Coffee pots in cabins?

[JHCALLAHAN]

Hello all,

Newbie here with LOTS of questions. My wife and I plan on taking our first cruise (Caribbean) probably this fall, for our 10th anniversary.

 

First question: I've seen several references to getting a coffee pot in one's cabin (although I gather bringing your own is a no-no). My wife and I usually carry our own small coffee maker wherever we travel (yes, even in my carry on thru airport security :D). Are there only certain lines or cabin types where in-cabin coffeemakers are available?

 

Question two: I gather most folks have there favorites, but on similar length and itinerary cruises, is there a significant difference in price and/or experience among the most common cruise lines (not counting the top of the line luxury cruises) such as Carnival, RCCI, HAL, Princess, Celebrity etc?

 

Thanks for the info. Got lot's more questions but I'll try not to be too much of a pest all at once! :)

 

JHC

[Spikesgirl]

Hello again!

 

I don't know of a cruise line that offers a coffee maker in your room. it's just as easy to order it from room service. I have been on trips where I've used an immersion coil and a coffee bag for my 'fix', but that's been it.

 

IMO - When you get them all together side by side, I don't think there's an awful lot of difference between the cruise lines. We like Princess, but we've cruised with others. We prefer to quieter, more sedate style of Princess as opposed to the wildness that was Carnival and RC. however, that's just us. It's hard when youa re deciding upon your first cruise to narrow down the field, so you might want to start first with where you would like to go and see in each port, then see who serves that area and what choises you have for cruise length. We originally picked Princess because it sailed out of San Francisco and that made it easy for us to get to. Alaska, however, was not my cup of tea and I didn't enjoy the experience half as much as when we've sailed some place that I've wanted to go. This is how we've chosen from that point on.

 

Ask away as this is a great place to get some answers - wish it had been around when we first started, but heck, they didn't even have the Internet then!

 

Charlie

[JHCALLAHAN]

Thanks for the replies!

 

Actually I'd rather go to Alaska personally, but DW wants to go someplace warm, and it's her anniversary present she gets to pick. I guess I can muddle thru a Caribbean cruise somehow.;)

 

Regards,

JHC

[psbtrvlr]

You can take coffee pots as long as they have an automatic shutoff. I normally travel with an inversion coil, but they are no longer allowed on cruise ships. We took a small kettle with an auto shut off on our cruise. I do not travel without my "coffee kit". :)

[wrp96]

You can take coffee pots as long as they have an automatic shutoff. I normally travel with an inversion coil, but they are no longer allowed on cruise ships. We took a small kettle with an auto shut off on our cruise. I do not travel without my "coffee kit". :)

 

RCCL specifically forbids coffee pots in the cabins. It doesn't matter if they have an automatic shut off or not.

[hajekfam]

You can take coffee pots as long as they have an automatic shutoff. I normally travel with an inversion coil, but they are no longer allowed on cruise ships. We took a small kettle with an auto shut off on our cruise. I do not travel without my "coffee kit". :)

Celebrity also does not allow you to bring coffee pots. From their website:

What not to Pack

 

For the safety of our guests, the following items are not allowed onboard:

• Irons
  
• Coffee makers
  
• Candles
  
• Illegal drugs
  
• Electrical Transformers
  
• Flammable liquids and explosives, such as fireworks.

[psbtrvlr]

Celebrity also does not allow you to bring coffee pots. From their website:

 

 

I guess that's 2 cruise lines that I won't be trying out anytime soon!

 

You might try NCL or Princess.

[NAS-KARR]

I always take my 4 cup Black & Decker and 1 lb. bag of Starbucks bold Ital. Blend. "NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT".

IT HAS AN AUTO SHUT-OFF by the way.

 

 

for what it's worth and this is MHO also....I'll take ALASKA any day over the Caribbean, it's nothing but a warm slum.

 

 

CIAO,

[love2relax]

The only ship we were evere on that had a coffee maker in the cabin was NCL, but we've only been on one of their ships (and she's sailing in Hawaii right now, not the Caribbean). As already stated, you can order it from room service whenever you like for no cost (except the tip). I LOVE to have my morning coffee on the balcony myself. I just run up to the buffet on whatever cruiseline we've been on, and help myself to the coffee. I bring a cup or two to share back to my room too. You really won't HAVE to have one....I promise.

[love2relax]

As for cruise line preference, I decide where and when I want to go. Then I price and see where I can get the best "deal" and "bang for my buck". It is fun for us to include at least one or two sea days per sailing so we can enjoy just being on the ship. I find that we don't get a chance to enjoy relaxing and activities on the ship if we sail into a different port every day. Most cruise lines have something for everyone, from the wild and crazy activities, trivia, karaoke, dancing, shows, champagne art auctions...and on and on and on.

I would say that Carnival has the most activities happening simultaneously on the ship. I often find two things that I want to do within a half hour of each other..and try to hit both. I get worn out because I don't want to miss anything. The only thing that kind of shocked me was that a few people went to breakfast in the buffet in their bathrobes! Hey, whatever floats their boat...that was the only thing that seemed a little odd.

I've never been bored on NCL or RCCL either. There are plenty of things to do. The price for what we get is usually our determining factor. If you have served more than two years in the military, Carnival will give you a pretty good discount on most sailings. They're the only line that does that for veterans. For other cruise lines, you have to be career or current military. We personally did not like our experience on HAL...but that's just us. Everyone else raves about them. We did have an AWESOME suite..but I would probably never sail them again. It's our personal preference.

One thing to consider is dining. If I had the exact same price and itinerary on all of the cruise lines, I would choose NCL. I LOVE Freestyle dining. You go to dinner where you want, when you want, with whom you want. The drawback to that is that if you go at the same time everyone else does, you may have to wait. They have a system to page you if you want to get into a restaurant that is full. Most ships have several "free" restaurants, and MANY "surcharge" restaurants. Surcharges run from $10 TO $25 per person, but they are WELL worth it. The best filet mignon(s) I ever had were on board their ship. Since it will be your anniversary, you may want to dine at a table for just the two of you some evenings, and with other folks you meet onboard other nights in the free restaurants. You can reserve one of the "specialty" restaurants for your actual anniversary as soon as you board the ship. They have many types: Asian, French, Steak, Italian (no charge, just reservations required). If you ever go to Alaska, I highly recommend freestyle on NCL. We had to skip dinner on several occasions because we were busy doing other things. You can still go to the buffet, but we prefer the dining room for dinner. It would have been nice to know we could have gone any time as opposed to our assigned seating time. You may like the structure of assigned seating, with wait staff that will know your every whim..but it's not that big of a deal to us. If we find a wait staff team we like in the restaurants, we request them when we go back.

I hope my ramblings were helpful to you.

[wrp96]

The price for what we get is usually our determining factor. If you have served more than two years in the military, Carnival will give you a pretty good discount on most sailings. They're the only line that does that for veterans. For other cruise lines, you have to be career or current military.

 

You should check RCCL's new military policy. I thought I read that it also covered veteran's that had served a certain amount of time.

[JHCALLAHAN]

Thanks for the replies. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what line we book with and what they allow.

 

Problem is my wife and I like our coffee about twice as strong as most folks. If it won't float a fence staple it's just too weak!:p Most restaurant coffee we come across ranks somewhere between mediocre on the high end to downright lousy. Also mighty nice to make it when we want it, not have to wait for room service or worse yet get dressed and have to go hunt some (that may not be fit to drink once ya find it and pay $2 a cup). Did that at a Vegas hotel once and paid $2 a cup for INSTANT COFFEE!:mad: . Got in the rent-a-car and found another hotel in about 20 minutes!

 

Right now looks like we may be leaning toward Carnival. Not our first choice but they offer a better selection by far in Sept. and seem to have the best prices to boot.

 

Thanks again for the help.

Sus amigo,

JHC

[buddyjo143]

Thanks for the replies. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what line we book with and what they allow.

 

Problem is my wife and I like our coffee about twice as strong as most folks. If it won't float a fence staple it's just too weak!:p Most restaurant coffee we come across ranks somewhere between mediocre on the high end to downright lousy. Also mighty nice to make it when we want it, not have to wait for room service or worse yet get dressed and have to go hunt some (that may not be fit to drink once ya find it and pay $2 a cup). Did that at a Vegas hotel once and paid $2 a cup for INSTANT COFFEE!:mad: . Got in the rent-a-car and found another hotel in about 20 minutes!

 

Right now looks like we may be leaning toward Carnival. Not our first choice but they offer a better selection by far in Sept. and seem to have the best prices to boot.

 

Thanks again for the help.

Sus amigo,

JHC

 

Well if it is Carnival, they have specialty coffee to purchase at the buffet during breakfast and lunch and at a promenade type shop later in the day. They also sell specialty desserts at the promenade shop (great carrot cake, huge slice for only $2). DH loves the coffee on Carnival.

 

And the "secret" is that while you can buy coffee, espresso or cappuccino at the specialty coffee shop....it is free in the dining room at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our waiter learns to bring DH a double espresso at the start of dinner each evening and one with dessert;)

[wrp96]

Thanks for the replies. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what line we book with and what they allow.

 

Problem is my wife and I like our coffee about twice as strong as most folks. If it won't float a fence staple it's just too weak!:p Most restaurant coffee we come across ranks somewhere between mediocre on the high end to downright lousy. Also mighty nice to make it when we want it, not have to wait for room service or worse yet get dressed and have to go hunt some (that may not be fit to drink once ya find it and pay $2 a cup). Did that at a Vegas hotel once and paid $2 a cup for INSTANT COFFEE!:mad: . Got in the rent-a-car and found another hotel in about 20 minutes!

 

Right now looks like we may be leaning toward Carnival. Not our first choice but they offer a better selection by far in Sept. and seem to have the best prices to boot.

 

Thanks again for the help.

Sus amigo,

JHC

 

Okay, if your wife likes strong coffee then most likely she will LOVE cruise ship coffee as it is usually extremely strong.

[Happy ks]

We're coffee lovers, too, but would never travel with a coffee maker. It's just another thing to leave behind to lighten the load. I've worked in Special Ed now for 9 years and have definitely learned that you just have to adapt to the world. You really can't and shouldn't take home with you when you travel.

 

That said, we just put up with the coffee served. Most ships have a specialty coffee bar, it does cost a couple bucks, but it's great for a "fix" of good coffee now and then. The last cruise we were on, we were waiting in line for a cup, when a very senior woman walked by, announcing that she couldn'd understand why we wanted to pay for coffee when it was free at the buffet. I started to open my mouth, but I figured at her age, if she didn't know by now, she never would and I don't care to try to educate anyone while I'm on vacation.

 

Disembarking is depressing enough so my own great coffee at home is the one positive thing about the cruise being history, the one thing I look forward to coming home to.

[jlp20]

Very simple, any heating type device is forbidden to be brought on board. Coffee pot, steamer, candles etc.etc…

 

Although people bring these things onboard daily, they are also confiscated when detected.

[Plant]

Coffee pot, steamer, candles etc.etc…

 

Not quite right. Clothes steamers are allowed, but irons are not. Also, curling irons and straighteners are allowed. I've also read many posts from people who have brought irons and/or coffee pots, left them out in plain sight in their cabin, and nothing was said to them :rolleyes: .

 

I find it odd that coffee pots are not allowed when there was one in our cabin on our last NCL cruise :confused: .

[tagyouRit]

We sailed on the Carribean Princess back in August 2006. I took a small coffee maker but did not need it because our room had a coffee maker!!!

We had a balcony room on Baja deck. It also had a blow dryer and a mini frig. We were glad to have our own coffee handy. When we left we gave the coffee maker to the our room steward. I was able to pack our purchases with the extra room. I had never flown before and had no idea how rough they treat your suitcases. I packed the coffee in a tupperware coffee canister with a airtight seal. It came open and covered my clothes in a brown dusty film. I suggest double bagging the coffee.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We travel with a small coffee maker that brews the coffee into a thermal mug, and there's no hot plate on it. We leave it in plain sight and our stewards have never said anything about it--on either Carnival or Princess. I always make sure I unplug it as soon as I'm done brewing a mug of coffee.

 

My taking it along has nothing to do with the quality of the coffee on the ship; it's for the convenience. I get up much earlier than the rest of the family, so I don't want to have them disturbed by room service, and I love a fresh cup of coffee on our balcony first thing in the morning. I take enough ground coffee in a ziplock bag to last me to the first port of call and then buy some local coffee there for the rest of the cruise. Trying different coffees is one of the fun things about cruising to different ports.

 

I've never read in either Carnival's or Princess's cruise docs that a coffee maker is prohibited, but I do admit that I don't read every single word so could be wrong on that. I'll be sure to do that before our cruise this summer and if it's prohibited I won't bring it. So, of course, I'm hoping it's okay!! Gotta have my coffee!! :)

 

Jayne

:)

[Cruise Passenger]

Man, I thought I had a coffee drinking problem. After listening to you people bringing coffee pots on board, I'm beginning to think I need to get me one.I never use the ones provided in hotels because I have seen how they clean them but bringing one of my own on the ship seems interesting. My only draw back to this is that it is only a two or three minute walk to get a cup on ship and I don't have to wait for it.

[dforeigner]

If you must drink your own coffee, order hot water through room service and use one of these French presses (click on each picture to be linked to the WEB site):

 

[dforeigner]

Here are a couple more. Please keep in mind that your coffee grinds must be coarse.

 

[klct39lg]

Question two: I gather most folks have there favorites, but on similar length and itinerary cruises, is there a significant difference in price and/or experience among the most common cruise lines (not counting the top of the line luxury cruises) such as Carnival, RCCI, HAL, Princess, Celebrity etc?

 

Thanks for the info. Got lot's more questions but I'll try not to be too much of a pest all at once! :)

JHC

 

I have only been on 2 cruise lines (Disney and Princess) and I enjoyed both of them. I think it just depends on what you and your wife are looking for. The CC boards are great for that, you can read the different cruise line forums and get an idea of what people like about the lines and what they dislike.

The most important thing is to have a good attitude and keep in mind that you may have to take a couple of cruises to find out what it is you want to get out of a cruise.