Caviar: Complimentary (sevruga) versus purchased onboard (Oescetra or Beluga)

[MuseCruiser]

I recently took a lovely cruise on the Silver Shadow to Alaska. As is my custom, I ordered the complimentary caviar several times. Enjoyed it immensely.

In the room was a form indicating I could order either Beluga or Oscetra for an extra fee.

Has anyone else ordered the 'upgraded' caviar versus the complimentary? Onboard I kept wondering what the difference was in taste between Silversea's complimentary versus their oscetra or beluga.

My question isn't so much the regular difference between beluga/oscetra/sevruga. That I know. Within each distinction, there can be varying levels of quality. Therefore, my question is just how much better the beluga/oescetra available onboard for purchase is than what they serve as the complimentary caviar.

[meow!]

By any chance do you remember how much were the upcharges for the beluga and oesetra respectively, and what brands did they use? Did they give you one free serving of sevruga per person per day? Thank you.

[MuseCruiser]

Oscetra was around $110 for 3.5 oz (less for 1 oz), golden oscetra was $140 for 3.5 oz, and Beluga was something like $210 or so.

[bdmarine]

Strange. At our local market, Sevruga is slightly more expensive than Oscetra. Maybe they're using Iranian rather than Russian caviar. I prefer the Iranian as it is slightly less salty, but it is not readily available in the States.