How's The Coffee?

[Shellback801]

We sail on our first cruise ship this November, an eastern Caribbean/Master Chef cruise aboard the Westerdam. After spending a few days on this forum I am okay with the food in the MDR being "adequate," overpriced liquor, lines, or whatever else HAL may throw at us - my only sea time was on grey ships a long time ago so this is bound to be a step up.

 

Yet these days we're rather spoiled when it comes to coffee. For you experienced cruisers with similar tastes, is the ship's brew drinkable? If not, do they have premium offerings aboard?

 

Thanks!

[cruz chic]

I think it's fine. They do have the explorations cafe aboard where you can purchase coffee.

[peug]

Coffee taste is subjective but if you like Starbucks or Seattles Best you will not like the coffee. Last Jan. I took Starbucks VIA with me and the second day several people came up to me and asked where I got the wonderful coffee they were smelling. They headed for the Starbucks in San Juan. The extra price coffee is better but not exceptional. I have been told you can not have a Kcup machine in your cabin but one person told me they just brew one cup and then put the machine away. The dining room coffee is a little better than the Lido.

[sunviking90]

We are pretty choosy about our coffee, and find the coffee terrible. Luckily they do have the Explorations Cafe which has Americanos, lattes, cappuccinos. Etc. it is an extra cost, but fairly reasonable ( cheaper than Starbucks and some other cruise lines).

[cruz chic]

It definitely doesn't taste like Starbucks, thank goodness. Not a fan of burnt tasting coffee.

[PathfinderEss]

We sail on our first cruise ship this November, an eastern Caribbean/Master Chef cruise aboard the Westerdam. After spending a few days on this forum I am okay with the food in the MDR being "adequate," overpriced liquor, lines, or whatever else HAL may throw at us - my only sea time was on grey ships a long time ago so this is bound to be a step up.

 

Yet these days we're rather spoiled when it comes to coffee. For you experienced cruisers with similar tastes, is the ship's brew drinkable? If not, do they have premium offerings aboard?

 

Thanks!

I hope your talking about purchasing bottles on board, because their drink prices in the bars are quite reasonable.

Coffee is ok and as cruz chic said they do have a coffee bar which is quite good.

[Linda&Vern]

DH and I find the HAL's MDR and Lido coffee drinkable. We do not drink Starbucks burnt coffee.

[CowPrincess]

We take along Starbucks Via French or Italian Roast as a "just in case" measure. Then I make friends with the barista at the Explorations Cafe and together we find exactly what I want. I usually start with a double-shot espresso and the cup filled to the (more or less) 3/4 level with added hot water. Then we tweak it from there. Once I know what gives me what I want, that's my order for the rest of the cruise.

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

We are pretty picky about our coffee. We always travel with a small percolator and our own coffee.

 

A decade or so ago, we just couldn't put up with the coffee on HAL, so we bought a press and coffee on one of the stops and had the VERY tolerant waiters bring us water hot enough to use it.

 

A couple of years ago we were back on HAL and the coffee has improved. The espresso was quite adequate-to-good. Room service coffee the same.

 

Since the possession of said percolator is not allowed (how it's different from a curling iron is beyond me but...) we make do. It was too hard to ensure we had hot enough water delivered to use the press last time. Might be easier in a Neptune suite, (if you are), don't know.

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

Cruz chic and linda&verne,

 

Agree with the Starbucks point. Though some of their lighter roasts aren't bad.

Edited August 1, 2014 by thetexasaggiecruiser

[navybankerteacher]

MDR and Lido coffee is adequate - not up to Dunkin Donuts - but to our taste far better than the overpriced, over-roasted , burnt offerings from Starbucks. The special coffees at Explorations is actually pretty good.

[cbr663]

Our coffee of choice is Van Houtte Dark Roast. We find the coffee in the Explorations enjoyable. We can only drink the coffee elsewhere on the ship if we cut it with hot water first. Usually about half coffee and half water works for us.

[Shellback801]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the "VIA just in case" option, and I certainly intend to befriend the barista because we're definitely "burnt coffee" aficionados - especially if it's consumed on the verandah at dawn.

 

That said, our coffee fetish won't make or break the cruise. Simply researching. There is so much more to experience and we can't wait to get underway.

[Shellback801]

We are pretty picky about our coffee. We always travel with a small percolator and our own coffee.

 

A decade or so ago, we just couldn't put up with the coffee on HAL, so we bought a press and coffee on one of the stops and had the VERY tolerant waiters bring us water hot enough to use it.

 

A couple of years ago we were back on HAL and the coffee has improved. The espresso was quite adequate-to-good. Room service coffee the same.

 

Since the possession of said percolator is not allowed (how it's different from a curling iron is beyond me but...) we make do. It was too hard to ensure we had hot enough water delivered to use the press last time. Might be easier in a Neptune suite, (if you are), don't know.

 

We're on the fifth deck to port, VA I think, so I guess we'll have to be creative.

 

Also, "Gig 'Em Aggies." I was born and raised there.

[cruz chic]

Cruz chic and linda&verne,

 

Agree with the Starbucks point. Though some of their lighter roasts aren't bad.

 

Thx for the info. Sorry about getting off topic here but I won a $30 coffee card for extra work I'd done. It was to Starbucks. My treat is a skinny latte, no foam. Have to even ask them to make it hot:rolleyes:. They screwed up my order 90 percent of the time. I don't have any sort of an accent. I'm not motivated to spend one cent there.

 

OP, I hope you enjoy your cruise and the coffee:).

[RuthC]

MDR and Lido coffee is adequate - not up to Dunkin Donuts - but to our taste far better than the overpriced, over-roasted , burnt offerings from Starbucks. The special coffees at Explorations is actually pretty good.

I could not agree more. HAL coffee isn't as good as Dunkin' Donuts', but so much better than Starbucks'. I can drink it and be satisfied.

[Hlitner]

Will admit to being a coffee/espresso aficionado. While Starbucks is not my favorite brand (especially in my Espresso machine where I only use Lavazza) we do find it amusing to read about all the Starbucks bashers. Just noticed that Starbucks did over 4 Billion dollars of revenue....and that was just for the last Quarter! Must be somebody who likes the stuff :).

 

Hank

[sunviking90]

Will admit to being a coffee/espresso aficionado. While Starbucks is not my favorite brand (especially in my Espresso machine where I only use Lavazza) we do find it amusing to read about all the Starbucks bashers. Just noticed that Starbucks did over 4 Billion dollars of revenue....and that was just for the last Quarter! Must be somebody who likes the stuff :).

 

Hank

 

It was all me.

[kjw869]

Will admit to being a coffee/espresso aficionado. While Starbucks is not my favorite brand (especially in my Espresso machine where I only use Lavazza) we do find it amusing to read about all the Starbucks bashers. Just noticed that Starbucks did over 4 Billion dollars of revenue....and that was just for the last Quarter! Must be somebody who likes the stuff :).

 

Hank

 

McDonald's revenue for 2013 was $28.1 Billion. People like that stuff too. ;)

[navybankerteacher]

Will admit to being a coffee/espresso aficionado. While Starbucks is not my favorite brand (especially in my Espresso machine where I only use Lavazza) we do find it amusing to read about all the Starbucks bashers. Just noticed that Starbucks did over 4 Billion dollars of revenue....and that was just for the last Quarter! Must be somebody who likes the stuff :).

 

Hank

 

Starbucks certainly has a good thing going - simply a matter of taste when I express preference for Dunkin Donuts (which has none of the Starbucks upscale atmosphere) .

 

As a side comment - the willingness of Starbucks fans to pay Starbucks prices for their daily (or almost daily) fixes explains why cruises are not more crowded: fewer can afford to cruise if they patronize Starbucks daily.

[pmjnh]

I could not agree more. HAL coffee isn't as good as Dunkin' Donuts', but so much better than Starbucks'. I can drink it and be satisfied.

 

I am happy to read this as I,too, am a Dunkin Donuts fan and hate Starbucks!

[Hlitner]

Starbucks certainly has a good thing going - simply a matter of taste when I express preference for Dunkin Donuts (which has none of the Starbucks upscale atmosphere) .

 

As a side comment - the willingness of Starbucks fans to pay Starbucks prices for their daily (or almost daily) fixes explains why cruises are not more crowded: fewer can afford to cruise if they patronize Starbucks daily.

 

I agree! We tend to avoid going to a Starbucks restaurant (or Kiosk) unless it is the only available option. But, we have no problem buying a bag of Starbucks (especially when it's on sale) at our local Supermarket where they stock many different types.

 

One interesting tidbit about Starbucks (and many US roasted coffees) is that they are not recommended to be used in many of top brands of "Super Automatic" Espresso machines. We own a very high end expresso machine that grinds its own beans, and Starbucks dark roasts will gum up the works. US French, Italian, and espresso beans are generally over roasted so they have an oily appearance, and these oils will jam up the gears. The top Italian coffees (i.e. Lavazza and Illy) follow a philosophy that the beans should not be oily which is caused by over roasting until the oils leach out of the beans. All the top Italian companies roast so that the oils stay inside the bean.

 

Hank

[thetexasaggiecruiser]

We're on the fifth deck to port, VA I think, so I guess we'll have to be creative.

 

Also, "Gig 'Em Aggies." I was born and raised there.

 

I'm sure you will work it out, coffee drinkers tend to find a way!

 

We're on the Westerdam in December, so we'll be interested in hearing what you think of the coffee - we haven't sailed on her before.

 

Gig 'Em indeed! B/CS is small, but a nice area to be from.

[capncarp]

My Three Points of Necessity for Coffee:

1. Is it strong enough, or did someone scare a gallon of hot water with a poor xerox of a grainy out of focus photo of a single coffee bean? I can tolerate Starbucks if the only alternative is decaf--adding a dash of salt can cut the bitterness in extremis.

2. Is it hot? Unless it's a couple dozen degrees F above blood heat, it will need help from Mr.Microwave (there are days when need for speed of ingestion is a major factor--you know, like a med order on a crash cart: "Coffee, 500cc's, IV push, STAT".

3. Does it have caffeine? Decaf is the castrati of coffee, pretty, but left with a poor shadow of its potential, all its influence surgically removed.

 

All other factors are mere details.

(Note: anything I say or do prior to coffee in the morning is not legally binding or even possibly true; nor am I legally/morally/ethically/spiritually responsible for my actions.)

[EatonDoolittle]

I cannot speak for the Westerdam, but last year on the Noordam I found an urn of stronger roast ( can't remember what they called it...Premium, maybe..) up in the Lido at breakfast.

 

Definitely hotter and stronger that the normal swill, quite good, and I was sorry I did not find it till half way through the 10 days.

 

Poke around at all the coffee stations, you might find it