, whether it is the first or last day of their sailing.
Another unique experience offered by Holland America is culinary cruises. During these popular specialty cruises, celebrity chefs take over the sailing for exclusive-chef hosted dinners, live cooking demonstrations and classes, and coffee chats where guests can interact with their culinary idols in a more intimate setting.
The culinary cruise program, which debuted in 2022 with great success, has already been extended through 2025.
