What's the coffee like on Princess?

[2saskguys]

In two weeks we're sailing on the Grand and I just wanted to canvas Princess patrons to find out what the coffee on board is like? We found it almost undrinkable on Celebrity and I just want to know if I should back my Starbuck's instant coffee or if the coffee (especially the morning coffee) is tasty?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Wes

[paul929207]

The standard free coffee on Princess is made from syrup with hot water added. Some are happy with it, others are not. If you purchase a coffee card, it includes brewed coffee

[Pam in CA]

There's a big debate about whether it's drinkable or not. The free coffee is made from concentrate and to most, is drinkable. Others think it's dreck. Princess offers a coffee card which allows you unlimited brewed coffee and a certain number of specialty coffees. If you like Starbucks, you may want to bring your instant "just in case."

[Toto2Kansas]

Only one answer I can give you, pack the Starbucks! ;)

[donaldsc]

The free stuff is undrinkable swill. They should be arrested for calling it coffee.

 

The stuff you get at the coffee bar is brewed and is better although not great.

 

DON

[bugsy1968]

I concur with several of my fellow posters. I personally don't like their coffee at all, but will drink it if I had to. On our last cruise, I brought a box of the Starbucks Via Instant and it was much better than they syrupy stuff they serve in the dining rooms and gave me my morning fix.

[antomoli]

The free stuff is undrinkable swill. They should be arrested for calling it coffee.

 

The stuff you get at the coffee bar is brewed and is better although not great.

 

DON

 

Ditto.

[mikjr]

Only one answer I can give you, pack the Starbucks! ;)

 

And buy the coffee card! we usually buy two and use all the punches on a 14 day cruise. you can get hot latte's and mocha's and also cold blended drinks like caramel macchiatos! well worth the cost.

[bonezzz]

we were on the celebrity summit 14 days to hawaii and you are right the coffee was really bad, we are going on are first princess cruise in may 2011 and I also wondered if princess coffee is like the coffee on celebrity,

[IECalCruiser]

My DW needs her french press coffee every morning. She has enjoyed the fresh brewed coffee available at the International Cafe with the coffee card. With no IC on the Coral she brought Via to get her morning fix. Both work for her. I am not a coffee drinker so I can't comment personally.

[Bill B]

It's bloody awful!

 

I take my own small 'Brew 'N Go' coffee maker.

[bayday]

We don't drink their 'free' coffee but always buy just 1 coffee card. It gets you 15 specialty coffees and unlimited fresh brewed coffees. As I said only one card and they have never given us a problem getting two regular coffees at the same time for my wife and I. We always bring our large thermal mugs and fill those on our way to breakfast.

[askworldtraveler]

How can they not get coffee right.....

 

Starbucks it is....(took the packets on a remote India trip a few weeks ago and it was an excellent solution).....

 

HAL Suite comes with a coffee maker..... and excellent ground coffee.....nice to wake up too...

[mikjr]

My DW needs her french press coffee every morning. She has enjoyed the fresh brewed coffee available at the International Cafe with the coffee card. With no IC on the Coral she brought Via to get her morning fix. Both work for her. I am not a coffee drinker so I can't comment personally.

 

Even though there is no IC... don't they all have some kind of a "coffee bar"?? I know the Sapphire doesn't have an IC but still has a nice coffee area.

[Richard in Panama]

Since I live on a coffee farm in the mountains in Panama and grow the stuff . . . coffee is like wine . . . different microclimates and altitudes produce different flavors and qualities. Unfortunately, unlike wine, the cruise lines don't have coffee lists! The cruise line picks one coffee to serve fleet-wide, which would be a little like picking one red wine (and only one!) to serve fleet-wide. Tough! The stuff in the buffet, considering it is made out of frozen syrup is tolerable. It has caffine! I like the coffee in Sabatinis and the Steak House better. The coffee in the bars, with the coffee card, is much better. I know a lot of crew, even F&B folks who take their own coffee on board. Even if it's not Boquete coffee, I still enjoy having a cup in the buffet early in the morning!

 

Regards, Richard

[wjh]

It's bloody awful!

 

I take my own small 'Brew 'N Go' coffee maker.

You hit the nail on the head there mate, coffee card is the way to go.

[teripp]

Coffee card all the way. Not Starbucks but as good if not better than Dunkin Donuts. Though brewed flavor coffee is really not available. But I did have them add some hazelnut powder a few times which worked fine untill they ran out toward the end of the cruise :) Brewed coffee at IC is the better choice. I dont do the Frap or Cap or any of that stuff so one coffee card will be more than enough. ( I had two to three cups a day and it worked perfect)

Ter

[BARBYDOLL]

As a British coffee drinker, I found the coffee served on Princess absolutely dreadful (never drink tea), so we took Lyons coffee bags (similar to t-bags, but without the tag you get in the US) and asked for hot water and bought a coffee card. They were so popular all the waiters loved having the left-over ones at the end of the cruise.

[Stevesan]

Even though there is no IC... don't they all have some kind of a "coffee bar"?? I know the Sapphire doesn't have an IC but still has a nice coffee area.

 

 

Yes. usually in the same location as the IC.

 

The coffee card:

 

Brewed coffee is $1.00/cup, most specialty coffees are $3.00, espresso $2.50.

 

$25 (+ gratuity) buys you a coffee card with fifteen punch outs for specialty coffees, and unlimited brewed coffee at the Cafe and other lounges that have brewed coffee. You can also use it in the dining rooms for specialty coffees. The server is directed to take two punch outs for double shot orders, some do, some don't.

Since the coffee card is for a discrete quantity it's not time limited. If there are punchouts remaining at the end of the cruise the card can carry over to the next cruise.

Syrup coffee is not faux coffee (like chicory).

The syrup is processed from honest to goodness real coffee beans.

The problem is in the processing and, same as with brewed, the quality of the bean.

 

Bill, a co-owner of my favorite coffee store

http://www.javacoffee.com/

told me that there are in fact different grades of syrup, some of which are actually drinkable.

Unfortunately, Princess's syrup based coffee must be the cheapest available product because the resulting drink is absolutely vile stuff.

It's very similar to Starbuck's stale, over roasted, coffee.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Stevesan

[IECalCruiser]

Even though there is no IC... don't they all have some kind of a "coffee bar"?? I know the Sapphire doesn't have an IC but still has a nice coffee area.

I know that you can still get fresh brewed coffee on ships without an IC (On the Coral it was on deck 5 but it's better to get the hot water for the Via and a bite of breakfast at the Horizon Court - IMHO.

[azcruiser64]

DW and I thought Celebrity coffee wasn't bad. We both think Princess syrup coffee is terrible, MDR, buffet and room service.

[geoherb]

Coffee threads have been going on for years. I remember our cruise on the Grand seven years ago this month. People on Cruise Critic had been complaining about how bad the coffee was. I'm not a coffee drinker, so it did not matter to me. But I was still shocked by one of our tablemates who said it was the best coffee she ever had. Some of our other tablemates, after hearing her statement, started agreeing about how good it was. Sometimes it's the power of suggestion. People who think the coffee is going to be horrible find it intolerable. People who don't think about it beforehand can actually enjoy it.

[hillslife]

I take lots of the flavored coffee creamers (powder kind) and it doctors up the syrup coffee, which is gross otherwise, in my opinion, but I don't really like coffee anyway, just the flavorings!!! tee hee. I usually buy the coffee card. Love their latte drinks and they are cheaper on board (with the card) than Starbucks.

 

Enjoy...

Edited December 7, 2010 by hillslife

[CruisinEA]

I never drink coffee unless I am on a cruise. If I go to Starbucks I get a mocha or some other fancy drink... But when I am on a cruise I absolutely love the coffee. Maybe it's because I add 2 packs of sugar and a bunch of cream but man, I love my coffee after dinner. My parents enjoy it too, they drink it black, and say it's great, they also drink coffee everyday.

 

So it really depends I think.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

This is a very subjective point. Some will say that the "syrup" coffee isn't fit for human consumption. Others, including myself, think that the "syrup" coffee isn't all that bad. Brewed coffee is still better though.....:):)::)

 

BOb