My Review on June Cruise on Silver Spirit- What's great & what needs to be improved.

[dafne]

We were on 10 day June Cruise on Silver Spirit- Monte Carlo to Athens. This was our 3rd.Silversea Cruise. The others were 7 and 10 years ago on the smaller ships. (We thought both those 2 cruises were fabulous!)

 

Booked a Veranda Suite with Balcony. The Cabin was fabulous. Great bathrooms, large walk in closet and more storage then we needed.

 

Our Butler and Room Steward were outstanding!

 

Food: This is where Silversea needs to improve. Hope Silversea Executives reads all I have to say- because so many things on the cruise were great – but there is definitely room for improvement to make everything great on a 6 star cruise.

 

On these boards everyone talks about how Oceania has the “best food “at sea.

There is no reason why Silversea shouldn’t be known for its food too. Silversea needs to find out what Oceania is doing to get the reputation that Oceania has now for food.

 

Breakfast Buffet in La Terraza: – Only had small boxed cereals. There was no good cereals like Granola. The muesli was watery and not good.

 

Pastries were small- example: Blueberry muffin was miniature size. When my husband wants a muffin- he wants a big Muffin. He felt the breakfast pastries were “fair”. Heard on Seabourn they have 4 kinds of croissants. Silversea only had one kind. Oatmeal was watery.

 

Silversea needs to bring in a top celebrity chef and work on making the breakfast buffet better.

 

If you order specialty items( that were not on the buffet) such as blueberry or banana pancakes or waffles- they were excellent.

 

I think they should have a menu showing what items you can order that are not on the buffet. So I assume, that some people did not know that you could do this.

 

I also think they should have 1 waiter for your table. Instead of 3-4 people asking if you want coffee- and then the coffee never comes- because each waiter thinks the other is getting it for you.

 

After a couple of days- we had our favorite waiters- and then everything went smoothly- when 1 waiter took care of us for the entire breakfast. We loved our favorite waiters- they were amazing!

 

Also we docked at most of the ports at 8:00 a.m.- The first few days breakfast didn’t open until 7:30 am.-which is too late – since we had private tours starting at 8:00 am. When I mentioned this to the Head of the restaurant- then they changed opening time to 7:00 a.m.

 

Dinner in the Main Dining Room: In general the food was very good. However one night 2 persons at our table had a fish- that was uneatable.

 

On one formal night there was a lobster main course dish that was excellent, and also the filet one night was also great.

 

But one night my husband ordered a strip steak (from the anytime menu) It was thin, chewy and over cooked.

 

Salads were just okay. Nothing special. Ordered blue cheese dressing one night- and it was watery with no blue cheese. Caesar salad was also fair. I heard on Oceania it is prepared tableside.

 

Hot Rocks: Enjoyed it very much. On a nice weather night – it is a fun experience. The Strip Steak was thicker then what my husband got in the main dining room. ( and tasted very good). Sides were a very small baked potato and a skewer of vegetables. On Oceania I heard their steak restaurant offers sides like cream spinach, truffle mashed potatoes, onion rings etc. Silversea should also be doing this at Hot Rocks- having more gourmet choices for side items.

 

Le Champagne: The food was excellent. Probably our best meal. However some of the items came out cold and we had to send them back to be reheated. Several other guests told us they also had their food come out cold.

 

Le Terraza at dinner: In general the food was very good here. Pasta and Risotto dishes were excellent. However one night 3 persons at our table ordered a Veal Chop. One person’s was cooked perfectly – medium as requested. The other 2 person requested medium- and it came out well done. This shouldn’t happen on a luxury cruise.

 

BBQ Buffet on the deck:This was absolutely fabulous! The food and choices were plentiful and all tasted great!

 

In conclusion about the food. We actually met with the Chef – not to be critical- but to give him suggestions on what we thought could make the dining experience on Silversea 6 stars. We even suggested they should send someone on Oceania- to see what they are doing – why people are raving about their food. Silversea should be able to duplicate the same food experience that Oceania has.

 

Many guests we spoke to who also sailed on Seabourn- felt the food on Seabourn was much better than Silversea.

 

American Express Departures had a cocktail reception one night. If you were a Platinum or Centurion card holder and paid with that card- you were invited. The Publisher and Editor of Departures and also the President of Silversea flew in for 4 days of the cruise.

The hors d'oeuvres at the reception were excellent.

 

But we didn’t see those kind of delicious hors d'oeuvres any other time.

 

In fact we felt the snack offerings at the pool before dinner- were just fair. So it showed that they are capable of having great snacks like they did at the Departures reception- they should be able to do the same on any day on the ship.

 

Positive things about the cruise:

We met interesting people from all over the world. Everyone we met were very friendly and fun to be with.

 

When coming into ports – Silversea has a covered canopy and chairs while you wait for the tender- and iced bottled water. That is a great thing.

 

Great cabins!

 

The ship is beautiful!

 

I can’t comment on the entertainment- because we ate late and never made it to the shows.

 

All the staff was excellent and will do anything you request.

 

In conclusion- We had a wonderful time- it just makes me sad because we love Silversea, and they could do a better job on the food.

 

Would we sail with them again? Not until they can work out some of their food issues. We don’t like large ships- so will probably try Seabourn next.

 

We met other guests on our cruise that sailed on Oceania. They loved the food- but didn’t like signing for everything, or having difficulty making reservations at the restaurants unless you were in larger suites.

 

We prefer an all-inclusive cruise on smaller ships. So we hope Silversea will have someone come in and revamp their food so that they can also be known as a “foodie cruise”. If they do this I think they will be booked solid-and it will then be a true 6 star ship.

[Keith1010]

Excellent and a very well balanced review.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this and to share it with everyone.

 

Keith

[UKCruiseJeff]

It's a great review and interesting that the stars of the show is always the staff and the major weakness the food.

[Mr Luxury]

 

When my husband wants a muffin- he wants a big Muffin.

 

 

Thank you for the quote of the week :)

[Mr Luxury]

 

 

Le Champagne: The food was excellent. Probably our best meal. However some of the items came out cold and we had to send them back to be reheated. Several other guests told us they also had their food come out cold.

 

In fact the food was not excellent at all.

How can you describe it so, if it was served cold.:confused:

 

Other lines are offering much better cuisine at present.

[motone]

We were also on the Monte Carlo to Athens cruise and found the food to be fine. We only ate in the main restaurant twice because we love Hot Rocks and La Terrazza. If we want something off menu, the staff will always oblige - you only have to ask. What we didn't like was the fact that we had to go to Stars on embarkation day and book what restaurants we wanted to eat in. This is a barmy idea - who knows when and where you want to eat on embarkation day?! We are on the TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale in November so hope that this barmy idea has been dispensed with.

[Emtbsam]

We were also on the Monte Carlo to Athens cruise and found the food to be fine. We only ate in the main restaurant twice because we love Hot Rocks and La Terrazza. If we want something off menu, the staff will always oblige - you only have to ask. What we didn't like was the fact that we had to go to Stars on embarkation day and book what restaurants we wanted to eat in. This is a barmy idea - who knows when and where you want to eat on embarkation day?! We are on the TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale in November so hope that this barmy idea has been dispensed with.

 

There is a large contingent of cc.com folks who will be on the TA. If you haven't already done so, take a look at the Roll Call for that crossing. Hope to see you there.

[motone]

Thanks - will check the Roll Call

[RachelG]

Thanks for your review. I have to concur regarding the food. And especially the bar snacks before dinner. Most were pretty lame. Regent(owned by same company as Oceania) has much better.

Really no excuse for improperly temperatured food in la champagne. You are paying a premium there and everything should be perfect.

[Nigella]

 

When my husband wants a muffin- he wants a big Muffin.

 

 

Thank you for the quote of the week :)

 

:D Great minds think alike.

 

I'm guessing big muffins are a US thing.

[HanaleiSailor]

Aloha Dafne,

 

Mahalo for the review. I had to chuckle a bit at the recommendation for a "celebrity chef." I think that what SS would get out of a Celebrity Chef would be increased food cost for SS and increased "Celebrity" for the chef--isn't that what their very title implies?

 

A cruise ship often orders dry goods three months in advance, and they are also limited in their choices of fresh fish, produce and fruit by itinerary and time in port; these are issues that the myriad Celebrity Chefs out in TV land do not have to deal with, nor, in my view, would they be particularly adept at doing so.

 

If the food is truly lacking, corporate needs to look more at better training for line cooks, more quality control by management, and, perhaps, increasing food cost by purchasing higher-quality ingredients. Of course, menus may also need to re-designed if many passengers do not care for the offerings, but there are many more qualified people in the industry to turn to before opening the doors of Hell's Kitchen!

 

Aloha from Hanalei,

 

Mark

PS: Muffin size and muffin quality are not always necessarily related! :)

[cruiseerf]

Thank for taking the time....Great review. Hopefully Silversea listens...... I think they do. At least I hope they do.

 

Safe Sails!

[dafne]

It doesn't have to be a "Celebrity Chef" - just a chef that knows what he is doing.

 

What is Oceania doing- that has everyone raving about their food. They did bring in a prominent chef to oversee all the food. ( I guess their chef is a consultant for all the restaurants).

 

We stayed at the Hotel Metropole in Monte Carlo before the cruise for 3 days.

Joël Robuchon has a restaurant there- but also oversees the Lobby Restaurant and the Breakfast. He is off course not there to cook the breakfast- but has trained the chefs with the recipes. My husband thought the Pastries were the best he ever tasted. He said the croissants were fabulous!

The Buffet breakfast had wonderful granola, and cereals - ( not commercial boxed cereals like Silversea)

 

So Silversea could do the same- hire someone to come in- provide the recipes for the pastries etc

 

We also traveled to Bangkok- and stayed at the Peninsula Hotel there. They had the most fabulous buffet breakfast we have ever seen. The food was amazing and the displays were magnificent.

 

Silversea's buffet breakfast looks like a cafeteria.

 

About the size of Silversea's pastry- The Blueberry muffin which was miniature- big or small it was just " fair".

[UKCruiseJeff]

It doesn't have to be a "Celebrity Chef" - just a chef that knows what he is doing.

 

What is Oceania doing- that has everyone raving about their food. They did bring in a prominent chef to oversee all the food. ( I guess their chef is a consultant for all the restaurants).

 

We stayed at the Hotel Metropole in Monte Carlo before the cruise for 3 days.

Joël Robuchon has a restaurant there- but also oversees the Lobby Restaurant and the Breakfast. He is off course not there to cook the breakfast- but has trained the chefs with the recipes. My husband thought the Pastries were the best he ever tasted. He said the croissants were fabulous!

The Buffet breakfast had wonderful granola, and cereals - ( not commercial boxed cereals like Silversea)

 

So Silversea could do the same- hire someone to come in- provide the recipes for the pastries etc

 

We also traveled to Bangkok- and stayed at the Peninsula Hotel there. They had the most fabulous buffet breakfast we have ever seen. The food was amazing and the displays were magnificent.

 

Silversea's buffet breakfast looks like a cafeteria.

 

About the size of Silversea's pastry- The Blueberry muffin which was miniature- big or small it was just " fair".

 

Hi Dafne,

 

I hope you had a chance to sample street food in Bangkok!

 

This issue of food quality I am afraid is unlikely to be "sorted". They don't need to sort it. I've thought about this a lot and I have found the threads to be educational to me about some of the cultural and institutional differences between the US and in particular the UK.

 

We have a terrible compensation society that has grown in the UK. However the upside of that is when people go on holiday or cruises and it is below what they had expected they come back and complain. They take photographs, names and addresses of co-sufferers and complain. If they do not receive a refund or part refund they use what we have in the UK - a "small claims procedure". This means that for a few pounds and without lawyers they can bring a holiday company or cruise line to court. Companies nearly always settle. This ease of litigation has helped push up standards because here it is cheaper to improve than keep paying the claims.

 

The threads have thrown up two things to me. Firstly the threshold at which Brits will complain about the quality of food seems a bit earlier. Perhaps American are simply nicer. Secondly, Americans are less protected with respect to what is marketing puff and what are clear contractual obligations. I put it down to the higher corporate sway in American legislation eg just think of banking.

 

The issue is that most of SS customers are Americans and they do not litigate for poor food. If the majority of customers were Brits then SS food would improve much more quickly because it would simply be cheaper for SS to improve the food than continue to pay the claims and see it's reputation trashed in our Daily Mail.

 

That is my take as a result of what I have learned from my American friends here. :)

[Mr Luxury]

Jeff,can one also deduce that Europeans have a higher level of cuisine than those in the U.S.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff,can one also deduce that Europeans have a higher level of cuisine than those in the U.S.

 

We dare not. :D

 

There are cul-de- sacs down which we should not venture. Whatever else is or might be true, this food will not improve because it needn't.

[Travelcat2]

All we need is for the U.S. to find another thing to litigate! I thought that there were more Europeans than North Americans that sail on Silversea? If this is the case, y'all need to do something about the food on SS:D

 

Agree about street food in Bangkok but feel that the best street food in the world is in Singapore! Also agree that food in some parts of Europe are better than some parts of the U.S. On the other hand, it would be hard to compete with top restaurants in New York and Chicago.

 

This review was interesting. It verifies in my mind that the issue of food taste and quality is fleet wide and not specific to one ship.

[newlondon]

Jeff, You are a sly fox:p

[UKCruiseJeff]

All we need is for the U.S. to find another thing to litigate! I thought that there were more Europeans than North Americans that sail on Silversea? If this is the case, y'all need to do something about the food on SS:D

 

Agree about street food in Bangkok but feel that the best street food in the world is in Singapore!

 

I totally agree with your overal sentiment. We gained out litigation increase largely from what we saw from the US particularly personal accidents etc. However we took it one stage further. What many Americans don't understand is that we made access to the courts for smaller non-complex issues cheaper and easier. Low costs, no lawyers fees reimbursed, informal around the table hearings. I don't think Big American Business would allow that approach in the US.

 

This means that virtually none of this ends up in court. A person with a reasonable complaint backed-up by common sense, sensible precedent and execellent consumer laws explains it to the company that has failed to provide what was bought and they basically settle before it ever gets mucky. Eventually they realise that making promises they don't intend to keep is more expensive than only promising what you can provide and then providing it. We have less court hearings and more corporations being honest.

 

We're in Singapore in exactly 15 days time ... for 16 days..... so I wholeheartedly agree.

 

:)

[wripro]

Another vote for Singapore street food. Maybe that's what Silversea needs, not a celebrity chef but a Hawker Center that serves chili crabs.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Another vote for Singapore street food. Maybe that's what Silversea needs, not a celebrity chef but a Hawker Center that serves chili crabs.

 

Absolutely.

 

We're spending around 4 weeks each year in Singapore and it is the center of our food world. Hawker sellers normally make and specialise in a single dish that they and their families have been making for generations. Each hawker is hygiene inspected and rated on a regular basis and their scores are prominently displayed for all to see. They break the law if their scores aren't displayed. Finding the best places is simple. There are queues. It's impossible to spend more than a few dollars on a meal (except chilli or pepper crabs!) and Singapore is the genuine fusion food capital of the world.

 

Very much looking forward to our next trip!

[dafne]

Silversea just needs to bring in someone to analyze what can be improved on their

food offerings.

 

Their are so many great chefs out there.

 

I thought of Tom Colicchio because he is an excellent judge on Top Chef.

But there are many others too.

 

He has very successful restaurants.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Silversea just needs to bring in someone to analyze what can be improved on their

food offerings.

 

Their are so many great chefs out there.

 

I thought of Tom Colicchio because he is an excellent judge on Top Chef.

But there are many others too.

 

He has very successful restaurants.

 

The food issues on SS have absolutely nothing to do with the onboard chefs. It is over prescriptive centralised control of provisioning and menu planning and control in order to keep costs down to the lowest level they believe they can get away with.

 

It is pointless employing good chefs if you tie both their hands behind their backs.

[Mr Luxury]

Good chefs work well with good ingredients,unfortunately the level of these ingredients has been cut to a level below what a good chef will work with.

It's a shame really.