Coffee On HAL (Nieuw Amsterdam)

We have done a few cruises (specifically Princess, Cunard, Celebrity & RCI) and have found the coffee mediocre (absolutely terrible on Princess).

We aren't coffee snobs per se, but we do love a good cup of coffee. How is the coffee in the Lido and main dining room?

Thank you.

I find the HAL Lido coffee quite drinkable. Not as good as at home, or Dunkin Donuts, but much better than Starbucks, for comparison. I easily have two thermal mugs of it every morning.

I haven't tried the dining room coffee in a very long time, so can't help you there.

Room service coffee is not quite as good as Lido coffee, but not bad.

Last HAL cruise we found the MDR coffee quite unpredictable so we gave up. Also the timing of getting it served to us was unpredictable, so combine those factors and it just wasn't worth it.

I like the Lido coffee enough to drink it daily but I must admit I doctor it up some, I don't drink it black. For reference: I dislike Starbucks, it tastes burnt to me. (No wonder they add 1000 calories to it to sell it.) I think McDonald's coffee is decent, not too different than Lido IMHO. I'm not familiar with Dunkin Donuts coffee so can't compare. m--

We typically don't trust coffee when we travel, and as a result we try to bring Coffee-Mate. We don't drink coffee black regardless, and Coffee-Mate forgives a multitude of coffee-sins. It is a little more difficult when flying, since carrying a white powder in a plastic bag isn't a good idea. We just purchase a small container of the stuff for the trip.

DH likes his coffee black and only has a couple of cups at breakfast. I don't drink coffee. We are fortunate that he can have the coffee at the Pinnacle Grill or the Neptune Lounge which he enjoys.

I was on the NA in December and I enjoyed the coffee in the MDR and room service. I did not try the coffee in the lido. Having said that, though, my morning ritual was to get my coffee from the Explorers lounge and watch the sea go by in the Crow's Nest while I drank it.

As a point of reference I prefer strong robust coffees so I am a Starbucks fan.

I find the coffee in the Lido to be very "drinkable". My wife loves the coffee in the Neptune lounge but she is European. Usually, she will go there for her coffee and I'll pick up a cup in the Lido and join her there.

Just a word of warning: I spent many years on active duty and in the NG so my tastes in coffee are not all that sophisticated.

I've never liked the coffee served in the lido. I've always found it to be bitter. I feel like the MDR serves the same coffee but many times we've ordered an espresso or cappuccino with dessert in the MDR and that coffee is always good. Of course the coffee in the Explorations Cafe (extra $$) is always good. The pastries there, however, are free!

Since we think all the coffee is awful, we bring StarbucksVia French or Italian.

I decided that all HAL coffee I'd had previously was so bad that I would spring for coffee in the Explorers Lounge every morning on my next cruise. I did it exactly twice on my VOV last year and decided even that wasn't good. Back to the MDR and Lido coffee I went and it wasn't great. I drink Nespresso at home.

I have always found the coffee in the Lido acceptable. Room service coffee however is frequently just barely warm. I like my coffee hot, so it was go to the Lido for coffee, even if we had room service.

I have carried with me for the past 17 years of cruising a small (about 10oz) French Press. I like fresh brewed coffee, and there is always plenty of hot water available which is the key to brewing good coffee. I started with the french press due to cruise lines using what looked like brewers, but were actually dispensers for liquid instant coffee. For many years I was usually the only one on board with a french press, but have been seeing more and more of them in the Lido. Some only use them in the cabins obtaining the hot water by ordering hot tea with their room service breakfast. I especially like the french press when we are in coffee growing countries where I can bring back from shore local coffee. It adds to the experience.

We used to bring a couple small French presses but it was such a pain to clean them out. We stopped when one got broken while cleaning. We switched to aeropress. It's plastic so easy for travel and you just push the "puck" out the end and give it a rinse.

Are the specialty coffees in the Explorations lounge covered by the beverage package? Like a mocha latte?

Since we think all the coffee is awful, we bring StarbucksVia French or Italian.

We do that too! Just in case :)

I decided that all HAL coffee I'd had previously was so bad that I would spring for coffee in the Explorers Lounge every morning on my next cruise. I did it exactly twice on my VOV last year and decided even that wasn't good. Back to the MDR and Lido coffee I went and it wasn't great. I drink Nespresso at home.

I always try to hit the Explorations Cafe at a non-busy time the first couple of times, and experiment with the # of shots, the size of the cup, and how much water gets added. Usually takes me 2 or 3 times, and then I have a "recipe" that I like, and order that. (My DH gets to drink the failures :D )

Are the specialty coffees in the Explorations lounge covered by the beverage package? Like a mocha latte?

Yes

I have never tried Hal coffee,but I usually only have one cup per day. Maybe 2 on occasion. If I am desperate I don't mind the blonde coffee from starbucks. But I will drink what is available.

We don't especially like HAL coffee. Same as Celebrity. We dislike Princess coffee.

Not an issue, we simply buy a coffee card, or whatever the various cruise lines call it. We need our caps in the AM with a double or triple shot of expresso. We like a stronger cup of coffee during the day. Not an issue or a consideration for us because there is an easy solution/resolution.

I have relatives who always take their own tea bags when they travel. The only thing they want is boiling water, not hot but boiling hot.

Everybody's tastes are different. For us HAL's coffee tastes watered down.

We go to Explores Cafe and get our Lates

Which are better but to us the best coffee is in Pinnacle for breakfast.

Denise:)

Does anyone know the current prices for specialty coffees, both single and double strength in the Exploration Cafe? I was able to find a list from 2016 but I think the prices have increased since then. I usually order a single or double cappuccino but I don't buy the beverage package.

Are the specialty coffees in the Explorations lounge covered by the beverage package? Like a mocha latte?

Yes, and you can even throw in a shot of your favorite alcoholic beverage if you like.