Help...coffee on voyager

[Travelcat2]

Maybe Regent and Oceania should swap Food and Beverage Managers, then we might get decent coffee on Regent.

 

Be careful what you wish for. Regent has had F&B Directors, Pastry Chefs, etc. swap from Oceania. While they may know Oceania's products and their customers preferences well, they have no clue what Regent customers are used to (and like). This was one of the reasons our December, 2013 cruise was less than what we were used to. Fortunately, a "Regent" F&B Director came onboard. It took about a week before breads and desserts were back to what we had become accustomed to for years.

 

The coffee issue on Regent seems to be the beans -- not something that can be changed by the F&B Director. However, they certainly can make passengers preferences known to corporate. It would be interesting for Regent do a taste test -- different beans brewed exactly the same way -- same strength, etc. They would probably need to do a large sampling and see what percentage of passengers prefer which one.

[92mill]

You are right, as you often are, TravelCat 2. But if there is a coffee tasting I'd love to be one of the tasters

[Travelcat2]

You are right, as you often are, TravelCat 2. But if there is a coffee tasting I'd love to be one of the tasters

 

I would love to be one of the tasters as well:)

[wishIweretravelling]

I've always assumed it was a cruise ship thing. Regent, Silversea, HAL: I've rarely gotten a good cup of regular coffee--the kind they just pour from the carafes in the dining room-- onboard. Since I like my coffee strong and full-bodied, I've taken to ordering a Cafe Americano to get the kind of coffee I like. The only problem is that on most ships it takes a special run by the waiter, meaning I have to bug an already-overworked waiter and have a longer wait for that all-important second cup.

 

I will be trying out Crystal at the end of October. Will see then if they too have the coffee problem.

[Responder]

This is my take on why a coffee tasting won't tell you much.

 

As with wine, some of us recognize wines better than others whether we like them or not. On the ship, we choose from among the selection offered or upgrade or even bring some of our own bottles.

 

I can't see how this will work with coffee..They can't even give us a decent cup to begin with and if as some of you say, no more than a few % are aware or even care, where do they go after the tasting? If those people don't care now, and I don't know if they do or not, how would they even recognize or care about a better product?

[Travelcat2]

This is my take on why a coffee tasting won't tell you much.

 

As with wine, some of us recognize wines better than others whether we like them or not. On the ship, we choose from among the selection offered or upgrade or even bring some of our own bottles.

 

I can't see how this will work with coffee..They can't even give us a decent cup to begin with and if as some of you say, no more than a few % are aware or even care, where do they go after the tasting? If those people don't care now, and I don't know if they do or not, how would they even recognize or care about a better product?

 

Your post is a bit confusing. You indicated a couple of times on this thread that you shouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars for a cruise and then have to bring your own coffee. IMO, this is no different than bringing your own wine which you do not seem to mind.

 

Agree that some people recognize what they consider to be good coffee and wines and others do not care. Then there are many people who like a particular cup of coffee or glass of wine and it doesn't really matter what it costs or if it is it top of the line or the cheapest coffee.

 

The only thing that coffee tasting would accomplish is to determine which coffee is the most popular (or which coffee most passengers in the test groups prefer). IMO this test would need to be done on more than one cruise -- perhaps a set-up in the Coffee Connection for people to try and vote.

 

While not necessarily the best idea in the world, I'm not hearing any others. Indicating that the coffee is not good or not the right quality doesn't say much in terms of what passengers would like.

[eliana]

It's so sad nothing can be done about the coffee on Regent. We love the line but hate the coffee. We are due to join the Voyager in December for a 28 day cruise and it looks as though I will again have to put up with inferior coffee wherever on board I order it. At breakfast and mid-morning there is no substitute. What makes it even worse is that their onboard baristas agree with us and blame the beans.

Is it possible to buy a lightweight portable nespresso machine which seems the only way to get round the coffee haters at Regent HQ.

[Travelcat2]

It's so sad nothing can be done about the coffee on Regent. We love the line but hate the coffee. We are due to join the Voyager in December for a 28 day cruise and it looks as though I will again have to put up with inferior coffee wherever on board I order it. At breakfast and mid-morning there is no substitute. What makes it even worse is that their onboard baristas agree with us and blame the beans.

Is it possible to buy a lightweight portable nespresso machine which seems the only way to get round the coffee haters at Regent HQ.

 

Apparently I was posting at the same time you were. Unless policies have changed, you may not have your own coffee machine in the room as many are fire hazards. The machines that are in the rooms have safety ratings that meet the requirements of cruise ships. This is also why irons are not permitted in the room. The chance of fire is too great. For whatever reason, hair dryers, curling irons, etc. seem to be okay. There are people who say they sneak machines into their suites. I hope that this would be reported by their Steward(ess) as it puts the entire ship at risk.

 

Seriously think you should consider taking your own coffee and a French press machine as it sounds like this is causing you a lot of stress. Even if Regent decided to change their coffee today, it would probably be quite a while before it was actually served on the ship.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Travelcat2

[Responder]

Your post is a bit confusing. You indicated a couple of times on this thread that you shouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars for a cruise and then have to bring your own coffee. IMO, this is no different than bringing your own wine which you do not seem to mind.

 

 

I also said in past posts that Regent is the only line on which I don't have to bring my own wine. On occasion, I will bring a few special bottles that Regent, as well as every other line, would charge 4 times the retail price, and that's well above the markup over the wholesale, no duty, no tax price they pay. And, they won't have my wine or vintage on the ship.

 

I don't have this option with coffee. If it were practical to bring my own and have the ship prepare and serve it, I might. :D

[eliana]

Thanks Travelcat. As nearly always you make a good point.

 

We may bring our cafeteria, or French Press as you seem to call it in the States even though it was invented in Denmark, and a supply of good ground coffee. Maybe the Maître D' will even let us bring the cafeteria to breakfast.

 

We might even have coffee parties in our suite for passengers who are desperate for a decent cup.

[Travelcat2]

Thanks Travelcat. As nearly always you make a good point.

 

We may bring our cafeteria, or French Press as you seem to call it in the States even though it was invented in Denmark, and a supply of good ground coffee. Maybe the Maître D' will even let us bring the cafeteria to breakfast.

 

We might even have coffee parties in our suite for passengers who are desperate for a decent cup.

 

Too bad we are not on your cruise. My DH would love a coffee party:)

 

P.S. So interesting that the "cafeteria" or French Press was invented in Denmark. Perhaps it should be "Danish cafeteria" or Dane Press. Oh the other hand, that sounds dumb as well.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Travelcat2

[eliana]

I hope NCL appreciate good coffee

Or once their cost accountants get to work will we all have to say good-bye to Regent, despite the email I've just received. Nonetheless we'll remain loyal to Regent unless we begin to notice unacceptable lowering of standards.

We've already noticed some differences for the worse since Seabourn came under Holland America, although they still have cafeterias/French presses at breakfast with decent ground coffee.