Some two cents Muse impressions

We sailed aboard the Muse May 6 - 16. The voyage was somewhat undersold, with about 525 passengers, most of whom had boarded on May 3rd.

What follows are some reflections on the ship, based on our impressions and those of fellow passengers with whom we communed about the good and the not so good of this new ship and system.

This was our fifth Silversea voyage, the others aboard the Cloud and Whisper. Haven't experienced the Spirit, which I understand Muse most resembles. I've been following the Muse threads on this board for a number of months, and so was well forewarned and forearmed regarding the new "experiments." I did (reluctantly) make precautionary dinner reservations for every night well before sailing. In retrospect I'm glad I did, although we did deviate somewhat from that initial schedule.

We were extremely pleased with the physical ship itself. Beautifully designed, lovely furnishings and artworks, very spacious and comfortable. Some thought the look overly subdued, but we found it quietly elegant. There were no apparent technical gliches.

Art's Cafe, Tor's Observation Library and the enlarged Connoisseur's Corner are all improvements over previous incarnations. The more numerous and far more comfortable outdoor aft areas are lovely spots for quiet sitting with a drink or a book.

The very attractive public spaces, bars and lounges never seemed in the least crowded. Indeed, Dolce Vita was downright empty. A terrible waste of such a vast space and a sad example of mistaken assumptions during the blueprint stages, which I fear will be difficult to rectify before a lengthy dry dock.

The enlarged pool and surrounding area is a great improvement. More than ample supply of comfortably cushioned lounge chairs around the pool and the deck above, and the new configuration of couches and armchairs in the shade aft of the pool are a wonderful addition.

We stayed in a standard size Veranda Suite. The increased square footage and deeper balconies compared to the smaller earlier ships was clearly apparent and much appreciated. The furnishings were handsome and very comfortable. The new technology (TVs in mirrors, abundance of electrical connections, self closing drawers) were all improvements. Bathroom was well designed and problem free.

The service throughout the ship, despite the many new hires, was pleasantly up to expected Silversea standards. In other words, excellent.

We dined at least once in every venue (including our suite) with the exception of Indochine, which appeared sparsely attended. The overall cuisine was, for the most part, superior to what we've experienced previously in the MDRs, which is a high bar.

However, the unchanging and rather limited menus in all restaurants (and even room service) is a decided problem. It was a widely held opinion among the fellow passengers that this arrangement could work on a seven to eleven day cruise, but was unsuitable for a more extended voyage. As a particularly grievous example, Kaiseki serves basically one meal, other than a choice between three small stacked bento box-like appetizers (meat, seafood or vegetarian) and two desserts. It's an excellent meat, and if it was a land based restaurant I might see eating there twice a year. Eating that same meal three or four times in a two or three week span is unthinkable.

And although the food ship wide is very good, all the menus share a tendency towards the overly esoteric, and there's little flexibility regarding preparation. Even the "New York Style Frankfurter" on the room service menu is served on a "cinnamon bun" (?!) with no substitution available. We passed on the hot dog.

And sadly, the much debated new reservation system does indeed preclude the spontaneity of meeting people in a bar, lounge or on an excursion and making impromptu plans to dine together. This most important aspect of the "Silversea Experience" is effectively no more. I understand from recent posts on this board that they are now attempting to tweak this, but I'm doubtful they'll achieve success. I witnessed one passenger in extended negotiation with the Maitre d' trying to secure a reservation for a party of six for the following evening in any venue that might be available, only to be told that they'd have to dine on pizza.

Another couple we befriended, who boarded completely clueless about the new system and without any prior reservations, ended up by chance being seated at La Terrazza eight out of their thirteen evenings. They had run out of appealing options on the unchanging menu after the forth dinner and were forced into greatest hits reruns. Even duck ragu can get old.

The dress code issue didn't much concern us prior to or during the voyage. I'd say that the percentage of passengers sporting truly formal wear (not talking dark suits) was about the same as on our more recent Silversea sailings. The difference is that the tuxes and gowns were visible every evening, not just on designated ones, which actually gave the ship's public spaces an unexpected bit of panache throughout the voyage. Truly casual wear was an extreme rarity in evening. The usual costume seen each night was jacket and tie for gents and rather elegant attire for gals.

I believe the Powers That Be are hard at work at their drawing boards trying to come up with solutions to the more widely held dissatisfactions with the new arrangements. They're certainly aware of the problems, to the extent that they say their "ears ae ringing" with the common complaints.

I'll continue to check this board for the next couple weeks in case there are any specific questions I might be able to answer.

Thanks again to all for the earlier postings which helped prepare me to have a most enjoyable cruise on a truly beautiful ship.

Thank you for posting this excellent and balanced review. We will be sailing on the Muse in late August so very interested in your impressions of the ship.

+1 THANKS!

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Very, very well done; thanks so much straightupwithatwist for Sharing. Two cents? Absolutely not-- more like a million dollar balanced well done review.

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We sail on the Muse July 15. Excellent review. Sounds like the Indochine restaurant might be the best bet for an impromptu group meal. That is good to know. What was the after dinner scene like? How late did people hang in the bar areas? Thanks again.

Thank you for your objective review.

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straightupwithatwist,

Might I add my admiration of your post about your first hand experiences of Muse which I feel was extremely well crafted and balanced.

It seems to me that SS have all the right hardware with respect to an extraordinary product with Muse. It is probably a natural progression from Spirit, which was a natural progression from Whisper/Shadow which were natural progressions from Wind/Cloud. I haven't been on Muse so my comments are based on feedback and the facts about the hulk itself and about my experience on the four original craft and my dealings with SS.

The ship basically works. It has a range and reach and there are bits that are over utlised and bits under utilised. There are also slight bedding in challenges with respect to staff who might not understand 6* cruise lines. All soluble as it is in water! It seems to me that if Muse were managed properly it is a world beating pioneering product. It seems to me that the ship is let down by the management. I could mention that if they cannot manage an operation that sends out accurate boxes with the cruise you booked and so what hope is there for important stuff ... so I won't say that will I. ;)

I posted stuff about Priveledged Passage elsewhere, the reason why is because nothing new happens without the owner and senior management wanting it and it isn't irrelevant to recall that ten years ago the trajectory was upward. With respect to eating, you rolled up and sat down and ordered what you wanted and pre-booking online wasn't on the cards and the only challenge was trying to get a table in Champagne when fully booked or Terraza on formal nights so you didn't upset others. Online booking now gives the illusion you are making bookings when in fact they are all in my view "lost" because all you are doing is registering an interest in dining somehwere 6 months out and whlst there is a reasonable chance you might have it confirmed it was and is not a guaranteed booking. It is the MD who decides these things it seems. And then there are those that didn't know that booking online increases your odds as you explained and there experience ends up with the same meal night after night or a pizza in the cold.

Ten years ago, you basically showed up at MDR and were shown to your table. If you wanted soemething that wasn't on the menu, they would do it if they had the ingredients. If they didn't but there was a port the following day, then they would send someone to shop for the stuff you wanted and make it for you. And you could have that or anything served in any restaurant served in your suite. Now we are where we are and I won't repeat it all.

It seems to me that the Muse hardware is potentiallyalmost certainly perfect and could produce what the software would like to produce if the software stopped creating problems. Hardware equals Muse, software equals managment interference with common sense flexible delivery. It seems that the restaurants are there. The management have added a load of impediments. You cannot have a hot dog unless it is with a cinamom bun. Would the free world cease to exist if it were served with a standard bleedin' bun is as we all know uttern nonsense? You cannot have what is served in the restaurant in your suite. etc etc. And those bleedin' bookings.

I think they should bite the bullet and abandon pre-cruise bookings for restaurants and try it on a more spontaneous basis and see how it works.And adjust from that point. Look at some of the other "spaces" and work out whether they might be informal dining spaces in the evening. There is an issue with people that have booked for the next six months but this is an issue of the least worst options. It might be better rather than dissapoint the number this might not work for to say to all current indications of preference - they aren't confirmed reservations - that they are cancelled and to decide once on board. And then see how that works. If it turns out that the design capacity wasn;'t right from the design stage well no reservation system will overcome that one.

Anyway ... thanks again for your insightul observations. Apologies for typos. It is 2:30 here .....

We sailed aboard the Muse May 6 - 16. The voyage was somewhat undersold, with about 525 passengers, most of whom had boarded on May 3rd.

 

What follows are some reflections on the ship, based on our impressions and those of fellow passengers with whom we communed about the good and the not so good of this new ship and system..

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive and detailed review. It seems that most of the complaints are with dining and those who go on long voyages will have more problems. That being the case, the ship will be more suitable for shorter excursions and not so good for extended combination voyages and especially for those world cruisers. It will be interesting to see how things develop in the future. We will be on the 14 day Montreal to Fort Lauderdale cruise late September and submit our report afterwards.

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However, the unchanging and rather limited menus in all restaurants (and even room service) is a decided problem. It was a widely held opinion among the fellow passengers that this arrangement could work on a seven to eleven day cruise, but was unsuitable for a more extended voyage. As a particularly grievous example, Kaiseki serves basically one meal, other than a choice between three small stacked bento box-like appetizers (meat, seafood or vegetarian) and two desserts. It's an excellent meat, and if it was a land based restaurant I might see eating there twice a year. Eating that same meal three or four times in a two or three week span is unthinkable.

Thanks for your excellent review.

The size of the restaurants and reservation issues may be a significant challenge for management.

But I should think that the menu issue -- a real issue that I had not considered -- could be solved easily. Just create one or more menus and rotate them every week or at some frequency. I understand that the galley can perhaps not prepare multiple dishes the same night, but it can surely prepare different dishes on different nights. They might, for example, announce that menu A will be served on even-number dates and menu B on odd-numbered dates. So guests on a 10 day cruise who wanted to visit the same restaurant twice could be sure to book for one even and one odd numbered dates.

Straightupwithatwist -

Like so many others, I wanted to share my Thanks with you for sharing your perspective of the Muse experience. As excited as I am to board this ship in 5-months, I hope we won't get bored with the food over the course of 17-nights.

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Thank you!

Such a well balanced review.

We have been keeping a close eye on all Muse reports and reviews, as we are taking our first SS trip on the Muse on the 15th July.

It has helped a great deal in knowing a little more about what to expect.

Clearly there are some issues which will no doubt be corrected/changed/improved over the coming months. Many have their views, some very strongly put.

We are looking forward to a new experience.

I feel we will not be disappointed.

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May I join others in thanking you ' Straightupwithatwist ' for producing just the type of analysis that we who are travelling on the Muse soon have been waiting for - well done.

It is unfortunate that Silversea Management always seem to take a long time to grasp those aspects that makes their Product so successful - they conduct numerous Venetian Surveys and seldom take on board the answers given. It cannot take a genius to understand that Guests like to meet during the Day and then Dine together - a true example of ' Silversea Luxury '. The new Multi Choice Restaurant Offering will only be attractive if it is indeed Multi Choice on The Day, not 4 months prior to a Cruise.

I also must reflect back and agree with the comment made by Jeff that a Company who does not know where their Ship starts a Cruise and sends out completely rubbish Documents ( as has been the Case in our upcoming Wind Cruise ) has Issues at the Centre.

We are still looking forward to our Muse Cruise in August and I am sure that, as with all Silversea Cruises, The On Board Staff will produce wonderful Service in spite of the Directives from above.

Terrific writeup and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and observations.

Keith

Thanks for your great report, we will be going aboard the Muse for two weeks early next year so this is of great interest to us.

Agreed, a very well balanced and useful report, in fact just what I've been waiting for. We're doing 24 days from June 21st and have, like most SS'ers, a loose routine that evolves during our time on board, and so I wonder if you could explain the bar situation. If say our habit is always to have a pre dinner drink sitting AT the bar having chosen the busiest most socialable one, would this still work? We would seem to now have a choice of more than two so is the bar scene diluted? Is the atmosphere in the bars still buzzing?

Reluctantly I have reserved the restaurants so don't at least feel too vulnerable, however if you were to meet another couple in the bar and decide to eat together that night is that still as easy as it was with the MDR?

Finally percentage wise which restaurants are used the most and the least?

I hope you don't mind answering all these questions, we are very much looking forward to the Muse but wouldn't like any little surprises if we can help it.

Once again thank you for a very informative report.

MM

Thanks for an excellent and balanced review.We are old fashioned SS cruisers attracted to the line because you could "dine where you wanted,with whom you want and at whatever time suited your personal arrangements"This does not appear possible on the Muse so sadly not for us.Mayflower ......look forward to your opinion following your upcoming Muse cruise ENJOY.

Thank you so much straightupwithatwist (love your screen name.) Your description of the dining situation is exactly what I feared would happen on the Muse. It's one of those things that sounded good on paper but doesn't work in reality.

A little confused about the new restaurant reservation system mentioned in this post. We have not been on SS for a few years but are looking at booking a 2018 trip on Spirit after several trips with Seabourn.

Does this mean that I cannot depend on a table being available at the (Main) Restaurant unless I book all my dates in advance ? And I have to decide which specialty restaurant in which to dine weeks/months in advance ???

A little confused about the new restaurant reservation system mentioned in this post. We have not been on SS for a few years but are looking at booking a 2018 trip on Spirit after several trips with Seabourn.

 

Does this mean that I cannot depend on a table being available at the (Main) Restaurant unless I book all my dates in advance ? And I have to decide which specialty restaurant in which to dine weeks/months in advance ???

Have not been on this Board for awhile so from further reading it looks like this is only a "Muse" issue for the time being and from the majority of comments looks like it will probably remain so, as long as SS wishes to remain in business.

looking at booking a 2018 trip on Spirit after several trips with Seabourn.

 

 

 

Does this mean that I cannot depend on a table being available at the (Main) Restaurant unless I book all my dates in advance ?

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Thank you so much straightupwithatwist (love your screen name.) Your description of the dining situation is exactly what I feared would happen on the Muse. It's one of those things that sounded good on paper but doesn't work in reality.

I agree ! We hope the dining situation gets sorted out fairly quick !! We enjoy dining with people we meet on board and being spontaneous and asking if they would like to dine together and this can't happen on the Muse at present.

We are looking at booking a cruise in 2019 so hopefully this is all sorted by then :rolleyes:

Stumblefoot - I will be very interested in your review of the Muse :D

Excellent review....looking forward to more as the maiden season progresses and really hope the dining issues will improve.

Sophia 😊

Could Silversea address the challenges with restaurant access (esp. on fully booked cruises) by extending the hours the restaurants are open at dinnertime, thereby increasing the number of covers available? Presumably, some accommodation would have to be made for staff -- extra money for working longer than usual hours, additional staff (converting some cabins into crew accommodation), etc.

Could Silversea address the challenges with restaurant access (esp. on fully booked cruises) by extending the hours the restaurants are open at dinnertime, thereby increasing the number of covers available? Presumably, some accommodation would have to be made for staff -- extra money for working longer than usual hours, additional staff (converting some cabins into crew accommodation), etc.

That would mean dining at 5:30 or 9:30. Hardly a good solution. And it still doesn't address the lack of spontaneity problem.

That would mean dining at 5:30 or 9:30. Hardly a good solution. And it still doesn't address the lack of spontaneity problem.

How did you select those hours? Why would it have to be 5:30? Are the Muse restaurants currently open at 6 or 6:30? I had assumed they opened as on other SS ships at 7 pm. Perhaps I was mistaken.