Coffee Quality

[cavukenneth]

We have just booked our first ever cruise. We will be on the Oosterdam later in the year. I really enjoy my coffee and was wondering about the quality of the coffee served aboard ship. I am not interested in the lattes and other "fancy" coffee drinks-just good, strong, well balanced drip coffee. Even in the Northwest I am amazed at how often in restaurants I am served poor quality coffee. Any comments on what to expect would be appreciated.

[sail7seas]

The best coffee on the ships is at Explorations Cafe where there is a nominal charge for coffee or in Neptune Lounge if you happen to be staying in Neptune or Pinnacle Suite.

 

Complimentary coffee in Lido and MDR/Pinnacle is adequate for many of us but real coffee lovers may wish to pay a little for better coffee at Explorations Cafe.

 

Welcome to CC. Happy you found us. :)

[Hlitner]

Agree with Sail7Seas. We will give our comments based on recent lengthy cruises on the Westerdam and Veendam with the assumption that the Oosterdam is similar. We generally find the coffee in the Lido to be fair to totally awful. In the MDR it does seem like the coffee is somewhat better. HAL must be aware that most of their coffee is awful, because they do offer pretty decent coffee in the Explorations Café...but at a price. One might wonder why they do not just offer good coffee everywhere (it used to be that way) but I guess somebody has figured if they force folks to pay for good coffee or espresso in Explorations its a win for the cruise line. I believe they use Lavazza products in the explorations...and that is good stuff. A fellow cruiser on the Veendam speculated that the coffee in the Lido was provided by the low bidder...and that bidder overpriced their product :). Not sure it was that bad, but the comment got a lot of laughs one morning.

 

Oh, almost forgot but on the Veendam we ordered breakfast room service on a few days and the room service coffee was pretty good. We wondered if it was made from the same grounds that they use in the Lido, but perhaps they have better coffee makers for room service. For whatever reason, I did enjoy the room service Java.

 

In fairness to HAL, we cruise many different cruise lines (14 to date) and the coffee on just about all the lines is no better then fair...and often just awful. Like many fellow coffee lovers we just look forward to when we are in a port so we can go ashore and get decent java.

 

Hank

Edited January 20, 2014 by Hlitner

[RJ2002]

The complimentary coffee on HAL is not their strong suit. If you want quality coffee, as mentioned, sadly you will need to pay for it.

 

Welcome to CC! Lot's of great information here. Enjoy your first cruise.

[jrzebird]

The complimentary coffee on HAL is not their strong suit. If you want quality coffee, as mentioned, sadly you will need to pay for it.

 

Welcome to CC! Lot's of great information here. Enjoy your first cruise.

 

I'm sorry to hear that the coffee has gone downhill. On my first couple of HAL cruises, I was thrilled with the coffee. It was German, if I recall. Also, they offered complimentary lattes or cappuccinos at dinner. Do they still have that? I honestly don't remember how the coffee was on my last HAL cruise, so guess it wasn't that bad, or I was just used to Princess coffee!

 

Coffee, like everything else, is a matter of taste preference, IMHO.

 

Maureen

[jimmy2x]

I do not recall getting a cup of decent coffee on ANY cruise line that I did not pay extra for.

Edited January 20, 2014 by jimmy2x

[RJ2002]

I'm sorry to hear that the coffee has gone downhill. On my first couple of HAL cruises, I was thrilled with the coffee. It was German, if I recall. Also, they offered complimentary lattes or cappuccinos at dinner. Do they still have that? I honestly don't remember how the coffee was on my last HAL cruise, so guess it wasn't that bad, or I was just used to Princess coffee!

 

Coffee, like everything else, is a matter of taste preference, IMHO.

 

Maureen

 

I have never ordered lattes or cappuccinos at dinner, but I seem to recall others mentioning that it is not complimentary any longer. I am sure someone else will come along and confirm.

 

It has been a few years since I was on Princess, but I do recall their coffee! It was definitely worse than HAL. :eek:

 

You are right, it is a matter of preference. As was mentioned, some find the coffee on HAL perfectly acceptable.

[solocanadian]

The complimentary coffee on HAL is not their strong suit. If you want quality coffee, as mentioned, sadly you will need to pay for it.

 

Welcome to CC! Lot's of great information here. Enjoy your first cruise.

 

I couldn't agree more. There was a time when they served Starbucks but the majority found it too strong. I loved it. I take Starbucks Viva to enhance the Hal coffee in the MDR as I sail solo and cannot afford a Neptune Suite.

[Aruba]

If you're looking for a "good, strong, well-balanced drip coffee, I'm sorry to say you won't find it on HAL...or any other cruise line that I've experienced. :(. In HAL's defense, at least they use real coffee grounds to brew coffee, unlike Princess which used a reconstituted syrup to make coffee -- beyond dreadful IMO.

Your best bet for coffee is to go to Explorations Cafe. There is a charge, but nominal -- about what you would pay at a coffee shop back home.

[Aruba]

I couldn't agree more. There was a time when they served Starbucks but the majority found it too strong. I loved it. I take Starbucks Viva to enhance the Hal coffee in the MDR...

Starbucks "Via". Viva are paper towels. :D

[SeaBands]

there were 2 coffee urns, on marked extra strong. Didn't see that on the NA in Nov. This was in the Lido. HAL's coffee is pretty good as we like strong french roast at home.

[lcand1923]

I can't speak to the MDR coffee since I'm an early riser. I find the Lido coffee OK. Once Explorations is open, I'll head there for a good cup of coffee to start my day.

[GmaPajama]

I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of room service coffee - and I like mine strong.

[sail7seas]

I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of room service coffee - and I like mine strong.

 

 

I agree. The Room Service coffee is better than Lido's and MDR. We don't get Room Service that often anymore but when we do I enjoy the coffee.

 

[Randyk47]

I agree. The Room Service coffee is better than Lido's and MDR. We don't get Room Service that often anymore but when we do I enjoy the coffee.

 

 

I agree. Coffee in the Lido or MDR has been hit or miss over recent years and has ranged from okay to pretty bad but leaning more toward bad. I've always liked strong coffee and four years in Germany in the mid to late 80's really reinforced that preference so weak and tepid coffee really doesn't work for me.

[Cruising-along]

there were 2 coffee urns, on marked extra strong. Didn't see that on the NA in Nov. This was in the Lido. HAL's coffee is pretty good as we like strong french roast at home.

 

I like good, strong French roast too. I don't remember which ship, but we did have a cruise with the urn marked "bold" or "extra strong" (can't remember) but I haven't seen that again. I keep looking though! :D

[solocanadian]

Starbucks "Via". Viva are paper towels. :D

 

OK thanks for correction. I only need the stuff when I cruise.:)

[solocanadian]

I agree. The Room Service coffee is better than Lido's and MDR. We don't get Room Service that often anymore but when we do I enjoy the coffee.

 

 

It is the Room Service Coffee that I need to use the Via in. I use 1/3 a package per cup. The same for MDR if I have breakfast there.

[bshow]

Lido/MDR coffee is fine. Coffee snobs won't like it (of course), but it's fine for those of us among the unwashed masses.

 

You can pay extra for an espresso (or Americano) if you wish.

[Loreto]

Coffee on the Zaandam for our South America/Antarctic Holiday cruise in the MDR, breakfast room service and Lido was TERRIBLE:eek:. In the past they have served Buechenhorst (not sure of spelling but you can still order it at HAL's web site) Whatever they are serving now was something different. Aside from the slow internet, it was the only bad comment my DH made about the cruise in the on line survey.

 

I told DH to try the Exploration Cafe, but he didn't. We are not coffee snobs, but you could tell the difference!

 

Karen

[amster65]

The coffee in the lido is basically brown water......

[castellina]

I have to agree 100% about the "brown water" description for their coffee. We have resorted to buying Via packs from Starbucks and all we need is hot water to make coffee. While it might not be ideal, those of us who really love our coffee need a little more than the brown water when we are on a cruise.

[cavukenneth]

I very much appreciate the information. Although not unanimous, the majority seem to agree that I would be better off with room service coffee or get my coffee at the Exploration Cafe. I wouldn't call myself a coffee snob and to be honest I have never ordered a "latte" or "cappuccino" in my life. Hopefully with your fine suggestions I will enjoy some good coffee during the cruise. Thanks again for the responses.

[mac3835]

How early in the morning can a person get coffee in the Lido?

[Ineke]

According to DH, who is a coffee kind of guy - likes it strong, tasty and hot - the coffee this year was a vast improvement over last year's. We were on a New Year's cruise both years. Last year he said the coffee was terrible, and he had to doctor it with whipped cream and sugar :) This year it was 'not bad at all', which is high praise from him. This was in the Lido and in the MDR. He was very sorry about no cappucino in the MDR. We did go and try the coffee in the Explorations Lounge, but to be honest, found it no better than the Lido.