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Starbucks Via as a substitute for RCI's coffee

dougp26364

By dougp26364,
in Royal Caribbean International

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dougp26364

dougp26364

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I don't know about you but, I've never been to pleased with that early morning sludge offered in the Windjammer for my first morning cup of coffee. I haven't found the coffee in the MDR to be much better. Yesterday I decided to give Starbucks new product Via a shot to see if it might provide me with that first morning cup of joe rather than the product RCI refers to as coffee.

 

Via, for those that don't know, is Starbucks version of instant coffee and was released in our town yesterday. They have two varieties, Itlian Roast (bold) and Columbian (medium). I picked up a 3 pack yesterday to give it a shot. I found the Italian roast a little to strong for my liking but the Columbian roast does just fine without any bitter or harsh after taste.

 

We have a 7 night cruise coming up and we're in a JS catagory cabin. My plans are to buy a couple of 10 packs ($9.95) and take with us on this cruise. All I'll need from RCI will be hot water and a cup. It looks like I'll be able to actually enjoy my morning cup of coffee with breakfast now rather than endure it.

 

Heck, this should even work out well on our flight to BCN rather than drinking the stuff they refer to as coffee on the plane. This could become a constant traveling companion for us anytime we travel when I don't want to buy and leave behind a bag of ground coffee.

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not2old

not2old

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We just returned from the Rhapsody to Alaska from Seattle. We found the instant Starbucks in Seattle and took the packs with us onboard. We absolutely loved the taste and convinience of it! We had a hot water kettle in our D1 balcony cabin(for some reason?) and enjoyed many hours wrapped up on our balcony drinking Starbucks and Bailey's!

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sentner

sentner

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I have a feeling that this is going to have to be an option for me as well. I can not function without my coffee and I can deal with Starbucks (probably the medium roast). Now I'll just have to find the stuff before we cruise, because I live in a small town that doesn't have a Starbucks!

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Gonzo70

Gonzo70

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I have a feeling that this is going to have to be an option for me as well. I can not function without my coffee and I can deal with Starbucks (probably the medium roast). Now I'll just have to find the stuff before we cruise, because I live in a small town that doesn't have a Starbucks!

 

Just go to Starbucks dot com; you can order it online. You can get a 48 pack for $35 or a 12 pack for $10.

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Guest maddycat

Guest maddycat

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When we were on the Explorer in May the coffee was good. On previous cruises RCCL coffee was so awful that we couldn't drink it at all. RCCL had changed the coffee machines in the Windjammer to ones that used ground coffee instead of the concentrated coffee syrup. Big improvement.

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dougp26364

dougp26364

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When we were on the Explorer in May the coffee was good. On previous cruises RCCL coffee was so awful that we couldn't drink it at all. RCCL had changed the coffee machines in the Windjammer to ones that used ground coffee instead of the concentrated coffee syrup. Big improvement.

 

I'll give it a shot but, I've never had good coffee on an RCI ship. Not in the Windjammer, not in the MDR and not even at the Seattle's Best onboard.

 

I might give their "new" coffee a shot but for this next sailing I'm taking the Starbucks Via with me. I know I like it and, since we're in a JS stateroom and should have hot water available, it will be more convenient.

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The Viking

The Viking

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The coffee discussions on this board are similar to those regarding food. One say it is good one say it is bad, but no one esplains how he/she likes the coffee. Some, and I am not trying to offene the poster who prefers Latte, but how can you compare black coffee with latte?

 

Personally I prefer a coffee with a bold flavor and without a bitter after taste which I find many of Starbucks' coffees have.

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threecats

threecats

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No offense taken.:) I prefer a good black coffee, but if I can't have that, I'd rather feed the caffeine addiction with a latte than bad coffee.

 

You actually bring up a good question: what is good coffee? There are probably as many answers to that as there are posters on this board. I like mine strong, but not oily and/or bitter. And no, I don't like Starbucks coffee either, just their espresso based drinks. I usually buy whole beans, sometimes even from Starbucks, and cold brew my own coffee.:)

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dougp26364

dougp26364

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The coffee discussions on this board are similar to those regarding food. One say it is good one say it is bad, but no one esplains how he/she likes the coffee. Some, and I am not trying to offene the poster who prefers Latte, but how can you compare black coffee with latte?

 

Personally I prefer a coffee with a bold flavor and without a bitter after taste which I find many of Starbucks' coffees have.

 

 

It has a harsh, strong, bitter taste rather than a smooth taste. I like a relatively strong cup of coffee but not a bitter blend that reaches right out of the cup and smacks you across your face.

 

I'm not a huge fan of many of the Starbucks blends but find the Americano to be to my liking with the appropriate amount of cream. Their Sumatra blend is acceptable but many of the others have a strong bitter taste that I don't care for.

 

As to the Via, the Italian (bold) is just a little to strong for me. The Columbian blend (mild) is pretty much perfect and, at least to my tastes, doesn't have a bitter after taste to it.

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dougp26364

dougp26364

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A good cup of coffee is always a welcome sight :D The funny thing is RCI ship's currently serve Seattle's Best coffee and that's owned by Starbucks too :)

 

 

Granted, but they have different blends. While I do like Seattle's Best, I've found the shipboard version to be less than desirable. I don't know if it's the ships water or if the barrista's aren't as well trained but, it's just not the same.

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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As a result of this thread, I cruised on over to my local Starbucks today and tried both flavors...I thought it was nasty! I took a sample home to try tomorrow, maybe better luck with really hot water. Hope so as it would solve some problems, but someone told me he was thinking about taking his new travel sized Keurig to brew a real cup onboard.

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