Is Buying A Coffee Card Worth It?

[VegasPier]

The onboard coffee is pretty bad. Other than the coffee card you can bring onboard a pound or so of Starbucks ground coffee and a French Press. Then all that you will need from the ship is hot water. They have yet to charge for that.

 

Cheers, Ralph

[sing2sas]

We bought the coffee card the first day on our recent Emerald Princess cruise and loved it! The brewed regular and decaf were complimentary with the card and so was the excellent tea in the silk bags. The tea was so good that I found myself wandering to the International Cafe every day in the afternoon for a cup. Don't mess with the "mud" they serve in the Horizon Court; do yourself a favor and spring for the good stuff. I still have several punches left for our next Princess cruise in Feb. 2010. As long as you have even one punch left, you can get the free coffee and hot tea.

[gsmith]

We sailed on the CB in March and found the coffee card to be a great value. Each AM we were up early - before 6 AM- and sometimes were among the first customers at the International Cafe. The coffee we ordered...Jamaican Blue Mountain... was so wonderful that when I got home I raved about it to family. I was astounded when my daughter gave me a pound of it for Mother's Day. She went to great lengths to find it and spent far more than I would have. (Check the price online!) Lesson? The coffee card onboard ship is a BARGAIN!

[BobandToni]

Hi all:

 

First time cruise for us and it sure sounds like the coffee card is the way to go.

 

Someone said the card costs $24. How many punches (aka Coffees) can one get on each card? At $4.85/cup, $24 only gets you 5, so anything more than that sounds like a deal.

 

For as much as they charge for these cruises and how everyone raves about the food on board, it's quite puzzling that the head chef wouldn't insure that the coffee served would be on par with the food.

 

Oh well, thanks for the heads up. :D

[pj-atsea]

Bobandtoni.. I think you get 15 punches on a card. I just counted the ones on the card I bought a year ago. Hopefully they are still the same.pj:) It is a great deal if you love coffee and lattes.

[sing2sas]

It was still 15 punches when we bought it in March. You can order the large size (usual charge about $3.50-4.00 each) and they will only punch your card once. So get the big one if you like! You can also ask for any beverage served over ice, or one of the special iced drinks (including blended) and use your card.

[BobandToni]

Sounds like a really good deal. Thanks for the info. :)

[snowman]

We sailed on the CB in March and found the coffee card to be a great value. Each AM we were up early - before 6 AM- and sometimes were among the first customers at the International Cafe. The coffee we ordered...Jamaican Blue Mountain... was so wonderful that when I got home I raved about it to family. I was astounded when my daughter gave me a pound of it for Mother's Day. She went to great lengths to find it and spent far more than I would have. (Check the price online!) Lesson? The coffee card onboard ship is a BARGAIN!

JBM Latte in the morning will kick start your day. It is the BEST coffee in the world. IMHO Its really expensive here in the States

[pippagain]

as i recall, the coffee card is NOT good for hot chocolate (my drink of choice). anyone have recent experience?

[sunshine nana]

We would not be drinking any latteess, caps etc., but would each like a large fresh brewed in the am. Would we be better off just paying for them or getting a card? 10 day cruise, 2 people

[tulips*n*truffles]

From what I'm reading - is it just the International Cafe that will serve specialty coffee drinks? Or are there other locations on the ship? And is it called the International Cafe on all of the ships? I can't seem to find it on the ship layout map on the princess site...

 

Thanks!

[Nacwolin]

I bought the card on our cruise in October (Crown) and loved it! Besides delicious regular coffee (my first morning stop, carrying it with me to breakfast) and specialty coffees, I got to know the baristas in the International Cafe (they were great and I was always warmly greeted when I came down for my cuppa). I also often used it for an after dinner latte or cappuccino in the dining room.

[pj-atsea]

I think on older ships like the Grand, there was no International Cafe. But you could get all those specialty coffees on Deck 5 in the Atrium. Same place as the International Cafe is on the new ships, I believe. I have never been on a Princess ship as yet that had an International cafe( will be going on the Crown soon) and I got my coffees, both reg and specialty, at the bar in the Atrium on deck 5. As to the other question, on whether the card is worth it if you just want a good cup of regular coffee and no specialty coffees, you'd have to ask what is the cost of just reg coffee at the cafe first to figure it out. I always used the coffee card to get a reg coffee ( no charge) so I don't know how much it is. pj:)

[Pia1913]

From what I'm reading - is it just the International Cafe that will serve specialty coffee drinks? Or are there other locations on the ship? And is it called the International Cafe on all of the ships? I can't seem to find it on the ship layout map on the princess site...

 

Thanks!

 

On the ships w/o International Cafes you get your coffee at the Lobby Bar on deck five. On the small ships like Pacific Princess you go to the Club Bar or the bar up in the buffet.

[themerle]

I don't think I'll regret spending money on a coffee card!

[Bot230]

Hi,

Does anyone know if buying a single coffee card will allow me and my wife to get free brewed coffee for the duration of a cruise or do each of us need to have a card? Thanks!

[BruceGDC]

For the brewed, each needs their own. Either can use the punches, though.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Bot230]

For the brewed, each needs their own. Either can use the punches, though.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

 

So is it possible for my wife to get brewed coffee because she has the card and for me to get brewed coffee using the punches?

[poolreader]

Hi,

Does anyone know if buying a single coffee card will allow me and my wife to get free brewed coffee for the duration of a cruise or do each of us need to have a card? Thanks!

 

H, we always buy the coffee card because I love the specialty coffees and my DH likes the plain fresh brewed. I order the latte and he gets the plain using the same card and they only take one punch. So if you both got plain they would probably just take one of the 15 punches for each two cups. At 30 cups for $30 it would be well worth it IMO.

[ken_ll]

Had a coffee card on the Island Princess for 2 weeks last June. Only brewed coffee was available from bars. The mainstay of a bar is not coffee. Coffee sat too long, bitter taste, crap. Scout out coffee locations first for brewed coffee.

 

Still have card for next cruise.

[Bot230]

H, we always buy the coffee card because I love the specialty coffees and my DH likes the plain fresh brewed. I order the latte and he gets the plain using the same card and they only take one punch. So if you both got plain they would probably just take one of the 15 punches for each two cups. At 30 cups for $30 it would be well worth it IMO.

 

That is the answer I was looking for. Thanks!

[Kamloops50]

Dianne,

 

The coffee card has always been a good deal for us as I like my cappuccinos and my husband likes a good cup of coffee. So he gets all the coffee he wants and I get my one specialty coffee a day. And if you don't use it up on one cruise it will be good on your next one.

 

On our repo cruise last week, the seas were very rough and it was cold and blowy outside so I sat in the Piazza with a nice pot of ginger/peach tea that really settled my stomach. The teas are also free when you have the coffee card and they have some very interesting and yummy flavors.

 

Diane

 

It was worth it for me and DW. We both love caps and lattes. We still had two punches left. The card can be used on multiple cruises until all the punches are gone. From what I've learned on here, they don't punch for fresh brewed coffee at the International Cafe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.:confused:

 

The current policy is to put ship name and voyage number on each card.

This means on the next voyage they will punch for brewed coffee and tea until all punches are used. That said on the Sapphire ( just home from) they didn't put ship name or voyage number on the card meaning it can be reused.

[Stevesan]

Y'all do know this thread is 4 years old?:p

[Putterdude]

Y'all do know this thread is 4 years old?:p

 

Yes, someone just properly did a search and posed their question on it rather than starting a new thread.

[jr72]

To make sure I can follow the info here, if I want a cup of coffee in the dining room with my dessert, my choices are:

- get their "regular" coffee, which is bad

- buy or use a card to get specialty coffee, such as cappuccino, which they would bring to me in the dining room

 

 

I can also leave the dining room and get fresh brewed coffee in a different location (either buuying or using a card).

 

But is there an option to get fresh-brewed coffee in the dining room?