Is New Cappuccino better?

[Hobbins]

I am more than sad about losing the "free" cappuccino. I have written NCL and received their answer. They seem to imply that they are trying to improve something, even though it will cost us.

 

OK so let's see. Has anyone tried the new cappuccino so they can answer some questions about it? Is it better? Is it served hotter. Is it more consistent? Is it worth it? How about the regular coffee, is that better?

[Zeno]

I am more than sad about losing the "free" cappuccino. I have written NCL and received their answer. They seem to imply that they are trying to improve something, even though it will cost us.

 

OK so let's see. Has anyone tried the new cappuccino so they can answer some questions about it? Is it better? Is it served hotter. Is it more consistent? Is it worth it? How about the regular coffee, is that better?

 

Interesting you should ask this. We all commented that we found the "new" regular coffee to be better (even in the buffet). Only once did I not like it. We did try the "new" capuccino once and I can honestly say that I am not sure if it was better or not - we really did not notice. However (for us) the regular coffee DID seem better.

[KandJCruising]

Interesting you should ask this. We all commented that we found the "new" regular coffee to be better (even in the buffet). Only once did I not like it. We did try the "new" capuccino once and I can honestly say that I am not sure if it was better or not - we really did not notice. However (for us) the regular coffee DID seem better.

 

The better regular coffee is good news. I thought the regular stuff on my last cruise was lousy. The small machine in my room made better brew. However, I quite enjoyed the cappuccino/espresso in the MDR and other restaurants and am likewise sad to see the free stuff go. I thought it was pretty good. I've had my share of Lavazza, which is also good, but I'm not sure it will be a significant upgrade from what was recently offered for free.

[Zeno]

I honestly could not stomach the "old" coffee and always had the "free cappuccino - so at first I was disappointed to hear that one now had to pay for the cappuccino. However except for one instance, we found the "new" coffee quite drinkable (even had 2nd cups at breakfast) and really did not miss the "free" capuccino. I hope you find it agreeable too!

[Heytoots]

I personally enjoyed the free capacchinos better.....the Lavazza caps at the Java cafes, IMHO, were not as good as the free stuff used to be.

I don't know whether this is because the staff is unsure of how to make a good cup of coffee, or that I just don't enjoy Lavazza. It just never seemed strong enough.......:eek: :)

[KandJCruising]

I personally enjoyed the free capacchinos better.....the Lavazza caps at the Java cafes, IMHO, were not as good as the free stuff used to be.

I don't know whether this is because the staff is unsure of how to make a good cup of coffee, or that I just don't enjoy Lavazza. It just never seemed strong enough.......:eek: :)

 

If it wasn't strong enough, I'd say it was the person making the drink. Lavazza is a very traditional Italian espresso and is usually quite potent.

[yoyocruiser]

The regular coffee was really good. However, I have to say that it varied a lot from location to location. Therefore, early in the cruise I would recommend trying coffee at several different places. There was one particular machine at the buffet that was much better than the others (go figure) and the room service coffee was consistently hot and reasonably good. The MDR coffee seemed the poorest to me. The coffee in Blue Lagoon with desert was guite good. Not sure if they use different beans, or some people just make it better than others (just like at home). But overall, the good news is that you can certainly find reasonably if not very good coffee. :)

[Hobbins]

So it looks like the regular coffee may have improved a little bit judging from the responses so far. Does that mean they stopped using syrup or just using better syrup? Anyone going to a 'Meet & Greet' soon to find out?

 

On the other hand it appears the cappuccino did not experience an improvement and now they want to charge money for it. For me, it will not be the same without the 'free' caps but I will have to try one. The thing is, once they charge I will have no hesitation to send it back if it is not of consistent quality or proper temperature.

 

Does anyone else feel this way about paying for quality or do most just accept whatever is provided?

[KandJCruising]

So it looks like the regular coffee may have improved a little bit judging from the responses so far. Does that mean they stopped using syrup or just using better syrup? Anyone going to a 'Meet & Greet' soon to find out?

 

On the other hand it appears the cappuccino did not experience an improvement and now they want to charge money for it. For me, it will not be the same without the 'free' caps but I will have to try one. The thing is, once they charge I will have no hesitation to send it back if it is not of consistent quality or proper temperature.

 

Does anyone else feel this way about paying for quality or do most just accept whatever is provided?

I hadn't considered that, but it is an interesting point. I'm not hard to please, but will occasionally send something back if it's way off the mark (meat too over/underdone is the most common reason). I haven't had a cappuccino/espresso on NCL that fell into this category, but if it were truly sub-par I'd consider sending it back.

[Down-Unders]

I am more than sad about losing the "free" cappuccino. I have written NCL and received their answer. They seem to imply that they are trying to improve something, even though it will cost us.

 

OK so let's see. Has anyone tried the new cappuccino so they can answer some questions about it? Is it better? Is it served hotter. Is it more consistent? Is it worth it? How about the regular coffee, is that better?

 

 

 

The only thing they are trying to improve is their profits! GREED is not good.

[smeyer418]

The only thing they are trying to improve is their profits! GREED is not good.

 

 

I think you know how I feel about the changes, but this is not necessarily greed.

Here is an example of what happens when you don't keep up with the times..

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/nyregion/03vincents.html?ref=nyregion

 

I don't like all the changes but don't feel its just because of "greed". You know Steve Jobs is very creative. he isn 't doing it for free.

[IWORK2CRUISE]

The regular coffee was really good. However, I have to say that it varied a lot from location to location. Therefore, early in the cruise I would recommend trying coffee at several different places. There was one particular machine at the buffet that was much better than the others (go figure) and the room service coffee was consistently hot and reasonably good. The MDR coffee seemed the poorest to me. The coffee in Blue Lagoon with desert was guite good. Not sure if they use different beans, or some people just make it better than others (just like at home). But overall, the good news is that you can certainly find reasonably if not very good coffee. :)

I found the machine in the Garden Cafe on Dawn that had the WORST coffee one morning. Never went back to that one.

We ate at Cagney's one night and I thought that capucccino might be included. I ordered it and was informed that their machine was broken. The regular coffee that that they served me was excellant as it was in Salsa, too.

[intrepid_guy]

I am so disappointed to hear this... the free Caps on NCL were always something that we looked forward to. We thought RCL was crazy to charge for it. I guess the best things in life are not free.... anymore...

 

 

----> needs a caffeine buzz.

[Law5Guy]

What's the charge for the cappuccino?

[Zeno]

What's the charge for the cappuccino?

 

if memory serves me(and it does not always with regards to charges) - it was about $2.50

[Maryfrei]

We asked in Cagney's on the one nighter and I believe they said $1.50 for espresso, and $2.00 for Cappuccino.

[Hobbins]

Boy, I wish we had just a few more people pipe in on this one. There must be others that can make a judgement on any perceived taste changes.

 

It's really great that the coffee is better (although not convinced yet - I have no reason to believe it's not still made from syrup) but are we really paying now for the same quality Cappuccino? It doesn't sound like the NCL explanation is holding true.

[cruznut1111]

Glad to see this thread. I was intending to start a "how to purchase" thread (after getting my $11.50 bill for 2 cups) and haven't gotten around to it.

 

Here is what we learned. There is (or was in January) different beans in the MDRs and the Java Cafes. There are also different ordering practices, so pay close attention now and don't be afraid to ask questions when you are on ship.

 

Our drinks are - 1 double shot cappuccino and 1 double shot espresso.

 

In the main dining room we would order a "double cappuccino" $2.50 -( single is $2.00) and a "double espresso" $2.00 - (single is $1.50). Easy, right?

 

Now we have a day we sleep late and go to the Java Cafe. Silly us, we order a "double cappuccino and a double espresso." The drinks and bill arrive - The cappuccino is a "large" $3.00 and we are charged for two extra espresso shots - $3.00 and then there is my double espresso - $3.00 plus the included tip and we have a bill @ $11+ for the morning.

 

My husband tried to explain that it couldn't possibly be right, but they stood firm. My response was to ask to speak to the cafe manager, sit with him and the price list and get the price reversed. It took a while, but it was a seaday.

 

The trick here is in the "secret shots." The baristas know that they put one shot in a small, 2 shots in a medium and 3 shots in a large, but the menu doesn't tell you. The price of a medium espresso- $2, and a medium cappuccino - $2.50. Their argument was that we didn't order properly.

 

Just for the fun of it, the next day we ordered mediums instead of doubles in the MDR and got blank stares. We gave our standard orders and enjoyed our doubles.

 

Just our opinions - we really preferred to have the MDR drinks. Lavazza has a level of bitterness on some of the ships we find hard to handle.

[arabrab]

My issue with the cappucino in the MDR and the latte (in the Java Cafe) is that the milk is foamed with one of the pushbutton machines. Yes, it is foamy. No, it isn't like good, creamy steamed milk.

 

I found the base coffee (not the espresso) to be rather weak in the MDR.

[2Cruise4Ever]

We are just off the Sky and were charged for the cappuccinos in Cagneys. I just don't remember how much (I'll look at the receipt when we unpack). And, I can tell you that they aren't any better (or worse) than before. They tasted the same (which has always been good). We did not try the coffee in the buffet area (old habits die hard). But, the coffee in the main dining room was good. And, we did not have a coffee maker in our balcony room. So, we utilized room service every morning.

[KandJCruising]

Glad to see this thread. I was intending to start a "how to purchase" thread (after getting my $11.50 bill for 2 cups) and haven't gotten around to it.

 

Here is what we learned. There is (or was in January) different beans in the MDRs and the Java Cafes. There are also different ordering practices, so pay close attention now and don't be afraid to ask questions when you are on ship.

 

Our drinks are - 1 double shot cappuccino and 1 double shot espresso.

 

In the main dining room we would order a "double cappuccino" $2.50 -( single is $2.00) and a "double espresso" $2.00 - (single is $1.50). Easy, right?

 

Now we have a day we sleep late and go to the Java Cafe. Silly us, we order a "double cappuccino and a double espresso." The drinks and bill arrive - The cappuccino is a "large" $3.00 and we are charged for two extra espresso shots - $3.00 and then there is my double espresso - $3.00 plus the included tip and we have a bill @ $11+ for the morning.

 

My husband tried to explain that it couldn't possibly be right, but they stood firm. My response was to ask to speak to the cafe manager, sit with him and the price list and get the price reversed. It took a while, but it was a seaday.

 

The trick here is in the "secret shots." The baristas know that they put one shot in a small, 2 shots in a medium and 3 shots in a large, but the menu doesn't tell you. The price of a medium espresso- $2, and a medium cappuccino - $2.50. Their argument was that we didn't order properly.

 

Just for the fun of it, the next day we ordered mediums instead of doubles in the MDR and got blank stares. We gave our standard orders and enjoyed our doubles.

 

Just our opinions - we really preferred to have the MDR drinks. Lavazza has a level of bitterness on some of the ships we find hard to handle.

Thanks for the advice. I'll be trying the new stuff. I like Lavazza, but it can be done badly. I was perfectly happy with the old, free java, but will reserve my final opinions on the changes until I have a chance to review in person.

[Hobbins]

Great info on how to purchase! I didn't know they had different sizes but I don't feel bad 'cause it looks like they are confused themselves.

 

I have seen no opinion that implies they changed the quality of the cappuccino in the MDR. Is quality same at Cafe?

 

Thanks for the input and if anyone else can give their 2 cents it would be very helpful.