Princess Coffee solution (sort of)

[5326jan]

We have taken an auto-off mini kettle on each and every cruise we have been on. It always is in plain sight in the cabin. We plug/unplug only when in use. It takes about 90 seconds to boil water and then automatically cuts off. We use a melita cone and filters and bring a baggie of our favorite coffee. The problem with the room service water is that it is never hot enough!

 

[funinthesun86]

This sounds like a great idea.

[Kamloops50]

My wife's sons bought us a Keurig coffee maker for Christmas which we did not want and thought we would not like. After trying it for a week with all the different coffees, we absolutely love it!

We will be going on a 28 day South American cruise in February, and my wife asked if Keurig makes a smaller one that we could take possibly with us. I went on-line and found a small one, and she was really excited about it. I then pointed out that if we each drank 4 cups of coffee in the morning, we would have to take 224 of the little cups with us! She even went so far as to suggest we could have them shipped to ports of call on the cruise. That gives you an idea of how good this coffee is.

Well that killed that idea, so we will buy a coffee card to get brewed coffee from the IC since we now know what really good coffee tastes like. The downside is that one of us will have to go down to the IC first thing in the morning to get it.

Guess who is elected?

 

Have you priced what those little containers of coffee cost you .

In Canada those individual container cost about 40Cents at Costco to over 60 cents elsewhere . Assuming 40 cents then your paying $90 for the coffee. A coffee card is only $31 USD . Gives you unlimited brewed coffee and 15 specialty ones. I have always brought my DW her morning coffee on a cruise (at home to).

[Thurston Howell lll]

NCL has solved this coffee problem in a creative way, the put coffee makers in cabins. If they can do it why not Princess? It is not a safety issue.

 

When I cruise on NCL I just bring some Starbucks and make as much as I want 4 cups at a time!

[BratDet]

was just ok when it was not from the International Cafe....I would have some with dessert, at night, so it just feels like wedding venue coffee.....passable...

 

I would always bring my own cup from IC to breakfast...

 

.if I had not finished my morning allotment...

 

I hated Starbucks coffee because it is tooo strong...

 

but they came out with a blonde roast that people who disliked Starbucks because it is so strong...seem to really like (me too).

 

I am PRETTY sure I have the VIA packets in the Blonde version for cruise emergencies...already packed. Saw them at Target and added them to my pre-cruise bucket o'stuff.

 

I am just bring a few because I will need them in Venice before the cruise at our B&B.

 

Bernadette

[FawnRiver]

We have taken an auto-off mini kettle on each and every cruise we have been on. It always is in plain sight in the cabin. We plug/unplug only when in use. It takes about 90 seconds to boil water and then automatically cuts off. We use a melita cone and filters and bring a baggie of our favorite coffee. The problem with the room service water is that it is never hot enough!

 

I'll have to look for one of those kettles. DH brings Via packets for his first coffee to power him down to the IC, so I order two teas from room service, but the tea is awful. Not the actual tea leaves, but that the water is lukewarm at best by the time it gets to room.

[TheCruisingBrewers]

These discussions always make me smile. I am a firm beleiver that good coffee enhances a cruise, especially in Alaska where I am going.

 

My husband works for a large nation wide commercial coffee company, (not Starbucks!) Farmer Brothers and concentrate coffee has come a LONG way in his business with many large accounts, restaurants and such using a coffee called Douwe Egberts. It is his highest end coffee, far more expensive than even Starbucks. Every cup is the same and it never gets old while having to sit on a warmer. It is a frozen concentrate, that has to be kept cold till use. The big boxes often sit chilling in my freezer overnight to await delivery to his larger and better accounts. The plus of it is the storage, and serves so many cups, without the problem of dealing with the shelf space of ground coffee or disposing of the grounds. Some of the makers can produce 300 cup per hour, so you see the volume would fit a cruise ship or large coffee swilling place like a hospital! *laughs*

 

It is nothing like the cruiselines or hopsitals liquid coffee of old! :eek:

 

That being said I do love fresh brewed dark roasted coffee, too so I will likely grab a coffee card too, if the HC coffee does not pass muster for us. I am encouraged to see it has improved.

 

I guess that would be a great question for the chefs at Chef's Tables wouldn't it? What sort of coffee do they use in HC? I suspect it may be one of Douwe Egberts varieties.

 

For anyone really interested here is a great article writing by a fan of this brand...

http://www.joshuakennon.com/douwe-egberts-coffee/

[Clutterlady]

I'm not a big coffee drinker, but do enjoy a cup in the morning. Just got off the Emerald and the coffee at the HC has vastly improved. A lot of people were commenting on how good the coffee was tasting....:)

[jbobst]

We have taken an auto-off mini kettle on each and every cruise we have been on. It always is in plain sight in the cabin. We plug/unplug only when in use. It takes about 90 seconds to boil water and then automatically cuts off. We use a melita cone and filters and bring a baggie of our favorite coffee. The problem with the room service water is that it is never hot enough!

 

 

How is it that they won't allow us to bring a very small electric fan into our cabin, but they will let you bring a coffee maker or hot water pot?

[Dorset Cruiser]

We too always take a similar kettle on all our cruises and never have a problem. Sometimes the room steward washes our cups :)

[Liz54]

Am I the only one troubled by the amount of garbage going to the landfill from the packets these machines use? A Canadian TV story did the research and in Canada they are NOT recyclable, although the company indicates they can be!:mad:

[RNRcruisers]

I have been following the coffee discussions with interest since I am a big coffee drinker and we are going on our first Princess cruise in June. I have always liked the coffee on our other cruises a lot but since those were mostly on RCL I don't know if Princess uses different coffee or if I'm just not as critical of the "liquid concentrate" coffee that everyone seems to hate. I think I will give it a try and if it is really bad then I'll get a coffee card. For me, the worst would be if it is too weak or not hot enough.

[Thurston Howell lll]

Am I the only one troubled by the amount of garbage going to the landfill from the packets these machines use? A Canadian TV story did the research and in Canada they are NOT recyclable, although the company indicates they can be!:mad:

 

 

Don't worry, they just toss them over the side for the sharks to eat! ;)

[fireflymd]

Personally, while I do get a coffee card for specialty coffee for breakfast and late afternoon, I have not one complaint with the coffee in the HC or dining room.

 

I really am a coffee snob and on my first Princess cruise the coffee was undrinkable, but has since vastly improved.

 

I also have a Keurig at home and have considered getting the smaller one for travel. But, carrying around the pods and cream, and the pot, seems like a lot when I find the coffee onboard just fine. As for VIA, personally, I don't like Starbucks and their VIA would be a last ditch effort for me, although I do bring it to my son's when I visit him.

 

I don't like the regular Starbucks coffee (I love their cafe mocha), and I actually don't like the Starbucks K-cups, but the Via (I like the House Blend) is actually very good! Especially for instant coffee.

 

We plan on bringing the Starbucks Via packets with us--very light and easy to carry. I'm hoping we can get half and half brought to us with the hot water for the Via from room service in the mornings.

[fireflymd]

Am I the only one troubled by the amount of garbage going to the landfill from the packets these machines use? A Canadian TV story did the research and in Canada they are NOT recyclable, although the company indicates they can be!:mad:

 

We buy our own beans, and use a non-disposable k-cup filter called Eko Brew, which is wonderful. We get to pick what kind of coffee we want, grind the beans when we need them so the coffee tastes really fresh, and can make one cup at a time.

 

I have a coffee press but haven't used it since getting the Keurig. It's awesome!

[iceleven]

Got back from our 15 day Hawaii-SF a couple weeks ago. Hubby and I are accustomed to strong but not like the bitter-burnt Starbucks style. (Sorry, personal taste.) We bought a coffee card and each morning ordered two large regulars (free with card) and one double espresso. We then split the espresso into our regular coffees and then added cream. It turned out to be perfect for our tastes and we only used one punch hole for the two of us each time. The card lasted the two weeks we were at sea.

[kayelbee]

These coffee conversations always make me smile, you think the coffee is bad try the tea! We are lucky enough to have had breakfast in Sabatini's and drink the coffee which I believe is fresh ground at home I may have one coffee in the afternoon and that's all for the day so tea is my drink of choice. I fancied a cup of Earl Grey one morning in Sabatini's and it was undrinkable, weak and slightly chemical tasting. No way was it made with boiling water which is an absolute for tea. So be thankful that the concentrate coffee is, according to most, at least drinkable, although I do find it too strong a lot of the time so add hot water to weaken it!

[easy_123]

I have been reading several threads on CC about the poor quality coffee aboard PCL ships. When I read all these reviews on the quality of onboard coffee, and postings about the need of a Coffee Card, I have no idea if I need one, particularly given that my August cruise to Alaska will be my first PCL cruise (in fact my first ever cruise).

 

I drink a lot of coffee but my taste is most definitely "lowbrow". I began drinking coffee in HS while living with my parents in Holland at a NATO HQ my dad was stationed at. They drank coffee black so I started drinking it black (straight espresso 3-4 shots at a time, yum!).

 

Today, I tend to drink strong instant coffee. (I know, no taste buds - I probably destroyed them in HS).

 

So, what would be a good be a good comparison to the "usual" free coffee onboard? McDonalds? Rescue Mission coffee? Decaf?

 

thanks.

[Kamloops50]

I have been reading several threads on CC about the poor quality coffee aboard PCL ships. When I read all these reviews on the quality of onboard coffee, and postings about the need of a Coffee Card, I have no idea if I need one, particularly given that my August cruise to Alaska will be my first PCL cruise (in fact my first ever cruise).

 

I drink a lot of coffee but my taste is most definitely "lowbrow". I began drinking coffee in HS while living with my parents in Holland at a NATO HQ my dad was stationed at. They drank coffee black so I started drinking it black (straight espresso 3-4 shots at a time, yum!).

 

Today, I tend to drink strong instant coffee. (I know, no taste buds - I probably destroyed them in HS).

 

So, what would be a good be a good comparison to the "usual" free coffee onboard? McDonalds? Rescue Mission coffee? Decaf?

 

thanks.

 

My comparison is Starbuck's coffee that is 2 days old and microwaved before drinking.

[kayelbee]

As a fellow instant coffee drinker (like the majority of brits) I find the coffee fine if sometimes a bit strong but flavour wise OK. As I have said before I usually only drink one cup a day but thats as I prefer tea. I would suggest trying the coffee when you first board and making your choice as to whether or not to buy your coffee card based on that. As with most 'food' items it's very subjective so 4 people will like 4 different things.

[Kamloops50]

As a fellow instant coffee drinker (like the majority of brits) I find the coffee fine if sometimes a bit strong but flavour wise OK. As I have said before I usually only drink one cup a day but thats as I prefer tea. I would suggest trying the coffee when you first board and making your choice as to whether or not to buy your coffee card based on that. As with most 'food' items it's very subjective so 4 people will like 4 different things.

With the coffee card you also get unlimited brewed tea. We find the tea's in buffet undrinkable to our taste.

[JustinPlusLauren]

So, is it true....is the HC coffee finally better? I guess I will just have to be the judge of that on my next cruise! :)

 

I find the coffee in the dining room to taste good....and I love getting a coffee card for the brewed coffee. I also love getting the Americanos there using the different espresso beans that they have....last cruise, I had some hazelnut-vanilla Americanos and the Jamaican Blue Mountain Americanos! Yummm!

 

I have a Keurig at home and I also use the reusable K-cup thing for my own coffee beans. From time to time, I will treat myself to the K-cups but don't buy them too often because I don't like how they can't be recycled. They are making new K-cups now that have a filter bottom that can be put into the composting bin and only a plastic lid that cuts down on the garbage! So I will buy those sometimes. Anyway, I love my coffee and it is always important that I am within distance of a good cuppa!

[iceleven]

So, is it true....is the HC coffee finally better? I guess I will just have to be the judge of that on my next cruise! :)

 

I find the coffee in the dining room to taste good....and I love getting a coffee card for the brewed coffee. I also love getting the Americanos there using the different espresso beans that they have....last cruise, I had some hazelnut-vanilla Americanos and the Jamaican Blue Mountain Americanos! Yummm!

 

I have a Keurig at home and I also use the reusable K-cup thing for my own coffee beans. From time to time, I will treat myself to the K-cups but don't buy them too often because I don't like how they can't be recycled. They are making new K-cups now that have a filter bottom that can be put into the composting bin and only a plastic lid that cuts down on the garbage! So I will buy those sometimes. Anyway, I love my coffee and it is always important that I am within distance of a good cuppa!

 

It's always good to read/hear from people who are truly conscientious about recycling.

 

Got a question about the "Americanos" you mentioned. I didn't see where that option was even on the menu. Are you sure this was on a Princess in the International Cafe?

[Alaskanb]

This is my solution to the coffee issue

http://www.amazon.com/Aerobie-AeroPress-Coffee-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367868096&sr=8-1&keywords=Coffee+press