First time on Silversea - Very Mixed Feelings

[commodoredave]

Just got off the Muse in Yokohama. The best word to describe our cruise experience is “inconsistent.” Some days in some restaurants the food was really good, and other times it missed the mark. The same for service and entertainment.

The low points were our last night dinner in Atlantide, which never arrived (we left after 85 minutes). That was followed this morning by having to dry ourselves with hand towels after showering because the room steward forgot to leave us bath towels. 
In contrast, we had our best lunch today in 2 weeks at a local noodle shop in Tokyo for US$6!! Talk about good value proposition!!

 

 

[Aussieflyer]

2 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Just got off the Muse in Yokohama. The best word to describe our cruise experience is “inconsistent.” Some days in some restaurants the food was really good, and other times it missed the mark. The same for service and entertainment.

The low points were our last night dinner in Atlantide, which never arrived (we left after 85 minutes). That was followed this morning by having to dry ourselves with hand towels after showering because the room steward forgot to leave us bath towels. 
In contrast, we had our best lunch today in 2 weeks at a local noodle shop in Tokyo for US$6!! Talk about good value proposition!!

 

 

That is so disappointing and really poor from SS - a) to not deliver your meal and b) not to put towels in you bathroom. 

[commodoredave]

51 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

That is so disappointing and really poor from SS - a) to not deliver your meal and b) not to put towels in you bathroom. 

Thanks. Breakfast this morning was nearly as bad. DW ordered eggs over easy, which had been served perfectly on 7 other occasions. But this morning, they arrived with burnt edges, a sign of over cooking on too high a heat. We sent them back and the same eggs came back 3 minutes later with the burnt edges simply trimmed off with some brown still showing. Our waiter was extremely embarrassed. We said it doesn’t matter. He said it does matter because the kitchen can and does do better. We were impressed by our waiters sincere interest in quality which was totally absent by people in charge over him. 

[drron29]

We had totally different experiences at the last 2 meals on the Muse. 
Atlantide last night was a little slow basically because most arrived after the pre dinner show. Meals were excellent as was service.  
 

Then at breakfast I ordered eggs Benedict soft. A little while later the waiter told me he was sorry for the wait but that the eggs were not as ordered so he took them back and got a new serving. He was one of the longer serving waiters so probably could order the kitchen hands around.

[PaulaJK]

Reading across this board, it is no longer one amusing story but rather a plethora of misses with cuisine complaints almost ubiquitous. Trimming the burnt portion of eggs is attitudinal; not a home cook but a chef thought that this was okay. We, like so many here, sailed SS when it was a luxury experience and hope that those days return. 

[PaulaJK]

Kudos to CD and to staff members who responded….. would be interested about burgers served on next segment. I have no problem with addressing one ( vs many) issue/shortfall.

Fir example, I spoke w the restaurant manager about the very brown pineapple on the La Terrazza buffet. He said that it shouldn’t be served…but it was the following  day also..perhaps because they had run out of so many fruits ( not just delicate berries). 
We chose not to address the several hard to chew meats (eg duck in Silver Note and La Dame)  as we didn’t envision a change and didn’t wish to spoil our meal/ cruise w complaining. Interestingly, when the entree’s were returned no staff inquired.

 

i just think that those of us who have embraced SS were rather shocked by the many shortfalls on one cruise.

[RetiredOnVacation]

3 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Unfortunately I didn’t notice the absence of bath towels until I exited the shower. The comedy that followed while I tried to dry and cover myself with a hand towel will be ingrained in my memory for a long time. 

Two things I always check in a bathroom - 1. There's a bath towel hanging close by the shower for when I get out, & 2. There's toilet paper available before I start! Maxims that have served me well in life! 

[canderson]

6 hours ago, commodoredave said:

True. Plus, try finding a butler on disembarkation day when your naked body is covered by a hand towel and the only way to find him is by searching the hallways!

Sounds like a Mr. Bean episode!

[Stickman1990]

7 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

As I posted above, at Silversea's prices, why should that even be necessary?

It’s the same on any luxury line (without exception in our experience) - sometimes they stuff up and need to be told - I always think the true measure is how they respond to that discussion

[commodoredave]

7 hours ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

Two things I always check in a bathroom - 1. There's a bath towel hanging close by the shower for when I get out, & 2. There's toilet paper available before I start! Maxims that have served me well in life! 

I would also add alcohol in the mini-fridge to the essentials you mentioned.

[Port Power]

19 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Just got off the Muse in Yokohama. The best word to describe our cruise experience is “inconsistent.” Some days in some restaurants the food was really good, and other times it missed the mark. The same for service and entertainment.

The low points were our last night dinner in Atlantide, which never arrived (we left after 85 minutes). That was followed this morning by having to dry ourselves with hand towels after showering because the room steward forgot to leave us bath towels. 
In contrast, we had our best lunch today in 2 weeks at a local noodle shop in Tokyo for US$6!! Talk about good value proposition!!

 

 

Did you speak to the Maitre d' about the missed meal?  I would not have wait near so long before heading over to the desk to ask where the meal is!

 

When you arrived back to your cabin that last evening and presumably brushed your teeth, didn't you notice bath towels were missing?  It has happened to me a couple of times, so I just ring reception or housekeeping and towels are delivered immediately.  Even on the last morning you could have called for towels.

 

I am really sorry that you ended on sour notes, but there were options.

[commodoredave]

3 hours ago, Port Power said:

 

Did you speak to the Maitre d' about the missed meal?  I would not have wait near so long before heading over to the desk to ask where the meal is!

 

When you arrived back to your cabin that last evening and presumably brushed your teeth, didn't you notice bath towels were missing?  It has happened to me a couple of times, so I just ring reception or housekeeping and towels are delivered immediately.  Even on the last morning you could have called for towels.

 

I am really sorry that you ended on sour notes, but there were options.

There were no viable options.

At dinner, we asked our waiter about our order several times and he kept saying the kitchen was busy but our order would arrive soon. We also spoke with someone more senior 10 minutes before we left, and spoke with the Maître d on exit. Somehow our order got misplaced and staff didn’t figure it out on time. The couple sitting next to us couldn’t believe it and said so. They were more apologetic than our waiter. The Maître d did call our cabin 30 minutes later to apologize again, and offered to send anything from the menu to our cabin, which we appreciated but declined as we had picked up sweets from the Arts Cafe.

As for bath towels, they hang on a rack  at the end of the bath tub, and cannot easily be seen when the bathroom door is open. Had we noticed they were missing before we went to bed, we would have certainly called our butler and asked for then. But we didn’t notice they were missing until I got out of the shower soaking wet the next morning, at which time is was too late to call for them. 
So making excuses for very poor service by blaming the victim and saying there were other options is completely ridiculous.

Having said that, it was one night and morning out of 14 of them, and while we’d like to avoid a repeat, it did not ruin what was otherwise a very enjoyable cruise with a wonderful itinerary. 

 

[Port Power]

2 hours ago, commodoredave said:

There were no viable options.

At dinner, we asked our waiter about our order several times and he kept saying the kitchen was busy but our order would arrive soon. We also spoke with someone more senior 10 minutes before we left, and spoke with the Maître d on exit. Somehow our order got misplaced and staff didn’t figure it out on time. The couple sitting next to us couldn’t believe it and said so. They were more apologetic than our waiter. The Maître d did call our cabin 30 minutes later to apologize again, and offered to send anything from the menu to our cabin, which we appreciated but declined as we had picked up sweets from the Arts Cafe.

As for bath towels, they hang on a rack  at the end of the bath tub, and cannot easily be seen when the bathroom door is open. Had we noticed they were missing before we went to bed, we would have certainly called our butler and asked for then. But we didn’t notice they were missing until I got out of the shower soaking wet the next morning, at which time is was too late to call for them. 
So making excuses for very poor service by blaming the victim and saying there were other options is completely ridiculous.

Having said that, it was one night and morning out of 14 of them, and while we’d like to avoid a repeat, it did not ruin what was otherwise a very enjoyable cruise with a wonderful itinerary. 

 

 

Oh, dear!  My apologies for giving the wrong impression.  I was not blaming the victim, but wondering why these issues could not be addressed earlier.  

[commodoredave]

20 minutes ago, Port Power said:

 

Oh, dear!  My apologies for giving the wrong impression.  I was not blaming the victim, but wondering why these issues could not be addressed earlier.  

Thank you.

As some others on these boards know, I am not someone who quietly accepts disappointment on board— I usually address it right away in a calm and polite fashion. And it usually results in a positive outcome as with the inferior burgers on board.

[agape01]

12 hours ago, canderson said:

Sounds like a Mr. Bean episode!

For me, it would be a reminiscence of Planes, Trains and Automobiles the scene where Steve Martin was at the end of taking a shower. 

Having said that, I would have to remind myself about this on my first SS cruise this coming September.

[vistaman]

I found it appropriate to write a full review of the S Dawn. 

It is published in reviews  -  sorry for the typing mistakes - my computer suffered a keyboard problem 😆   

[Gourmet Gal]

2 hours ago, vistaman said:

I found it appropriate to write a full review of the S Dawn. 

It is published in reviews  -  sorry for the typing mistakes - my computer suffered a keyboard problem 😆   

Thanks for taking the time to post a very sad review.  I’m increasingly disturbed to read the many negative observations from recent cruisers.  It’s becoming a doom loop with very few bright spots - the opposite of years past.  Hope someone in charge is reading this forum and not thinking they can still get away with treating a very loyal clientele in this manner.  I guess they think they can somehow impress a less sophisticated but wealth-off market segment.  
 

I’m boarding Spirit next week and will have to try to forget all I’ve been reading here and embark with a positive attitude and expectation.  Hoping I won’t have to contribute to this sad saga that’s playing out here on this forum.

[Tothesunset]

7 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Thanks for taking the time to post a very sad review.  I’m increasingly disturbed to read the many negative observations from recent cruisers.  It’s becoming a doom loop with very few bright spots - the opposite of years past.  Hope someone in charge is reading this forum and not thinking they can still get away with treating a very loyal clientele in this manner.  I guess they think they can somehow impress a less sophisticated but wealth-off market segment.  
 

I’m boarding Spirit next week and will have to try to forget all I’ve been reading here and embark with a positive attitude and expectation.  Hoping I won’t have to contribute to this sad saga that’s playing out here on this forum.

We board the Wind next week and you have written my post for me! 

 

I'm taking the attitude that the Silversea we loved pre-RCI is now history and we are trying out a new line with the same name. 

[les37b]

58 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

We board the Wind next week and you have written my post for me! 

 

I'm taking the attitude that the Silversea we loved pre-RCI is now history and we are trying out a new line with the same name. 

Give a little wave from port side as you approach Dartford crossing on your way to Tower bridge (hopefully!) at 6am on the 30th. 

[Tothesunset]

14 minutes ago, les37b said:

Give a little wave from port side as you approach Dartford crossing on your way to Tower bridge (hopefully!) at 6am on the 30th. 

Will do! 

[Salbags58]

On 4/14/2024 at 11:15 AM, Ovener said:

 

 

Just got off a seven day cruise on the Silver Dawn, Barcelona to Civitavecchia. We’re normally on Seabourn (though have tried Crystal and Viking and love Hapag Lloyd). The Dawn is a beautiful ship, spotless and classily decorated. 

 

We thought the Silver Suite was an excellent space, with a great butler and room steward keeping everything perfect and surprising me with a birthday cake and balloons, which was charming. Tours were better quality than we expected, and the premium truffle hunting tour with Savini in Tuscany was the most memorable excursion we’ve ever done on a cruise, with a sublime truffle lunch. Highly recommended. 

 

We had to skip Marseille to keep ahead of storms, but this meant a lovely day at Villefranche-sur-Mer instead. A good decision by the captain. 

 

Fellow passengers were very international and mostly friendly. 

 

There were four main areas that let the cruise down. 

 

Door-to-door

 

We’re about 70 miles from Heathrow, so using Blacklane would have cost more anyway. Quite how much we’ll never know as the website didn’t recognise our address (it’s an easy one). So after an hour struggling with it we gave up, having read disaster stories and Silversea’s bizarre refusal to accept responsibility in the Ts & Cs should the drive not turn up. We took the £150 credit instead. Now we’re at Fiumincino, dropped here 5 hours before our flight leaves and twiddling our thumbs. We brought the timing of the transfer up with Reception but they couldn’t care less. Incidentally Reception was generally unhelpful about everything. Door-to-door is anything but seamless. 

 

Food / Hospitality

 

Whilst included wines were quite nice, food quality was often very mediocre. La Dame was pretty good with excellent service, but food was not stunning. Kaiseki was awful at lunchtime. The quality of the sushi was appalling - either dry tuna or flabby salmon. It was better in the evening and we enjoyed the surf and turf and black cod, though probably not worth the upcharge. Luckily we had a lot of OBC. S.A.L.T. was the most disappointing restaurant with dry and unrecognisable attempts at Niçoise street food and flavourless sous vide lamb. Fish at the Pool Grill was good (but tiny) at lunchtimes. Breakfast everywhere was rather dull with poor quality croissants and pastries, though I enjoyed the congee. Breakfast at Atlantis is quiet and civilised, but choice the same as room service. La Terrazza was really poor on our first day for buffet lunch; everything had hung around (except the staff who had disappeared), pies were missing pastry and the sushi looked ready to walk out. We heard someone got ill from it.  In the evenings the food there was actually pretty good. But it feels like there’s a lot of cost cutting going on with ingredients. 

 

The bars were all pretty good, though they can’t make a martini cocktail at the pool bar (remember to add gin!). We liked the Arts Cafe particularly, which was well run. 

 

Hospitality / Entertainment

 

Staff are not nearly as engaged as on Seabourn, some grumpy, many are clearly being trained, though some (e.g. Joel at the Arts Cafe and S.A.L.T Bar) were very friendly and good at their jobs. The crew and entertainment director are hardly present, whereas they are everywhere on Seabourn. In short it feels far less of a ‘family’ experience and far less fun, with fewer events. Musicians were good but the singing/dance group was amateur. Sight lines in the Venetian Lounge are woeful for what is otherwise a beautiful space. We missed the daily port talks other lines offer and helpful things like port maps. 

 

Dress Code

 

Despite the dress code changing a few weeks back (and changing again on 21 April) no-one on board had got the message, so there was still a truly formal night. Frankly the dress code at the moment is a complete muddle requiring a PhD. Hopefully the new code will iron things out eventually. 

 

Would we go back on Silversea? Probably not, particularly given their massive price hikes. And never door to door. As someone has written on another board post, it feels more Business Class than First Class. Whether Seabourn and Hapag Lloyd are experiencing the same problems with cost cutting and staff we’ll find out in a few months! I would have given Silversea this feedback, but the in room screen was so clunky I gave up. 

 

A fellow Brit I totally agree with all your comments above.  Having recently returned from our first Silversea cruise around Japan and before cruised on Seabourn and Scenic we would not return to Silversea.  The food was so disappointing and the entertainment dire!

 

 

[Port Power]

1 hour ago, Salbags58 said:

A fellow Brit I totally agree with all your comments above.  Having recently returned from our first Silversea cruise around Japan and before cruised on Seabourn and Scenic we would not return to Silversea.  The food was so disappointing and the entertainment dire!

 

I wondered why you posted someone else's review.  Then I read this at the bottom of the review which didn't make sense as part of the review.  So I assume this is your comment?

 

May I be of help?  When you are replying with a quote, write your comments in the white area below the blue shadowed quote.  Those words then show up as written by you, the poster.

Edited Thursday at 10:01 AM by Port Power

[Mahogany]

7 hours ago, Salbags58 said:

 

I'm confused. Is this your review or someone elses?

[MamaFej]

On 4/14/2024 at 1:37 PM, Emdee said:

You bring back memories of our not so great Silversea experience.

Since then we have avoided the classic cruises and sailed on their expedition cruises.

My only Silversea cruise was an expedition to Antartica. The food was just okay, but the overall experience was magnificent. We are doing an expedition on the Endeavour next month in the Arctic. I'm hoping for the best. 

 

I take it you are still pleased with the expeditions on SS?

[Emdee]

4 hours ago, MamaFej said:

My only Silversea cruise was an expedition to Antartica. The food was just okay, but the overall experience was magnificent. We are doing an expedition on the Endeavour next month in the Arctic. I'm hoping for the best. 

 

I take it you are still pleased with the expeditions on SS?

I enjoyed both expeditions particularly the Endeavour which is a magnificent ship. The itineraries were good though the quality of the expedition staff was questionable. I still remember limping down the gangway at the Cloud with the expedition staff looking on but no help offered. Compare that to Regent or Seabourn or Crystal. 
We have booked the Endeavour in the British Isles for 2025. 
 

Enjoy your Arctic expedition.