What is the deal about coffee?????

[travelgenie]

I will be going on my first Princess cruise in February and have been looking at the boards in preparation for our trip. I have noticed some postings about coffee cards, do you really have to buy a card to get a real cup of coffee? What kind of coffee is available for no charge?

[Pam in CA]

Coffee made from concentrate is available in the buffet, dining room and room service. Fresh brewed coffee is available in the International Cafe or Patisserie, depending on the ship. The concentrate coffee is just fine for the vast majority of cruisers.

 

The coffee card also gets you specialty coffee such as cappuccino.

[oskidunker]

Yes, they make coffee from Syrup, yes you can buy real brewed coffee. I drink Starbucks and Peets here in the SF bay area. when I go on a cruise I drink the free coffee and it is fine. Don't waste your time buying a coffee card. If you want a nice, brewed cup of coffee once in a while, go pay for it. None of these cards are worth the money. You would have to drink more than you normally drink to make it worth while, plus they have raised the price.I am willing to pay if I see value, but here I don't. This is a minor part of the cruise.

 

Just my opinion. Princess elite this year.

[travelgenie]

WOW, I am surprised that Princess serves coffee made from syrup, especially in the dining room, now I wished I hadn't asked:(

[godzukihop]

WOW, I am surprised that Princess serves coffee made from syrup, especially in the dining room, now I wished I hadn't asked:(

Don't judge it until you try it. Last time I was on Princess, the concentrate was just fine.:D

[Astro Flyer]

WOW, I am surprised that Princess serves coffee made from syrup, especially in the dining room, now I wished I hadn't asked:(

Maybe if you weren't aware that it's from concentrate (aka syrup but nothing sweet about it) in the MDR, you wouldn't know the difference so give it a try. ;)

 

A recent post confirmed something that had been rumored with the buffet closing around 11:00pm or midnight you can get brewed coffee in the 24 hour IC for free until the buffet opens around 5:00am. That's nothing for me but some seem happy with that option.

[sunshine nana]

We have been on 4 Princess cruises and have never had a problem with the coffee in room service or the MDR or buffet.Wait and see what you think.

[denmarks]

The coffee card cost $33.35. It has punches for 15 speciality coffees and unused punches can be used on another cruise. The card has the cruise number on it and allows unlimited brewed coffee, tea, and hot chocolate ONLY FOR THE CURRENT CRUISE. You also get a free travel mug with its purchase.

 

Note that they always ask if want a small or large coffee. Large only uses a single punch, so get it. You can also choose hot, over ice, or blended with ice.

[travelgenie]

Thanks for all the replies, I am sure we will be fine, I am really not that picky, not telling the hubby though..... BTW, can you buy one card and share it?

[denmarks]

Thanks for all the replies, I am sure we will be fine, I am really not that picky, not telling the hubby though..... BTW, can you buy one card and share it?

 

Since you are using punches you can get get as many specialty drinks as you want for anyone. As for the brewed coffee that is up to your honesty. It should be for one.

[paul929207]

I drink the free coffee. To me it is fine, but I am careful about several things:

 

First, only drink it hot. If it gets cold get rid of the cup

Second, always leave a little in the bottom of the cup. This is where the real grunge is.

Third, each cup is meant for consuming one cup of coffee. Always get a new one.

[cdnguy]

First, only drink it hot. If it gets cold get rid of the cup

Better still buy a couple of good insulated coffee mugs. Ours travels with us on every cruise and keeps the coffee hot for over 1/2 hour.

[paul929207]

I usually finish it (See rules 2 & 3) before it gets cold or at least cool enough to abandon.

[Pam in CA]

BTW, can you buy one card and share it?

The specialty coffee is by the punch so you can share as long as you don't mind using up your punches. The unlimited brewed coffee is supposed to be for the person purchasing the card. You can probably get away with it but it's not honest or ethical.

[kiberkid]

On our Coral cruise in November 2011, we found that the MDR coffee was better than the buffet coffee, saying that, the buffet coffee really was not all that bad.

 

We purchased a French Press coffee pot, brought our own coffee pods on board & just got hot water from the buffet & made our own coffee. It was wonderful. You can also order hot water from room service.

 

Really, putting it all in perspective, you are on a cruise and not a work, how bad can it really be??? lol.

[Doug R.]

Yes, they make coffee from Syrup, yes you can buy real brewed coffee. I drink Starbucks and Peets here in the SF bay area. when I go on a cruise I drink the free coffee and it is fine. Don't waste your time buying a coffee card. If you want a nice, brewed cup of coffee once in a while, go pay for it. None of these cards are worth the money. You would have to drink more than you normally drink to make it worth while, plus they have raised the price.I am willing to pay if I see value, but here I don't. This is a minor part of the cruise.

 

Just my opinion. Princess elite this year.

 

Sorry to disagree but they are well worth it if you like to have specialty coffees.

[1025cruise]

Everyone seems surprised that Princess serves coffee made from a concentrate.

 

If you go to a restaurant that is not known for its coffee, odds are you getting coffee from a concentrate as well. Especially in the evening. Concentrate coffee is not a weird thing, its actually quite common.

[hmh60]

I drink the free coffee. To me it is fine, but I am careful about several things:

 

First, only drink it hot. If it gets cold get rid of the cup

Second, always leave a little in the bottom of the cup. This is where the real grunge is.

Third, each cup is meant for consuming one cup of coffee. Always get a new one.

 

Actually, I think it makes a great iced coffee. Lots of cream and a little sweetener and you have a great pick me up.

[rdsqrl]

Yes, they make coffee from Syrup, yes you can buy real brewed coffee. I drink Starbucks and Peets here in the SF bay area. when I go on a cruise I drink the free coffee and it is fine. Don't waste your time buying a coffee card. If you want a nice, brewed cup of coffee once in a while, go pay for it. None of these cards are worth the money. You would have to drink more than you normally drink to make it worth while, plus they have raised the price.I am willing to pay if I see value, but here I don't. This is a minor part of the cruise.

 

Just my opinion. Princess elite this year.

Couldn't disagree more. In actuality, the coffee card saves one a considerable amount over the per-drink purchase of specialty coffees, and since it can be used on succeeding cruises, you don't have to drink any more then you wish to. I realize you probably were only speaking about it in terms of its use for brewed coffee, but making such sweeping generalizations as you did is misleading to those who don't know how the cards work.

 

[orangetabby]

Several months ago, there was a thread on here where people were adding the Starbucks Instant Via coffee to the non-brewed coffee served in the buffet and MDR. I believe they were adding 1/3 to 1/2 of the tube to each cup of coffee and having good success with improving the overall taste of the coffee. We plan on trying this on our February cruise.

[kobecat]

We love the specialty coffees on Princess and for us a coffee card is a 'must have'. We always seem to come home with unfinished ones, so we certainly don't drink more than we usually do, or want to. We keep it in a safe spot to take on the next cruise.

 

The cafe is in the piazza area and we love to have lunch there, rather than go to the MDR or buffet and get a latte to go with it. We were recently on the Ruby and their specialty coffees were fantastic.

 

Having said that, I actually don't mind the coffee in the buffet, but they have a great tea selection on Princess as well so I do a bit of mix and matching.

 

Beryl

[MHMarkL]

We are sort of Coffee snobs and like fresh brewed coffee. The syrup coffee is always a major disappointment to us. The brewed coffee that can be purchased is just ok and you have to go get it. We like a cup of coffee on our balcony before going out and room service coffee is not good in our opinion.

 

For our upcoming cruise, we decided to purchase a small one cup coffee brewer to bring with us with an ample supply of our favorite coffee. This should solve our coffee dilemma.

[OhioDogLover]

I drink a lot of coffee and am not a coffee snob, per se. My favorite coffee is Tim Horton's, to give you an idea. The syrup coffee can, in my opinion, go from drinkable to yuck, depending upon who made it. In other words, I think it varies quite a bit. You can always tell it isn't brewed, but usually it is OK.

We always buy a coffee card and while DH drinks more caps than I do, we also use it for the brewed stuff. I also think that their brewed coffee is generally pretty weak, but nothing I can't live with. We don't take a coffee press, but I have thought about it.

Our family laughs at me because any time we go to a port where they have really good coffee, e.g. anywhere in Europe, I sprint for a kiosk to get a coffee. (or if it is Canada, for a Tim's).

Ohiodoglover

[tip]

Don't judge it until you try it. Last time I was on Princess, the concentrate was just fine.:D

 

 

Many of us have tried it and I can assure you we do not feel that it is just fine!

[Alaskanb]

I love good coffee and tea so I'm erring on the safe side and taking a small french press and mini tea kettle with me. That way I can also have hot enough water for tea too!

Re the coffee card--how many punches are there? There will be two of us on a 7 day NB Alaska cruise --three days at ports. Typically we are a latte-a-day folks when traveling but I imagine some hot chocolate drinking on scenic cruising days. Are we better off paying as we go?