Afternoon Tea and Visit to Cutty Sark Ship in London
Description
Indulge yourself in an afternoon tea experience underneath the ship built in 1869 to bring tea to Britain. Taste a selection of Cutty Sark teas just like the ones the ship was built to transport. The Cutty Sark is the world’s sole-surviving tea clipper, celebrated for her record-breaking passages around the globe. Guests can come aboard and experience what it was like to sail this much-loved national icon and get a taste of life as a seafaring Victorian and discover how the crew lived, ate and slept. Walk underneath Cutty Sark’s gleaming copper hull for an awe-inspiring view and the chance to admire the cutting-edge design that made her the fastest in the world. Admire the original structure of the ship of which dates back to when it was built in 1869 for the China tea trade. Before you leave, do not forget to visit the upper deck to enjoy stunning views of the River Thames and the London Skyline.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Cutty Sark is the world’s sole-surviving tea clipper, celebrated for her record-breaking passages around the globe. You can come aboard and experience what it was like to sail this much-loved national icon. Admire the original structure of the ship, walk underneath Cutty Sark’s gleaming copper hull, enjoy afternoon tea underneath the ship built to bring tea to Britain. Taste a selection of Cutty Sark teas just like the ones the ship was built to transport.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Dietary requirements cannot be accommodated on the day. Minimum 72 hours notice required. Please contact bookings@rmg.co.uk
- Customers with dietary requirements MUST contact the supplier, refer to voucher reference
- The time of your booking is the time when your afternoon tea will be served (12pm, 1.30pm, 3pm). Please arrive on time. You can visit Cutty Sark before or after your afternoon tea, however, please note that Cutty Sark closes at 5pm. If you have booked the 3pm serving time, please aim to visit the ship before your tea, as we recommend you allow at least 60 minutes to enjoy Cutty Sark.
Reviews(28)
Great afternoon visit on a very hot day in June. Not cheap for 5 adults including afternoon tea but still quite memorable. Quality of food not too good with limited variety and slightly stale sandwiches. Not a great atmosphere in a cordoned off area of the main cafe area although table was set and ready at the booked time. Excellent service however. Recommend doing tour of ship before tea if booking table for 3pm as it all shut down at 5pm.
Dear daverandles789, thank you for your visit and taking the time to leave a review! Thank you for passing on your feedback regarding the cafe which we will pass on to our catering team. Despite this it is great to read that you enjoyed your visit to the ship as well as the staff service :). We do hope to see you back on board soon!
we loved visiting the cutty sark but found the afternoon tea on offer very poor. the sandwiches were stale and had barely any filling in them. the scones were tiny and hard. we had confirmed extra seats for children on our booking but these weren't arranged so our table was too small. one of our party was vegetarian which again was confirmed via email, but they got a much smaller selection and didn't receive the advertised egg brioche buns that the meat eaters got. staff said they had no honey for the tea. the environment was nice but not as spectacular as the photos make it look (and it goes without saying that the cakes etc shown in the website photos look nothing like what we received). if you go don't book the afternoon tea, just order tea and fresh sandwiches etc from the cafe; it will be cheaper, nicer, and more of it.
Hi 416isleyl Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are delighted that you enjoyed your visit to Cutty Sark and hope that we can look forward to welcoming you again in future. We have contacted you separately via email regarding your afternoon tea experience and hope that the information provided there will assuage your concerns.
Easily our most disappointing afternoon tea in London. Virgin sell this as an "experience". Well, it was. Rather than sat under the ship like in the photo we were instead placed in an area of the visitors cafe, separated only from the rest of the noisy cafe by a cordon with screaming kids running around 2 feet from us. Also, we were sat near the toilets so we had a continual line of people filing past us to use the facilities. If the ambience was bad the food wasn't much better. On our afternoon tea tray being placed down I noticed the top of a hair poking out from one of the cucumber sandwiches and proceeded to pull out a 3 inch black short and curly. Consequently we didn't touch the rest of the sandwiches. Service was almost non-existent. The lady at the table next to us asked the waitress dashing past for more tea (something we were told at the beginning we could do) and the waitress snapped back "I can't be expected to remember everything, you'll just have to wait!" After scoffing a few scones we left in disappointment. This was a birthday present from my wife. Honestly, if RMG can't offer a genuine afternoon tea experience they just shouldn't bother.
Dear Giuseppe, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us – I'm truly sorry to read what happened during what should have been a lovely birthday celebration for your wife. We have passed the feedback on to our catering company, please see their response below: ‘Finding a hair in your sandwich is completely unacceptable, and we understand how disappointing that was to you. We hold our kitchen to high standards, and this falls far short of those standards. Please know we are taking this seriously and addressing it directly with our catering team. We are equally disappointed to hear about the service you received. The response from our staff member was rude and inexcusable – that is simply not the experience we want anyone to have here, especially during a special occasion. We will also be speaking with our café team about this. We would love the chance to make amends for your experience, and as such would like to invite you and your wife back for a complimentary afternoon tea so that we can show you the experience we are proud to offer. If you are open to the idea, please email us at enquiries@rmg.co.uk, including your original order number, and we would be pleased to arrange this for you.’ We hope this response is welcome and we see you back on board soon!
Photos were very deceiving. You are actually having the afternoon tea under the ship in a cafe. You are seated in a roped off area, next to people using the cafe. No atmosphere, cold and food not of a good standard. Wouldn't recommend this experience
Dear 286beccyp, thank you for taking the time to leave this feedback and it is unfortunate you had this experience with the afternoon tea. We have passed this on to our catering partner who looks after this aspect and can assure you this is not the usual standard! We have also recently launched a new menu for the afternoon tea which we would highly recommend. We do however hope you enjoyed your experience on board Cutty Sark and learning about its unique history. Thank you again and we do hope to see you back on board!
A nice tea with cakes and sandwiches. Includes entry to ship which is very fun and informative. Nice way to spend a few hours.
Hi Asher448, thank you for your visit and taking the time to leave a review. Do keep an eye on our website as we often have added value activities and talks taking place on board. We hope to see you back soon!
Great tour guide, well organised, the ship was well laid out and very interesting. Free time on the ship to wander about as you wish. Fantastic to hear the full history of this ship. The cream tea was lovely and topped off our visit nicely. Well worth a visit here.
Dear Mikemalo, thank you for your visit and lovely review. We couldn't agree with you more, also where better to have a cream tea than underneath the magnificent hull of Cutty Sark. Keep an eye on our website as we often have added value talks and activities included in your ticket!
We started our visit with afternoon tea. It was a wonderful experience for the grandchildren. The staff was attentive. The table reserved. The we explored the Cutty Sark. The children were captivated by the interactive exhibits, especially sailing the Cutty Sark from Australia back to England. Once they finished all the exhibits, they went back to start again!
Dear euwerj, thank you for your lovely review and visit with us. We couldn't agree with you more that a tea and tour is a great way to see Cutty Sark, where else can you have tea directly under a clipper that once carried it! It is wonderful to hear all the family enjoyed the experience and we hope to see you back on board again :)
The ship and its history is fascinating, a great place to find out about where it sailed to and what the caro was, and how it was saved from rotting away. We had afternoon tea booked, which was a little disappointing (for the price paid) tables were set in the cafe next to the toilets with people bustling past, we were served our choice of drink, brought our selection of sandwiches (4x fingers - slightly dried out) and cakes and then left to it. I have paid far less for a much better tea and experience, and only a few pounds more for a fabulous tea in The Royal Albert Hall. Would recommend the ship, but not the afternoon tea..
Dear LoveCakes. thank you for you review and visit. It is lovely to hear that you enjoyed your time on board. I am disappointed to hear however you did not have a matched experience when it came to the afternoon tea. We will pass on your feedback to the catering team, regarding the service. With the unique space the tables are placed in underneath the magnificent hull, during busier times there is naturally some more footfall but will take this feedback on board. We do hope to see you back on board, keep an eye on our website as we often have added value activities and talks on board - free with your admission ticket!
The Cutty Sark itself was great. Really interesting and fantastic views particularly from the bow. The upkeep of the clipper is very impressive. Unfortunately the afternoon tea was somewhat average. The cafe area was the location, under the hull of the ship, perhaps if the afternoon tea area had been sectioned off and perhaps more comfortable seating would have added ambiance. The cakes were rather hard/stale and the scones similarly hard with the cream yellowing and they looked as though it had been sitting for ages. We were brought our tea and then never saw anyone again. A bowl to put used teabags in would have been welcome. We also had to go to the cafe counter to ask for some more tea. It did not feel special which was a shame as I was treating my family. It was not particularly budget friendly as was suggested in one of the reviews as the ticket entry and afternoon tea costs GBP47, a cost I was happy to pay when I booked as I thought it would be an out of the ordinary, special experience.
Dear wendylIT8608OI thank you so much for taking the time to visit and leave a review. I am disappointed to hear that the afternoon tea element was by your review average, I will be passing on this feedback to our external team who look after our café to ensure this is not a repeated experience and we appreciate your feedback. We are however delighted to hear you enjoyed your experience on Cutty Sark itself :). Do keep an eye on our website as we often have added values activities and talks included in your entrance ticket! We do hope to see you back on board and having a 5 star experience next time!
My sister and I went by Kevendys travel pick up at Corringham to Greenwich then a walk around on one of the last warm days of September.My first time to the Cutty sark good to see this tea clipper ship on a lovely day. I do not drink tea but for an extra 50 pence we got a coffee and we had an ice cream. Great gift shop got many products a lovely time
Dear One eyed D, thank you for you review and visit with us! It's lovely to hear you enjoyed your first visit on board with us, do keep an eye out on our webpage as we have different activities and events throughout the year :). We hope to see you back on board!
