Further Cheapening of the Brand as Half and Half Disappears from Cruises

[Mikew0805]

Last weekend on Independence, they had half and half in Chops for breakfast, and Cafe Promenade at the self service counter. 

[bigque]

The ships don’t have flavored creamers like French Vanilla which I like in my coffee so I always bring these on the cruise:

 

 

[little britain]

20 hours ago, scottnkim said:

After readiing all the responses- seems "1/2 and 1/2" is appropriately named.  1/2 seem to have no problem getting it, and 1/2 can't no matter what.  🙂

 

And 1/2 wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole….!

[kirtihk]

On 6/6/2023 at 2:43 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

Seriously?  No Half & Half.  That is ridiculous.  Interested to see how this plays out and if it's just a short term issue.

It's a competition these days: what's more ridiculous - for double/triple price: No peanuts on the plane?  No cleaning in the hotel?

Edited June 8, 2023 by kirtihk

[RedIguana]

On 6/7/2023 at 2:45 PM, scottnkim said:

After readiing all the responses- seems "1/2 and 1/2" is appropriately named.  1/2 seem to have no problem getting it, and 1/2 can't no matter what.  🙂

Are we still talking about stuff to put in your coffee here 🤪 ?

[TexasRon]

Things add up.  Little things matter.  Too many little things or big things and people start thinking of other places to spend their money.

 

Everyone has their own point of no return…or a pause for a while.

 

I like half and half but I mostly drink my coffee black, cooled off with a couple of ice cubes (large cup), at home.  The ice maker is noisy dropping ice in a metal cup and could wake my wife up if I am up early, so I will use the dairy product to cool the coffee.  For my taste, half and half is exponentially better than 1%.

 

 

 

 

[c-leg5]

On 6/7/2023 at 10:28 AM, HappyTexan44 said:

This is going to sound like a crazy question.  If we find ourselves in this situation will we be able to get cream and whole milk in Cozumel, our first port stop?    

 

DH will use cream or half-and-half and will get grumpy if one isn't available.  

DD only really drinks whole milk and water.   We buy the glass bottle whole milk from a local farm so even run-of-mill whole milk is a downgrade.  2% and skim are really just white bad-tasting water.  So, that would really stink if that was all they had.   Note, I don't limit what she drinks, but I'm happy about it so I try to provide max. quality so she'll stay that way.  

 

Long life milk and on the open shelves. Possibly at Sams Club it has been available before but i don’t know if it continued.

Edited June 8, 2023 by c-leg5

[Rogueperson]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:02 PM, HBE4 said:

 

Whip Cream works pretty well too. 

 

At home I use Redi Wip on the rare occasion  I run out of milk. 

 

Ooooh, whipped cream.  Good idea!!!  I don't normally have this at home, but the few times I did, and coincided with my 1/2 and 1/2 going bad, I used this and it worked great in a pinch.

[SailorMarg]

9 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

Ooooh, whipped cream.  Good idea!!!  I don't normally have this at home, but the few times I did, and coincided with my 1/2 and 1/2 going bad, I used this and it worked great in a pinch.

Yum!  And I thought my half and half was decadent 😊

[poocher]

On 6/6/2023 at 10:13 PM, DukeASUGirl said:

I don't drink coffee. Dad drinks it black. Husband has recently switched to butter to make "bulletproof coffee" and he never had trouble just using the butter dishes in the MDR. My mom usually ordered tea most nights, but the couple of nights she ordered coffee and asked for cream, she had no issue getting cream.

 

In fact, on the nights when she ordered tea, and it was just the men ordering coffee, they had to tell the waiter to take away the cream since they wouldn't be using it.

 

We disembarked Navigator about a week and a half ago.

Gotta know what butter & bulletproof coffee mean??

[Airbear232]

Given we like cream in coffee, we’ve experienced this where half half or cream was scarce.  More so in Europe than North America.  Another thing I be noticed is that most whipped cream has been replaced with whipped topping.  I’ll admit, if a snob this way, I like real whipped cream and not the oil based substitute.  The other thing is if they are changing it, label it for what it is.

[c-leg5]

55 minutes ago, Airbear232 said:

Given we like cream in coffee, we’ve experienced this where half half or cream was scarce.  More so in Europe than North America.  Another thing I be noticed is that most whipped cream has been replaced with whipped topping.  I’ll admit, if a snob this way, I like real whipped cream and not the oil based substitute.  The other thing is if they are changing it, label it for what it is.

I doubt half and half was scarce in Europe, it just isn’t a product that’s used. It isn’t a fat content that is generally available you would have to mix your own. I would be surprised if cream was missing unless it is a health trend.

Edited June 10, 2023 by c-leg5

[DukeASUGirl]

2 hours ago, poocher said:

Gotta know what butter & bulletproof coffee mean??

Stir in butter or coconut oil instead of cream/half and half. Apparently it helps keep you fuller, so you eat less. I think it's a keto thing, or something like that. 

 

I don't know. It sounds gross to me.

[JustUs275]

13 hours ago, poocher said:

Gotta know what butter & bulletproof coffee mean??

It's a coffee recipe that is often used for keto/low carb diets where you consume higher amounts of fat and fewer carbohydrates. Coffee with 1/2 - 1 tbs of butter added, and sometimes people will add coconut oil or MCT oil. Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice etc. can be added to enhance flavor without changing the nutritional value. A have a friend who loves her bulletproof coffee but it didn't appeal to me.

[seasidemama]

On 6/6/2023 at 2:45 PM, klfrodo said:

If there is any one thing going on in this world that depicts the end of civilization,,, this is the one. 🤯

Personally I'm not picky. I'm happy with milk in my coffee and don't expect top quality free coffee from RCL since I never had it. BUT - there are people with dietary restrictions - as strange as it may seem - people on keto or atkins for example only use cream and not milk because milk has a high sugar content which is not allowed on those diets. Having to go through the special needs dept for half and half or cream seems ridiculous .. but if that's the plan RCL should make an announcement.  BTW - the reason I never expect high quality free coffee is because I never had any since beginning to cruise RCL in 2019. Maybe this was different in earlier years. My point - people who are loyal and have been cruising with RCL for years are feeling the differences and complaining. People who are new and are just now starting to cruise with RCL think this is normal and have nothing to compare. This is RCL target.

[mscinmia]

This is the coffee setup in my office at Port Everglades this am from the Adventure.  Non dairy creamer....

[BecciBoo]

I've already budgeted for Starbucks upcoming Allure.  Not worried.  I do Cappuccinos. 

[Tatka]

19 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

Given we like cream in coffee, we’ve experienced this where half half or cream was scarce.  More so in Europe than North America.  Another thing I be noticed is that most whipped cream has been replaced with whipped topping.  I’ll admit, if a snob this way, I like real whipped cream and not the oil based substitute.  The other thing is if they are changing it, label it for what it is.

Honestly … if coffee had quality that most Europeans drink… we wouldn’t need all additional things and flavorings. 
 

Even coffee made in fancy machines on ships is hmmm… not a very good coffee. 
 

Coffee made in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cezve which is widely popular in Europe is to die for.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Tatka

[Airbear232]

19 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

I doubt half and half was scarce in Europe, it just isn’t a product that’s used. It isn’t a fat content that is generally available you would have to mix your own. I would be surprised if cream was missing unless it is a health trend.

By scarce in Europe, I meant scarce on ship on a European cruise.  

[Airbear232]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

Honestly … if coffee had quality that most Europeans drink… we wouldn’t need all additional things and flavorings. 
 

Even coffee made in fancy machines on ships is hmmm… not a very good coffee. 
 

Coffee made in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cezve which is widely popular in Europe is to die for.

I grew up with the best European coffee.  Nothing, for me, beats kaffee with schlag with a nice piece of cake. YMMV.

[c-leg5]

43 minutes ago, Airbear232 said:

By scarce in Europe, I meant scarce on ship on a European cruise.  

 OK, but that could be a supply problem.

[Airbear232]

40 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

 OK, but that could be a supply problem.

Regardless, it’s scarce, whether due to supply issue or supply choice because it’s not as requested on these cruises.  

[footzz]

Been a while since I've touched base on this board and it sure looks like RCL's trajectory of higher prices and diminishing amenities is still in full swing. At this rate, it probably won't be too long before they start matching status with Carnival.

[little britain]

18 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

By scarce in Europe, I meant scarce on ship on a European cruise.  

Because they know no one in Europe touches the stuff… so they don’t bother ordering it! 

[PWP-001]

On 6/7/2023 at 11:28 AM, HappyTexan44 said:

This is going to sound like a crazy question.  If we find ourselves in this situation will we be able to get cream and whole milk in Cozumel, our first port stop?    

 

DH will use cream or half-and-half and will get grumpy if one isn't available.  

DD only really drinks whole milk and water.   We buy the glass bottle whole milk from a local farm so even run-of-mill whole milk is a downgrade.  2% and skim are really just white bad-tasting water.  So, that would really stink if that was all they had.   Note, I don't limit what she drinks, but I'm happy about it so I try to provide max. quality so she'll stay that way.  

 

Don't plan on bringing anything back from port, as they've always seem very strict with prohibiting food items.  As someone suggested, through Amazon or your local grocer you should be able to obtain UHT Half & Half that doesn't need to be refrigerated.