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Bad Princess coffee, waste & other observations. Comments?

bestislander

By bestislander,
in Princess Cruises

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bestislander

bestislander

Posted
Posted

I have to say that Princess coffee was the worst I'd had in over 30 years. It reminded me of buying old, stale coffee at gas stations or bargain department stores back in the 70s. There was an awful burnt taste too. By day 2, we were fed up.

 

Like posters said, we are not fancy coffee drinkers, nor do we drink any during the day. No cappuccino, espresso or flavoured coffee for us, so the coffee card would have been a waste. But the least we expected was a drinkable cup of coffee with breakfast. Very disappointed, to say the least.

 

There were only two "breakfast-coffee-only" drinkers included in our party of 10. But is is an important cup to start the day.

 

Princess' food is excellent, so we're shocked that they would even tarnish their reputation by serving this terrible brew. Perhaps they introduced these cards because of the few pax who drink lots of coffee throughout the day? But bear in mind that a stomach only has a certain capacity, so that one cannot eat as much, if one is full of coffee!

 

Princess coffee is inexcusable, but I bet there's NO point in complaining, as they could be conveniently deaf concerning this issue. My suggestion is to provide good coffee for free during breakfast hours only, just as they do juices. I wouldn't grudge having to pay for juice and coffee after this time. Soon they'll be charging for tea too. Where does it end?

 

Princess should try saving money by cutting down on the deplorable room-service waste. For example, a jug of cream is delivered for a single cup of coffee. Most of it gets poured down the drain, sadly. Instead, how about those single creamers that don't need refrigeration?

 

On a previous cruise, my travelling companion requested milk for coffee at buffet breakfast. A carton was brought, and only a splash was used.

 

On the topic of waste, it is time they introduced dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, lotion in the bathrooms. Too many mini bottles. Imagine the amount of plastic waste, with 3000 pax. A BIG bar of soap should be provided on first day, then replenished (with minis?) as seen fit by steward. Those mini bars are good for one-two day hotel stays only.

 

We were overwhelmed by the amounts of flyers & room-service order forms we received daily. A stack of 7 forms should be left in each cabin pre-cruise, so that unused ones remain for next batch of guests. All of our spa/shopping/etc ads were immediately put in the trash. All we wanted were our patters. I know there are those who welcome that stuff, but surely, there's a better way, like a glassed-in notice board near to each elevator?

 

My only other gripes were the horribly hard mattresses, even with the so-called topper, which was flat and worn-out.

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showmtway

showmtway

Posted
Posted

Gee, these are your best "observations" ? I too, am a coffee drinker and do not agree with your review of the coffee situation. I enjoy the cream served with my coffee and never found it too much. Maybe black is your preference ! My family and I were on the Crown for the Christmas cruise and found everyhting to be quite satisfactory...and this was our 8th with Princess ! Too bad you had such a disappointing time!

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laraja

laraja

Posted
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I have to say that Princess coffee was the worst I'd had in over 30 years. It reminded me of buying old, stale coffee at gas stations or bargain department stores back in the 70s. There was an awful burnt taste too. By day 2, we were fed up.

 

Fortunately for me, Princess' coffee has never been an issue. I like it just fine, but would be upset if I found it undrinkable. I realize that you tasted what you tasted but, as it is made from a syrup concentrate, it can't actually get stale or burnt.

 

On a previous cruise, my travelling companion requested milk for coffee at buffet breakfast. A carton was brought, and only a splash was used.

 

There are thermal caraffes of both milk and cream at the beverage station in the buffet. Asking for it to be brought to the table left your server no choice other than bringing a small carton.

 

Instead, how about those single creamers that don't need refrigeration?

 

If coffee made from a syrup concentrate bothers some to the extent that it does, I can only imagine the response artificial cream would generate.

 

I work in the environmental/recycling biz--

 

I share your concerns about the plastic and paper!

 

Me too, and it appears that Princess does as well:

 

http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na1047&submit=pk

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Toto2Kansas

Toto2Kansas

Posted
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Yep, the regular complimentary coffee is terrible IMHO also, but that's nothing new, it has been as far back as I can remember. Even in the early 90's on our first princess sailings, I remember my hubby commenting on how nasty he thought the coffee was (and that was before the syrup mixture was introduced, if I am not mistaken). Even though you don't drink specialty coffees, it sounds like the coffee card would have been worth it's weight in gold for you. If there is a way around a situation onboard, so that I am not growling about one particular thing constantly, I will find a way to take care of the problem. In this case, a coffee card, or just purchasing a cup of brewed coffee sounds like it would have been better for you then allowing the bad coffee to ruin your mornings. ;)

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PrincessNancy

PrincessNancy

Posted
Posted

For those of you that can't stand the "regular" coffee ( I am one of those) you should definitely stop by the International Cafe for a cup of coffee--I think it costs $1 for a freshly brewed cup if you are paying out of pocket.

 

If you get the coffee card and don't want the lattes,mochas, etc--order an Americano which is a couple of espresso shots and hot water to make what looks like a brewed cup of coffee, except that it tastes a lot better. BTW: Two espresso shots equals the caffeine level of a 12oz brewed cup of coffee. Plus, with the coffee card you also get unlimited cups of fresh brewed coffee.

 

It does seem odd that you can't get a decent cup of coffee in the dining rooms without paying for it. I'd be fine getting "good" coffee in the dining rooms and the "syrup" coffee in the buffets. Similar to the idea of the soft serve ice cream available on deck and freshly made ice cream in the dining rooms.

How about it Princess?!

 

Also agree about the ridiculousness of the excess paper delivered to the cabin that gets tossed out daily...can't they just post the info on the television in each cabin, and just print up a patter for each cabin. At least they could give each cabin the option of receiving all the paper or going paperless. How about small monitors/kiosks stationed throughout the ship that passengers can look up what activities are happening that day? There has to be a way to reduce the amount of wasted paper.

 

How about it Princess?!

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Loonbeam

Loonbeam

Posted
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As far as the paper goes, I agree in principle, but it IS recycled, which is something. Part of it is the lack of an interactive TV system aboard the ships, which would alleviate some of the need, the other is that some of the material sent out ad-wise is probably paid for, just like the ads in your local paper.

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CThuskies

CThuskies

Posted
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i too find the coffee not drinkable. I tend to drink my coffee black (no sugar). One observation which I made on my last crusie: the syrup coffee is actually drinkable if you turn it into ice coffee. I typically mid day would fill one of the drink cups up with ice then pour the hot coffee over it. I don't know what the temparature change does to it but it actually isn't all that bad. give it a try sometime. as for my next crusie, i plan to buy the coffee card for my hot coffee.

 

Mark

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ibfern

ibfern

Posted
Posted

I don't care for the coffee either, but I bring my own travel French Press and favorite coffee (Cubita), order hot water and make my own. I need coffee before I even go out of my room!

 

Did the bad coffee ruin your cruise?

 

I just booked a cruise this morning having gone almost a year without a cruise, I am having withdrawals and miss the bad coffee...

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Shifra

Shifra

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I have to agree about the coffee. It is definately a Princess weakness, which is why I have my coffee card. I have noticed that the coffee quality differs from ship to ship with being just horrible to slightly tolerable. As far as the non-refrigerated creamers I say NO! I need the real stuff for my coffee.

 

I know that the coffee on Princess is a popular topic but it is my understanding that most if not all lines use the concentrated stuff. I have seen this complaint on some of the other forums also. One would think with todays technology someone would find a way of making good brewed coffee for the masses.

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G8RH8R

G8RH8R

Posted
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The paper warfare is horrendous. Someone has to 'file' most of it into the it trash bin daily.

The downside is that we've all paid for the paper etc. used and so had the planet.:(

 

What makes you think that it's not recycled?:confused:

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G8RH8R

G8RH8R

Posted
Posted
i too find the coffee not drinkable. I tend to drink my coffee black (no sugar). One observation which I made on my last crusie: the syrup coffee is actually drinkable if you turn it into ice coffee. I typically mid day would fill one of the drink cups up with ice then pour the hot coffee over it. I don't know what the temparature change does to it but it actually isn't all that bad. give it a try sometime. as for my next crusie, i plan to buy the coffee card for my hot coffee.

 

Mark

 

Good advice Mark. For me the coffee card is a no-brainer, especially since they don't expire.

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