Regent dining vs Silversea dining

[Marstan79]

Just disembarked from a Silversea cruise where the food was mediocre to bad. Have been sailing on SS but looking for alternatives. How does Regent compare to SS, particularly in the food and wine arena? TIA

[PaulaJK]

JMO. Regent surpasses current SS offerings in variety, quality and preparation and attention to presentation. ( Their downfall  is lukewarm food.) Regent buffet ( La Veranda) surpasses La Terrazza in food and ambiance. I drink simpler wines so in that category they might be equal, however SS has been running out of several wines during your

cruise ( across the line per posts) .

[RetiredOnVacation]

@Marstan79 Have cruised both RSSC and SS in the last 6 months (SS Dawn & RSS Splendor). Tbh I couldn't really split the food in comparably similar restaurants, ie. La Terraza vs Sette Marie La Varanda in evenings, buffet breakfasts, and the main restaurants Atlantide vs Compass Rose. Similar offerings. 

Where Regent is better is in the variety of alternative restaurants, especially on the larger Explorer class (which have oriental and French styled restaurants) and their steak restaurant Prime 7 (found on all RSSC ships) is not replicated on SS other than the informal Pool Grill. However you can only make a single booking in each of these Regent speciality restaurants in advance, and can only waitlist for further visits once on board, but they are all inclusive.

 

SS allows multiple first come first served advance bookings in all their speciality restaurants but are excess chargeable (although any OBC can cover this). Personally we like SALT Kitchen on SS for it's variety and local cuisine themes and Silver Note for lighter musically accompanied dinner, and these are inclusive too as you know. 

 

I think SS does better with coffee shop/afternoon tea offerings. The Arts Cafe on SS is definately unsurpassed by RSSC Coffee Connection equivalent. 

 

Of course Regent ships, size for size, carry more passengers so there is more pressure on the restaurants to accommodate everyone, but this probably also allows for the greater number of 'formal' restaurants. 

 

So in some ways Regent are better, in other ways SS! I think SS has better less-formal eateries (pizza Spacanapoli for example) than Regent. Regent's daytime only pool grill is similar to SS version, but perhaps pips them with menu choice. 

 

Plus's & minus's to both, but hope that helps a bit! 

Edited April 17 by RetiredOnVacation

[Lonedaddy]

4 hours ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

 

 

So in some ways Regent are better, in other ways SS! I think SS has better less-formal eateries (pizza Spacanapoli for example) than Regent. Regent's daytime only pool grill is similar to SS version, but perhaps pips them with menu choice. 

 

Plus's & minus's to both, but hope that helps a bit! 

We've were on explorer SS dawn and voyager this past year.  I would echo the above, pros and cons to both but I wouldn't say overall one stands out over the other.  If anything, I would give a slight nod to SS for the variety and pizza place the sushi lunch at kenseki and the arts cafe was nice.  Italian was better on regent.  

[vistaman]

On 4/17/2024 at 11:03 AM, Marstan79 said:

Just disembarked from a Silversea cruise where the food was mediocre to bad. Have been sailing on SS but looking for alternatives. How does Regent compare to SS, particularly in the food and wine arena? TIA

had same experience on the Dawn !!! 

[PaulMCO]

27 minutes ago, vistaman said:

had same experience on the Dawn !!! 

We had the same experience on Shadow this past November.  Just off RSSC Explorer, food far superior.  Only plus on SS is the Caviar, as much as you wish.

[Emdee]

SSea food mediocre at best. Regent has better offerings in Compass Rose and has a yes mentality compared to SSeas No mentality.

sSea  Hotel Director told me on my first SSea cruise that SSea didn’t need new passengers as they had plenty of regulars! Regent Hotel Director chatted with my DD on the Explorer where she said the food was disappointing and the next day we were introduced to the F&B manager by the Head sommelier ( who she had established a rapport with due to her love of specialty champagnes) and notes were taken on our suggestions.

The result was we haven’t booked any Classic SSea cruises but have stayed with their Expeditions where the ports are the thing and have several Regent cruises booked.

[vistaman]

1 hour ago, Emdee said:

SSea food mediocre at best. Regent has better offerings in Compass Rose and has a yes mentality compared to SSeas No mentality.

sSea  Hotel Director told me on my first SSea cruise that SSea didn’t need new passengers as they had plenty of regulars! Regent Hotel Director chatted with my DD on the Explorer where she said the food was disappointing and the next day we were introduced to the F&B manager by the Head sommelier ( who she had established a rapport with due to her love of specialty champagnes) and notes were taken on our suggestions.

The result was we haven’t booked any Classic SSea cruises but have stayed with their Expeditions where the ports are the thing and have several Regent cruises booked.

yes but some regulars on SS are not accepting it anymore -  the downfal !

my very upmarket Champagne was heavily mistreated  on the Dawn in La Terrazza -  a sommelier was supposed to serve 120 guests  ??? - the head sommelier was knowing her duty , as was the sommelier in Salt and in La Dame  

on Regent I can eat a Dover Sole in Compass Rose  , in Prime 7 and in Chartreuse , on SS only in La Dame  - during my week in the Med there really was no special fish at all ...

I had a far more "luxurious" feeling on Regent as on SS despite the Pommery bubbles ( for how long ?? ) and the caviar  ( portions reduced last year it was a full small jar - now a tea spoon )

 

 

[A Tucson Guy]

1 minute ago, vistaman said:

yes but some regulars on SS are not accepting it anymore -  the downfal !

my very upmarket Champagne was heavily mistreated  on the Dawn in La Terrazza -  a sommelier was supposed to serve 120 guests  ??? - the head sommelier was knowing her duty , as was the sommelier in Salt and in La Dame  

on Regent I can eat a Dover Sole in Compass Rose  , in Prime 7 and in Chartreuse , on SS only in La Dame  - during my week in the Med there really was no special fish at all ...

I had a far more "luxurious" feeling on Regent as on SS despite the Pommery bubbles ( for how long ?? ) and the caviar  ( portions reduced last year it was a full small jar - now a tea spoon )

 

 

You can ask for 2 or more portions of caviar on SS.

[vistaman]

Just now, A Tucson Guy said:

You can ask for 2 or more portions of caviar on SS.

I am a single and not so greedy - caviar you must taste it  not eat 

only want to mention the change in generosity . 

[Emdee]

10 minutes ago, vistaman said:

yes but some regulars on SS are not accepting it anymore -  the downfal !

my very upmarket Champagne was heavily mistreated  on the Dawn in La Terrazza -  a sommelier was supposed to serve 120 guests  ??? - the head sommelier was knowing her duty , as was the sommelier in Salt and in La Dame  

on Regent I can eat a Dover Sole in Compass Rose  , in Prime 7 and in Chartreuse , on SS only in La Dame  - during my week in the Med there really was no special fish at all ...

I had a far more "luxurious" feeling on Regent as on SS despite the Pommery bubbles ( for how long ?? ) and the caviar  ( portions reduced last year it was a full small jar - now a tea spoon )

 

 

Yes I noticed that too. Besides Regent has wonderful suites. 
The same regulars beat me up when I criticized their beloved SSea.
My only beef about Regent is the beef quality. But otherwise my go to are Regent and Crystal. Crystal food and service consistently amazing and Regent new itineraries are good.

In 2015 I moved from Regent to Crystal because of different itineraries and then with Covid and Crystal demise traveled on the three other luxury cruises. 

Edited Saturday at 05:07 PM by Emdee

[vistaman]

48 minutes ago, Emdee said:

Yes I noticed that too. Besides Regent has wonderful suites. 
The same regulars beat me up when I criticized their beloved SSea.
My only beef about Regent is the beef quality. But otherwise my go to are Regent and Crystal. Crystal food and service consistently amazing and Regent new itineraries are good.

In 2015 I moved from Regent to Crystal because of different itineraries and then with Covid and Crystal demise traveled on the three other luxury cruises. 

very curious about new Crystal ! 

[Emdee]

1 hour ago, vistaman said:

very curious about new Crystal ! 

Been three times…love it. For me better than the old Crystal but we are still itinerary driven and cruising around 4 knee replacements lol. 

[Mahogany]

1 hour ago, Emdee said:

Been three times…love it. For me better than the old Crystal but we are still itinerary driven and cruising around 4 knee replacements lol. 

May I ask what suite category you were in "three times...love it"? Because I am disappointed in the standard balcony size on Crystal (as opposed to SS, SB, Regent), and the larger suites are very expensive.

[ChucktownSteve]

A perfunctory look at Crystal didn't appeal to attract me.  I tend to like longer cruises if I'm traveling somewhere distant.  It appeared many if not most of theirs are shorter than 14 days.

 

I looked at the restaurant listings. What I observed on one itinerary I might be interested in, that there are two specialty restaurants which are included. However if you desire a second reservation, there's an additional $50 pp charge. Really?  We were never charged for additional specialty reservations on Regent regardless of the number of times we could obtain a reservation.

 

Perhaps my thoughts are misdirected on Crystal and Silversea. Can someone show me where they outshine Regent for value and quality? I admit I haven't sailed the other two. However my exposure on Regent's cuisine is the best I've experienced in all my cruising.

 

I've enjoyed the variety, quality and even the special requests.  An example was on a Mariner. They had apple pie one evening. One of our table mates mentioned they like peach pie.  So I asked our server if by any chance they had peach.  He went to the kitchen, came back a few minutes late and apologized they hadn't.  But he said come back tomorrow and we will.  Sure enough the four of us showed up in the MDR the next evening and we were served the BEST peach pie I've ever eaten. Freshly made with no filler. Later in the cruise we were surprised by another peach pie unrequested. That impressed me.

[Emdee]

1 hour ago, Mahogany said:

May I ask what suite category you were in "three times...love it"? Because I am disappointed in the standard balcony size on Crystal (as opposed to SS, SB, Regent), and the larger suites are very expensive.

We were in the standard Balcony on Crystal. I preferred the previous design but am willing to live with this design if it means I can cruise Crystal more often. My 3 cruises were 12 and 14 days. If I was on a longer cruise I would definitely book a larger suite.
 

Yes the Regent suites are very nice. We were in the F on Explorer and will be in a similar size on Splendour in August. We have been 4 times on SB during Covid and once on the Moon ( not counting Cloud and Endeavour as they are different animals). Would have happily sailed twice on Crystal for the same money if I could have. Ultimately we are all different and what is important to some is not to others. Cost is not the only criteria we put into the mix. 

[Emdee]

16 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

A perfunctory look at Crystal didn't appeal to attract me.  I tend to like longer cruises if I'm traveling somewhere distant.  It appeared many if not most of theirs are shorter than 14 days.

 

I looked at the restaurant listings. What I observed on one itinerary I might be interested in, that there are two specialty restaurants which are included. However if you desire a second reservation, there's an additional $50 pp charge. Really?  We were never charged for additional specialty reservations on Regent regardless of the number of times we could obtain a reservation.

 

Perhaps my thoughts are misdirected on Crystal and Silversea. Can someone show me where they outshine Regent for value and quality? I admit I haven't sailed the other two. However my exposure on Regent's cuisine is the best I've experienced in all my cruising.

 

I've enjoyed the variety, quality and even the special requests.  An example was on a Mariner. They had apple pie one evening. One of our table mates mentioned they like peach pie.  So I asked our server if by any chance they had peach.  He went to the kitchen, came back a few minutes late and apologized they hadn't.  But he said come back tomorrow and we will.  Sure enough the four of us showed up in the MDR the next evening and we were served the BEST peach pie I've ever eaten. Freshly made with no filler. Later in the cruise we were surprised by another peach pie unrequested. That impressed me.

We mainly cruised Regent until 2015 . Then tried Crystal and loved it. 
Regent is very good with special orders. The staff are wonderful too.

 

I don’t think SSea outshines Regent at all. Since we are itinerary driven we look at Regent and Crystal and book accordingly.If we look for pure relaxation then we prefer Crystal. 

 I didn’t like the beef on Regent though. Even in Prime 7. Everything else was fine and I think that Compass Rose has an exceptional menu of always available items. 

[Covepointcruiser]

We just returned from a crossing on the Regent and were pleased with the beef.   We were on the Splendor.

[ChucktownSteve]

22 minutes ago, Emdee said:

I didn’t like the beef on Regent though. Even in Prime 7. Everything else was fine and I think that Compass Rose has an exceptional menu of always available items. 

I understand about the beef although I haven't had a bad filet cooked to temperature. But I'm a heavy seafood aficionado..

Edited Saturday at 11:11 PM by ChucktownSteve

[Emdee]

3 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We just returned from a crossing on the Regent and were pleased with the beef.   We were on the Splendor.

Great to hear really looking forward to our August cruise on her.

[vistaman]

my filet steak on the Dawn in the Grill was not so special , it was a thick piece of meat OK , but I had better meat on other cruise lines.  

[Emdee]

2 hours ago, vistaman said:

my filet steak on the Dawn in the Grill was not so special , it was a thick piece of meat OK , but I had better meat on other cruise lines.  

We had the same experience on the Moon.

 

Thomas Keller on SB had the best meat on the high seas but now they have discontinued the collaboration. I use the same quality75% Wagyu/25% Angus  from Snake River Farms at home.
DH didn’t like the sirloin on Crystal but the other cuts were fine. Their roast beef both in Waterside and Marketplace was amazing. I am not a beef eater but I sneaked a piece from his plate. 

[pappy1022]

Crystal hit the sweet spot for us prior to COVID. Their Asian restaurant was by far the best dining experience at sea on any cruise line. I haven’t tried them since their rebirth. I would agree with others that the steaks on Regent are subpar. It felt strange to me that the filet’s in Compass Rose were better than in Prime 7. I am itinerary driven and don’t go back to the same region, at least for a cruise, so I am not tied to any cruise line. 

[vistaman]

21 hours ago, Emdee said:

SSea food mediocre at best. Regent has better offerings in Compass Rose and has a yes mentality compared to SSeas No mentality.

sSea  Hotel Director told me on my first SSea cruise that SSea didn’t need new passengers as they had plenty of regulars! Regent Hotel Director chatted with my DD on the Explorer where she said the food was disappointing and the next day we were introduced to the F&B manager by the Head sommelier ( who she had established a rapport with due to her love of specialty champagnes) and notes were taken on our suggestions.

The result was we haven’t booked any Classic SSea cruises but have stayed with their Expeditions where the ports are the thing and have several Regent cruises booked.

One evening I was asking for a grilled tomato , as a side dishfor lamb chops. Reaction was if was asking for a 3 double caviar -  ok i got it  but the tomato was maybe in the grill for 30 seconds

- ice cold inside ...for such a simple item ???

[Emdee]

14 minutes ago, vistaman said:

One evening I was asking for a grilled tomato , as a side dishfor lamb chops. Reaction was if was asking for a 3 double caviar -  ok i got it  but the tomato was maybe in the grill for 30 seconds

- ice cold inside ...for such a simple item ???

lol you need to count yourself lucky they went outside the box,

Oceania was even better for us….they served my daughter a frozen tuna melt. The bread and tuna were totally frozen. They put some ersatz cheese on top and melted it. Then they had the temerity to say that is how they serve it when she complained. Never again on Oceania for us. 
The Indian meal  Special order on both Silver Endeavour and Silver Moon were very good and better than Crystal.