Cost of specialty coffee

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, Islandbuoy said:

Can anyone tell me the price for specialty coffees? Need to decide if user drink vouchers or pay separately?

 

Café Promenade Menu

 

Drink Vouchers cover beverages up to $13

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by BirdTravels

[ladysail2]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

I just purchased 3 medium coffee drinks from my local Starbucks, $25.

Then it comes to about the same price. Is your $25, US or CAD funds?  

[erinsmom03]

We did the coffee cards on our last cruise. It didn't last as long as I would have wanted it to because it was almost always 2-3 punches per drink. This time, we are doing the refreshment package. We got it for each of our cruises for between $17-18 pp/pd. Since we also get more than just specialty coffees, this is definitely the way to go for our family. 

[mjkacmom]

6 minutes ago, ladysail2 said:

Then it comes to about the same price. Is your $25, US or CAD funds?  

 

6 minutes ago, ladysail2 said:

Then it comes to about the same price. Is your $25, US or CAD funds?  

US, coffee prices have definitely gone up, and we’ve had several new independent places pop up during Covid, always busy.

[ladysail2]

I’ll really have to check this out. Thank you to the person who posted the coffee menu.  I see that they charge an extra $1.75 for an additional expresso shot….I usually got a medium caffé mocha with 1/2 shot. But the fellow would punch my card twice, saying that each punch was for a small size.  So if the card costs $31 for 15 drinks….that’s $2 a drink and I was paying $4 , then it is a savings. The additional 18% gratuity would push up the price a bit.  So paying à la carte, I would be paying $5 for a medium caffé mocha.  A gratuity would be optional.  It’s not that bad when comparing apples to apples..😂

[ladysail2]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Café Promenade Menu

 

Drink Vouchers cover beverages up to $13

 

Thank you posting the menu, BirdTravels.  I forgot about the drink vouchers. I don’t drink much alcohol..so maybe my vouchers will come in handy for the caffé mocha..which I love.  😊

[ladysail2]

19 minutes ago, erinsmom03 said:

We did the coffee cards on our last cruise. It didn't last as long as I would have wanted it to because it was almost always 2-3 punches per drink. This time, we are doing the refreshment package. We got it for each of our cruises for between $17-18 pp/pd. Since we also get more than just specialty coffees, this is definitely the way to go for our family. 

It will be interesting to see the difference. Certainly the refreshment package is more flexible and choices of drink are more numerous. I bought that package a few times, but never drank enough offered to make it worthwhile for me.  I’m sure any kids will make good use of it. 

[erinsmom03]

1 hour ago, ladysail2 said:

It will be interesting to see the difference. Certainly the refreshment package is more flexible and choices of drink are more numerous. I bought that package a few times, but never drank enough offered to make it worthwhile for me.  I’m sure any kids will make good use of it. 

 

It will be interesting to see how we do with it. We have it booked for the next 3 cruises on 3 different classes of ships, which have different things available. For instance, when we are on Allure, I know my daughter will get her money's worth out of smoothies alone. Everyone likes the souvenir cups and flavored teas/waters from the Freestyle machine, plus I plan to use it for a lot of bottles of water. Plus we want to try some fun cocktails, too.

 

We got great prices on the package, too. I don't think I would ever pay $30 pp/pd for it.

Edited March 13, 2022 by erinsmom03

[ceo418]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Café Promenade Menu

 

Drink Vouchers cover beverages up to $13

 

The refreshment package covers these items, right?

Also, is there a good place to get iced tea on board (specifically on Adventure of the Seas)? Is that one of the free drinks provided to everyone?

[Mabel the Great..Dane]

9 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

It was about $31 total. I don’t remember the exact cost. I’m not even sure we paid 18-% gratuity because it’s not alcohol, just the coffee card.

I bought the card for 31.00 but after gratuity it came out to just over 36.00

[pikwe012]

10 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

For my sailing the card is currently selling at $31. I'm not sure if It includes gratuities or not. If it does, then it comes out to $2.06 per coffee. If it doesn't, then it's $2.43 per cup.  Check your cruise planner for availability. 

yes I bought it today and it added on gratuities

[cruisinfly]

I think the people that are paying "multiple punches" to get a single drink are being conned. This is a cut-n-paste directly from the description when you purchase a coffee card on the website. Note it says "any":

Overview

Indulge in your favorite brews any time of day with a card that entitles you to any 15 specialty espresso-based coffees throughout your vacation, all for one low price. Start the morning off right with a macchiato or latte and reenergize your afternoons with iced coffee or an espresso, then finish your meal with a cappuccino. Or enjoy your favorite cup of joe any time you'd like and save up to 50% on individually purchased coffees.

 

Might be good to speak to the beverage manager if this happens to get his/her take on it.

[not-enough-cruising]

4 hours ago, cruisinfly said:

I think the people that are paying "multiple punches" to get a single drink are being conned. This is a cut-n-paste directly from the description when you purchase a coffee card on the website. Note it says "any":

Overview

Indulge in your favorite brews any time of day with a card that entitles you to any 15 specialty espresso-based coffees throughout your vacation, all for one low price. Start the morning off right with a macchiato or latte and reenergize your afternoons with iced coffee or an espresso, then finish your meal with a cappuccino. Or enjoy your favorite cup of joe any time you'd like and save up to 50% on individually purchased coffees.

 

Might be good to speak to the beverage manager if this happens to get his/her take on it.

This doesn’t say what size espresso based coffee. 
Trust me, they punch the card “per shot” of espresso. 
I have seen folks contest this on more than one occasion, well up the F&B chain of command. 

[gfkcruiser]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

This doesn’t say what size espresso based coffee. 
Trust me, they punch the card “per shot” of espresso. 
I have seen folks contest this on more than one occasion, well up the F&B chain of command. 

That was my experience when I ordered a larger size. Punched twice. 

[ladysail2]

22 hours ago, erinsmom03 said:

 

It will be interesting to see how we do with it. We have it booked for the next 3 cruises on 3 different classes of ships, which have different things available. For instance, when we are on Allure, I know my daughter will get her money's worth out of smoothies alone. Everyone likes the souvenir cups and flavored teas/waters from the Freestyle machine, plus I plan to use it for a lot of bottles of water. Plus we want to try some fun cocktails, too.

 

We got great prices on the package, too. I don't think I would ever pay $30 pp/pd for it.

I hope you all enjoy having it…i would have enjoyed the smoothies too…but my ships didn’t make them, at the time I had the package.  It’s fun to try everything once!

[coffeebean]

On 3/13/2022 at 12:06 PM, ladysail2 said:

It sounds good..but if they punch your card 3 times for a large size, then one is paying $7.32 for the specialty coffee, incl gratuity.   I’m not sure what a large specialty coffee costs these days.  And you only end up with 5 large coffees per card.  To me, one drink is one drink, regardless of the size.  The description says 15 drinks, not 15 shots of expresso.  I only get a half shot anyway.  I don’t buy the card anymore.  

Size matters in coffee drinks. No where in a land based coffee shop can you purchase a large coffee for the same price as a small coffee, especially specialty drinks.

[tpcwags]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:24 AM, livingonthebeach said:

 

Was it $31 even? or did you have to pay the 18% gratuity on top of the $31?  Either way, this seems like a good deal if you were going to order speciality coffee anyway.  This got me thinking.....for those interested in comparing the DBP to a la carte drinks....

 

I priced out the coffee card and the case of water that you can also purchase in the cruise planner (sometimes on sale) and if a good part of why you're buying the DBP is for the specialty coffee and water, it works out that if you order 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks paying separately (without the DBP), then add the cost of the coffee card and the pre-purchased water, you come out ahead without the DBP.  Additionally, if you have C & A vouchers of 4-6 drinks a day and / or casino free drinks status, the DBP is not a good value -- as a matter of fact, you would lose money unless you drank 10+ alcoholic drinks per day. JMTCW.

I purchase last week for Wonder TA and it was $31. Plus $5.58 Gratuity.

[ladysail2]

19 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

Size matters in coffee drinks. No where in a land based coffee shop can you purchase a large coffee for the same price as a small coffee, especially specialty drinks.

I’m well aware of that and understand that.  This particular coffee card is sold for a certain price for 15 drinks.  Nowhere does it stipulate the size of the drink and composition of the drink.  If a two-shot drink is 2-punches on the card…how do they handle my 1/2 shot drink?  My 1/2 shot large coffee becomes 3 punches. Because of its size. Nothing to do with number of shots….yet they will punch twice for a Small with 2 shots.  The logic doesn’t make sense to me.  My ONE coffee is just ONE drink.  But I don’t want to flog a dead horse. They make great Caffé Mochas, they go great in a comfy chair with a good book.  I’ll just have to do the math to decide if I buy a coffee card or pay individually.

also, I noticed that they charge an extra $1.75 for an extra shot…so hard to say if they punch twice for a bigger than a Small drink. Maybe someone who gets a large with an extra shot will let us know what the final charge was.  Certainly not a major issue…just one of those things. 

Edited March 14, 2022 by ladysail2

[reallyitsmema]

6 hours ago, cruisinfly said:

I think the people that are paying "multiple punches" to get a single drink are being conned. This is a cut-n-paste directly from the description when you purchase a coffee card on the website. Note it says "any":

Overview

Indulge in your favorite brews any time of day with a card that entitles you to any 15 specialty espresso-based coffees throughout your vacation, all for one low price. Start the morning off right with a macchiato or latte and reenergize your afternoons with iced coffee or an espresso, then finish your meal with a cappuccino. Or enjoy your favorite cup of joe any time you'd like and save up to 50% on individually purchased coffees.

 

Might be good to speak to the beverage manager if this happens to get his/her take on it.

 

This has been an issue that has been going on for years.  Some ships punch based on espresso shots in each drink, other ships punch once, no matter the size of the drink.  People have printed the information off the website and shown anyone on the ship that will talk to them and it doesn't make a difference.  It is best to buy the coffee card on the ship you are sailing, after you find out how many punches it is per drink.

 

[cruisegus]

On 3/13/2022 at 2:11 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

Café Promenade Menu

 

Drink Vouchers cover beverages up to $13

 

can you provide the specific ship and sailing date for this menu please

[John&LaLa]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:23 AM, ladysail2 said:

I’ve bought the coffee card several times and disagree with punching the card several times for one drink. The description should say…good for 15 small sized drinks.  To me, one drink equals one cup.  I like at least a medium sized coffee.  Back at the beginning of the card offering, you could get 15 drinks per card.  But like so many other ‘shrinkages’, this is just another example.

 

The policy of multiple punches goes back at least 4-5 years. I remember it back in 2017 on MJ

[John&LaLa]

On 3/13/2022 at 12:13 PM, livingonthebeach said:

 

Question: If you buy a coffee without the card and ask for 2 or 3 additional espresso shots in that coffee do they charge you for 1, 2, or 3 coffees?  If charged for just one coffee drink, I would point that out and politely ask that my card be treated as such. Or another way around it is use the card when not asking for additional shots and pay for the additional coffee with shots a la carte-- assuming that one is a heavy coffee consumer of course. 

 

If you ask for a double shot of liquor, they use two vouchers in most cases. 

[reallyitsmema]

17 minutes ago, cruisegus said:

can you provide the specific ship and sailing date for this menu please

 

That was from Wonder inaugural.

[cruisegus]

14 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

That was from Wonder inaugural.

Thanks for responding with that Data, Enjoy your next cruise

[ladysail2]

16 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

This has been an issue that has been going on for years.  Some ships punch based on espresso shots in each drink, other ships punch once, no matter the size of the drink.  People have printed the information off the website and shown anyone on the ship that will talk to them and it doesn't make a difference.  It is best to buy the coffee card on the ship you are sailing, after you find out how many punches it is per drink.

 

I agree with you, the description of the entitlement of the card either needs to be changed or the servers need to be informed. Honestly, it shouldn’t differ between ships….the description is quite clear.