Exactly what are "speciality coffees"

[lorri111]

We are on the Antarctic 16 day cruise next Jan on the Coral and since this will involve lots of sea days I am thinking of the coffee grounds package, 15 speciality coffees for AUD 47.55. Don't normally drink much coffee but the idea of a decent cuppa mid morning sounds interesting. Problem is, I have no idea what is meant by "speciality coffees" - what exactly are they, and are there menus available, for example at IC? How much do they cost if bought at time without package? Would we be getting a card or might Coral be on medallion by then? If you buy one card for the two of you, does it matter who orders the coffee, and can two coffees be ordered together? Thanks for any help and sorry to ask daft questions :-)

[Thrak]

Coffee menu from IC. Specialty coffee is free to share with package. Fresh brewed coffee is for the package holder only.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by Thrak

[lorri111]

11 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Coffee menu from IC. Specialty coffee is free to share with package. Fresh brewed coffee is for the package holder only.

 

 

 

Very useful, thanks!

[fishywood]

Coral Princess will not have the Medallion until late in 2020 (see concurrent thread) but the Coffee "Card" has been made paperless throughout the fleet; it will be electronically stored onto your cruise card.

 

For the fifteen specialty coffees you can order one, two or all fifteen at the same time. The unlimited fresh brewed coffee and tea that is also included is only one at a time but will still be available until the end of your cruise even after all fifteen specialty coffees have been used.

 

Besides the rather unique creations in the menus above, the baristas can make pretty much anything that is found at that ubiquitous overpriced US-West Coast coffee concoction chain. You would be paying (before gratuity) $2.07 each for beverages that would cost from $2.75 to $3.50 or more if bought singly. For a two week cold weather sailing you may want one card each.

[lorri111]

10 minutes ago, fishywood said:

Coral Princess will not have the Medallion until late in 2020 (see concurrent thread) but the Coffee "Card" has been made paperless throughout the fleet; it will be electronically stored onto your cruise card.

 

For the fifteen specialty coffees you can order one, two or all fifteen at the same time. The unlimited fresh brewed coffee and tea that is also included is only one at a time but will still be available until the end of your cruise even after all fifteen specialty coffees have been used.

 

Besides the rather unique creations in the menus above, the baristas can make pretty much anything that is found at that ubiquitous overpriced US-West Coast coffee concoction chain. You would be paying (before gratuity) $2.07 each for beverages that would cost from $2.75 to $3.50 or more if bought singly. For a two week cold weather sailing you may want one card each.

 

Yes, I thought the length of the cruise and number of sea days might make it viable.  Stupid question, but if it loaded onto your cruise card how do you know how many you have left?

Edited May 8, 2019 by lorri111

[mevs904]

9 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

 

Yes, I thought the length of the cruise and number of sea days might make it viable.  Stupid question, but if it loaded onto your cruise card how do you know how many you have left?

 

Just ask the barristas.  They will be able to tell from your card.

 

Hope you enjoy your Antarctica cruise.  We are very interested in taking one, especially on the Coral.  We’ve sailed the Coral to Alaska and the Panama Canal and we love her.

Edited May 8, 2019 by mevs904

[lorri111]

14 minutes ago, mevs904 said:

 

Just ask the barristas.  They will be able to tell from your card.

 

Hope you enjoy your Antarctica cruise.  We are very interested in taking one, especially on the Coral.  We’ve sailed the Coral to Alaska and the Panama Canal and we love her.

 

We are certainly counting down the days, it is over a year since our booking!  Where on ship can you get these coffees, can you get them in MDR or buffet?

Edited May 8, 2019 by lorri111

[crystalspin]

Specialty coffees are (strangely enough) espresso drinks. Obtained at the International Cafe and on some ships (not sure about Coral, but someone will be along who does) at the ice cream counter near the pool. The brewed coffee is not at the ice cream counter. 

 

As my first Princess cruise is eight-and-a-half months away, I am not sure if there are places (MDR???) where you can get brewed coffee other than the IC. Anyone???

[OzKiwiJJ]

Essentially if you want coffee Australian-style, ie anything espresso-based, then you have to pay for it. We've had no problems getting espressos in the MDR, buffet, International Cafes (of course) when there is one, and sometimes at Crooners depending on the ship.

 

Personally I find the milk-based drinks taste terrible if they are using cartoned UT milk but the espressos are usually OK.

[SLOlady2014]

We are just off the Coral, and enjoyed specialty coffee each morning from the IC. We had the Premium Beverage Package as part of our promotional deal, and while we do not drink enough alcoholic beverages to make buying the PBP worthwhile as a separate purchase, we would definitely get the Grounds coffee package. The tiramisu coffee was my favorite. You can order any of the specialty coffees as decaf if you need to avoid caffeine.

[Katwoman007]

Crazy question, but do they serve fat free milk? I can get my lactose free milk via room service request, but was not sure how I can get coffee type drinks if they only have fatty milks. Thanks 🙂 

[JF - retired RRT]

59 minutes ago, Katwoman007 said:

Crazy question, but do they serve fat free milk? I can get my lactose free milk via room service request, but was not sure how I can get coffee type drinks if they only have fatty milks. Thanks 🙂 

yes

[jlp20]

The question is what ISN'T. The "free" coffee on the ship is a concentrated syrup in a plastic bag. The syrup and hot water is mixed as it comes out of the dispenser. While not horrible, it's not brewed.

[lorri111]

5 hours ago, SLOlady2014 said:

 We are just off the Coral, and enjoyed specialty coffee each morning from the IC. We had the Premium Beverage Package as part of our promotional deal, and while we do not drink enough alcoholic beverages to make buying the PBP worthwhile as a separate purchase, we would definitely get the Grounds coffee package. The tiramisu coffee was my favorite. You can order any of the specialty coffees as decaf if you need to avoid caffeine.

 

Can you get these coffees anywhere else than the IC on the Coral? Thanks for the tip on the tiramisu!

Edited May 16, 2019 by lorri111

[Katwoman007]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

yes

Thanks! I'm going to try ALL the drinks now 🙌🙌😁

[daydreamer16]

On the Coral, you can also go to the Patisserie for espresso drinks, it’s a bar near the MDR on 5.

[SLOlady2014]

19 hours ago, lorri111 said:

 

Can you get these coffees anywhere else than the IC on the Coral? Thanks for the tip on the tiramisu!

I never ordered one of the specialty coffee drinks from anywhere but the IC, but I did order cappuccinos several times in the main dining room during both breakfast and lunch. The other specialty drink I enjoyed from the IC was their hot chai latte, but it's pretty sweet. 

[pompeii]

On 5/16/2019 at 1:22 PM, SLOlady2014 said:

We are just off the Coral, and enjoyed specialty coffee each morning from the IC. We had the Premium Beverage Package as part of our promotional deal, and while we do not drink enough alcoholic beverages to make buying the PBP worthwhile as a separate purchase, we would definitely get the Grounds coffee package. The tiramisu coffee was my favorite. You can order any of the specialty coffees as decaf if you need to avoid caffeine.

Can you get the tiramisu as an blended iced coffee?  Decaf?  I love the blended iced coffees in the afternoon, but only decaf at that time of day.

 

Also, was the regular brewed coffee just that, regular coffee from a pot?  My husband was on the Ruby last week and he insists that they didn't give him brewed coffee out of a pot but instead a shot of espresso that they mixed with hot water when he wanted a regular coffee.  That doesn't sound right to me so I thought I'd get a second opinion.  He was using up an actual coffee card so maybe since they were going to punch it anyway, they gave him an espresso.  He wasn't sure about that part, but said that he never got regular brewed coffee.

[TwoCruisers]

I’m not a coffee connoisseur, but my wife got me one of the specialty coffees that was surprisingly good. It is the “Bleached Blonde Vanilla Bean” from the Barista Coffee Fusions section. It’s best with regular coffee rather than decaf.

[bama4cruisin]

14 minutes ago, pompeii said:

Can you get the tiramisu as an blended iced coffee?  Decaf?  I love the blended iced coffees in the afternoon, but only decaf at that time of day.

 

Also, was the regular brewed coffee just that, regular coffee from a pot?  My husband was on the Ruby last week and he insists that they didn't give him brewed coffee out of a pot but instead a shot of espresso that they mixed with hot water when he wanted a regular coffee.  That doesn't sound right to me so I thought I'd get a second opinion.  He was using up an actual coffee card so maybe since they were going to punch it anyway, they gave him an espresso.  He wasn't sure about that part, but said that he never got regular brewed coffee.

 

Your husband received an Americano, which is indeed a shot of espresso mixed with hot water.  I don't believe any of the Grand class ships have brewed coffee at the IC (although it has been a few years since we've sailed Princess, but that will change a week from today😉); therefore, the closet to a brewed coffee at IC is an Americano.

[SLOlady2014]

1 hour ago, pompeii said:

Can you get the tiramisu as an blended iced coffee?  Decaf?  I love the blended iced coffees in the afternoon, but only decaf at that time of day.

 

Also, was the regular brewed coffee just that, regular coffee from a pot?  My husband was on the Ruby last week and he insists that they didn't give him brewed coffee out of a pot but instead a shot of espresso that they mixed with hot water when he wanted a regular coffee.  That doesn't sound right to me so I thought I'd get a second opinion.  He was using up an actual coffee card so maybe since they were going to punch it anyway, they gave him an espresso.  He wasn't sure about that part, but said that he never got regular brewed coffee.

The baristas told us they could make almost any coffee concoction we wanted, but there were plenty of choices on both the hot and iced menus to choose from. I know decaf is an option, and don't see why they couldn't make a iced decaf tiramisu. On the Coral, they also had traditional coffee brewers for regular and decaf drinkers. We didn't find a coffee bar menu in our room, so I bookmarked the menu online to help my decision making before sending my wonderful husband down for our morning coffee.😊

[pompeii]

1 hour ago, bama4cruisin said:

 

Your husband received an Americano, which is indeed a shot of espresso mixed with hot water.  I don't believe any of the Grand class ships have brewed coffee at the IC (although it has been a few years since we've sailed Princess, but that will change a week from today😉); therefore, the closet to a brewed coffee at IC is an Americano.

He did refer to them as Americanos, you're right.  So if you have a coffee package, at least on a Grand class ship, you get free unlimited Americanos?

[t&atravel]

22 minutes ago, pompeii said:

He did refer to them as Americanos, you're right.  So if you have a coffee package, at least on a Grand class ship, you get free unlimited Americanos?

 No.  An Americano requires a punch.  I have never been on the Ruby, but the Grand does have regular unlimited brewed coffee, but ONLY at the IC.  They serve specialty coffees at coffee and cones on the lido deck but no brewed so if purchasing there they would suggest an Americano but it will cost a punch (or against your 15 in the new package).  Was your husband possibly getting coffee somewhere other than the IC?   

[pompeii]

13 hours ago, t&atravel said:

 No.  An Americano requires a punch.  I have never been on the Ruby, but the Grand does have regular unlimited brewed coffee, but ONLY at the IC.  They serve specialty coffees at coffee and cones on the lido deck but no brewed so if purchasing there they would suggest an Americano but it will cost a punch (or against your 15 in the new package).  Was your husband possibly getting coffee somewhere other than the IC?   

OK, I cross-examined hubby regarding the coffee...after first telling me they didn't have brewed coffee on the ship, he amended his statement to say they didn't have it at Coffee & Cones which was where he was going, but he didn't know about the IC.  I think he just preferred the Americanos, and since he was going to spend a punch on the cards anyway, that's what he asked for.