Coffee

[eliana]

It is not the water nor the method nor different tastes that leads to almost universal dislike of Regent's coffee. It is the beans as even agreed by many of the staff onboard their ships. We have not sailed with Oceania nor recently Navigatorand cannot compare, but the coffee is much better on Seabourn.

 

Regent management must know of this by the volume of complaints they have received and if they read many of the threads on Cruise Critic. They just seem to ignore the issue, even though they deal with other concerns, like poor wine, quickly and well. Maybe they need to change the person who orders the coffee beans or maybe the new owners will deal with the matter!

[Travelcat2]

It is not the water nor the method nor different tastes that leads to almost universal dislike of Regent's coffee. It is the beans as even agreed by many of the staff onboard their ships. We have not sailed with Oceania nor recently Navigatorand cannot compare, but the coffee is much better on Seabourn.

 

Regent management must know of this by the volume of complaints they have received and if they read many of the threads on Cruise Critic. They just seem to ignore the issue, even though they deal with other concerns, like poor wine, quickly and well. Maybe they need to change the person who orders the coffee beans or maybe the new owners will deal with the matter!

 

Since food and beverages are subjective, it is good that you are able to have coffee that meets your expectations on Seabourn. IMO, it would take a lot more that coffee to make a Regent customer switch cruise lines. Even wine is subjective. You sound like a Seabourn loyalist which is a good thing. Those of us who like Regent either ignore the coffee (if we truly don't like it - not everyone feels that way -- remember, Cruise Critic members represent only 5% of cruisers) we simply would not drink the coffee on the ship.

 

In terms of the "new owners" dealing with the matter, IMO, don't hold your breath!

[2old4this]

It is not the water nor the method nor different tastes that leads to almost universal dislike of Regent's coffee. It is the beans as even agreed by many of the staff onboard their ships. We have not sailed with Oceania nor recently Navigatorand cannot compare, but the coffee is much better on Seabourn.

 

Regent management must know of this by the volume of complaints they have received and if they read many of the threads on Cruise Critic. They just seem to ignore the issue, even though they deal with other concerns, like poor wine, quickly and well. Maybe they need to change the person who orders the coffee beans or maybe the new owners will deal with the matter!

 

You read as a person who really appreciates Seabourn's coffees, Eliana, and are very certain that water, method and individual tastes don't lead to passenger dislike of Regent's bean delivery. It is all beans, you write. I hesitate to slip in with anything to add based on your expertise.

 

I will agree with you that great coffee drinks require great beans. So much more goes into bean handling, even the best beans, after the beans are on board that can limit the best coffee drinks from being made. Grind size, coarse or fine, can easily determine extraction rate. Temperature of the water as well as the ratio of the water to the beans impacts flavor and aroma. Flavor and aroma seem to be better from the coffee machine because the machine is robot-like and follows how it has been programmed. This quality control may not be so rigid in the restaurants. Another consideration is the roasting of the beans. Dark roast or light? What does Seabourne use? It does make a difference since dark roast is a charring of the bean thus the loss of some of its flavor. I prefer light roast for myself. Conclusion? Seabourne has made coffee the way you like it. Regent, for me, has yet to master the art of a good cup of coffee. Jack

[eliana]

I am not a loyalist to any cruise line but have travelled most with Seabourn and Regent, although nowadays have more of an inclination towards Regent. Coffee on Seabourn is not great by whichever method is used, kitchen, machine, French Press, but is much much better than Regent whichever of the different methods they use. If itvis not the method, nor the water nor the roast it must be the quality of the raw beans themselves.

[HanaleiSailor]

Aloha all,

 

I roast 1000's of pounds of coffee per month and serve some 6-800 drinks every day of the year, and I can tell you from experience that it is absolutely possible to make lousy coffee with even the best beans on earth if there are problems with the equipment or a really bad water source.

 

Having just returned from our third Regent cruise, this time 10 nights on the Voyager, I believe that there may be a combination of factors contributing to Regent's coffee problems.

 

First, I will agree with what many have posted here. I do not much care for the coffee itself. Partially, because I generally drink 100% Kona coffee about two days out of the roaster, I am rather spoiled with very freshly-roasted, high quality beans. However, as I have posted before, I am critical of coffee, but I will generally drink just about anything, but on this year's cruise, the restaurant coffees on the ship in the mornings were barely drinkable. This year, because the coffee was so bad, I had a good look at the beans, and they look fairly stale by the time they are put into the machines on the ship. This may not be the case, but the coffee looks pretty old and dried out to me. Also, the beans do not have a good aroma. The coffee smells like large Institutional production coffees with lots of robusta, like a Folgers or Maxwell House. I can not imagine that this is high-end coffee. It is most likely inexpensive commercial coffee meant to be used in institutional kitchens.

 

A major part of the problem is simply the logistics of getting coffee to between 600-700 people in an hour prior to the morning excursions. To do this, they need to use the giant brewers, which again might produce something drinkable with really good beans, but will never produce a great cup of coffee.

 

Finally, I do not contend that Regent's poor coffee quality is completely due to the water quality on the ship; however, I do believe that it would be nearly impossible to make coffee as well as one can do on land with the water produced by a cruise ship. Again, Regent should be able to drastically improve upon what they are currently serving, but I do not think that they will ever be able to produce really "great" coffee.

 

Aloha from Hanalei,

 

Mark

[2old4this]

Aloha all,

 

I roast 1000's of pounds of coffee per month and serve some 6-800 drinks every day of the year, and I can tell you from experience that it is absolutely possible to make lousy coffee with even the best beans on earth if there are problems with the equipment or a really bad water source.

 

Having just returned from our third Regent cruise, this time 10 nights on the Voyager, I believe that there may be a combination of factors contributing to Regent's coffee problems.

 

First, I will agree with what many have posted here. I do not much care for the coffee itself. Partially, because I generally drink 100% Kona coffee about two days out of the roaster, I am rather spoiled with very freshly-roasted, high quality beans. However, as I have posted before, I am critical of coffee, but I will generally drink just about anything, but on this year's cruise, the restaurant coffees on the ship in the mornings were barely drinkable. This year, because the coffee was so bad, I had a good look at the beans, and they look fairly stale by the time they are put into the machines on the ship. This may not be the case, but the coffee looks pretty old and dried out to me. Also, the beans do not have a good aroma. The coffee smells like large Institutional production coffees with lots of robusta, like a Folgers or Maxwell House. I can not imagine that this is high-end coffee. It is most likely inexpensive commercial coffee meant to be used in institutional kitchens.

 

A major part of the problem is simply the logistics of getting coffee to between 600-700 people in an hour prior to the morning excursions. To do this, they need to use the giant brewers, which again might produce something drinkable with really good beans, but will never produce a great cup of coffee.

 

Finally, I do not contend that Regent's poor coffee quality is completely due to the water quality on the ship; however, I do believe that it would be nearly impossible to make coffee as well as one can do on land with the water produced by a cruise ship. Again, Regent should be able to drastically improve upon what they are currently serving, but I do not think that they will ever be able to produce really "great" coffee.

 

Aloha from Hanalei,

 

Mark

 

I tend to agree with you, HanaleiSailor, and I appreciate the depth of your response. Your personal experience in coffee drinking and with all the steps you take everyday to roast and to serve others your brews is impressive. My coffee line is merely home service and sometimes large Lions Club community servings.

 

Would you agree that you and I and the rest of us commenting here would like to see an overhaul and a serious upgrading of coffee service on our three Regent vessels? Imagine for a moment that with the new management team came a sparkling new emphasis by Regent to set the highest coffee benchmark on the seven seas. Their goal to establish the reputation for a 'no coffee complaint goes unanswered' coffee standard. Along with creating the recipe for great coffee and following it to the letter, task a member of the galley to oversee coffee operations and for her/him to mingle among the diners as Regent's 'Coffee Barista' as chefs always do and wine stewards do with their wine tasting spoons. In other words, make coffee one of the quality standards cruisers expect when on a Regent vessel. The Barista might wear a scarf or a hat with the name of the country from which the current coffee bean was acquired. Making great coffee and promoting it well around the vessels would also become one of the perks Regent proudly boasts in their mail outs. Jack

[Responder]

Would you agree that you and I and the rest of us commenting here would like to see an overhaul and a serious upgrading of coffee service on our three Regent vessels? Imagine for a moment that with the new management team came a sparkling new emphasis by Regent to set the highest coffee benchmark on the seven seas. Their goal to establish the reputation for a 'no coffee complaint goes unanswered' coffee standard. Jack

 

We've given them years to consider this and to my recollection, not one response has been uttered regarding the drink they call coffee.

 

I also believe Regent has quite a bit of caching up to do in many areas with regards to "no complaint goes unanswered."

[Travelcat2]

Generally Regent responds directly to the people that are dissatisfied. While onboard, if you wish to receive a response, simply indicate your problem on the mid-cruise questionnaire. Alternatively, when onboard, speak to the F&B Director. Regent rarely (if ever) responds to complaints on Cruise Critic. They do occasionally respond to questions and provide information on CC.

 

I do wonder how many complaints they actually receive on this subject. On our last Mariner cruise, we discussed the coffee with a few people and no one seem dissatisfied. However, as I mentioned, while my DH found the coffee on the Mariner quite drinkable, this was not the case on the Voyager (both cruises this year).

 

After reading all of the in depth information provided by HanaileiSailor, I wonder if the beans are being stored improperly which is allowing them to dry out and lose their freshness? There seems to be differences between coffee from the machines, coffee from La Veranda and Compass Rose and also from Signatures and Prime 7 (Signatures in particular tasting better than in Compass Rose or La Veranda). As HanaileiSailor indicated, this can be due to the size of the brewer.

 

I'll make a point of checking out the coffee on Oceania later this month. Wish someone could do a blind taste test between a cup of coffee on Oceania and a cup of coffee on Regent (both from the main restaurant). The results could be interesting.

[2old4this]

Generally Regent responds directly to the people that are dissatisfied. While onboard, if you wish to receive a response, simply indicate your problem on the mid-cruise questionnaire. Alternatively, when onboard, speak to the F&B Director. Regent rarely (if ever) responds to complaints on Cruise Critic. They do occasionally respond to questions and provide information on CC.

 

I do wonder how many complaints they actually receive on this subject. On our last Mariner cruise, we discussed the coffee with a few people and no one seem dissatisfied. However, as I mentioned, while my DH found the coffee on the Mariner quite drinkable, this was not the case on the Voyager (both cruises this year).

 

After reading all of the in depth information provided by HanaileiSailor, I wonder if the beans are being stored improperly which is allowing them to dry out and lose their freshness? There seems to be differences between coffee from the machines, coffee from La Veranda and Compass Rose and also from Signatures and Prime 7 (Signatures in particular tasting better than in Compass Rose or La Veranda). As HanaileiSailor indicated, this can be due to the size of the brewer.

 

I'll make a point of checking out the coffee on Oceania later this month. Wish someone could do a blind taste test between a cup of coffee on Oceania and a cup of coffee on Regent (both from the main restaurant). The results could be interesting.

 

I'll do both of your suggestions in your first paragraph, Travelcat2, when on Navigator between St Lucia and Sint Maarten on 19 November. I'll do my level best to push my venting on Cruise Critic to some Regent questionnaire reader. That is, of course, the coffee is still flat an uninteresting. Jack

[OctoberKat]

Jim and I appreciate good java. Often when we travel, we bring along our Melitta set and filters so we can make our own. But that requires heating water to boiling and I assume one may not use such a gizmo (say a Breville electric kettle) in the stateroom. Is that correct?

[HanaleiSailor]

But you can get water out of the machines on decks 5 and 11 which is used to make tea, and while it is most likely just under boiling, it would probably work in a melita in a pinch. Also, if you order hot water from room service, it will be similar to that from the machines. Again, I could drink the coffee out of the machines, but the room service coffee and the coffee in the restaurants was pretty rough.

 

Aloha,

 

Mark

[OctoberKat]

Ok then, we're set along with our favorite Huehuetenango!

[Responder]

Isn't it pathetic that on a "Luxury" cruise line, whatever that means, we have to invent all kinds of tricks to get something as necessary as a good cup of coffee?

[Travelcat2]

Isn't it pathetic that on a "Luxury" cruise line, whatever that means, we have to invent all kinds of tricks to get something as necessary as a good cup of coffee?

 

Pathetic? A bit of an overstatement IMO. Hundreds of cups of coffee are probably being consumed today on Regent's three ships. While some passengers may not particularly like it, it isn't that big of a deal (just as they drink the wine on board that may not be to their liking). For people with more discerning tastes, they try to find ways to improve the coffee. In the case of wine, they purchase a higher quality. The ideas on this thread are quite innovative. Besides, a "good cup of coffee" is subjective.

 

I noticed that you put "Luxury" in quotes. You just got off of the Mariner. Did you find your cruise less than luxury (other than the coffee)?

[OctoberKat]

Au contraire, mon ami, good coffee IS a big deal to many and certainly to be bracketed within the notion of luxury.

 

I've no beef with cruise-line aficionados but a discussion board surely has room for wide variety opinions.

[Responder]

Pathetic? A bit of an overstatement IMO. Hundreds of cups of coffee are probably being consumed today on Regent's three ships. While some passengers may not particularly like it, it isn't that big of a deal (just as they drink the wine on board that may not be to their liking). For people with more discerning tastes, they try to find ways to improve the coffee. In the case of wine, they purchase a higher quality. The ideas on this thread are quite innovative. Besides, a "good cup of coffee" is subjective.

 

I noticed that you put "Luxury" in quotes. You just got off of the Mariner. Did you find your cruise less than luxury (other than the coffee)?

 

Good question, but I'm in the process of posting a review and this would not be the thread to post it in.

 

I'm one of those with discerning tastes and would expect a reasonable quality of both coffee and wine...since, if you remember, I already paid for it and am not keen on paying twice...to be continued in my review in its own thread.

 

I was going to only post a review on the CC review site, but limiting it there would not be as much fun as posting it here. :D

[eliana]

I cannot understand the comparison of coffee on Regent with wine on Regent. If you don?'t like a wine there are plenty of others to choose from. But with coffee there is no choice as there is both with wine and tea. It seems perusing the responses to this thread that there is a general dislike of the coffee on Regent. The beans are just very poor quality and this needs to be remedied.

I have in fact contacted Regent and asked them to read and act on this thread. Let us see if they will.

[Travelcat2]

I cannot understand the comparison of coffee on Regent with wine on Regent. If you don?'t like a wine there are plenty of others to choose from. But with coffee there is no choice as there is both with wine and tea. It seems perusing the responses to this thread that there is a general dislike of the coffee on Regent. The beans are just very poor quality and this needs to be remedied.

I have in fact contacted Regent and asked them to read and act on this thread. Let us see if they will.

 

There are actually choices of how you would like your coffee prepared. An American is much different than a regular cup of coffee for instance. I assume you mean the beans themselves. Perhaps they should sell coffee beans on board which would be no different than selling wine? In any case, agree that just about all of us on this thread have problems with the coffee onboard at least one or the Regent ships. However, this thread represents a tiny number of Regent passengers.

 

I still suggest passengers bring this up while onboard the ships and to mention it on their comment cards. With the buy-out of Regent supposedly happening within days, I think this thread would be at the bottom of their list of things to be concerned about. However, if each of us make our feelings known on the ship, it could make a difference.

 

P.S. My suggestion is to check all of the items mentioned in HanaleiSailor's posts (storage of the beans, water, the brewers, etc.). Perhaps the F&B Director of each ship should try the beans when they are delivered (prior to be allowed to get stale) in each of the brewers and see if there is a big difference between the fresh beans and the ones they have in storage as well as in the different brewing machines. IMO there are things that can be tried onboard now that could help -- at least until someone could look into it further.

[Responder]

There are actually choices of how you would like your coffee prepared. An American is much different than a regular cup of coffee for instance. I assume you mean the beans themselves. Perhaps they should sell coffee beans on board which would be no different than selling wine? In any case, agree that just about all of us on this thread have problems with the coffee onboard at least one or the Regent ships. However, this thread represents a tiny number of Regent passengers.

 

I still suggest passengers bring this up while onboard the ships and to mention it on their comment cards. With the buy-out of Regent supposedly happening within days, I think this thread would be at the bottom of their list of things to be concerned about. However, if each of us make our feelings known on the ship, it could make a difference.

 

P.S. My suggestion is to check all of the items mentioned in HanaleiSailor's posts (storage of the beans, water, the brewers, etc.). Perhaps the F&B Director of each ship should try the beans when they are delivered (prior to be allowed to get stale) in each of the brewers and see if there is a big difference between the fresh beans and the ones they have in storage as well as in the different brewing machines. IMO there are things that can be tried onboard now that could help -- at least until someone could look into it further.

 

I'm not looking to get into it with you but you need to be aware of a few things...

 

For as many years as I can remember, the coffee on Regent has been awful...for sure it'a always been on the bottom of their list..

 

Just so you know, we, as well as many others we know, both on this cruise as well as all before have complained about the coffee. There has never to my knowledge been any sort of response..However, on this cruise, they gave us the survey about 5-6 days in the 21 day sailing. I wrote my questions and that was the last of it....with one exception...The CD, Lorraine, our favorite, called to thank me for applauding the particular shows I thought were really good.

 

Not a word from Regent about the coffee complaint or about the oatmeal that tasted metallic and was not really edible. Maybe I should bring my own oatmeal as well.

 

However, when talking to a Manager to make a reservation, he dialed up my cabin and showed me where they noted on the screen that I did not like the coffee or oatmeal, and asked if it got any better.

Point is, they know who you are and treat you according to your status with them on board, but no communication from Regent....during or after...nor have they ever responded in the past. p.s....I did get my reservation. ;)

[Travelcat2]

For as many years as I can remember, the coffee on Regent has been awful...for sure it'a always been on the bottom of their list..

 

Not a word from Regent about the coffee complaint or about the oatmeal that tasted metallic and was not really edible. Maybe I should bring my own oatmeal as well.

 

However, when talking to a Manager to make a reservation, he dialed up my cabin and showed me where they noted on the screen that I did not like the coffee or oatmeal, and asked if it got any better.

Point is, they know who you are and treat you according to your status with them on board, but no communication from Regent....during or after...nor have they ever responded in the past. p.s....I did get my reservation. ;)

 

My point about reporting it onboard is that everyone of importance becomes aware of the fact that you do not like the coffee. If everyone did that, perhaps they would take notice. Posting it on Cruise Critic, however, helps other posters know that you don't like the coffee but doesn't get distributed through the computer system to corporate. Glad that you got your reservation!

[Responder]

My point about reporting it onboard is that everyone of importance becomes aware of the fact that you do not like the coffee. If everyone did that, perhaps they would take notice. Posting it on Cruise Critic, however, helps other posters know that you don't like the coffee but doesn't get distributed through the computer system to corporate. Glad that you got your reservation!

 

Please tell me how your response relates in any way to what I posted...

[Travelcat2]

Please tell me how your response relates in any way to what I posted...

 

Sorry that you didn't understand it. I'll take it slower. You reported the fact that you do not like the coffee on the ship. Even though you did not hear back from anyone, you later learned (when the manager looked up your name in the computer to make a reservation) that your comments were on the computer. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that someone took the time to enter your comments into the computer. Comments are regularly entered into the computer and are sent to headquarters (amongst other places - like to the F&B Director, etc.)

 

I'll try to make my point again. IMO, when you and other passengers fill out the comment cards (or speak with management), the information is put into the computer and distributed. When someone posts on Cruise Critic, the information resides only on the Cruise Critic website and is not distributed to management, officers or crew of Regent. For this reason, I recommend doing exactly what you did and hope that more passengers do the same thing.

 

Does this make sense now?

Edited November 4, 2014 by Travelcat2

[OctoberKat]

Sorry that you didn't understand it. I'll take it slower. You reported the fact that you do not like the coffee on the ship. Even though you did not hear back from anyone, you later learned (when the manager looked up your name in the computer to make a reservation) that your comments were on the computer. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that someone took the time to enter your comments into the computer. Comments are regularly entered into the computer and are sent to headquarters (amongst other places - like to the F&B Director, etc.)

 

I'll try to make my point again. IMO, when you and other passengers fill out the comment cards (or speak with management), the information is put into the computer and distributed. When someone posts on Cruise Critic, the information resides only on the Cruise Critic website and is not distributed to management, officers or crew of Regent. For this reason, I recommend doing exactly what you did and hope that more passengers do the same thing.

 

Does this make sense now?

 

It does rather sound as if you'd rather complaints not be posted here, rather expressed through official channels. Both approaches taken together make sense not to mention this is a discussion board.

[eliana]

Rather than squabbling the important thing is to try to persuade Regent to improve their coffee beans. It is all very well reporting it on board and in the end of cruise questionnaire which we have done many times but without any effect. Somehow Regent must address the issue. After all very much all of those subscribing to this thread agree that the coffee is poor, and although we may be only a minority of those sailing on Regent we are a high sample and I suspect most of the silent majority would agree with us.

Let us all see what we can do to persuade Regent by writing to them, as I have done but so far without any response.

[OctoberKat]

Heh, squabble not!