Silversea Food vs Seabourn Food

In reading posts on the Seabourn forum, those who have cruised on both prefer the food on Seabourn. I'm curious to hear the opinions from those who post on the Silversea forum.

My husband and I are in the food business in France. We are foodies by profession but we are not food snobs.

For example putting gold leaf on risotto does not make it taste better, it just raises the food cost.

"Fusion is confusion" quoted from my DH's mentor, Alain Ducasse.

What is more important to us is the quality of the ingredients. The meat must be tender, the fish must taste fresh (even if it was frozen) the pasta must be al dente and the vegetables must never be overcooked. If these basics are not achieved, all the tralala is a waste of time.

We thought it was very poor on the Shadow in April. Seabourn had much better food. I was especially surprised in the pasta always swimming in olive oil, and the fish tasted like it was frozen

We thought it was very poor on the Shadow in April. Seabourn had much better food. I was especially surprised in the pasta always swimming in olive oil, and the fish tasted like it was frozen

I am getting concerned about a number of recent comments about the food on Silversea. There is another new thread where someone says the food on the Whisper was really bad. Now this one about the Shadow. Is the food really going downhill?

Looking forward to comments of others. The formula for their beef lasanga has been changed. Upon inquiry, "oh no, nothing has been changed." I have been told the same line for numerous things. That, and the "all you have to do is ask" qualifies for a Twilight Zone script.

I am not qualified to give an opinon on food quality/ingredients. I enjoy the food on SB. SS, not so much. The lack of certain common fruits and vegetables can be annoying.

We have been on many cruises, at least 30' and yes, the food was very poor on Silversea. There is nothing memorable about it at all. My husband says the food was better at The Olive Garden". Breakfast and lunch were basically a buffet, and we tried to eat in La Terraza when we could get in. One night in the MDR for a table for 8' there was ONE waiter and that was it. One morning my husband overheard someone assisting an apparently new employee on how to cook an omelet.

We've been on both. Late June 2006 on 204-passenger Seabourn Spirit, Athens to Istanbul, enjoying the Greek Isles over seven days. In 2010, it was July 1-16 on the 296-passenger Silversea Silver Cloud from Copenhagen seeing the Norway Coast, fjords, above the Arctic Circle, Land of the Midnight Sun, etc. Also, late July 2008 on the 940-passenger Crystal Symphony, Dover to Stockholm, enxperiencing the Baltics and Russia. All three lines are very good with great service, fellow passengers, staff, etc. What’s best? The honest answer is . . . “It depends!!!”.

Our food was super with Silversea, but part of the "secret factor" can be the skill and leadership of the Executive Chef. Some of these chefs are good to very good. A few are super great. This later was the case with our Ex. Chef on the Silversea sailing. Great food, personality, interest in the passengers, etc. On a longer cruise like our Norway experience, I got to talk with him several times, do/plan a special birthday dinner for my wife, etc. In today's tougher economic environment, the chefs must manage budgets and also try to be creative. All chefs are not, however, equal in how they manage these challenges and motivate the staffs. That's why it's hard to generalize as to which line is always best, each and every sailing. Overall, the smaller lines, such as Silversea and Seabourn, can be more custom and flexible for your personal needs and requests. If you'd like to see more of the food and details on what we loved with Silversea, check out the live/blog connected below. Lots of pictures, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 79,448 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

I was just on the Whisper (Southampton to Stockholm) and thought the MDR food was excellent as was the service. La Terrazza - not so good (at dinner especially). Would not go back at all. La Champagne was outstanding as was the service and Hot Rocks was just too gimmicky for me and food was so so.

I was just on the Whisper (Southampton to Stockholm) and thought the MDR food was excellent as was the service. La Terrazza - not so good (at dinner especially). Would not go back at all. La Champagne was outstanding as was the service and Hot Rocks was just too gimmicky for me and food was so so.

That's our itinerary in reverse on 9/6.

Thanks for the insight on the food. We have the same feeling about Hot Rocks.

Any tips or suggestions on the ports? Also, do you recall whether they did a pool BBQ? Our forecast is for 65 during the day on a few days, and I'm wondering if they'll try.

Thanks in advance....

I take every food post with a grain of salt (pun intended) -- it's SO SUBJECTIVE -- why give it more credence than - thank you for your opinion.

I take every food post with a grain of salt (pun intended) -- it's SO SUBJECTIVE -- why give it more credence than - thank you for your opinion.

Thank you Mary Ann!! My sentiments exactly.

I take every food post with a grain of salt (pun intended) -- it's SO SUBJECTIVE -- why give it more credence than - thank you for your opinion.

I agree with that to some extent. However, when I keep reading negative remarks on the Silversea boards, but not on Crystal boards, I begin to wonder if there is something to it. And since I wll be paying more "per diem" on Silversea than I would on a comparable Crystal cruise, I would like to think I could look forward to delicious meals.

Agree that food is very subjective. I do wonder, however, if the OP will compare fine dining in a restaurant on land to fine dining on a cruise ship. There are some items that simply must be frozen (again, this depends upon itinerary, etc.). If you are on a transatlantic itinerary, you cannot expect fresh fish. Also, the cooking method on board cruise ships is different than on land.

We took a Le Cordon Bleu 3-day cooking class onboard Regent a few years ago. It really opened my eyes to the differences between cooking on land and on board a ship. For instance, many restaurants have their own herb and vegetable gardens. There have the freshest ingredients available. This is not true for cruise ships.

So, if you are looking for the same experience on Silversea that you will receive at a top restaurant in your city, you may be disappointed.

Agree that food is very subjective.

 

So, if you are looking for the same experience on Silversea that you will receive at a top restaurant in your city, you may be disappointed.

In my questions, I certainly am not comparing dining on a cruise ship to eating in a fine restaurant on land (Chicago, New York, San Francisco, etc). I am trying to see how one cruise line compares to another. I certainly understand that on a ship, more of the food items will be frozen, fresh fruits and vegetables will be less available, as well as the fact that the chef is preparing dinner for several hundred passengers each day.

I am almost afraid (which is unusual to me) to offer comments about the food. It is very subjective. If it wasn't the menu might consist of no choices since we would all enjoy the same foods.

Anyway, here is my two cents.

I found certain food items that I enjoyed equally on both lines. At the same time I found certain food items that I enjoyed more on Silversea than on Seabourn and I found other food items that I enjoyed more on Seabourn than on Silversea. On both ships it took me a few days to figure out what I enjoyed most and how to change things up the way I prefer it. Once I got past that, then I found the food to be fine on both cruise lines. Remember, you can change things up and that is part of the luxury experience.

Yes, I didn't care for the dinner menu at La Terraza. However, we survived because we just only ate there the one time. At the same time, we enjoyed many nice breakfasts and lunches there.

Yes, there are certainly some differences on a cruise ship than on land. They must procure items for many days rather than getting deliveries daily or every few days. Even with that, personally I have come to enjoy the overall package (cuisine, ambience and service) on luxury cruise ships than on land).

And, yes, even when you are told the fish is fresh they will flash freeze to kill microorganisms and they will wash fruits and vegetables in some type of solution to kill off bacteria as well.

As Terry said the executive chef on board can make a world of a difference. I would add that is true of some of the other chefs whether that is the pastry chef or one of the other chefs.

In the end, try each cruise line out to see which one(s) work best, but even like a fine restaurant sometimes there are off nights when for whatever reason the dining experience is off. And, if you prefer certain types of recipes for dinner ask in advance and special order it.

Keith

Is Silversea on a downward spiral?

Subjectivity aside, we have had wine woes, shuttle bus reductions, serious mechanical breakdowns, dress code flouting and now bad comparisons with the food served by other cruise lines.

How far can loyalty be stretched before reality makes one review bookings already made?

Are all these problems just due to finance or do we question the ability of senior management? Many companies havefailed because the management in place did a reasonable job when times were good but were inadequate in commercially hard times.

Silversea has had no good news recently apart from the purchase of the Galapagos ship(targeting a very small segment). Why, when your mainstream operation is creaking, would you take on an old ship to cruise an area which is sensitive and restrictive both geographically and commercially is beyond me.

SS needs to demonstrate in physical ways what it is doing to keep loyal customers. Reducing fares and standards in tandem is not working!

Amen, Scotspea, amen. You've said very concisely what I've been feeling for the past year, in every single respect. After about 100 days on Silversea, we cancelled this year's cruise to try a nice long (18 day) voyage on Crystal. We now have future bookings on both lines, but our Crystal experience will determine which line we stay with.

Back to the food, the fruits have always been (and tasted) fresh. One Exec. Chef, David Bildner (sp?) gave a talk on provisioning and explained that Silversea only takes on provisions in certain, "reliable," ports, where they know the vendors and can trust to the quality of the food. He made a point of telling us that the chef doesn't just go out each day and buy what looks good. On that October cruise, the Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys were already in the freezer.

I've been told that each Exec. Chef has the latitude to create his own menus. In some cases, it's worked to our satisfaction. However, there have been entire cruises where the entrees were kind of wierd or the desserts all variations on the mousse theme. Last summer, I ordered the tasty, alternative-choice salmon almost every night because the regular entrees just didn't appeal. I'm not a foodie, but I dislike pretentious creations. On one cruise, the entrees were unusually heavy German cuisine, influenced by the chef's home country; it was a little much to have such heavy choices presented every night.

I've begun to feel that this is too much of a shotgun approach, and that Silversea should consider some standardization of its menus, changing them frequently, but not giving each chef full rein to come up with whatever he likes.

Yes, food is subjective and yes, an opinion is just that, one person's feelings. BUT when you start to see a consensus you can't just dismiss it as a unique reaction. There was a time on SS when the food and menus were superb (I'm talking from 1994 to 2000.) Then the decline started gradually. Expectations were lowered and sadly met. Personally, I'd gladly give up the marketing gimmick of a butler in each suite in order to have better food. It's not that you can't dine well if you know what you're doing but it's not the same. This is jmo but on Seabourn the food has been much more consistent and of a higher quality.

I was told by the chef on Silver Explorer that Silversea has a set menu rotation, and all the ships use the same recipes. The chefs are allowed some latitude to be creative, but generally the food quality should be the same between ships.

I am a fan of SS but for what it's worth .... I think it unlikely that you will be delighted with the food you will receive.

We consider ourselves foodies and our approach to the food on SS is that the food is inconsequential. It is rarely in our view great or great+ - it is at it's best adequate and often up to that. If food on the cruise is important to you, I'm not clear how you'll find it up to the expectations you appear to have.

Much of what could be sourced freshly is frozen. Lately to make things worst economies are being made and as this is one of the few variable costs involved with running cruise ships. Our tendency has been to have lunch on what is often a fairly quiet ship when in port and either eat out locally in the evenings or have them make some sandwiches for us in the evenings when we'll watch some DVDs in the suite. I don't really go for the dressing up stuff and we enjoy our own company and this approach works for us. For lunch we'll hope that there might be some fresh fish .... but often fresh means defrosted. A lot of seafood is frozen and fairly tasteless unless sauced.

The basic wine offerings are cheap and unless you find some third world wines on the list then you'll need to source better wines from the paid for wine list.

It does seem to us that Americans rate the food higher than the Europeans we have encountered.

The only approach in my view is to lower your expecations .... you cannot go far wrong.

Good luck.

In reading posts on the Seabourn forum, those who have cruised on both prefer the food on Seabourn. I'm curious to hear the opinions from those who post on the Silversea forum.

 

My husband and I are in the food business in France. We are foodies by profession but we are not food snobs.

For example putting gold leaf on risotto does not make it taste better, it just raises the food cost.

"Fusion is confusion" quoted from my DH's mentor, Alain Ducasse.

What is more important to us is the quality of the ingredients. The meat must be tender, the fish must taste fresh (even if it was frozen) the pasta must be al dente and the vegetables must never be overcooked. If these basics are not achieved, all the tralala is a waste of time.

We are big SS fans but we do find the food to be at best only very good, and at worst, merely okay. I've only cruised with SS (so far) but my husband has cruised with Celebrity a few years ago and he said he found the food on X to be much better than SS.

I think for us the food is SS's weakest point. But nothing has ever been inedible. We've enjoyed several very good meals in Le Champagne (before the recent menu changes) and we love the pizza :o but otherwise the food is not especially remarkable.

As for wine we drink mostly from the Connoisseur's wine list.

Someone commented earlier that breakfast and lunch 'were basically a buffet'. Yes they are, if you choose to eat at La Terrazza for these meals. During our time on SS there has always been the option of eating in the MDR where it's full table service for both lunch and breakfast.

One tip, if you're keen on vegetables, always order some additional side dishes in the MDR, I do find SS stingy with veggies at dinner.

We're cruising with Seabourn later this year and are expecting the food to be better.

I was told by the chef on Silver Explorer that Silversea has a set menu rotation, and all the ships use the same recipes. The chefs are allowed some latitude to be creative, but generally the food quality should be the same between ships.

This was my experience in 2010. 21 days on the Silver Spirit followed by 17 on the Silver Cloud. I thought I'd get something different but the menu on the Cloud was pretty much the same as the Spirit...there were a few little nuances but generally speaking, the same.

Totally subjective, I had one of my best pasta dishes ever on the Spirit, when I saw it on the Cloud, I ordered it and it wasn't nice at all.

With the variety of food served, I find it very hard to understand that peeps cannot find something that they like. But given that, I'm not a foodie or a finnicky eater.

I'm looking forward to the Shadow next week.:D

Cheers

Jennifer

I was told by the chef on Silver Explorer that Silversea has a set menu rotation, and all the ships use the same recipes. The chefs are allowed some latitude to be creative, but generally the food quality should be the same between ships.

Sadly - I think this is less about conserving high quality - more about standardising costs and budgets.

Sadly - I think this is less about conserving high quality - more about standardising costs and budgets.

Can't they do both? Seems do-able to me.

With their current stated intentions of becoming the best and most expensive luxury cruise line they had better pay some attention to the food and improve the quality. In fact, I hope whoever monitors this board for SS pays heed to what all these long time and loyal clients are saying. There are so many wonderful things about SS the food should be up to par with the rest of them.

With their current stated intentions of becoming the best and most expensive luxury cruise line they had better pay some attention to the food and improve the quality. In fact, I hope whoever monitors this board for SS pays heed to what all these long time and loyal clients are saying. There are so many wonderful things about SS the food should be up to par with the rest of them.

For what it's worth .... I am of the very firm opinion that this aspiration is very fine words but isn't going to be fulfilled.

The owner has always had that aspiration. He wanted to move further upmarket and took specific actions to better understand how to, but the reality is that people say one thing but spend differently. They say that they will spend a bit more for better quality but in fact they do not seem to do so. And it was easier to achieve a few years back then it is today - but they were unable to take the revenue needed to underpin the aspiration. So what chance is there realistiacally now.

You can argue it's chicken and egg, but the reality is that most or all of the cruise lines are not just close to the edge - they are way over it. They cannot fund the improvements you and I would like without the revenue increasing in advance of it and the revenue is unlikely to increase whether they improve or not.

Hence the promise of "better things to come" is more likely to be edge chipping rather than a game change.