Questions re Silver Muse - dining issues etc

WE are considering booking the Silver Muse from Hong Kong to Singapore in Nov 2018. We sailed on SS expeditions ship (twice) but never on one of their other ships.

 

Now after studying the cruise information on the SS web site and many reviews of the Muse on CC - I have the following questions / concerns:-

 

1. Dining in most restaurants requires advance reservations which can be difficult to obtain - which means if you don't like to plan too far in advance (say a couple of days) you may be 'stuck' with non-reservation venues.

 

2. Two of the restaurants apply a hefty surcharge ($USD 60 pp) and require formal wear. Now Mr LL will not pack or wear formal-wear no matter what - in fact he would not even be keen to pack a sports jacket. The surcharge seems very high but not a show stopper for a couple of evenings. So again this would restrict our dining options (we are foodies and the quality and variety of food is an important consideration to us). I did read a post on this thread that implies this formal wear requirement has been relaxed.

 

3. Many reviews of the Muse were certainly less than stellar - with complaints about dining, decor and service. I figured this may have been new ship teething issues - comments?

 

4. There have been many negative comments re room service but since we never use room service this is not an issue for us.

 

Thanks of any input.

We just got off the Muse. First all a man needs is a jacket and tie. If you do not want to ware a jacket this is not the ship for you. Two of the restaurants are walk in. We never had a problem getting a table for two. We made reservations online with no problem, on the ship I canceled some and made others with no problem. You can do this at any restaurant or the front desk. The crew bends over backwards to give you anything you want. As for the pay restaurants, we never used them except for lunch when there is no charge. As for room service, I felt it was lame however you may pre-order any food 24 hours ahead with your butler. This is a beautiful ship however I believe it's good for 7 to 10 day trips only as nothing changes and it gets boring. Sent

 

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I just reread your questions, to be honest if you are foodies I would not recommend this ship.

 

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Now after studying the cruise information on the SS web site and many reviews of the Muse on CC - I have the following questions / concerns:-

 

1. Dining in most restaurants requires advance reservations which can be difficult to obtain - which means if you don't like to plan too far in advance (say a couple of days) you may be 'stuck' with non-reservation venues.

I guess you could be stuck, but we never had a problem dining where we liked on a full voyage.

2. Two of the restaurants apply a hefty surcharge ($USD 60 pp) and require formal wear. Now Mr LL will not pack or wear formal-wear no matter what - in fact he would not even be keen to pack a sports jacket. The surcharge seems very high but not a show stopper for a couple of evenings. So again this would restrict our dining options (we are foodies and the quality and variety of food is an important consideration to us). I did read a post on this thread that implies this formal wear requirement has been relaxed.

Formal wear is only required in the noted restaurants on formal nights.

3. Many reviews of the Muse were certainly less than stellar - with complaints about dining, decor and service. I figured this may have been new ship teething issues - comments?

We were on in the fall of 2017 and loved it. So much so that we're sailing the Muse again this June and plan to book another voyage on the Muse for 2019 when on board.

 

One last comment, I do agree with hypercafe that if Mr LL is not even be keen to pack a sports jacket then the non-expedition ships of Silversea are probably not a good fit for him as he'll need a jacket on informal nights in most restaurants.

...to be honest if you are foodies I would not recommend this ship.

Why? There is more choice on this ship than any other. We found the food to be excellent and were even able to make special requests.

Why? There is more choice on this ship than any other. We found the food to be excellent and were even able to make special requests.

Yes, there are many choices however I found the food just ok. We never had a bad meal however nothing was really memorable. I really felt the beef was low quality and never saw such small shrimp and lobster described in the menu as large in fact I never saw such small lobster anyplace. It was ok for us but for a foodie at these prices, well !!! and then to charge extra for some restaurants and caviar at over 1000$ a day!!!

 

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We just got of the Muse from a 13 Day Easter Cruise and found the food to be extremely good in all outlets, we certainly did not get bored, indeed normally we are special order guests on SS, but we did not do this or need to once on this cruise.

Semi dining question. On Muse Deck 4 midship there is a large un-named area. What is it? Looks like restaurant seating.

 

https://www.silversea.com/content/dam/silversea-com/ships/silver-muse/Deck_Plans_muse.pdf

Semi dining question. On Muse Deck 4 midship there is a large un-named area. What is it? Looks like restaurant seating.

Not sure which area specifically you are referring to. Is it by the launderette? If so, it's a crew area. If you're referring to the two areas by Kaiseki and La Dame, I believe it is the toilets.

Do you mean Deck 5? That’s Dolce Vita, which apparently is a huge lounge.

 

 

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Semi dining question. On Muse Deck 4 midship there is a large un-named area. What is it? Looks like restaurant seating.

 

https://www.silversea.com/content/dam/silversea-com/ships/silver-muse/Deck_Plans_muse.pdf

 

White blank areas around the ship are all sorts of space from service to storage to maintenance to crew quarters to whatever. Generally speaking cruise ships don’t have excess space they hold back for “just in case” purposes. Also generally speaking those blank areas are off limits to passengers.

Semi dining question. On Muse Deck 4 midship there is a large un-named area. What is it? Looks like restaurant seating.

 

This confused me for the longest time, too. The large area that looks like it has restaurant seating on the deck above Atlantide and Indochine is, in fact, a huge lounge. You can see a small label in the upper right corner, but it applies to the whole space. Perhaps somebody who has sailed on the Muse can describe what exactly it is used for? It seems to be a bigger version of the Panorama Lounge, which perhaps serves smaller functions on the Muse. I'll find out in about 13 months.

 

Description from the SS website:

DOLCE VITA

 

What could be a more fitting name for the very heart of Silver Muse? Central to the soul and inspiration behind Silversea’s Italian heritage, Dolce Vita is the gathering place for our savvy travellers of the world, a place where guests mingle and exchange stories and where new faces become lifelong friends. Let us spoil you with an incredible array of flawless cocktails, wines and spirits, as you relax, enjoy the evening sounds of a live pianist and enjoy “the sweet life” aboard.

You are correct: Dolce Vita is a very large lounge area with bar service. The room is typically used for trivia and, unless things have changed since our sailing last summer, not much else.

Edited April 11, 2018 by lolawpb
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At night la dolce vita is a lounge area.

Drinks are served as well as tapas.

There is a bar at one end and live music.

It is a large space!

In the afternoon trivia is played there.

Tapas and trivia....both prerequisites for La Dolce Vita!

Hmmm, wasn't there a fountain and Anita Ekberg and of course, Marcello. Ahhh, Marcello.

In my opinion, La Dolce Vita is misnamed. It is a cavernous space made less appealing by the cold beige, grey, black and dark brown decor. Even though the ship was filled last Fall, there were never more than about 50 people at cocktail time. Even fewer after dinner. Everyone with whom I spoke said it was far too big. The panorama lounge, in contrast was packed, and the seating was tight. The only fond memories I have of this cruise was the wonderful group of friends with whom I sailed...and, of course the marvelous crew!

In my opinion, La Dolce Vita is misnamed. It is a cavernous space made less appealing by the cold beige, grey, black and dark brown decor. Even though the ship was filled last Fall, there were never more than about 50 people at cocktail time. Even fewer after dinner. Everyone with whom I spoke said it was far too big. The panorama lounge, in contrast was packed, and the seating was tight. The only fond memories I have of this cruise was the wonderful group of friends with whom I sailed...and, of course the marvelous crew!

I agree that is a large, underused space that only comes fully to life for Trivia. It doesn't work that well as a bar area and is never the focal point like the main bar on the smaller ships.

 

It is a fitting space for the magnificent painting at one end though🤣

 

 

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This space gets a bad rap however we had some nice times here before dinner and the show. There was some very nice music and singing along with drinks. The fact it wasn't crowded is a great plus for me.

 

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