Coffee snobs needed.

[Kingofwylietx]

Okay, I'll just admit it....I'm fussy about my coffee. I want a cup of bold coffee first thing in the morning. I accept that the standard stuff is weak, I'm just doing my due diligence.

 

1. Can you make a good strong cup of coffee with the machine in the suites?

2. Are there any machines that give good coffee? I swear that there was 1 machine on Pride of America that would grind the beans and give you a decent cup of coffee, is that still the case?

 

I'm not above trekking around the ship to get a good cup of joe. I know they will have a coffee bar somewhere, so that's my backup plan. My other idea is to take a container of flavored instant coffee to doctor up whatever the room machine makes....I do that sometimes. You'd be surprised at how good mixing some instant coffee with weak coffee can turn out.

 

I did find a fairly recent thread about coffee while searching. I don't recall that anyone was sure, but someone thought the good machines were removed. I don't think it was conclusive as to whether the machines were gone or still in place.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Kingofwylietx

[Froggitt]

Why not take coffee bags?

[JohnIreland]

1. Can you make a good strong cup of coffee with the machine in the suites?

2. Are there any machines that give good coffee? I swear that there was 1 machine on Pride of America that would grind the beans and give you a decent cup of coffee, is that still the case?

 

1.

The suite coffee is about the same quality as a nespresso. Not going to beat fresh ground coffee properly made, but more than good enough for a morning coffee.

 

2.

Yes, you can still find these machines on the ships. Just look for the one with the bean hopper on top.

Edited February 28, 2015 by JohnIreland

[TrumpyNor]

In my experience the only place on board to get really good coffee is at the Atrium Cafe - on any NCL ship. To me the difference is so huge that I am willing to pay the extra cost....

[PDIDDYwife]

What ship are you on? The French press in the Haven rest. was amazing.

 

The lavazza machines in the suite also gave a nice,strong cup of coffeee.

[Iluvcruising2]

What ship are you on? The French press in the Haven rest. was amazing.

 

The lavazza machines in the suite also gave a nice,strong cup of coffeee.

 

I agree with you.

 

[YOUTUBE]ilgsTvs8hdk[/YOUTUBE]

Edited February 28, 2015 by Iluvcruising2

[L-in-CLT]

I disliked the flavor of Lavazza...which is found throughout the ship (haven restaurant, suite, atrium cafe, bake shop, etc). I have a Jura C9 at home and we use Illy beans

[bagzrpacked]

We met a man on our last cruise that sold coffee for a living.

He told us that the coffee in the Buffett was made from a syrup and that he found a good roasted cup in o'sheehans.

Edited February 28, 2015 by bagzrpacked

[tinawhitecar]

Yes- I too am a Coffee Snob. Raising my hand and proud of it! :D

 

I never take a chance of finding good coffee when I travel. (especially on a cruise)

I bring my own coffee, electric water kettle, water and Melitta cone and/or Aeropress.

( I haven't reached the stage of bringing my own grinder- that's next)

It does take up room in the suitcase- but having my own coffee makes me a very happy camper!

In a pinch- you can order Tea from room service- you will get a vacuum pot of very hot water.

Edited February 28, 2015 by tinawhitecar

[FireEater]

On my last NCL cruise, there was no coffee maker in the suite. My butler said it was out for repairs....:(

 

I can not say I have tried Lavazza brand coffee. We like our Eight O'Clock beans.

If we could bring a bag of ground Eight O'Clock coffee and use it in the regular coffee maker or the Lavazza, we would...just to have a backup if we do not like the Lavazza brand.

 

That does not make me a coffee snob does it??? :o

[soaringfalcon]

On our last cruise, even with the machine with the hopper, I couldn't get a good cup. I started to think it was just for show LOL. Towards the middle of the cruise, I met with the hotel director about another issue and he had coffee from the Atrium Cafe brought in....finally a good cup! I frequented them for the rest of the cruise :)

[quercus alba]

Hi, I'm quercus, and I'm a coffee snob.

 

We bring our own bag of a nice local roast and extra filters to make our own in the mini drip coffee makers they have in balcony cabins. Doesn't take up much room in luggage. Haven't sailed a suite (yet) so can't say what the experience is with the lavazza machines.

[biker@sea]

In NCL Dawn's buffet 5 out of 6 coffee machines have been upgraded .

 

The last " old style " machine is port side aft. and makes the strongest brew .;)

[Annmeat]

I disliked the flavor of Lavazza...which is found throughout the ship (haven restaurant, suite, atrium cafe, bake shop, etc). I have a Jura C9 at home and we use Illy beans

 

 

The Haven restaurant uses a different brand in the French press. I cannot think of the name,but it is better than the lavazza machines. The lavazza machines are better than the buffet. o' sheehans

- I don't know what they used but mine was spiked ...so it didn't really matter at the time!

[Guindalf]

The Lavazza machines in suites makes a decent cup of espresso. I AM a coffee lover and also find the 'regular' stuff to be only drinkable at a pinch.

 

As a suite guest, you can also have breakfast and lunch in Cagney's and the french press stuff is very good.

 

Oh, and BTW, Eight O'Clock is NOT coffee to a real coffee snob! ;)

[Kingofwylietx]

Thank you to everyone! The suggestions and information in the responses really helped. We coffee lovers stick together. :)

 

We are booked on the Sky and Pearl. We are in the Haven on the Pearl, but the Sky doesn't have a Haven area. Our cabin on the Sky is a PH, so I'm assuming we will get a Lavazza machine (which I've never used). It doesn't sound like I will have a drip machine.

 

I've never had a bad cup of coffee from a French press. It sounds like Cagney's will be my first stop, after an espresso in the room.

 

My only other NCL cruise was in Hawaii (balcony room), I never made coffee on that cruise. The coffee bar got me through.

 

 

Again, thank you. If you think of anything else, or if the ship info I added helps, keep it coming. You guys/gals rock!

[mking8288]

Don't care for all the hype about Starbucks, but - know of many who buy & take along on trips some of those Via Coffee Read Brew packets (one trick is to use less water than recommended, resulting in a stronger but smaller cup)

 

Whether I drive, fly or cruise - always bring along some "instant" coffee (these are Vietnamese blend, smell GREAT @ 25 cents per serving - $4.99 pack of 20 sold in many local Asian supermarket) with an insulated mug (current one is cute with 7.5 oz capacity) keeping it nice & hot, very hot for 6 to 8 hours - perfect for sitting out on that balcony next month. Add hot broiling water (tea at a lower temperature of 185 degree F is better) to stir, and enjoy - add creamer or half-n-half for a richer blend.

 

For the ship's (and hotel's) coffee/water maker - run a cycle with hot water to clean/flush it out first, or, room service for tea with a pot of hot water & tea bag, and make our own. On NCL, LeBistro usually served us a nice cup of hot cappuccino, freshly prepared after our evening dinner.

 

Ever tried a coffee-tea-mix with cream & sugar, give it a try next time. At home, we used condensed milk out of the can if available ... think I need a cup now, my iced "Cafe Sua Da" on a tall glass.

 

[fishin' musician]

Any thoughts on room service coffee?

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Thank you to everyone! The suggestions and information in the responses really helped. We coffee lovers stick together. :)

 

 

 

We are booked on the Sky and Pearl. We are in the Haven on the Pearl, but the Sky doesn't have a Haven area. Our cabin on the Sky is a PH, so I'm assuming we will get a Lavazza machine (which I've never used). It doesn't sound like I will have a drip machine.

 

 

 

I've never had a bad cup of coffee from a French press. It sounds like Cagney's will be my first stop, after an espresso in the room.

 

 

 

My only other NCL cruise was in Hawaii (balcony room), I never made coffee on that cruise. The coffee bar got me through.

 

 

 

 

 

Again, thank you. If you think of anything else, or if the ship info I added helps, keep it coming. You guys/gals rock!

 

 

Did you book the DOS/H2 on the Pearl?

[agargoyle]

Thank you to everyone! The suggestions and information in the responses really helped. We coffee lovers stick together. :)

 

We are booked on the Sky and Pearl. We are in the Haven on the Pearl, but the Sky doesn't have a Haven area. Our cabin on the Sky is a PH, so I'm assuming we will get a Lavazza machine (which I've never used). It doesn't sound like I will have a drip machine.

 

I've never had a bad cup of coffee from a French press. It sounds like Cagney's will be my first stop, after an espresso in the room.

 

My only other NCL cruise was in Hawaii (balcony room), I never made coffee on that cruise. The coffee bar got me through.

 

 

Again, thank you. If you think of anything else, or if the ship info I added helps, keep it coming. You guys/gals rock!

 

Hi, while you are in the Haven remember you can ask your butler anytime to bring you some French Press coffee. In December on the Breakaway we were in the Haven, just a few steps from Cagney's. I often ran down and asked for a large pot of French Press. They kept reminding me I could call the butler for it but it was faster to go get it myself. You can also bring some Kcups of a coffee you like to use in the machine in the Haven.

[Kingofwylietx]

Did you book the DOS/H2 on the Pearl?

 

We booked the GV/H1 with another couple on the Pearl. We are leaving the kids with mom, Leavethekidswithmom (sorry, I couldn't resist).

 

Hi, while you are in the Haven remember you can ask your butler anytime to bring you some French Press coffee. ..

 

Problem solved, that's awesome. That right there makes it worthwhile to get a suite, now I'm excited.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Kingofwylietx

[Rou-Dyliq]

I am not much of an true espresso expert - I have an espresso machine at home and use both ESE pods and grind my own but I don't get into the minutae of it. I absolutely hate the over-roasted taste of most American brands. I like best the taste of espresso I got in Northern Italy. I mostly buy Caffe Molinari pods and I'm lucky enough to have an excellent local roasting company where I buy beans for my own grinding. Lavazza pods do a pretty good job in my opinion. The machine in the suite delivers a decent cup of coffee for me, it's strong enough but is not that over-roasted starbucks taste. I can make a caramel macchiato in the morning with the Lavazza machine in the suites that knocks the snot out of Starbucks.

[Kingofwylietx]

Starbucks intentionally over-roasts their beans. They do it to extract more caffeine and it gives the Starbucks buzz. I know the guy that designed their roasters, he is a reliable source.

[Arizona Packer Backer]

Hi, while you are in the Haven remember you can ask your butler anytime to bring you some French Press coffee.

 

Thank you for the tip!! :D

 

Signed,

 

A Closet Coffee Snob

[Leavethekidswithmom]

We booked the GV/H1 with another couple on the Pearl. We are leaving the kids with mom, Leavethekidswithmom (sorry, I couldn't resist).

 

 

 

Problem solved, that's awesome. That right there makes it worthwhile to get a suite, now I'm excited.

 

 

Ahhhhh, that's nice. We've seen and been in it but never stayed there, almost booked it but for two it was extreme. I do know that the limo service is strict on distance and time. It's perfect for two couples. Enjoy