Princess follow-up service - you have to read this to believe it!

[phaelon56]

I posted here recently after my first ever cruise (on the Princess Grand) and offered my candid thoughts on the quality of the coffee on my cruise. I'm a coffee and espresso aficionado (I roast my own and have a $1500 espresso setup in my kitchen - in all fairness to Princess I am not the average coffee drinker).

I shared the fact that the coffee in the Horizon Court buffet was not up to snuff, and also shared my thought son the dining room coffee and espresso (by the way - the Promenade bar has excellent drip coffee available all day long and into the evening).

Here's the truly amazing thign that just blows me away:

Yesterday I recieid an email from a Mr. Rom, who is the food and beverage director for the entire Princess organization. He mentioned havign read my comments in this forum and expressed a commitment and indicated that his staff will be investigating the coffee/espresso offerings on their ships and improving the quality. I've already raved about the fantastic and friendly service that I received throughout the entire cruise but this really clinches it. An organization that shows this commitment to quality and detail has earned my repeat business and is sure to get it (and hopefully the better quality coffee will be in place by my next cruise!).

 

[Princess Pat]

Please, please, please Mr. Rom, don't mess with the Horizon Court coffee on the Dawn Princess, my husband loved it. He's not quite the afficinando as above but he is quite discriminating in his tastes for coffee and wine.

Pat

 

[phaelon56]

I'll have to disagree. I spoke to any number of other people on the cruise who shared my feeligns about the Horizon Court coffee and also read posts here prior to my cruise. The overwhelming majority opinion was that it (the buffet area coffee) was horrible. It is said to be made from a liquid concentrate and it certainly tastes like it. I dont nitpick about much but it was truly awful. My GF is not a coffee lover but appreciates a god cup now and then. She happily drinks cheap supermarket brands like Folger's and Maxwell House at home - she tried it and also agreed with me.

 

[CruiseAholic]

Coffee opinions are like food opinions, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Some people think that McDonalds is gourmet while others don't. Same goes for coffee. I have found the coffee on 25 Princess cruises to be just fine for me, I hate Starbucks coffee and expresso.

 

[OpusX]

Hi phaelon56. Glad to see another home roaster. Once you have some fresh roast it is hard to go back to the stale coffee everybody drinks. What are you favorite beans? We try to have about 6 different green beans and rotate between them every week. We buy most of ours from Sweet Maria's but we do have a small farm that ships Kona direct, our favorite.

 

[phaelon56]

Note to CruisAholic:

yes.... definitely a matter of opinion. Actually I think McDonalds has better coffee than the other fast food chains but it's certainly not good by my standards. I too hate Starbucks coffee. They roast way too dark and then aggravate the problem by using too much coffee for the amount of water. I can make it palatable only by adding about 1/4 hot water to the cup and lots of half 'n half. They also do only a passable job with espresso in most locations but every now and then they get it close to being okay.

I did find the regular coffee in the dining rooms to be decent but the decaf was IMHO not so great.

Note to OpusX:

I use SM's also. Currently have about 20 varieties on hand as I've been experimenting with espresso blending. My favorites for drip include Sumatra Mandheling and the Mosooned Malabar. I have a bit of Mexican Tollan Organic Altura left from a trip to Cozumel last year - a local roaster there sold me a few pounds - great stuff but I'm almost out. Can you email me the info for your Kona source or would you consider cutting me in (per paid of course) on a few pounds of your next batch? At the moment my roasting is on hld as I'm staying with friends while closing on a new house but I should be back in action with the Alps by December.

 

[gsamml]

How about some tea besides Lipton's for the non-coffee drinkers. I would think for a cruiseline that comes across as British (in influence if nothing else), I could at least get a cup of Earl Gray.

 

[p.g.]

Wow I'm impressed that our comments are taken seriously by Princess, looking forward to some better coffee on board our next sailing!

 

[OpusX]

E mail sent with link to Kona Purple Mountain. We have been on a African bean kick for a few months. Kennya AA has been my go to bean for a while. Amazing how many different tastes there are with coffee. Kona makes a great cup of espresso. We have been using a capresso machine for a few years and are pleased with it.

I find the coffee in most cruise ship dining rooms not bad and most of the buffett area's pretty bad. I have seen them fill the machine with condensed coffee. Nice to know the lines read these boards and respond!

 

[Lady Jag]

Another person impressed with Princess' customer service!! Kudos to them! :thumb

 

[Einstein]

Guess I will have to pass on the opinions on the java as I do NOT drink it. Now Frozen Thingees is another story. :grin Good to see Princess is trying to make some adjustments according to some of the comments made here. :thumb


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