Bad food on Silversea?

My husband and I are researching cruises in the Med (specifically Portugal/Spain/France) for our 30th anniversary. Previously we have sailed Windstar, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas. (We enjoyed Windstar and Regent and found Seabourn somewhat stuffy). We are considering Silversea's new Silver Spirit cruise in May from Southampton to Barcelona. In reading various blogs and Cruise Critic it seems as though there are a LOT of complaints about the food and dining room service on Silversea. We are real foodies and would be pretty unhappy with both of those situations. Any comments on this issue would be greatly appreciated! Silversea in in competition with Windstar, SeaDream and Cruise West in our decision making process. Thanks for all input!!

I think you came to the wrong place to ask that question. The posters on this board are 99% SS fans who will not have a bad word said about their favorite cruise line. When an adverse review is posted they are incensed, but, you can't please all the people all the time. So, my choice for my next cruise was based on the wonderful reports I had from my TA and this board, and I decided to "give it a go."

I do not believe that the food is "bad," but everyone has a different standard when it comes to their taste-buds. So far as service is concerned, all the positive reports i read far exceed those negative reviews that are posted on CC..

David

My husband and I are researching cruises in the Med (specifically Portugal/Spain/France) for our 30th anniversary. Previously we have sailed Windstar, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas. (We enjoyed Windstar and Regent and found Seabourn somewhat stuffy). We are considering Silversea's new Silver Spirit cruise in May from Southampton to Barcelona. In reading various blogs and Cruise Critic it seems as though there are a LOT of complaints about the food and dining room service on Silversea. We are real foodies and would be pretty unhappy with both of those situations. Any comments on this issue would be greatly appreciated! Silversea in in competition with Windstar, SeaDream and Cruise West in our decision making process. Thanks for all input!!

Seaborun stuffy???? SilverSeas bad food???? my oh my...a lot of us on this thread are extremely happy with both ships.

Silversea is closer to Seabourn (especially with the new ships) and RSSC, it is not so much like Seadream (more yachts than cruise ships), Windstar (semi-sail ship?) or Cruise West (which is regional, mostly around Japan?)

We have sailed on Crystal, Regent, and Silversea. In our opionion (and we are foodies!) the very best food is on Silversea...(without a doubt IF you are llooking for open seating.) If you like a reserved dining time,and eating with the same people every night at the same time, then Crystal will stack up favorably..:o

Yes, there are more SS loyalists here than SS-haters.

We cruise other lines occasionally and like most people here we travel on land too. But we keep coming back to SS, and part of the reason for that is the food. SS does seem to be genuinely committed to making improvements, including to food, and the ones that work tend to stick through constant training.

If you eat three (or more!) times a day in the same ship or hotel for a week or two, there will be occasional lapses. They happen on SS. However, when they do happen, they are fixed quickly and without fuss.

If you've previously cruised with Windstar, Seabourn and Regent, I doubt you will find SS noticeably worse, and it could be better.

Yes, there are more SS loyalists here than SS-haters.

 

We cruise other lines occasionally and like most people here we travel on land too. But we keep coming back to SS, and part of the reason for that is the food. SS does seem to be genuinely committed to making improvements, including to food, and the ones that work tend to stick through constant training.

 

If you eat three (or more!) times a day in the same ship or hotel for a week or two, there will be occasional lapses. They happen on SS. However, when they do happen, they are fixed quickly and without fuss.

 

If you've previously cruised with Windstar, Seabourn and Regent, I doubt you will find SS noticeably worse, and it could be better.

I should admit up front that we are SS loyalists. We did, however, take a cruise on Wind Star from Athens to Istanbul several years ago and were quite disappointed. After making allowances for the difference in cost between SS and WS, we still felt that the food and service on WS was extremely poor. We particularly didn't like the fact that it was impossible to get a table at breakfast or lunch without waiting a long time. Plus, on our cruise, the dining room didn't open for lunch until 12:30 which made it impossible to show up on time for a 1 pm short excursion (planned by WS). The most egregious mistake was when they watered my martini. This is unforgiveable. Having said all that, I'm sure there are many people who prefer WS to SS. We are not among them.

Food is a sacred cow for SS. While there are plenty of downward changes, food quaity ain't one.

It would be helpful if you could define why you found that Seabourn is stuffy. The reasson I say this is because we found the atmosphere on Silversea to be quite similar to Seabourn. In our case, we are pleased with both lines.

Food is always very subjective. Overall I would rate the food on Silversea to be similar to hat of Seabourn. In my humble opinion quite good. But if you did not care for the food on Seabourn I'm not sure if you would care for Silversea either.

Keith

The food on SS is inconsistent at times, spectacular at others. We have also sailed on the ships you mention and on our last WindStar the food was very disappointing. We sailed on Cruise West last fall and found the food to be barely acceptable. So, there you have my opinion. We are also loyal SS frequent floaters but I am not averse to complaining when things aren't done well or the food is subpar. Enjoy!

Food has never disappointed us on SS. If either of us considered something"off" or didn't care for it, we just gave it back and ordered something else. No fuss, no muss.

I am very pleased to hear such glowing reports on SS regarding the food. I, too, was surprised to see some grumbles by some of the Cruise Critic posters in this regard as it seems inconceivable that a line of this type would so popular without wonderful food and service!

The reason I described Seabourn "stuffy" is that although my husband and I are very outgoing people, we found that most folks on our particular cruise were in cliques and didn't mingle much with twosomes which we were. When we don't meet new people on a trip it is a disappointment as we find that is as much of the experience as the trip itself. The other cruises we took for whatever reason seemed to have a less tight group of passengers and were more readily open to meeting someone new. Naturally I understand that this could have been an aberration, and I would never assume SS to be the same experience.

I am very pleased to hear such glowing reports on SS regarding the food. I, too, was surprised to see some grumbles by some of the Cruise Critic posters in this regard as it seems inconceivable that a line of this type would so popular without wonderful food and service!

 

The reason I described Seabourn "stuffy" is that although my husband and I are very outgoing people, we found that most folks on our particular cruise were in cliques and didn't mingle much with twosomes which we were. When we don't meet new people on a trip it is a disappointment as we find that is as much of the experience as the trip itself. The other cruises we took for whatever reason seemed to have a less tight group of passengers and were more readily open to meeting someone new. Naturally I understand that this could have been an aberration, and I would never assume SS to be the same experience.

I've learned no two cruises are alike even on the same line. Honestly, I have met some wonderful passengers on Seabourn but as I say our experiences do vary by cruise. Hopefully, you will be pleased with Silversea should you decide to book a cruise with them.

Keith

Silversea is a similar quality and experience as Regent, though on the existing ships there are less dining choices than Regent Voyager/Mariner. Spirit will have more choices. We have found service better on Silversea than Regent and food quality to be similar. SS has some European influence, and they do their Italian dishes well, but they certainly deliver on many fronts.

We also are in the Houston area and are doing Barcelona to Lisbon in December. I did France/Spain/Italy/Monacco two years ago. I have many more thigs to see.

I posted menus from our July Whisper cruise at my blog at http://www.luxurycruiseandland.com/blogs/index.php/ssasia09dinner/?blog=10

and http://www.luxurycruiseandland.com/blogs/index.php/ssasia09lunch/?blog=10

Of all the cruises I have taken on SS the food is usually very good. I did have one disastrous cruise on the Shadow about three years ago where both the food and the service in the restaurant were abysmal. But I consider that an anomaly because the very next cruise on the Cloud was great. In general though I have found that the choices are less interesting and sophisticated than they were ten or twelve years ago. That could just be me though.

If you liked Wind Star I think you would love SeaDream. You will often see SeaDream and Wind Star ships in port with each other as both tend to stay in the sunniest locales where passengers can take full advantage of the onboard outdoor spaces. You will see much higher quality of service and cuisine on SeaDream than on Wind Star (plus SeaDream includes alcoholic beverages). Check out the SeaDream board for more info.

When dining on SS, not every single item was to my taste. That does not mean that it was bad in any way, just something I would not order again. Overall, we are quite happy with the food.

I am always kind and appreciative to the wait staff. They definitely remember it and go out of their way to please me after that. Everybody likes to be appreciated.:)

We (as a couple) on some nights request to dine alone, but most nights let the staff know that we will be happy to sit with others. This way we have met some very interesting people. We have also met a few "stick in the mud" types, but no big deal. On our last cruise we met a great couple with whom I am sure we will be life long friends. They have already come to our home to visit us and we have planned a trip to Mexico together.

So that is a great bonus, above and beyond the usual great time on SS!!

Give SS a try, I don't think you will be sorry.

I am very pleased to hear such glowing reports on SS regarding the food. I, too, was surprised to see some grumbles by some of the Cruise Critic posters in this regard as it seems inconceivable that a line of this type would so popular without wonderful food and service!

 

The reason I described Seabourn "stuffy" is that although my husband and I are very outgoing people, we found that most folks on our particular cruise were in cliques and didn't mingle much with twosomes which we were. When we don't meet new people on a trip it is a disappointment as we find that is as much of the experience as the trip itself. The other cruises we took for whatever reason seemed to have a less tight group of passengers and were more readily open to meeting someone new. Naturally I understand that this could have been an aberration, and I would never assume SS to be the same experience.

We have been on Windstar 8 times and Silversea three times. Like you, we also love to meet people when we travel. I think you will find that people on Silversea are NOT stuffy or "braggy " and that the food and service is quite good. (I found the service better than the food on our May Windsurf cruise and the people there also very nice, except a few Grand Prix "high Roller" types.)

We were just on the Silver Shadow in September as a couple and we made friends with many other couples and never ate alone at dinner. (our choice) Some nights we had 8 or so people.

I'm pretty sure you will love Silversea! We just booked another one - Hong Kong to Bangkok in October 2010.

Like you I have been on Windstar. I loved it until I travelled on Seabourn. If you found Seabourn stuffy, you will not like Silversea. You will probably enjoy SeaDream. While Seabourn is my personal preference, I have found that I am itinerary driven. They did not seem to offer the diversity that Silverseas has. The free air fare was also an inducement. While I would prefer Seabourn over Silversea, it most certainly is a pleasant experience. I have always found people I connect with and those who like to toot their accomplishments. Open seating gives you the option to make your own choices.

I have been on Seabourn and Regent and plan a SS trip soon, I am surprised to find you think Seabourn stuffy, as we found the majority of people to be throughly nice, we met some fantastic people. We are considerably younger than the average Seabourn passenger and found it to be extremely easy to mix and minlge with people of all ages!

I found the food on Regent to be of a far lower standard of that on Seabourn, as was the service,amenties in room and cruise in general.

From reading alot about SS and researching it with some depth, i would certainly expect its food to be up there with seabourns and better than Regents, I'm sure the service will be anyway! As with many things you get what you pay for, and at the time Regents fairs were far lower than SS or sBOURN and theres usually a reason for this.

How old is younger?

How old is younger?

Depends how many years you have seen! :-D

Younger, was at the time 27, for our first seabourn cruise,if that helps!!:D

If I was 27 I think I would be on a more "swinging" line.

We are much, much, much older and are always unhappy with the emptiness of the discos etc after 10:30PM on the luxury lines we have sailed on.

When we started sailing in the early 70's when in our 40's the crowd always looks "so" old!! Now we too look that way but still try to enjoy our voyages with as much verve and vigor as we can. You are only as old as you feel, not as you look. (:-D

This was a few years ago, as for the entertainment etc, well, we like the unrivalled luxury, excellent service and food, and distinct lack of idiots on the smaller lines, so if I miss a disco or two, ..... I'll live!!

I just wouldn't want to miss the luxury and the oppportunity to dress up!