Calling all COFFEE LOVERS!

[LauraS]

CALLING ALL COFFEE LOVERS: for those of us (and I believe there are many!) who can’t live without Starbucks or a great independent coffee house, it’s pure torture to be on a ship that serves coffee that tastes like ditchwater. Wouldn’t it be great to know the inside scoop on which ships(lines) are the best for people passionate about coffee?

We need your help! Please share your opinions and experiences for an upcoming Cruise Critic article on the best brews at sea. Let us know about coffee you’ve loved or despised. If you’ve noticed the dining room is serving up better morning coffee than the breakfast buffet, great shipboard coffee venues, plus anything else you think a fellow coffee lover would want to know.”

[Randy & Carmen]

Well....I love Carnival but they are lacking in the coffee dept...BUT...I must say the last cruise, on Miracle, it was tolerable...and in the supper clubs it has been ok.....but mostly, and as an every morning coffee drinker at home, I have to pass on much coffee at sea.....I just put a little cream and sugar to help it and never finish a cup.:( ...WE WANT BETTER COFFEE!.....HOW'S THAT?:p

[DreadPirateRobert]

Well I guess I've spent too many years around army guys who think stronger is better but I really enjoy Carnival's coffee. The coffee in the Lido deck buffet tastes great to me. It has a full body but isn't bitter. Now I'd be the first to admit that much of my enjoyment may be circumstantial. Here I am, waking up on a cruise ship bound for a tropical destination. I'm eating a great breakfast looking out and watching the sea roll by. Anything is proboaly going to taste great. I'm no connoisseur but I know what I like.

[Randy & Carmen]

I sorta kinda agree with Pirate's thoughts....It's like camping out.....which I haven't done in years......but the worst breakfast is awesome in the woods....lol....and like I said...I noticed it was better this last cruise.:D

[serene56]

I thought the coffee in the Supper club on the Miralce was soo very yucky. Way to black and way too strong. If I was bald it woulda put hair on my head.

 

I do agree that coffee taste different in the various places. Dining room coffee at dinner being the best for me. and room service being a close second. Coffee on the lido deck..its drinkable but I'd rather not.

[summerlove69]

Are the specialty coffees, that you pay extra for, any better? I like to have a flavored iced coffee daily. I have no problem paying extra for it, but I hope it's decent.

 

Bridget

[Randy & Carmen]

Oh yes....forgot about room service....it IS better....that's me in my avatar enjoying coffee on the balcony!.What a life...I think motor oil would taste good if I was there now!:eek: :p

[dsclark]

I hate Starbucks. They do a poor job of roasting their beans. They do a lot of marketing to convince people that their poor quality beans make a great coffee beverage. They are the McDonalds of coffee.

As far as "strong coffee" goes, a little clarification here.

The amount of flavour you can obtain from the bean can be increased by using a finer grind. Espresso is strong because it uses a fine grind with hot water shot through it in a short amount of time. That's why it is strong. A regular pot of coffee can't be made strong because, well, know that wonderful coffee smell that is filling your kitchean? Well, hate to tell you, but that is flavor be lost!

More often than not, what people describe as "strong" coffee is really burnt, old coffee. As coffee sits in the pot on the burner, it gets nasty pretty quick. So, don't think of that as strong (like fresh espresso!), think of it as what is- old, nasty coffee!

I use a super auto Gaggia espresso to make my morning mocha. I usually use locally roasted costa rican beans and a little Guitarrad chocolate. I am very picky about what I drink. I only drink espresso; the traditional coffee pot way of brewing doesn't do a good bean justice.

Coffee on ships- RCCL serves wretched coffee.It tastes like a pot of Denny's coffee that has been sitting around for a few hours. I tried the extra cost coffee option on the EOS and it wasn't much better. There might be some good espresso to be had in the optional Portofinos, but when I finished dining there, I didn't want to try it at night. So, for decent coffee, scratch RCCL.

CCL- their coffee isn't much better. I know I said before that I don't like mass brewed coffee, but these two lines both serve exceptionally bad brew.

However, CCL does have an optional coffee option. I have tried it on five different ships. They are equally good. They keep the machines clean (verrrry important!) and are quite reasonable. Las Dec, I think a tall double shot mocha was $3.79 with tip, which might be even less than you would pay at a coffee shack. It isn't as good as you'll get from some of the shacks that roast their own beans, but it is much better than Star Bucks.

If your idea of good coffee is some Folgers ran through a Mr. Coffee machine, then I think you'll be happy with the offerrings of any cruise line.

[coolestwife]

Oh yes....forgot about room service....it IS better....that's me in my avatar enjoying coffee on the balcony!.What a life...I think motor oil would taste good if I was there now!:eek: :p

 

I would have to agree with that! I actually do like the coffee they have on the Pride....I just wish the cups were bigger. Oddly enough, at home I put my coffee in the "drink of the day" glasses we got on our 1st cruise....helps me go back.....aaahhhhhhh.........

:rolleyes:

[floridaboyz]

I am with Randy and Pirate -- coffee on a ship tastes great probably because of the surroundings and the fact I can walk around on deck watching the waves roll by with the islands sparkling on the horizon.

 

Maybe I am not a connoisseur of "great" coffee, but Starbucks always tastes like it is burnt to me. Something about it that just needs extra sweetner and a shot of plain water everytime.

 

I enjoy Carnival's coffee even though I know it is really not fresh but it seems to taste good to me when I have had it -- like every morning onboard! IMHO there has been no difference between the Lido deck, room service or the dining room for flavor or quality.

[DreadPirateRobert]

I think my main opposition to Starbucks is the price. I have this general rule in life, never spend more for a cup of coffee than you would for a glass of scotch.

[summerlove69]

I think my main opposition to Starbucks is the price. I have this general rule in life, never spend more for a cup of coffee than you would for a glass of scotch.

 

Here, a glass of scotch is generally at least $9, so that gives starbucks a lot of room. LOL.

 

Bridget

[JrMafia90]

I'm not a coffee fan so I can't help you guys. But it would be nice to see Starbucks on the ships!

[cathyoo]

I am not a coffee gourmet but I found the coffe disappointing on both of my cruises (One Royal, One Carnvial) This time I am actually thinking of taking one of those single cup pots with me. It will be my first time on a balcony and I would really like to start my day with a sunrise and a cup of coffee.

[corina27]

From reading everyone's post i think ill bring along my french vanilla creamer on my cruise just in case its lacking in flavor.:confused:

[flashdog_1]

I heard no complaints on Summit about coffee whether in the buffet or dining room. I've read on these boards that it is better in the dining room. Remember that in the buffet on any ship, if you go late, you may have coffee that has been sitting on the warmer, and it will not be as good. i go early in the morning, so maybe I've had better luck because of that

 

It would be interesting to watch them change the beans and filter on each ship and see if they insert new, cleaned, insides or just dump out the grounds from the last batch and insert a new filter.

 

Again, the clean pot makes a big difference. go early in the morning if you are a coffee lover. then later in the morning try another cup and see if its quality has declined.

[DreadPirateRobert]

Here, a glass of scotch is generally at least $9, so that gives starbucks a lot of room. LOL.

 

Bridget

 

Bridget

I was on a business trip to NYC once and scotch was $13.50 in a bar at the Waldorf. I was very glad to not be paying for it that day.

I don't know how y'all do it.

[Randy & Carmen]

From reading everyone's post i think ill bring along my french vanilla creamer on my cruise just in case its lacking in flavor.:confused:

ABSOLUTELY!....I did that once with the powder but it's better with what I use every morning at home in the liguid (keep in frig) form.:D

[Fern Crest]

Well, forgiving "first cruise rose-colored glasses" (nothing will compare to the first morning, having coffee and watching the ocean sunrise for the first time ... ahhhhh ), the morning coffee we got on the Paradise last year was very good. We had brought along the Irish Cream liquid creamer, so that likely helped. Also, the coffee at the evening buffets was *much* nicer once we put some chocolate syrup in, along with the cream and sugar! After dinner, you could take your insulated mug, put coffee and fixings in it, and go to the bar and get a shot of Bailey's Irish Cream in it. Now *that* made for some fine sippin'! :D ;)

 

Carnival Paradise 8/04

Waiting to Laze on the Legend 8/1/05!

[cruise pup]

ABSOLUTELY!....I did that once with the powder but it's better with what I use every morning at home in the liguid (keep in frig) form.:D

 

I head over to the soft serve ice cream machine and pump some vanilla into my cup. I really don't give a flying fig what the coffee's like then.

[MERVYN BREMMER]

Everyone has thier own opinion on coffee and Starbuck's itself. For me anything is better then Starbuck's...that stuff tastes like it's been brewed using 4 day old sweat socks for a filter;) :D

I have to agree with a previous poster that the earlier you get to the buffet coffee the better......it's really great at sunrise while at sea.....now I really wish I was there.

[harrodsfan]

I hate Starbucks. They do a poor job of roasting their beans. They do a lot of marketing to convince people that their poor quality beans make a great coffee beverage. They are the McDonalds of coffee.

I agree totally with this poster! However I happen to really like McDonalds coffee.

My favorite cruise coffee was the coffee bar on the Veedam. (Sorry not cArnival...)Free and very good.

[cod]

We like our coffee too! Our first two cruises were Carnival and we did not discuss coffee which means it must have been okay. Then we took a RCCL cruise and the coffee was terrible! Since then we pay more attention and take nothing for granted. Celebrity was okay but Norwegian gets our vote. I would not give NCL an A across the board, but their coffee gets one. From us at least.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

CALLING ALL COFFEE LOVERS: for those of us (and I believe there are many!) who can’t live without Starbucks or a great independent coffee house, it’s pure torture to be on a ship that serves coffee that tastes like ditchwater. Wouldn’t it be great to know the inside scoop on which ships(lines) are the best for people passionate about coffee?

 

We need your help! Please share your opinions and experiences for an upcoming Cruise Critic article on the best brews at sea. Let us know about coffee you’ve loved or despised. If you’ve noticed the dining room is serving up better morning coffee than the breakfast buffet, great shipboard coffee venues, plus anything else you think a fellow coffee lover would want to know.”

 

THE ABSOLUTE WORST COFFEE I'VE EVER HAD WAS ON PRINCESS CRUISES !

(DAWN PRINCESS AND ISLAND PRINCESS) - HAD TO ADD SOME BAILEY'S TO MAKE IT DRINKABLE ! - CCL COFFEE WAS TOLERABLE - AS WAS RCI

 

(JUST MY 2 CENTS !) :p

[auntienance]

So glad to know I'm not the only person on earth who dislikes Starbucks :p I found the coffee on the Conquest tolerable. I was expecting much worse.