Pretty food is not quality food

[oregon50]

Another tip.....bring your own facial tissue.

[CruisinPashmina]

I am on the Shadow now. The food has been just fine. Actually very good in La Terrasse for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The MDR was excellent both nights we dined there. I really like the menu change for lunch by the pool.

I honestly don't know what all these complaints are all about!

[fizzy]

Well I've never had a request for anything refused either. Just maybe it's how one handles the request. I've also never had food covered in sauces or gravy of any kind but then l do ask when ordering what is to be expected so l can gauge.

'Gourmet'....a fine line word that can be determined only by the guest.

We all have different opinions.....mine are quite simple which is probably why I'm always very happy when on board...who the hell wants to become stressed out on what is supposed to be chill time......just guess that some folk will never be satisfied....

 

Sophia [emoji5]

 

 

Unless you were in a penalty phase....why on earth would one go a cruise ship expecting and anticipating crappy, substandard food? People eating off board to get a good meal? specialcruisegirl has it right.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I just wish they would simply charge an extra $50 per diem per person and put it all into ingredients. There is still clearly a market for genuine excellence rather than marketing puff. At this end of the market, if the product genuinely improved people will pay a bit more.

 

If they did that it would remove a show stopper for many.

 

Jeff

[duct tape]

We eat lunch ashore at every opportunity. We like to see the area and maybe experience a little local gastronomy. When you cruise a lot, the food gets boring, even if it is well prepared!

[wripro]

We eat lunch ashore at every opportunity. We like to see the area and maybe experience a little local gastronomy. When you cruise a lot, the food gets boring, even if it is well prepared!

 

Totally agree. I could never understand people rushing back to the ship for lunch instead of sampling the local food.

[Mr Luxury]

Totally agree. I could never understand people rushing back to the ship for lunch instead of sampling the local food.

 

 

I'm with you both on this one,some scurry back to the ship to have lunch just because it is included and they have paid for it.

Far nicer to enjoy lunch ashore to get a feel for the place.

[cello44]

I just wish they would simply charge an extra $50 per diem per person and put it all into ingredients. There is still clearly a market for genuine excellence rather than marketing puff. At this end of the market, if the product genuinely improved people will pay a bit more.

 

If they did that it would remove a show stopper for many.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

Spot on IMO.

[RachelG]

Totally agree. I could never understand people rushing back to the ship for lunch instead of sampling the local food.

Totally agree. We like to eat lunch off the ship to sample local food whenever possible.

[Suite Travels]

On all our cruises we find a venue to eat off the ship. Some people are just afraid to eat off the ship or they are cheap. Most of the time we lunch off the ship except while at sea.:D

[UKCruiseJeff]

On all our cruises we find a venue to eat off the ship. Some people are just afraid to eat off the ship or they are cheap. Most of the time we lunch off the ship except while at sea.:D

 

The other end of that spectrum are people that like ourselves cruised extensively in the Med but knew probably more than half the ports extremely well, several of which we have either rented or owned in. We regularly travelled to many sometimes just for lunch.

 

The highlight of our days was when we returned to the ship after our early morning walk and had lunch on an empty ship. Some people dinner si the main meal, to us it has always been lunch and so in the evening we would tend to be off the ship and mooching around.

 

Silversea need to up it's food game.

 

Jeff

[Suite Travels]

The other end of that spectrum are people that like ourselves cruised extensively in the Med but knew probably more than half the ports extremely well, several of which we have either rented or owned in. We regularly travelled to many sometimes just for lunch.

 

The highlight of our days was when we returned to the ship after our early morning walk and had lunch on an empty ship. Some people dinner si the main meal, to us it has always been lunch and so in the evening we would tend to be off the ship and mooching around.

 

Silversea need to up it's food game.

 

Jeff

 

Jeff,we do the same. On overnights in port we go out and we know where to go in most ports. If not,we will get a reliable reference. Some people will eat all their meals on the ship and will not venture into great local cuisine.

 

We have sailed SS twice several years ago and the food was abysmal compared to our favorite line which is Crystal which is rated the best food at sea. We have sailed Rgent as well and the food was pretty consistent and plated well.

 

We wanted to try Seabourn but too many complaints about food and the MDR not being open for breakfast or lunch and the new Thomas Keller menu is not getting rave reviews.

 

Just my two cents.

 

BTW Jeff, I do like reading tour opinions/posts.

 

Happy Holiday's.

Edited December 18, 2015 by Suite Travels

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff,we do the same. On overnights in port we go out and we know where to go in most ports. If not,we will get a reliable reference. Some people will eat all their meals on the ship and will not venture into great local cuisine.

 

We have sailed SS twice several years ago and the food was abysmal compared to our favorite line which is Crystal which is rated the best food at sea. We have sailed Rgent as well and the food was pretty consistent and plated well.

 

We wanted to try Seabourn but too many complaints about food and the MDR not being open for breakfast or lunch and the new Thomas Keller menu is not getting rave reviews.

 

Just my two cents.

 

BTW Jeff, I do like reading tour opinions/posts.

 

Happy Holiday's.

 

Thanks you for the kind words about reading my posts and opinions! What does it feel like to be a member of a minority group! :D

 

We really love the feel of the ships when they are empty and you can spend all day with virtually no one around. And of course lunch service is always much less frantic. Just a small piece of fish and some salad and a bottle of something that has the words "I think you might like this one Mr Jeff ....." attached to it.

 

I know you said this tongue in cheek because there was a "laughy" but I do feel te need to defend those that you might describe as "cheap" but who rightly feel that if they had spent a lot of cash on a cruise that might be the only so called "upmarket" cruise they ever take and could afford that staying on the ship or returning to the ship for meals shouldn't be even light-heartedly sneered at. This might be something they spent their working lives dreaming and fantacising about and in their shoes I can see why they might not want to swap that for local colour. Some places can be tough to find good food and is a bit of a lottery for the non-savvy traveller who visits just once. Venice for example provides a challenge for the lunching visitor........

 

Anyway, I don't want to put you off my posts and opinions so I'll quit whilst I still might be a bit ahead .....:D

 

Jeff

Edited December 19, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

We wanted to try Seabourn but too many complaints about food and the MDR not being open for breakfast or lunch and the new Thomas Keller menu is not getting rave reviews.

 

BTW Jeff, I do like reading tour opinions/posts.

 

Happy Holiday's.

 

........ I meant to mention but forgot in my post.

 

The interesting thing is that Thomas Keller wrote the first authoritative book in my view on cooking sous vide - Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide. This was an expensive book for me but was the first book I bought on the topic when I originaly got into it and set aside space in my kitchen for a sous vide bath and vacuum equipment.

 

The dissapointing thing is that if ever there was a marriage of need and technology made in heaven it is sous vide and cruise ship kitchens. Everything is cooked to absolute perfection centraly and is prepared easily and quickly and then simply ressurected on demand and plated and if you want decorated. A great example from my own piccies which you may have seen is the lamb shanks I have posted piccies up recently. We are I'm afraid having these every week or so. They have been pre-cooked sous vide to absolute succulent perfection in a wonderful mint gravy in a vacuum pouch. I then reheat them. They are perfect every time. I am currently paying £2:50 per portion. They currently arrive with a use by date of 19th January because they are stored in a vacuum. I cannot source lamb shanks for that price and I cannot make a better sauce. A three hour braise is now 30 minutes and I just make the dumplings or veggies. I also buy pork belly sous vide and use that as a component either in a traditional roast or as a base for Asian meals. I had a wonderful Kleftico a week or so ago that was perfect. I sometimes buy sous vide prime pork rib racks and finish them off. a three hour job takes 25 minutes. Many of the top michelin restaurants are now centralising and distributing the proteins and veg sous vide for ressurection in the location. The issue is customer resistance when they know because they see it called "boil in the bag" although bizzarely nothing is ever boiled and most are not awarethey are eating it often already when they eat out and a lot of pre-prpared supermaket food is cooked that way. This approach also improives hygiene safety because the whole thing about sous vide is that all food is safely pasteurised because it is cooked for a set period of time to an optimum temperature and then arrested and refrigerated before it is delivered. So it also means you can have pink succulent chicken or very rare but succlent steaks with great bite for example because it has been pasteurised through the time rather than high temperature. It actually takes some adjustment to eat pink chicken because the brain rejects it.

 

Some time ago I identified from pictures Wes posted they were using sous vide for other proteins including steaks and Wes pronounced it as very good. I could tell it was sous vide from the consistant colour under the edge to edge something that cannot be achieved in any other way. Sous vide is perfect for making sub optimal steaks better in texture and bite and no one knows you have used this method.

 

I wish SS would get a sous vide expert in to advise them and then go the whole hog and centralise around half the menu that is appropriate for the method thus greatly improving that half of the munu and releasing the kitchens for stuff they can add value and time to locally.

 

Jeff

 

Edited December 19, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[Keith1010]

For those of who who love to eat of the ship, that's great. I certainly respect that and know why you like to do that. It's part of enjoyment and discovery and the overall experience.

 

At the same time for those who eat on board the ship the food should be very special too as one would expect on a luxury line.

 

My wife, Anne Marie, and I usually eat on board the ship. It's not because it's included but mainly because we know what to expect and what the standards would be and in our case we are particular about what we eat and prefer items such as salads for lunch. We also find it healthier for us to eat on board. But from time to time we will eat off the ship in places such as Europe. This is one of the reasons that we prefer cruising over all other modes of travel.

 

Food is very subjective as are so many things in life. That is evident when I read posts for all cruise lines. What I might like you might not care for and what you might like I might not care for. If we all thought the same, this would be a boring world.

 

UKJeff, my take for all luxury lines is that I would gladly pay more per diem to have a more enhanced product when it comes to the quality of ingredients. But as I read cruise critic my sense is that it will impact sales particularly if one lines does this and others don't and also because people want lower prices.

 

When you adjust for inflation taking any cruise including a luxury cruise is much cheaper than it was many years ago. This has meant that there are things done in those "good old days" of cruising that are not offered today. But I see that almost everywhere. For example, the amenities found in many Four Seasons Hotel rooms are not like they were even five years ago or stay on the Ritz Carlton Club Floor and they no longer offer some of the quality food items one would see five to ten years ago.

 

While disappointing to some of us, at the same time many cruise lines are now making money today and it wasn't that long ago when many were losing money and many have a lot of capacity to now fill.

 

On my end, we'll see first hand what we think of the food on board the Silversea Spriit in just a few weeks and I will report back. But, it will still be subjective.

 

Keith

[Emtbsam]

 

 

On my end, we'll see first hand what we think of the food on board the Silversea Spriit in just a few weeks and I will report back. But, it will still be subjective.

 

Keith

 

Keith will you be on the Grand Voyage to South America? If so, I look forward to meeting you.

[vistaman]

i am afraid on SS ( was there in 2014 and 2015 ) the food is the weakest of the so called five starred companies - also the complimentary wines

however SS does have a very good wine list - to buy - at very decent prices

in Europe i try local restaurants especially in Italy and France

i do remain of my opinion of the scandalous closing down of the main dining room both for breakfast as for lunch every day on SB

on the other side when you book a cruise on a five starred company it is not the intention that you must go ashore for lunch or dinner because the food is terrible

in 1987 i had to do it on my 2nd cruise what was a P&O - eating out in every port exception for Gibraltar ...

[Keith1010]

Keith will you be on the Grand Voyage to South America? If so, I look forward to meeting you.

 

Emtbasam would have enjoyed meeting you but we are on a cruise easier in the month of January.

 

Keith

[wripro]

Keith,

 

As always I respect your comments and thoughts more than anyone else's on these boards. But I must disagree about your earlier post regarding cruise line profits and having more capacity to fill which leads to cost cuts. Frankly, I do not care at all about their profits or what their capacity is. If they need to cut costs to accomplish these goals, but all means do so BUT DO NOT continue to advertise and market yourself as Ultra luxury and providing fine dining with quality ingredients. You are setting up your clients to expect something you have no intention of delivering and that causes resentment. Same holds true for hotels. If I find I am being shortchanged I will take my business elsewhere next time.

 

I know you love Crystal and Crystal continues to provide excellent food. So does Seabourn. If they can do it Silversea should find a way too.

[Keith1010]

Henry, as usual, excellent points on your part and I do see what you are saying about how one advertises and markets themselves. In short, if you market as a luxury product you should offer a luxurious service including food.

 

I will be sure to report back regarding our experience with respect to the food on our upcoming cruise.

 

Best to you, Henry.

 

Keith

[Capri73]

We really like SB.Have been loyal to them for the last 15 years.Last cruise was May 2015. 11 days.10 nights .The food was very good.but one night it was so bad it was funny The same table with the same staff, if that had been our first night I am not sure what our thoughts would have been..We gave up on SS years ago because of numerous issues.We will be tying SS again next year mainly for the itinerary.I hope we have the same experience 11 good nights and 1 bad.We all have an off moment.Looked at Crystal but the dining options were not for us.

We do eat on and off the ship depending on where we are.

Yes we have seen the downturn on our cruises but the staff have remained the same.Always wonderful.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Capri73

[wripro]

I look forward to that, Keith.

 

It's sad that it seems all the luxury lines are in one way or another not what they used to be.

 

I'm sailing on SS this Spring completely for the itinerary and I have very low expectations for the food so I won't be disappointed. But it shouldn't be that way. I should be looking forward to every aspect of the cruise for the amount of money it's costing.

 

Oh well! I'll survive.

[blondietoo]

We disembarked the Silver Whisper after 17 days on December 8th. Twice we asked for an Indian dinner and both times we had fabulous meals and met the Indian chef who prepared them. We found overall the food to be very good except were disappointed with Le Champagne....wasn't that special...hardly any one in there every night of the cruise.

[UKCruiseJeff]

We disembarked the Silver Whisper after 17 days on December 8th. Twice we asked for an Indian dinner and both times we had fabulous meals and met the Indian chef who prepared them. We found overall the food to be very good except were disappointed with Le Champagne....wasn't that special...hardly any one in there every night of the cruise.

 

One of the most rewarding things you can do is as early as you can request five minutes with the chef and just chat through who he has in his brigade and who shines from each different country. Ask him who you should have prepare you are an authentic national dish that you might not otherwise experience. You will be surprised at what you might experience.

 

If you ever decide on this approach it's nice to have a few small suitable gifts in case you get a chance to meet the chef.

 

Jeff

[mysty]

J...That is an awesome suggestion! Myster is especially taken with the idea! :) What is considered a "small suitable gift"? We don't have any experience in this area.