what things do you need to just ask for

[Island Cruiser]

To us, the unfortunate thing about the caviar situation is they are cutting back. What else is on the chopping block? I don't happen to like caviar. But I do love all the other aspects of a luxury cruise experience and I so hope they aren't trimming other perks as well. Patrick

[Leejnd4]

Patrick, you hit the nail on the head. I could do a very similar itinerary to the one I just booked on the Silver Wind, for literally a third of the price. I chose to go on Silversea primarily BECAUSE of the extras that I believe should come with a luxury cruise experience. But if those extras are not part of the package, then it's just not worth the premium.

 

Granted, as of this moment the only thing they seem to be skimping on is caviar. I will look forward to future reports that assure us it's the ONLY thing. Let's hope!

 

And Duct Tape - I'm with ya - long live the foie gras! ;)

[wripro]

Don't hold me to this but I have heard it is $60 per serving. I'm not sure what they consider a serving but my guess it is one ounce.

[Wellseasoned]

I've received the official word from Silversea regarding the caviar. As of 1/1/08 complimentary in-suite caviar, caviar for parties, and special orders of caviar have been terminated. The complimentary caviar, which is paddlefish, will only be served at the welcome dinner, the Venetian society party, the Virtuoso party, and in-suite only in butler-attended VIP suites.

All canapes with caviar will use bow fish caviar or salmon roe.

There is now a Connoisseur's Caviar list available for purchase: 1 3/4 oz. tins of Beluga for $400, Ossetra for $385, Alverta for $120, and 1 oz. serving of the house paddlefish for $60. Prices will vary according to market conditions. Does anyone know whether Seabourn is contemplating similar changes?

[meow!]

On a Florida website, I found 1-3/4 jars of beluga caviar to be priced at $438, and 1-3/4 jars of paddlefish caviar to be $29. These things are proportional to the quantitity in the jar, and pound sized large jars are at the same rate as smaller ones.

[Leejnd4]

Wellseasoned, thanks for the skinny on the fish eggs. :) I suppose with prices like that, they can't afford to keep giving it away. I remember not too long ago I could purchase a jar of Osetra at Trader Joes for about $38. Then on my Regent Med cruise in 2006, we paid $25 for a serving of Sevruga, and it was a very generous portion - seemed like more than an ounce.

 

I guess with all that's been going on with Caspian sturgeon, we'll just need to accept that caviar is no longer part of the luxury cruise experience.

 

Viva la foie gras! :D

[lord of the seas]

Wellseasoned, thanks for the skinny on the fish eggs. :) I suppose with prices like that, they can't afford to keep giving it away. I remember not too long ago I could purchase a jar of Osetra at Trader Joes for about $38. Then on my Regent Med cruise in 2006, we paid $25 for a serving of Sevruga, and it was a very generous portion - seemed like more than an ounce.

 

I guess with all that's been going on with Caspian sturgeon, we'll just need to accept that caviar is no longer part of the luxury cruise experience.

 

Viva la foie gras! :D

 

No problem with Caviar on Seabourn,let's hope it lasts till I get onboard again.

[CASHIPman]

Attached is the caviar menu.

This could bankrupt my partner! :D

 

Below is Silversea's response to my caviar query:

 

Thank you for your e-mail!

 

Silversea has remained all inclusive with respect to the port charges, alcoholic beverages and on board gratuities. We have now changed our policy with respect to caviar.

 

The complimentary Caviar, Petrossian Chataluga "Prestige" paddlefish, is only available as follows:

-at the Welcome Dinner

-at the Venetian Society Cocktail Party

-in the Owner's, Grand and Royal suites (ordered in the suite only)

 

There is a Connoisseur's Selection available on board. I will email a copy of that to you under separate cover. Please note all prices are subject to change without notice.

 

Best Regards

Information Desk at Silversea

Connoisseur's Caviar menu.pdf

[ScottToronto]

Good evening CASHIPman!

Thanks for getting us the Caviar Menu!

 

Sailing on my 12th Silverseas Cruise, May 13th, Silver Wind (Lisbon to London).

 

My partner and I used to order caviar in our suite quite often. Perhaps we'll treat ourselves from the menu during the voyage and enjoy it at the 3 functions listed.

 

Read the list of caviars available. I didn't see Sevuga (my favourite).

 

What is the house champagne at the moment? Since sailing with Silverseas its changed a few times. Pommery>Mouet Chandon>Philip??>Perrier Jouet>Pommery.

 

As long as they still have my Grey Goose for my martinis, I'll be happy.

 

Looking forward to be sailing with Silverseas again in 40 days.

 

ScottToronto

scottcdn@hotmail.com

[wripro]

I wonder if there's a corkage fee for onions, eggs and sour cream if we bring our own caviar aboard?????

[CASHIPman]

I wonder if there's a corkage fee for onions, eggs and sour cream if we bring our own caviar aboard?????

 

Oh. You (humorously) bring up a good point...corkage. I guess it's another email to Silversea.

[CASHIPman]

Good evening CASHIPman!

Thanks for getting us the Caviar Menu!

 

Sailing on my 12th Silverseas Cruise, May 13th, Silver Wind (Lisbon to London).

 

My partner and I used to order caviar in our suite quite often. Perhaps we'll treat ourselves from the menu during the voyage and enjoy it at the 3 functions listed.

 

Read the list of caviars available. I didn't see Sevuga (my favourite).

 

What is the house champagne at the moment? Since sailing with Silverseas its changed a few times. Pommery>Mouet Chandon>Philip??>Perrier Jouet>Pommery.

 

As long as they still have my Grey Goose for my martinis, I'll be happy.

 

Looking forward to be sailing with Silverseas again in 40 days.

 

ScottToronto

scottcdn@hotmail.com

 

Hi Scott...

No worries 'bout the menu. I'm happy to share.

 

We board the Wind in San Juan in 19 days' time. Personally I'm hoping that there's enough cachaca (Brazilian rum) for my caipirinhas to last the two weeks.

[ScottToronto]

Hi Craig,

Sure wish our cruise on the Wind was in 19 days. I heard from Colin Brown. He will be your Cruise Director. Great guy. Give him my best wishes and please tell him he'll be seeing me in about 2 weeks after you.

 

Bon Voyage!!!!!

 

ScottToronto;)

[CASHIPman]

Hi Craig,

Sure wish our cruise on the Wind was in 19 days.

 

Bon Voyage!!!!!

 

ScottToronto;)

 

Be careful what you wish for! The sooner you board, the sooner you disembark! :-)

[duct tape]

Thanx all for basing my info in fact! I thought that was what I heard when I was on the Cloud...bummer. Enjoy!

[meow!]

Thinking back, we have been quite lucky, to be on the last Panama Canal voyage with full free caviar -- now it has been cut back to Oceania's level, restricted occasional supply! Also, the Panama crossing after ours (presumably the first leg of the world cruise) had been hit by work slowdown of the Canal workers' union, forced into a dark night crossing. So ours was the last when things were at their best -- only what one has already done is his/hers, tomorrow is a matter of chance (and often beyond your control)!

[LaPaloma]

It is easy for me to see why there is a cutback on caviar. I have watched so much greed in the ordering. Most of us enjoy it as a special treat, but I have observed those who make pigs of themselves...these same people would not consider acting that way at home. I have expected this change. Isn't it too bad that a few can change a good thing for all. Lola

[meow!]

When we were on board, we tried not to be conspicuous of our consumption. For the 15 days, perhaps we ordered 8 servings, so 16 servings for the two of us. Each serving is less than a tablespoonful, I would say less than an ounce. From what I can find on the web, wholesale price for American caviar is $15 to $25 an ounce, so perhaps it cost Silversea $200, roughly 2% of the much discounted fare we paid. For the average passenger, caviar cost will be closer to 1%, not a gross amount. Presumably, for the new rules when they charge you $60 per serving, it will be for 1-1/2 ounce each, about double the free serving size. (That means they charge you roughly double their wholesale cost, which is not unusual for a restaurant).

 

By the way, when we had our only course-by-course dinner in our cabin, we did order caviar, and the male cat took "macro" close-up pictures of the caviar, which when blown up 16x showed the nice clear spheres, one by one, mm .. meow!

[simonv]

It is easy for me to see why there is a cutback on caviar. I have watched so much greed in the ordering. Most of us enjoy it as a special treat, but I have observed those who make pigs of themselves...these same people would not consider acting that way at home. I have expected this change. Isn't it too bad that a few can change a good thing for all. Lola

 

I hope bottles of liquor in your suite isn't the next. I saw, the day before the disbarkation date, three full bottles of liquor delivered to the room across from us. He wasn't having a party in his suite that day, either. That is wrong!

 

I know a man who ordered 8 servings of caviar everyday for the 28 day cruise!!!! That is an abuse. Cigarettes used to be free, too. I was told that some people ordered a few cartons of them before disbarkation to take them home, and as a result, SS had to discontinue offering free cigarettes. The price of caviar has gone up for sure, but abuse by few might have lot to do with it.

 

Abuse of the system by few and everyone suffers.

[meow!]

As I have just said, we perhaps had a total of 2x8 servings in all for the two of us over 15 days, so I don't think that is abuse (less than a tablespoonful every second day each). As for wine, we only had the welcome bottle, and one bottle of Dom Perignon, courtesy of American Express, plus the leftover of the "premium" bottle we purchased for dinner at La Champagne, and that was all. So that was not abuse either. (Of course, we took the glasses of wine they poured us at dinner, more or less out of courtesy to the staff!) We also had a total of perhaps three sets (the last one not fully used and left there) of toiletries. That should be rather normal too. Don't you think? By the way, we also had four servings of foie gras each altogether, and quite a few servings of "zero zero ice cream" .. yummy .. meow!

 

P.S. Is there an easy, non-intrusive way of limiting caviar consumption to say one serving per day (e.g. only available at dinner, and the waiter / room service won't serve that more than once)? That may be more manageable.

[Leejnd4]

Personally I would rather see a limit per passenger, than an outright ban. I'm not surprised some people abused it -- there are lots of people who do that sort of thing in regular life, so it's inevitable that some of that kind of behavior will end up onboard. One might think that the price point of Silversea cruises would "weed out" that kind of element, but the reality is that you can find boorish behavior among all levels of society.

 

Although I have to tell you that I will probably abuse the foie gras - only because I can't always GET it at home! :D However, I think the potential for abuse of foie gras is less than that of caviar. Foie gras is SO rich and decadent, I really can only eat a small portion...whereas if I wanted to, I probably COULD put away 8 servings of caviar in one sitting! (Not that I would...) ;)

 

I do think that the $60 a pop for the paddlefish caviar is excessive.

[simonv]

Just tell the maitre'd on the first day that you want foie gras everyday as your standard order, if you can stand that much foie gras. They'll do it for you.

[Leejnd4]

I think I'll have to go with every other day. That much foie gras might put me on liver overdose...and cure me of my love for it!

[wripro]

I think Silversea has raised its prices enough in the last couple of years to cover however much caviar passengers consume. I can't imagine that they are not buying it for a lot less than the normal wholesale price in the quantities they use. This is really a matter of defining themselves as all inclusive or not. They are now all inclusive except for what they don't want to include. This holds true for Le Champagne or Saletta which oblige you to purchase wine in order to dine there.

[CanadianKate]

This is very upsetting.

 

We do not drink alcohol so people have openly questioned why we would pay to be on Silversea when for much less money (due to non-consumption) we could be on another cruise line.

 

It was little things like the cavier every night for my dh while I dressed that made it wonderful. I guess I wouldn't mind if the free booze was gone too, but it isn't so once again, as non-drinkers we pay for privileges we won't benefit from.

 

(There is nothing more upsetting than a 3 hour aircraft delay and the airline offering a free round of drinks to make up for it but charging us $5 for a snack. I'm hungry as I'm now sitting on the stupid plane instead of being at my destination, eating my meal. Would it kill them to hand out $5 vouchers and people could drink or eat according to their preference?)

 

Sigh...

 

I thought we'd found a respite from the indignities of life as road warriors. If even luxury travel starts containing similar injustices, I'll have to take my dollars elsewhere. This is the first I've felt upset about my upcoming month aboard the Shadow.