Service vessel dropping off companion for tea party guest (5)
I believe the answer is:
alice
'service vessel' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'dropping off companion for tea party guest' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'off' could be 'ice' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'ice' is found in the answer.
'party' could be 'l' and 'l' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'a' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alice that I've seen before include "Girl famous for entering Wonderland" , "Carrol's heroine" , "Wonderland heroine" , "Wonderland girl's name" , "Immortal girl created by Lewis Carroll" .)