Our 1st cruise on Silversea Singapore to Hong Kong Jan 5, 2023

[ronrick1943]

4 hours ago, RachelG said:

Good report.  As you know, George and I sail on both Regent and Silversea, and a little on Oceania.  We find the beef on Silversea to be severely lacking in quality.  George has had a few pretty animated discussions with the chef on this as what they call "prime" clearly isn't.  Word to the wise--do NOT even try the hamburgers. 

We even had the beef at The Grill (Hot Rocks), it just isn’t Prime or Choice—really we’ve had better at the Outback.

[ronrick1943]

2 hours ago, A Tucson Guy said:

Just order steak tartare and then send it back to be cooked.

Don’t think that will help, if it’s not Prime-it’s not Prime😂

[JBMK]

23 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

They say they will be giving test at the dock terminal for everyone, even if you are staying.  The test is good for 3 days.

Thanks, I heard from Silversea today that for our cruise they will be testing onboard before arrival in Hong Kong. Hope that’s correct.

[ronrick1943]

Service:  Actually service is pretty good, everyone does their best.  Our Butler is outstanding as well as his assistant.  The suite is kept spotless, if you ask them for something - it happens.  I believe the staff is the high point of this cruise.

 

Food: Which really should be a high point is hit and miss.  Some really nice meals and others not so great or even good.  Today at breakfast for example ordered an omelette (good), but they forgot the toast and hash browns.  Ron ordered waffles, and they were not even crisp, in fact they were cool to the touch.  Sure they correct it, but it shouldn’t happen on cruise ship like Silversea.

 

Last night we ate at La Dame, the Caviar was excellent, the escargot not so good, the liver pâté was served “cold” which took away the taste and flavor.  The main course was Rack of Lamb which was excellent, however the vegetables just so so at best.  The soufflé was really a cake, they can call it a soufflé but it wasn’t.  Now this is their best restaurant—I will say the service outstanding and the plating very nice.

[ronrick1943]

43 minutes ago, JBMK said:

Thanks, I heard from Silversea today that for our cruise they will be testing onboard before arrival in Hong Kong. Hope that’s correct.

Maybe they chanced it—they really haven’t talked about it since they put something in a hand out early in the cruise.

[Daveywavey70]

4 hours ago, A Tucson Guy said:

Just order steak tartare and then send it back to be cooked.

Isn’t that just a burger? 😁

[ronrick1943]

11 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Which cruise line(s) would you say provide a superb Wi-Fi product to SS at a comparable value?

Besides what I just told you, I decided to get my messages from the Silversea system-only to be told system isn’t responding check back later🤣

Edited January 11, 2023 by ronrick1943

[Stumblefoot]

6 hours ago, RachelG said:

Word to the wise--do NOT even try the hamburgers. 

I second that motion.

[Stumblefoot]

21 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

Besides what I just told you, I decided to get my messages from the Silversea system-only to be told system isn’t responding check back later🤣

That sucks.  Big time!

 

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

I believe the staff is the high point of this cruise.

This is the only reason we keep returning to Silversea; truly exceptional staff.  Every single voyage the staff, including ship management, have made our vacation spectacular.

 

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

Ron ordered waffles, and they were not even crisp, in fact they were cool to the touch.

OMG… etual, has SS brought back the Eggos?  Please tell me no.

[ronrick1943]

16 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

This is the only reason we keep returning to Silversea; truly exceptional staff.  Every single voyage the staff, including ship management, have made our vacation spectacular.

 

OMG… etual, has SS brought back the Eggos?  Please tell me no.

No I think not—maybe they should-maybe they are better…..😇

[Stumblefoot]

11 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

No I think not—maybe they should-maybe they are better…..😇

Okay, hopefully not.  The frozen Eggos have legendary status on SS pre-Covid.

[ronrick1943]

39 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Okay, hopefully not.  The frozen Eggos have legendary status on SS pre-Covid.

But they would go into a toaster and be crispy and hot——not cold and soft🤣

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

But they would go into a toaster and be crispy and hot——not cold and soft🤣

You would think, but alas, you would be wrong.  

When you return home, you’ll have to search the forum.  One of the all-time funniest threads ever.  And, a true story to boot!  
 

Hopefully, etual will show up here to regale you.

[les37b]

5 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

When you return home, you’ll have to search the forum.  One of the all-time funniest threads ever.  And, a true story to boot!  
 

Hopefully, etual will show up here to regale you.

I think the bunnies on the voyage were funnier… but can’t deny frozen wafflegate was funny and first hand witnessed.

 

I think they were quite proud the waffles were bought frozen not made fresh! Such a long time ago now and my last SS cruise apart from the Moon epic a year ago! (Time flies!)

[Wombat706]

9 hours ago, les37b said:

I think the bunnies on the voyage were funnier… but can’t deny frozen wafflegate was funny and first hand witnessed.

 

I think they were quite proud the waffles were bought frozen not made fresh! Such a long time ago now and my last SS cruise apart from the Moon epic a year ago! (Time flies!)

Can someone please give a link or the actual title of the thread about wafflegate - I tried to search for it but failed miserably.

[Black Spaniel]

Hi . I just saw this thread . Let me preface my comments. We have cruised exclusively with Silversea 11 times and are set to depart on a cruise from Buenos Aires to Rio February 2023 as well as a cruise departing from Dubai in November and arriving in the Seychelles . Our last cruise was on the Spirit at the end of October 2022. Sadly I have to agree with many of the comments. I understand that we are recently past COVID limits on travel and so we are trying to give the benefit of the doubt to our experience. I cannot wonder however if the poor food quality which I will expand upon, is the result of being sold to a larger cruise line. Sometimes as things get bigger quality goes down . I will note that the newest ship now holds 700 passengers vs the 280 that we cruised with starting in 2004. I do love the idea of expanded restaurants and note that some were outstanding such as Indochine , the cafe as well as Silver note and La Dame. Lunch seemed to be the bigger issue in general.Seishin was a prime example. It really was terrible but for a few exceptions. Dinner there was also lacking in quality. The uni was inedible as was the lobster. Service on the other hand was terrific. We do not eat the breakfast or buffet lunch at La Terraza because we have found the quality to be average over the years. Dinner there however is usually very good as is service. We Usually do lunch at what was the dining room and is now Atlantide. Lunch there was extremely limited in selection and service was terrible. Dinner was much better and I agree the veal chop and Milanese was one of our better entree’s. We have found hot rocks to be very good but we actually request they cook it for us on their grill as cooking on a rock is not my idea of fun . I think it would help that everything arrives on time and hot which was a notable complaint on the thread.I thought the pizza at Spaccanapoli was also bad but I’m a stickler

 

for NY style pizza which  it  not nor was it close to a Napoli style . I realize this was more subjective on my part.  The pool grill was also bad this time. The hamburger was frozen meat recently defrosted and simply wet. I agree with the recent comments about it 
On a more positive note Indochine really was a pleasure and I gave it and La Dame the highest marks . The wine program was exceptional and the head sommelier Karolyn’s  was the best we’ve had. She set up a wine tasting as well which included a large selection of wines from around the  world  as well as many high end French and Italian selections such as Sassicaia , Tignanello and first growth Bordeaux’s.

. As always our in room bar was stocked with every type of alcohol requested with no limits which has always been the case. I would note the bourbon selection was nil. Service from our butler and housekeeper was great .

Lastly. We have been lucky enough to have been on several cruises with David Bilsland who is the cruise lines food director charged with quality control and who hops from ship to ship to monitor quality. Hopefully he reads this . Our next cruise is on the moon so it will be interesting to see the quality difference as well as SALT.   Chuck 

 

[ronrick1943]

We did go on a tour yesterday, now I remember why we like doing it on are own.  The tour guide was good, but the tour itself was a let down.  Why we stopped at a factory type out let for 30 minute’s is beyond me (unless someone is collecting a commission on all sales).  Few of the other stops ?????.

The bus itself was nothing special, Regent had smaller buses and more deluxe (comfortable).  But that maybe because of Vietnam.

 

What surprised me was very few people tipped the driver or Tour Guide—really now.  If you can afford this cruise, you should be-able to tip these people.

 

Tonight we’re going on another tour “Good Evening Saigon”, dinner and a show (an extra cost, but should be worth it). In a few days we plan on doing some cooking classes, which we enjoy.

[ronrick1943]

2 hours ago, Black Spaniel said:

Hi . I just saw this thread . Let me preface my comments. We have cruised exclusively with Silversea 11 times and are set to depart on a cruise from Buenos Aires to Rio February 2023 as well as a cruise departing from Dubai in November and arriving in the Seychelles . Our last cruise was on the Spirit at the end of October 2022. Sadly I have to agree with many of the comments. I understand that we are recently past COVID limits on travel and so we are trying to give the benefit of the doubt to our experience. I cannot wonder however if the poor food quality which I will expand upon, is the result of being sold to a larger cruise line. Sometimes as things get bigger quality goes down . I will note that the newest ship now holds 700 passengers vs the 280 that we cruised with starting in 2004. I do love the idea of expanded restaurants and note that some were outstanding such as Indochine , the cafe as well as Silver note and La Dame. Lunch seemed to be the bigger issue in general.Seishin was a prime example. It really was terrible but for a few exceptions. Dinner there was also lacking in quality. The uni was inedible as was the lobster. Service on the other hand was terrific. We do not eat the breakfast or buffet lunch at La Terraza because we have found the quality to be average over the years. Dinner there however is usually very good as is service. We Usually do lunch at what was the dining room and is now Atlantide. Lunch there was extremely limited in selection and service was terrible. Dinner was much better and I agree the veal chop and Milanese was one of our better entree’s. We have found hot rocks to be very good but we actually request they cook it for us on their grill as cooking on a rock is not my idea of fun . I think it would help that everything arrives on time and hot which was a notable complaint on the thread.I thought the pizza at Spaccanapoli was also bad but I’m a stickler

 

for NY style pizza which  it  not nor was it close to a Napoli style . I realize this was more subjective on my part.  The pool grill was also bad this time. The hamburger was frozen meat recently defrosted and simply wet. I agree with the recent comments about it 
On a more positive note Indochine really was a pleasure and I gave it and La Dame the highest marks . The wine program was exceptional and the head sommelier Karolyn’s  was the best we’ve had. She set up a wine tasting as well which included a large selection of wines from around the  world  as well as many high end French and Italian selections such as Sassicaia , Tignanello and first growth Bordeaux’s.

. As always our in room bar was stocked with every type of alcohol requested with no limits which has always been the case. I would note the bourbon selection was nil. Service from our butler and housekeeper was great .

Lastly. We have been lucky enough to have been on several cruises with David Bilsland who is the cruise lines food director charged with quality control and who hops from ship to ship to monitor quality. Hopefully he reads this . Our next cruise is on the moon so it will be interesting to see the quality difference as well as SALT.   Chuck 

 

Thank you for posting, everyone has an opinion.  It’s nice to know since this is our first cruise on Silversea I’m not alone some of my opinions.  Let’s hope David Bilsland is reading and takes note.  We’re booked on the Nova on December of this year hoping for a better experience than the Spirit (not that we aren’t having a good time, it just could be better, on this cruise the staff is what makes it so much better—now the Chef’s need to step it up, with the purchasing department).

 

Funny, we got in late and had pizza, we liked it!😋 

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

Thank you for posting, everyone has an opinion.  It’s nice to know since this is our first cruise on Silversea I’m not alone some of my opinions.  Let’s hope David Bilsland is reading and takes note.  We’re booked on the Nova on December of this year hoping for a better experience than the Spirit (not that we aren’t having a good time, it just could be better, on this cruise the staff is what makes it so much better—now the Chef’s need to step it up, with the purchasing department).

 

Funny, we got in late and had pizza, we liked it!😋 

 

Thanks a lot for this topic and sharing your experience!

 

We were on the Spirit in December 2022, our first SS cruise as well. We sailed on 11 different lines, so have some perspective.

 

I share a lot of your sentiment. Service and food in La Terazza was between mediocre and good, never great. Arts Cafe was fantastic, service and food! Atlantide hit and miss. La Dame outstanding, food and service. 

 

Overall we had a great time, but we expected more from a line like Silversea, and I'm glad it's not just me. I hope this is not their "new normal", and things will improve in our next cruise in December on the Dawn. 

[MrsWaldo]

2 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

 

What surprised me was very few people tipped the driver or Tour Guide—really now.  If you can afford this cruise, you should be-able to tip these people.

 

 

Possibly because Vietnam does not have a tipping culture and those people had checked prior.  FWIW, a Vietnamese work colleague told me when I was booked on the now cancelled trip to Vietnam.  Be very careful about tipping, you may actually offend someone.  

[ronrick1943]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Thanks a lot for this topic and sharing your experience!

 

We were on the Spirit in December 2022, our first SS cruise as well. We sailed on 11 different lines, so have some perspective.

 

I share a lot of your sentiment. Service and food in La Terazza was between mediocre and good, never great. Arts Cafe was fantastic, service and food! Atlantide hit and miss. La Dame outstanding, food and service. 

 

Overall we had a great time, but we expected more from a line like Silversea, and I'm glad it's not just me. I hope this is not their "new normal", and things will improve in our next cruise in December on the Dawn. 

Yes I agree, we’re on the New Nova in December and we hope it better.  We are having a great time, but I wish the food and beverage would knock it up a notch or two.

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, MrsWaldo said:

Possibly because Vietnam does not have a tipping culture and those people had checked prior.  FWIW, a Vietnamese work colleague told me when I was booked on the now cancelled trip to Vietnam.  Be very careful about tipping, you may actually offend someone.  

Maybe, but he welcome the tip very much and thanked me for it and was happy to get it.  Also this isn’t Japan, we saw tipping in other places not on the tour.  I don’t believe we offend anyone.

[drron29]

Tipping is always a tough subject but for us in Australia we have been upset by the Americisation of our and our Asian neighbours culture. 
Tipping has never been part of our culture as we pay workers a decent wage. We travel extensively in Asia and have done so for the last 50 years. For the first 20 - 25 years there was virtually no tipping on our travels. Nowadays nearly universal.

In the USA we do follow your customs and have always tipped. Remember our first trip to San Francisco well. Service exceptional so in 1981 our tips there were usually 25%.

 

On top of that we have greatly differing opinions on food. The pizzas in our opinion are not good. We had difficulty finding good Asian food. The problem was that the restaurants would make it to American tastes.

 

 So there are always going to be differences of opinion.

[ronrick1943]

3 hours ago, MrsWaldo said:

Possibly because Vietnam does not have a tipping culture and those people had checked prior.  FWIW, a Vietnamese work colleague told me when I was booked on the now cancelled trip to Vietnam.  Be very careful about tipping, you may actually offend someone.  

Just an up date from TripAdviser:  Tipping is not part of the culture in Vietnam, and you are not required to tip anywhere. There will be a service charge for more upscale restaurants. People more accustomed to receiving tips are tour guides and in Western style hotels.