caviargal Posted July 7 #1 Share Posted July 7 (edited) We are day 4 of our Muse cruise. Ship is elegant, well appointed and staff overall has been gracious and accommodating. We had high expectations for cuisine based on our Nova experiences. However, there are quite a few disappointments. 1) Silver Note menu is very different and not nearly as creative or tasty as on Nova. 2) Lunch menu at Kasakei is very limited. On Nova, the options were plentiful with soups, salads, alternative entrees to sushi. On Muse, it's sushi or sashimi, period. 3) We loved Atlantide on Nova. The food on Muse on Atlantide has been mediocre. Entrees are not hot, meat dishes have been tough and underseasoned. Not sure if it is a quality of ingredients issue or the executive chef but we had very tasty veal and steaks on Nova and the same dishes on Muse have been poorly executed. Fish has been way overcooked and dry and tasteless. Yes, we did speak with the restaurant manager and he offered to replace our meals but we were tired by that time and ready to leave. 4) In La Terraza, food was also lukewarm. My eggplant was woefully undercooked and my husband's mahi was dry as a bone. My pasta with duck ragu was tasty but also cold. Bread has been excellent with great variety and delicous every day. This has been the opposite of our dining experiences on Nova, where we had very few disappointments. Tonight we will try Indochine and are hoping for a better experience. We were planning on doing the Sommelier's lunch on Muse as it was fabulous on Nova. However, based on our overall food experience on Muse so far, I cannot imagine it is worth the $200 per person. Edited July 7 by caviargal more detail 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmaexec Posted July 7 #2 Share Posted July 7 We’re sailing on Muse in September so I appreciate the reviews - it will help us decide how many dinners to reserve in the various restaurants. Thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stickman1990 Posted July 8 #3 Share Posted July 8 56 minutes ago, elmaexec said: We’re sailing on Muse in September so I appreciate the reviews - it will help us decide how many dinners to reserve in the various restaurants. Thank you. Remember food (and service) is so subjective - we just sailed a month on Muse and were very happy with the food - I can’t remember one meal we really didn’t like across all the restaurants (we didn’t go to La Dame) My benchmarks when making the comparison are with Silversea, Crystal, Regent and Explora Journeys, all of which we’ve sailed with in the last 12 months We’re talking luxury lines here - of course there are some venues we prefer over others but we’ve never been disappointed on any of these lines (now don’t get me started on Viking however) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlemichael Posted July 8 #4 Share Posted July 8 (edited) In this thread there are posts from two different cruisers about their dining experiences on Muse. I don't think they were aboard at the same time but certainly they were very close to each other timewise. Both cruisers are experienced in luxury cruising well beyond Silversea. However, their culinary experiences on Silver Muse are diagonally opposed to each other. We are all different with different tastes, expectations and experiences. Therefore, there is only one judge that I have full faith in - me. Edited July 8 by turtlemichael 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stickman1990 Posted July 8 #5 Share Posted July 8 6 hours ago, turtlemichael said: In this thread there are posts from two different cruisers about their dining experiences on Muse….However, their culinary experiences on Silver Muse are diagonally opposed to each other. We are all different with different tastes, expectations and experiences. Totally agree with you - it’s just so subjective (although somethings can be absolute in terms of things like say cold food being served) This was bought home to me on our last Silver Muse cruise when another member described a very negative experience in La Terrazza in terms of the dishes and service whilst we enjoyed an excellent meal and great service at exactly the same time sitting on the opposite side of the restaurant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare drron29 Posted July 8 #6 Share Posted July 8 It is also possible the chef has changed. We were on the Muse in October last for 7 weeks and again in March for 4 weeks. There were some disappointments with food but one thing was consistent. The steaks in Atlantide were superb and cooked exactly how they were ordered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKCruiseJeff Posted July 8 #7 Share Posted July 8 (edited) 1. A key component of “quality” is “consistency”. There should not be random outbreaks of “quality” on some days or in some kitchens or on some ships - and poor quality on others. Quality should happen all day and every day in all kitchens with no lapses. 2. This is not an issue of personal taste. The taste issue some mention is a very limited consideration. No one wants hot food served on cold plates. No one wants hot food that is cold. No one likes undercooked food. No one wants overcooked food. No one wants dry lifeless food. Everyone likes a crisp chip. A steak to a degree of desired “doneness” has a precise internal temperature. Professional chefs if inexperienced or in doubt or unsure are not shy of using probes to check. There are no viable excuses to be made about these issues. 3. The way that kitchens ensure that “consistency” is the “pass”. All professional kitchens have a “pass” that is managed by a key person to ensure that absolutely nothing ever leaves the kitchen to be taken to a table that is not ALWAYS for each and every plate perfect. This is even more critical in high volume / high speed operations with concentrated service times. The pass” is the quality control “department” of the kitchen. No pass indicates an unprofessional amateur kitchen owned by people that do not care what is served. Too many pass failures indicates a poorly managed kitchen. Jeff Edited July 8 by UKCruiseJeff 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlemichael Posted July 8 #8 Share Posted July 8 1 hour ago, drron29 said: It is also possible the chef has changed. That, of course, is possible, even probable. And chefs can certainly make a big difference. There are also absolutes e.g. what "rare" or "medium rare" mean. But, at the end of the day (or meal lol) the person eating is the only one who can say whether it is a good, for them, meal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobreg Posted July 8 #9 Share Posted July 8 3 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said: No pass indicates an unprofessional amateur kitchen owned by people that do not care what is served. Too many pass failures indicates a poorly managed kitchen. Jeff We have to agree with the statement above following our experience on Azamara in Prime C on the Quest in June. We reserved the restaurant for 8:00pm to celebrate 🥂 DH 70th birthday 3 days before the end of the cruise as we were in a premium balcony with one specialty restaurant per 7 nights. We brought a nice bottle of wine and ordered the Châteaubriant for 2, medium. When the server brought the filet to the table, it was dark on the outside and when he cut it, blood was all over the cutting board and he served it in our plates. The veggies and potatoes were soaking in the blood that was still coming out of the meat. We said that we were not going to eat that and he brought the plates back to the kitchen. They put our plates in the oven for a few minutes and brought them back to the table saying be careful the plates are hot. We tried a few bites but the meat was dry and tasted burnt. The server returned our plates to the kitchen and the chef came to apologize that his assistant made the mistake and he offered to cook 2 filet mignon for replacement. Since it was almost 11pm and we were tired, we declined the offer and left the restaurant. The server said that he would not charge the corking fee for the wine. The next morning in the buffet, the restaurant manager came to see us and apologized for the mistake and proposed to retry the restaurant that evening. We declined as the celebration mood was over and we did not want to spend another full evening in the restaurant. As Jeff said, the chef know how to cook a steak medium and the pass should have checked that it was correct before sending it to the table. We don't know what is wrong especially considering the price of the meat that was just sent for feeding the fishes. Judging from the comments in all the different threads about quality of service and consistency of the food, something must not be adequately addressed by head office or on the ship. Before we consider cruising again on Azamara, the stars will have to be in perfect alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tudy Posted July 8 #10 Share Posted July 8 I agree that tastes are subjective. However, hot foods need to be served hot and cold foods need to be served cold. It's a food safety issue, and cruise ships need to be cognizant. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted July 8 Author #11 Share Posted July 8 (edited) My benchmarks for comparison are recent cruises (within 14 months) on Seabourn and Regent. Actually the food in BLU on our recent cruise (we took our kids and grand kids, which is the only reason we chose Celebrity) on Celebrity Equinox was much better dining experience than we are having on Muse. We are booked again on Regent in August and Seabourn (our favorite ) in October and Explora for the first time in January. We are also booked on Silver Dawn next year but are considering a change to that based on this cruise as well as feedback from trusted friends (in terms of quality of food and service) just back from the Dawn. Edited July 8 by caviargal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted July 8 Author #12 Share Posted July 8 7 hours ago, turtlemichael said: That, of course, is possible, even probable. And chefs can certainly make a big difference. There are also absolutes e.g. what "rare" or "medium rare" mean. But, at the end of the day (or meal lol) the person eating is the only one who can say whether it is a good, for them, meal. Agreed. In this case, we are a group of 6 friends and none of us enjoyed (or even ate) our meal in Atlantide. We had 4 different entrees between us. Indochine has been the best experience so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabethbea Posted July 10 #13 Share Posted July 10 Well count your blessings! Ive just come offPonant where Solos paid up too AUD$3000 a night for sometimes inedible food! No caviar, no breakfast after 9 am- I wont go on…. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted July 10 Author #14 Share Posted July 10 46 minutes ago, Elizabethbea said: Well count your blessings! Ive just come offPonant where Solos paid up too AUD$3000 a night for sometimes inedible food! No caviar, no breakfast after 9 am- I wont go on…. Ponant was a one and done for me. Did not care for anything about the line. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabethbea Posted July 10 #15 Share Posted July 10 A One and Done—PERFECT description 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pptarmigan Posted July 25 #16 Share Posted July 25 We were on this same cruise and had no issues with the food. We ate at all restaurants except La Dame and very much enjoyed all of our meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milepig Posted July 26 #17 Share Posted July 26 On the muse I was left wondering if they have an expediter. a number of our dishes should never have left the kitchen. Lamb that was so overcooked you could tell just from looking at it. someone should be watching plates as the leave the kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted July 28 Author #18 Share Posted July 28 On 7/26/2024 at 10:59 AM, milepig said: On the muse I was left wondering if they have an expediter. a number of our dishes should never have left the kitchen. Lamb that was so overcooked you could tell just from looking at it. someone should be watching plates as the leave the kitchen. Agreed. Tepid food, grossly underseasoned. Atlantide at dinner was just poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milepig Posted July 28 #19 Share Posted July 28 1 hour ago, caviargal said: Agreed. Tepid food, grossly underseasoned. Atlantide at dinner was just poor. we had no issues with Atlantide. LaTerraza was gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted July 28 Author #20 Share Posted July 28 Just now, milepig said: we had no issues with Atlantide. LaTerraza was gross. And LT was by far better for us. There were 6 of us and we had dinner there 4 of the 11 nights. Atlantide was twice and that was 2 too many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulaJK Posted July 28 #21 Share Posted July 28 The same experiences…over and over…apparently with no attempt by SS to address them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jollyjones Posted July 29 #22 Share Posted July 29 And if you read posts #18, #19, and #20, it just shows how contradictory and thus useless other people's opinions of food are as indications of whether one will enjoy it or not. An example - Les37b and I have long disagreed about Indochine on the Muse - he finds the food painfully bland and not spicy, I find the food painfully over spicy and don't enjoy it so much. So a comment like 'grossly underseasoned' has limited value. I have had excellent, good and not so good experiences in all SS restaurants on most of the SS fleet over the years - randomly spread, no particular pattern, and I've never had difficulty finding something I enjoy eating in some restaurant or another on every single cruise. The only solution is to cruise and make your own opinion! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted July 29 Author #23 Share Posted July 29 3 hours ago, jollyjones said: And if you read posts #18, #19, and #20, it just shows how contradictory and thus useless other people's opinions of food are as indications of whether one will enjoy it or not. An example - Les37b and I have long disagreed about Indochine on the Muse - he finds the food painfully bland and not spicy, I find the food painfully over spicy and don't enjoy it so much. So a comment like 'grossly underseasoned' has limited value. Food was tepid, not served hot. Atlantide service was poor. We sat for way too long to simply place an order. And the attitude of several of the servers there led me to meet with the F&B manager to make him aware of subpar food and service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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