Bad coffee???

[Evereddie]

Been on the Grand and Crown. For my wife and I the Coffee was worst I ever had anywhere! Case closed.

[Evereddie]

Double post. Removed 2nd post. Darn the internet!

[Crusing Grandparents]

We have been on just about every Princess ship in the fleet and never had a bad cup of coffee - Now - bad coffee, one word - STARBUCKS - burnt brown water!!!

 

Ron

 

I love StarBucks even if it is STRONG but with lots of Vanilla creamer and sugar it's not bad.:D

[2Oregonians]

Just off Golden yesterday. Coffee was delicious in Dining room and Desert rose, and tolerable in Buffet as long as I used cream. Just my opinion, of course.

[we2cruze]

I think the variety of opinions expressed in this thread are funny. :p That being said, while I find the dining room coffee to be alright, I would describe the buffet coffee as black bile. It is my understanding that the coffee is made the same way in both places, so I have to assume that the problem is the age of the coffee. Perhaps in the buffet they mix up a new batch of coffee and pour it in with the remaining old batch of coffee, thus producing an ever aging mix of "black bile". I think the buffet coffee is yuck, yuck, yuck, but I would never haul a coffee maker with me on a cruise. Instead I drink hot tea in the buffet. During the breakfast hours they have a variety of tea bags available and I usually will grab a couple of good varieties to use later in the day. I have also bought a coffee card before and used it on specialty coffees. I've never had the brewed coffee from the coffee bar so I can't comment on that.

[Toto2Kansas]

The coffee at the buffet isn't 'mixed up in a batch'. The syrup coffee works on the same principle as a soda machine. The liquid 'black bile' (as you so nicely described it :)) is loaded in a jug underneath, and then on demand, it is mixed with hot water and comes out the top as you get a cup of coffee.

So, it can't be mixed with old, it can't be sitting around too long, that is just the way it is supposed to taste (I know, hard to believe that someone would even think of serving something like this, but think how much they actually save on coffee this way)? Very few drink it, and if they do, one cup or less is about all they can tolerate. ;)

[Web]

I mix coffee with half & half and one of the Splenda After that, I wouldn't know if it was good coffee or not.

 

That's what my husband says about me. . . I used to think McDonald's had the worst coffee . . .they've changed a lot of things & now theirs is good- with Splenda & a few splashes of 1/2 &1/2.

[Lynda90]

I use cream, so the coffee is fine for me. However, I always purchase a coffee card and have great coffee at the lobby bar. And, if you don't use up the specialty coffee punches on the card, you can use it on your next cruise.

[sunviking82]

Okay so the coffee in the Horizon Court is average, but not the sludge that everyone says it is. The resturant coffee is wonderful. I usually drink it with a little cream and sugar and sometimes black but either way it is on par with most resturant coffee.

 

The lobbey bar has freshly brewed throughout the day if you don't want the Horizon Courts, but trust me, it is way better then what you find at your office or any fast food/quick service resturant.

[Alanscruise]

I had also read all the reviews about the bad coffee. I didn't think it was bad at all and I'm an avid coffee drinker. I was expecting the worse and was pleasantly surprised.

 

I thought the room service coffee they broght first thing in the morning was quite good in fact.

 

Now RCCL coffee...that's another thing...worse coffee I've ever had!!!! Not drinkable at all.

 

I'm wondering if since this is coffee made with a syrup concentrate and all the lines likely use a similar product, if alot depends on how its mixed and how fresh the mixture is and how long its been sitting.

 

You can bring a coffee pot if you want tho. When I first read the reviews I had considered it, but then didn't due to space issues. Now I'm glad I didn't bother.

 

You can always just get a coffee card if you get on board and decide that you don't care for the coffee.

 

I have a friend who travels a lot on RCCL. She always brings her own french press, even in the dining room, loaded and requests hot water. That way she always has good coffee. She says RCCL is the WORST coffee ever!

 

Alan

[coiran]

I have a friend who travels a lot on RCCL. She always brings her own french press, even in the dining room, loaded and requests hot water. That way she always has good coffee. She says RCCL is the WORST coffee ever!

 

Alan

 

WE drank "French Press" coffee in England and it was the worst stuff I have ever had - even worse than Starbucks.

Ron

[we2cruze]

The liquid 'black bile' (as you so nicely described it :)) ;)

Sorry, Toto, I don't mean to offend, but honestly that is exactly what goes through my mind when I try to drink it. I guess my theory is totally incorrect, which leaves the question of why the coffee is worse at the buffet unanswered.

I still think all the different opinions are funny. I guess coffee tastes are just as subjective as food tastes. Personally, while I am definitely not a coffee snob, I am pretty picky about my coffee. I like it to be smooth, not bitter or overly strong. For those who find the coffee perfectly fine, I say Good. At least someone is enjoying their cruise coffee.:)

[Toto2Kansas]

Sorry, Toto, I don't mean to offend, but honestly that is exactly what goes through my mind when I try to drink it. I guess my theory is totally incorrect, which leaves the question of why the coffee is worse at the buffet unanswered.

I still think all the different opinions are funny. I guess coffee tastes are just as subjective as food tastes. Personally, while I am definitely not a coffee snob, I am pretty picky about my coffee. I like it to be smooth, not bitter or overly strong. For those who find the coffee perfectly fine, I say Good. At least someone is enjoying their cruise coffee.:)

 

Oh, you misunderstood totally. I SOOOOOOOOOOOO agree with you. That describes the taste of the coffee PERFECTLY IMHO. ROFL That is why I put the smiley face next to it, I couldn't agree more. ;)

[we2cruze]

Toto, I feel so much better now.:p

I just looked at my countdown clock... only 170 days until my next cruise. My daughter got married on Saturday.(insert tired-face icon) I could really, really, really use a cruise like right now.:p I'd even drink the coffee! ......well, maybe not.

[Hlitner]

The cruise lines must have been reading these threads for years and noticed all the posts about lousy coffee. Their solution was typical cruise line! They still have bad coffee (that is the free stuff) but they offer good coffee if you want to pay. Its almost the same with food. You can get some darn good food in the alternative restaurants (for a price) which is similar to the food we used to get in the dining rooms a few years ago. The stuff in the dining rooms has now been downgraded to what I would arguable call decent banquet food. On the other hand, we can cruise today for less than it used to cost us (when adjusted for inflation) so we do not complain.

 

Hank

[Johanna7]

The cruise lines must have been reading these threads for years and noticed all the posts about lousy coffee. Their solution was typical cruise line! They still have bad coffee (that is the free stuff) but they offer good coffee if you want to pay. Its almost the same with food. You can get some darn good food in the alternative restaurants (for a price) which is similar to the food we used to get in the dining rooms a few years ago. The stuff in the dining rooms has now been downgraded to what I would arguable call decent banquet food. On the other hand, we can cruise today for less than it used to cost us (when adjusted for inflation) so we do not complain.

 

Hank

 

Our food on our British Isle cruise wasn't that bad at all but the coffee was not good and didn't even have a coffee smell. It was wonderful, while on shore, to drink the Costa Coffee and that wonderful aroma..... Also, the large coffee I had from Starbucks in Edinburgh was a real treat and I am not even fussy about Starbucks. We drink Tim Horton's at home. Yes, it puts a nice aroma in the kitchen.

 

As for the coffee card on the Grand, I did not get one as it was too awkward for me to go down to the coffee bar and I did not drink coffee in the evening. Maybe if we had been on a lower deck than the Aloha.......

 

In any case, that coffee syrup tastes like they washed their socks in it. Just like the stuff in hospitals.

[lchen818]

Princess's coffee is ok if you like cheap diner type light as water coffee. Personally, I think it is horrible. Even the "premium" coffee for sale was pretty bad. The espresso is lighter than regular medium roast coffee at Starbucks or Pete's.

[HKM]

Before we discovered the coffee card and brewed coffee in the atrium bar, we took a travel French Press and Starbucks Verona with us on a long cruise. We made coffee using the hot water in the Horizon Court. I can't tell you how many passengers (and crew members) stopped by and asked us about it. When we left the ship, we gave the press and remaining coffee to our room steward, who seemed delighted.

[Guest Spo]

Slightly off topic -- What is the earliest in the morning that you can get room service to deliver coffee? My sister is a coffeeaholic and she gets up about 4:00 a.m. I really don't want to bring a coffee maker with us, but I don't even think she could make it to the buffet without her first cup:rolleyes:!

[Toto2Kansas]

Slightly off topic -- What is the earliest in the morning that you can get room service to deliver coffee? My sister is a coffeeaholic and she gets up about 4:00 a.m. I really don't want to bring a coffee maker with us, but I don't even think she could make it to the buffet without her first cup:rolleyes:!

You can call room service 24/7. So, just pick up the phone and order coffee whenever you want, at any time. ;)

[Kathy130]

After reading these boards about the coffee, I was expecting a "syruppy mud." I was pleasantly surprised, and I, too, enjoyed my morning coffee from room service. I especially enjoyed the fact it came with a real creamer, not the domed packets that RCCL serves. I needed to open four of them to cream the coffee. Another nice perk about Princess!!

[skandls]

We are back from our Jul 14 Island Princess cruise. I found the coffee in the buffet to be awful. I drink my coffee black. Others in our group thought it was good. So for my morning fix I coughed up $2.30 for 2 cups of brewed coffee from the coffee bar. Of course one of the servers asked why I didn 't get the free stuff as it was all the same. The stuff in the buffet tasted like the coffee that had been sitting in the office coffee machine for 3 hours.

[Teetype]

Our food on our British Isle cruise wasn't that bad at all but the coffee was not good and didn't even have a coffee smell. It was wonderful, while on shore, to drink the Costa Coffee and that wonderful aroma..... Also, the large coffee I had from Starbucks in Edinburgh was a real treat and I am not even fussy about Starbucks. We drink Tim Horton's at home. Yes, it puts a nice aroma in the kitchen.

 

As for the coffee card on the Grand, I did not get one as it was too awkward for me to go down to the coffee bar and I did not drink coffee in the evening. Maybe if we had been on a lower deck than the Aloha.......

 

In any case, that coffee syrup tastes like they washed their socks in it. Just like the stuff in hospitals.

 

Actually, having been an RN who worked nights and was dependent on that hospital coffee, I can say the hospital stuff was better.

 

It's really ironic as coffee is the most consistent gripe I see about Princess. For us it's not really a gripe as we always travel with a coffee maker, land or sea. And we love Princess!

 

You'd think that despite the large increase in solid waste that that amount of coffee grounds would generate it would probably be more than worthwhile to be the ONLY line to offer great coffee as part of the package.

 

Tee

[coffee39]

I just bought a Princess go cup and took it to the buffet. Fill the cup one third coffee and two thirds hot water and it was good. The coffee at the buffet was like syrup and very strong, however the hot water is right there so just water down to your liking.