Silk Harvest on Equinox - Opinions

We will be a party of 8 on the 2/13 sailing of Equinox. We have been to each of the specialty restaurants on X ships with the exception of Silk Harvest. Seems to be a wide range of opinions on this restaurant compared to other specialty restaurants. Is it worth going to for one night out of 10...even for a change of pace? What are some of the best dishes or ones to be avoided? Thanks for your thoughts.

During our recent Equinox cruise, we tried all three specialty restaurants, and even with the first night Aqua-Class discount, we both felt that it was way over priced and not very good. If fact, our local Chinese carryout is far better and costs nearly nothing in comparison. We really enjoyed the other two and would go to both of these again. Maybe a large party (vs. the two of us) would be a different experience.

We only tried it once. Our issue was related to service. There was a group of officers entertaining guests while we were there. The staff was bending over backwards and hovering over them. Courses coming out like clockwork. In the meantime we sat and no waiter approached us. Not even asking if we wanted a glass of wine. After about 45 mins I approached the manager. He apologized and took our order, another 30 mins pass. He explains its all freshly made. We left, I contacted the hotel director and also made a point to contact Miami. They did refund our money but left a terrible impression on us. The guests should receive the same attention as the officers.

During our recent Equinox cruise, we tried all three specialty restaurants, and even with the first night Aqua-Class discount, we both felt that it was way over priced and not very good. If fact, our local Chinese carryout is far better and costs nearly nothing in comparison. We really enjoyed the other two and would go to both of these again. Maybe a large party (vs. the two of us) would be a different experience.

I agree 100%.

I guess I could just say "ditto" for us. We actually walked out after our sushi appetizer which, as I recall, was just awful...clearly prepared hours if not days before with mushy rice.

Wow, sounds like we may not want to waste our money on it. Can't believe if it is getting such bad reviews why it has not been replaced or upgraded in some way.

We dined once in Silk Harvest on the Equinox on a 2013 cruise, and although we had excellent service we weren't impressed. It is described as fusion, so we didn't expect the recipes to be authentic. But they also really weren't "fusion" either -- no clever or creative combination of flavors, not very innovative. I have always found that Qsine is a little too gimmicky for my taste (although we have had some excellent food in Qsine), but I much prefer Qsine to Silk Harvest.

I did not eat a meal there on Equinox so my opinion is not as valuable as others. However, we did go to the sushi demonstration. One thing that the sushi chef said stuck with me. He said that they purposely don't add wasabi or a lot of seasoning to the maki at Silk Harvest because too many guests don't like it. For me, that is what makes Asian food so good is the different seasonings and flavors. If they apply this same "standard" to the regular entrees, they must come out quite bland and it isn't a surprise that the overall reviews are less than stellar.

We will be a party of 8 on the 2/13 sailing of Equinox. We have been to each of the specialty restaurants on X ships with the exception of Silk Harvest. Seems to be a wide range of opinions on this restaurant compared to other specialty restaurants. Is it worth going to for one night out of 10...even for a change of pace? What are some of the best dishes or ones to be avoided? Thanks for your thoughts.

We had a party of 12 from our Roll Call last Nov that went, it was FANTASTIC! My wife was concerned because she has stage 4 Celiac. They went way above and beyond with the service and food quality. We went to Tuscan & Murano 2X, and the wife said she wished we had of gone back to Silk again.

We are sailing the Equinox again this Nov and will definatly go again!

ps: there is nothing on their menu to stay away from! Try as much as you can.

I did not eat a meal there on Equinox so my opinion is not as valuable as others. However, we did go to the sushi demonstration. One thing that the sushi chef said stuck with me. He said that they purposely don't add wasabi or a lot of seasoning to the maki at Silk Harvest because too many guests don't like it. For me, that is what makes Asian food so good is the different seasonings and flavors. If they apply this same "standard" to the regular entrees, they must come out quite bland and it isn't a surprise that the overall reviews are less than stellar.

They also don't season their rice because some don't like the flavor of the correct, seasoned rice. That applies to both the sushi in the buffet area and silk harvest. One can only wonder why they don't toast the nori before making rolls (of course the reason is they make most of the rolls in advance so the nori quickly becomes soggy).

I guess I'm from that "old fashioned" school that says if you're going to make something like sushi, then make it right or make something else. I feel that way about seasoning as well in the dining rooms, but again, they have to prepare food that is bland because some like it that way. Sigh....

In fairness, there are some here on CC that really like Silk Harvest. I'm surprised that some haven't chimed in....

Again, I can't speak to the quality of the food, I was speaking to the service. We left prior to having any food. Our favorite specialty is Tuscan grill. You will find posts on this board how terrible that is also.

I have to agree with EW in that for us, it was one of the highlights of our dining. I don't know what Chinese food others have had, but I've lived in big cities and have experienced all sorts of Asian food. I have eaten in Chinatown, NYC, LA, and San Francisco, as well as Houston, Denver and others, and I must say that the food we had in Silk Harvest rivaled them all. I can't comment as to a certain dish because they treated us so well, I was able to taste EVERYTHING!

The first time we went it was just my husband and me. We started with sushi (outstanding and very fresh) then appetizers, then the main dish which I had at the insistence of the waiter even though I felt too full. He insisted that we just sit and relax at our table and enjoy our time and let our food digest so we could have our dinner. I was really against it, but so glad I took their advice! I had a shrimp and lobster dish which rivaled anything I've ever had. I can't remember exactly which dish, because my husband and I shared everything. We left feeling as though we had been totally pampered and thought it was totally worth the up charge.

A few nights later we went with a large party. The head waiter greeted us and told us to sit back and relax and they would bring us some of everything. If we wanted anything additional, we were to just tell them and they would bring more. Wow, did they! Each small group of four at the table had one of everything. We had every appetizer and main dish, and I was too full to try anything else.

The seafood dishes were perfect. Delicious crunchy, fresh shrimp and lobster, as well as tasty seasoned and perfectly done beef, chicken and pork. I personally prefer a more complex taste, with lots of ingredients, rather than a heavy sauce taste. These dishes all fit the bill. Everything was perfectly seasoned and my taste buds were in heaven!

We enjoyed it so much that we will definitely not miss it on our next cruise in November!

Last May on Solstice we heard some people talking about how underwhelming their experience was. We then started referring to it as Panda Express as a joke when we walked down to Blu most nights, Tuscan Grille, etc.

One of the friends we met would go in there briefly to get chopsticks as he prefers them for whatever he might be eating, so it had its purpose... but it wasn't too much of one.

Decor is pretty, but I don't feel we missed out. Menu seemed VERY basic.

I dined in Silk Harvest in late 2011 and found it to be comparable to P.F. Chang's (some may see that as a positive, some as a negative). I don't feel like I wasted my money, but I would not go back. We did have a language barrier with our server not seeming to understand my husband's severe shellfish allergy - we had to speak to the manager to be comfortable that they understood.

We liked the appetizers and sushi....entrees...not so much...we had the 5 dining pkg...so when we went back...we ordered only appetizers....we enjoyed it....we had shipboard credit to use....not sur i would pay for it outright.

Fried cheese wontons...incredible.

It was my favorite of the three on Equinox. Wonderful food & outstanding service. Wouldn't hesitate to go again!

Of all the specialty restaurants we have been to on the various ships, we found it to be the least favorite. I wish Tuscan were on the Millennium instead of Silk Harvest.

We live in the Chicago area and have all levels of asian food, so there is no reason to pay that price for what is offered. But we don't go to the Tuscan Grill for the sames reason. Maybe if French-Vietnamese cuisine was offered we would.

We always go Aqua Class and find enough variety in Blu and maybe a trip to Murano. We enjoyed Q-Sine also.

We are from San Francisco where there are so many great restaurants. That said I think P F Changs or even little places by our daughters' universities are better and more flavorful than Silk Harvest. Our main problem though was that the dinner was in slow motion. The servers were nice but we were there so long and wanted to attend the deck party.

We were underwhelmed by Silk Harvest. Limited menu and very ordinary dishes.

We were enticed to try it after attending a food demonstration, but the food we received was nothing like the demonstration.

If this food was served at the Oceanview Cafe you could say it was adequate, as a speciality restaurant it's not.

Unfortunately when you book a three package speciality deal you have to eat there once.

We went back to try Silk Harvest in October 2014 after being underwhelmed on Equinox on a TA in 2013. They had tweaked the menu on Solstice and there was more there that we liked, taste and flavour better and choices improved. However I still prefer Tuscan and Murano as feel we get much better Asian food at home.

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We dined in Silk Harvest during our April 2014 cruise and loved it (just as we did on Solstice). However, I have to admit the service was a bit better on Solstice though.

The food was good - the menu had a good offering of available entree's to chose from (be sure to look over the menu on the Celebrity site). For appetizers, the Pork and shrimp pot stickers, Cream cheese wontons, and Spring rolls are good. Entree's, the Pepper steak and Orange chicken are good. We do not eat sushi, so can't help on that front.

Be sure to give Tuscan Grille a try. From the appetizer menu, don't forget to try the Ravioli di carne di Manzo Brasata (homemade braised beef ravioli with wild forest mushroom truffle sauce) - absolutely wonderful. The chef will make the dish as an entrée if you prefer.

Have a wonderful cruise.

I for one don't believe the service is slow at any of the restaurants. This is not fast food and given the amount of food one consumes on a cruise,I enjoy eating a leisurely meal.

We all have our favorite Asian restaurants at home. It's nice to try a different one.

As far as the Tuscan Grill,I found the food to be good but very heavy . There are countless Italian restaurants in the New Jersey/New York area that far surpass it with more interesting and delicate flavors but that doesn't mean once or twice a year i can't enjoy the TG.

Eating at any of the specialty restaurants is just part of a great cruise experience.Relax and enjoy your vacation.

Of all the specialty restaurants we have been to on the various ships, we found it to be the least favorite. I wish Tuscan were on the Millennium instead of Silk Harvest.

Silk Harvest is not on the Millie. Qsine is, and it's fantastic!