A coffee card use question

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Please please advise how you pre [purchased I have been into the web site and hunted under everything I could click but cannot find how to pre purchase extra (not tours or spa)

 

Look at the Gifts and Services brochure and then call and order the item(s) you want. I called tonight and added the Ultimate Soda and More for all for of us, along with a coffee card and pre-paying my gratuities. I also bought some Casino Credit (vouchers redeemable in the casino for cash) and some OBC, enough to cover most planned expenses. Took about 5 minutes on the phone.

[Alaska0799]

I like both DD's and Starbuck's coffee...two different experiences...and I still can't stand the concentrate stuff they serve. The coffee card is well worth it to me.

 

 

 

And sometimes I go to DD's because I want to be able to order coffee in English, not some weird Starbuckese language...what the heck is a vente anyway? :)

 

 

Hahaha! Good point!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[lexdisic]

Please please advise how you pre [purchased I have been into the web site and hunted under everything I could click but cannot find how to pre purchase extra (not tours or spa)

 

We called Princess to get ours - could only find the price on the website - same for the soda cards that we bought.

 

We also bought 2 coffee cards so that DW and me had one each, so if we got separated on the ship, one of us could always get a speciality coffee when we wanted.

[Stevesan]

Anything that's "unlimited" is technically for the person it's bought for, whether it's a coffee card or soda sticker. However, Princess looks the other way if you use it to get coffee for someone else. Be aware that at some point, Princess will crack down and people will scream, "We've always been able to do this." At the very least, the cost will go up to accommodate the people who use it for others. Just saying.

 

That's why the coffee card no longer carries over for brewed coffee. Folks discovered they had free brewed coffee for life.

[Stevesan]

how much is the coffee card and what can you get with it? Just coffee? Hot chocolate? Specialty coffee?

 

Is there not free coffee on the ship?

 

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.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Stevesan

[sweet carol]

I believe you save the service charge, is all. However, on board they often give you a travel mug if you buy one

 

Princess on our last cruise offered you the purchase of the insulated coffe mug at a reduced price when purchasing the coffee card. On another Alaska cruise on Glacier Day they were selling hot chocolate on the promenade in an insulated cup. Cannot remember pricing of this combination.

[CruisingJs]

Princess on our last cruise offered you the purchase of the insulated coffe mug at a reduced price when purchasing the coffee card. On another Alaska cruise on Glacier Day they were selling hot chocolate on the promenade in an insulated cup. Cannot remember pricing of this combination.

 

We've got two insulated cups we got for free from purchasing coffee cards. They used to have a coupon in one of the little books but it's been a while since I saw that. I still bring my Princess cups on every cruise and use them for brewed coffee in the morning.

[caribill]

On another Alaska cruise on Glacier Day they were selling hot chocolate on the promenade in an insulated cup. Cannot remember pricing of this combination.

 

On our Alaska cruise on the Island Princess they kept a vat of hot chocolate outside of the buffet area for everybody to be able to self-serve no-cost hot chocolate.

[Colo Cruiser]

On our Alaska cruise on the Island Princess they kept a vat of hot chocolate outside of the buffet area for everybody to be able to self-serve no-cost hot chocolate.

 

Why not a caldron?

[Wehwalt]

Why not a caldron?

 

They tried that once and three ladies were standing by it and were mistaken for the first scene of Macbeth

[shredie]

They tried that once and three ladies were standing by it and were mistaken for the first scene of Macbeth

 

Hahahahaha!!!!!

[windsor26]

Thank you everyone I will phopne and buy my card :D:D

[OCruisers]

I prepurchased a coffee card .. Like good coffee. My spouse drinks decaff occasionally, but needs to be the brewed stuff! Question...can he use my card to get a cup of brewed decaff?

 

It's an official No-No to share a coffee card ... but we've seen people doing it.

LuLu

[dotty52]

It's an official No-No to share a coffee card ... but we've seen people doing it.

LuLu

No problem sharing a card ,they will just put 2 punches

[shredie]

Most servers do not mind if you ask for both a latte (punch) and a fresh-brewed (no punch) at the same time. I guess you could say they were both for you and then "change your mind" when your husband came by. :) Decaf? That I don't know, but I imagine they have it.

[Astro Flyer]

As far as I saw, the Royal had the same dispensers for coffee as all other ships, brewed coffee was only at pastry shop, and IC.

 

The coffee machines in the Royal's HC had containers of ground coffee on top & checking the manufacturer's website they only make brewed coffee machines. Apparently it was not from concentrate & tasted better & don't think it's because of the placebo effect.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[Wehwalt]

It's an official No-No to share a coffee card ... but we've seen people doing it.

LuLu

 

One of the reasons I've stuck with Princess, after trying and rejecting most other CCL lines, is that they have a sense of proportion about things. They are not going to have an argument with a customer over a buck cup of coffee when the customer is paying thousands of dollars to be there. I respect that, and am probably more respectful of their rules and so forth than I would be if they acted like I saw Carnival act in my second (and last) cruise with them, threatening to send back to the ship anyone who dared disembark out of order.

 

So yeah, the barista is not going to refuse you that second cup of coffee to take back to the cabin. And people are going to do it. But I think it behooves us not to take too much advantage of the license. Beyond that, it's a question of personal ethics. I'm a solo traveler, and will not presume to make judgments.

[pablo222]

So yeah, the barista is not going to refuse you that second cup of coffee to take back to the cabin. And people are going to do it. But I think it behooves us not to take too much advantage of the license. Beyond that, it's a question of personal ethics. I'm a solo traveler, and will not presume to make judgments.

 

I had one gent ask me for a second card when I wanted to fill two

travel mugs. It was no problem, as I had several cards. That

is probably 1:20 visits.

 

I observed a woman bring a room-service carafe to the i.cafe, show

her card, and ask that it be filled with brewed coffee. To me, that

seemed excessive.

[seamanfs]

I would agree with a carafe being excessive! We usually have a couple of coffee cards with us each time we cruise. Sometimes it is one from a prior cruise and one new one. When we order brewed coffee we put 2 cards on the table for the server to do what he/she wants with the punching. After a few days on the ship they know us and never ask for the card nor do they ever punch the older card for 2 brewed. I leave it up to the server to figure out what they want to do with cost and punches.

[Wehwalt]

I would agree with a carafe being excessive! We usually have a couple of coffee cards with us each time we cruise. Sometimes it is one from a prior cruise and one new one. When we order brewed coffee we put 2 cards on the table for the server to do what he/she wants with the punching. After a few days on the ship they know us and never ask for the card nor do they ever punch the older card for 2 brewed. I leave it up to the server to figure out what they want to do with cost and punches.

 

I do the exchange minibar setup for coffee cards. If I have a partially used one from a previous cruise (like right now), I'll carry that as well and use it for my daily latte for the first couple of days. Once I'm satisfied the server is going to recognize me, I just carry the partially used one, then use the new one once that is used up.

 

The carafe is excessive. I have a very large travel mug I could bring with me but do not. Modest excesses, people, you can get away with, but don't be "that guy" ("that gal").

Edited June 1, 2014 by Wehwalt

[PescadoAmarillo]

I keep reading where the coffee on the Royal Princess is brewed, not syrup. Where is the brewed coffee on the Royal Princess besides the IC? I was told on two occasions 4 months apart that the coffee in the Horizon Court Buffet is from syrup, despite the decorative beans on top the dispensers.

[sept10dsm]

No problem sharing a card ,they will just put 2 punches

It is fine to share when the card is punched, but I think they are speaking about the brewed coffee.

[Stevesan]

Why not a caldron?

 

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and caldron bubble. :D

[CruisingJs]

I keep reading where the coffee on the Royal Princess is brewed, not syrup. Where is the brewed coffee on the Royal Princess besides the IC? I was told on two occasions 4 months apart that the coffee in the Horizon Court Buffet is from syrup, despite the decorative beans on top the dispensers.

 

I think I remember the one with the ground coffee hopper on the aft end outside the horizon court where that big patio area is.

[Times Prince]

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and caldron bubble. :D

and do you have to go to Vines to get the sushi with "Eye of newt, and toe of frog" ?