Specialty Coffees question on Marina

[terrydtx]

Our first, hopefully not last, Oceania cruise is next March on the Marina in South America. We are in a Concierge Class cabin, and we have access to the Concierge Lounge. I see that we can get soft drinks, coffee and tea in the lounge, is there a self-serve espresso machine? Are specialty coffees, like espresso drinks, available elsewhere on the ship and are they complimentary?

[edgee]

11 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Our first, hopefully not last, Oceania cruise is next March on the Marina in South America. We are in a Concierge Class cabin, and we have access to the Concierge Lounge. I see that we can get soft drinks, coffee and tea in the lounge, is there a self-serve espresso machine? Are specialty coffees, like espresso drinks, available elsewhere on the ship and are they complimentary?

Following is a description of Baristas..the coffee bar I found on the web:

 

"Baristas

The cruise ship’s coffee shop, Baristas, is on deck 14 aft. Your cruise fare includes all the espresso-based drinks at this location. In addition, during the morning and afternoon, the venue features snacks that are also complimentary."

 

I do not recall if expressos are available from lounge coffee machines.Perhaps someone else can comment on that.

[FeliciaLee]

36 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Our first, hopefully not last, Oceania cruise is next March on the Marina in South America. We are in a Concierge Class cabin, and we have access to the Concierge Lounge. I see that we can get soft drinks, coffee and tea in the lounge, is there a self-serve espresso machine? Are specialty coffees, like espresso drinks, available elsewhere on the ship and are they complimentary?

There are videos of the concierge lounge on youtube, and yes, it looks like there is an espresso machine there.

[pinotlover]

There is an expresso machine in both the Executive and Concierge Lounge. It is however the regular grade of coffee used in the dining venues and not the more superior quality found in Barrista. Still easy and complimentary.

[terrydtx]

25 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

There is an expresso machine in both the Executive and Concierge Lounge. It is however the regular grade of coffee used in the dining venues and not the more superior quality found in Barista. Still easy and complimentary.

Thanks, we have a cabin on deck 9 close to the lounge and I was hoping I could go there in the morning for my caffein fix. Since this will also be a colder cruise a hot cup of expresso infused coffee would be nice later in the days too. I have been spoiled by the Celebrity Retreat lounge and the nice coffee and espressos that were available.

Edited May 16 by terrydtx

[Jim_Iain]

Terry -   Happy to read you are also trying out Oceania.     We will be sailing on Regatta in September for our first Oceania Cruise.    Already starting to get excited as final payment has been made and excursions and dining reservations have been made.

 

 

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Terry -   Happy to read you are also trying out Oceania.     We will be sailing on Regatta in September for our first Oceania Cruise.    Already starting to get excited as final payment has been made and excursions and dining reservations have been made.

 

 

Jim, good to see you are venturing ourside of Celebriity as well. Our first Oceania cruise is 18 days on Marina in March. Also doing a HAL cruise of NE and Canada in August. We are throwing loyalty out the window and booking by most favorable longer itineraries. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Jim, good to see you are venturing ourside of Celebriity as well. Our first Oceania cruise is 18 days on Marina in March. Also doing a HAL cruise of NE and Canada in August. We are throwing loyalty out the window and booking by most favorable longer itineraries. 

 

We are much the same.   Even though we hit Double Zenith on our Last Cruise we have thrown Loyalty out the window and will be sailing based on itinerary and price. 

 

So far this year We have booked 2 Oceania, 2 Cunard, 1 SilverSea and 1 Celebrity.

[IDL]

12 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Our first, hopefully not last, Oceania cruise is next March on the Marina in South America. We are in a Concierge Class cabin, and we have access to the Concierge Lounge. I see that we can get soft drinks, coffee and tea in the lounge, is there a self-serve espresso machine? Are specialty coffees, like espresso drinks, available elsewhere on the ship and are they complimentary?

I found the Concierge Lounge on the Vista ok but a bit underwhelming.  Went sometimes for very early morning coffee but the Concierge had very limited hours could not really address any issues.  Has a TV and they print out Newspapers. 

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We are much the same.   Even though we hit Double Zenith on our Last Cruise we have thrown Loyalty out the window and will be sailing based on itinerary and price. 

 

So far this year We have booked 2 Oceania, 2 Cunard, 1 SilverSea and 1 Celebrity.

Maybe one day our cruising paths will cross. May you both have fantastic and favorable sailing for the future.

[MollyMoo18]

On 5/16/2024 at 10:29 AM, terrydtx said:

Thanks, we have a cabin on deck 9 close to the lounge and I was hoping I could go there in the morning for my caffein fix. Since this will also be a colder cruise a hot cup of expresso infused coffee would be nice later in the days too. I have been spoiled by the Celebrity Retreat lounge and the nice coffee and espressos that were available.

You can order any coffee thru room service, it is complimentary. I had a cafe latte delivered each morning on my Riviera cruise! 

[TFree]

Terry: we were also frequent celebrity cruisers, and we will be taking our third Oceania cruise in September, on Marina. The concierge lounge on Vista certainly had an espresso machine, and I believe the Marina did as well, but we were in Marina in 2021. Different people will have different tastes, but for what it is worth, we both felt that the flavor of the espresso drinks on Celebrity is better than the espresso drinks on Oceania. I assume it is due to the brand of the coffee. 
 

Tom & Judy

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, TFree said:

Terry: we were also frequent celebrity cruisers, and we will be taking our third Oceania cruise in September, on Marina. The concierge lounge on Vista certainly had an espresso machine, and I believe the Marina did as well, but we were in Marina in 2021. Different people will have different tastes, but for what it is worth, we both felt that the flavor of the espresso drinks on Celebrity is better than the espresso drinks on Oceania. I assume it is due to the brand of the coffee. 
 

Tom & Judy

Our last 6 Celebrity cruises were in the Retreat and the Retreat lounges had self-serve expresso machines. While they were not as good as the Cafe Al Bacio, it was acceptable, without having to wait in a long line. The lines in prime times at Cafe Al Bacio could be 30 minutes or more for a good coffee drink. I would hope the machine in the Concierge lounge on Marina is close in quality.

[Jim_Iain]

15 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Our last 6 Celebrity cruises were in the Retreat and the Retreat lounges had self-serve expresso machines. While they were not as good as the Cafe Al Bacio, it was acceptable, without having to wait in a long line. The lines in prime times at Cafe Al Bacio could be 30 minutes or more for a good coffee drink. I would hope the machine in the Concierge lounge on Marina is close in quality.

 

Yikes... I've never waited that long at Al Bacio.   Recently they have opened a second station on M&S at the Gelato Station for Coffee only Drinks as opposed to choosing pastry also.   Also on S & E the have Segundo at OVC.     I usually go there as closer to our room.

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Yikes... I've never waited that long at Al Bacio.   Recently they have opened a second station on M&S at the Gelato Station for Coffee only Drinks as opposed to choosing pastry also.   Also on S & E the have Segundo at OVC.     I usually go there as closer to our room.

On our sold-out Edge cruises in January the lines at Cafe Al Bacio were horrendous in the mornings and afternoons. I opted to use the machines in the Edge Lounge many times. I did find at times the wait times were better in the OVC smaller Cafe Al Bacio. Those cruises had many more Aussie passengers and as I found out they love their expresso coffees, that may have been why the waits were so much longer than normal.

Edited May 18 by terrydtx

[Jim_Iain]

I would also definitely go for the machine in Retreat instead of waiting on a long line.   I guess you could also have your butler deliver a couple to tide you over.

 

The more I hear about Oceania the more excited I'm getting. 

Edited May 18 by Jim_Iain

[basor]

8 hours ago, TFree said:

Terry: we were also frequent celebrity cruisers, and we will be taking our third Oceania cruise in September, on Marina. The concierge lounge on Vista certainly had an espresso machine, and I believe the Marina did as well, but we were in Marina in 2021. Different people will have different tastes, but for what it is worth, we both felt that the flavor of the espresso drinks on Celebrity is better than the espresso drinks on Oceania. I assume it is due to the brand of the coffee. 
 

Tom & Judy

A quick run up a level or two to Barristas will provide you with a made to order espresso (or any kind of coffee drink) that is outstanding.....also, if you are in a PH or above, your butler is happy to deliver your morning (or any time of the day) favorite drink from Barristas...

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I would also definitely go for the machine in Retreat instead of waiting on a long line.   I guess you could also have your butler deliver a couple to tide you over.

 

The more I hear about Oceania the more excited I'm getting. 

Our last 3 Celebrity cruises in Sky Suites, we had no butlers to bring coffee to us in the mornings. Before Celebrity took away butlers for Sky Suites we had butlers that would add several shots of espresso to our morning pot of coffee brought with our breakfasts

 

We are also excited about Oceania. 

[edgee]

13 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Our last 3 Celebrity cruises in Sky Suites, we had no butlers to bring coffee to us in the mornings. Before Celebrity took away butlers for Sky Suites we had butlers that would add several shots of espresso to our morning pot of coffee brought with our breakfasts

 

We are also excited about Oceania. 

Celebrity has restored butlers to all suites. I embarked in Sky Suite on Ascent in February on the first day they began phasing them back in...started with Ascent, now back on all ships AFAIK.

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, edgee said:

Celebrity has restored butlers to all suites. I embarked in Sky Suite on Ascent in February on the first day they began phasing them back in...started with Ascent, now back on all ships AFAIK.

Too late to keep our business. We had 22 days on the Edge in January with NO butler and a terrible inept room attendant. It took several complaints to the Retreat managers to get the sorry room attendant replaced and the replacement was much better but the change wasn't mad until we were 9 days into the cruise. We had the same breakfast room service delivery guy the whole 22 days but he was not allowed to add any espresso shots to the pots of coffee he delivered. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 5/19/2024 at 9:29 AM, terrydtx said:

Too late to keep our business. We had 22 days on the Edge in January with NO butler and a terrible inept room attendant. It took several complaints to the Retreat managers to get the sorry room attendant replaced and the replacement was much better but the change wasn't mad until we were 9 days into the cruise. We had the same breakfast room service delivery guy the whole 22 days but he was not allowed to add any espresso shots to the pots of coffee he delivered. 

 

Sorry to hear Terry.    I often wonder why Celebrity continues to shoot itself in the foot and make some very unpopular changes only to Flip Flop and admit they were wrong in the first place. 

 

As you know we have also moved onto other cruise lines due to many of their missteps.   The latest disappointments,   they replaced the ice Cream in Luminae with a cheap mixture that just tastes bad and has the texture of ice milk.   They have also cut the butter in Luminae in 1/2 and have replaced butter in the buffet with a canola butter mix in small little tubs.   Starting to feel like Golden Corrall in lieu of even a mainline cruise experience.   

[Redtravel]

If your cabin is forward near the concierge lounge, you might stop in.  We prefer aft cabins.  If we book concierge cabins, we seldom go to the concierge lounge.  I once stopped in while I used the laundry room close to the lounge. Baristas is close if you stay in aft cabins. Coffee in Baristas is better than any place on the ship.  We often visit Baristas after dinner.  Like that they stay open to 10pm.

[ronrick1943]

I truly forget, does Oceania ships have French Press coffee?