Aboard the Cloud

[Emtbsam]

Duct Tape -- have you said anything about the food to the HD?

 

Do you know whether this chef will be on the Amazon cruise?

 

Hope things improve...

[RachelG]

Oh dear, this has me second guessing our decision to give silversea a try. We found the food on silver explorer to be not nearly as good as that on regent, but I attributed that to it being a smaller expedition ship in remote location. And I was always able to find something I liked. But I expect better on the Spirit.

[WesW]

Rachel, no worries on the dining on the Spirit, tho like u I'm a tad concerned for our 18 day Cloud booking next July...here are a couple of pix of dining delights on the Spirit.

 

A special order desert a fellow pax had made for us on board the Spirit maiden crossing in Jan 2010:

 

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa436/colonelwes/Facebook/Silversea%20Transatlantic%202010/19537_1259189753418_1039868706_30734723_671219_n.jpg[/img]"]

 

Another delicious dish special ordered (SS does this better than Regent btw Rachel)

 

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa436/colonelwes/Facebook/Silversea%20Transatlantic%202010/19537_1259189713417_1039868706_30734722_4150936_n.jpg[/img]"]

 

We special ordered a six course Indian meal for our 25th Anniversary dinner, in this pix you can see the absolutely divine chocolate mousse cake SS made for us post dinner (below Doug and Lynn Burns, dear SS Friends, Emmy, and Ida and Wes seated.

 

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa436/colonelwes/Facebook/Silversea%20Transatlantic%202010/19537_1259188833395_1039868706_30734700_1349608_n.jpg[/img]"]

 

 

Rachel our Spring crossing will be fun and provide gustatory delights as well (more than likely Richard Dotti will be our Exec Chef--he is super)

[RachelG]

Thanks for the reassurance, Wes. What in the world are those 2 huge dishes in the first 2 pics?

 

I am certain we will have agreat time. I just bought a new bike-- went out for my first long ride tonight and was awesome. But I thought of you and Ida in that pic of you in the spin class when the muscles were twitching after a good workout.

[mortgagemaster]

Captain Rutigliano was on our Cloud trip in January - very nice guy and very pleasant. More importantly our ship did not meet the same fate as Costa's. 99 sounds extremely hot for Bordeaux...but once you are back on board you'll forget all about being hot. Have a wonderful trip!

[patnlcc]

What a small world - the guy in the black jacket and the lady in the gold top in the pic above - Gary and Carol from California - we met them onboard the Oceania Marina in March this year.

[WesW]

First my apologies to Duct Tape for going off topic once again.

 

 

RachelG, those two unique dishes are the result of a challenge Ida, Doug, Lynn and I had with Diane and Carl (longtime SS cruisers)over a long (read many, many glasses of wine) Le Champagne dinner one night. Ida and Lynn challenged Karl to host a traditional English lunch. Long story short two days later, Carl coordinating with Hotman (Paolo) and the Spirit Exec Chef at no cost, arranged for this lunch, first course (not shown) delicious salad paired with wonderful Sancerre, second course was the English Pie (Chicken, mushroom, leeks and onion) shown in second pix paired with a delightful Shiraz, desert course was English Chocolate Trifel also paired with a wine (forget (may ice wine). Rachel, this was done at zero cost. We had the Exec Chef and Maitre'd and Sommelier serving us. We only finished 1/3rd of the pie, and the SS food leaders took the rest back to galley for some crew to enjoy. On this same cruise; Ida and I special ordered the Indian Dinner one nite, Steak Diane and Crepe Suzettes another, Dover sole at dinner and lunch..SS (The Restaurant Maitre'D) just needs 24 hours in advance. Kudos for making the bike part of your daily exercise regimen--absolutely key to mix it up to prevent boredom and challenge your muscles. We still spin three times a week (600-800 calories burned in an hour) and I enjoy mountain biking 3-4 times a week (30-60min).

 

Patnlcc; absolutely agree they are a terrific couple. Carol is not only a MahJong pro but a good singer, pix below as she serenaded Ida and I in the Panorama Lounge with a delightful 25th anniversary tune. I lost one cuff link while on board; Gary had an extra pair which he loaned me. They are on Regent in the next few months, then Oceania (French Polynesia) early next year.

 

[dusababy]

Wes - is that Paul Ryan at the piano in the pix with your serenader Carol?

[Stumblefoot]

Wes - is that Paul Ryan at the piano in the pix with your serenader Carol?

You beat me to the punch! I thought the very same thing. :p

[Herman The Cat]

you beat me to the punch! I thought the very same thing. :p

 

me too! :d

[WesW]

Mary Ann/Dusababy; you were on the cruise with us, you probably heard Mark Farris (our pianist) a few times with your favorite glass of Chard :)

 

btw, did u book one of the Nov-April 20% off sale fares?

[rjms74]

Hello everyone,

 

I have read with interest & also concern too about the food on board Silver Cloud currently as I am sailing on my 'only' 3 & 4th cruises with Silversea in October back on the superb Whisper! I have also tried the Spirit - excellent but service at times patchy and I very interestingly had a tour of the Cloud back on the embarkation day in Tower Bridge London on 13 August nearly 10 days ago now along with 3 friends as my guests. We have all travelled extensively on Cunard in the past & always at Queens Grill (top suite) level & I have to say thought our lunch on board was first class in every respect especially the cheese menu! I really hope the food improves on board for those currently sailing & I agree with other posters that the Hotel Director is the best first port of call and I am very surprised to hear of such bad reports & naturally concerned.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Richard

[nancygp]

Mary Ann/Dusababy; you were on the cruise with us, you probably heard Mark Farris (our pianist) a few times with your favorite glass of Chard :)

 

 

Wes,

 

Mark plays almost exclusively on Crystal, he's wonderful and hope he'll be on your cruise.

 

Nancy

[dusababy]

Mary Ann/Dusababy; you were on the cruise with us, you probably heard Mark Farris (our pianist) a few times with your favorite glass of Chard :)

 

btw, did u book one of the Nov-April 20% off sale fares?

 

 

No - I just booked BGI/LIS - April 22 -- on the refurbished CLOUD. The 20%ers were not the ships nor itineraries for me and I'm very anxious to see the new Cloud. You'll have several under your belt by then -- enjoy 'em all....:)

[WesW]

Hi Nancy, absolutely concur, Mark is an outstanding tune maker on the piano and takes every request made his way with a smile and flourish.

 

MaryAnn, nuts the next spring's Cloud crossing missed the 20% off by just a few days--but still a good deal. Will look forward to hearing about the Cloud's refurb as we board the Cloud in July.

[duct tape]

Don't panic people, you won't starve. I just happen to have very high SS standards. Ramon, the regular Chef will be back soon. Had a wonderful meal in La Terrazza tonight. Anyway, the last few days have been delightful. Weather is great, high 70s, breezy and sunny. Cadiz yesterday which I think is one of the prettiest cities in Spain. Lots of excursions into Andalusia, ie. Granada. Today, Malaga, which I enjoy but some people complain is too small and uninteresting. Au contraire. We went to the old market place, all wrought iron and stained glass, and composed a picnic for the pool grill: ham, pork salami, white anchovies, olives, manchengo cheese, bread! We were the envy of the deck! Sailed pst Mijas tonight, high up the mountain above the sea. One of those white villages, and lovely! @sea tomorrow tomorrow on our way into France.

[TLCOhio]

Today in Lisbon, we took a trip to Obidos, a medieval walled villages west of Lisbon. We were there a few years ago and it is still charmingly beautiful. There are cobbled streets (whole village is pedestrian), flowers everywhere and local crafts that even appear genuine at times. Then lunch at a winery out in the country for the local speciality of poached pears with a honey, port wine reduction. It's just fine since the BBQ is tonight and I can skip it except for the local sardines in the DR. Weather continues to be beautiful, high 70s, low humidity. We are overnight and sail about 12N tomorrow. The shuttle bus goes to the heart of town and you can pick up trams there to go just about anywhere. The trip out to Belem is especially scenic and the building in Belem are traditional Manueline architecture, Portuguese style. Later.

 

Appreciate the great details for what you did in and around Lisbon. Glad the weather is doing well and that you are now enjoying Spain. Keep up the good reporting and sharing of your travel details.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 79,243 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[MCCooch]

Don't panic people, you won't starve. I just happen to have very high SS standards. Ramon, the regular Chef will be back soon. Had a wonderful meal in La Terrazza tonight. Anyway, the last few days have been delightful. Weather is great, high 70s, breezy and sunny. Cadiz yesterday which I think is one of the prettiest cities in Spain. Lots of excursions into Andalusia, ie. Granada. Today, Malaga, which I enjoy but some people complain is too small and uninteresting. Au contraire. We went to the old market place, all wrought iron and stained glass, and composed a picnic for the pool grill: ham, pork salami, white anchovies, olives, manchengo cheese, bread! We were the envy of the deck! Sailed pst Mijas tonight, high up the mountain above the sea. One of those white villages, and lovely! @sea tomorrow tomorrow on our way into France.

 

Sounds fantastic! Glad you are enjoying your cruise. Maybe someday our paths will cross again!

[duct tape]

Had a chat today with the Chef, with specifics. We'll see what happens. RachelG, I goofed...SS did run excursions to Obidos, AM & PM. Going to finally get to La Chanpagne tonight. REport to follow! Terri, did I leave details about Lisbon or were you asking for some? Thanx.

[RachelG]

Thanks, duct tape.

[duct tape]

Port intensive cruises are just that, intensive and do not leave me a lot of time to post so I will try and catch up. LaChampagne food was excellent as was the service. With the set menus it used to be too much food. That is not an issue now with the ala carte meny but you ned to pay attention! It is very easy to eat too much in there. So, a few days back we were in Sete, France, gateway to Montpellier and Carcassone. They are evidently excellently restored and beautiful landscaped cities. There were excursions to both. The port of Sete itself is not much but this weekend was very special and kept us in the port. The annual Carnival, water Jousting Festival was on and very exciting and entertaining: singers, dancers and musicians wandering the streets, boas in the harbor dcecorated and some set up in a stadium-like setting for the ocontests themselves that involved local fisherman, ladders, large row boaTS, long poles and sume pusing and shoving to spill some into the harbor. Very much fun and very colorful. Then it was on the Monte Carlo and the yacht parking lot! Sure glad we didn't take our boat, we DEFINITELY need a larger boat. Business kept us occupied so we missed lunch but will make up for it next year. It was also the turn-around port with a new group of kids boarding. Will try and start another thread when I can. Enjoy!

[Dmgmd50]

Don't panic people, you won't starve. I just happen to have very high SS standards. Ramon, the regular Chef will be back soon. Had a wonderful meal in La Terrazza tonight.

 

I hope to do better than " not starve.". That should not be what to expect on a luxury cruiseship. I should be able to expect that every dinner would at least be very good if not excellent. I realize it may not be as good as a fine restaurant in a major city but some of your comments make it sound like one will be lucky if they get a decent meal.

[TLCOhio]

Had a chat today with the Chef, with specifics. We'll see what happens. RachelG, I goofed...SS did run excursions to Obidos, AM & PM. Going to finally get to La Chanpagne tonight. REport to follow! Terri, did I leave details about Lisbon or were you asking for some? Thanx.

 

YES!! You did well. Keep up the great and hard "work" with such reporting.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 79,742 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[duct tape]

Dmgdm50, sorry if my post appears "flippant". Sometimes various services run into rough spots, that is reality. All will be well with some attention that is currently being paid. Enjoy your cruise!

[Narita]

I have to agree with Duct Tape. sometimes things are a little uneven in various venues---but never bad imho. The staff works so hard for us and if an issue is noticed--- attention is paid. i look forward to 21 days on the Spirit , followed by 12 days on the newly refurbished cloud October/Nov. I will be enjoying everything and overlooking small inconsistencies.

That is a sum up of my usual life as well and it works for me/us.