Cafe on Eden & Aria?

[macntosh]

Can anyone who has already sailed on Eden or Aria tell me if there is somewhere to buy decent coffee.

 

I have searched the deck plans but can't find any mention of a cafe. Do I assume it is a "counter" in the Pantry?

 

Thanks,

[GUT2407]

And specialty teas??

[Thorpe]

The Ocean Bar and Salt Grill Bar on deck 8 had specialty coffee machines ( espresso etc) . Think coffee was $3.50 with a Hillier choc thrown in. Bar on pool deck also had one. Or if you sit in the Red Room etc you will be served by staff who will get them for you. Not sure about tea as I only ordered cappuccinos. Someone who is on board now should answer soon with a more definitive answer. The Pantry had self serve coffee/tea machines with all sorts of tea bags available. Machine dispensed - hot water, black coffee, coffee with milk, hot water with milk, hot chocolate Maybe something else, plus those tiny long life milks were also available.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Thorpe

[macntosh]

The Ocean Bar and Salt Grill Bar on deck 8 had specialty coffee machines ( espresso etc) . Think coffee was $3.50 with a Hillier choc thrown in. Bar on pool deck also had one. Or if you sit in the Red Room etc you will be served by staff who will get them for you. Not sure about tea as I only ordered cappuccinos. Someone who is on board now should answer soon with a more definitive answer. The Pantry had self serve coffee/tea machines with all sorts of tea bags available. Machine dispensed - hot water, black coffee, coffee with milk, hot water with milk, hot chocolate Maybe something else, plus those tiny long life milks were also available.

 

Hi Helen,

Thanks for the info.

Is the Ocean Bar where people would go for morning tea? And can Gut get specialty teas there?

Just out of curiosity, where is the Red Room. I can't find it marked anywhere on the deck plans.

Thanks again.

[Thorpe]

The Red Room was next to Salt Grill on Eden. Deck plans aren't quite exact. The opposite side has a Blue Room. Red Room is a wifi hot spot. It is fast enough for face time with ships wifi. The Room wasn't used much, it was a lovely place to sit and relax. Unsure of teas but I'm sure they would have had them. It was my first P&O cruise and I was very impressed.

[Thorpe]

And not sure where folks had morning tea. I was solo, but would think Pantry as it has food with lots of great seating. But ship being small everything was close.

[Gnomey]

The pantry was the place on Eden for snacks and cakes. The coffee from the machines was woeful. A variety of tea bags were available there including herbal, decaf, english breakfast and others, along with hot water from the machines. These drinks were free.

The girls in the Blue Room provided great service and made really, really good coffees and hot chocolates. I believe they also had tea bags there too but it all costs. Coffees were $3.50 in smallish cups, hot chocs maybe a few cents cheaper in glasses. I got good coffee from the Ocean bar as well, but it usually had loud music happening there. The beer from the tap at Ocean bar was the best value on board too, looked like pint glasses and cost about the same as the bottled beer.

 

Steve.

[macntosh]

The pantry was the place on Eden for snacks and cakes. The coffee from the machines was woeful. A variety of tea bags were available there including herbal, decaf, english breakfast and others, along with hot water from the machines. These drinks were free.

The girls in the Blue Room provided great service and made really, really good coffees and hot chocolates. I believe they also had tea bags there too but it all costs. Coffees were $3.50 in smallish cups, hot chocs maybe a few cents cheaper in glasses. I got good coffee from the Ocean bar as well, but it usually had loud music happening there. The beer from the tap at Ocean bar was the best value on board too, looked like pint glasses and cost about the same as the bottled beer.

 

Steve.

Hi Gnomey,

 

Thanks for that.

 

So do they have an expresso machine in the Blue Room as well as the Ocean Bar?

 

Just that we were looking to have a CC Roll-call catch-up over morning tea, but I wanted to find where they had decent coffee (and some speciality teas) not the "woeful" stuff from the dispensers.

 

Also is there always loud music in the Ocean Bar during the day?

 

Basically, looking for somewhere quiet to have a nice coffee and good conversation for morning tea. As you know the ship, what would be your suggested location for a catch-up for the roll-call group. There are only a couple of us anyway, but need your guidance.

 

Thanks

Mark.

[Gnomey]

Hi Mark, The Ocean Bar is very light, airy and open in an area with high passing traffic. It is a very pleasant place that stretches along the side of the ship. I didn't go there often as when a musician of any sort was there it was pretty loud. The background music wasn't too bad.

I really enjoyed the Blue Room which includes the Statendam's library area so it was like three rooms with the doors removed. As it is intended to be an "intimate club" style it has heavy, dark curtains and most of us opened these up in the daytime to let light in. It is in a much less busy area, being the other end of the Casino with Salt Grill on the other side of the ship. Quite peaceful really! Tea is available, but it would be "to pay" I think and as I said the coffees and hot chocolates, with hilliers choc on the side, were great. The coffee came from an expresso machine at a "drinkable" temperature which was fine for me but some people said it was too cool for them.

The girls servicing this area were (IMHO) about the best on the ship. I would think they could arrange for a tray of pastries to be delivered if you wanted that. I think they might also have sold packets of chips too. One day our family met there for a drink and the music was a bit loud. Jayne mentioned this to Jen (waitress) and the volume dropped, so they obviously have access to the volume control at the bar.

There is a possibility that the dome (party zone at night) could suit you. There is a bar there and lots of seating with great views and it doesn't seem to be used much during the day. It holds a lot of people though and if they are talking, it isn't too quiet!

Eden is not too long, so you could always do a bar crawl till you found "the one"! That's basically how I settled on the Blue Room. Blue Room certainly gets my vote.

 

Steve.

[macntosh]

Thanks for your comments and suggestions Steve.

Nothing like first hand knowledge.

 

I have just seen your other post regarding the future credit you received, so I am pleased that P&O are listening. My only concern is that they have all the issues smoothed out before we board for the Christmas Cruise on Eden.

 

Helen also mentioned the Blue Room, so it sounds like we might make our CC roll-call catch-up in the Blue Room.

 

Thanks again.

[LuckiePuris]

The Ocean Bar and Salt Grill Bar on deck 8 had specialty coffee machines ( espresso etc) . Think coffee was $3.50 with a Hillier choc thrown in. Bar on pool deck also had one. Or if you sit in the Red Room etc you will be served by staff who will get them for you. Not sure about tea as I only ordered cappuccinos. Someone who is on board now should answer soon with a more definitive answer. The Pantry had self serve coffee/tea machines with all sorts of tea bags available. Machine dispensed - hot water, black coffee, coffee with milk, hot water with milk, hot chocolate Maybe something else, plus those tiny long life milks were also available.

 

Thanks for all your information. I believe we may be sailing on the same cruise in March - 4th March?

 

What were your thoughts on the specialty restaurants?

 

Thanks!