Coffee Quality

[Wakepatrol]

The after dinner coffee's that used to be free are now

 

$1.50 and $1.75

[sail7seas]

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

 

 

Coffee is usually available in Lido 24/7.

I'm not sure if during Code Orange, the first two days of every HAL cruise, they have the coffee available for self-service in Lido off hours. During Code Orange, a steward pours coffee/tea/ice water etc for guests. No self-service.

 

[Linda&Vern]

DH and I think the Lido coffee to be okay. Likewise the Neptune Lounge and the Pinnacle Grill coffee is fine. The MDR coffee, however, is not drinkable to us. We think it sits all day to get extra muddy and strong. DISCLAIMER: :rolleyes: We only drink Decaf (per our Doc).

[RuthC]

We have resorted to buying Via packs from Starbucks and all we need is hot water to make coffee.

Does that taste like coffee you get at Starbucks?

[Oceanwench]

I'm definitely not a coffee snob, and I can only drink decaf, but the decaf on HAL ships did not agree with me.

Fortunately we have stayed in suites and I discovered the coffee machine in the Neptune. Decaf heaven!

[JennysUncle]

The coffee in the MDR and the Lido is not to my taste, although admittedly coffee preferences vary. Presumably whoever orders coffee for HAL likes it. The coffee in the Explorations Cafe on several cruises last year was advertised as "Torrefazione Italia". Investigation shows that this is a 'commercial' brand of Starbucks, so if you like a bitter roast you will be satisfied. It is nothing like real Italian coffee.

[TraelorMex]

I myself find it strange that a company that prides itself on a 'quality' product, accepts , at best, mediocrity in their coffee. When questioning the higher level management as to their nasty coffee, I always receive the same replies: 'half the customers LOVE it, the other half HATE it...we must be doing it right'..I have heard this same response on at least 8 occasions. I wonder if this would be their response if half or more of the people 'HATED' the (insert your favorite food item) in the mdr?

 

I have frequently offered concrete suggestions as to how to improve their coffee process...only to be rebuffed.

[BruceMuzz]

I myself find it strange that a company that prides itself on a 'quality' product, accepts , at best, mediocrity in their coffee. When questioning the higher level management as to their nasty coffee, I always receive the same replies: 'half the customers LOVE it, the other half HATE it...we must be doing it right'..I have heard this same response on at least 8 occasions. I wonder if this would be their response if half or more of the people 'HATED' the (insert your favorite food item) in the mdr?

 

I have frequently offered concrete suggestions as to how to improve their coffee process...only to be rebuffed.

 

For the past 37 years I have managed ships for11 different cruise line companies. During all those years one of the biggest issues ever has been the coffee. These comments are from cruisers on luxury lines down to the lowest mass market lines.

All the comments in this current thread are the same ones I have been hearing all those years.

37 years ago people were telling me how much better the coffee used to be.

37 years ago people were telling me how to make the coffee better - for them.

37 years ago half the people were telling me the coffee was too strong and the other half were telling me the coffee was too weak.

 

For the past 37 years people have been telling me that the coffee on xxx cruise line was so much better - not realizing that I had recently worked for that other line and had everyone over there telling me how much better the coffee was on my current ship.

 

Most cruises - like most automobiles - are designed for the masses. At best, we can hope to please a maximum 90% of the consumers at any given time. Quite often it is less than 90%.

If you don't like the way your Chevrolet performs, you might want to buy a Ferrari.

If you don't like the way the coffee tastes on a ship, why not buy the ship, put your name on the stern, and serve whatever type of coffee you like?

Edited January 20, 2014 by BruceMuzz

[JennysUncle]

If ships only had one coffee pot, it would make sense that only one kind of coffee would be available and that it would not suit everyone. But -- there are probably a dozen choices of tea available, and multiple ice creams, and lots of entree choices - so why not some variety of coffee ? Easy to propose, but apparently the industry has decided that good/bad coffee doesn't really affect bookings, so that's an avoidable expense.

[frbob]

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.

 

Not for nothing, but a so-called FIVE STAR CRUISELINE should serve good coffee throughout the ship, not just where you have to pay "extra". "Adequate" isn't nearly good enough!

[frbob]

Presumably whoever orders coffee for HAL likes it.

No...whoever orders the coffee for HAL does it because it's CHEAP!

[3littlepigs]

Does that taste like coffee you get at Starbucks?

 

 

No! It actually tastes good! ;):D;)

 

The Italian one does anyway, the other one probably tastes like Starbucks.

 

I am not really a coffee snob but do like it to be made properly with decent beans and not burnt (never had a decent cup in the whole 3 weeks we travelled across the USA even the fancy cafe's in NYC that raved about their coffee were blah!:eek:) I think Australians must have very different coffee tastes to Americans. But we all agree that cruise ship stuff is undrinkable!

 

Looking forward to trying the Explorations coffee if its Lavazza, hoping they have a good barista!

 

I saw a price list for Explorations Cafe somewhere and couldn't believe how cheap it was...bet there is a looooong queue in the morning :)

[RuthC]

No! It actually tastes good! ;):D;)

 

The Italian one does anyway, the other one probably tastes like Starbucks.

I hope you're not just kidding, because I'm willing to try it.

[CowPrincess]

I hope you're not just kidding, because I'm willing to try it.

 

Ruth we always take along a 12-pack of the Via French Roast or Italian Roast. Not quite like Starbucks, but better than we find in most places around hotels, in hotels, etc. Pretty much always better than the Lido coffee IMHO. I got an email from Starbucks recently saying they now have Via Lattes. Will experiment with a 3-pack before I make a big commitment.

[3littlepigs]

I hope you're not just kidding, because I'm willing to try it.

 

 

We only buy the Italian and its a good choice for travelling. The only other one they sell here is the Colombian, its quite weak. The Italian Via is a decent strength and flavour. I don't generally like Starbucks coffee but the Via is very acceptable. They sell a small pack here with just 3 sachets in it if you want to try it cheaply...although I bet you don't have to pay $11 for a pack of 12 like we do for the normal sized pack.

 

Definitely worth a try if you have a Starbucks nearby ;) we have to travel to the city to buy it, there are only a handful of Starbucks in Sydney. We had loads of stores for a little while but the company went broke here...too much competition with GOOD coffee;););)

[RuthC]

[quote name='3littlepigs']We only buy the Italian and its a good choice for travelling. The only other one they sell here is the Colombian, its quite weak. The Italian Via is a decent strength and flavour. I don't generally like Starbucks coffee but the Via is very acceptable. They sell a small pack here with just 3 sachets in it if you want to try it cheaply...although I bet you don't have to pay $11 for a pack of 12 like we do for the normal sized pack.[/QUOTE]
[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]There's a Starbucks nearby, which I don't go to. But I can to try something in a 3-pk. I don't like Starbucks coffee at all, but if you don't like it either, and think this acceptable, it might be worth a try.

Thanks for the tip.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[dvcmember]

Coffee on the Ryndam at Pinnacle Grill is wonderful. We really enjoyed that each cup made to order. The cup was also heated upon serving time. The coffee was a smooth, but a nice robust flavor.

[Boytjie]

Tastes differ.

I like a good cup of coffee (and Starbucks does not qualify IMHO) and I have found HAL's coffee to be acceptable. I don't bother with the specialty coffee on the ship. YMMV.

[BruceMuzz]

The company I work for originally served coffee that is quite similar to the coffee served on HAL and several other mass market lines. Every cruise, half the pax told us they liked it and the other half told us they hated it.

My ship uses one ton of roast coffee beans and ground coffee every month, so our coffee bill is rather massive.

We decided to spend a lot more money and upgrade the coffee. As soon as we upgraded, half our pax told us they liked it and the other half told us they hated it.

So we spent even more money and upgraded to Starbucks coffee.
After the second upgrade, half the pax told us they liked it and the other half told us they hated it.

With that winning record, we returned to purchasing our original generic coffee - and saving a ton of money. Today, half our pax tell us they like it and the other half tell us they hate it.

Many years ago I worked for a cruise line that used a coffee extract syrup to make it's American style coffee. Many pax complained bitterly about the coffee.
My boss in our head office invited a group of frequent cruisers to visit the office for a focus group discussion about the quality of our product.
As expected, many negative comments were voiced about the quality of the coffee served onboard our ships.
When it was time for a break, my boss invited his guests to join him across the street at Starbucks for a coffee. When everyone had received their coffee, he asked them how they liked it. The responses were predictable. Everyone claimed that the Starbucks coffee was superior to what we served onboard.
Then my boss introduced the Starbucks Manager, who admitted he had prepared their "Starbucks" coffee with the coffee syrup supplied to him by the cruise line.

There were no further comments made that day about the quality of our onboard coffee.
The cruise line still uses the coffee extract syrup to make most of the coffee onboard.

Half the passengers claim they like it; the other half claim they hate it. Go figure..............

[AlohaPride]

[quote name='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.[/QUOTE]

Agree. DH had coffee on a recent visit with a friend and he said it was pretty good (he's pretty addicted to good coffee).

Sent from my SGH-T779 using Tapatalk

[fokeltje]

We were recently on the Rotterdam and last summer on the Eurodam. The coffee on the Eurodam was undrinkable and had a nasty smell.On the Rotterdam we saw stickers on the coffee machines that said HAL now bought Beukenhorst Coffee (apparently a Dutch brand) for the entire fleet. The coffee is now drinkable but nowhere near good. The espresso in the MDR ($ 1,25) is not bad, but it was not always served in a proper espresso cup. I send it back if served in a regular coffee cup, because the espresso is cold by the time it reaches the table.

[Eboracum_d]

I was on Ryndam last year and had no criticisms of coffee in the MDR , Pinnacle and Room Service, the coffee in the Neptune Lounge was made individually by a machine, I was happy with the Americano as was my wife with the Capucinno. The only time we went to the Lido was for a late night drink and that was not so good.

[ksqueak]

[quote name='jrzebird']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[/quote]


IF no one has answered yet, they are no longer complimentary. I was disappointed but expecting it for a while.

[Aruba]

[quote name='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.
[/QUOTE]
Well, then I suppose I am a coffee snob because to me the coffee in Lido/MDR is undrinkable.
Now I have to go wash...:D Edited January 21, 2014 by Aruba

[Aruba]

[quote name='RuthC'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Does that taste like coffee you get at Starbucks?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]
Ruth, you can buy small packets of Via, either at a Starbucks or often at a local grocery store, for not much more than the price of a single cup. You could try it to see if you like it. :)