So How's the Coffee on Princess

[Toto2Kansas]

Just back from the Crown and did a bit of coffee investigating after gagging on my first cup from the buffet. The coffee that you get in the main dinning room, room service, International Cafe, certain bars such as the Calypso is not brewed coffee. It just has more syrup added to make it "stronger". This was confirmed by several staff whose English didn't completely disappear after I asked the question. Someone posted a link to a thermal coffee cup/ press contraption that I will be looking into if I sail Princess again. Also, you can do whatever you like with unused punches on the coffee card. Take them on your next trip, give to someone who will be sailing Princess or better yet give them to a member of the ship's staff.

 

I am sure you are correct. The coffee, except that brewed at certain bars, is all made the same way onboard. Those that say that room service coffee, or dining room coffee taste different, I am not sure about actually, maybe it is a mind over matter thing. I have just never wanted to start the arguement before that there is no difference from what I have tasted and been told by staff onboard each ship. LOL Nasty coffee is nasty coffee, no matter where it is served. :(

[CaliforniaMama]

Our own coffee maker brought with us for the cabin and some Folger's individual coffee singles to take to the buffet. Not as bad as instant, but much better than the stuff they try to pass off as coffee.

 

In other words, I would go without before drinking the Princess coffee. And you wouldn't like to be around me without my coffee. :) :( :)

 

Good idea. I think I'll bring my own coffeemaker for my room! Are there individual coffee creamers (not the nasty dry packets) around that I could bring back to my room to use? DH drinks it black, but I need some cream for sure. :)

[critterchick]

The one thing I have consistently felt......and each cruise has continued to confirm......Pricess coffee is the worst coffee I have ever had. The coffee I had in the US Army, in VN, was better....;)

 

DH has opined that the Navy serves better coffee on its ships than Princess does in the buffets. I thought the coffee in the Horizon Court on the Island Princess was the best burnt motor oil I've ever tasted!:eek: Perhaps they don't clean the coffee dispensers as thoroughly as they do in the dining room or room service venues. Coffee oil residue is really disgusting stuff when it accumulates in a pot.

[Carol & Jim]

So true, Toto2Kansas!!:p I don't care what they say, it's awful! And Celebrity is just as bad, maybe worse.

 

For the person wondering how to bring the pot, I have a 4 cup Mr. Coffee that I kept the box for and put it inside a small rolling backpack. Wrap a sweatshirt or something around it, check it in with your luggage. We were just in a hotel that had a 4 cup coffee maker that had a stainless steel carafe, great idea, now to find one at the store?:confused:

 

I also figure if I don't want to fly home with the coffee maker, dump it. It's like what, $20 if that. If you buy a coffee card onboard it's that much. Fuzzy logic I know but we're on vacation!!:cool:

[Dena]

Life is way too short.

quote]

 

Yes it is. Too short to drink bad coffee. Of couse, Princess doesn't actually serve coffee at their buffet. At least in my opinion it isn't coffee.

 

This reminds me of what a New Yorker said about Chicago pizza, "In my opinion, that's not pizza." I agree. (Princess makes fantastic pizza and this more than makes up for their excuse for coffee at the buffet.) The stuff at the coffee bar is good and I enjoy stopping by in the morning. DH likes coffee first thing in the morning so he orders water from room service and adds instant espresso from Medalia D'Oro - also not coffee, but better than Princess syrup.

 

For many, drinking coffee isn't just about the caffeine - if it were, people could just swallow a caffeine pill or dink the syrup. For some, it is about the small pleasure it brings - why tell people to give this up?

[Dena]

A real theaphile wants their tea brewed at the right tempurature with good quality tea.

 

Princess makes a tea acceptable to palates of average tea drinker used to getting their tea as a bag alongside one of those little metal restaurant teapots with water at about 160 degrees (lawsuits, you know!).

 

For the best tea, you want either loose leaf, or a large volumous teabag with room for the leaf to expand, and water ranging from about 180 degress (for roobis and tisane) to 205 degrees (for black tea).

 

The tea makes a difference too. While I don't mind the regular bags of Twinings, for example, the Lipton tea is bridge shavings mixed with sawdust and a leaf or two of tea. :D

 

For real tea Nirvana, try Mariage Frères Marco Polo Black.

 

The difference is akin to drinking instant coffee vs. a fresh shot of espresso.

 

Mike, the pretentious theaphile. ;)

 

I agree. The only tea that I find unacceptable is Lipton - I'd much rather drink water. What is Lipton doing to make the tea so bad? Institutional Brand X is often better. But even bag tea (with the exception of Lipton) can be good enough if the water is hot enough. Usually room service water isn't. Anyway, I don't drink as much tea as I used to because the tanins have begun to irritate my stomach, so does drip coffee, but so far espresso is okay.

[Toto2Kansas]

Are there individual coffee creamers (not the nasty dry packets) around that I could bring back to my room to use? DH drinks it black, but I need some cream for sure. :)

 

The last couple of years, I have not seen any individual creamers, liquid or powered stuff. They have insulated pitchers of milk only in the Horizon Court now by the coffee machine dispensers. :( Only way around this is to grab a carton of milk off the buffet line to keep in your frig in your cabin. They are making things a tad difficult lately for things like coffee creamer. Just like the butter, jelly and other items that used to be little individual packets, everything seems to be served in bulk now. Lots of cost cutting measures going on.

[we2cruze]

The last couple of years, I have not seen any individual creamers, liquid or powered stuff. They have insulated pitchers of milk only in the Horizon Court now by the coffee machine dispensers. :( Only way around this is to grab a carton of milk off the buffet line to keep in your frig in your cabin. They are making things a tad difficult lately for things like coffee creamer. Just like the butter, jelly and other items that used to be little individual packets, everything seems to be served in bulk now. Lots of cost cutting measures going on.

Could be cost cutting, but could also be paper waste cutting. Just a thought.:)

[vmom]

I don't think its cost cutting to eliminate individual packets of food items. I think its being ecologically sensitive. Think of all the garbage and waste that all those individual packets create and then muliply that by the number of passengers and crew members.

 

Frankly I think cruise ships are doing the right thing and acting responsibily by eliminating the extra waste.

[Teetype]

If you do like Starbucks, which I do, Princess and Celebrity coffee are both terrible, awful stuff! Syrup? Who ever heard of making coffee with syrup? What'd'ya wanna bet the crew has their own espresso maker in the crew dining room??;)

 

Thanks Vanilla, I didn't think we would have a problem, never have, but things change! Thought about bringing the French Press but the grinds are such a mess. I'll just take the little Mr. Coffee. We have 30 days, I'd be awful cranky after 30 days of nasty coffee.:p

 

Go ahead and bring the French press, and buy the prefilled coffee pouches to use in it. :)

[Teetype]

This was in April, but on Star they had a large commercial size pot of real coffee up between the two food stations forward of the pools. They also had paper cups available (similar to what you get from a coffee shop or starbucks) to take the real coffee with you. It was an out of the way spot, and it was not advertised and once they ran out it was out for the day (it was usually gone by the time I'd go up about 10:30 am). Worth scoping out the first day you're there, esp. if you didn't get a coffee card -don't think cards were available in April.

 

Don't forget to bring along a Thermos! :)

[CaliforniaMama]

The last couple of years, I have not seen any individual creamers, liquid or powered stuff. They have insulated pitchers of milk only in the Horizon Court now by the coffee machine dispensers. :( Only way around this is to grab a carton of milk off the buffet line to keep in your frig in your cabin.

 

Thanks! Good idea. I'll send DH to get one or two the first day.

:) Milk will do fine for me!

[marie61]

I'm not reading the 6 pages of replies, so please excuse me if I'm repeating someone else's idea.

 

I heard about the coffee ahead of time. I bought a single cup coffee maker and brought it aboard along with our gourmet coffee, preground. We made out own coffee every morning. We filched a milk carton from the buffet and sugar and kept it in our room. the coffee was delicious!

 

It's worth it!

 

Or buy the coffee card.

 

but don't drink the coffee in the restaurants/buffet

[vmom]

Seems like I have enough stuff without having to lug around a coffee maker. But I really like good brewed coffee.

 

May get the coffee card, but does that mean that everytime I go to breakfast or a meal, I first have to stop by the bar to get my coffee to bring with me to the buffet. That sounds like alot of hassle too.

[Toto2Kansas]

Seems like I have enough stuff without having to lug around a coffee maker. But I really like good brewed coffee.

 

May get the coffee card, but does that mean that everytime I go to breakfast or a meal, I first have to stop by the bar to get my coffee to bring with me to the buffet. That sounds like alot of hassle too.

 

Yep, it is not offered anywhere else! We find it much easier to just bring the small coffee maker with us. A hassle yes, but much better than the alternative.

[vmom]

Ok..so now I am considering the Aeropress to make coffee with that was mentioned on a previous page.

 

For anyone who has used one...is the coffee hot when you use it? I really like hot coffee, not something luke warm. How's the taste?

[Buddy604]

Ok..so now I am considering the Aeropress to make coffee with that was mentioned on a previous page.

 

For anyone who has used one...is the coffee hot when you use it? I really like hot coffee, not something luke warm. How's the taste?

The coffee is as hot as the water you use to make it. I'm not sure how hot the room service hot water is, but probably in the 160 degree range.

 

The coffee itself is quite good, of course also depending on the variety of coffee you use. The brewing method does make for a very smooth cup without bitterness, but with some real coffee taste. Espresso made with it was that characteristic floral smell of a really good shot.

[vmom]

Thanks.

 

I checked on their website and there is a store close by that sells the aeropress. Thanks for the help!

[taxatty]

I am sure you are correct. The coffee, except that brewed at certain bars, is all made the same way onboard. Those that say that room service coffee, or dining room coffee taste different, I am not sure about actually, maybe it is a mind over matter thing. I have just never wanted to start the arguement before that there is no difference from what I have tasted and been told by staff onboard each ship. LOL Nasty coffee is nasty coffee, no matter where it is served. :(

On our 4 Princess cruises so far (CB, CP, DP and the new Royal), the decent (but not great) coffee in the dining room was definitely different from and better than the NASTY coffee in the buffet, unless the wine or cocktails before or during dinner just made it taste better!

We just got off an RCI cruise where a lady was screaming at a poor junior purser (and demanding to see the captain!!) because her portable coffeemaker had been confiscated from her luggage as a "fire hazard"--glad Princess apparently doesn't do this.

Les

[emdia43]

I have taken my little 1 cup coffeemaker with me a couple of times and the coffee still tastes flat. I figured it's just the different water. Now I just take vanilla powdered creamer and granulated brown sugar and mix it into whichever cruiseline coffee I am drinking. It disguises the taste well.

[sharpie13]

[quote name='emdia43']I have taken my little 1 cup coffeemaker with me a couple of times and the coffee still tastes flat. I figured it's just the different water. Now I just take vanilla powdered creamer and granulated brown sugar and mix it into whichever cruiseline coffee I am drinking. It disguises the taste well.[/quote]


Good point. Thats beause the water on ship mau be desalinized, but it still contains higher levels of sodium than we are use to on shore. I find useing bottled water helps balance this situation.