Cafe al bacio

[Feelin' Nauti']

The chocolates in the wooden box are to die for, sooooo good, don't miss them.

OOH you got my mouth watering....

Now, I have to plan out my dining strategy. Skip MDR desserts and do my culinary explorations at the Cafe Al Bacio. :D :p Yum! Can't wait!!!

[steve ch]

Nothing wrong with saving a few bucks ;):D

Except that Cafe al Bacio was, on last week's Eclipse cruise, the most popular venue on the ship, apart from the Ocean View Cafe, and there were often no seats left for people wanting to actually buy coffee while others were sitting in the Cafe just to play cards or read.

 

Places like the Ensemble Lounge down the hall were empty.

 

They will wrap the Cafe al Bacio food to go, so it would be more friendly to take free drinks and food somewhere like that.

 

By the way, hats off to the staff in Cafe al Bacio. It was non stop for them.

[Sparky333]

Sorry if this is a stupid question --

are the special coffee drinks there part of the classic or premium beverage package?

[Lsimon]

...are the special coffee drinks there part of the classic or premium beverage package?

 

Yes they are.

 

All of the coffees served at Cafe al Bacio are included in the premium package. There has always been a little confusion as to whether all were included in the classic package or if just the basic espresso, latte, cappuccino type coffees were included with the classic package. This is because the package descriptions use the term "premium coffees" and "specialty coffees" and the staff on the ships have differing interpretations of what the term "specialty" means.

 

Here is a copy of a response I posted in another thread about this:

Depending on the staff on your cruise most, and possibly all, of the coffees will be covered under the classic plan:There is a lot of confusion and inconsistency on what a specialty coffee is and if it is included in the classic vs. premium package or not.

Here is a copy of the Cafe al Bacio menu (

click here for menu

). On the Silhouette last December I specifically asked which coffees are NOT covered by the classic package and was told that everything is included in the classic package except the coffees on page 5 of the menu under "Other Favorites" and those on page 6 under "More Favorites". I asked the same question on the Eclipse last March and was told that ALL the coffees listed in the menu were covered by the classic package. Bottom line: All the standard, or slightly fancy, coffees are included in both packages including espresso, latte, mocha, cappuccino and others. Certain coffees which include some extra ingredients may or may not be covered by the classic package depending on the interpretation of the rules on your particular sailing so you won't know for sure until you sail.

Here is a link to the other thread if you want to see the above in context: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39322013#post39322013

[Feelin' Nauti']

They will wrap the Cafe al Bacio food to go....

Thanks for the great tip!!! :)

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question --

are the special coffee drinks there part of the classic or premium beverage package?

Most beverages served at the Cafe al Bacio are included in both the Classic and Premium Unlimited Beverage Packages. With the exception of specialty coffees.

[Sparky333]

Thanks LSimon -- I'll make sure to ask before ordering -we'll only have the classic package.

[roxievegas]

by paying premium are you saying that you have to have the premium beverage package to have a no charge for the coffees? We have the classwic alcohol beverage package, will we pay for the lattes or coffees??

so, but i am confused.

[roxievegas]

just re read some of the posts and it seems clear now - sorry for confusion

[Feelin' Nauti']

by paying premium are you saying that you have to have the premium beverage package to have a no charge for the coffees? We have the classwic alcohol beverage package, will we pay for the lattes or coffees??

so, but i am confused.

All coffees except those with alcohol are included.

[Lsimon]

by paying premium are you saying that you have to have the premium beverage package to have a no charge for the coffees? We have the classwic alcohol beverage package, will we pay for the lattes or coffees??

so, but i am confused.

 

just re read some of the posts and it seems clear now - sorry for confusion

 

I know it gets very confusing because someone in the Celebrity marketing department decided to call the coffees included in the Classic package "Premium Coffees" and the coffees in the Premium Package "Specialty Coffees" and then no one was sure what the difference was between Premium Coffee and Specialty Coffee! Don't feel bad if you get confused because the staff on the ships get confused as well. My experiences posted in message post #29 above discusses the inconsistencies I've found on the ships that comes from the confusion over these terms and the minimum you can expect with the classic package (which is most of the coffees served there).

[helpthejuggler]

Wouldn't it be an idea for Café Al Bacio and Celebrity to designate their coffees/teas as 'Classic' and 'Premium' to align with those covered by drink packages of the same name.

 

Such a simple change

[BuddyR]

On the Summit in May, I was able to get an Aspen coffee, etc. from the old Cova menu. In fact, the page was included in the menus that were on the tables in Cafe al Bacio. I'm going to be on the Reflection in December. Does anyone know if those coffees are available on that ship?

 

Laura

[Lsimon]

On the Summit in May, I was able to get an Aspen coffee, etc. from the old Cova menu. In fact, the page was included in the menus that were on the tables in Cafe al Bacio. I'm going to be on the Reflection in December. Does anyone know if those coffees are available on that ship?

 

Laura

They are available, as are any other coffee drinks with or without alcohol, but they are not listed on the menu. The staff is familiar with those drinks and know how to make them.

[UniPac]

The chocolates in the wooden box are to die for, sooooo good, don't miss them.

 

I must have missed that. Always been standing in front of the glass on the side looking at the treats to get as to-go.

 

More details on this wooden box please!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[mgmigs]

I must have missed that. Always been standing in front of the glass on the side looking at the treats to get as to-go.

 

More details on this wooden box please!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

I usually see the wooden box on the opposite side from where the pastries are. You would never notice them unless you knew to look. There are several varieties (4 or 5), there is a dark choc, rasberry choc, i think white choc with strawberry, milk, coffee i cant remember completely, i love the dark choc. They are not like the chococolates you find on the bed. They are complimentary and soooo good.

[helpthejuggler]

During a quiet period one of the wonderful ladies working at Al Bacio brought the box around offering them to us. They were gorgeous.

 

...but keep it quiet - so they have some left next time for me.;)

[UniPac]

I usually see the wooden box on the opposite side from where the pastries are. You would never notice them unless you knew to look. There are several varieties (4 or 5), there is a dark choc, rasberry choc, i think white choc with strawberry, milk, coffee i cant remember completely, i love the dark choc. They are not like the chococolates you find on the bed. They are complimentary and soooo good.

 

Thanks! I will definitley try those on my next cruise... wish i knew this before :D

[fizzy1]

I'm not sure if its going to catch on, but on the Reflection recently the snacks in AlBacio had changed - for a start the individual items were TWICE the size than on other S Class ships, and there were NO sandwiches from 11am - 3pm, and then from 3pm onwards there were LARGE slices of cake, such as different flavors of cheese cakes and similar. The small fruit tart-lets etc had gone. #Maybe this was an idea being run on the RF and maybe if it works it'll spread to the other Al Bacios.

I think by making everything much larger you may only take 1 rather than 3,4,5 and then waste 1 or 2. I thought I'd taken a photo, but looks like I didn't (which is strange for me)

Got back from cruising the Baltics on Eclipse a few weeks ago .No sandwiches on here either, large cake slices, small pastries and cookies, fab coffee though