Meal and show times, afternoon food

[turtlemichael]

Given your negative experience on Silversea in the past, a very wise decision is to stick with Regent.

[ericfromri]

On 7/8/2021 at 1:07 AM, Stumblefoot said:

Dinner still starts @ 7:00p with an ability to be seated anytime through about 9:30p.  Shows tend to begin @ 9:30p or 10:00p, I believe.  Pure perfection as far as we’re concerned.

i love your profile pic    

Yukon Cornelius:
Observe the bumble's one weakness... The bumble sinks! Ha ha!

 

[brimary]

59 minutes ago, Mayflower1 said:

So pleased that we will not have to encounter this couple of ' Glass half Empty ' Cruisers again on Silversea. I doubt that any Line will suit them.

Hi Mayflower hope you are both well .We are in total agreement as ever and our solution to this major problem would be to ask the excellent Silversea crew to take away the cold cheese and bread and serve us with a hot portion and in our experience it would be done.We are definitely in the glass full brigade but unfortunately not full for long!!

[frantic36]

13 hours ago, Joanandjoe said:

We will not sail Silversea again.  Silversea is supposed to be a LUXURY line.  You don't wind up eating cold cheese and bread from breakfast at 4 PM on a LUXURY line.  Your complaints don't go unanswered on a LUXURY line.  

 

 

Can I gently suggest you don't try Seabourn either as they have a similar style with regard to dinner in the MDR starting at 7pm and shows at 9.15pm though they have some on Ovation and Encore at 6.30pm which is probably too early for your dinner time. The special restaurant TK Grill opens at 6pm but that is very popular with a fixed menu so not something you would be able to eat in every meal.

 

There is a very good afternoon tea apparently  but it isn't something I have looked into too.

[Silver Spectre]

Dinner between 5:30 and 6:15! That’s either a slightly late tea time or when afloat with SS, time for an early cocktail. If I remember way back to our days with Princess, even first sitting ‘dinner’ didn’t begin until 6:30.

[turtlemichael]

1 minute ago, Silver Spectre said:

Dinner between 5:30 and 6:15! That’s either a slightly late tea time or when afloat with SS, time for an early cocktail. If I remember way back to our days with Princess, even first sitting ‘dinner’ didn’t begin until 6:30.

When I was a lot younger that was a slightly late breakfast!

[Mayflower1]

Good Afternoon Brimary - hope you are both well - We have both seen many examples of ' Sad ' Guests over the years but as you so rightly say The Half Empty Glass so often gets replenished on Silversea to make the syndrome a non starter  for all but the saddest !!!!

 

Fortunately my dear Wife is progressing after a torrid time in Hospital and we are sincerely hoping that we can get back to Cruising as we all knew it before too long - we are booked on The Moon Stockholm to Southampton in August 2022 but maybe something before will beckon if Covid allows,  providing the PCR Tests/Masks Issue becomes less of a feature ( and also Flying becomes more attractive ?? ).

 

Have you anything planned ?

[brimary]

Mayflower.....So sorry to hear of your wife’s hospitalisation,and sincerely hope all goes well with the recovery process...pass on our best wishes for a full recovery.We have nothing planned for return to cruising as it appears to be too far from normal at the moment.Hoping for a resumption in2023.

[Joanandjoe]

Joan and I are definitely not "glass half empty" people.  Actually, we tend to err on the side of optimism.  I asked because I hoped to persuade Joan to try Silversea again.  Based on her "we'll never sail on Silversea again" post (yes, both of us post on CC under the Joanandjoe handle), it's a lost cause.

 

Just for the record:

 

1) I ordered a Margareta pizza in Spaccanapoli.  The waiter didn't mention that there was a large group that was hidden from view and had just ordered more than 15 pizzas.  After 40 minutes I received a pizza loaded with pork, which I don't eat.  Yes, I went hungry on Silversea.

 

2) We ate at Indochine twice. Once was fine.  The other time, we ate with another couple.  They got their food promptly, but nothing came for us.  Finally we asked the Maître D;' who said that our order had been lost.   We got our meal 55  minutes after ordering, and after our companions had finished dessert.

 

3) Our order was also messed up in Silver note. Plus, I'm allergic to chocolate and Joan to strawberries.  Basically, they didn't have a dessert for us, and everything next door at the bar was chocolate or a single shrimp in a gloppy sauce.

 

4) La Dame was marvelous. 

 

5) We were never able to get a reservation at the Japanese restaurant.  We also never had room service delivered in under 30 minutes. The meal at the Grill, which opens at 6, was so disappointing that we didn't try it a second time.

 

6) After the Spaccanapoli disaster, we asked to speak to the food service manager.  He finally saw us on the last day of the cruise.  Not much use.

 

I give up.  Bad dining experiences at 4 or five different venues may just be bad luck; but that's what our experience was.  Have we had bad experiences on Regent?  Of course, but they were rare, so we shrugged them off.  On our Silver Spirit cruise, bad dining experiences were almost as common as good ones.  I hoped that this thread would convince Joan to try Silversea again; but, based on her post, that won't happen.

 

I wish all of you smooth sailing, and better experiences on Silversea than we had.  Goodbye.  Joe

 

 

 

 

[Observer]

1 hour ago, Joanandjoe said:

 

1) I ordered a Margareta pizza in Spaccanapoli.  The waiter didn't mention that there was a large group that was hidden from view and had just ordered more than 15 pizzas.  

 

I know this outlet well, and I do not see how any tables (much less one for 15) could be "hidden from view."

 

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2) We ate at Indochine twice. Once was fine.  The other time, we ate with another couple.  They got their food promptly, but nothing came for us.  Finally we asked the Maître D;' who said that our order had been lost.   We got our meal 55  minutes after ordering, and after our companions had finished dessert.

 

Again, this is very puzzling.  One would have thought that the fine restaurant crew would have recognized that half the table was missing their food.  I cannot imagine dining with rude tablemates who forge ahead with ordering and eating their dessert before their companions had even had their mains.

 

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3) Our order was also messed up in Silver note. Plus, I'm allergic to chocolate and Joan to strawberries.  Basically, they didn't have a dessert for us, and everything next door at the bar was chocolate or a single shrimp in a gloppy sauce.

 

My recollection is that Arts Cafe has a variety of sweets, cakes and fruits in the evening, not merely chocolate.

 

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5) We were never able to get a reservation at the Japanese restaurant. 

 

 

Many people make reservations online before sailing.  There are always cancellations/opening during cruises.

 

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The meal at the Grill, which opens at 6, was so disappointing that we didn't try it a second time.

 

The Grill/Hot Rocks opens at 7 pm, like most outlets.

 

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6) After the Spaccanapoli disaster, we asked to speak to the food service manager.  He finally saw us on the last day of the cruise.  Not much use.

 

When did you ask?  The next to last day?  Whom did you ask?  If I did not have a response within, say, 24 hours, I would have consulted the Guest Relations Manager or simply registered my disappointment with Reception.

 

In any case, it's still unclear to me why you would try to persuade Joan to return to Silversea when you say you had such a run of poor service there, etc.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Observer

[Joanandjoe]

At the pizzeria, the seating area was empty; but apparently the large group was either downstairs or somewhere else where we didn't see them.  We didn't find out about the group until we received our incorrect pizza order.

 

It's obvious that we had an untypically bad experience, so I've been trying to persuade Joan to try again.  As noted. Silversea has some fabulous itineraries, including the Gulf of Bothnia cruise that we were on.  We would love to have access to such itineraries.

 

Our companions weren't rude:  we told them that "good manners spoil good food".  They sat with us until we were done, and they were charming.  We eventually found out that a waiter other than ours had taken our order, and our waiter didn't realize what had happened.

 

We went to the front desk at least four times, starting on the second or third day, asking for either the food service manager or the guest relations manager.  No food service or guest relations manager, no apology, no contact at all from management then or after the cruise. 

 

On our cruise, the Grill opened at 6.

 

Actually, we are surprised that no one from Silversea management has responded to this thread.

 

[ronrick1943]

You everybody has their own experience and no else can judge that.  Once on Regent we order dinner, waiting a bit too long—believe it or not the meat was raw inside—-we send it back and about 30 minutes later we got a well burn chop came out with very cold sides.  Things happen, would that stop me from cruising Regent—no, in fact we booked another cruise on the ship.  That said we do get bored sometime when we cruise one line for awhile—because we know exactly what will happen non the cruise—-that’s why we are trying Silverseas- we want something new to look forward too.  

I think you should do what’s right for you, after all it’s your money you’re spending.

[turtlemichael]

I'm still trying to work out the purpose of this thread. As the OP's experience were so bad, why would you ever think of coming back?   Time for all of us to move on I suggest.

Edited July 11, 2021 by turtlemichael

[ronrick1943]

3 hours ago, turtlemichael said:

I'm still trying to work out the purpose of this thread. As the OP's experience were so bad, why would you ever think of coming back?   Time for all of us to move on I suggest.

Agree, 100%—what is the point after all of this………………

[cruiseej]

16 hours ago, Joanandjoe said:

Actually, we are surprised that no one from Silversea management has responded to this thread.

 

I have never seen someone from Silversea management reply to threads on this forum. I doubt they have anyone reading them. Perhaps sometime in the distant past? But not in recent times. (They are responsive on Facebook, however, but its harder to "hold a conversation" or write detailed posts on that platform.)

[Gourmet Gal]

On 7/7/2021 at 1:43 PM, Joanandjoe said:

We have had one cruise on Silversea, on the Silver Spirit from Copenhagen to Stockholm via the Gulf of Bothnia. The ship was beautiful, and the unusual ports, most of which rarely welcome cruise ships, were great.  Still, we were only partially satisfied with the experience. Why? Because we were hungry most afternoons, and didn't get to see any shows.

 

We normally start dinner between 5:30 and 6:15 pm.  Dinner time on our cruise was 7 pm, which was way too late for us, and made the shows too late for us.  We never found a venue where we could get an afternoon snack to tide us over.  Room service was very slow.  There was no tea time, which is a highlight for us on other cruise lines (such as Regent).  The pizza place was so messed up that it took 40 minutes for them  to deliver the wrong pizza, which I couldn't eat because of the toppings.  We didn't find out about the gelato at the pizza place until the last afternoon of our cruise.

 

Sounds like your cruise was a comedy of errors and doesn’t even sound like any SS cruise I’ve been on.  Your butler is there to make things happen for you such as making sure you don’t go hungry.  Sorry to hear that your butler didn’t respond to your requests.  As for dinner being at 7:00, if you can obtain some sustenance in the afternoon is it really a deal breaker to deviate from your normal non-vacation eating schedule?

[Gourmet Gal]

On 7/7/2021 at 3:33 PM, Observer said:

Snacks are available throughout the day -- including a full array of traditional tea items mid-afternoon -- in Arts Cafe on Musified ships (including Spirit).  On the older, smaller ships there is a formal tea service, generally in Panorama.  

 

There is of course a difference among ships in the Silversea fleet.  It would be helpful if you said what ship you are considering.

Surprising that as strict and sometimes as formal as the dress code is that there isn’t a proper tea service on all the non-expedition SS vessels.  It’s not a deal breaker but I would miss that lovely afternoon ritual.  Just wondering if the newer ships are a bit more casual with the less structured tea offerings and if that means there may eventually be a loosening of the dress code.  Despite my enjoyment of a proper tea service, can’t say I’m fond of formal attire at dinner on a ship.

[Gourmet Gal]

17 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Sounds like your cruise was a comedy of errors and doesn’t even sound like any SS cruise I’ve been on.  Your butler is there to make things happen for you such as making sure you don’t go hungry.  Sorry to hear that your butler didn’t respond to your requests.  As for dinner being at 7:00, if you can obtain some sustenance in the afternoon is it really a deal breaker to deviate from your normal non-vacation eating schedule?

Also, I see that your standard for room service seems to be under 30 minutes.  Did you receive your orders close to 30 minutes?  To me, that seems reasonable and better than most high end hotels.  Not sure I would consider it a negative.

[Stumblefoot]

1 minute ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Just wondering if the newer ships are a bit more casual with the less structured tea offerings…

I can’t speak for the Moon or Spirit, but on the Muse one could have a proper afternoon tea service if they so wanted in Arts Cafe.  As weird as this may sound, we found it much more intimate in Arts rather than the largesse of the Panorama Lounge.  With that said, it certainly was super casual.

[Gourmet Gal]

Sounds great!

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

I can’t speak for the Moon or Spirit, but on the Muse one could have a proper afternoon tea service if they so wanted in Arts Cafe.  As weird as this may sound, we found it much more intimate in Arts rather than the largesse of the Panorama Lounge.  With that said, it certainly was super casual.

We’re looking forward to the Art’s Cafe, sound like Coffee place on Regent.  Nice place to go mid morning or afternoon.  Do they have French Press coffee?

[Silver Spectre]

51 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

 Do they have French Press coffee?

You mean a cafetière?, and no they don’t.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

hat said we do get bored sometime when we cruise one line for awhile—because we know exactly what will happen non the cruise—-that’s why we are trying Silverseas- we want something new to look forward too.  

 

Well said!  That is one reason why I tried (and enjoyed) the Yacht Club experience on MSC Meraviglia and why I am considering Silverseas and Seabourn.  

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I see that your standard for room service seems to be under 30 minutes.  Did you receive your orders close to 30 minutes?  To me, that seems reasonable and better than most high end hotels

 

100% agree.  When I order room service on a ship or at a hotel, I expect at least a 30 minute wait, if not longer.  (This statement applies when I order pizza delivery at home.)  I am always pleased when the food arrives within that time frame.  

[CruiserFromMaine]

 

22 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

You everybody has their own experience and no else can judge that

Agreed, and I wasn’t there. But I hope others reading this thread understand the shock most of us have about this and how this experience is so unusual for SS. I’ve never had anything remotely like this set of experiences.