Just off Independence of the Seas ....

[DCGuy64]

7 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

On some Royal ships there are True Starbucks Venues (the sign says Starbucks) and also a generic coffee location like the Cafe Promenade or Cafe 270 that also serve specialty coffees.  For instance the cafe promenade has the little Starbucks symbol on the menu board that indicates it uses Starbucks beans, but it’s not a stand-alone Starbucks location .  I believe I’m remembering that correctly.  Hope that helps.  
 

 

Right, I've seen (among other things) that the RCI coffee card, and the Deluxe Beverage Package, do entitle the bearer to premium coffees, but not at standalone Starbucks venues. I am personally not a fan of Starbucks coffee (it tastes burnt, to my taste buds, anyway), but I do love coffee brands such as Seattle's Best, Black Cat, Illy, Lavazza, and Melitta. That's why I'm curious what they'll be serving on the Independence OTS. I suspect the Café Promenade will be busy and I don't want to bother standing in line for coffee I don't like. I will say that I did drink Starbucks cappuccino on our last (and, so far, only) RCI cruise back in 2017. However, they changed the formula since then so it doesn't taste as good now. And I recognize that a lot of people love Starbucks, but I don't.

[SilkySal]

25 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Right, I've seen (among other things) that the RCI coffee card, and the Deluxe Beverage Package, do entitle the bearer to premium coffees, but not at standalone Starbucks venues. I am personally not a fan of Starbucks coffee (it tastes burnt, to my taste buds, anyway), but I do love coffee brands such as Seattle's Best, Black Cat, Illy, Lavazza, and Melitta. That's why I'm curious what they'll be serving on the Independence OTS. I suspect the Café Promenade will be busy and I don't want to bother standing in line for coffee I don't like. I will say that I did drink Starbucks cappuccino on our last (and, so far, only) RCI cruise back in 2017. However, they changed the formula since then so it doesn't taste as good now. And I recognize that a lot of people love Starbucks, but I don't.

On a good note, it's included in your drink package, so try it and, if you don't like it, pitch it!

[Biker19]

34 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's why I'm curious what they'll be serving on the Independence OTS.

You will have to ask the barista. It could even be different between the specialty venues on board (Care Promenade and WJ).

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

You will have to ask the barista. It could even be different between the specialty venues on board (Care Promenade and WJ).

Thank you, this is exactly the good intel I needed (and why I like Cruise Critic so much). 😄