Food service on the Silver Spirit vs. Silver Wind

We are loyal Seabourn fans but were lured away by the opportunity to sail from Tower Bridge aboard the Silver Wind. A great event which fully met our expectations. So glad we did it.

It also gave us the opportunity to compare the two lines. As I have stated on the Seabourn site, we found more similarities than differences - somethings better on Silversea, some better on Seabourn (with the acknowledgement that subjectivity plays the major role in making such calls).

One difference we found was the need to make reservations in the food ventures on the Silver Wind other than the MDR. Seabourn doesn't require that and we enjoy the flexibility of not deciding on where, or more importantly, when we eat until after we see how cocktail hour works out. We loved the dinners on the pool deck (who knew that cooking your own steak aboard ship would be so much fun) but found, at least on this cruise, one had to make reservations early on to secure a place.

We are not food connoisseurs so we are not ignoring the MDR because we think the food would be better elsewhere. It's just a matter of having choices and not being forced to decide two or three days ahead where we might eat.

So, what is my question? The Silver Wind holds 296 passengers and the Silver Spirit holds 540. Is the requirement of having a reservation more intense on the larger ship?

A collateral question is how would you regular Silversea patrons rate the Spirit versus the other Silversea ship?

The reason I'm making this inquiry is that I have signed up for a cruise next summer to St. Petersburg on the Seabourn Ovation and have had some second thoughts about boarding a ship so new to the fleet. There have been a number of negative comments about the Seabourn Encore, the sister ship to the Ovation, such as overcrowding, new staff not adequately trained, etc. These Seabourn ships hold 600 passengers. (I'm use to the Odyssey size ships which hold about 400 passengers.). While there are no reservations requirements (with one exception), I worried that the dining experience might prove lacking.

An alternative would be to sail on the Silver Spirit which will also visit St. Petersburg that summer. While a "larger" ship, I'm hoping to hear that the staff has its act together and, assuming we get a reservation, the service and food would be outstanding.

I apologize for the long post.

We are loyal Seabourn fans but were lured away by the opportunity to sail from Tower Bridge aboard the Silver Wind. A great event which fully met our expectations. So glad we did it.

 

It also gave us the opportunity to compare the two lines. As I have stated on the Seabourn site, we found more similarities than differences - somethings better on Silversea, some better on Seabourn (with the acknowledgement that subjectivity plays the major role in making such calls).

 

One difference we found was the need to make reservations in the food ventures on the Silver Wind other than the MDR. Seabourn doesn't require that and we enjoy the flexibility of not deciding on where, or more importantly, when we eat until after we see how cocktail hour works out. We loved the dinners on the pool deck (who knew that cooking your own steak aboard ship would be so much fun) but found, at least on this cruise, one had to make reservations early on to secure a place.

 

We are not food connoisseurs so we are not ignoring the MDR because we think the food would be better elsewhere. It's just a matter of having choices and not being forced to decide two or three days ahead where we might eat.

 

So, what is my question? The Silver Wind holds 296 passengers and the Silver Spirit holds 540. Is the requirement of having a reservation more intense on the larger ship?

 

A collateral question is how would you regular Silversea patrons rate the Spirit versus the other Silversea ship?

 

The reason I'm making this inquiry is that I have signed up for a cruise next summer to St. Petersburg on the Seabourn Ovation and have had some second thoughts about boarding a ship so new to the fleet. There have been a number of negative comments about the Seabourn Encore, the sister ship to the Ovation, such as overcrowding, new staff not adequately trained, etc. These Seabourn ships hold 600 passengers. (I'm use to the Odyssey size ships which hold about 400 passengers.). While there are no reservations requirements (with one exception), I worried that the dining experience might prove lacking.

 

 

An alternative would be to sail on the Silver Spirit which will also visit St. Petersburg that summer. While a "larger" ship, I'm hoping to hear that the staff has its act together and, assuming we get a reservation, the service and food would be outstanding.

 

 

I apologize for the long post.

We've just finished a cruise on Silver Spirit. It was our first Silversea cruise as we normally cruise with Regent. The restaurant reservation system was a nightmare, it was impossible to get reservations at a sensible time and there was no flexibility. We were enjoying our cocktails and rang one restaurant to try and secure an extra half an hour, only to be told it wasn't possible. What was even more annoying was there were so many empty tables in restaurants, even after we had been sternly turned away. Compared to Regent, the menu offerings were very uninspiring and we weren't very impressed. Hope this helps.

Hi goosetwo. Glad that you had an enjoyable voyage on the Silver Wind. Some wonderful friends of many on this forum are on board Silver Wind in Norway as I write.

Okay, here's my two-cents on your questions about Silver Spirit. First, our experience on the Spirit has been different than LordS_afloat's report above.

1. Is the requirement of having a reservation more intense on the larger ship? Not necessarily. Our last voyage on the Spirit was over this year's New Year holiday. Being a holiday voyage, it was nearly 100% to capacity. We were able to dine in the restaurants of our choice each night, some of which we reserved in advance on line (Le Champagne) and some that we did with the maître d'. The Le Champagne reservation we made online was at a different time than we preferred but ultimately, the restaurant manager was able to change the time for us.
   
2. How would you regular Silversea patrons rate the Spirit versus the other Silversea ship? Personally, as much as we like the Cloud (sister to the Wind), we really enjoy the Spirit as there are more options for the passengers. We definitely like the Spirit over the Shadow or Whisper. Only one minor nuisance on the Spirit is that the vanity is placed at the foot of the bed with a small stool. When someone sits in the stool to use the vanity it makes it a bit more difficult to get from the bathroom to the living quarters. We have heard SS rectified this issue on the Muse.
   
3. I'm hoping to hear that the staff has its act together and, assuming we get a reservation, the service and food would be outstanding. It certainly has been on our voyages on the Spirit.
   

I hope our subjective opinions have been of some use to you. I'd encourage you to look through some of the threads on this forum about Silver Spirit as some forum participants have recently posted their thoughts. I believe Terry from Ohio may have the most recent topic with his trip to Brittany.

Best Wishes!

We were enjoying our cocktails and rang one restaurant to try and secure an extra half an hour, only to be told it wasn't possible. What was even more annoying was there were so many empty tables in restaurants, even after we had been sternly turned away.

I assume that this refers to La Terrazza, because no other specialty restaurant on Spirit could have "so many empty tables."

In my experience, La Terrazza is never fully occupied. It is of course a venue for breakfast and lunch buffets, where a large number of guests are accommodated. When it transitions into a specialty restaurant at night, with dishes prepared to order, and with a smaller waitstaff, etc., there are inevitably empty tables. I do not think that the La Terrazza kitchen could possibly properly prepare meals for a full house. Moreover, the MD spaces out the arrivals (and thus some times are fully booked) so that the kitchen is not overwhelmed by more orders than it can properly prepare.

Okay, here's my two-cents on your questions about Silver Spirit. First, our experience on the Spirit has been different than LordS_afloat's report above.

I hope our subjective opinions have been of some use to you. I'd encourage you to look through some of the threads on this forum about Silver Spirit as some forum participants have recently posted their thoughts. I believe Terry from Ohio may have the most recent topic with his trip to Brittany.!

Appreciate these great comments and this follow-up by this active Colorado CC Board poster, Stumblefood Yes, these food questions can be somewhat "subjective" and/or personal. After doing four cruises on the Silver Cloud, plus on other lines, including Crystal and Seabourn, we tried the Silver Spirit last month.

Yes, the Silver Spirit's wider number and variety of dining venues was a major plus and step up from the smaller Cloud (or Wind in your case). As I detailed with pictures and other background, we super loved the Stars Super Club and the outdoor Grill/Hot Rocks area. We about split our evening dining locations during this eleven day cruise between La Terrazza and the Main Dining Room. Both worked well!! Lots of good options and generally good service. The staff was flexible in working out for our scheduling needs, etc. The advanced, web booking My Silversea system worked very, very well for us and our needs/interests. Our ship was nearly full for our sailing from Lisbon to Rouen/France.

Check out my live/blog for many pictures of the food options, etc. Happy to answer any and all other questions.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing on the Silver Spirit from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

To all, thank you for taking the time to respond, especially in such a helpful manner. While my limited experience on the Silver Wind mirrors the comments made by LordS_afloat, the other posts have encouraged me to look at the Silver Spirit more earnestly. Hence, it would be better for me to put my energies toward learning how to work within the SS system. Just one more question. Do most veteran SS passengers make dinner reservations for each night of the cruise 120 days in advance with the intention of canceling them piecemeal once aboard?

To all, thank you for taking the time to respond, especially in such a helpful manner. While my limited experience on the Silver Wind mirrors the comments made by LordS_afloat, the other posts have encouraged me to look at the Silver Spirit more earnestly. Hence, it would be better for me to put my energies toward learning how to work within the SS system. Just one more question. Do most veteran SS passengers make dinner reservations for each night of the cruise 120 days in advance with the intention of canceling them piecemeal once aboard?

Yes you have to, otherwise you risk not having any reservations

Just one more question. Do most veteran SS passengers make dinner reservations for each night of the cruise 120 days in advance with the intention of canceling them piecemeal once aboard?

YES!! For our recent cruises along the Atlantic coast and for South Africa, we did make a certain number of reservations in advance for La Terrazza, etc. No need to do reservations ahead for the main dining room.

Correct that we made "adjustments" during the cruise. As an example, we loved trying the Stars Super Club for the first time. BUT, we scrubbed our second reservation there after doing this location the first time. Nothing wrong, but since the menu does not change, there was no need, in our opinion, to go back for the second time. Variety is important for us. We really like the fact that the menu for La Terrazza changes during the cruise schedule.

Another factor on the need for advanced bookings will be as to how "full" will be your cruise. Our Silver Spirit cruise last month was basically sold out and that made reservations in locations such as La Champagne much tighter. That did not matter to us as the menu there had not changed and we previously had done that location during our early 2015 Amazon River cruise.

FINAL POINT?: Don't be shy! Ask your Butler and/or the dining room manager as to what you are seeking and desiring. This includes for certain dining treats that might not be on the menu in the MDR for that evening. If you make a request a day ahead, they prepare those items for you. Or, to prepare a "special menu" for your group/table if arranged ahead. This might include an Thai family-style menu, special birthday dinner, etc. Be creative!! The staff likes interesting challenges and smart, creative customers.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 33,132 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

To all, thank you for taking the time to respond, especially in such a helpful manner. While my limited experience on the Silver Wind mirrors the comments made by LordS_afloat, the other posts have encouraged me to look at the Silver Spirit more earnestly. Hence, it would be better for me to put my energies toward learning how to work within the SS system. Just one more question. Do most veteran SS passengers make dinner reservations for each night of the cruise 120 days in advance with the intention of canceling them piecemeal once aboard?

Hi,

One thing you haven't mentioned in your thoughts list is Shadow and Whisper. It may be that they don't have anything you fancy. These are our two favourite ships because it remains a small ship experience but with a bit more space than Wind or Cloud. We have had many cruises on Whisper and a few on Shadow and just a couple on Wind. You keep the bits that you enjoyed on Wind but have more more space on a slightly newer ship. Whisper had a refit recently.

Hope you find exactly what you want. :)

To all, thank you for taking the time to respond, especially in such a helpful manner. While my limited experience on the Silver Wind mirrors the comments made by LordS_afloat, the other posts have encouraged me to look at the Silver Spirit more earnestly. Hence, it would be better for me to put my energies toward learning how to work within the SS system. Just one more question. Do most veteran SS passengers make dinner reservations for each night of the cruise 120 days in advance with the intention of canceling them piecemeal once aboard?

No need to panic.We have never made a reservation in twenty years of cruising with SS and we have always eaten where we wanted to with whom we wanted.If that scenario should ever change our main reason for doing on average fifty days per annum with SS would disappear and so would our wonderful association to date which has provided so many wonderful cruising memories.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

There are bound to many variations in the ranking of the SS fleet. I haven't sailed on the Expedition vessels, but, in the order of my very personal preferences: The Whisper, The Shadow, The Wind, The Cloud and the Spirit. From a lot of chatting, over the years, the more " experienced " Silversea sailors aren't as fond of the Spirit as the newer (younger?) passengers.

To Brimary's point: As long as there is an MDR there won't be a problem having dinner when and with whom you wish....at least that is the way it has been for us for 20 years. I completely understand why reservations are needed in the fancy dancy Le Champagne and in the Terrasse because of the smaller kitchen. No big deal to make a few precruise reservations for these venues. Knowing that there will always be a table for you in the MDR, takes all the pressure off....and who needs ANY pressure on a luxury holiday?

I agree with Brimary. On all SS ships except the Muse, we have rarely reserved in advance except when it was important to us to have a reservation in La Terrazza on a specific day. One caveat, however, is that we frequently travel when the ships are not full or on longer voyages which seem to be more relaxed in terms of dining reservations. If you are considering a cruise in the Med in high season, you might want to consider making reservations ahead of time. You can then change them once on board and usually get what you want.

We love the Spirit for the larger size of the cabins and the Observation Lounge on Deck 11 which is a lovely quiet bar in the evening. The extra dining venues are also nice on longer voyages.

We have also sailed Silversea, all the non-expedition ships except the new Muse many times, for 20 years, and have never made a dining reservation before boarding, and never had a problem. And, happily, the new Muse system requiring early reservations will soon be discontinued.

Our favorite ship is still the Whisper, but we have grown to love the Spirit since its maiden crossing and heartily agree with Emtbsam's praise of the Spirit Observation Lounge!

Never had a problem on either ship. Variety on the larger ship not a plus as the additional venues are not worth eating in

Sent from my iPhone using Forums