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Coffee Options


Bethy2021

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5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Complimentary coffee is your typical regular coffee.

Refreshment package coffee and coffee card coffees are the same -- they are the espresso-based drinks such as lattes, cappuccino, and frappes, for example.

Yes, you can share the coffee card with others.  

Do you know if the coffee cards will continue to be "cardboard punch cards" or will they go digital so you just swipe the sea pass?   Seems with the desire to go touch-less, they would go the digital route.  

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4 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Do you know if the coffee cards will continue to be "cardboard punch cards" or will they go digital so you just swipe the sea pass?   Seems with the desire to go touch-less, they would go the digital route.  

Was wondering that myself.  I know it's sometimes an issue to properly have them apply the preloaded C&A discounts when I've made purchases in the past.  Way more of a hassle than a punch card was, but it may happen. I doubt that's would change their stance on sharing the card, but digitally would mean whoever bought the card would have to order the drink.

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9 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Was wondering that myself.  I know it's sometimes an issue to properly have them apply the preloaded C&A discounts when I've made purchases in the past.  Way more of a hassle than a punch card was, but it may happen. I doubt that's would change their stance on sharing the card, but digitally would mean whoever bought the card would have to order the drink.

I submitted the question to RCL on the site, they have it, but no answer yet.  We've ended up with a couple of cards that still had open punches and they were honored on follow-on cruises.  We just keep them with our cruise stuff.

 

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4 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Complimentary coffee - not very good but no extra charge

Other coffee - upcharge and not worth the price (like Starbucks isn't worth the cost vs. a stop at McDonald's)

We do the refreshment package, since, as stated above the "included" coffee is not very good from the cafe promenade, but tends to be better in the MDR.  The refreshment package includes a lot of options, including the coffee, and we do take full advantage of it.  IF you can get the price right, you can typically "break even" with 4 drinks in a day.

My typical day includes:
Fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast
Espresso based drink after breakfast (or with breakfast)
Soft drink at lunch
"virgin" lava flow for the show
Several bottles of sparkling water mixed in throughout the day.

For us it's a good bargain.  we typically pay between $20 and $25 (pppd), but have been able to get it for $18 a few times

When you get off the ship, we've been able to use the package with the employee at the cooler to get a bottle of water or powerade to drink while wandering around, but not sure if that was every port or not.

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8 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Complimentary coffee - not very good but no extra charge

Other coffee - upcharge and not worth the price (like Starbucks isn't worth the cost vs. a stop at McDonald's)

Agree with you on the first line. I found the MDR coffee to be barely drinkable once it got even slightly cooled off, and the stuff in the WJ was no better. But if you're saying that Starbucks coffee (or the Lavazza brand served on some of the ships' coffee venues) is no better than the stuff at Micky-D's, well... we're gonna have to have a LONG talk, my friend. ? 

Believe me, I don't think Starbucks is the best by any measure, and it's definitely overpriced. But at least their blonde roast and the Lavazza brand on board is good enough that I can drink it with a small splash of milk and no sugar, and still be able to drink it without wondering if they thinned the coffee with turpentine or something.

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10 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Agree with you on the first line. I found the MDR coffee to be barely drinkable once it got even slightly cooled off, and the stuff in the WJ was no better. But if you're saying that Starbucks coffee (or the Lavazza brand served on some of the ships' coffee venues) is no better than the stuff at Micky-D's, well... we're gonna have to have a LONG talk, my friend. ? 

Believe me, I don't think Starbucks is the best by any measure, and it's definitely overpriced. But at least their blonde roast and the Lavazza brand on board is good enough that I can drink it with a small splash of milk and no sugar, and still be able to drink it without wondering if they thinned the coffee with turpentine or something.

Agree. I think the MDR coffee issue stems from the carafes not being thoroughly cleaned.   Years of coffee/water deposits.   (Same as some airline coffees.)  Maybe during the down time they've been replaced.

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52 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Agree with you on the first line. I found the MDR coffee to be barely drinkable once it got even slightly cooled off, and the stuff in the WJ was no better. But if you're saying that Starbucks coffee (or the Lavazza brand served on some of the ships' coffee venues) is no better than the stuff at Micky-D's, well... we're gonna have to have a LONG talk, my friend. ? 

Believe me, I don't think Starbucks is the best by any measure, and it's definitely overpriced. But at least their blonde roast and the Lavazza brand on board is good enough that I can drink it with a small splash of milk and no sugar, and still be able to drink it without wondering if they thinned the coffee with turpentine or something.

Starbucks coffee always tastes scorched. They roast the beans at too high a temperature (strike 1), grind the beans too quickly (strike 2), and brew at a higher temperature than required (strike 3).

And if you add ANYTHING to the brew, you're not drinking coffee correctly.

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8 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

They roast the beans at too high a temperature (strike 1)

Agree on this for most of their coffees and espressos, but have you tried the blonde roast (regular coffee or espresso)? That's actually decent, and doesn't have the burnt popcorn taste of their other coffees.

9 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

And if you add ANYTHING to the brew, you're not drinking coffee correctly.

Maybe it's a function of me still not finding a proper coffee, but I haven't been able to drink coffee black for years. I have some kind of sensitivity to the oils, or something similar, that gets my stomach roiling if I don't put a little bit of milk in it. Not much, like 2 ounces in a 16-ounce serving. And it's definitely specific to the hot-brewed coffee, because I can drink their cold brew black (even though it's not a blonde roast).

 

 

Sorry for the slight thread hijack. At least it's still on the topic of coffee. ? ☕??

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I will agree that the free coffee... exists. I can drink it (which is more than I can say about DCL's "coffee"), but I will probably bring Starbucks Via packets next trip.

As for Starbucks normal drip coffee... I do agree it's overpriced (especially when compared to Timmies and McDs) but blonde or medium roasts aren't too bad. But I'm usually there only for espresso over ice, or if my wife wants a latte.

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4 hours ago, San Diego Garrett said:

This probably sounds like a silly question, but since we are on the topic of coffee, does anyone know if French vanilla creamer is available on the ships? More specifically on Symphony.

I have not found flavored creamer on any ships.   I sometimes bring a box of the individual liquid vanilla creamers.  Easy to take a couple to dinner or somewhere.  Easy to carry.  Never were they questioned or counted towards bringing a bottle on ship.   But if you brought a big bottle of it onboard they could react differently.

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On 6/27/2021 at 1:55 PM, AshleyDillo said:

Complimentary coffee is your typical regular coffee.

Refreshment package coffee and coffee card coffees are the same -- they are the espresso-based drinks such as lattes, cappuccino, and frappes, for example.

Yes, you can share the coffee card with others.  

One small note. The last time I sailed on the Harmony, Sep 19, some drinks were charged two punches instead of one (like the Caribbean Coconut iced drink).  I don't know if this is still a practice on some ships.  Something to think about as it would be moot with the Refreshment package.  I still prefer the coffee card, though.

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11 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

One small note. The last time I sailed on the Harmony, Sep 19, some drinks were charged two punches instead of one (like the Caribbean Coconut iced drink).  I don't know if this is still a practice on some ships.

I heard rumors of this but of course it was never consistent from ship to ship.  I think it may have been based off the number of espresso shots in a drink that constituted a punch? 

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On 6/28/2021 at 10:06 PM, Linda R said:

I have not found flavored creamer on any ships.   I sometimes bring a box of the individual liquid vanilla creamers.  Easy to take a couple to dinner or somewhere.  Easy to carry.  Never were they questioned or counted towards bringing a bottle on ship.   But if you brought a big bottle of it onboard they could react differently.

I have done this as well. The box goes in my regular luggage (not my carry on), and it has never been stopped by security (yet anyway). My flat iron on the other hand...

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23 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I heard rumors of this but of course it was never consistent from ship to ship.  I think it may have been based off the number of espresso shots in a drink that constituted a punch? 

Yep.  They punched by the shot on that cruise.  On a different cruise they didn't.

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2 hours ago, krkloehn said:

If you have the deluxe beverage package what coffee options are available? Starbucks or any other?

Starbucks is included with NO beverage package.  Everyone pays... except Star Class guests.

With the DX your coffee choices will be the various non-Starbucks venues on board.  This varies by ship but generally speaking baristas can be found in at least one or two coffee venues somewhere, usually the Promenade or Esplanade and in the Windjammer on some ships.  Some ships have a 3rd venue with a coffee barista.

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On 7/3/2021 at 7:24 AM, ConstantCruiser said:

Starbucks is included with NO beverage package.  Everyone pays... except Star Class guests.

With the DX your coffee choices will be the various non-Starbucks venues on board.  This varies by ship but generally speaking baristas can be found in at least one or two coffee venues somewhere, usually the Promenade or Esplanade and in the Windjammer on some ships.  Some ships have a 3rd venue with a coffee barista.

Small but important point with this. If the coffee venue is labeled and branded "Starbucks", with their mermaid logo and everything, then it is not included in any package. Also worth noting that those branded venues will let you pay with your Starbucks membership card and earn stars, although you cannot redeem stars on board.

Ships that don't have these dedicated venues (e.g., Anthem or Freedom) often still serve Starbucks-branded coffee at their "generic" coffee venues like Cafe Promenade or even the coffee bar in the Windjammer; in this case, it is included in the Refreshment and Deluxe package. Not all ships serve SBUX coffee in their general venues, and if not it's typically Lavazza brand; but this is something to keep in mind.

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