Coffee Talk

[miched]

The coffee is Lavazza but that doesnt mean much as Lavazza has a lot of different roasts.

 

I asked a crew member what coffee he likes and he said Nescafé.  He buys jars of it whenever he can while in ports.  He said it is easy to make and can’t beat the taste.  

Coffee is like anything else.  The best is the one you like and I doubt the coffee on the ship will be the same.  the coffee is a lot better than it use to be as they don’t brew large batches that sit for hours while being heated in the urn.    In the buffet they now have machines that grind the coffee and then brew it in small batches.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Joywrk]

I bring a small French press and my own coffee and ask for boiling water. I then give the press to my steward. Coffee in Luminai is not bad

[ScubesDad]

Like the OP I am a purist and drink my coffee black.  I agree with all the comments posted: room service is awful, buffet is a step up but still very poor.  Have not dined in the MDR for many years so I am unable to comment.  My go to coffee is an Americano from Cafe al Bacio.  Not the best I have every had but up among the top 5.

 

On our last cruise, oh it seems so long ago, on my way back from the gym at about 6:30 or so I would stop at al Bacio for my coffee, and the only exception to anything going into my coffee is Jameson's, and they would provide a healthy pour' I regularly met an officer, who turned out to be the chief engineer, getting his morning coffee....he commented how envious he was and wished he could start his day off properly.

[HxFx]

13 hours ago, lyndarra said:

If you like milk in your coffee forget it. The long life milk used on ships makes coffee taste terrible.

This is where I am a "coffee" snob. I only enjoy my coffee with a heavy, high fat content cream (it generally also serves as my breakfast). Next cruise I plan to try bringing on my own.

[TeeRick]

I am not a coffee snob but do enjoy it every day.  So does my dw.  But we, like many others,  have dramatically different tastes and opinions on what we like in a cup o' Joe.  Just like differences in wines, whiskies, beers, etc.  So it is hard to answer the OP's question although there was a mention of a nice French Roast.

 

Selections on board Celebrity ships are quite limited overall.  Here are my categories:

1) Avoid entirely:  Room service coffee. Cold and awful.

2) Will do in an emergency only: Oceanview Buffet coffee in the dispensers and Elite breakfast coffee.

3) Just OK but unexciting:  MDR coffee but only if hot and made fresh.

4) Suite Coffee:  served in Luminae.  Or they will do #5 or #6 if asked.

5) Decent:  Coffees made fresh by coffee machine (Nespresso, etc) in Retreat Lounge, Specialty R's

6) My Daily Go To:  Cafe al Bacio coffees made by the staff with expresso machines 

[Texed]

9 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

6) My Daily Go To:  Cafe al Bacio coffees made by the staff with expresso machines 

 

Ditto!

[naturelovergirl]

All of these posts are very helpful...

Yes, people’s tastes are all different- but I’m getting a great overall picture of what to expect from Celebrity.

 

@TeeRick is correct, my standard is a beautiful strong French roast... but I have had some excellent coffee in Italy... and we had a wonderful cup of coffee in Trondheim, Norway which shall live in our memory forever! (Now I shall have to get some coffee in Vienna, as someone suggested earlier!!! Cannot wait to travel again... all of us feel that way, of course)

 

I totally agree with some of the posters above who said they try different coffee while in port... love doing that too!!!

[paulh84]

The brewed coffee does tend to vary from location to location. The stuff they have in the self service area on deck 7 (on Equinox...the name escapes me) is absolutely terrible. MDR is okay and the buffet can be hit or miss. The coffees at Cafe al Bacio in my opinion are on par with Starbucks in both quality and offerings. Not bad, not great, and somewhat depends on the barista. As mentioned, no brewed coffees are served there. They will offer you a Cafe Americano which I would highly recommend avoiding. 

[markeb]

19 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

Americano which I would highly recommend avoiding

 

Curious why you say this? I thought they're Americanos were pretty good. Or are you just not a fan of Americano?

[paulh84]

9 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Curious why you say this? I thought they're Americanos were pretty good. Or are you just not a fan of Americano?

 

Just personal preference. I think they are disgusting anywhere, not just on Celebrity! 

[BigAl94]

Cafe al Bacio  is quite good and acceptable, everything else - dire!

[TeaBag]

4 hours ago, DrKoob said:

We may not be as big a coffee snob as the OP but we do love our coffee. In our opinion, worst is in the buffet or from room service. Maybe the worst coffee I have ever had. If we are eating breakfast in the buffet, we have juice and immediately go to Cafe Al Bacio where it is pretty good. At least as good as our local coffee places here in Seattle. 

We have found the coffee in the MDR to be better but it often gets to us at a less than optimum temperature. The best brewed coffee we have had on a Celebrity ship is in Blu. It is one of the reasons we often book Aqua just because of the outstanding breakfasts in Blu and coffee is a good part of that. 

 

And for those of you dissing Starbucks, you have probably never been to one of their Roastery locations (there are only a handful worldwide) and tasted coffee from one of their Clover machines. Best brewed coffee ever.

 

Just wondering, when you eat breakfast in the buffet, would it work to visit Cafe al Bacio first and get a coffee to go?  i just couldn't eat breakfast without coffee!!

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, Texed said:

 

Ditto!

This^^^^

[PTC DAWG]

9 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

Just wondering, when you eat breakfast in the buffet, would it work to visit Cafe al Bacio first and get a coffee to go?  i just couldn't eat breakfast without coffee!!

Yes, very easy to do...

[markeb]

My memory is failing me. Don't they have espresso in the Ocean View Cafe? I'm not sure my drink would survive from the 5th to the 14th deck!

[cruiserchuck]

24 minutes ago, markeb said:

My memory is failing me. Don't they have espresso in the Ocean View Cafe? I'm not sure my drink would survive from the 5th to the 14th deck!

 

Yes, they do have espresso in the Ocean View Cafe.  I have gotten it from one of the bars which has an espresso machine.  

[JeanieC,Aston]

Yes they do but they are chargeable,,,,should be OK to use this facility now on AI.

Passport Bar has a coffee machine,they use it for Luminea dining room,,,or for a nice Irish Coffee.

Edited February 23, 2021 by JeanieC,Aston

[JRG]

18 hours ago, naturelovergirl said:

Great news about the Lavazza!

Thanks all!!!! 

 

I fell in love with the Lavazza coffee on Celebrity too.

 

I order it online from the big river website and I drink it twice a day.

 

They have a few different varieties but I use the Crema de Gusto classic,  which is actually an expresso blend.

 

 

[deliver42]

No problem with Celebrity's coffee. Lavassa is terrific.

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

My memory is failing me. Don't they have espresso in the Ocean View Cafe? I'm not sure my drink would survive from the 5th to the 14th deck!

Yes at the bar inside the Oceanview.  But on Edge class they actually have IL Secondo Bacio in the Oceanview Cafe.  

[kathynorth]

I think there's a plan to convert the bar in the Oceanview to IL Secondo Bacio on all the ships, in one form or another. 

[hcat]

We really dislike LaVazza..find it bitter, they should switch brands.,one before La Vazza was much better.

 

Best coffee is in Tuscan on all ships and Cafe Baccio..nice specialty coffees.

 

The  packaged tea bags  they had were good.a bit weak but seems those are being phased out.  Also enjoy  the Tea Forte!

[hawkesbaynz]

I prefer coffee but have to drink a tea immediately on waking. If no tea making facilities in the room I will have a tea followed immediately by a coffee at breakfast. Can confuse the waiters in Blu but if having breakfast in the buffet will grab a coffee on the way back to the cabin from Cafe Baccio.

 

Life has become sad in Lockdown Britain. My weekly treat is to walk the Labrador puppy around a large pet store and grab her some dental chews, then buy a Flat white in Starbucks getting the 25 pence discount by having it poured into my NZ All Blacks cup.  Roll on mid-May when we might be able to travel and go to the pub!

[daydreamer16]

We love the coffee on Celebrity because our first few cruises were on Princess! They have the worst coffee, IMHO. Now when we sail Princess, we must have the beverage package so we can pick up coffee on our way to the dining room!

[daydreamer16]

41 minutes ago, hawkesbaynz said:

I prefer coffee but have to drink a tea immediately on waking. If no tea making facilities in the room I will have a tea followed immediately by a coffee at breakfast. Can confuse the waiters in Blu but if having breakfast in the buffet will grab a coffee on the way back to the cabin from Cafe Baccio.

 

Life has become sad in Lockdown Britain. My weekly treat is to walk the Labrador puppy around a large pet store and grab her some dental chews, then buy a Flat white in Starbucks getting the 25 pence discount by having it poured into my NZ All Blacks cup.  Roll on mid-May when we might be able to travel and go to the pub!

So sad here too! At our Starbucks they won't even let you use a reusable cup. They give you a paper cup & then you can pour it in your own cup! I'm getting the second dose of the vaccine this Friday, so early March, we are going to eat inside at a real restaurant. It's the little things 😀