First Time on Silversea - Long

[hamasgirl]

First, background on me.  My DH and I are in our late 60’s, retired and no children.  Our preferred way of traveling is cruising and we have been cruising regularly since 1995.  We left the large cruise lines and moved to luxury cruising in 2005.  Up to now we have limited our cruising to Regent and Seabourn.  We only book cruises on the latest-launched ships and prefer cruises longer than 14 days.

When I saw the itinerary for Hong Kong, China and Japan that Silversea was offering on their Silver Muse cruise ship, we decided to try Silversea.  We have just returned from this cruise and the itinerary was everything that we hoped it would be.  Silver Muse is a beautiful ship.  Here is our likes and dislikes from our experience.

Likes:  

·         Silversea does an excellent job on tours.  We always take ship-sponsored tours so this was great. Silversea’s mid-cruise land tour to Xi’an and the Terracotta Warriors was exceptional.

Their pizza is the best that we have experienced at sea as are the fresh-baked breads. 

·         Laundry service is also excellent.  It is delivered back to the suite within 30 hours of sending it out.  Hanging clothes are delivered in garment bags and folded clothes wrapped nicely.

·         Indochine is a restaurant that offered many dishes that were dairy free (see my note in the dislikes below) so we ate there the most. 

Hmmm…:

·         Dress code.  I know this is a subjective item but requiring men to wear jackets (no ties) on ‘informal’ nights is just nuts.  We saw men asked to leave the restaurant because they did not have jackets while their spouses stood awkwardly wondering what to do.  In fact, I saw one man’s solution to this dilemma…he came back wearing his outdoor leather jacket which seemed to meet the requirement.  And on formal nights, we watched men being given ties to put on at the door since they had jackets but no ties.  We are all adults at this point and this just struck me as silly.

·         A Butler in every suite.  We don’t really see the benefit to this.  Regent and Seabourn manage to provide the same services that we got from our Butler by assigning two stewards to every suite and wait staff to handle room service.

·         We could hear the sound of our neighbors talking, or coughing and sneezing from both adjacent cabins.  We could also hear their TVs when we turned ours off.  Since we were on back-to-back cruises, our neighbors changed but the sounds from both cabins did not so it is about sound-proofing, not noisy neighbors.

Dislikes:

·        There are 8 restaurants on board which sound wonderful until you look at the breakdown of these restaurants.  Two require a $60 per person charge to eat at them.  Not something that we planned on doing more than once or twice.  So now we are down to 6 restaurants to choose from.  Two of these restaurants are outside and on many of the windy/cold days we had on our cruise, they were either closed or too cold to use.  Of the 4 remaining restaurants, one served small plates that never looked appetizing to us.  So we relied on 3 restaurants for our 26 days on board.

·         All restaurants have standard menus that either did not change or only changed a dish or two over our 26 nights on board.   That got old really fast.

·         Food in general appeared to us to be prepared well in advance of the dinner hour and then warmed/garnished at the time of service.  Most times the food was delivered on a sizzling hot plate but the food itself was just warm when you ate it.  And most of the time, flavors were pretty ‘blah’.  It reminded us of the what food on the big main-stream cruise lines like Princess used to taste like.

·         I am very sensitive to dairy and on both Regent and Seabourn the chef has always been able to accommodate me by not adding cream or milk to the dish right before service.  That could not be done on Silversea even when I asked.  This told me that all food was already prepared prior to taking orders in the restaurant.  In fact, when I met with the Head Chef on my first day on the ship, he looked at me and told me that all ingredients are listed on the menus (which they are) so that should frame my choices.  Further, he told me that all of his soups use cream so I should stay away from them!

·         No effort (with one exception) is made to take advantage of the fresh food available in the areas that we were traveling.  The amount and type of seafood and other local food products in Japan in particular are amazing but we were still offered Cod and salmon and similar fish from other parts of the world.  The one exception - two nights on our way to Tokyo - Silversea brought on two chefs from Tokyo and Wagyu beef which was offered in Indochine for dinner.  Needless to say that restaurant was packed for those nights which told me that other passengers felt the same way that we felt.

·         Crew in general had difficulty with English and also seemed to be unable to modify what they were trained to do when the situation warranted it.  There were some exceptions to that among the crew and we appreciated them and told them so but in general anything that differed from the norm seemed to throw them for a loop.

Last and most importantly, my DH has an iron stomach and likes to eat all kinds of fish and pickled stuff and odd meats that I can’t even look at.  Well, one day early in our cruise we had a light lunch in the buffet.  DH made a green salad with some tuna fish salad and salad dressing.  Within an hour of returning to our suite, he got very ill.  Within 2 hours he was so ill that I called the doctor who came up to our suite within 20 minutes.  By then my DH was on the bed and totally wiped out.  The doctor did a thorough exam and determined that it was ‘indigestion’ as she termed it and asked us to stay in our room until the next morning.  So, the doctor and her nurse did a ‘suite call’, left us medication to treat the symptoms should they continue, and we were never charged a dime for any of it.  Perhaps unfairly it told me that the doctor knew there was a problem with the food that he had eaten.  In fact, she recommended that it we were planning on eating sushi going forward she recommended that we get it ashore in Japan.  Note…Silversea makes sushi and sashimi available daily in the buffet and in their restaurant Kaiseki…so I thought that her recommendation was also a broad hint.

Conclusion:  We believe that Seabourn and Regent offer a product that is much better than Silversea.  The food is a big deciding factor for us and Silversea is very poor in that category.  Also crew competence in general is higher on both Seabourn and Regent which also influences your experience on the ship.  Other small things…lack of sound proofing in suites, TVs in suites that are difficult to see in daylight or when the suite’s lights are on, bartenders that served Rose’s Lime Juice that was tea-colored in our Vodka Gimlets even after we told them that it was spoiled, on-demand movie selections that never changed over the 26 days we cruised, and an experience where the entire ship was told to report to Deck 9 for Japanese immigration all at the same time…which resulted in DH and I standing in the halls on Deck 9 for 1.75 hours and the Captain telling us that it wasn’t his fault when many complained all contribute to our decision that Silversea is not the cruise line for us.

[Unibok]

Thank you for taking the time to write out all of this, hamasgirl. Two issues you raise are particularly distressing to me: the lack of soundproofing between rooms (I thought they had fixed that!!!!), and the poor quality of the food. Your comments on the sushi are especially distressing, as we are very much looking forward to enjoying lunch at Kaisecki when we sail the Muse in a few weeks.

 

On my recent Shadow voyage, I also noticed the prevalence of cream-based soups. That said, when I asked, there were often some alternatives, such as the always-available beef consommé. I am surprised they didn't offer that to you. Similarly, when we were required to meet face-to-face with Chinese immigration in Hong Kong, Silversea managed the process by sending us in smaller groups. The process went quickly, and I don't think anyone was in line for more than 15 minutes, with the entire operation taking about 90 minutes total. I'm surprised and disappointed to hear that the Muse crew didn't handle your Japanese immigration experience in a similar way. Processing 600 people at once sounds like a nightmare, and not at all Silversea's style. UGH.

 

We have a bunch of CCers boarding the Muse in Tokyo on May 12th. I'm hopeful some of them can check back with us and letting know what is going on.

 

[Observer]

Two quick reactions:

 

Your reactions regarding food are disappointing.  Given your experience on luxury lines, you must have known that special orders can be made 24 hours in advance.   If the ingredients are on the ship, the requested dish will be prepared.  You should not have been disappointed by what you found to be the limited appealing selections on the menus.  You can create your own menu.  I have never had a request refused.

 

Second, re dress code:  I would prefer a more casual dress code, but I know others relish the mix of casual, informal, and formal.  Silversea expectations are clear, and guests should know well in advance the implications of each evening's dress.  I can understand opting not to sail on Silversea because of the dress code, but I do think it is reasonable to expect people will follow the announced dress code for that day.  If one doesn't want to wear a necktie on formal night one can go to Grill (always casual) or La Terrazza (always informal).  If one doesn't want to wear a jacket on informal nights, there is the Grill and Spaccanapoli.  And there is always the option of dining in one's suite in one's dressing gown. 🙂

Edited May 4, 2019 by Observer

[Stumblefoot]

hamasgirl,

 

I to would like to thank you for sharing your POV of your SS Muse voyages with us.  As someone who has sailed on the Muse in Oct/Nov ‘17 and Jun ‘18, I am greatly concerned by many of the elements you describe, especially the dining situation, because they are so opposite to our experience and you are obviously well versed in luxury cruising.  SS has always been willing to adjust dishes to our liking, create dishes we requested even going as far as creating entire special meals requested 24-hours in advance.  So, I can thoroughly imagine how disappointed you must have been.  Such a shame really.  If I may ask, who was the executive chef you met with?

 

Lastly, you are right about passenger opinions about dress code on SS; they are, and will always be, subjective.  The thing I’ll never understand is why people complain about it, even characterizing the requirements as nuts, or just plain silly since we’re all adults.  If the dress code was sprung upon an unsuspecting cruising public, I would understand such perspectives.  But, since it is a published policy that has been in place since the line’s inception, and is reiterated daily while onboard, I find such complaints disrespectful and belittling to the vast majority of passengers who are not only willing to abide by such a policy, but may just enjoy it as well.  Alas, this is what makes a market and allows for competitors with similar value propositions to thrive due to meeting differing customer desires and wants.

 

In closing, thank you again for sharing you point-of-view.  I hope my friends who are on the voyage from Tokyo to Alaska can chime in here and share their opinions on the food, because what you experienced is just not acceptable to anyone, nor should it be.

[MalbecWine]

We stopped sailing Silversea when other luxury lines stopped the three dress code policy and on those other luxury lines that used to be very formal...Crystal to name one with Black Tie Optional nights along with Regent and Seabourn.  A gentleman being refused because he did not have a jacket is archaic IMHO.  As long as he was clean and well dressed.  The dress code component keeps many of us away.  

 

Silversea I guess is still stuck in the mud and way behind other luxury lines.  What century are we in?  I guess the fashion police are still alive and well at Silversea which never ranks in the top of luxury lines.  We will spend our $$$$$ on other luxury lines that are more balanced on dress code.

[Tothesunset]

36 minutes ago, MalbecWine said:

We stopped sailing Silversea when other luxury lines stopped the three dress code policy and on those other luxury lines that used to be very formal...Crystal to name one with Black Tie Optional nights along with Regent and Seabourn.  A gentleman being refused because he did not have a jacket is archaic IMHO.  As long as he was clean and well dressed.  The dress code component keeps many of us away.  

 

Silversea I guess is still stuck in the mud and way behind other luxury lines.  What century are we in?  I guess the fashion police are still alive and well at Silversea which never ranks in the top of luxury lines.  We will spend our $$$$$ on other luxury lines that are more balanced on dress code.

And were SS to abandon the dress code it would alienate its customers who feel that the current dress code suits them. 

 

Far from being behind the other lines in this matter, those who favour a respectable dress code policy realise that SS refuses to be dragged down to the lowest common denominator. 

 

Edited May 4, 2019 by Tothesunset

[Observer]

42 minutes ago, MalbecWine said:

We stopped sailing Silversea when other luxury lines stopped the three dress code policy and on those other luxury lines that used to be very formal...Crystal to name one with Black Tie Optional nights along with Regent and Seabourn.  A gentleman being refused because he did not have a jacket is archaic IMHO.  As long as he was clean and well dressed.  The dress code component keeps many of us away.  

 

 

Several months ago, I witnessed men without jackets being turned away from Waterside on Crystal on BTO nights.  The published dress code says that jackets (with or without necktie) are required.  People are referred to other venues where jackets are not required.

 

As I have said, I would greatly prefer a less formal dress regimen on Silversea, but there are IMHO many offsetting virtues of SS to keep me faithful to the line.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Observer

[MalbecWine]

Lowest common denominator?  Crystal, Regent and Seabourn are hardly the common denominator.  From what we have seen over fifty cruises on Crystal and other lines is stylish dressers.  Please don’t walk through Saks, Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom’s as you will see in your words very expensive common denominator clothes.  Fashion changes.  I have not seen a gown department in years or Tux stores.  Dress as formal as you wish. Dress nice and respectfully no jeans.  But the requirements for jackets is obsolete even in our Michelin Star restaurants in Palm Beach.

[TLCOhio]

7 hours ago, hamasgirl said:

We left the large cruise lines and moved to luxury cruising in 2005.  Up to now we have limited our cruising to Regent and Seabourn.  We only book cruises on the latest-launched ships and prefer cruises longer than 14 days.   When I saw the itinerary for Hong Kong, China and Japan that Silversea was offering on their Silver Muse cruise ship, we decided to try Silversea.  We have just returned from this cruise and the itinerary was everything that we hoped it would be.  Silver Muse is a beautiful ship.  Here is our likes and dislikes from our experience.

   Indochine is a restaurant that offered many dishes that were dairy free (see my note in the dislikes below) so we ate there the most. 

·         Dress code.  I know this is a subjective item but requiring men to wear jackets (no ties) on ‘informal’ nights is just nuts.  We saw men asked to leave the restaurant because they did not have jackets while their spouses stood awkwardly wondering what to do. 

 

Appreciate this interesting review/summary, plus the various comments and follow-ups.  We are getting ready for our first sailing on the Silver Muse in late July from Vancouver up to Alaska.  This will be our sixth sailing with Silversea.  We have also done sailings with Seabourn, Crystal, Oceania, etc., etc.  We are not fans of the big dress code requirements, but on this Alaska cruise, the "formal night" is only "optional" and we have La Terrazza booked for that only one night with such a category.  Having and wearing a dark blue sport coat on certain evenings is no problem for me. Especially with the cooler Alaska weather. We will test for the food quality compared to our very happy past experiences, plus to check on the cabin sound questions.  I will do a live/blog and will report back as to our experiences, pro/con factors we observe, etc.  

 

Good tips from Observer as to special orders with advanced notice, etc. We don't require a dairy-free diet.  Yes, a 26-day cruise does make things a little more challenging for menu variety.  Our seven-day cruise to Alaska should be make it easy to avoid any menu variety issues.  Glad to see the comments from the OP as to "Silver Muse is a beautiful ship".  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.!  Live/blog from early 2018, first adventure through SE Asia, stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before exploring all over Vietnam and Cambodia, seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Now at 46,321 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

[MalbecWine]

Sports jackets are the only requirement on BTO no tie required on Crystal or Regent. Plus Crystal has other very good casual venues.  We dress very well thank you very much.

Edited May 4, 2019 by MalbecWine

[Silver Spectre]

We had a discussion about this thread over dinner and would like to know why you chose your avatar? If it’s ironic then all well and good, if not, why are you trying to be provocative to so many SS cruisers?

 

And by the way, the SS dress code is what it is, well publicised, and should ALWAYS be enforced. There are plenty of other cruise lines to try if you would like to be more casual.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Silver Spectre

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

And were SS to abandon the dress code it would alienate its customers who feel that the current dress code suits them. 

 

Far from being behind the other lines in this matter, those who favour a respectable dress code policy realise that SS refuses to be dragged down to the lowest common denominator. 

Very well stated TTS.  You really hit the nail on the head regarding the lowest common denominator.

 

I get such a kick out out of people like MalbecWine, who clearly don’t like SS, yet have the gall to tell SS passengers we are basically stuck in the mud and archaic for sailing with the line that has a dress code different from what they enjoy.  I don’t fault anybody who prefers not to sail SS because they don’t like the dress code.  So, what is it about their personality that they feel compelled to so dramatically tell those of us who do enjoy the code the error in our ways?  

 

It it would be as if I were to state that Malbec wine, in my opinion, is just rank and awful and can’t hold a candle to great wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, or any other wide variety of red grapes.  But, I would never dream of expressing such an opinion in a forum of people who absolutely enjoy Malbec, even though I do not.  Such behavior is not only boorish, but down right rude.

[MalbecWine]

45 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Very well stated TTS.  You really hit the nail on the head regarding the lowest common denominator.

 

I get such a kick out out of people like MalbecWine, who clearly don’t like SS, yet have the gall to tell SS passengers we are basically stuck in the mud and archaic for sailing with the line that has a dress code different from what they enjoy.  I don’t fault anybody who prefers not to sail SS because they don’t like the dress code.  So, what is it about their personality that they feel compelled to so dramatically tell those of us who do enjoy the code the error in our ways?  

 

It it would be as if I were to state that Malbec wine, in my opinion, is just rank and awful and can’t hold a candle to great wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, or any other wide variety of red grapes.  But, I would never dream of expressing such an opinion in a forum of people who absolutely enjoy Malbec, even though I do not.  Such behavior is not only boorish, but down right rude.

You absolutely are entitled to your opinion.  We love all kinds of wines and have a wine cellar with various wines from around the world.  So, you will also meet people in the dress code arena that do not suit your taste but why begrudge them if they look nice and may be sans a simple tie.  I hear now SS has no MDR and one painstakingly one has to make reservations at different specialty restaurants no open dining unless you go to the casual venues.  At least we have choices in the other luxury lines.  To each their own.  Our opinions are just ours.

 

i will bail out on this subject as it has been discussed ad-nauseam on many boards.

l

[Observer]

1 hour ago, MalbecWine said:

  I hear now SS has no MDR and one painstakingly one has to make reservations at different specialty restaurants no open dining unless you go to the casual venues.

 

This is very misleading.

 

Shadow, Whisper, Wind, the expedition ships, etc., have MDRs.

 

Muse and Spirit (and soon Moon) have no MDR.  But the main/larger restaurants on Deck 4 -- Atlantide and Indochine -- are open seating.  It was briefly the case that reservations were required for these venues, but this policy was reversed in response to guest reactions.

[MrMojoRisin]

21 hours ago, hamasgirl said:

First, background on me.  My DH and I are in our late 60’s, retired and no children.  Our preferred way of traveling is cruising and we have been cruising regularly since 1995.  We left the large cruise lines and moved to luxury cruising in 2005.  Up to now we have limited our cruising to Regent and Seabourn.  We only book cruises on the latest-launched ships and prefer cruises longer than 14 days.

 

When I saw the itinerary for Hong Kong, China and Japan that Silversea was offering on their Silver Muse cruise ship, we decided to try Silversea.  We have just returned from this cruise and the itinerary was everything that we hoped it would be.  Silver Muse is a beautiful ship.  Here is our likes and dislikes from our experience.

 

Likes:  

·         Silversea does an excellent job on tours.  We always take ship-sponsored tours so this was great. Silversea’s mid-cruise land tour to Xi’an and the Terracotta Warriors was exceptional.

 

Their pizza is the best that we have experienced at sea as are the fresh-baked breads. 

·         Laundry service is also excellent.  It is delivered back to the suite within 30 hours of sending it out.  Hanging clothes are delivered in garment bags and folded clothes wrapped nicely.

 

·         Indochine is a restaurant that offered many dishes that were dairy free (see my note in the dislikes below) so we ate there the most. 

 

Hmmm…:

 

·         Dress code.  I know this is a subjective item but requiring men to wear jackets (no ties) on ‘informal’ nights is just nuts.  We saw men asked to leave the restaurant because they did not have jackets while their spouses stood awkwardly wondering what to do.  In fact, I saw one man’s solution to this dilemma…he came back wearing his outdoor leather jacket which seemed to meet the requirement.  And on formal nights, we watched men being given ties to put on at the door since they had jackets but no ties.  We are all adults at this point and this just struck me as silly.

 

·         A Butler in every suite.  We don’t really see the benefit to this.  Regent and Seabourn manage to provide the same services that we got from our Butler by assigning two stewards to every suite and wait staff to handle room service.

 

·         We could hear the sound of our neighbors talking, or coughing and sneezing from both adjacent cabins.  We could also hear their TVs when we turned ours off.  Since we were on back-to-back cruises, our neighbors changed but the sounds from both cabins did not so it is about sound-proofing, not noisy neighbors.

 

Dislikes:

 

·        There are 8 restaurants on board which sound wonderful until you look at the breakdown of these restaurants.  Two require a $60 per person charge to eat at them.  Not something that we planned on doing more than once or twice.  So now we are down to 6 restaurants to choose from.  Two of these restaurants are outside and on many of the windy/cold days we had on our cruise, they were either closed or too cold to use.  Of the 4 remaining restaurants, one served small plates that never looked appetizing to us.  So we relied on 3 restaurants for our 26 days on board.

 

·         All restaurants have standard menus that either did not change or only changed a dish or two over our 26 nights on board.   That got old really fast.

 

·         Food in general appeared to us to be prepared well in advance of the dinner hour and then warmed/garnished at the time of service.  Most times the food was delivered on a sizzling hot plate but the food itself was just warm when you ate it.  And most of the time, flavors were pretty ‘blah’.  It reminded us of the what food on the big main-stream cruise lines like Princess used to taste like.

 

·         I am very sensitive to dairy and on both Regent and Seabourn the chef has always been able to accommodate me by not adding cream or milk to the dish right before service.  That could not be done on Silversea even when I asked.  This told me that all food was already prepared prior to taking orders in the restaurant.  In fact, when I met with the Head Chef on my first day on the ship, he looked at me and told me that all ingredients are listed on the menus (which they are) so that should frame my choices.  Further, he told me that all of his soups use cream so I should stay away from them!

 

·         No effort (with one exception) is made to take advantage of the fresh food available in the areas that we were traveling.  The amount and type of seafood and other local food products in Japan in particular are amazing but we were still offered Cod and salmon and similar fish from other parts of the world.  The one exception - two nights on our way to Tokyo - Silversea brought on two chefs from Tokyo and Wagyu beef which was offered in Indochine for dinner.  Needless to say that restaurant was packed for those nights which told me that other passengers felt the same way that we felt.

 

·         Crew in general had difficulty with English and also seemed to be unable to modify what they were trained to do when the situation warranted it.  There were some exceptions to that among the crew and we appreciated them and told them so but in general anything that differed from the norm seemed to throw them for a loop.

 

Last and most importantly, my DH has an iron stomach and likes to eat all kinds of fish and pickled stuff and odd meats that I can’t even look at.  Well, one day early in our cruise we had a light lunch in the buffet.  DH made a green salad with some tuna fish salad and salad dressing.  Within an hour of returning to our suite, he got very ill.  Within 2 hours he was so ill that I called the doctor who came up to our suite within 20 minutes.  By then my DH was on the bed and totally wiped out.  The doctor did a thorough exam and determined that it was ‘indigestion’ as she termed it and asked us to stay in our room until the next morning.  So, the doctor and her nurse did a ‘suite call’, left us medication to treat the symptoms should they continue, and we were never charged a dime for any of it.  Perhaps unfairly it told me that the doctor knew there was a problem with the food that he had eaten.  In fact, she recommended that it we were planning on eating sushi going forward she recommended that we get it ashore in Japan.  Note…Silversea makes sushi and sashimi available daily in the buffet and in their restaurant Kaiseki…so I thought that her recommendation was also a broad hint.

 

Conclusion:  We believe that Seabourn and Regent offer a product that is much better than Silversea.  The food is a big deciding factor for us and Silversea is very poor in that category.  Also crew competence in general is higher on both Seabourn and Regent which also influences your experience on the ship.  Other small things…lack of sound proofing in suites, TVs in suites that are difficult to see in daylight or when the suite’s lights are on, bartenders that served Rose’s Lime Juice that was tea-colored in our Vodka Gimlets even after we told them that it was spoiled, on-demand movie selections that never changed over the 26 days we cruised, and an experience where the entire ship was told to report to Deck 9 for Japanese immigration all at the same time…which resulted in DH and I standing in the halls on Deck 9 for 1.75 hours and the Captain telling us that it wasn’t his fault when many complained all contribute to our decision that Silversea is not the cruise line for us.

 

We were on the round Japan cruise from 16th April which may well have coincided with the last leg of your trip. I repect your observations but I have a different opinion on many of the points you raise.

Firstly, dress code. The SS code is well publicised and aired frequently in these pages. It is a Marmite thing (love it or hate it) but nobody should travel with SS and be surprised by it. It is adhered to and it should be enforced.

I agree laundry service is good but to clarify; laundry left out before 9am with be delivered and hung up by 6pm the same day - an excellent turnaround.

Menus do not change much although there are slight variations. For a 14 day cruise we found enough variety to keep us well satisfied, although I can see on a longer cruise it would get repetitious. I assume the restaurant with "small plates" was Silver Note. The important thing here is that you can order whatever you want - two plates, three plates, mix and match etc was never any problem. We found any request was cheerfully catered for. As an aside, Silver Note is a great concept and we enjoyed dining there or visiting later in the evening just to have a drink and listen to the excellent duo.

I really cannot agree about the point that food was prepared in advance. I found no evidence of that. Everything seemed freshly prepared and cooked to our liking and any variations or special requests evidenced this. How could a steak be delivered absolutely medium rare (as they always were as requested) if they had been prepared in advance? We had a long chat with the chef in Indo Chine who told how everything was made to order. We thought the food was excellent throughout. The flavours were good and there was no problem with sushi and sashimi. And I have never had freshly carved roast goose at the lunch buffet on any other cruise! I would, however, have like to see the hand sanitisers made more prominent and there use enforced.

The staff were excellent and service superb and responsive. No one had any difficulty in understanding English, properly spoken. They certainly had no difficulty in understanding us or responding perfectly to any request made.

 

Having said that, we did encounter one problem. One evening we went into Atlantide and asked for a table for five. We were asked to wait in the bar and then forgotten. The upside was that I got to meet the incredible Marilyn, tending the Atlantide bar. While we were waiting, she gave me a personal wine tasting and recommendations and when it became clear we had been forgotten she made sure that we were seated immediately.

 

That was the only blip in an excellent cruise.

 

I should also add that Silver Muse is a beautiful ship - not glitzy but elegantly understated.

[Daveywavey70]

Nicely put Stumbles. 

Personally I Don't get much opportunity to get dressed up in my day to day life and love the opportunity of doing so on holiday. I'd  really miss it if the formal night disappeared. Where I think it gets a bit more confusing is between casual and informal. I don't really see any benefit from having those two further dress codes and I think this is where a lot of peoples frustration stems from. If SS just stuck to either formal or whatever you want to call it, informal, smart casual, whatever, then it would be a lot less contentious an issue.

[Silver Spectre]

32 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Nicely put Stumbles. 

Personally I Don't get much opportunity to get dressed up in my day to day life and love the opportunity of doing so on holiday. I'd  really miss it if the formal night disappeared. Where I think it gets a bit more confusing is between casual and informal. I don't really see any benefit from having those two further dress codes and I think this is where a lot of peoples frustration stems from. If SS just stuck to either formal or whatever you want to call it, informal, smart casual, whatever, then it would be a lot less contentious an issue.

Slightly different opinion DW70, we have always found casual and informal to be distinct and definitely not confusing. Of course that may not apply to our cousins who have been sold on country casual.

Agree with both you and Stumblefoot that Formal should remain on SS for as long as we can continue to cruise.

[WQGuy]

I would just add that the options for dining casual at the Grill or enjoying a pizza outside become problematic when the wind across the deck is at 15 knots, and the Staff are fighting to keep the pool side lounge chair mattresses from flying off.  Food delivered under those circumstances rapidly becomes "stone cold". 

 

Plus the Silver Muse staff seems to struggle to meet the service demand when tours return to the ship after 2 p.m. and all other dining options have closed.   On a "At sea day", during the 12:30 p.m. time frame,  I had a terrific lunch at the Grill, the service was fast, the food was delivered hot, and my requested beer was delivered with the food.    On a day in port, where there were a number of shore tours arriving back in the 1:45 to 2: 45 p.m. time frame the grill was filled.  The exact same food order as I had the day before took almost 50 minutes to arrive, and the plate was missing some to the items such as the coleslaw and the onion rings.   I literally sat at a table closest to the food pass and watched as food orders would stack up in the pass waiting for pickup.  I felt bad for one Waiter who took a plate of French fries from the pass, holding the ticket, and literally walked  all around the pool deck, 2x trying to locate the correct table.    Finally after some discussion with others reviewing the ticket, the correct table was located, just feet away from the pass.  I am guessing that the food was no longer warm by that time. 

 

We were in one port overnight, so we had a very long shore tour that had started early  and arrived back after 9 p.m.  We decided on a room service order since it was misty rain outside, and we were exhausted.  A food order which included a burger from the grill menu, was promised for delivery within 20 to 30 minutes.  45 minutes later our Butler called to advise us that the Grill was very busy, ( a number of long tours had come back on-board)  and it would be another 15 to 20 minutes before our order would be ready.  "Would that be okay?"   At this time were approaching 10 p.m. so our options were to cancel the order and go hungry, go out into the rain and get pizza, or agree and eat a very late meal.  We had a very late meal.

 

I agree it is a a beautiful ship, offers excellent shore tours, has very nice house wine selections, and when not busy the food service can be good. When it is a full court press, …….. hit or miss.

[hamasgirl]

Thanks all for your responses to my post.  I tried to explain why Silversea turns out not to be a consideration for us going forward.  Aren't we lucky that there are so many good choices in the cruise business for folks with different like/needs to be met.

 

Just a couple of comments.  Yes...I did read the dress code for Silversea and we did dress as required.  I just think that that whole business is silly but as I have been reminded...not everybody agrees.

 

Yes I do know that I can request any food that I want given the proper notice and that I can make up my own menu.  Since I do that everyday that I am not on vacation I really don't want to have to do that when I am on vacation!

 

Yes there were some soups that did not have cream in them but the Head Chef did not tell me that on my first day on board.  I too discovered the Beef Consommé on the All Day Dining menu and Indochine had some lovely soups that I enjoyed.  Again the chef did not tell me that.

 

I don't remember the name of the chef but he is from the Netherlands.

 

Finally I made the observation that the food tasted like it was pre-prepared ahead of service in that it was routinely warm rather than hot and the few requests that I did make for cream to be left off of a prepared dish was always met with a 'no'.  After being told that a number of times during the first week of our cruise I just stopped asking.  Maybe I should have tried harder or longer.  Again, my experience with both Seabourn and Regent is that most of the time (not always to be fair) a dish could be provided to me without the cream/milk included.  Often the server would joke that they gave my cream/milk to my DH who often orders the same dish 'with the cream".

 

Thanks to all for reading my long post and for responding!

[MalbecWine]

We are members of a very exclusive country club in Palm Beach for twenty years. The club is gorgeous and well known.  We paid our initiation fees and had to be interviewed plus plus had to have two recommendations by two members.

 

Dress code at the time time was jacket and tie after six except for the locker room you must be dressed in any public area.  That is not fun when you are coming off the 18th hole at 5PM.  

 

After ten yers and many of the old guard passing on the membership decided to slightly relax the dress code on requiring a jacket and slacks.  The club was losing members and even the adult children who were grandfathered into their parents initiation fees had no interest because of the very strict dress code hence the tie was eliminated even the charity events became more fun having a Diamonds & Jeans ball for the American Cancer society and a Rio like Carnival for charity and many other events with Black Tie no longer required.

 

The future of dress codes will ultimately depend on future luxury guests on luxury lines.  There are many wealthy and extremely wealthy younger people who will have no interest in joining fancy dressy clubs or sailing on strict ships that are too formal.  

 

Many high paid paid professionals want to relax and the last thing they want to do is drag a Tuxedo or Suit with them.  Times will change whether we like it or not.

Edited May 5, 2019 by MalbecWine

[Observer]

13 minutes ago, hamasgirl said:

Finally I made the observation that the food tasted like it was pre-prepared ahead of service in that it was routinely warm rather than hot and the few requests that I did make for cream to be left off of a prepared dish was always met with a 'no'.  After being told that a number of times during the first week of our cruise I just stopped asking.  Maybe I should have tried harder or longer. 

 

I am very sorry you had this experience.  One so rarely hears "no" on a Silversea cruise.

 

Obviously, cream is integral to some dishes (e.g., the cream soups), but surely you understand this.  A request for Minestrone or vegetable soup could be accommodated.  One can also place a "Standing Order" with the MD for some dishes so that they can be available without advance notice.   For example, I do this with a preferred but simple salad and a pasta dish.

 

Finally, I wish you had escalated your concerns.  If you were disappointed by the "no's" you could have spoken with:

• The maitre d'
• The restaurant manager
• The F&B manager
• The Guest Relations Manager
• The Hotel Director.

 You would have either gained satisfaction *or* a reasonable explanation as to why satisfaction was not possible.

 

BTW:  Was your discussion with the Dutch Executive Chef a scheduled sit down meeting where he was taking notes or a casual conversation on deck.  I have witnessed several such sit-downs with people who have important dietary concerns.

[cece50]

 

I just read the dress code (we sail The Muse in Dec).....first time on SS and I think I understand this jacket thing....it does differ from Seabourn which we have sailed.  There are 3 categories:  casual, informal &  formal.   Casual equals no jacket, informal equals jacket no tie, formal equals jacket or suit with tie.  (We do not prefer tuxedos or gowns & will not be packing them).   When out & about after dinner on formal night even if you had a causal dinner in your suite or on deck, you are required to wear a jacket no tie in public areas.  Like I said....I think I get it.  You definitely need bigger luggage on SS😜.  I think dress codes in the future will follow the demographics.  Until then..... a dress & suit.....we will pack for our first SS....then make a decision if this line will get our future bookings which will be based on many things. 

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by cece50

[brimary]

17 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

And were SS to abandon the dress code it would alienate its customers who feel that the current dress code suits them. 

 

Far from being behind the other lines in this matter, those who favour a respectable dress code policy realise that SS refuses to be dragged down to the lowest common denominator. 

 

 

[brimary]

Well said TTS.The dress code is clearly stated.If you don’t like it find another line.

We have appreciated the dress code policy for over 20 years.Long May it continue to be enforced.

[MBP&O2/O]

FWIW ...when I moved to ‘luxury cruising’ I did my research and from the start it was clear that many many people felt that SS had a dress code that was rigid / out of date / contentious.

The fact that the dress code was, it appeared, reasonably strictly enforced, was one of the main reasons that I chose SS.

Perhaps working in a uniformed service embeds this discipline? Who knows? Who cares? 

The only part of the dress code that I do not adhere to is that of wearing a jacket without a tie. Being an old fashioned stick in the mud I always wear a tie with a jacket.