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Coffee Cards

Love Cruises

By Love Cruises,
in Princess Cruises

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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
Posted
Can anyone tell me the cost of a specialty coffee card?

 

Also, is it still the policy that you can get unlimited cups of regular coffee with this card at the Cafe with it not eing stamped?

The new policy is that you only get unlimited fresh brewed coffee, specialty teas and I believe hot chocolate for the cruise that you purchased the card. The punches are good on future cruises. The cost including 15% gratuity was recently $33.34.
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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
Posted
Is the coffee from the coffee cafe that much better than what is served in the DR or buffet?

 

How does it compare to Starbucks, Gloria Jean, Beanery etc?

 

Thanks

DR/buffet coffee can vary from ship to ship and everyone's impression varies. I am more of a tea drinker but I have found the DR/buffet coffee to be anywhere from OK to poor. It was better on our recent cruises on the Golden and the Coral this month. My DW makes french press coffee at home and drinks Starbucks or Coffee Bean when out. She finds the fresh brewed gives her the needed coffee fix in the morning. She will get one or maybe two large cups from the IC in the morning, but may have a cup of decaf occasionally for lunch or dinner in the DR.
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MSN-Travelers

MSN-Travelers

Posted
Posted
Is the coffee from the coffee cafe that much better than what is served in the DR or buffet?

 

How does it compare to Starbucks, Gloria Jean, Beanery etc?

 

Thanks

 

The taste of coffee, like all food and beverages, is just a matter of personal opinion. The stuff Princess leaves out for free is condensed when brought on the ship and mixed with hot water when dispensed. Think of it as a caffinated version of fountain soda.

 

The stuff I've had aboard Princess has run the gambit from pretty good to swill. It all depends on how the mixer valve is set (from ship-to-ship). Marilyn gets a card for the foo-foo drinks, I use it for brewed coffee is the free stuff is nasty.

 

Enjoy!

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lancet

lancet

Posted
Posted

My wife is a tea drinker. Is the tea on the coffee/tea card different and better than the tea at the buffet or MDR? If it is the same tea, then not worth getting a card for her. If it is a better or special tea, then ok. Also do they have Chai tea? Thanks for help.

 

Lancet

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erber "Live from...." Rare

erber

Posted
Posted

They have a variety of "free" tea in the buffet and MDR (I believe it was Bigelow brand or maybe Twinings, but a good selection including peppermint, chamomile, English Breakfast,and some herbal teas). The tea you get with the "coffee" card in the International Cafe is the Mighty Leaf brand (at least it was in February when we last went on a cruise). That brand is considered relatively "higher end" -- they had several flavors including vanilla bean (which was very good). Personally I am fine with the "free" tea selections and I get the coffee card for the "foo foo" coffee drinks. No Chai tea on the ship to my knowledge.

 

As for brewed coffee vs. the "free" concentrate, I have found that the quality seems to depend on the sailing. If I want brewed, I think I would bring some Starbucks via packets and make my own with the hot water from the Horizon Court.

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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
Posted
My wife is a tea drinker. Is the tea on the coffee/tea card different and better than the tea at the buffet or MDR? If it is the same tea, then not worth getting a card for her. If it is a better or special tea, then ok. Also do they have Chai tea? Thanks for help.

 

Lancet

The 'free' teas available in the buffet and the MDR are typically Lipton regular and decaf, Twinings English Breakfast, Bigelow Darjeeling and Earl Grey. Sometimes Twinings China Oolong or Green tea are also available. There are usually the following Bigelow Herbal teas available, Orange & Spice, Mint Medley, Cozy Camomile and I Love Lemon. No Chai tea on the Golden or the Coral this month.

 

The teas available with the coffee card are either Revolution or Mighty Leaf. This month the Golden had both. The Revolution teas were Green Earl Grey, Earl Grey Lavender, Black Citron Tea, Acai Green Tea and Citrus Spice Herbal Tea. The Mighty Leaf teas were Organic Breakfast, Organic Earl Grey, Vanilla Bean black tea, White Orchard white tea, Marrakesh Mint green tea, Orange Spring Jasmine green tea, Camomile Citrus herbal infusion and Ginger Twist herbal infusion.

 

DW and I find the "free" teas meet our needs and we just go up to the HC and brew tea whenever we want some.

 

As an aside, there are empty boxes of the varieties of Revolution tea on display in a box on the counter at the IC. One barista told me that people take the boxes. They must be surprised when they get back to their cabins and find an empty box.

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
The tea you get with the "coffee" card in the International Cafe is the Mighty Leaf brand (at least it was in February when we last went on a cruise). That brand is considered relatively "higher end" -- they had several flavors including vanilla bean (which was very good).

 

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
Posted

I loved the ginger tea on the Sapphire last month. It really hit the spot on our Alaskan cruise. We still have punches left on our coffee card, so I may purchase a few cups of it whenever we cruise again since we won't need to buy another card.

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Droop

Droop

Posted
Posted

RE: Ah... this needs to surface, every couple of weeks. Keeps us on our toes.:)

 

;):D Nothing like a little (fresh) caffeine to keep us on our toes.

 

Bobalink..Thanks you so much for the picture of the card. I've never seen the card so it's nice that it has the statement on the back. I'm a visual person so it's nice to see it. :)

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Stevesan

Stevesan

Posted
Posted

In the International Café and some lounges:

 

Brewed coffee is $1.25/cup, most specialty coffees are $2.50-$2.75 for a regular size, espresso $1.75.

 

$33.35 buys a coffee card with fifteen punch outs for specialty coffees, and unlimited brewed coffee at the cafes and lounges that have brewed coffee. You can also use it in the dining rooms for specialty coffees. The server is directed to take two punch outs for double shot orders, some do, some don't.

Since the coffee card is for a discrete quantity it's not time limited. If there are punch outs remaining at the end of the cruise the card will carry over to the next cruise. The unlimited brewed coffee does not carry over.

__________________

If you are accustomed to good quality coffee, you definitely will want a coffee card. The vile concoction in the Horizon Court (buffet) is syrup based. Room service and dining room coffee are also syrup based. I must say the dining room coffee tastes a tad better. Maybe the kitchen staff cleans their machine.

 

Not that syrup-based coffee is always a bad thing. My hometown source, http://www.javacoffee.com/, informs me there are different grades for syrup coffee, as with ground coffee. Regardless of grade, the taste of syrup based is always going to be somewhat inferior to an equivalent grade of ground. Based on flavor, Princess must use the lowest grade (cheapest) available.

 

You'll find brewed coffee from grounds at some lounges, and in the International Cafe. Not all ships have the Int'l Cafe. They do, however, have a Coffee Bar for regular and specialty coffees.

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AAAAmerican

AAAAmerican

Posted
Posted

*NOTE*

 

 

 

 

We just came off the CB again on Saturday.

 

No Lines getting Coffee now.

 

BUT.. They are now starting to PUNCH the Holes for Brewed Coffee .

 

At breakfast a few people showed us the Punched Wholes and brought only brewed coffee .

 

Yikes what is next bring your own food?:mad:

 

 

 

 

 

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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
Posted

*NOTE*

 

We just came off the CB again on Saturday.

 

No Lines getting Coffee now.

 

BUT.. They are now starting to PUNCH the Holes for Brewed Coffee.

 

At breakfast a few people showed us the Punched Wholes and brought only brewed coffee.

 

Yikes what is next bring your own food?:mad:

Were those cards purchased on your cruise, or old cards? DW brought an old card and it was not exchanged for a new card on the Golden. Some baristas punched the old card and some didn't. Over 14 days, DW only had the card punched 7 times for fresh brewed. I saw someone who didn't like the change in policy and did not want to have an old card punched for the first time just to get fresh brewed coffee. It was definitively an error if a new card was punched for fresh brewed coffee.
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