Bye Bye Silversea Cruises

[markham]

Oceania? Whazzat? Paris I know and some other places, too.

So I am reading there’s Paris and then Oceania? 
Pulleezz!
What does that even mean? And tell me, why would anyone take such an assertion seriously? If so, why would they? 
After all, anecdotal talk is just that. Talk.

But then… we live in strange times, and I would prefer a measure of validation - ya know, over time and a broad sampling kinda survey - well before I compare Oceania to any luxury line such as the Seabourn/Regent/Silversea sort of brand re croissants, pastries. Or for anything else.

Ok?

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Silver Spectre]

6 hours ago, Riverroad said:

Try Oceania. Best croissants outside of Paris. In fact, all breakfast pastries are outstanding.

Why would you want to go cruising on ships that were built for Renaissance and the Pacific in the 90’s. Too big and way too old. Anyway this is an SS board, so why plug Oceania.

[LAexNY]

47 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

Why would you want to go cruising on ships that were built for Renaissance and the Pacific in the 90’s. Too big and way too old. Anyway this is an SS board, so why plug Oceania.

No one is plugging Oceania.  The question asked was does any cruise line have high quality breakfast pastries.  And by the way, two of Oceania’s ships were built in 2010 and 2011.

[scottjeanne]

I am with the original poster-I will only eat real maple syrup, not “maple flavored” goop.  It sounds petty but there really is no comparison.  If they don’t have it I simply skip pancakes and French toast.

[worldtraveller99]

I am very surprised that SS doesn't provide real maple syrup, unless you ask for it? I certainly shall! Did you get it ok when you did?

[labrasett]

 

Well this website is called cruise CRITIC so I suppose we should expect criticism to appear but frankly if you dont like SS dont travel with them period.   There are tens of thousands of repeat customers so it cant be all bad.

[MBP&O2/O]

Our last cruise with SS was a few months and I was decidedly unimpressed with the catering.

The two Asian venues never changed the menu.

La Dame I feel is vastly overrated and not worth the extra expense. The food was better in Atlantide.

The marketing spiel for the above I found to be overhyped.

I was not fond of the Arts Cafe .... both in terms of ambience and offerings.

Previous SS cruises have been on the smaller ships with different arrangements so perhaps I was overly  optimistic about the larger ones.

Purely personal opinions ... 

As an aside I found UK corporate a disaster and I now don't trust them one jot!

As commented, if you don't like it go elsewhere... so reluctantly I have. 

 

[Mr Luxury]

I had a wonderful cruise on Silver Moon last August.

Not much to fault,food good,Atlantide was the best dining venue by far.

SALT bar was a must every evening with Carlos mixing the drinks.

I'm back on Seabourn soon and I'm sure that the Encore will be performing well.

[Lois R]

Hi folks, looks like this is..........some enjoy the food on Silversea and some don't.  I was on the Dawn but in my case,  I did not have an appetite much of the time.  As for who likes what venue?  Personally, I love the Arts Cafe.   Maybe on the Dawn there are more choices? I found plenty of variety of breakfast and lunch choices and I love the ambiance.  It was a place I could sit and have tea and rest my leg for an extended amount of time.......the staff was always accommodating. 

 

There are cruise lines out there for all of us..........lots of choices! 

 

 

[saminina]

3 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

I am very surprised that SS doesn't provide real maple syrup, unless you ask for it? I certainly shall! Did you get it ok when you did?

It's best to have your butler provide it.  Currently  Maple Joe brand in a tiny container.  Easy enough to carry.  I tried it with Swedish pancakes that were so under cooked nothing was swallowed.  Over/under cooked seems to be theme of current cruise.  Oh well!

 

Asking for the real thing in restaurants is a waste of words.   Also, I bring my own butter on board.

[worldtraveller99]

Well this is our very first ocean cruise, so I sincerely trust that we will like the food! I am not fussy - a nice piece of meat & 2 veg does it for me! Though I do like good gelato?

 

[Mr Luxury]

Just now, saminina said:

You are hardly the first to do that.

 

Yes, Moon experience was great.   You're in for a surprise on Encore.

Bozi the Hotel Director will be joining the Encore 31st July so I know that everything will be fine for when I get on in August.😉

[Accessor]

I agreed with the OP. His review is accurate. We just spent 25 days on the Spirit May/June 22'. Steaks in restaurants cut so thin they couldn't serve us at proper medium rare temp. This is our 3rd SS cruise, we have over 50 days on board, and we will not return until things are fixed. We have also done Oceania, Regent, and Seabourn but all pre-covid.

 

We meet with executive chef and F&B manager. I honestly feel the problem is multifaceted

1. Poorly trained staff in kitchen that doesn't know how to cook to temperature
2. Low quality cuts of meat cut entirely too thin (exe chef blamed ppl wanting smaller portions)
3. Lack of any seasonings on nearly everything (is this b/c everyone is on low sodium diet)?
4. Costs control. F&B manager said they don't have a budget...LOL. They did all they could to stretch things as thin as possible
5. Big lack of variety on lunch buffet. Only around 6 new dishes (hot) a day, mostly starches (one fish, one meat). Dried out meats carved cold. Fish cut up into fork sized bites (what are we toddlers now)?
6. Dinners were hit or miss. More misses, a few hits, but quality, taste, and presentation is mainstream levels now.
7. too much blame on supply chain problems, logistics, covid, etc.
8. Menu is tired, uninspiring, and lacked any WOW factor.

 

We just did Celebrity Edge Oct 2021 and the food quality and taste were superior. Sure, their buffet was just as bad as SS, but dinners were well above SS especially specialty dining.

 

Maybe someone at SS will start paying attention? We were told from a company insider that on our 15 day cruise leg had the most food related complaints of any cruise they have seen before, so bad they flew in the corporate executive chef to see what was going on. On our next 9 days, things did improve some, but they have a long way to go. 

 

Yes, we had a great time, and made the most of the our time onboard. But if you want an above average foodie experience SS isn't going to excite the taste buds...too much money spent to be feed average food we can get from other lines costing 1/2 the price.

 

[Gourmet Gal]

Butter, pastries, bread…not the items I want to waste calories on when on a cruise ship anyway!

[mancunian]

I have some sympathy with the kitchens over seasoning.  With all the health warnings many people are careful these days.   You can also add but you cannot take away.

[Stumblefoot]

On 7/10/2022 at 11:04 AM, Yankeeclipper1 said:

Breakfast pastries - were meh - again nothing special - I expect "French Pastry shop quality and selection - this was very basic. 

Okay… since ETUAL hasn’t said it yet, I will; should have ordered the Eggo waffles.

 

In all seriousness, who was your Hotel Director?  And, has SS really demoted Martin Blanar back to a F&B Manager? Shocking, if true.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

That is something Mr. Luxury  and I will sort out. My cow now has his own butler.

Not "her own butter" ?  Or would that unite the cow and goat sub-threads? 😉

[saminina]

5 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Okay… since ETUAL hasn’t said it yet, I will; should have ordered the Eggo waffles.

 

In all seriousness, who was your Hotel Director?  And, has SS really demoted Martin Blanar back to a F&B Manager? Shocking, if true.

 

Martin currently hotel director on Muse.

[chrism23]

This thread is amusing, especially at the end, the hell with bringing your own mattresses etc.  Bring your own Ship.  

 

Food.  Does any really think that a ship is  going to get Michelin one star, or ever since the NYTimes just started to do the star system  one star.  I think there are probably no more than 50 towns and cities in US that have a Michelin starred restaurant.  And by far the great majority of SS clients couldn't differentiate aMichelin starred restaurant from an Olive Garden.

 

Accept that the food is going to be mediocre.  Take a favorite subject to mine that was mentioned above.   I  Norway was went for a SS crabbing excursion, we pulled live king crabs out of a trap.  I have a picture of me holding one, my arms fully extended, must be at least 6 feet wide.  At a port in Alaska they were selling crab legs a knuckle, may 1.5 pound for 15 bucks.  Now that is king crab.  On SS, when they do do King crab you get 4 or 5 little legs.  Not enough meat for an appetizer.  There is no really away around this.  On one cruise a waiter said do a double order.  I did.  Still not enough.  Though the double order remains a goo trick for other stuff too, like lobster legs.  .  

 

Anyhow I leave for the Scotland expedition cruise on August 15th.   I want them to serve haggis.  Really.  

 

Cheers

chris

[Lois R]

quote:

"  And by far the great majority of SS clients couldn't differentiate aMichelin starred restaurant from an Olive Garden."

 

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😲 That is so not true  (In my opinion).

[lincslady]

I don't know what Olive Garden is, but I guess on the low-end side.

 

I don't think 'luxury' cruisers,  on   the likes of Silversea, Seabourn or Regent, expect Michelin star food.  It is just not really possible with the constraints of ship's galleys, supplies from shore, and in most restaurants people arriving as and when they want to.  It is high end, usually, but not star rate suitable.

 

Where I have noticed it to be more like really excellent food is when you get a Chef's meal - a no choice apart from meat, fish or veg. main course, tasting type menu.  I have had some really excellent ones, mainly on Seabourn, when they have a one night Chef's Dinner, usually about 6 small courses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[labrasett]

7 hours ago, chrism23 said:

This thread is amusing, especially at the end, the hell with bringing your own mattresses etc.  Bring your own Ship.  

 

Food.  Does any really think that a ship is  going to get Michelin one star, or ever since the NYTimes just started to do the star system  one star.  I think there are probably no more than 50 towns and cities in US that have a Michelin starred restaurant.  And by far the great majority of SS clients couldn't differentiate aMichelin starred restaurant from an Olive Garden.

 

Accept that the food is going to be mediocre.  Take a favorite subject to mine that was mentioned above.   I  Norway was went for a SS crabbing excursion, we pulled live king crabs out of a trap.  I have a picture of me holding one, my arms fully extended, must be at least 6 feet wide.  At a port in Alaska they were selling crab legs a knuckle, may 1.5 pound for 15 bucks.  Now that is king crab.  On SS, when they do do King crab you get 4 or 5 little legs.  Not enough meat for an appetizer.  There is no really away around this.  On one cruise a waiter said do a double order.  I did.  Still not enough.  Though the double order remains a goo trick for other stuff too, like lobster legs.  .  

 

Anyhow I leave for the Scotland expedition cruise on August 15th.   I want them to serve haggis.  Really.  

 

Cheers

chris

I cant know what trips you have undertaken in the past nor indeed anything about you but I take exception to your suggestion that most SS guests could not differentiate between a Michelin starred restaurant and an Olive Garden which I take to be a mediocre chain.   You are IMHO severely misguided in your assessment of SS guests and their palates and their dining experiences.   You may have very few Micheli starred restaurants in US but we have very very many in UK and I can assure you that even a moderately educated individual could tell the difference between the food served in a one or more starred Michelin restaurant and a run of the mill establishment.   SS guests are for the most part well educated, sophisticated and frequently serial travellers and do not deserve to spoken of in such scathing terms. 

[Rothko1]

Hey, don't be dissin' Olive Garden, man!   I haven't been to one in years but the unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks was a killer lunch!

[Yankeeclipper1]

The point of my post was to expound upon my view that after two Silversea cruises I felt they were not fully providing the experience they advertised - for me.  I am happy to see that the moderator removed 15 or more off track responses (sophomoric)  and some incredibly vile posts (evidently unbalanced and needs meds).  Again this was about the catering F&B department, not the itineraries (great) not the ship cabins (great) not the staff (great) but about what is a major component for us - and from some other posts, important to others. I use Regent as a comparison because that is our most recent (March) experience. 

 

In this post and my previous cruise I mentioned some areas we felt were lacking in the catering area. Those were some examples - not all inclusive and meant to be illustrative.  Nowhere did I mention Michelin expectations, even though that word keeps popping up illustratively in posts.  Our expectations are to have a high quality meal - yes - all the time, with expected acceptable stumbles here and there - that is what SS is selling. Based upon our experience there are other lines that do better in the catering department and entertainment areas. 

 

ASSESSOR in post #38 summed it up much better than I did.  “If you want an above average foodie experience SS isn't going to excite the taste buds...too much money spent to feed average food we can get from other lines costing 1/2 the price.”

 

SAMININA in post #22  Hit one of the roots, “So many passengers that accept the lower standards.” -  such as chrisim23 post 44 stated  “Accept that the food is going to be mediocre.”  Really?  It doesn’t have to be.  I used the King Crab as an illustration because that is an easy one for procurement and storage.  King Crab legs are rated by size - they all come quick frozen from the crabbers - and are sold retail by size.  The numbers are legs per 10 pounds.  6/9 for example is 6 - 9 legs per 10 pounds, commonly sold by Costco (sometimes 4/7 and 9/12’s). If anyone can get 6/9’s from Costco’s a cruise line should be able to procure them - every upscale steakhouse and fish restaurant in America has them..  The ones served on SS were 30’s or higher, basically the smallest possible and not really sold in good retail establishments - but are plentiful on Chinese Buffets..  Add in that they are already cut in half, when you steam them they are dry and tasteless.  Why all this as an example - Regent uses 6-9’s - jumbos.  The attached picture is from a recent facebook page from Sunday brunch and my own dinner on Explorer. The next time I asked for and got just the main legs only (tubes).  You will also notice the shrimp are much larger and higher quality than what was ever served on buffet on SS. 

 

Cheese was another example I used in a previous string.  Supposedly they (SS) had better cheeses onboard than the ones put out over and over.  I could never get Epoisses - or Reblochon or real Italian Auricchio Provolone Piccante, even though they said they had it, it never materialized. I said just bring me the softest, runnyest, smelliest cheeses - never materialized.  I like sharp romano with my pasta instead of parmesan.  With fully advanced notice I got it once and then they could not produce it again.  I mention all this because it is the antithesis to Regent.  

 

And - NO - (for the people that are going to come back for the umpteenth time with the “you cannot get Michelin level food on a cruise ship) - I don’t expect Michelin Star meals - I expect consistent, high quality upscale dining, with high quality ingredients/provisioning, preparation and presentation. I am not a wall flower or someone who doesn’t get out.  I lived overseas in 11 countries, and during my 33 year career visited over 100 countries. Our food experiences extends  from Delhi bellie - to the best street food ever tasted to more Michelin restaurants than we can remember.  For luxury cruises I expect - a RitzCarlton, Four Seasons, Peninsula, Morton’s (the old Morton’s), Capital Grill, Truluck’s - experiences.

 

With regard to SS, I refer to ASSESSOR post 38 - “quality, taste, and presentation is mainstream levels now.”  

 

Mainstream best describes the overall culinary experience we had twice on SS. 

 

And yes - for those who suggested or will suggest I move on and try something else - I have 2 more upcoming Regent cruises and will try RitzCarlton Cruises whenever they get going.  Also I like the Europa 2 idea from Catlover52 - post 18. 
 

[turtlemichael]

With all due respect to you, you have made your point and some have agreed with you. But how long do we need to go on with it? For your adverse view there are many more that are satisfied with the food on Silversea. This is self-evident by its patronage. Given that many of the posts which were making fun around this thread have been deleted I want to record that my experience is fundamentally different from the OP's and, as I said in an earlier post, I wish you pleasant cruising in future whoever you sail with.

Edited July 14, 2022 by turtlemichael