A Tale of Woe

[Hlitner]

We have been enjoying the Quest until tonight.  Went in the Restaurant at 7:40 on a formal night.  I ordered Oysters and Beef Wellington,  The waiter advised against the beef since there was so little left that it would be mushrooms and pastry.. but little beef.  Later told

me, sorry, but no more oysters.  DWs dessert pecan custard dish was like scrambled eggs.   Very sad for a premium line.  Most meals have been good, but this was not even up to Carnival standards.

 

Hank

 

 

 

[SLSD]

16 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have been enjoying the Quest until tonight.  Went in the Restaurant at 7:40 on a formal night.  I ordered Oysters and Beef Wellington,  The waiter advised against the beef since there was so little left that it would be mushrooms and pastry.. but little beef.  Later told

me, sorry, but no more oysters.  DWs dessert pecan custard dish was like scrambled eggs.   Very sad for a premium line.  Most meals have been good, but this was not even up to Carnival standards.

 

 

 

 

Not a good report.  But at least your waiter advised you.  I read somewhere that there are very few passengers on your cruise.  It that true?  Disappointing that they cannot execute the recipes.  

[USN59-79]

I have often wondered why it is so unusual that the dining room runs out of a popular dinner menu item.  Maybe it is because we usually eat first seating.  My question is:  If the waiter knew that an item might not be available, did he or she recommend something else?  And, if so, did you refuse the suggestion?

Ray

[saminina]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 Very sad for a premium line. 

Yes, but they advertise as an ultra luxury line.    

[Hlitner]

7 hours ago, SLSD said:

Not a good report.  But at least your waiter advised you.  I read somewhere that there are very few passengers on your cruise.  It that true?  Disappointing that they cannot execute the recipes.  

There are 399 passengers.  Given the number of singles, we are near capacity.

[Dunnedg]

8 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

I have often wondered why it is so unusual that the dining room runs out of a popular dinner menu item.  Maybe it is because we usually eat first seating. 

My wife and I are late eaters (seldom before 8.00pm) and have never been in a position where food has run out and not been able to enjoy our first choice.

[markham]

Provisions is not complicated, and yes, Seabourn ran out of the main attractions offered. That we can all see.

 

Who has to apologize for what now and what difference will it make? In the long term maybe but until there’s a real shakeup in Seattle I would not count on it.

 

I wish it weren’t so.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[USN59-79]

To put this into perspective:  I have sailed 1800 days on two cruise lines and have never ordered a meal that they didn't serve me.  Think how much food must have been wasted as they must always cook more than they will need.  Maybe the people in Seattle will recognize that they have a chef that wastes less food than average.

Ray

[skybluewaters]

@USN59-79  That's a good point.  However, I would say that what's left over from dinner one day is often incorporated into lunch the next day. 

 

[CalmSea]

49 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:

@USN59-79  That's a good point.  However, I would say that what's left over from dinner one day is often incorporated into lunch the next day. 

 

I have noticed that the soup at lunch the next day often contains ingredients listed in the dinner menu of the night before. Yes, I do agree we should not waste food and agree with this use of the left overs.

[JPH814]

On 8/3/2023 at 7:14 PM, Hlitner said:

We have been enjoying the Quest until tonight.  Went in the Restaurant at 7:40 on a formal night.  I ordered Oysters and Beef Wellington,  The waiter advised against the beef since there was so little left that it would be mushrooms and pastry.. but little beef.  Later told

me, sorry, but no more oysters.  DWs dessert pecan custard dish was like scrambled eggs.   Very sad for a premium line.  Most meals have been good, but this was not even up to Carnival standards.

 

Hank

 

 

 

What does not make sense to me is that Beef Wellington does not (usually) have mushrooms or gravy.  
Beef Bourguignon maybe. 
 

[Techno123]

1 hour ago, JPH814 said:

What does not make sense to me is that Beef Wellington does not (usually) have mushrooms or gravy.  
Beef Bourguignon maybe. 
 

Beef wellington should have a mushroom duxelles - not sure about gravy but he said mushroom and pastry 😜

Edited August 5, 2023 by Techno123

[JPH814]

50 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

Beef wellington should have a mushroom duxelles - not sure about gravy but he said mushroom and pastry 😜

Anyone remember Emily Latella?  
nevermind.  

[Hlitner]

14 hours ago, JPH814 said:

What does not make sense to me is that Beef Wellington does not (usually) have mushrooms or gravy.  
Beef Bourguignon maybe. 
 

I believe that SB uses mushrooms in their duxelles coating.  We have since learned that the galley was somewhat overwhelmed when about 250 came to dinner (around the same time) in The Restaurant.  

[whogo]

I would have been happy with a ribeye steak replacement, think that adding the mushroom and pastry coating is gilding the lily. I would have been disappointed to miss the oysters, though. What were you eventually served, Hank? Did they provide oysters another night?

[Hlitner]

23 hours ago, whogo said:

I would have been happy with a ribeye steak replacement, think that adding the mushroom and pastry coating is gilding the lily. I would have been disappointed to miss the oysters, though. What were you eventually served, Hank? Did they provide oysters another night?

Have never seen an Oyster on this cruise.  On that formal night I settled for the lobster (not a big fan of SB lobster prep) which was OK.  I should add that we have not experienced anymore issues like that one evening, and food onboard has generally been good.  We recently booked a similar SB itinerary for 2025, which reflects our continued enjoyment of SB.

 

 

[CalmSea]

We often found services at the MDR to be a zoo on formal nights that were held after the Captain's reception or the Seabourn Club reception. The problem was that everyone wanted to go to the MDR at the same time after the reception. Running out of the main attraction on the menu is one problem. Slow service and all the problem it triggers was another. We have encountered similar problems in other cruise lines too. We have adapted by skipping the MDR on those formal nights, and go to the other eating place instead.

 

Regarding oyster, we had them on the Odyssey. We were so excited to have fresh oyster for the first time on SB, but we were disappointed. We like the mild and sweet taste of raw oysters, but the ones served are so heavily favored that we could not taste the oyster at all. 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

On 8/3/2023 at 5:14 PM, Hlitner said:

The waiter advised against the beef since there was so little left that it would be mushrooms and pastry..

More mushrooms and pastry?  I'll take two.

[MBP&O2/O]

4 hours ago, CalmSea said:

the ones served are so heavily favored that we could not taste the oyster at all. 

Every cloud etc. 😄

To me they taste of seawater ... with lumps 🙂 Awful 8n my opinion. Each to his own.

 

Similar opinions regarding caviar as well ..... a comment that will likely get me expelled from the forum. 

[markham]

The occasional rush and crowding at the MDR and Colonnade and elsewhere is all understandable.

And it also follows that the kitchen and wait staff will suffer stress. Only at the TKG and Ad hoc Colonnade dinners are reservations required and they are needed indeed.

 

We are on Silver Muse now and it differs in very many ways from the Seabourn product. For one there are more restaurants, deeper themed menus, and IMO higher quality ingredients and more sophisticated preparations, especially in the large Atlantide and SALT and largish La Terrazza restaurants. Only La Terrazza, the Grill, Silver Note and surcharge La Dame and Kaiseki dinner restaurants require reservations for precisely this reason: managing everyone’s expectations and performance.

 

If you have been frustrated by the current booking system for the TKG you will be relieved that the systems work well on MySilversea.com and/or via your butler where you can book your dining time slots.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Hlitner]

An update on oysters.  Today, we are cruising from Scotland to Iceland and they had an “Atlantic Lunch” in the Colonnade.  When I walked in the venue our chef was shucking fresh oysters (he did several hundred).  I quickly put 4 of those large oysters on my plate and enjoyed every morsel.  The Oysters were recently procured in Ireland and Scotland and were delicious.  Perhaps this is the SB way of dealing with the previous oyster shortage, and a wonderful solution it be.  
 

Hank

[Vineyard View]

9 hours ago, markham said:

The occasional rush and crowding at the MDR and Colonnade and elsewhere is all understandable.

And it also follows that the kitchen and wait staff will suffer stress. Only at the TKG and Ad hoc Colonnade dinners are reservations required and they are needed indeed.

 

We are on Silver Muse now and it differs in very many ways from the Seabourn product. For one there are more restaurants, deeper themed menus, and IMO higher quality ingredients and more sophisticated preparations, especially in the large Atlantide and SALT and largish La Terrazza restaurants. Only La Terrazza, the Grill, Silver Note and surcharge La Dame and Kaiseki dinner restaurants require reservations for precisely this reason: managing everyone’s expectations and performance.

 

If you have been frustrated by the current booking system for the TKG you will be relieved that the systems work well on MySilversea.com and/or via your butler where you can book your dining time slots.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

I wish that SS, and Regent, allowed for a pricing model that one could choose without excursions. We are DIY and do not enjoy ship excursions. I have asked our TA and there is not this option with either, so we find that SB and others fit our travel style better. I am sure they are great lines to travel on. It sounds like you have found a great fit for what is important to you

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

An update on oysters.  Today, we are cruising from Scotland to Iceland and they had an “Atlantic Lunch” in the Colonnade.  When I walked in the venue our chef was shucking fresh oysters (he did several hundred).  I quickly put 4 of those large oysters on my plate and enjoyed every morsel.  The Oysters were recently procured in Ireland and Scotland and were delicious.  Perhaps this is the SB way of dealing with the previous oyster shortage, and a wonderful solution it be.  
 

Hank

Sounds like life is very good on board! Yay!

[MBP&O2/O]

I wish that SS, and Regent, allowed for a pricing model that one could choose without excursions. We are DIY and do not enjoy ship excursions. I have asked our TA and there is not this option with either  .........

 

One of the reasons I no longer use SS ... shame really as the end product was good... which wasmore than could be said for UK Corporate. 

[markham]

Vineyard View,

 

Yours in a very kind thought! We are happy on Dawn and her 2 sisters. They outstrip the other SS ships by far…

 

Our next Seabourn cruise is in February, 2024, 

part of its WC. We certainly hope and trust that  

Natalya Leahy will deliver on her promise to restore the old touches and elevate the food quality. In the meantime this oyster story is telling, and I will be looking to CC posters to report what gets rolled out. If anyone can make this happen it is she!

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Edited August 8, 2023 by markham