Live from the MUSE, Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, 13 nights.

First time cruisers to Silversea, and we were eager to explore the Muse.

We love new and modern ships, and have been to Seabourne Encore, Europa 2 and Oceania Marina.

There are lots of things we like, and a some we think could be done better.

Embarkation in Fort Lauderdale was smooth and easy.. We were on board the ship at 1:35 pm and around 2:10 we were allowed to go to the suites..

We are in a Deluxe Veranda Suite Deck 6.

Our suite is spacious, nicely decorated, love that we can get grey goose vodka as an add-on to the minibar.. lovely... yes we can hear the tv from the neighbor suite, but this is not bothering us..

We did find it very weird that there was no flower decoration in pour suite (like in other suites) nor any welcome prosecco or fruits..

We asked our butler on the second day about this.. and he explained to us, this was only done by request.. weird.. now we have fruits everyday and the orchid arrived today.....

Our butler and the cleaning man are both doing a great job, although we don´t use our butler much. He seems to be sad about this... sorry for that ;-)

Internet was offered for free for this trip, not only one hours we expected.. Still we did choose to upgrade to the premium package to have higher speed, and to be able to be online simultaneously with up to 4 devices at the same time.. The cost for the upgrade was 268 $ for a 13 night cruise. The speed is quite good, and coverage is also very good.. We are very happy with the paid upgrade..

Food on board is mostly great, but not always as good as it should be. Especially Kaiseki was a huge let down, both for lunch and also for the 60 $ dinner. Limited suhsi menu for lunch, nothing special, rather boring.. And the sushi rice tasted too sour..

At night Kaiseki was very boring, portions were small. The starters came out super cold like taken directly out of the fridge. And the highly praised wagyu beef, that was recommended to order medium-rare, came very well done, and didn´t taste like wagyu beef i have had numerous times in Japan.

After finishing dinner, first question asked was, if it was "enough", we have had the full menu, and to be honest i was still super hungry.. just didn´t want to eat the same again..

Also due to the live cooking it was rather smoky and our clothes smelled after dinner.. Looking into Kaiseki the following nights, it was never fully booked, so it seems like we are not the only ones with this opinion...

Indochine is rather quiet, food is good, way better than in Kaiseki !

Hot rocks is a nice different experience just the setting is rather non-luxurious with lots of plastic. But here we actually had the first meat. 'And due to the fact that we grill it ourselves, it was actually really medium.. In ALL other restaurants ordering meat medium, means we get it rather well done.. EVERYTIME...

Atlantide is always very busy, food is good.

We really like dining in Atlantide, and this always seems to be the most busy restaurant, but it was always easy to get a table..

We just arrived in St. Georges, Grenada. Again unfortunately looking at ugly containers... It seems until now that Suites with even numbers like we do seems to have the not so good side of the ship, as we now for the second time are looking at containers... In St. Kitts same story, there the MUSE was even at a remote industrial container port, and a shuttle bus was needed to get to the port terminal. Other larger ships were docked directly at the port terminal.. In Fort-de-France our side was also docked directly next to a huge other vessel, blocking sunlight and offering a rather not so nice view on mass tourism...

The pooldeck is also not that luxurious, the sunbeds are placed way to near to others, and on the one sunny day at sea, ALL sunbeds were taken !!!!!! annoying..

On Board the first week were 500 passengers and yesterday in Bridgetown, Barbados, 130 guests left the ship and 60 new came on board, so its not completely full,

For the price paid, around 1400 Dollar a night for our suite, we will probably not be back to Silversea,, we did expect it to be more luxurious, and the food is not the best we have had on board cruiseships.. Also we would have liked to go to smaller islands, and not to be several times at container ports and it would have been nice to have a day at sea at the end of the cruise....

This is my subjective opinion, im open for any questions and discussions...

Thanks for posting, always interesting to get a different perspective on how people see the ship and product

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you for your comments on the Muse, which are likely to apply to our cruise July 24 on the "Musified" Silver Spirit.

Your comments on the Japanese extra cost restaurant were a bit surprising: if the food is like that, it certainly isn't worth paying an extra charge. We're also shocked that you had to ask for flowers, fruit, and sparkling wine on arrival. On Regent, our primary (to date) cruise line, this stuff comes automatically.

There's another thread about whether one gets restaurant menus in advance, either automatically or after requesting them. What has been your experience? If you aren't getting menus and haven't asked, please ask, since other cruisers might appreciate knowing (on the other thread) whether you receive the menus on request.

Smooth seas! J & J

In my opinion the extra cost for Kaiseki is NOT worth the money at all, we did enjoy our dinner in La Dame, also 60 $ extra per person... What we have learned is that there are 3 different menues, at least in Atlantide and Indochine, and they change once a week.. Its possible to take a look at the menu via the tv in the suite...

The menu in Kaiseki is very limited.

Another annoying fact, we are now at easter good friday docked in St. George´s, Grenada. Even until 11 PM.

Everything, maybe apart from Pizza Hut, and a few other tiny tourist shops, is closed.. the city is like dead.... no one on the streets..

The locals at the port information told us this is normal for the easter holidays. So la Terrazza for lunch was so super full.. and its also raining today...

Why did Silversea schedule us to be here that long on this day.. Why not in another island today with more things open. Or maybe even a day at sea....

Another annoying fact, we are now at easter good friday docked in St. George´s, Grenada. Even until 11 PM. Everything, maybe apart from Pizza Hut, and a few other tiny tourist shops, is closed.. the city is like dead.... no one on the streets. The locals at the port information told us this is normal for the easter holidays. So la Terrazza for lunch was so super full.. and its also raining today...

 

Why did Silversea schedule us to be here that long on this day.. Why not in another island today with more things open. Or maybe even a day at sea....

I doubt that you can find an island in the Caribbean where things aren't closed today, Sunday, and (if the island is British) Easter Monday. Cruise lines don't seem to consider such things as holiday closings. On our only Oceania cruise, we started in Montreal on a Monday holiday where everything seemed to be closed, spent the following Monday on another Monday holiday in St. Pierre where even the cafes were closed, and the next Monday in Dublin on a holiday where nearly everything was closed. Ugh! We're sorry to hear that Silversea doesn't do better than Oceania with respect to holidays.

Did you find the higher end internet service notic ably better than the free service offered..?

Thanks for your comments.

In the end the only opinion that maters is your and that of each person.

Have a nice voyage.

Keith

Our upgraded internet is at a very good speed. we are really happy with this.. It has also been reliable throughout the whole journey... We didn´t use the free internet a lot, but also seemed to be at an ok speed...

We just arrived to St. Johns, Antigua, AGAIN, now for the 6th or 7th time in this cruise, our suite side is docked to the "bad" side.. We are in a suite with an even number....

These times we have been next to a container port or to the side where the ship is delivered goods for hours... or like right now next to a huge ship blocking view and light..

I can´t think of any port where the suites with odd numbers has been to a "bad" side....

ANNOYING....

I recall from other ships, that sides changed throughout the journey, and that at the end of the journey it was almost equal being docked at the "bad or "good" side...

Yesterday we had a good stop in Bequia, lovely tropical relaxed little island... here we finally got to use the tenders... lovely.. Unfortunately our stop here was only around 6 hours..

i checked here for the easter opening hours, and ALL bars, restaurants and shops confirmed they have been open on good friday, so not every island shut down like in Grenada. So it is kind of a bad schedule planning of Silversea...

2 nights ago we had a lovely evening in Silver Note, good food, as good as in La Dame, and even better service with the best restaurant manager on board, Mr Dipin, always smiling, super friendly and very helpful to all guests equally. Everyone loves him..

We just arrived to St. Johns, Antigua, AGAIN, now for the 6th or 7th time in this cruise, our suite side is docked to the "bad" side.. We are in a suite with an even number....

These times we have been next to a container port or to the side where the ship is delivered goods for hours... or like right now next to a huge ship blocking view and light..

 

I can´t think of any port where the suites with odd numbers has been to a "bad" side....

ANNOYING....

 

I recall from other ships, that sides changed throughout the journey, and that at the end of the journey it was almost equal being docked at the "bad or "good" side...

I am sorry to hear this is happening to you. I don't think the cruise lines have control over which side of the pier their ships dock on, so it sounds like a bit of bad luck. On my Wind cruise a few weeks ago, there were 2 ports for which we were one of 4 ships -- everyone had the "bad" side, as we were sandwiched in amongst giants. In St. Maarten, the wave action bumped up against the Celebrity Something next to us, doubling the waves for us, which made for a very rough time at port. For a while, it was too dangerous to disembark down the gangway.

Like you, I enjoyed the tender ports so that I could sit on my balcony with no obstructions. It was best at St. Bart's, when we were anchored on the edge of the Bucket Regatta, and we could watch the sailboats racing.

One of SS's notable benefits is longer times in port, with more time to explore. However, when that longer time turns into more time looking at the hull of another ship, I can see how it's not much of a benefit at all. For sure, there were days I didn't use my balcony for just that reason (and I was on the odd-numbered side). Luckily, I found many other lovely and quiet places on the ship, higher up, for peaceful reading and gazing at the sea.

yes maybe just bad luck... on our previous 4 cruises, all luxury, with Seabourn, Europe 2 and Oceania Marina, we have never even thought of this matter..

Also here in St Johns, almost everything in the city is closed, still we got all the shopping information, but all these recommended shops are closed.. I have the feeling Silversea is a bit clueless to this.. for the price paid for this cruise, we simply expected more...

Many of the smaller islands are still struggling with the aftermath and devastation caused by the hurricanes. This has led to changes in itineraries for many cruise lines, resulting in crowded ports.

Not even 100% of San Juan has power yet, and elsewhere the infrastructure is barely functional. The container ships are there delivering much needed supplies for people who have virtually nothing and are struggling to rebuild.

I’m sorry you have so much to endure.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We also are on The Muse since Ft Lauderdale and have to say this entire cruise in every respect has been outstanding. We have not had a poor meal anywhere including lunch in Kasieki, never had to wait at Atlantide or Indochine , Ann Marie rejoined the ship in Barbados, always good to see her again.

The Crew have all been great, the laundry possibly the best we have ever had on SS and the WIFI Premium which they gave us in a larger suite is certainly the best we have ever had at sea.

Their is in our view, nothing at all to dislike on this trip, indeed the free tours have also been good to excellent.

The Ship is stunning in terms of decor and comfort, I could only give this trip 10/10.

We also are on The Muse since Ft Lauderdale and have to say this entire cruise in every respect has been outstanding. We have not had a poor meal anywhere including lunch in Kasieki, never had to wait at Atlantide or Indochine , Ann Marie rejoined the ship in Barbados, always good to see her again.

The Crew have all been great, the laundry possibly the best we have ever had on SS and the WIFI Premium which they gave us in a larger suite is certainly the best we have ever had at sea.

Their is in our view, nothing at all to dislike on this trip, indeed the free tours have also been good to excellent.

The Ship is stunning in terms of decor and comfort, I could only give this trip 10/10.

Dear Perfectionistcruiser,

i am very happy that you enjoy your cruise !! thats how it should be... I disagree in those aspects mentioned above... especially at Kaiseki.... everytime i take a glance at Kaiseki its never busy... its the least visited restaurant in my opinion... and not worth the extra 60 Dollar... different story at La Dame.... For the moment there is only around 435 guests on board so yes its lovely not to wait at either Atlantide and Indochine at any time.. And yes food is great in most restaurants..

I have no clue who Ann Marie is, she never said hello to us... bur we are only in a deluxe veranda suite... and first time cruisers to SS...

I agree totally that the internet is the best i have experienced at sea.. and worth ever dollar we paid for the upgrade to premium internet...

Still, i can not imagine that we will be back to SS, too many flaws in my opinion for the 18000 dollars paid for this cruise..

I’m sorry you have so much to endure.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Yes, ditto, ;)

Thank you Perfectionistcruiser for your positive report on your cruise.The views expressed coincide with our experiences of SS.For the information of the other poster Anne Marie in our opinion is the finest Head Chef on the SS fleet,and she will arrange any menu you desire to order given 24 hours notice.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Ann Marie rejoined the ship in Barbados, always good to see her again.

Can you advise who Hotel Director and Restaurant Manager are olease

It's almost impossible to be parked at so many container ports. I've spent most of this season in the Caribbean and never parked near a container ship. Did you notice that Europa2 always had the prime spot in every port? What did you think of the muster drill on Muse? Sad to hear "all you have to do is ask" is still playing. Are you drinking the ship's water?

Thank you Perfectionistcruiser for your positive report on your cruise.The views expressed coincide with our experiences of SS.For the information of the other poster Anne Marie in our opinion is the finest Head Chef on the SS fleet,and she will arrange any menu you desire to order given 24 hours notice.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Absolutely agree, she is the best.

Had an interesting conversation with our guide in Tortola yesterday where he said that our sister ship 'the Silver Moose' would be back in a couple of weeks.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Had a very good day at anchor today in St Barths, excellent tour, but sad to see all the fine hotels are so devastated, they will be pushed to be ready to open for next season.

Eclipse is anchored here with Le Grand Blue and they both look larger than the Sea Dream ( formally Sea Goddess) which is also here.

Strange to recall that back in the early eighties Sea Goddess was the first of the high quality all inclusive lines before Seabourn or S S started. I wonder how many readers remember those two little ships ?

Charter for Muse:

The Muse is chartered for two weeks from Wednesday when we must all disembark in San Juan.

Charter for Muse:

The Muse is chartered for two weeks from Wednesday when we must all disembark in San Juan.