pastorfrank Posted May 30, 2008 #26 Share Posted May 30, 2008 We're booked on the Victory to Canada in late July and we're trying to plan ahead about what to pack (and trying to pack lightly!). We're both kind of picky about our morning coffee, though, and I've read a bit on the boards about the Carnival coffee being no good. We know about the free cappuccino in the dining room (still true?), but we're hoping to be able to score a good cup of morning joe (without trucking down several floors to buy something), and since we have a balcony room, we'd love to have room-service coffee in the morning. I've read a few suggestions that the only way to get good coffee is to pack our own French press, but aside from not being able to get boiling water in our cabin, I'm hoping not to add a press to the suitcase as well. Does anybody have any suggestions or thoughts to help our caffeine addiction? Thanks! If Carnival uses the same coffee fleet wise, and I see no reason why they wouldn't, here is my personal review: In the Dining Room: not bad Around Lido Deck: uck!!! In Creamers: excellent!! Okay...someone much smarter than I might say...gee Sir it's all the same coffee...if that is the case they prepare it differently because Creamers has the best coffee this side of Tim Hortons (I am a Canadian :) ). I look foward to buying two cups of coffee a day at Creamers...one in the morning after breakfast and another after dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted May 30, 2008 #27 Share Posted May 30, 2008 We're booked on the Victory to Canada in late July and we're trying to plan ahead about what to pack (and trying to pack lightly!). We're both kind of picky about our morning coffee, though, and I've read a bit on the boards about the Carnival coffee being no good. We know about the free cappuccino in the dining room (still true?), but we're hoping to be able to score a good cup of morning joe (without trucking down several floors to buy something), and since we have a balcony room, we'd love to have room-service coffee in the morning. I've read a few suggestions that the only way to get good coffee is to pack our own French press, but aside from not being able to get boiling water in our cabin, I'm hoping not to add a press to the suitcase as well. Does anybody have any suggestions or thoughts to help our caffeine addiction? Thanks! I am picky about my coffee too..Its not that good.. It usually has that been on warm all day taste... What I did is tried it from each machine on the Lido deck.. and honestly some were much better than others.. but I think other passengers figured this out too, because the better machine always ran out first- which is good, because then it was fresh. If you use milk, I suggest Half & half to help the taste... In the dinning room the coffee was much worse as was the cappacino and I dont understand why.- I could never drink it in the dinning room At the Coffee concession - sort of like starbucks.. the cappacino was excellent! $4-5 per large cup....(better tasting than starbucks) I order my coffee by the case from New Orleans.. talk about picky -French Market with Chickory..its amazing! And if you use a french press on board just bring some plastic zip locks for the grinds and discard in the food disposals around the lido deck. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted May 30, 2008 #28 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I believe the Lido deck coffee is "box" coffee It's a concentrate coffee in a box, that when dispensed is mixed with hot water to make hot coffee. Fairly common for dispenser systems. You see it at Disney World and other high volume tourist places. Notice you never see anyone "making coffee" on Lido The juices work same way, concentrate mixed with water to make your juice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted May 30, 2008 #29 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I believe the Lido deck coffee is "box" coffeeIt's a concentrate coffee in a box, that when dispensed is mixed with hot water to make hot coffee. Fairly common for dispenser systems. You see it at Disney World and other high volume tourist places. Notice you never see anyone "making coffee" on Lido The juices work same way, concentrate mixed with water to make your juice I dont know what a boxed coffee is.. I watched them refil one machine ( the better one ;) ) and it was huge bag of grinds...It must last all day as I only saw this late at night a couple of times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocF Posted May 30, 2008 #30 Share Posted May 30, 2008 The highly automated machines on the Lido deck on the Elation produced a cup that was as good as most restaurant coffee. The less automated machines on the Glory did not do as well. I drink my coffee black and strong. My coffee at home was better, but then most coffee out does not stack up to mine. The dining room coffee on both ships was better than average. Why does the older ship have more sophisticated machines? The Elation is the most highly automated ship sailing. Some of the computerized features were not worth the cost and not continued of later builds. Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare EngIceDave Posted May 30, 2008 #31 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I dont know what a boxed coffee is.. I watched them refil one machine ( the better one ;) ) and it was huge bag of grinds...It must last all day as I only saw this late at night a couple of times http://www.cw-usa.com/coffee-alldaygourmet-concentrate-liquid-64oz-bib-box.html It is in a bag, in a box Without looking closely, one might think it's grinds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted May 30, 2008 #32 Share Posted May 30, 2008 http://www.cw-usa.com/coffee-alldaygourmet-concentrate-liquid-64oz-bib-box.html It is in a bag, in a box Without looking closely, one might think it's grinds yes your right, but thats not what I saw.. I watched them open a big brown/gold bag... ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestocruise@yahoo.com Posted May 30, 2008 #33 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I am a coffee wuss..don't like my coffee strong but I do like my coffee in the morning so I take my 5 cup coffee maker with me and enjoy it my way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunCruiser56 Posted May 30, 2008 #34 Share Posted May 30, 2008 As for disposing of the used grounds- I premeasured my coffee at home for the number of pots of coffee I was planning on making. I put that amount in a snack size baggie. When I was done brewing then I put the used grounds in the baggie the coffee was in. washed it in the bathroom sink. The coffee on RCI was swill so it was worth it to me to brew my own. Hope CCL is better! Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizjoemom Posted May 30, 2008 #35 Share Posted May 30, 2008 The coffee we have had is not the best but it also has not been the worst. It is good and strong. We bring our own little packs of flavored creamer and that seems to help a lot. The worst coffee I have had was on RCI. I agree with that! We are taking our first Carnival cruise this summer so we have never experienced their coffee, but have been on 4 RCI cruises and by far the worst coffee ever! It was a little better in the dining room but the coffee in those big urns in the windjammer is just bad, I drank tea, on last cruise and when we stopped in San Juan, went to Starbucks. I really didnt think about any specialty coffees though, I will have to try them this summer. Hopefully, since we are sailing from Italy the coffee will be better. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dclark Posted May 30, 2008 #36 Share Posted May 30, 2008 No one who has posted is as picky as I when it comes to coffee! I never go to places like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks unless I am traveling (yuck!). I don't even buy coffee from the store: I buy green coffee beans off the internet and I roast them myself (you can't get a cup of good coffee using stale beans!). After I roast them, I run them through my espresso machine. I generally like to drink capuchinos. So, what do i think of the ships' coffee? Horrible! When people say "strong" I think they are confusing it with "burnt". The stuff at the pay stand is not bad though, much better than Princess's pay stuff. Also, the pay for stuff is priced real well, less than land based ($2.75?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted May 30, 2008 #37 Share Posted May 30, 2008 No one who has posted is as picky as I when it comes to coffee! I never go to places like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks unless I am traveling (yuck!). Guess you missed my post about ordering it from New Orleans.. (I live in ny) So, what do i think of the ships' coffee? Horrible! When people say "strong" I think they are confusing it with "burnt". Absolutely burnt.. not strong and there is a big difference because i like it strong Starbucks is burnt and terrible!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelz66 Posted May 30, 2008 #38 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Guess you missed my post about ordering it from New Orleans.. (I live in ny) I just ordered some myself yesterday. http://www.frenchmarketcoffee.com/ :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dclark Posted May 30, 2008 #39 Share Posted May 30, 2008 No one who has posted is as picky as I when it comes to coffee! I never go to places like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks unless I am traveling (yuck!). Guess you missed my post about ordering it from New Orleans.. (I live in ny) So, what do i think of the ships' coffee? Horrible! When people say "strong" I think they are confusing it with "burnt". Absolutely burnt.. not strong and there is a big difference because i like it strong Starbucks is burnt and terrible!:) You really should give home roasting a try. Roasted beans start going stale a week or so after roasting. When beans are freshly roasted, they taste like nothing you've ever had! If you buy it roasted, by the case, you are getting some stale drink there. As for Starbucks, their nickname is "Charbucks because they over roast their coffee. Over roasting helps cover the poor quality of their beans. Sometimes, I'll make a double shot mocha ( 2 shots of freshly roasted beans, two spoonfuls of gourmet chocolate) and take it to work and give it to a coworker- they are always appreciative! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted May 30, 2008 #40 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I just ordered some myself yesterday. http://www.frenchmarketcoffee.com/ :D Its amazing it, isnt it! what kind do you buy.. I get the regular with chickory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted May 30, 2008 #41 Share Posted May 30, 2008 You really should give home roasting a try. Roasted beans start going stale a week or so after roasting. When beans are freshly roasted, they taste like nothing you've ever had! If you buy it roasted, by the case, you are getting some stale drink there. As for Starbucks, their nickname is "Charbucks because they over roast their coffee. Over roasting helps cover the poor quality of their beans. Sometimes, I'll make a double shot mocha ( 2 shots of freshly roasted beans, two spoonfuls of gourmet chocolate) and take it to work and give it to a coworker- they are always appreciative! LOL I would not know even how to do this~ I am really happy with the French Market chickory.. have you ever tried it? mmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victory2020 Posted May 31, 2008 #42 Share Posted May 31, 2008 can you just have cappucino delivered in the morning thru room service? No,they won't but you can always ask. Some HAL ships they do & some they don't, so it may be up to room service manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrounds Posted May 31, 2008 #43 Share Posted May 31, 2008 It's not Starbucks but it is usually pretty good. EXACTLY ! ! :D I'm a coffee addict, so it has to be really bad before I'll complain. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mzloolue Posted May 31, 2008 #44 Share Posted May 31, 2008 My daughters both worked as baristas and they drank the coffee and didn't say anything negative about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAAAmerican Posted May 31, 2008 #45 Share Posted May 31, 2008 New York City, NY and its Borough of Manhattan Island have another Record Holder...and it is in COFFEE too: Have youall ever been into the Port of Authority Building on 40th and 42nd ST's? Inside is a Bread, Coffee and Pizza place called Zabars.. Now at its HQ at 80th and Broadway... is excellent in other goods and services too... They sell there over 4 US Tons of Coffee each week. Yes over 8,000 pounds! BookMark this*S* http://zabars.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelz66 Posted May 31, 2008 #46 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Its amazing it, isnt it! what kind do you buy.. I get the regular with chickory! YEP!!! Thats what I get...love it! Black Gold...LOL :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyshoreBruce Posted May 31, 2008 #47 Share Posted May 31, 2008 :) No one who has posted is as picky as I when it comes to coffee! I never go to places like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks unless I am traveling (yuck!). Guess you missed my post about ordering it from New Orleans.. (I live in ny) So, what do i think of the ships' coffee? Horrible! When people say "strong" I think they are confusing it with "burnt". Absolutely burnt.. not strong and there is a big difference because i like it strong Starbucks is burnt and terrible!:) I love Starbucks unless you drink your coffee black then I agree it does taste burnt. But Starbucks keeps me awake the best. Although I am not crazy about the coffee on Carnival Ships its ok because the atmosphere of sitting there on the deck or balcony watching the sunburst (rise) makes up for it. Everything is better on a cruise!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpstateCruizer Posted May 31, 2008 #48 Share Posted May 31, 2008 We're booked on the Victory to Canada in late July and we're trying to plan ahead about what to pack (and trying to pack lightly!). We're both kind of picky about our morning coffee, though, and I've read a bit on the boards about the Carnival coffee being no good. We know about the free cappuccino in the dining room (still true?), but we're hoping to be able to score a good cup of morning joe (without trucking down several floors to buy something), and since we have a balcony room, we'd love to have room-service coffee in the morning. I've read a few suggestions that the only way to get good coffee is to pack our own French press, but aside from not being able to get boiling water in our cabin, I'm hoping not to add a press to the suitcase as well. Does anybody have any suggestions or thoughts to help our caffeine addiction? Thanks! Hi fellow Ny'er :) We are about 20 miles from Hamilton. I too heard the complaints about the coffee on the ship prior to our first cruise last year. We actually had no issues with the coffee on the ship. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstateny39 Posted June 3, 2008 Author #49 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thanks so much for all of this! I think I'm just going to go ahead a drink the room service stuff on my balcony and not worry if it's a little weak...and I'll definitely have the cappuccino at dinner! Good info about Zabar's...we order coffee from them by the case! And now I'm going to have to do some research about this home roasting thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dclark Posted June 3, 2008 #50 Share Posted June 3, 2008 T And now I'm going to have to do some research about this home roasting thing! Roasting is fun! You put in the green beans, set up the roast profile and watch! The beans are whipped about like popcorn and then they crack (pop). Then after a couple of more minutes, you see smoke and you a louder, second pop. Dump them out in a bowl, let sit for 8 hours, brew yum, yum! As for the poster who said that Starbucks keeps him up better, I think that they use some robusta beans with the arabica. Robusta has double teh caffiene of arabica. Two reasons to use it 1) They are cheaper than arabica 2) They give a little crema to the coffee. I have Starbucks in my kitchean and noticed the extra kick compared to my roast. Note that darker roasts have less caffiene, so for this blend to have that kick, there must have been some robusta in the blend. And, if you are wondering why someone who roasts coffee would have starbucks, my wife got a free lb of the stuff and rather than toss it into the compost pile, I brewed it up (economy is bad, I'll save money where I can). i do think that espresso and espresso drinks on CCL are superior to Starbucks. In fact, I think they use Lilly coffee, coffee that is roasted in Italy. They might even use Davinci syrups which are much better than the more common Torani syrups most shops use. I guess I'll find out next! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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