All I want is a good cup of coffee ...

[oldbluff]

My DW and I are taking the Alaska repositioning cruise on the Millenium departing San Diego 30-Apr-2010. Have cruised Royal Caribbean and Carnival; totally psyched about Celebrity.

 

We both love strong, flavorful coffee first thing in the morning. Previous cruises have had mediocre to dreadful coffee in the MDR and casual eateries. The specialty coffee/ice cream stand on RCCL had excellent Seattle's Best Coffee. Carnival's did not have drip coffee but made great espresso drinks.

 

Researching Celebrity, it appears dining area coffee is not so good as well. Does the Cova Cafe offer above-average drip coffee and/or good espresso drinks? I don't mind paying for the regular coffee if it tastes good and is fresh.

 

Has anyone ever taken a coffee maker and related supplies with them on a cruise? Was it worth the hassle to have your own coffee anytime you wanted? I know this seems a bit extreme, but great coffee first thing sets the tone and enables me to keep smiling regardless what happens that day.

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your insight from previous Celebrity cruises, especially the M-class ships.

[IPA region 30 member]

I can't speak for the M class ships, but our recent cruise on the Solstice had us pleasantly surprised about the coffee. The room service coffee is some of the best that I have had on a cruise ship. It was actually GOOD! The stuff out of the machines up in the Oceanview Cafe was not nearly as good, but it wasn't swill either. It appears that they are trying to get it better.

 

regards

 

Scott

[QuitMyDayJob]

I haven't been on an M Class ship for almost two years, but at that time I found the regular coffee on the Millennium to be just ok. The espresso in the Cova Cafe was quite good and always fresh.

 

On my next trip I plan to take some of the Starbucks Via (instant) coffee. Although it's still instant coffee, I find it's pretty good.

[GeorgeL]

 

Has anyone ever taken a coffee maker and related supplies with them on a cruise? Was it worth the hassle to have your own coffee anytime you wanted? I know this seems a bit extreme, but great coffee first thing sets the tone and enables me to keep smiling regardless what happens that day.

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your insight from previous Celebrity cruises, especially the M-class ships.

 

I am not positive but I think that for safety reasons Celebrity does not passengers to bring a coffee maker to be used in your stateroom. If found, it may be confiscated until the end of your trip. As I said, I am not 100% sure so you may want to check on this.

[newhips]

Because of the wildly varying quality of the coffee on the ships, I have been taking a traveling "French Coffee Press" (got mine at a sporting goods store) with my own Yuban pre-measured in baggies. Fill the press with hot water at the coffee stations, pour in the coffee and let stand 5 minutes. Almost like home.

 

This trip I will try to get a pot of hot water from room service so I can have my coffee on the balcony! :)

[GeorgeL]

Because of the wildly varying quality of the coffee on the ships, I have been taking a traveling "French Coffee Press" (got mine at a sporting goods store) with my own Yuban pre-measured in baggies. Fill the press with hot water at the coffee stations, pour in the coffee and let stand 5 minutes. Almost like home.

 

This trip I will try to get a pot of hot water from room service so I can have my coffee on the balcony! :)

 

A French coffee press sounds like a great idea. The coffee makers which I thought might not be allowed by Celebrity in staterooms would be the electrical/plug-in type. The Starbucks Via instant coffee packets are also a good alternative.

[oldbluff]

thanks everyone, for the quick responses. yes GeorgeL, I also was concerned about bringing an electric device onboard.

 

newhips, that is a great suggestion about a French press. no electricity/heating element, just need to get sufficiently hot water and I am all set. I presume the water available to make tea will do the trick.

 

anyone else care to comment on recent Celebrity coffee experiences? I'm not really a snob; just like good coffee.

[Xcruising]

Most coffee lovers have very strong opinions about what is good and what isn't. At home all my coffee is made with a French press with beans that are ground for each pot. Still, I have had coffee with a press that isn't so good, and I've had coffee at a cheap diner that was great. Seems like many people only like the "good coffee" at specialty places, or Seattle's Best, or Starbucks, etc. It's interesting that in branded taste tests, those who normally drink Starbucks chose Starbucks over McDonalds almost 5 to 1, but in unbranded taste tests it was about 50/50. Having said all that, we just came off the Summit and I would say that the coffee in our CC room service was very good, the Cova Cafe was even better, and the other spots was never bad, but never real good either.

[Sskar]

We enjoyed the espresso and cappuccinos at Cova, plus the service was great. I do drink Starbuck's when I'm pressed for time - this was much better, but nothing beats grinding your own freshly roasted beans and using a French press. I wouldn't go to the trouble of trying to get water up to the right temp to make a good French press. Drink the "wake 'em up" coffee in the MDR (not too bad) and use Cova for the evenings. They have wonderful specialty coffee drinks, wine and tapas also.

[celem]

I am just off of the Constellation's Jan 3rd Panama Canal cruise. While, on a recent cruise, NCL's coffee was swill made from concentrate, but the Constellation's coffee was fresh brewed in a Bunn-type machine. It tasted fine to me - but then I don't like Starbuck's bitter coffee. I have attached a photo of a machine brewing.

[Quendryth]

thanks everyone, for the quick responses. yes GeorgeL, I also was concerned about bringing an electric device onboard.

 

newhips, that is a great suggestion about a French press. no electricity/heating element, just need to get sufficiently hot water and I am all set. I presume the water available to make tea will do the trick.

 

anyone else care to comment on recent Celebrity coffee experiences? I'm not really a snob; just like good coffee.

 

We bring our French press, coarse ground coffee and 2 insulated 12 oz mugs. DH fills the mugs with hot water from the hot water tea machine on Oceanview Deck, brings them back to the cabin & we have our fresh coffee. Sometimes we take them with us for our breakfast in the MDR or buffet or if having breakfast in the cabin will have the steward bring the hot water with the food. We just don't like the coffee from the ship, although on the Solstice last year it was pretty good.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Faith

[fleckle]

There are a number of coffee stations with self-service machines around the buffet area. We found that if you get a bad cup of coffee at the buffet, sometimes (but not always) you can find better coffee if you walk down a little further and try another machine, or two or three. Although not great coffee, it is much more drinkable at some times than others.

 

Also, if you see the maitre d' in charge of the buffet area and say something to him (such as politely inviting him to taste the coffee himself), he will instruct the staff to brew some fresh coffee.

[vickykay]

I have never liked the coffee at the buffet on the M ships (although better on the solstice) - main dining room decaf after dinner was fine. I always order coffee from room service to drink first thing in the morning and that coffee was always good.

[Lsimon]

It is better in the last year or two than it used to be, but that isn't saying much. They improved it dramatically from about a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 to about a 3 to 5, depending on random chance. We've found terrible coffee on every cruise on any cruise ship we've ever been on including the Equinox last November, except for a Princess cruise back in 2003 which had good drip coffee at the coffee bar. Celebrity has only espresso based coffee drinks at their coffee bar (Cova or the newer one).

 

Sorry for the bad news but Coffee is a weak point on ships. I can't understand why they can't brew a decent cup of coffee.

 

To make do we either:

1. Live with it.

2. Bring something on board as suggested above

3. Drink double Latte's or Caffe Americanos (Espresso + Water) at the Cova.

[got2shop]

My DW and I are taking the Alaska repositioning cruise on the Millenium departing San Diego 30-Apr-2010. Have cruised Royal Caribbean and Carnival; totally psyched about Celebrity.

 

We both love strong, flavorful coffee first thing in the morning. Previous cruises have had mediocre to dreadful coffee in the MDR and casual eateries. The specialty coffee/ice cream stand on RCCL had excellent Seattle's Best Coffee. Carnival's did not have drip coffee but made great espresso drinks.

 

Researching Celebrity, it appears dining area coffee is not so good as well. Does the Cova Cafe offer above-average drip coffee and/or good espresso drinks? I don't mind paying for the regular coffee if it tastes good and is fresh.

 

Has anyone ever taken a coffee maker and related supplies with them on a cruise? Was it worth the hassle to have your own coffee anytime you wanted? I know this seems a bit extreme, but great coffee first thing sets the tone and enables me to keep smiling regardless what happens that day.

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your insight from previous Celebrity cruises, especially the M-class ships.

Definitley Starbucks Via instant!! I did that on this past Dec. cruise aNd it worked wonderfully!! It is not like instant at all, very smooth aNd a cup of HoT h20 is easy to come by! Hope this helps =)

[Quendryth]

It is better in the last year or two than it used to be, but that isn't saying much. They improved it dramatically from about a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 to about a 3 to 5, depending on random chance. We've found terrible coffee on every cruise on any cruise ship we've ever been on including the Equinox last November, except for a Princess cruise back in 2003 which had good drip coffee at the coffee bar. Celebrity has only espresso based coffee drinks at their coffee bar (Cova or the newer one).

 

Sorry for the bad news but Coffee is a weak point on ships. I can't understand why they can't brew a decent cup of coffee.

 

To make do we either:

1. Live with it.

2. Bring something on board as suggested above

3. Drink double Latte's or Caffe Americanos (Espresso + Water) at the Cova.

 

In Europe if you order coffee you get what has been leftover from ALL the cruise ships ever docked in their port! We were told by a Roman not to order coffee - order cappucino & you, as an American will be able to tolerate it. We did & he was right!

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Faith

[Lsimon]

In Europe if you order coffee you get what has been leftover from ALL the cruise ships ever docked in their port! We were told by a Roman not to order coffee - order cappucino & you, as an American will be able to tolerate it. We did & he was right!

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Faith

 

In Italy you don't find any decent drip coffee, it's all Espresso based so Cuppucino is a great choice there!

 

This is more or less true in most of Europe, except some places in the UK, and also some major cities where they have some American franchises, like a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts in Barcelona - and even in those places if you order "coffee" you'll get an espresso or americano unless you specify "filter coffee" in which case you'll get the type of drip coffee served here in the USA.

[YOW]

Not having been on Celebrity in nearly a year, we were pleasantly surprised to find a Cova Cafe in the shops adjacent to our hotel in Hong Kong a few weeks ago. Not that HK has a shortage of good coffee, or good food for that matter, but it was nice to get a bit of that cruise feel... if only for a short while.

 

PS -- Hi Larry! :)

[oldbluff]

... for sharing your experiences, opinions and coping mechanisms. -Cliff

[mycatsarecool4]

thanks everyone, for the quick responses. yes GeorgeL, I also was concerned about bringing an electric device onboard.

 

newhips, that is a great suggestion about a French press. no electricity/heating element, just need to get sufficiently hot water and I am all set. I presume the water available to make tea will do the trick.

 

anyone else care to comment on recent Celebrity coffee experiences? I'm not really a snob; just like good coffee.

 

We were on Infiniti to Alaska August, 09 and the coffee was passable but not great (in my opinion) I am just now in the process of trying to find a French Press. We stayed at Hotel 1000 in Seattle before the Alaskan cruise and there was one in our room along with Starbucks coffee. It was out of this world! You are correct about taking no electric coffee pot onboard! I feel like an eccentric old lady taking my own coffee device, but heck, when we travel by land, I take my own wine glasses!;)

[Sabbycat]

My DW and I are taking the Alaska repositioning cruise on the Millenium departing San Diego 30-Apr-2010. Have cruised Royal Caribbean and Carnival; totally psyched about Celebrity.

 

We both love strong, flavorful coffee first thing in the morning. Previous cruises have had mediocre to dreadful coffee in the MDR and casual eateries. The specialty coffee/ice cream stand on RCCL had excellent Seattle's Best Coffee. Carnival's did not have drip coffee but made great espresso drinks.

 

Researching Celebrity, it appears dining area coffee is not so good as well. Does the Cova Cafe offer above-average drip coffee and/or good espresso drinks? I don't mind paying for the regular coffee if it tastes good and is fresh.

 

Has anyone ever taken a coffee maker and related supplies with them on a cruise? Was it worth the hassle to have your own coffee anytime you wanted? I know this seems a bit extreme, but great coffee first thing sets the tone and enables me to keep smiling regardless what happens that day.

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your insight from previous Celebrity cruises, especially the M-class ships.

 

Glad to see that I am not the only one who finds ship coffee terrible. If you are a coffee snob like I am, either have it room service (that is okay), or do the café (usually located on deck 5, and does cost you $). The café coffee is good.

 

AVOID the dining areas coffee - both MRD and buffet - it is terrible.

[celem]

Glad to see that I am not the only one who finds ship coffee terrible. If you are a coffee snob like I am, either have it room service (that is okay), or do the café (usually located on deck 5, and does cost you $). The café coffee is good.

 

AVOID the dining areas coffee - both MRD and buffet - it is terrible.

 

On my two weeks on the Constellation the bar Cova had customers but it always had empty seats. The seating area between Cova's food area and the coffee bar was usually empty except when either the a cappella singers or string chamber group were performing. While coffee options are available at the Cova, coffee snobs appear to be in a minority. For me, the MDR and buffet coffee are just fine - it is brewed from ground coffee in a Bunn-type brewer not concentrate like on NCL.

[arch199]

Cruised on The Summit over the New Year. I was warned coffee was pretty bad...in fact it was awful.....no matter where one went to get it

[arlutz0527]

I've sailed all four of the Millie ships and the coffee was always bad and that's being kind. I saw Celem's post about the Burr machines which were not the what was in place when I cruised so it may have gotten better. Of course that wouldn't take much. On one of my business trips I happened to sit next to a Celebrity marketing person and I told her about the coffee and she acted quite surprised. I just laughed and said you must be a tea drinker and she was. That said, I went to Cova and ordered a double espresso and a lrage hot water. Wasn't bad.