Coffee Card?

[Ilovepj]

HI,

 

New to princess, so what is the coffee card? Do you have to pay for just regular coffee?

 

How much is the coffee card?

 

Thanks for the info.

[AE_Collector]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1986869

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1989785

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41317557

Edited February 17, 2014 by AE_Collector

[paul929207]

Regular coffee is free 24 hours a day at the buffet and at all restaurants. Some are less than thrilled with it. Others are happy to drink it. Try it. If it is ok, why waste the money on the card.

[hpeabody]

Here is a brief explanation based on my experience and understanding. The following information may or may not be 100% accurate in all cases, but I will give it a try.

 

The free coffee is "faux" coffee made from a liquid. I do not care for it myself.

 

If you purchase a coffee card (You can buy it in advance if you want and many advise to do that to save extra fee) The coffee card may be used for specialty coffees (lattes, espressos) and teas. There is a coffee bar on board, most of the time next to the International Cafe. I believe it may be used in certain other places on the ship, but I have only used it at the coffee bar next to the International Cafe.

 

You will have 15 punches on a card. As long as you are on the cruise you bought the card for REAL brewed coffee is at no charge/no punch. Each specialty coffee or tea is 1 punch. If you do not use all your punches the card is still good on future cruises. On those future cruises the real brewed coffee will require a punch along with the specialties. This is where it gets tricky. Just from what I have read and experienced, this is not adhered to consistently among all the Princess ships. Some are more lenient than others it appears and do not carefully monitor by looking at the back of the card. I hope this gives you some idea of what to expect

[Stevesan]

At 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, including gratuity, buys a coffee card with fifteen punchouts 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 is also syrup based.

 

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, just 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.

 

Not all ships have the Int'l Cafe. They do, however, have a Coffee Bar for regular and specialty coffees.

[Ilovepj]

At 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, including gratuity, buys a coffee card with fifteen punchouts 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 is also syrup based.

 

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, just 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.

 

Not all ships have the Int'l Cafe. They do, however, have a Coffee Bar for regular and specialty coffees.

 

thanks for the reply, but there is no way I would spend 33 dollars to drink any kind of coffee. I have never heard of such a thing. I could understand soda cards, but coffee, I guess I will try the free stuff, and if its so horrible, will have tea instead.

 

Thanks

[Wehwalt]

I routinely exchange my minibar setup as Elite for 2 coffee cards. The better deal.

[goodie2shoes]

I hope you are referring to hot tea, as the iced tea is as bad as the free coffee. Made from a syrup and has a very strange taste that I find unappealing. But there is a selection of various tea bags available, so you should be able to find one you like.

[pablo222]

I routinely exchange my minibar setup as Elite for 2 coffee cards. The better deal.

 

The original poster said they were 'new to princess'.

 

Unlikely they will have an elite minibar to exchange.

[Ilovepj]

The original poster said they were 'new to princess'.

 

Unlikely they will have an elite minibar to exchange.

 

I don't drink either, so would not need a minibar any way, ha.

[Jadn13]

Funny! The Coffee Card is so important to me I just pre ordered mine for my April cruise. ($31)

I normally drink Lattes/Americanos and Cappuccinos with lots of brewed coffee so for me this is a must.

It's also relaxing to be able to get a nice coffee in the morning from the IC.

[jkskrap]

thanks for the reply, but there is no way I would spend 33 dollars to drink any kind of coffee. I have never heard of such a thing. I could understand soda cards, but coffee, I guess I will try the free stuff, and if its so horrible, will have tea instead.

 

Thanks

 

The coffee card is great if you like lattes or espresso drinks (think starbucks). Just off Crown and my wife had lots of the iced (blended) white chocolate mocha lattes. Delicious! The card is a great value if you like that sort of thing.

 

And I thought the iced tea was very good!

[sherryf]

The free coffee is "faux" coffee made from a liquid. I do not care for it myself.

 

It's still coffee, not some sort of chemical concoction. It's just made from a coffee concentrate. This is like saying that orange juice from concentrate is "faux" orange juice. It's still OJ, and many people are happy with it, but others would willingly pay extra for fresh squeezed.

 

The free coffee is not great, but drinkable. I add cream, which helps. My mom drinks her coffee black, and found that adding a couple spoonfuls of water was enough to make the coffee more palatable since she found it too strong. My husband drinks it black without dilution and has no problem with it, but he's not picky about coffee.

 

Contrary what a lot of people seem to imply, you do NOT need to buy a coffee card to get brewed coffee or specialty coffee drinks. You can buy them one at a time. People who drink a lot may find it more economical to buy the card. I do, and have used the same card for the last 2 cruises and still have a couple of punches left. As long as I keep cruising Princess, I'll get my money's worth with the cards. OTOH, I drink maybe one soda per cruise, so don't bother to buy the soda sticker, just buy one can if I want it.

 

I do agree that the iced tea on Princess is absolutely nasty!

[generichandle]

Odd. I am a lifelong tea drink, who drinks little coffee. I actually like the iced tea at the buffet pretty well. I do not drink the coffee there. I usually DO buy

the coffee card, because I like the occasional specialty coffees, and I especially like the 'made from a mix' hot chocolate. I do mostly cold weather cruises so good hot drinks are a pleasure to take out on deck to enjoy the scenery. The card is lasting value to me.

 

My coming cruise will be both cold and warm weather. I figure I am certain to use one up in 30 days, but if not, I will just have a tiny bit more reason to plan my next Princess cruise, eh? :)

 

Doug

[Mom33]

Just think of the International Cafe as the Princess answer to Starbucks on Royal Caribbean. You pay for Starbucks or drink free coffee from the buffet and dining rooms.:)