Century Cova Cafe

[jerseygirl3]

Am I getting my cruiselines mixed up, or did I read somewhere that Celebrity sells a "coffee card" similar to the soda card. Apparently, you can use it for specialty coffees?

 

Also, I keep hearing that the pastries at Cova Cafe are free when you order coffee there. I had coffee from Cova Cafe on Infinity several times, and I was never offered a pastry. Do you have to ask for it? And if so, do they tell you it's complimentary or do they charge it to your Sail and Sign card? I don't want to sound mercenary asking for a free pastry, but I keep hearing people say how wonderful the "complimentary" pastries are.

[Andy&Mary]

Hi JerseyGirl.

We were on the Century for 9-days over Thanksgiving and had coffee in the Cova Cafe several times. I don't know about the coffee card but we had the specialty coffees there twice and they were excellent.

 

One time we had the free pastries and yes, we had to ask. They are displayed in a bakery-shop type display case, no charge. I had seen many CC posters rave about the (1) Almond Croissants, (2) Chocolate Croissants, and (3) "Cold" Chocolate. Food is subjective, but we get much better almond and chocolate croissants at our local Wegman's grocery store and the "cold" chocolate, while good, tasted just like Nestle's Quik with ice!

 

Have a great trip,

Mary

[fllady]

To get the free pastries in the morning and the free desserts and finger sandwiches in the afternoon, the times they are open are 8:30am-11AM

and 3:-5PM.

[BettyInToronto]

I just returned from the Century yesterday and was disappointed with Cova Cafe. We were hoping for a good cup of coffee on the ship but all they had there was specialty drinks like espresso and cappacino. We just wanted a gourmet cup of coffee. (eg: kona, blue mountain or something similar high end).

[Senga]

We were hoping for a good cup of coffee on the ship but all they had there was specialty drinks like espresso and cappacino. We just wanted a gourmet cup of coffee.

 

My husband will be very disappointed to hear things are different at Cova on Century as he always enjoys gourmet coffee at Cova on all the other Celebrity ships we've been on.

[Andy]

My husband will be very disappointed to hear things are different at Cova on Century as he always enjoys gourmet coffee at Cova on all the other Celebrity ships we've been on.

 

Hi Senga !

 

I cant comment specifically on the coffee at the Cova, but I can tell you that the pastries are as good as ever. I was on Century 2 weeks ago. I hope that helps a bit.

[DavidJ]

I recently returned from a cruise on the Century. The coffee we had at the Cova Cafe was the best I have had on the seas. To put this in perspective, I find the coffee at Starbucks to be fair. Coffee should never be served in a paper product. It should be savored and enjoyed and not drunk on the run. At home I have found that Lavazza gives the best crema when espressed. I am not sure which beans they used, however it was properly espressed and the crema and aroma enhanced the strong flavor. My guess is that it was a blend of Arabica and Robusta. The serving temperature was right on and the presentation was European. To add to this superb coffee, the desserts were nothing less than delicious. The best on the ship. I recommend a visit!

[Ships R Great]

You can order coffee (American style" and you get plain coffee. My friends raved about it. And just amble over to the counter and ask for whatever pastry looks good. You can get a pastry without coffee. Just ask for it.

 

and say hello to Juli for me. Tell her Patty and Ed send greetings. She is there in the AM and she is a real sweetie!

[flyau98]

I stopped by Cova nearly every morning for a Chocolate Crossant. No coffee. All the pastries were free. The crossant was top notch and they had a ham and cheese crossant one morning that I would have liked to have every day.

[momofmeg]

Am I getting my cruiselines mixed up, or did I read somewhere that Celebrity sells a "coffee card" similar to the soda card. Apparently, you can use it for specialty coffees?

 

Also, I keep hearing that the pastries at Cova Cafe are free when you order coffee there. I had coffee from Cova Cafe on Infinity several times, and I was never offered a pastry. Do you have to ask for it? And if so, do they tell you it's complimentary or do they charge it to your Sail and Sign card? I don't want to sound mercenary asking for a free pastry, but I keep hearing people say how wonderful the "complimentary" pastries are.

 

I know Princess has a coffee card. It saves you a little-it was $27.80 with the 15% tip for 15 coffees. So that averages out about a $1.75 per coffee instead of the $3.25 you would normally pay with tip-but no chocolate candy was served with it like Celebrity does and I really felt the Celebrity coffees on the Zenith were better then Caribbean Princess.

[Senga]

I I was on Century 2 weeks ago.

Andy, if you did the 5 night cruise, could you please tell me which night was casual. We want to make reservations at Murano to celebrate my husband's retirement but don't want to make it on the formal night. Thanks in advance.

[michelethelibrarian]

I just returned from the Century yesterday and was disappointed with Cova Cafe. We were hoping for a good cup of coffee on the ship but all they had there was specialty drinks like espresso and cappacino. We just wanted a gourmet cup of coffee. (eg: kona, blue mountain or something similar high end).

 

Disappointed with the Cova Cafe? Wow, I thought it was wonderful and had two cups every day! A "specialty" drink like espresso becomes a "good cup of coffee" by adding a little hot water. It's called "Americano" and the only thing I drink.

 

 

Not only is the coffee wonderful, the service is divine. Maria and Oraporn were among the sweetest, friendliest, and most helpful crew on the ship and I wanted them to adopt me.

 

Also, the chocolate and almond crossants were delicious. I had to stop myself at just one! Loved the Baltic String Quartet who played here in the evenings and also loved the red wine "flight" served here for $8.95 for three generous tastes.

 

I can't say enough good things about the Cova!

[cruisinelsewhere]

Andy, if you did the 5 night cruise, could you please tell me which night was casual. We want to make reservations at Murano to celebrate my husband's retirement but don't want to make it on the formal night. Thanks in advance.

 

We did the 5 nt on 12/11. Casual was nts. 1. 3 and 5 (formal on nt 2 and infromal on nt 4) Do not miss Murano......Fabulous!!

[Brad1185]

Do they still give you a piece of cova chocolate with purchased specialty coffee?

[Senga]

Thanks so much for the information. I've made reservations for the 3rd night.

[michelethelibrarian]

Do they still give you a piece of cova chocolate with purchased specialty coffee?

 

Yes, they do. :)

[BettyInToronto]

Michelethelibrarian: When we asked about the coffee menu no one mentioned we could get an "americano" coffee. We might have given that a try and then been hooked for the rest of the cruise. Hard to believe they would miss an opportunity to make some money. :rolleyes:

[hcat]

they have some great specialty coffee drinks--esp the frozen one!

[dellas1000]

Wow im getting cravings now!! I was twice on Century and once on Millenium , each time at 10am every morning I headed to Cafe Cova for a coffee and a Pain Au Chocolat. Its just bliss :)

[michelethelibrarian]

Michelethelibrarian: When we asked about the coffee menu no one mentioned we could get an "americano" coffee. We might have given that a try and then been hooked for the rest of the cruise. Hard to believe they would miss an opportunity to make some money. :rolleyes:

 

I discovered Americanos a few years back and now I'm hooked forever. It's just a really rich, yummy cup of joe. You can try one at your local Starbucks or whatever, they're usually listed under the espresso menu.

 

There is always next time! :)

 

Sorry we didn't meet on the cruise. DH and I made an effort to be more social this cruise and it helped make this our best vacation in a long time. There are some really great people on these boards!

[BettyInToronto]

See it is people like you on these forums that give us the great "tips" we need like "americano" coffee. Thank you! :)

 

Yes I hope there will be a next time. DH loved the Dec 11th Century cruise so much that he's agreed to another one - "as long as it's on Celebrity". Wow! And he was so anti-cruising prior to this. I am now looking at either a 7-night Eastern Caribbean or the Connie's Ulitmate 11-night Caribbean next November. If we make one of those cruises, I will definetely ask about the coffee at Cova Cafe.

 

Sorry we didn't meet you either. Since we were on the Main Seating for dinner, we never made the un-official cruise.critic party in the Martini bar. I did manage to meet Techknowbable but that was by pure accident. And Teabag did call my cabin but she woke up DH from a nap so the information he gave her was wrong and he couldn't remember the table number she gave him. She probably thinks I was ignoring her but I wasn't and she never called back.

 

Maybe the next time I will get to attend an offical cruise.critic party because it will be longer than 7 nights. Are you planning for any future cruise?

[michelethelibrarian]

See it is people like you on these forums that give us the great "tips" we need like "americano" coffee. Thank you! :)

 

Yes I hope there will be a next time. DH loved the Dec 11th Century cruise so much that he's agreed to another one - "as long as it's on Celebrity". Wow! And he was so anti-cruising prior to this. I am now looking at either a 7-night Eastern Caribbean or the Connie's Ulitmate 11-night Caribbean next November. If we make one of those cruises, I will definetely ask about the coffee at Cova Cafe.

 

Sorry we didn't meet you either. Since we were on the Main Seating for dinner, we never made the un-official cruise.critic party in the Martini bar. I did manage to meet Techknowbable but that was by pure accident. And Teabag did call my cabin but she woke up DH from a nap so the information he gave her was wrong and he couldn't remember the table number she gave him. She probably thinks I was ignoring her but I wasn't and she never called back.

 

Maybe the next time I will get to attend an offical cruise.critic party because it will be longer than 7 nights. Are you planning for any future cruise?

 

Yeah, having late dinner enabled us to be more social, but eating so much that late hour didn't sit well with my stomach. To be honest, we really prefer eating when we're hungry (open seating), but Princess and Norwegian aren't as good (to us) as this experience on Celebrity. We loved the amazing service, food quality, and all the "little touches" on this sailing. I agree with your husband- they truly did treat us famously!

 

I'm sure Thelma (teabag) understood not meeting up. Five days isn't a whole lot of time to get to know people. She was always teasing us that the dining room had run out of everything at the early seating and we'd be having bread and water for late dinner. Ha Ha!

 

No cruises planned for us yet. We enjoyed the last one so much, I'm afraid to book another one and face disappointment. :) The Celebrity Century is a tough act to follow, as was the group we had on this sailing.

 

Take care and happy cruising!

[Radio]

Hi Michele, Up here they call it Cafe` Americano.... I love it. And it very easy to make. 2 shots Espresso, and hot water ! ! Perfect.

 

I will be in the Cova Cafe` again next month on Century ! !

 

Radio

;) ;)