Seabourn - in the Med - food......and the rest

[Sunprince]

hello

 

Somebody told me that everything concerning the food is DICTATED TO DETAIL BY HQ.So, if so the chef can't do mutch about it.

In this case,correct me when i am wrong,the chef is no longer a chef,but a "cook"who works in a ship's galley.So i do not see that he can present a plate (dish ) to be proud off,or he diserves a gr.award in the category non fiction.

/QUOTE]

 

If this statement is true, then why does the Chef bother to go into each port and buy fresh local ingredients to prepare meals back on the ship? Why does the chef take Seabourn passengers with him on his "shopping with the chef" trips? Perhaps if you had participated then you could have asked the Chef directly? But maybe it is easier to make wrong assumptions and complain after the fact?

[lis1407]

Good morning Sunprince

 

You can not complaining BEFORE the facts,or You are malicious,and i am not.

Have a good day :)

[lis1407]

Sounds like you're taking a lot of pleasure in the OP's post, lis1407. Hope I'm wrong!

 

hello

 

Taking a lot of pleasure in an other's misfortune is not nice,so i do not.

But stick to the facts.He is complaining about a lot of things,wright or wrong,but that's his opinion,and You have to respect that.

As i wrote in a previous comment i had the same exp.and i got the same reactions as HE has right now.I was wrong, He is wrong,SB is the best, period.

It seems,its not done give any negative commend on SB.There are always some people who are trying to prove that YOU are wrong,because they had other exp.

As You can see,i am from europe ( belguim ) and somethimes we see things in a different PERSPECTIVE ( i mean dif. NOT BETTER ) but i am not prepared to find everything splendit,brilliant,fantastic and fine because its SB.

Some people seems too think that attacking is the best defence.

Don't shoot the pianist.

So in one way You are not wrong,because now i know i am not the only one who dares to critisice SB.On the other way it gives me a bad taste,because once i loved SB.They read the commends,and when they can,and when it's negative ,they try to involve ( not on cc,they can't i think)i have exp. that.

I am aware of my bad English,sorry for that.

 

Have a nice day.

[frantic36]

Unfortunately home already and having to deal with the fact I will be cooking dinner tonight......luckily my sons and husband will do the cleaning up.

 

Sorry I have been off line and couldn't reply to some of you. Life got busy on board and it is over 24 hours travelling time to get home when you include time sitting in airports.

 

Markham, I seem to remember you sneaking off for a cruise around the Greek Isles without us!! We are looking forward to catching in January, we will have to see about champagne tasting :).

 

Nigella I hope you have a wonderful cruise. We certainly enjoyed ours. The food was very good and both Chef Neal and Chef Tom were aiming to please. Not everything was perfect and we had some meals in the main dining room we that were only fair. But I have been to some top restaurants on land and have had this happen as well.

 

One comment, we did notice most of the fresh food we bought in the markets ended up in the Colonnade not the main dining room which was a pity. Only some fresh sea bream bought in Livorno ended up in the MDR.

 

Les Picantins thank you for your suggestion re shoes in Catania. I had to take sandals but they were washable. Luckily I can happily report that though wet in places, no obvious blood on the ground.

 

We had a wonderful time and Chef Neal and Martizzio (sp) our guide were very informative and fun. The Food & Beverages manager who was with us started getting very pale when Chef Neal bought 69 kilos of fresh swordfish and tuna. He continued to whiten as fresh figs, cherries, cheeses and some very aromatic herbs was added to the shopping list. Luckily they stopped spending before he fainted.

 

The swordfish and tuna was served in the Colonnade that night. We missed out as we were dining that night with friends we had made who only dine in the MDR. That's fine as we had a lovely dinner with new friends who we will meet again on Encore, all being well.

 

I will try and do a review in the coming days on a new thread.

 

Julie

 

P.S. Can't comment on afternoon tea as I put on enough weight without eating there as well :o.

[frantic36]

hello

 

Taking a lot of pleasure in an other's misfortune is not nice,so i do not.

But stick to the facts.He is complaining about a lot of things,wright or wrong,but that's his opinion,and You have to respect that.

As i wrote in a previous comment i had the same exp.and i got the same reactions as HE has right now.I was wrong, He is wrong,SB is the best, period.

It seems,its not done give any negative commend on SB.There are always some people who are trying to prove that YOU are wrong,because they had other exp.

As You can see,i am from europe ( belguim ) and somethimes we see things in a different PERSPECTIVE ( i mean dif. NOT BETTER ) but i am not prepared to find everything splendit,brilliant,fantastic and fine because its SB.

Some people seems too think that attacking is the best defence.

Don't shoot the pianist.

So in one way You are not wrong,because now i know i am not the only one who dares to critisice SB.On the other way it gives me a bad taste,because once i loved SB.They read the commends,and when they can,and when it's negative ,they try to involve ( not on cc,they can't i think)i have exp. that.

I am aware of my bad English,sorry for that.

 

Have a nice day.

 

lis1407 I am sorry you feel you can't criticise here on this board.

 

When I replied to the comments made by kej1 I specifically tried to address specific issue re fresh food. For example; their comment that the food didn't appear fresh only frozen or stale. Also the comment that implied that being in the Med where "local food sources are great" and they felt Seabourn was not buying from the local markets. So I only described what I had experienced by way of contrast.

 

I also stated I am not eating from their plate so I would not say they are not having poor meals. Maybe they were very unlucky and had many poor meals to the time of their review.....for their sake I hope it has improved. We had some dishes that were also only fair and to be honest the Chef's dinner on Formal night was not my favourite. However we also had many delicious meals on board so I hope it is not wrong of me to share this as well.

 

For example-

I asked the Hostess when escargots were likely to be featured and was informed I had missed them two nights previously. Diana suggested I order them for a special meal the next night.......in fact she then suggested we get the Chateaubriand and Crepe Suzette. So we did and it was delicious and served efficiently. I will admit some meals we had in the MDR were slow in the execution but we try to focus on the positives of the cruise.

 

I know you had a disappointing Food and Wine cruise and that especially would be an unhappy experience as you would have been looking forward to it I'm sure before the cruise.

 

Where ever you cruise next and who ever you choose to cruise with I hope you have a very enjoyable experience.

 

Regards,

 

Julie

[lis1407]

Good morning Julie

 

Thanks for Your commend.

A Very good balanced one.

With pro's and cont's on the wright place.

I began to feel like the black sheep,or the rotten apple in the basket,but You gife mankind hope (lol)

Good to know that there are SB cruisers with both feed on the ground.

I can live with Your very civilized upbraid,thank You.

 

Hope to see one day on a cruise

regards

[Nigella]

 

Nigella I hope you have a wonderful cruise. We certainly enjoyed ours. The food was very good and both Chef Neal and Chef Tom were aiming to please. Not everything was perfect and we had some meals in the main dining room we that were only fair. But I have been to some top restaurants on land and have had this happen as well.

 

One comment, we did notice most of the fresh food we bought in the markets ended up in the Colonnade not the main dining room which was a pity. Only some fresh sea bream bought in Livorno ended up in the MDR.

 

 

We had a wonderful time and Chef Neal and Martizzio (sp) our guide were very informative and fun. The Food & Beverages manager who was with us started getting very pale when Chef Neal bought 69 kilos of fresh swordfish and tuna. He continued to whiten as fresh figs, cherries, cheeses and some very aromatic herbs was added to the shopping list. Luckily they stopped spending before he fainted.

 

The swordfish and tuna was served in the Colonnade that night. We missed out as we were dining that night with friends we had made who only dine in the MDR. That's fine as we had a lovely dinner with new friends who we will meet again on Encore, all being well.

 

I will try and do a review in the coming days on a new thread.

 

Julie

 

P.S. Can't comment on afternoon tea as I put on enough weight without eating there as well :o.

 

Julie, thank you for taking the time to write some more.

 

The local foods that were purchased sound wonderful.

 

We're back on Sojourn in 5 weeks' time, this time with my parents-in-law. It will be their first time on SB, although they are very experienced cruisers with the other luxury lines. They've chosen SB for a family celebration based solely on our strong recommendation, so naturally I'm very keen for them to experience SB at its best. The cruise we're taking is in the area where they live in the south of France, so they will have high expectations to enjoy some of the great local foods that they're so familiar with.

 

Like you, I've noticed on at least one other cruise that most of the purchases from shopping with the chef tend to appear in the Colonnade, often at lunch time.

 

Thanks again.

 

[Scott1sh]

If this statement is true, then why does the Chef bother to go into each port and buy fresh local ingredients to prepare meals back on the ship? Why does the chef take Seabourn passengers with him on his "shopping with the chef" trips? Perhaps if you had participated then you could have asked the Chef directly? But maybe it is easier to make wrong assumptions and complain after the fact?

 

 

I spent quite a lot of time chatting with the chef on the Odyssey in May. He told me that HQ dictate the menus for six out of seven of the evening meals in the MDR. The only true flexibility he has is for the weekly gala / celebration meal and this is where he uses his purchases from shopping with the chef. I'm not sure if this applies to The Colonnade as well but I can assure that it IS the case for the MDR.

[lis1407]

Scott1sh,

thank You,

Some cracks in the wall?

Regards.

[Tillylovesseabourn]

I have always found any issues to be rectified immediately, and anyone saying that everything should be perfect everytime all of the time for everyone is extremely naive. Of course not all of the food will be to everyones taste, but on our last trip in july we had one issue with restaurant 2 and within two minutes of us leaving the restaurant and going to the pool bar we were met with the food and beverage manager, who had taken it upon himself to come up to us and see if we wanted alternative food, etc etc, they could not have been more caring or professional and we had not complained.

So, if the Op had mentioned the problem i am extremely confident that the matter would have been resolved both quickly and efficiently.

[Kevnzworld]

If this statement is true, then why does the Chef bother to go into each port and buy fresh local ingredients to prepare meals back on the ship? Why does the chef take Seabourn passengers with him on his "shopping with the chef" trips? Perhaps if you had participated then you could have asked the Chef directly? But maybe it is easier to make wrong assumptions and complain after the fact?

 

 

I spent quite a lot of time chatting with the chef on the Odyssey in May. He told me that HQ dictate the menus for six out of seven of the evening meals in the MDR. The only true flexibility he has is for the weekly gala / celebration meal and this is where he uses his purchases from shopping with the chef. I'm not sure if this applies to The Colonnade as well but I can assure that it IS the case for the MDR.

 

I've been on two shopping with the chef excursions. On the last I asked the chef about this topic. He smiled and said that the evening menus are designed to be served fleet wide. The chef has a lot more latitude at lunch. They customarily will bring local ingredients onboard as I'm sure most of you have seen in the colonnade .

[tv24]

On our long SB cruise, we made friends with the maitre'd in the Colonnade. We had quite a few conversations with him. He indicated that in general the menus are prepared by Holland-America in Seattle and are presented to the chefs/cooks on recipe cards that must be followed. Reflecting back on that, I am sure there must be some exceptions, such as when fresh food from the Shopping with the Chef expeditions is available. And there are probably some other exceptions as well. Also reflecting on this, I wonder how many other cruise lines follow the same procedure in the interest of controlling food stock and costs. Plus the complications of needing lots of frozen food on board for very long cruises.

[Sunviking]

On our long SB cruise, we made friends with the maitre'd in the Colonnade. We had quite a few conversations with him. He indicated that in general the menus are prepared by Holland-America in Seattle and are presented to the chefs/cooks on recipe cards that must be followed. Reflecting back on that, I am sure there must be some exceptions, such as when fresh food from the Shopping with the Chef expeditions is available. And there are probably some other exceptions as well. Also reflecting on this, I wonder how many other cruise lines follow the same procedure in the interest of controlling food stock and costs. Plus the complications of needing lots of frozen food on board for very long cruises.

 

I believe this is the policy of many cruise lines. We have taken behind the scenes tours on a couple of mainstream ships, and during the galley tour we've been told that meat and fish are delivered frozen by the container load from the US in certain ports. Likewise many galley staples are delivered in the same way. Only fresh produce is locally sourced. We were told this was done to control quality as well as costs. I think despite menus being set by headquarters, the chef in charge of preparation can have a tremendous impact on the taste. We have sailed on a ship where one Executive Chef was replaced by another in the middle of our cruise because it was time for the first's vacation. The food served on the two legs changed (for the better we thought).

[Sunprince]

There are no cracks my friend. One would be foolish to believe that there is not some standardization of menus on Seabourn or any other cruise line) And there are probably very good reasons for this such as ensuring all Seabourn guests receive the same level of quality, presentation etc. I think this is a good thing. I agree that most of the chef local purchases appear in the Collanade, however on my recent Med cruise there was a local fish choice in the MDR.

 

As for other cruise lines I can only comment on Regent where I have not seen shopping with the chef, nor the purchase of local food. I did a galley tour on Regent, spoke with the chef so I am basing on that conversation. Regent food appears to be much more driven by Miami HQ than Seabourn...but I am sure Regent aficionados will correct me on this if I am not off base.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Sunprince

[ravenclaw]

hello

 

Somebody told me that everything concerning the food is DICTATED TO DETAIL BY HQ.So, if so the chef can't do mutch about it.

In this case,correct me when i am wrong,the chef is no longer a chef,but a "cook"who works in a ship's galley.So i do not see that he can present a plate (dish ) to be proud off,or he diserves a gr.award in the category non fiction.

/QUOTE]

 

If this statement is true, then why does the Chef bother to go into each port and buy fresh local ingredients to prepare meals back on the ship? Why does the chef take Seabourn passengers with him on his "shopping with the chef" trips? Perhaps if you had participated then you could have asked the Chef directly? But maybe it is easier to make wrong assumptions and complain after the fact?

 

That's a marketing angle..I've been on over a dozen Seabourn "Shopping with the Chef" outings...even led/assisted on two based on my language skills...chef fills in some shortages, mostly on the fruit/vegetable side...never meat, (in my experience) and sometimes fish. But nothing in quantities for 400 plus passengers. The port agent does that.

[Chairsin]

Actually they can buy some meat if it is preserved in some fashion. We have been with chefs who have bought prosciutto, iberico ham and salami.

[2SailingNomads]

Actually they can buy some meat if it is preserved in some fashion. We have been with chefs who have bought prosciutto, iberico ham and salami.

 

Yes on multiple occasions, especially for Officers On Deck parties, the preserved meats have been locally sourced.

[SKP946]

Yes on multiple occasions, especially for Officers On Deck parties, the preserved meats have been locally sourced.

 

On our recent cruise in Norway and the Baltic we were fortunate to go Shopping with TWO Chefs in Bergen, Norway.

I asked could we buy any of the exotic sausage ( Moose, Reindeer or Whale) that was on display, I was told quite definitely NOT !

 

Having lunch on the Colonnade side veranda on a cruise changeover day, we watched as two big trucks were unloaded below us.

Our Chef and a couple of his under-chefs were down there opening and checking every pallet and box before it was brought on board.

Each individual styrofoam box of fish on ice on a pallet was taken off, opened and checked, before being restacked on another pallet to be loaded on the ship by forklift.

With the pallets of fruit and fresh berries individual boxes/punnets were pulled out and the fruit/berries checked before being accepted.

I was most impressed with the thoroughness of the whole procedure AND that the Top Guy was out there doing the checking.

[Kevnzworld]

When we stopped in Corsica, the chefs bought fresh Mussels and they were served in the Colonnade for lunch the next day.

[georg0]

Very disappointing. We leave on a Seabourn cruise in October. We have enjoyed Regent cruises and fresh food recently. We have been on several Holland America cruises. Last time we went to Alaska, we were disappointed when we visited lots of Fresh Salmon sites, only to be informed that Holland America must only use fish it loaded in Seattle for some unfathomable reason. Sigh!

[frantic36]

Very disappointing. We leave on a Seabourn cruise in October. We have enjoyed Regent cruises and fresh food recently. We have been on several Holland America cruises. Last time we went to Alaska, we were disappointed when we visited lots of Fresh Salmon sites, only to be informed that Holland America must only use fish it loaded in Seattle for some unfathomable reason. Sigh!

 

I am confused by your comment....mind you it could be my jet lag? Why are you disappointed? Seabourn does serve fresh food as well as some frozen food. Are you saying Regent only serves fresh food?

 

Julie

[markham]

Frantic36,

 

Apparently some people choose the be disappointed even before they have had the experience they are complaining about. Maybe they enjoy it, somehow.

 

So why try to reason with them when they are clearly unreasonable? Not worth my time or yours....

 

Happy sailing!

Edited August 9, 2015 by markham

[frantic36]

It doesn't matter really I guess.

 

I am just grateful Seabourn does the Shopping with the Chef in some ports as it is such an education. Interestingly Chef Neal said he won't do it with guests in Barcelona. He said it tried it once and it was so stressful and crowded with shop keepers yelling at them. He swore he would never try it again. But he does shop in Barcelona markets for the ship by himself.

 

Off to have a nap to cope with jet lag and broken sleep.

 

Take care markham.

 

Julie

[lis1407]

On our long SB cruise, we made friends with the maitre'd in the Colonnade. We had quite a few conversations with him. He indicated that in general the menus are prepared by Holland-America in Seattle and are presented to the chefs/cooks on recipe cards that must be followed. Reflecting back on that, I am sure there must be some exceptions, such as when fresh food from the Shopping with the Chef expeditions is available. And there are probably some other exceptions as well. Also reflecting on this, I wonder how many other cruise lines follow the same procedure in the interest of controlling food stock and costs. Plus the complications of needing lots of frozen food on board for very long cruises.

 

Hello,

Very informative posts.

 

in the interest of controlling food stock and costs......

Good point........

Costs.....money money money,its so funny in a richtsman's world.

I think every cruise line ( american or amercan based ) follows the same procedure.Nothing wrong with that.I don't know how Costa or MSC manages this.I don't believe that MSC is flying over food from europe to the Divina in the USA.

I wonder,is it really cheaper fly over ( to europe ) frozen meat or fish FROM THE USA,instead of buying them in local ports.Tranport and warehousing is very expensive i think

The logistic facilitys in the european ports are in general very good.

So SB can handle it,if they want to.

Is it possible, that it has something to do with the standards of SB?

"all our meat comes from.......X or y ranch.....

As You probably know,the rules,about food,conserning aditifs, preserving etc.... are different in europe.Another reason can be that they can buy much and much cheaper in the USA,or that they like to buy in the USA for some reason.Has it something to do with hygiene?Food and drugs adminitration?

I don't know,just asking.

 

Thanks

[Tillylovesseabourn]

Two weeks ago on odyssey we had Maine lobster flown in for the gala dinner which was fresh.

And last year the patio grill served sardines fresh that day from Patmos in the greek islands.