POLL: Princess Coffee - Dishwater or Mud?

[triple7tahoe]

OK, I work for Starbucks and may be biased;).1. I do not drink coffee but my wife goes through a pound a week. 2.How many of those folks who complain about Starbucks coffee are aware that there are a minimum of three choices served before noon? 3. How many are aware that if they do not like any of the three choices (ground and brewed fresh within 30 minutes) that they can as for a specific coffee and get what is known as "pour over"? It does take about 4 minutes while we grind fresh beans and then make a fresh cup but it seems more folks are in a hurry to get their morning jolt of caffeine (Most used drug in the world according to various trivia quizzes onboard):D.

My wife has numerous coffee cards from the BOGO offers and it will be interesting to see how those are handled in the future.

I do spoil her as we usually take our heating pot and french press.

Starbucks Via works in a pinch

End of commercial:)

[robtulipe]

Pam, I had a specific idea in mind when I created the poll, and the results seem to have borne out my theory.

 

The whole point was that those who complain about the Princess coffee seldom explain what, exactly, is wrong with it. Adjectives like "Awful", "Horrid", "Swill", etc, don't really give any objective idea of what the drinker found objectionable, so they're useless in predetermining if an individual will enjoy a cup of Princess coffee.

 

Of the roughly 50% of the respondents that dislike Princess coffee, half of those thought that it was either too weak ("dishwater") or too strong ("mud"). Those are two polar opposites!

 

So, to summarize, half of the respondents think it's fine. 25% think it has a disagreeable taste. The other 25% are split between it being too weak or too strong. The drinker's preference simply all comes down to what they're used to drinking.

 

So why didn't you just use the option of too strong, too weak, not to my taste preferance/liking or it is fine. I didn't associate the terms you used to your thinking on each.

[Spudhunter]

So why didn't you just use the option of too strong, too weak, not to my taste preferance/liking or it is fine. I didn't associate the terms you used to your thinking on each.

 

 

** The response originally designated for this space does not appear due to a demonstration of restraint on the part of the poster, and a general feeling of goodwill toward others in recognition of the Thanksgiving holiday. **

 

:D

[UKBayern]

Actually, now you define how you interpret `dishwater`, our response to the poll was not accurate, and we would like to amend it. The coffee is not too weak - not that it is very strong, but the core of problem is that it is simply bad. It has a strange and unpleasant secondary taste.

[lafngas]

Has anyone considered another factor in what makes the coffee flavor? How about the water?

Also, I doubt Princess would be able to brew enough coffee fast enough to meet the needs of so many passengers,so the concentrate would be a faster way to have coffee readily available at all times.

Disposing of so many coffee grounds if all coffee had to be brewed is probably also an issue at sea.

I am not defending or criticizing Princess, just trying to take this into account.

I do buy a coffee card and the brewed coffee at the IC is fine for my family and for me. Is it great,no, but it's better than Starbucks for my taste

[Dead-metal]

The coffee was foul and the tea wasn't much better. At our first port on our recent Med cruise we bought a jar of coffee and took it with us for breakfast and ordered hot water from room service.

[cruzinchris]

I only drink coffee for breakfast and haven't minded either the "brew" that's served in the dining room or Horizon Court. Plenty of folks rave about Starbucks, but I always think that their coffee smells and tastes burnt. jmo

[gubby]

Princess coffee is fine for us. We do use the coffee card as I adore a cappacino every day. Never had a cup in the HC and haven't used room service in a few years. However, I have not knowingly had a cup of mud, dishwater or battery acid either, so found it confusing to answer the poll. Count me in as one who dislikes Starbucks. I do drink Tim Horton's and McDonald's on occasion, and find them fine as well. As others have said, this is very subjective.

[JLC@SD]

...the way I look at it.....if it is good....why do they charge extra for the "good" coffee. Dishwater is a good description of the free stuff....;)

[Canadianknight]

I'm kind of a coffee snob, although I have a few friends who are far larger snobs than I.

 

That said, the regular ship-board coffee isn't the worst java I've ever had. It certainly isn't great, but it doesn't offend me either. :)

[Idratherbeatsea]

I'm the coffee drinker in our family and absolutely love Tim Horton's. I think the reason Starbuck's is so popular is because there are so many ways to disguise it! Not too many order just a plain coffee because if they did, they'd find out how bitter it truly is. As for Princess coffee, I like a coffee in the morning and Princess delivers. I don't care if it's syrup....if it looks like coffee, and it tastes like coffee, then it must be.....! There's not a stampede to medical complaining about the after effects. All subjective.

 

2 thumbs up for Timmys coffee. There are not many things here more polarizing than coffee. You are either a Tim Hortons fan or Starbucks almost never both. Princess coffee may not be perfect but it is fine by us and it is better than what Celebrity serves.

[Canadianknight]

Hooray for Timmy's coffee!!! :)

 

If they ever make K-Cups with that stuff, I'm doomed. ;)

[cruzingmissy]

For those of us that like a strong cup of coffee you can purchase a coffee card for $29 that gives you 15 specialty coffees (lattes, espresso, etc) as well as unlimited plain coffee. I got all my coffee at the international cafe because it is made from real beans and not that watered down syrup, which in my opinion is awful. I do not mind paying extra since Princess cruises are reasonably priced and I love most other things about Princess. At least the option is there.

[6pack]

For those of us that like a strong cup of coffee you can purchase a coffee card for $29 that gives you 15 specialty coffees (lattes, espresso, etc) as well as unlimited plain coffee. I got all my coffee at the international cafe because it is made from real beans and not that watered down syrup, which in my opinion is awful. I do not mind paying extra since Princess cruises are reasonably priced and I love most other things about Princess. At least the option is there.

 

I agree! I'll continue to purchase a coffee card and enjoy a real cup of coffee! The horizon court coffee just doesn't cut it for me! Dining room is good though

[Woobstr112G]

I agree! I'll continue to purchase a coffee card and enjoy a real cup of coffee! The horizon court coffee just doesn't cut it for me! Dining room is good though

 

Dining room coffe is also syrup coffee.....

 

Bob

[6pack]

Dining room coffe is also syrup coffee.....

 

Bob

 

I have a hard time believing that as it tastes very different. I'm going to ask when I'm on the crown. It may not be fresh ground, however it's brewed differently.

[Canadianknight]

6pack! Nice to see another Calgarian! ;)

[6pack]

6pack! Nice to see another Calgarian! ;)

 

:) There's a few of us eh! Great football game tonight :D I'll be watching the Super Bowl on the Crown! :p

[jeromep]

So many people complain about the coffee that Princess serves as part of the base cruise fare, calling it swill, mud, etc.

 

One person's poison is another person's pleasure. We all know it's made from syrup concentrate, but what exactly is wrong with it?

To be honest, there is nothing wrong with the standard included coffee on board. It is ok black and pretty good when I cream it up like I do my usual coffee. Sure, the brewed coffee served in the IC is better, but you need a coffee card. I was glad to have the coffee card on my last sailing but I could have lived without it.

 

As a side note, Princess needs to provide more training for their IC baristas. The quality of anything outside a couple of shots of espresso and some steamed milk was pretty spotty. On one cruise I had both one of the best iced mocha's I've ever had anyplace and one of the worst I've ever had. To have such extremes in one 7 day sailing amazed me.

 

But for those that just can't tolerate the regular on-board coffee, a coffee card is money well spent.