Lousy Coffee on Princess?

[Northender]

WHERE????

[archaeologyman]

Where is the dunkin donuts?

 

As a fellow N.E.er I understand your excitement :D

 

Right around the corner from the dock. It is on the same street as Carlo's and Charlies. I think it's a few doors down from Diamonds International.

 

Inside D.D. Aruba :)

 

My mother and wife were happy to see it...

 

[legalsea]

Last May we went on our first Princess cruise (Royal Princess). I thought the Lido coffee was 'ok', with plenty of milk. I did miss the Holland America Lido coffee (those machines that would make a latte for you).

 

My biggest grip with the Princess Lido coffee: the coffee dispenser was as far back in the Lido room as you could get. I had to negotiate my way around those standing in line for breakfast, or heading for seats, or simply milling about. Finally I would reach the coffee machine (they only had the one), wait my turn to fill two small cups, splash in milk, then make the journey back through the crowd (so I could get to the smoking area by the pool; my morning ritual of coffee and smokes would not be denied).

 

I did note that when we had room service for breakfast, that the pot of coffee served seemed to be richer tasting. The Lido coffee reminded me of fast-food coffee.

 

Can't wait till our next Princess cruise (August 2006, around the United Kingdom).

[treesah]

I'm not asking for much but please, please give me a decent cup of coffee. We always have breakfast at the Lido or Horizon and the coffee is yucky. I'm cruising on the Sun next week and I'm bringing a tiny (one cup) French press coffee pot. My significant other feels Princess coffee is acceptable.

[captNcrunch]

Guess not too many squids on this thread! Bring along some baileys or kahula it will cure any coffee ills. On RCL Jewel you could stand your spoon up in the cofee no matter what time of day!

[Cookiesbykk]

Looks like I opened up a giant can of worms with this question. I guess I can doctor my coffee with enough sweet 'n low and milk (or Kahlua ;) ) so I won't really notice how awful it is, but my poor hubby drinks his black and won't be thrilled...oh well. We just can't rationalize bringing a coffee maker aboard. As it is, I'm completely overwhelmed just trying to figure out what to pack and how:o

Karen

[captNcrunch]

I drink mine black as well thats why I use Kahlua ..... it blends!:D

[calikak]

After reading a lot of thse coffee threads, I've come to the conclusion that it's really a matter of personal taste, and which ship you're on. So, let me start by saying that I tend to go to Starbucks for coffee most mornings. It's not necessarily my favorite coffee in the world, but I find it easily drinkable and of good quality. I know others (my SIL, for example) who absolutely hate Starbucks and never drink their coffee, so if you're one of those people, my take on the coffee probably won't be the same as yours.

 

With that being said, last May, I was on the Dawn and Sun for very short coastal cruises, and the Golden for a 10-night cruise. I found that the coffee in the dining rooms and bars on all 3 ships to be fairly similar. It tasted much like the drip coffee my husband makes at home, a bit weaker than I make it and weaker than a Starbucks drip coffee, but still tasty, with no weird aftertaste or texture. In the buffet, the coffee on the Dawn and Sun was different than the coffee on the Golden. On both the Dawn and Sun, the buffet coffee was more like dining room coffee, but perhaps a wee bit stronger. On the Golden, the buffet coffee was much thicker and with a strange aftertaste. I really didn't care for the buffet coffee, but I found that if I used half water and half coffee, it was more drinkable.

[phaelon56]

I've been on Princess twice - coffee was even worse this year on the CB than on the Grand two years ago (if that's possible).

 

Good point made by several previous posters - if you're perfectly content with a fresh cup of Maxwell House, Folger's or other mainstream supermarket brands you'll most likely think the coffee on Princess is "okay" or perhaps a trifle better - or you may water it down just a bit to get what you're looking for.

 

In theory the coffee at the lobby bar is better but the cup I had there a few weeks ago (CB) was awful - not as bad as the buffet or dining rooms but pretty bad. And the room service coffee also sucked.

 

If you use freshly roasted and ground coffee at home, prefer all arabica beans and have an appreciation for single varietals or high quality blends.... press pot or vacuum pot coffee etc. - you'll need to bring your own coffee and something to brew it with.

 

Or just get a small Melitta cone, some filters and ask room service to bring two thermal carafe's of hot water each morning. Empty one out, put the cone on top and then pour the water from the other one through to brew your coffee.

 

I traveled solo and only had one cup in the morning (and sometimes one in the afternoon). I used an immersion heater (aka "stinger") to heat water in one mug and then poured it through a little one cup cone into my other mug.

 

If you order a cappuccino just specify a double. They'll put in the same amount of steamed milk but double the espresso. By specialty coffee standards their cappuccino's aren't great but if you get a double they're as good or better than most chain coffee places.