Live: Whisper across the pond to Montreal - 8th to 25th September

Not quite there yet but just had the excellent news that Begonia de Usabel, the Guest Relations Mgr, is no longer going on leave in Southampton tomorrow but will be looking after us for the crossing!

Boarded at 1pm and so nice to be greeted by many smiling, familiar faces.

Interesting health questionnaires, one from Canada worried about Ebola (still) and the SS one which has a similar range of questions and also asks about contact with MERS (Camel Flu).

Captain Corsaro is back onboard today, and we believe that there are about 250 guests on for the crossing.

Off to join Peter for a drink at the pool bar.

Enjoy your cruise Silver Spectre! :)

Have a good trip Silver Spectre. I take it you are accompanied by the Golden Gasser?

Sure hope your westbound is kinder then our east bound in May :)

Peter is a super guy and lots of fun to be around. Enjoy!

Bon voyage! Hope u and Mrs Silver have a wonderful crossing. It is a fabulous itinerary.

Cheers

Jennifer

Thanks Jennifer, Sunset (the Gasser is here and using the 'box', but is gassing no more), Mysty and KQueen!!

Slight error, Captain Corsaro has been onboard since July, and he did a wonderful job of backing us into Fowey this morning.

Had the meet & mingle yesterday, unfortunately scheduled at 6pm and clashed with the pool deck introductions, however we met Zqtchas, Timetravelers and Usafss4ever, so it did work, just, until the band played and drove us to dinner.

Deck grill last night with some super sized Madagascan prawns, then a show in the Panorama with Lotte, one of the Voices.

One bum note, there are no more newspapers being printed, not even if you wish to pay, and as SS's Pressreader subscription is limited to the Mail, Grauniad and Independently Awful, that means no more Times, sob!

Cloudy on arrival this am but came up nice and sunny, if a little breezy.

Captains welcome and formal tonight.

On a different point, it's a shame to see interesting topics being policed so strongly, with balanced points made by level headed posters being erased.

...Sunset (the Gasser is here and using the 'box', but is gassing no more)...

Good for her!

...One bum note, there are no more newspapers being printed...that means no more Times, sob!...

OMG! No decent crossword, then?

Are they not even printing a copy for the library?

Are they not even printing a copy for the library?

Nope, there is just a note on the table saying newspapers are available via the Pressreader app.

I do wonder if the specialized paper printer died and they decided to save money by not replacing it.

Dinner with Norman last night and I must say the new menu is a major disappointment. The right hand side is dominated by the two 'gourmet' burgers, just like being at an upmarket burger joint. Whoever at HO dreamed this up is living on a different planet if they think it equates to fine dinning!

Norman's helpful comment was that they had managed to move the burger entries from the top on the right hand side to the middle of the page.

The rest of the menu was ok, but nothing special.

Give it a chance. People have room service in the evening so they can eat burgers! Now they can do it in public with gourmet combos. I am still trying to figure it out.

Burgers do not belong on the dinner menu period, gourmet or not. jmo.

Burgers do not belong on the dinner menu period, gourmet or not. jmo.

Whyever not? If there's a demand...

Burgers do not belong on the dinner menu period, gourmet or not. jmo.

I thought about your post because I agree with you but I couldn't first work out why.

I think it is because the MD is supposed to be about slow elegant food in a sophisticated ambience and burgers epitomise everything that is opposite to that. In my view, in a way it basically contaminates the menu from what it should be. It is a sandwich. It is fast food. There are perfect places to serve burgers and it isn't in the MD on SS. Unless this is the direction in which they are going.

However from SS's point of view 200gms of mince beef kept in the freezer represents a low cost easily plated cheap meal that clearly some of their new breed of customers want in the MD.

:)

Jeff

Burgers do not belong on the dinner menu period, gourmet or not. jmo.

Agreed McDonalds and Silversea in the same dining room it must be a joke and a bad one at that.

What is Steak Tartare if not an uncooked burger?

Norman's helpful comment was that they had managed to move the burger entries from the top on the right hand side to the middle of the page.

Really, did you expect anything else to come out of his mouth? Some might think he was joking. Sad to say, the person was dead serious. He is a fantastic HD for SS. Doubles as a clown. Saves them $$.

What is Steak Tartare if not an uncooked burger?

The first (and only) time my husband and I sailed on Silver Cloud steak tartare was on the luncheon buffet. It had probably been at room temperature for much too long. I was quite ill for two days (but obviously lived to tell the tale).

It was the only time steak tartare appeared on any menu during that 14-day cruise.

I agree with Tothesunset. For the sake of discussion...why not?

Clearly, the reason why SS have put beefburgers on the menu in the dining room is because they know that some of their customers do not know the difference between Steak Tartare and a beefburger and they can attract these people to the line. :D Steak tartare is often associated with fine dining and burgers was the first food to be called fast food and is seen by many as being the opposite end of the cuisine scale. Steak tartare is normally prepared fropm minced fillet mignon and burgers are made from .... well different meat. :) I thought most people would see that steak tartare is a different meal Perhaps not.

Personally, even though I do not like steak tartare particularly, eating it on a ship where it is probably prepared from thawed frozen mince meat is simply something I do not have the courage to try. It would scare me frankly.

In the UK an attempt to use health laws to outlaw steak tartare and undercooked burgers were patchy, but many people that understand food hazards know that raw mince beef is almost as dangerous as eating raw poultry. |There has even been attempts to outlaw rare and undercooked burgers because of the hazard to health. Defrosting frozen mince away from hospitals in the confines of a cruise ship and putting it onto plates and eating it raw just fills me with a terrible sense of forboding. But I guess I just lack fibre! In the back of my mind would be the question, you mustn't prepare steak tartare wfrom frozen mince and why would SS have any fresh mince beef on board? :confused:

IMHO

:)

Jeff

As we are digressing let's go one step further. The main health risk in steak tartare is from the raw egg on top.

Incidentally, this little nugget comes from Mrs Tothesunset who was a professional caterer whose bailiwick included Chequers and Royal functions. I suspect she knows whereof she speaks! And this may also be why she would agree with the notion that burgers on the MDR menu are a little infra dig. Me? I'm a slob from Belfast - I'm just happy to get cutlery!

I agree with Tothesunset.

I'm sorry, that's not a phrase I'm familiar with.;)

As we are digressing let's go one step further. The main health risk in steak tartare is from the raw egg on top.

 

Incidentally, this little nugget comes from Mrs Tothesunset who was a professional caterer whose bailiwick included Chequers and Royal functions. I suspect she knows whereof she speaks! And this may also be why she would agree with the notion that burgers on the MDR menu are a little infra dig. Me? I'm a slob from Belfast - I'm just happy to get cutlery!

She is of course totally right. Wifey, (also female) who pointed out to me that whatever stuff she has seen on SS, chickens laying eggs wasn't one of them.

Steak tartare is not an uncooked burger. Except for some.

:D

Jeff