Kitchen/Galley Tours?

[hypercafe]

We cruised on the Europa 2 recently and they had a Nespresso machine in every room with a variety of the capsules. It really is very good. We checked out the system at home and it is available however the down side is the capsules are only available on-line it seems, at least here. Hope they start to sell them in the supermarket soon.

[Lane412000]

Aboard the Nautica 5-6 years ago we were invited to tour the galley. We were told that we could bring two additional guests for a total of four. The executive chef spoke to us before the tour began. It has been a few years, but I believe there were 12-16 passengers on the tour. We were cruising in a OS category, so unsure if that had anything to do with us receiving an invite?

[Mura]

I'm sure it had a lot to do with it. We had a bridge tour on Regatta when we were in an OS. The few times we've been invited to the Captain's table we were in an OS or VS. We've only been in an OS once (last minute upsell) and a VS 2-3 times in 10 years. So we're not in that elite category very often.

 

We usually book a PH and have never received such an invitation then.

 

Mura

[Travelcat2]

Clearly you don't understand/haven't tried ? Nespresso.

 

Nespresso - a subsidiary of Nestlé - makes coffee capsules. At least that is what we call them in Switzerland. I seem to recall an American referring to them as "pods". Various manufacturers are licensed by Nespresso to make the machines to put them in. Mine (naturally bought in Switzerland but that doesn't make a difference) is a König.

 

The end product - the coffee you drink - is quite simply fantastic and always the same. No variation at all. They have a huge range of coffees to choose from. And the nicest thing I can say about Nespresso is that their Customer Service is phenomenal. They are charming, help with everything. If a machine needs repair they send you a replacement via the postman who takes your machine away and brings it back. Recycling - same thing - my new capsules arrive and the postman collects the old ones left in my mailbox. (In a sturdy bag provided by Nespresso.)

 

I happen to play golf with the wife of the CEO of Nestlé and she once told me that it is proving hard for Nespresso to break into the US market because most Americans drink what we call "dishwater" coffee... not really great espresso. Maybe you could do your part to help them!! Try Nespresso and see!!:)

 

But back to the Illy machines. We had a Seven Seas Aft suite on that TA in 2012. And NO coffee machine at all. We saw them outside the suites as we disembarked...

 

Maybe there was no coffee machine in your suite because they were changing them out? We were in Master Suites prior to 2012 and are 90% certain that we had coffee machines.

 

Your "take" on the coffee Americans drink (dishwater coffee) is 100% correct. The closest any company has come to introducing people in the U.S. to stronger, richer coffee is Starbucks. Still think that it will take a few more years before espresso is really embraced in the states. Will try Nespresso -- if I can find one:-)

[TrulyBlonde]

We live in a ski resort in the Winter and I have my Italian roast K-cups shipped in bulk from Amazon because it is much cheaper..I just checked and you can get the Nespresso capsules from them too.

[orchestrapal]

Aboard the Nautica 5-6 years ago we were invited to tour the galley. We were told that we could bring two additional guests for a total of four. The executive chef spoke to us before the tour began. It has been a few years, but I believe there were 12-16 passengers on the tour. We were cruising in a OS category, so unsure if that had anything to do with us receiving an invite?

 

It has everything to do with your being in an OS!:mad::D

[orchestrapal]

We live in a ski resort in the Winter and I have my Italian roast K-cups shipped in bulk from Amazon because it is much cheaper..I just checked and you can get the Nespresso capsules from them too.

 

If we are like most Nepresso drinkers we want a quantity of each of a few roasts and not variety packs or quantities of ten which are no cheaper than Nespresso direct. They probably would be good for Nespresso beginners.

[jakes47]

We would love to see behind the scenes of a cruise ship and did get a galley tour on a river cruise boat we were on a couple of years ago. I was amazed at the cleanliness – you could see you face in every surface but I was horrified at the tight space they had to work in.

I saw a rerun of this documentary on TV last week and found it very interesting. Ok – it is the Queen Mary 2 and not Oceania but I think it gives a great view into the running of a cruise ship.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk5XNFH2JXg

:cool:

Bev

[Silver Sweethearts]

We had a Horizon View Suite on Regent's Mariner (which was nice but hardly their top suite) several years ago and were able to take a galley tour along with other passengers. On Silversea's Silver Spirit in a Silver Suite (lovely, but once again not the top suite) we requested a galley tour and were met by the Executive Chef and he personally escorted just the two of us on a tour. Quite a nice touch, we thought. Probably wouldn't be practical on a larger ship though.