First time on Silversea - Very Mixed Feelings

[commodoredave]

Just got off the Muse in Yokohama. The best word to describe our cruise experience is “inconsistent.” Some days in some restaurants the food was really good, and other times it missed the mark. The same for service and entertainment.

The low points were our last night dinner in Atlantide, which never arrived (we left after 85 minutes). That was followed this morning by having to dry ourselves with hand towels after showering because the room steward forgot to leave us bath towels. 
In contrast, we had our best lunch today in 2 weeks at a local noodle shop in Tokyo for US$6!! Talk about good value proposition!!

 

 

[Aussieflyer]

2 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Just got off the Muse in Yokohama. The best word to describe our cruise experience is “inconsistent.” Some days in some restaurants the food was really good, and other times it missed the mark. The same for service and entertainment.

The low points were our last night dinner in Atlantide, which never arrived (we left after 85 minutes). That was followed this morning by having to dry ourselves with hand towels after showering because the room steward forgot to leave us bath towels. 
In contrast, we had our best lunch today in 2 weeks at a local noodle shop in Tokyo for US$6!! Talk about good value proposition!!

 

 

That is so disappointing and really poor from SS - a) to not deliver your meal and b) not to put towels in you bathroom. 

[commodoredave]

51 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

That is so disappointing and really poor from SS - a) to not deliver your meal and b) not to put towels in you bathroom. 

Thanks. Breakfast this morning was nearly as bad. DW ordered eggs over easy, which had been served perfectly on 7 other occasions. But this morning, they arrived with burnt edges, a sign of over cooking on too high a heat. We sent them back and the same eggs came back 3 minutes later with the burnt edges simply trimmed off with some brown still showing. Our waiter was extremely embarrassed. We said it doesn’t matter. He said it does matter because the kitchen can and does do better. We were impressed by our waiters sincere interest in quality which was totally absent by people in charge over him. 

[drron29]

We had totally different experiences at the last 2 meals on the Muse. 
Atlantide last night was a little slow basically because most arrived after the pre dinner show. Meals were excellent as was service.  
 

Then at breakfast I ordered eggs Benedict soft. A little while later the waiter told me he was sorry for the wait but that the eggs were not as ordered so he took them back and got a new serving. He was one of the longer serving waiters so probably could order the kitchen hands around.

[PaulaJK]

Reading across this board, it is no longer one amusing story but rather a plethora of misses with cuisine complaints almost ubiquitous. Trimming the burnt portion of eggs is attitudinal; not a home cook but a chef thought that this was okay. We, like so many here, sailed SS when it was a luxury experience and hope that those days return. 

[PaulaJK]

Kudos to CD and to staff members who responded….. would be interested about burgers served on next segment. I have no problem with addressing one ( vs many) issue/shortfall.

Fir example, I spoke w the restaurant manager about the very brown pineapple on the La Terrazza buffet. He said that it shouldn’t be served…but it was the following  day also..perhaps because they had run out of so many fruits ( not just delicate berries). 
We chose not to address the several hard to chew meats (eg duck in Silver Note and La Dame)  as we didn’t envision a change and didn’t wish to spoil our meal/ cruise w complaining. Interestingly, when the entree’s were returned no staff inquired.

 

i just think that those of us who have embraced SS were rather shocked by the many shortfalls on one cruise.

[RetiredOnVacation]

3 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Unfortunately I didn’t notice the absence of bath towels until I exited the shower. The comedy that followed while I tried to dry and cover myself with a hand towel will be ingrained in my memory for a long time. 

Two things I always check in a bathroom - 1. There's a bath towel hanging close by the shower for when I get out, & 2. There's toilet paper available before I start! Maxims that have served me well in life! 

[canderson]

6 hours ago, commodoredave said:

True. Plus, try finding a butler on disembarkation day when your naked body is covered by a hand towel and the only way to find him is by searching the hallways!

Sounds like a Mr. Bean episode!

[Stickman1990]

7 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

As I posted above, at Silversea's prices, why should that even be necessary?

It’s the same on any luxury line (without exception in our experience) - sometimes they stuff up and need to be told - I always think the true measure is how they respond to that discussion

[commodoredave]

7 hours ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

Two things I always check in a bathroom - 1. There's a bath towel hanging close by the shower for when I get out, & 2. There's toilet paper available before I start! Maxims that have served me well in life! 

I would also add alcohol in the mini-fridge to the essentials you mentioned.

[Port Power]

19 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Just got off the Muse in Yokohama. The best word to describe our cruise experience is “inconsistent.” Some days in some restaurants the food was really good, and other times it missed the mark. The same for service and entertainment.

The low points were our last night dinner in Atlantide, which never arrived (we left after 85 minutes). That was followed this morning by having to dry ourselves with hand towels after showering because the room steward forgot to leave us bath towels. 
In contrast, we had our best lunch today in 2 weeks at a local noodle shop in Tokyo for US$6!! Talk about good value proposition!!

 

 

Did you speak to the Maitre d' about the missed meal?  I would not have wait near so long before heading over to the desk to ask where the meal is!

 

When you arrived back to your cabin that last evening and presumably brushed your teeth, didn't you notice bath towels were missing?  It has happened to me a couple of times, so I just ring reception or housekeeping and towels are delivered immediately.  Even on the last morning you could have called for towels.

 

I am really sorry that you ended on sour notes, but there were options.

[commodoredave]

3 hours ago, Port Power said:

 

Did you speak to the Maitre d' about the missed meal?  I would not have wait near so long before heading over to the desk to ask where the meal is!

 

When you arrived back to your cabin that last evening and presumably brushed your teeth, didn't you notice bath towels were missing?  It has happened to me a couple of times, so I just ring reception or housekeeping and towels are delivered immediately.  Even on the last morning you could have called for towels.

 

I am really sorry that you ended on sour notes, but there were options.

There were no viable options.

At dinner, we asked our waiter about our order several times and he kept saying the kitchen was busy but our order would arrive soon. We also spoke with someone more senior 10 minutes before we left, and spoke with the Maître d on exit. Somehow our order got misplaced and staff didn’t figure it out on time. The couple sitting next to us couldn’t believe it and said so. They were more apologetic than our waiter. The Maître d did call our cabin 30 minutes later to apologize again, and offered to send anything from the menu to our cabin, which we appreciated but declined as we had picked up sweets from the Arts Cafe.

As for bath towels, they hang on a rack  at the end of the bath tub, and cannot easily be seen when the bathroom door is open. Had we noticed they were missing before we went to bed, we would have certainly called our butler and asked for then. But we didn’t notice they were missing until I got out of the shower soaking wet the next morning, at which time is was too late to call for them. 
So making excuses for very poor service by blaming the victim and saying there were other options is completely ridiculous.

Having said that, it was one night and morning out of 14 of them, and while we’d like to avoid a repeat, it did not ruin what was otherwise a very enjoyable cruise with a wonderful itinerary. 

 

[Port Power]

2 hours ago, commodoredave said:

There were no viable options.

At dinner, we asked our waiter about our order several times and he kept saying the kitchen was busy but our order would arrive soon. We also spoke with someone more senior 10 minutes before we left, and spoke with the Maître d on exit. Somehow our order got misplaced and staff didn’t figure it out on time. The couple sitting next to us couldn’t believe it and said so. They were more apologetic than our waiter. The Maître d did call our cabin 30 minutes later to apologize again, and offered to send anything from the menu to our cabin, which we appreciated but declined as we had picked up sweets from the Arts Cafe.

As for bath towels, they hang on a rack  at the end of the bath tub, and cannot easily be seen when the bathroom door is open. Had we noticed they were missing before we went to bed, we would have certainly called our butler and asked for then. But we didn’t notice they were missing until I got out of the shower soaking wet the next morning, at which time is was too late to call for them. 
So making excuses for very poor service by blaming the victim and saying there were other options is completely ridiculous.

Having said that, it was one night and morning out of 14 of them, and while we’d like to avoid a repeat, it did not ruin what was otherwise a very enjoyable cruise with a wonderful itinerary. 

 

 

Oh, dear!  My apologies for giving the wrong impression.  I was not blaming the victim, but wondering why these issues could not be addressed earlier.  

[commodoredave]

20 minutes ago, Port Power said:

 

Oh, dear!  My apologies for giving the wrong impression.  I was not blaming the victim, but wondering why these issues could not be addressed earlier.  

Thank you.

As some others on these boards know, I am not someone who quietly accepts disappointment on board— I usually address it right away in a calm and polite fashion. And it usually results in a positive outcome as with the inferior burgers on board.

[agape01]

12 hours ago, canderson said:

Sounds like a Mr. Bean episode!

For me, it would be a reminiscence of Planes, Trains and Automobiles the scene where Steve Martin was at the end of taking a shower. 

Having said that, I would have to remind myself about this on my first SS cruise this coming September.