TK to Go, Solis the New Innovation.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, LMB01 said:

Our last two Seabourn cruises had a great deal of “No, we can’t do that”

That is troubling :(.  We have always thought of SB as the line where the word "no" is simply not part of the vocabulary.  I guess we never asked the questions that would trigger a no.

 

Hank

[Vineyard View]

11 hours ago, johng75370 said:

Other Thomas Keller tie-ins were the caviar source 

Didn’t I read just recently that there were some concerns with the caviar being different on a recent sailing? If I remember correctly it was ‘geeen’ rather than ‘black’, and of a lesser quality. I hope this isn’t a portent of things to come with this change…..that could carry over into other food items. I hope as some have suggested that the savings will be translated into different and more carries offerings, and not just a bottom line savings. 
 

I also agree that the 32 oz tomahawk steak for two is a tough choice for your main steak offering…for a variety of reasons that others have mentioned. Personally, we loved the Napa burger, and our meals in TK, but the change is happening regardless so hopefully this new offering will be a great success and received well. 

[mieu]

6 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Interesting. Mine in September was the opposite.

Likewise. We were on Seabourn for four weeks this past April, and every special request was graciously granted.

[kjbacon]

Yikes, didn’t realize the caviar was a TK thing too so there goes the tableside Caesar, probably/maybe fried chicken night, AND the caviar?

 

The new menu is a mix to me with a couple of interesting dishes but as others have noted, the steak for two is not ideal and not one suitable sauce for that gigantic steak! Just my opinion of course, but it’s not focused and too all over the place making it more like a MDR. Would also have been very happy with a specialty with more of an Indian focus. Will look forward to the feedback from those that try it.

[lincslady]

The TK takeover of caviar was not that long ago;  previously SB had a perfectly good arrangement with a company which provided decent caviar.

[frantic36]

7 minutes ago, lincslady said:

The TK takeover of caviar was not that long ago;  previously SB had a perfectly good arrangement with a company which provided decent caviar.

In fact the caviar was better prior to TK in my humble opinion.

[frantic36]

15 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

e been very happy with a specialty with more of an Indian focus.

 

My son cooks wonderful Indian food but I like it in very small increments over a year. So as I said before you can't please everyone. A restaurant focused on Indian would mean when I do long cruises it would be a place I would only visit once in a 30 day cruise if at all.

 

They do Indian in the Colonnade and you can order a special meal with friends which I have enjoyed. I think they need to be careful not to alienate people who like the clever simplicity of TK and Mediterranean fare.

[hoya68]

12 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Didn’t I read just recently that there were some concerns with the caviar being different on a recent sailing? If I remember correctly it was ‘geeen’ rather than ‘black’, and of a lesser quality. I hope this isn’t a portent of things to come with this change…..that could carry over into other food items. I hope as some have suggested that the savings will be translated into different and more carries offerings, and not just a bottom line savings. 
 

I also agree that the 32 oz tomahawk steak for two is a tough choice for your main steak offering…for a variety of reasons that others have mentioned. Personally, we loved the Napa burger, and our meals in TK, but the change is happening regardless so hopefully this new offering will be a great success and received well. 

Florentine steak is not a Tomahawk steak.

[Vineyard View]

49 minutes ago, hoya68 said:

Florentine steak is not a Tomahawk steak.

Thank you!  I appreciate this. 

[Vineyard View]

5 hours ago, frantic36 said:

In fact the caviar was better prior to TK in my humble opinion.

There is hope! Yay!  Thank you!

[kjbacon]

48 minutes ago, hoya68 said:

Florentine steak is not a Tomahawk steak.

True, a tomahawk is a ribeye and this thing is a porterhouse but the tie in of huge and huge is definitely there.

 

5 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

My son cooks wonderful Indian food but I like it in very small increments over a year. So as I said before you can't please everyone. A restaurant focused on Indian would mean when I do long cruises it would be a place I would only visit once in a 30 day cruise if at all.

 

They do Indian in the Colonnade and you can order a special meal with friends which I have enjoyed. I think they need to be careful not to alienate people who like the clever simplicity of TK and Mediterranean fare.

Weve had the special Indian night in the Collonade and it was one of the best meals that we had on board. You’re probably right that a dedicated Indian specialty would be too much for many people. I’d suggest a more varied Asian theme but as well as though do Indian, their other Asian food is not.

 

[tv24]

My little opinion on this:  I will not miss the Thomas Keller Grill.  It was fine, but I have never been a steak house fan.  If the Napa burger and Napa hot dog disappear at the deck grill, I will mourn the disappearance, but somehow get over it.  The Solis menu looks OK, but honestly does not seem too much of a change from the MDR.  I would have liked something totally different such as Asian fusion, especially since Seabourn's Asian food in the Collonade has been disappointing in the past.  But we will see how this rolls out, and I'm sure I will not go hungry.

[skybluewaters]

23 minutes ago, tv24 said:

I would have liked something totally different such as Asian fusion, especially since Seabourn's Asian food in the Collonade has been disappointing in the past. 

 

100%.  But since all the ships will soon have sushi, perhaps SB feels they have already checked that box. 

 

[SLSD]

7 hours ago, lincslady said:

The TK takeover of caviar was not that long ago;  previously SB had a perfectly good arrangement with a company which provided decent caviar.

As I recall, caviar was available upon request before there was a TK Grill. 

 

Who eats a 72 oz steak? What are they thinking?  We're 4oz steak people--when we eat steak!

 

That being said, I am happy about the new restaurant concept.  The menu we saw was a sample menu and not all that Solis will be offering.  We like the idea of  Mediterranean cuisine and have no interest in Indian and little interest in Asian.  I think it is important to please as many people as possible.  We might eat one Indian meal a year and that is enough for us.  

[SLSD]

7 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

My son cooks wonderful Indian food but I like it in very small increments over a year. So as I said before you can't please everyone. A restaurant focused on Indian would mean when I do long cruises it would be a place I would only visit once in a 30 day cruise if at all.

 

They do Indian in the Colonnade and you can order a special meal with friends which I have enjoyed. I think they need to be careful not to alienate people who like the clever simplicity of TK and Mediterranean fare.

I totally agree with you Frantic.  I would only dine on Indian food once a cruise--if that.  Same with Asian.  

 

[cruiseej]

Several people have questioned exactly when Solis will debut on the various Seabourn ships. Here is what Seabourn has planned:

 

 

So it's a month-long conversion on each ship, with the restaurant scheduled to open midway through at the start of the third week, with fine-tuning and finishing touches over the remaining two weeks. If you're unlucky enough to be on one of the ships during the first two weeks of the conversion, you'll miss out on both TK Grille and Solis. But there's really no other way they could do this without waiting for each ship to go into dry dock, which would be nearly impossible in a five month period. 

 

[cruiseej]

For those who have commented that the posted sample menu looks too limited, you might be interested in this slide from Seabourn's information on the new restaurant:

 

 

And for those asking about the look of the space, if you haven't seen the rendering, here's what it's supposed to look like on the two smaller ships (there's no rendering for the two larger ships):

 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

Several people have questioned exactly when Solis will debut on the various Seabourn ships. Here is what Seabourn has planned:

 

 

So it's a month-long conversion on each ship, with the restaurant scheduled to open midway through at the start of the third week, with fine-tuning and finishing touches over the remaining two weeks. If you're unlucky enough to be on one of the ships during the first two weeks of the conversion, you'll miss out on both TK Grille and Solis. But there's really no other way they could do this without waiting for each ship to go into dry dock, which would be nearly impossible in a five month period. 

 

Bummer! We will be on Ovation during the conversion period with the "go live" in the middle. I hope it actually happens as scheduled or we will miss the whole thing. 

Edited October 19, 2023 by marazul

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Several people have questioned exactly when Solis will debut on the various Seabourn ships. Here is what Seabourn has planned:

 

 

So it's a month-long conversion on each ship, with the restaurant scheduled to open midway through at the start of the third week, with fine-tuning and finishing touches over the remaining two weeks. If you're unlucky enough to be on one of the ships during the first two weeks of the conversion, you'll miss out on both TK Grille and Solis. But there's really no other way they could do this without waiting for each ship to go into dry dock, which would be nearly impossible in a five month period. 

 

 

Thanks for this info!  We will be on the Encore on 3/16, after the 3-week implementation.

 

 

[Coffee Pot Blvd]

Is Seabourn offering a "token" to make up for the loss of the specialty restaurant?  Seems to me that we are paying for something that can not be provided.  I really would have liked the courtesy of being told this was going to happen.  It has to have been planned for some time.  With prior knowledge I could have made an informed choice.

[cruiseej]

6 minutes ago, Coffee Pot Blvd said:

I really would have liked the courtesy of being told this was going to happen.

 

While I understand your frustration, I'm not sure there was a viable alternative. We know they conducted customer surveys about TK Grill a while back, and there were certainly rumors or guesses that Keller might be out. As you can imagine: they had to negotiate with Mr. Keller, plan a dining concept, design the physical changes for the dining room and kitchen, develop an extensive menu, source the materials, develop a schedule to get materials and construction and executive ships around the world in a 5-month implementation. Had they announced this before they had plans firmed up, then lots of customers and travel agents would have been pounding them with questions they wouldn't have been able to answer about what would happen and when. So they announced it when they had a solid plan and could promote it as a positive development and could answer questions. 

 

23 minutes ago, Coffee Pot Blvd said:

Is Seabourn offering a "token" to make up for the loss of the specialty restaurant?  Seems to me that we are paying for something that can not be provided.

 

Well, you'll still be getting dinner every night that you paid for. 😀  Seriously, though, what do you think your compensation should be for having two restaurants to choose from instead of three?

 

34 minutes ago, Coffee Pot Blvd said:

With prior knowledge I could have made an informed choice.

 

Had you known a couple months ago, would you really have considered cancelling your cruise because you wouldn't have been able to have a dinner at TK Grille?

[frantic36]

When you consider some of us were not big fans of TK and only went there on our longer cruises for the ambience of using the smaller dining venue for some dinners. 

51 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

Well, you'll still be getting dinner every night that you paid for. 😀  Seriously, though, what do you think your compensation should be for having two restaurants to choose from instead of three?

 

They still will have four/five dining options as they can still try the Solis for the smaller venue ambience. There is also E&O, Colonnade, MDR and the soon to be rolled out on every ship Sushi in the Club.

[cruiseej]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

They still will have four/five dining options as they can still try the Solis for the smaller venue ambience.

 

The issue I believe that @Coffee Pot Blvd was complaining about was for someone on a cruise when the TK Grill will be closed for refurbishment before opening as Solis, so they'll have one fewer restaurant available. But I agree that with the Restaurant, Colonnade, and Earth & Ocean (plus Sushi on the larger ships and Sushi in the Club on the smaller ships), there are plenty of daily choices.

[T^2]

I am not sure who came up with the idea of a 72 oz steak, but I read the "sample" menu as a 32 oz steak.  Based on other porterhouse steaks I have eaten, the bone is about a 1/3 of the total weight.  I realize 21 oz of steak is a lot for 4 oz steak eaters.  May have another party join you and you each get 4 oz of steak.

As for "getting something" for the restaurant being closed, I personally selected this trip for the Panama Canal not the TK restaurant.  My wife said she is looking forward to eating at the outdoor restaurant, since she enjoyed it so much last time we sailed with Seabourn.

Since I am getting off the ship on the 25th, I hope they let those of us not going further on the cruise have "first shot" at the new restaurant!

Edited October 20, 2023 by T^2

[BasandSyb]

Every trip we have purchased since our first TKG experience has factored having one fewer dining outlet. We always find something to eat.

 

Can’t please everyone. We would prefer a pan Asian style restaurant choice, but based on the Asian and Indian experiences in the Colonnade we would rather the Solis sample than the other done badly. The only good Indian meal we have had onboard was on special order by a Indian chef asked to prepare it for himself. Similarly the Asian nights are unfortunately “westernised” to cater for all and in doing so miss the mark.

 

Looking forward to some additional choice on our next cruise.