Early morning coffee on Summit

[L454S]

For early risers, where is the best place to get coffee early AM other than room service? Something between 5 and 7AM.

 

Been reading about Al Bacio, but is there regular house coffee there? AM room service on our last 3 RC cruises has been very hit or miss. Don't mind walking to get it.

[jusmadmema]

There is always at least one coffee station open in the buffet area for early coffee. There will be several of us early risers enjoying the quiet and waiting for sunrise! One of my favorite times!

[Wine-O]

Café al Bacio doesn't open until 7am. Buffet area is probably your only option.

[Cruise a holic]

For early risers, where is the best place to get coffee early AM other than room service? Something between 5 and 7AM.

 

Been reading about Al Bacio, but is there regular house coffee there? AM room service on our last 3 RC cruises has been very hit or miss. Don't mind walking to get it.

 

You can get "regular" coffee-which is horrible at the oceanview cafe very early. Cafe Al Bacio opens at 7:00 AM-and 6:00 on departure day. You can also consider bringing some instant coffee packets and get boiling water from the buffet area.

[Tommy3putts]

I take Starbucks Via along. Plenty of coffee and hot water in the buffet.

[DinaS]

Café al Bacio doesn't open until 7am. Buffet area is probably your only option.

 

Cafe al Bacio opens at 6:30AM.

 

You can get Cafe American which is basically an espresso with milk. We ended up with cappuccino and a croissant most mornings, which was a nice treat :)

 

Coffee in the Oceanview was hit or miss. Some days it was better than others. It was never terrible, and it was never great.

[Cruise a holic]

Cafe al Bacio opens at 6:30AM.

 

You can get Cafe American which is basically an espresso with milk. We ended up with cappuccino and a croissant most mornings, which was a nice treat :)

 

Coffee in the Oceanview was hit or miss. Some days it was better than others. It was never terrible, and it was never great.

Must be new time. Last Summit, eclipse and silhouette they wouldn't serve unti 7:00 am Employess may have been setting up, but wouldn't make the coffee until 7:00 am I was typically one of the first to arrive each morning.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Cruise a holic

[CruisinCrow]

According to my Summit dailies, the Oceanview Cafe was open for coffee and tea 24 hours and Cafe al Bacio opened at 6:30.

[DinaS]

Must be new time. Last Summit, eclipse and silhouette they wouldn't serve unti 7:00 am Employess may have been setting up, but wouldn't make the coffee until 7:00 am I was typically one of the first to arrive each morning.

 

How long ago was your last Summit trip?

 

The official opening time for Café al Bacio was 6:30AM last week, and earlier on debarkation day.

[thebutlerdidit]

I enjoy the Lavazza coffee that Celebrity serves in the oceanview cafe now. I would not describe it as horrible! Give it a try, you might like it, too. There are branded coffee mugs that make it easy to carry back to your stateroom if you're an early riser and just want to relax on your balcony in the wee hours.

[cruisestitch]

Recently on Eclipse and Millennium in the buffet there were signs asking passengers not to take the branded Lavazza cups to their staterooms but to use the paper "go" cups instead.

 

Personally, I didn't like the branded Lavazza cups because they were a dark color inside, making it hard to be sure that they were clean. I prefer the white cups, but using a paper cup solved everything.

Edited May 26, 2015 by cruisestitch

[Cruise a holic]

How long ago was your last Summit trip?

 

The official opening time for Café al Bacio was 6:30AM last week, and earlier on debarkation day.

 

August of last year. Glad they changed the time- I am an early riser! Txs

[Wine-O]

Cafe al Bacio opens at 6:30AM.

 

You can get Cafe American which is basically an espresso with milk. We ended up with cappuccino and a croissant most mornings, which was a nice treat :)

 

Coffee in the Oceanview was hit or miss. Some days it was better than others. It was never terrible, and it was never great.

 

We're going on Summit this coming Sunday. You were just off Summit, so if I could get my double espresso at 6:30am, I would be even happier. :)

[DinaS]

We're going on Summit this coming Sunday. You were just off Summit, so if I could get my double espresso at 6:30am, I would be even happier. :)

 

You should have no trouble getting your double espresso at 6:30am :)

 

I loved Café al Bacio - they always provided coffee with a smile :D

[waverleycruiser]

I've read many reports stating the coffee is pretty abysmal throughout the fleet and picked up many tips, mostly being 'bring your own'. I'd just love to know why the coffee is so bad when its Lavazza coffee which I always enjoy. I understand some people like it milky and weak, some, like me, like it strong and black and full flavoured. So what happens to the Lavazza? Maybe its diluted beyond all recognition or the water they use kills the flavour! I will be taking my own on board when we board at Auckland but as we will be coming in from the UK, perhaps someone can advise me whether its worth the declare/inspection hassle at the airport or if indeed coffee is no allowed in. If it is a faff, can anyone recommend a good coffee I can buy when in NZ? 12 mornings without my caffeine fix is just not on the cards!

[DinaS]

I've read many reports stating the coffee is pretty abysmal throughout the fleet and picked up many tips, mostly being 'bring your own'. I'd just love to know why the coffee is so bad when its Lavazza coffee which I always enjoy. I understand some people like it milky and weak, some, like me, like it strong and black and full flavoured. So what happens to the Lavazza? Maybe its diluted beyond all recognition or the water they use kills the flavour! I will be taking my own on board when we board at Auckland but as we will be coming in from the UK, perhaps someone can advise me whether its worth the declare/inspection hassle at the airport or if indeed coffee is no allowed in. If it is a faff, can anyone recommend a good coffee I can buy when in NZ? 12 mornings without my caffeine fix is just not on the cards!

 

The coffee at Café al Bacio was NOT "pretty abysmal". It was really good.

 

The coffee in the MDR and Oceanview Café is hit or miss, but it's generally decent. (We got one cup in the Oceanview from a dispenser, and it was on the cold side and not good. Clearly, that dispenser wasn't working properly.)

 

For the most part, I had my coffee early morning and after dinner at Café al Bacio, and I never had a bad cup of coffee.

[kenevenpar]

I have never seen coffee at al Bacio. Cafe Americano, which was pretty good.

 

The Lavazza, at least on our last cruise, was a welcome improvement, and certainly was not abysmal, at least to us.

[DinaS]

I have never seen coffee at al Bacio. Cafe Americano, which was pretty good.

 

The Lavazza, at least on our last cruise, was a welcome improvement, and certainly was not abysmal, at least to us.

 

Café al Bacio serves coffee.

 

Perhaps it isn't what some people think of as coffee....but it's excellent coffee.

 

LOL

[thebutlerdidit]

I've read many reports stating the coffee is pretty abysmal throughout the fleet and picked up many tips, mostly being 'bring your own'. I'd just love to know why the coffee is so bad when its Lavazza coffee which I always enjoy. I understand some people like it milky and weak, some, like me, like it strong and black and full flavoured. So what happens to the Lavazza? Maybe its diluted beyond all recognition or the water they use kills the flavour! I will be taking my own on board when we board at Auckland but as we will be coming in from the UK, perhaps someone can advise me whether its worth the declare/inspection hassle at the airport or if indeed coffee is no allowed in. If it is a faff, can anyone recommend a good coffee I can buy when in NZ? 12 mornings without my caffeine fix is just not on the cards!

 

The Lavazza coffee is a fairly new change. You'll probably start hearing more positive feedback, although many past cruisers may never give it a second chance after past experiences and may just keep getting their coffee at Cafe al Bacio.

[hvsteve1]

I'm always intrigued by some of the ongoing themes on CC. One of them is the "horrible" coffee served by the cruise lines. While coffee is a personal taste, Celebrity serves Lavazza as their standard coffee. This is a "premium" coffee brand, certainly no worse than Gevalia or Starbucks. It's the most popular brand in Italy and one of the more expensive coffees when found in a supermarket. They even have their own chain of stores, similar to Starbucks. I don't think a cruise line could do more than get a recognized brand such as that for its standard coffee. (Granted, crew members may occasionally screw up the brewing, which won't happen with a barista.) Yet we still have these long threads on where to find decent coffee other than the "swill" available in the Oceanview Café. Again, coffee is a personal taste as evidenced by the fact I have been ordering coffee by mail for many years and, as fussy as I am in finding interesting blends, my wife hates most of it. We used to have a friend who couldn't stand anything but Maxwell House instant, even when I ground the beans and brewed the coffee.

[waverleycruiser]

Lavazza being new explains a lot and answers my query. Thanks!