Coffee question

[sail7seas]

Coffee is so individual. I like the Room Service coffee on the ships though I like the Neptune Lounge coffee way more.

 

[SwissMyst]

Something else to consider: Be sure you don't miss the Afternoon Teas on the sea days - especially the Indonesian Tea and the Royal Dutch High Tea. Delicious treats and ask for the brewed tea, to get the stronger stuff.

 

I found it a little confusing at first, but there is the Explorer's Lounge and the Explorations Cafe.

 

The Explorations Cafe is usually by the Library and comfy reading room (another great HAL feature) and this is where you get the specialty coffee drinks for a small charge, with free snacks.

 

The Explorer's Lounge is where they serve for fee the after dinner drinks, liquor coffees as well where the chamber music Adagio Strings perform and the secret trays of complimentary after-dinner home made chocolates can be found.

[peug]

For the absolute best coffee on board go to the Indonesian Tea and ask for the Indonesian coffee. It is Sumatra and comes in a French press. My friend and I both drank two pots and the waiters were thrilled that we liked it so much. We were very disappointed that the Indonesian Tea was not on the second leg of the trip. Now that coffee I would gladly buy several times a day at the Explorations Cafe.

[SwissMyst]

For the absolute best coffee on board go to the Indonesian Tea and ask for the Indonesian coffee. It is Sumatra and comes in a French press. My friend and I both drank two pots and the waiters were thrilled that we liked it so much. We were very disappointed that the Indonesian Tea was not on the second leg of the trip. Now that coffee I would gladly buy several times a day at the Explorations Cafe.

 

Thanks for the tip - DH is the coffee fan. Me, somehow I like tea when I travel. I can drink more of it with less effect later at night. Jasmine tea is how I end my HAL dinners and learned to bring my own bags, just in case they are out.

[Himself]

I have always found the coffee in the MDR and the Lido to be quite good. I have never had a card to buy it in the explorers lounge.

[Okie1946]

Well how much does a cup of coffee set you back in the Explorers lounge?? We are going to Alaska in Sept.. It may be quite cool there so coffee is a nice warm up. I am on an Air Base in Afghanistan so I have had some bad coffee. The coffee in Iraq had to be the absolute worse I have ever tasted. Some of the best was in Adana Turkey, very different but it was good.

 

Panheads4ever:

 

Promise you won't laugh. Son just returned from 4th deployment. After he came home from the first one - he asked for and got a battery operated coffee grinder. With each deployment - he asked us to send him his coffee - in beans - and he ground his own coffee. The lady at the super market laughed until she was crying - imagining a soldier going into combat with a coffee grinder.

 

We were stationed in Turkey for a few years. Son who is in military - was born at Adana. Know it well. Want to say thank you for serving and come home safely. Hope to meet you some day on a cruise.

 

Smile - :D - it will confuse any oncoming frowns.

 

Previous Cruises:

Alaska - Westerdam - September 2009

Alaska- Rotterdam - September 2010

Mexican Riveria - Oosterdam - April 2011

Future Cruises – in planning stage:

September - 2014 Panama Canal - - 28 day (changed from 2013 – son set wedding date so we had to forgo 2013 cruise)

August – 2015 – Eastern Med – 28 days or one that will be cruising Black Sea

[Lynda S]

My one and only thing I could find to even remotely 'complain' about on the now infamous April 20th Zuiderdam cruise was that the coffee was REALLY inconsistent.

 

I drink two things & two things only - water and coffee. Water I like cold, and coffee I like medium, not too weak, nor too strong. I'm not a cappuccino, latte or espresso fan, and I do find the coffee at Starbucks too strong unless they have their breakfast blend on tap.

 

The water of course was good, but yes, at $2.95 a bottle you can bet I was buying some of it on shore (thankfully no one made me put it on the 'liquor' table for storage...). I tried filling a water bottle from the bathroom tap a few times & then chilling in the fridge, but the smell of chlorine when I opened it was intense, so I opted for buying the water instead - either from HAL or on shore where possible. The water served at meals in the Lido, the MDR, the bars, or room service was always fresh & cold & tasted great, and it never tasted or smelled like chlorine.

 

But the coffee. We were on the ship 22 days & every day it was like playing Russian roulette to me. The room service coffee was usually good, and it was drinkable. There was the odd time that it wasn't so good, but mostly it was good. I'd order a huge carafe of coffee and fill my stainless steel travel mug for the morning. The Lido deck was the next best, but occasionally I would find this too old (from the pre-made large 'vat' of coffee that was there) or too strong.

 

The worst was the MDR. There were some nights I had to ask for other than 'dishwater' please as it was so weak you could see your spoon in it; and there were other nights when it was so strong I had to ask for some hot water to water it down. And then there were times when it was 'just right'. So, I don't know, I never gave up trying, but it got exhausting!

 

I had no problem or complaints on going without a working toilet for 24 hours, but I sure did on finding consistent coffee!! :-))

[agru]

If you order espresso or cappuccino from room service is there an additional charge?

 

Thanks!

[sail7seas]

Room service does not deliver espresso or cappucino.

You can order it at breakfast, lunch and dinner in MDR for no additional charge or for moderate charge, purchase it at Explorations Cafe.

 

[panheads4ever]

Panheads4ever:

 

Promise you won't laugh. Son just returned from 4th deployment. After he came home from the first one - he asked for and got a battery operated coffee grinder. With each deployment - he asked us to send him his coffee - in beans - and he ground his own coffee. The lady at the super market laughed until she was crying - imagining a soldier going into combat with a coffee grinder.

 

We were stationed in Turkey for a few years. Son who is in military - was born at Adana. Know it well. Want to say thank you for serving and come home safely. Hope to meet you some day on a cruise.

 

Smile - :D - it will confuse any oncoming frowns.

 

 

 

Previous Cruises:

Alaska - Westerdam - September 2009

Alaska- Rotterdam - September 2010

Mexican Riveria - Oosterdam - April 2011

Future Cruises – in planning stage:

September - 2014 Panama Canal - - 28 day (changed from 2013 – son set wedding date so we had to forgo 2013 cruise)

August – 2015 – Eastern Med – 28 days or one that will be cruising Black Sea

I bet I met him LOL I met a soldier that carried his own small thermos and ground his own coffee. I thought it was cool that he was doing that. We had some laughs and he shared some coffee. I have met some outstanding young men in Iraq and Afghanistan over the years. Hope to cruise with some of the folks here too.

D

[Boytjie]

I like a good cup of coffee and have been quite happy with HAL's coffee. I have only on rare occasions bought a cup from the Explorations Cafe.