Silver Muse Dining

According to an email message authored by Andre Nordseth, VP Hotel Operations, Silversea has clarified the dress code and reservation policies of the Silver Muse. They are as follows:

1. After 6:00p in public lounges and restaurants: no open-toe shoes, denim shorts, athletic wear/tennis shoes, t-shirts, midriff tops, or sundresses.
   
2. First and last evening: all restaurants and indoor lounges are casual attire.
   
3. Reservations are required at:
   
   • Kaiseki, La Dame and Silver Note
     

[*]Attire

• Formal attire is required:
  
  • Atlantide and La Dame
    

  [*]Informal attire is requested:

  • La Terrazza, Kaiseki, Indochine and Silver Note
    

  [*]Casual attire:

  • Hot Rocks and Spaccanapoli
    

This is not a clarification. While I rarely criticize Silversea publicly, I have sent the following e-mail to Mr. Nordseth:

Dear Mr. Nordseth-

With all due respect, I feel I must reply to this most confusing e-mail. As background, we have over 400 happy days on Silversea and have reservations that will put us over the 500 day mark in the not too distant future. Additionally, we are not of the demographic that wants to downgrade Silversea's dress policy - in fact my husband travels with two tuxedos, and I travel with multiple long evening gowns on each trip. Therefore, I feel I can take exception to your email and the message it is sending.

1. Many of my evening shoes are open toed and or sling back. Would they now not be permitted after 6 pm?

2. You say that sundresses are not permitted after 6 pm - does that mean on casual nights I cannot wear a sundress? How are you defining sundress? Do you really mean swimwear coverup?

3. Are you saying that denim shorts are not permitted, but I can wear jeans in the informal and casual restaurants?

4. I was under the impression that since there is no main dining room that reservations were required for all the restaurants. Is this not true?

For additional background, I highly suggest that you refer to the Boards on cruisecritic.com and real carefully the thread concerning dining on the Muse. Your email has done nothing to help the situation.

Please reconsider the message you are sending to your loyal passengers and potential customers. What is the Muse trying to be?

Sincerely,

...

Really!!! Are they joking???

Yes, I've just had this 'clarification' and oh, you just can tell this was written by a man!

All my evening shoes are strappy sandals. They even sell ridiculously expensive and very strappy evening sandals on board.

(Doesn't say you actually have to wear shoes, maybe barefoot would suffice!)

What is the difference between a summer dress and a sun dress?

OK, I wouldn't like to see denim shorts in the evening but it doesn't say smart shorts in regular fabric are forbidden.

T-shirts ... mmm ... define a t-shirt? Many of my evening tops are smart and pretty but could technically fall within the definition of a t-shirt; they're knit fabric with a round neckline and short sleeves.

This is all totally silly knit picking of course - I know perfectly well how to dress suitably during a cruise, 180 days on SS and never been turned away from a restaurant yet - but my point is that I totally agree with emtbsam that this email is unhelpful nonsense.

Note the difference between required and requested attire...are there

Sartorial enforcers...?

My intent is not to sound sarcastic, but I truly believe that SS passengers have enough experience onboard ships to know what is meant by formal, informal, and casual. I think the only clarification that was needed was which restaurants require which dress code and because it is different in each dining venue, what is the acceptable dress code in public areas after 6:00 pm. Common sense dictates what is meant by open toed shoes or T-shirts, etc. For most SS cruisers, this is not their first time onboard a ship and they know exactly what is acceptable and what is not. For those new to cruising, it is easy to find this information (TA or SS or even CC). BTW- reservations are required for all eight restaurants and it was simple to do on line. And when you make your reservation on line, there is a description of the restaurant as well as a description of the dress code for that restaurant. We are very much looking forward to our sailing on the Muse.

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What are the ranges of hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner? How late can one enter a dining room and be accepted for dinner?

For example, the Montreal to Fort Lauderdale voyage, the ship leaves Montreal at 7 p.m. There will be safety drills etc., perhaps until 8 p.m. So you change clothing and go to dinner at 9 p.m., will it be considered too late?

Test

I have just disembarked from The Muse. They are not enforcing the dress code. Atlantide is listed as "formal", but most diners were informal. Secondly, there were a few female passengersweari g denim short shorts, with fringe hanging. Denim long pants were worn in The Panorama Lounge during dancing hours,with casual sandals. I dislike the relaxed dress code. Then there was the couple wearing the robes from their suite on the pool deck. Why stress elegance and country club casual if it isn't enforced? I believe Silversea is changing their culture.

My intent is not to sound sarcastic, but I truly believe that SS passengers have enough experience onboard ships to know what is meant by formal, informal, and casual. I think the only clarification that was needed was which restaurants require which dress code and because it is different in each dining venue, what is the acceptable dress code in public areas after 6:00 pm. Common sense dictates what is meant by open toed shoes or T-shirts, etc. For most SS cruisers, this is not their first time onboard a ship and they know exactly what is acceptable and what is not. For those new to cruising, it is easy to find this information (TA or SS or even CC). BTW- reservations are required for all eight restaurants and it was simple to do on line. And when you make your reservation on line, there is a description of the restaurant as well as a description of the dress code for that restaurant. We are very much looking forward to our sailing on the Muse.

 

 

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No offense taken. Of course I know what is acceptable. My point was that the email was poorly conceived and certainly not vetted properly. It does little to clarify anything.

What are the ranges of hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner? How late can one enter a dining room and be accepted for dinner?

 

For example, the Montreal to Fort Lauderdale voyage, the ship leaves Montreal at 7 p.m. There will be safety drills etc., perhaps until 8 p.m. So you change clothing and go to dinner at 9 p.m., will it be considered too late?

The big contention with the Muse was the dinning arrangement. The e mail states they have changed the policy to require reservations in just three restaurants, by default the rest are open dinning. This seems to clarify the issue well.

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The big contention with the Muse was the dinning arrangement. The e mail states they have changed the policy to require reservations in just three restaurants, by default the rest are open dinning. This seems to clarify the issue well.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

"By default" doesn't that mean that the rest are BOTH bookable AND open dining which possibly means queues forming before opening?

"By default" doesn't that mean that the rest are BOTH bookable AND open dining which possibly means queues forming before opening?

I do not know if the rest can be prebooked, what my take is the rest are open dinning. I am sure queues might form. I guess it's one or the other. All reservation and no queue or open dinning and a possibility of a wait

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"By default" doesn't that mean that the rest are BOTH bookable AND open dining which possibly means queues forming before opening?

Exactly! If there are no reservations required and seating is limited in certain restaurants you can just imagine what it will be like to try and get in. That is why ships with open seating have MDRs with a large capacity.

I do not know if the rest can be prebooked, what my take is the rest are open dinning. I am sure queues might form. I guess it's one or the other. All reservation and no queue or open dinning and a possibility of a wait

 

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>>Reservations are required at Kaiseki, La Dame and Silver Note<<

This implies to me that they are not required at other venues. It doesn't imply to me that you cannot book if you wish.

>>no open-toe shoes<<

I'm perplexed. Aren't many ladies cocktail shoes open-toed? Is this a new rule for all restaurants that no toes must be on display after 6pm? So sandals no longer qualify as casual shoes? Is there going to be a toe inspection all areas after 6pm, with perhaps Toe Police? :D

>>Attire

• Formal attire is required:
  
  • Atlantide and La Dame
    

   

  [*]Informal attire is requested:

  • La Terrazza, Kaiseki, Indochine and Silver Note
    

   

  [*]Casual attire:

  • Hot Rocks and Spaccanapoli<<
    

   

Doesn't "requested" imply not enforced ie do what you want as long as you comply with "After 6:00p in public lounges and restaurants: no open-toe shoes, denim shorts, athletic wear/tennis shoes, t-shirts, midriff tops, or sundresses."........but what then is casual wear as against smart casual wear.

When SS do a job of clarifying something they seem to me to accomplish the reverse.

I guess anything can be picked apart. Silversea heard the problems with all reservation dinning and acted very fast with a fix. As for dress I will ware a jacket and tie, others might ware a tux. My wife might ware open toe evening shoes while you ware closed. In the end I imagine we will all enjoy a wonderful dinner.

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...but what then is casual wear as against smart casual wear?

Forget SS, hasn't that been the question the world has been trying to figure out for the past two decades and nobody yet knows the correct answer.?

If more than one person hadn't said that they had received it then I would have presumed the note was a "spoof".

It reads as though no one with an IQ read it before sending it.

I received it too. Had the same reaction to no "open toe" shoes. Rediculous!

Meow, I assume the hours would be printed in the daily Chronicles. I would also assume all aboard in Montreal would not change just because the voyage doesn't depart until 7:00p (at least that is the way it worked on one of our voyages that didn't depart until 11:00p). So, muster drill would be held at the normal time, providing everyone plenty of time to get back to their rooms to remove the life vests and still be able to eat dinner at an early time.

Thank you for the reply.