Speciality Hot drinks package Query

[janny444]

Re the Speciality Hot Drinks package.... which seems very good value for money.....a few questions

 

Does this package include Green tea options & re the coffee....latte

Can you order the speciality coffees in the MDR after lunch/dinner

Is it better to pre book or book on board and if we " pay as you go " is there a service charge on top of as there is with alcoholic drinks ?

TIA

[RK-NC]

55 minutes ago, janny444 said:

Does this package include Green tea options & re the coffee....latte

 

Yes, includes specialty coffee, tea forte and hot chocolates

 

56 minutes ago, janny444 said:

if we " pay as you go " is there a service charge on top of as there is with alcoholic drinks ?

 

Yes, 15%

 

We have been trying to decide about this package as well and are leaning toward pay-as-you-go as we usually take no more than 2 coffees/day. Here is a menu with prices that may be helpful in your decision (from 2021 so prices may be higher now):

 

https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/marketing-assets/pdf/life-on-board/example-menus/qm2-carinthia-lounge.pdf

[janny444]

1 hour ago, RK-NC said:

 

Yes, includes specialty coffee, tea forte and hot chocolates

 

 

Yes, 15%

 

We have been trying to decide about this package as well and are leaning toward pay-as-you-go as we usually take no more than 2 coffees/day. Here is a menu with prices that may be helpful in your decision (from 2021 so prices may be higher now):

 

https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/marketing-assets/pdf/life-on-board/example-menus/qm2-carinthia-lounge.pdf

Thank you for your reply & price list.....the package for us will certainly be worth it but does the package only apply in certain lounges/bars or is it also  available in the MDR after lunch/dinner ?

[RK-NC]

4 minutes ago, janny444 said:

does the package only apply in certain lounges/bars or is it also  available in the MDR after lunch/dinner ?

 

Not certain about this - hopefully someone with experience can help. I would think that your waiter could retrieve specialty coffee for you from Sir Samuel after lunch or dinner though. 

[RK-NC]

2 hours ago, janny444 said:

Is it better to pre book or book

 

We see $15.75 per person prebooked and $17.50 per person booked onboard. 

[janny444]

2 minutes ago, RK-NC said:

 

We see $15.75 per person prebooked and $17.50 per person booked onboard. 

Thank you.....worth it to prebook and maybe the $17.50 attracts a service charge .

I drink quite a lot of green tea for high cholesterol....I can't take statins.....so probably about 6 cups a day plus 2/3 cups of speciality coffee.

Do you know if you pre book a drink package and you have to cancel the cruise do you receive a refund for the drink package ?

[Pushpit]

In Britannia restaurant they will bring you tea or coffee as part of your meal without charge. It's not from the top of the range ranges that are in the package, but in the case of coffee it is bean-to-cup. I don't know for certain about green tea, but hot water and tea sachets, including green tea, are available in the Lido / Kings Court. There is also a kettle in your stateroom if you bring any supplies with you.

 

The premium drink package can be used in the main bars and lounges. I'm not sure which ship you are on, so I'm not going to list them all out, but the larger bars all have barista coffee machines in them, and so in the (e.g.) the Carinthia Lounge and Café they will do the premium range there. But you can't really use that in the dining rooms.

 

Personally, and as a coffee drinker and teetotal, I find it very difficult to justify the package, but that's mainly because the coffee is relatively strong on the Illy brands. To make it pay, you would need 4 strong coffees over and above the free coffee served at breakfast, lunch and dinner and over the coffee in the stateroom.  That's every day including port days. Tea drinkers, similar thing but I know some people who will knock back 10 teas a day.

 

With my clinical hat on, I should point out that the link between cholesterol and green tea is well established but not particularly strong. It's better considered as part of a healthy active lifestyle.

Edited June 19 by Pushpit

[Poole Boy]

3 hours ago, RK-NC said:

 

Not certain about this - hopefully someone with experience can help. I would think that your waiter could retrieve specialty coffee for you from Sir Samuel after lunch or dinner though. 

You can order speciality coffee ( Latte etc)  from MDR with meals free of charge, however they will not be the same quality as the other lounges. 

[Bell Boy]

4 minutes ago, Poole Boy said:

You can order speciality coffee ( Latte etc)  from MDR with meals free of charge, however they will not be the same quality as the other lounges. 

Exactly , they will come from a machine in the Galley and very poor, not Barista prepared . 

In all seriousness  janny444,   I doubt very much one can expect a restaurant waiter to pop out of the MDR to another venue to collect a speciality Barista prepared latte/cappuccino or, vice versa

However, Green Tea is freely available any time of the day in the MDR - no problems 

[NE John]

Get the package for the hot chocolate alone. Top shelf offering. And then you won’t get nickled and dimed with service charges with every order. 

[janny444]

13 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

Exactly , they will come from a machine in the Galley and very poor, not Barista prepared . 

In all seriousness  janny444,   I doubt very much one can expect a restaurant waiter to pop out of the MDR to another venue to collect a speciality Barista prepared latte/cappuccino or, vice versa

However, Green Tea is freely available any time of the day in the MDR - no problems 

I wasn't expecting any waiter to go to another venue for barista style coffee ....it was a general question as I wasn't sure if they had a barista style option within the MDR itself especially with offering a Speciality Hot drink package....my question has been answered....I can have a " basic style" latte and green tea.....thank you everyone....

 

I have cruised a few times but never with Cunard so apologies if my questions seem a bit " dumb"

[Morgans]

Don't forget that you have a kettle etc in the cabin and you can bring back the green tea bags (or bring on board with you) for totally free. We have always done this. Like others have said, lattees, espressos and cappuccinos are available in the main dining rooms after meals if you would like one - they are fine, if not barista made.

[Clewgarnet]

2 hours ago, NE John said:

Get the package for the hot chocolate alone. Top shelf offering. And then you won’t get nickled and dimed with service charges with every order. 

Unless the hot chocolate has changed since I was last on in October, I found it rather disappointing.

 

Then again, I have a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser at home, so I'm completely spoiled!

[Bell Boy]

29 minutes ago, janny444 said:

I wasn't expecting any waiter to go to another venue for barista style coffee ....it was a general question as I wasn't sure if they had a barista style option within the MDR itself especially with offering a Speciality Hot drink package....my question has been answered....I can have a " basic style" latte and green tea.....thank you everyone....

 

I have cruised a few times but never with Cunard so apologies if my questions seem a bit " dumb"

Apologies janny444  if my reply appeared to be directed solely  at You , it was more in relation to the suggestion from RK-NC in a previous post 

[janny444]

12 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Apologies janny444  if my reply appeared to be directed solely  at You , it was more in relation to the suggestion from RK-NC in a previous post 

Thank you for the clarification....appreciated

Mmmmm....starting to think do I need to bother with the Hot drink package....could quite easily take my own green tea although with the package I would have the opportunity to try different types of green tea....usually go for the standard green tea from supermarkets....not the speciality teas....

[Pushpit]

7 minutes ago, janny444 said:

Thank you for the clarification....appreciated

Mmmmm....starting to think do I need to bother with the Hot drink package....could quite easily take my own green tea although with the package I would have the opportunity to try different types of green tea....usually go for the standard green tea from supermarkets....not the speciality teas....

It's Twinnings Green Tea on board. I found this photo last night looking for something else (lobster!). This is in the self serve area of the Lido / Kings Court, and no doubt Artisans' Foodhall. So you probably don't need to bring too much in the way of supplies. The Tea Forté range is separate to this.

From top left clockwise, English Breakfast, Cranberry and Raspberry, Earl Grey, Lemon and Ginger, Camomile, Assam, Peppermint, Green 

 

 

 

 

[D&N]

3 hours ago, Clewgarnet said:

Unless the hot chocolate has changed since I was last on in October, I found it rather disappointing.

My wife found the hot chocolate in QM2's Chart Room much nicer than the pot with marshmallows served in Carinthia. However that was in Godiva days. With it gone the hot chocolate may be different.

[RK-NC]

17 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

In all seriousness  janny444,   I doubt very much one can expect a restaurant waiter to pop out of the MDR to another venue to collect a speciality Barista prepared latte/cappuccino or, vice versa

 

Oops, sorry, I guess this was a bad suggestion. When we sailed Azamara, the waiter would pop around to the adjacent coffee cafe for my cappuccino so that's where the idea came from. 

[MCC retired]

We enjoy the Free cappuccinos in the MDR after meals .

I can not imagine that the cappuccino machine in the gally is any different than those machines elsewhere onboard?

[Pushpit]

Just now, MCC retired said:

We enjoy the Free cappuccinos in the MDR after meals .

I can not imagine that the cappuccino machine in the gally is any different than those machines elsewhere onboard?

Yes, the coffee is very much different compared to the coffee in the package / paid for coffee  It's from this machine here, and as you can see it's not an espresso machine. This is QM2 but they are the same on QE and QV.

 

 

It is the sort you will find in many restaurants and hotels the world over, as well as in offices. The quality is entirely dependent on the beans going in on top, these machines all work the same way.  I'd be almost certain this is also used in room service since it has a "jug" option button. Fundamentally this is a brew coffee, albeit direct from beans rather than powder, and not espresso based. Some people prefer brew coffee, others prefer espresso based coffee, others are happy with instant, it truly is a matter of taste.  Interestingly, they remove the beans after every meal, most users just top up the beans, rather than cleaning it down. That's a good hygiene protocol but probably unnecessary.

 

Whereas in Commodore, Sir Samuels, Carinthia, grill lounges, the coffee comes via espresso machines, and certainly until recently the ones that Illy required to be installed. Now I don't know whether Union has changed those machines, but the menu is entirely espresso, not brew, and using their beans, which will be somewhat more expensive than the beans. So yes, it's going to be different.

[D&N]

11 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

Now I don't know whether Union has changed those machines

I can't see that there would be any need to, unless they were supplied by Illy as part of the contract.

The ones I've seen in photos and videos (I didn't bother to check when on board myself), were LaCimbali, looked like M39s.

I suspect they'd make good coffee with just about anything!

[Bell Boy]

4 hours ago, MCC retired said:

We enjoy the Free cappuccinos in the MDR after meals .

I can not imagine that the cappuccino machine in the gally is any different than those machines elsewhere onboard?

Completely different I'm afraid , it is a press button coffee machine completely different machines and procedure that is prepared by a Barista ( the same procedure in most coffee shops we use shoreside)  Drip coffee and steamed milk added separately.  

[NE John]

14 hours ago, Clewgarnet said:

Unless the hot chocolate has changed since I was last on in October, I found it rather disappointing.

 

Then again, I have a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser at home, so I'm completely spoiled!

The made to order hot chocolate in the Comm Club and Sir Samuel’s on QM2 is very good. Not the packaged stuff in the buffet. 

[Clewgarnet]

9 hours ago, NE John said:

The made to order hot chocolate in the Comm Club and Sir Samuel’s on QM2 is very good. Not the packaged stuff in the buffet. 

Even the made-to-order stuff isn't as good as I make at home! I've tried it a couple of times, including back when they still had the Godiva cafe, and it wasn't for me.

 

My next cruise is the Med in August, so I can't imagine I'll be missing my hot chocolate then.