Silversea Food vs Seabourn Food

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff,

A good point you make.

We eat well at home or when on land when away from home.

A ship type cuisine can never come near to a good land based restaurant.

 

I did think that Silk Road operated by Nobu on my recent Crystal Serenity trip was probably the best food at sea at present.

 

 

Thanks.

 

I'd love to try that ship - I have noted it - but it isn't fair on other travellers to put me on a big boat. I seriously only do small boats with lots of escape room! :)

 

To make the point even more conentious ..... we rarely eat better out than at home - our work and independent lifestyle means I've cooked lunch for my wife and I pretty much every day for the last 40 years or so and food is an absolute obsession for me ........ so our trips are primarily from a food viewpoint for exploring and learning and basically eating what we can't eat well at home.

 

For example, we take a couple of trips to Singapore each year the main objective to improve my Aisian cooking via street food. At home we have open bbq cooking in the kitchen, a mediteranean hive/pizza oven, spit roast etc ..... make our own bread daily ... so eating out is often a bit of dissapointment. We're off to Nice in two weeks for my wife's regular injection of oysters and seafood. We go there because it's not easy getting the same quality of seafood anywhere around us. And that's why it's difficult to produce oysters and seafood on a ship even though every port sells it close by.

 

If we didn't make the compromise about not going on a cruise unless the food was as good as we eat at home - we'd not travel. It makes returning home so sweet ......;)

[BUgrad]

Our travel agent was able to secure the reduction for us. Check the fare online and talk with your agent.

 

While we were disappointed in the food, we nonetheless had a wonderful time. The ship is beautiful. Fellow cruisers always are a great part of the enjoyment. If you are not happy, let the hotel director know. After we did this things did improve. We were invited to the captain's table. (do you think the complaint had anything to do with this?) The food was excellent that evening.

[Merriem]

Jeff,

A good point you make.

We eat well at home or when on land when away from home.

A ship type cuisine can never come near to a good land based restaurant.

 

I did think that Silk Road operated by Nobu on my recent Crystal Serenity trip was probably the best food at sea at present.

 

I totally agree that the Nabu restaurant on Crystal was delightful. Excellent food. However I still think that on the small cruise experience, the food should be outstanding. It was on Regent, Crystal , Seaborn, and I will add that on Celebrity we ate in Muranos every night and it always was exceptional.

[philipb]

We are sailing with Seabourn (Seabourn Sojourn) from Fort Lauderdale via Panama to Valparaiso and on to Buenos Aires on 1 November (33 days) and then with Silversea (Silver Whisper) from Los Angeles via Papeete to Sydney on 5 January (28 days). I should be able to give a clear and fair comparison of the food onboard sometime in February!

[Ballyboffin]

This has probably been asked before, sorry..

 

Is there a limit on how many times you can reserve tables at the other restaurants?

[UKCruiseJeff]

This has probably been asked before, sorry..

 

Is there a limit on how many times you can reserve tables at the other restaurants?

 

As soon as you embark make your way to the reservable restaurants and look at the menus and pick your favourite evenings.

 

On one of the ships the md of one of the restaurants was sadly in the habit of accepting tips and seemed to be reticent to open tables to others ..... But we managed to cause the practice to be stopped.

 

Assume first come, first served and be first. But if you change your mind give them as much warning as possible so that your table can be released.

[dusababy]

It seems there has been an awful lot of negative postings recently about all things SS.

Just received an e-mail from friends on board Spirit - SS Venetians with over 400 days on all the ships -- their favorite is Whisper -- and they say present Spirit voyage has the best food they've experienced on any of the ships -- pool grill is sometimes off - but otherwise it is a fabulous cruise.

 

So for the critics -- FWIW --

[Emtbsam]

We are sailing with Seabourn (Seabourn Sojourn) from Fort Lauderdale via Panama to Valparaiso and on to Buenos Aires on 1 November (33 days) and then with Silversea (Silver Whisper) from Los Angeles via Papeete to Sydney on 5 January (28 days). I should be able to give a clear and fair comparison of the food onboard sometime in February!

 

I look forward to hearing your comparison. Bon voyage!

[Ballyboffin]

As soon as you embark make your way to the reservable restaurants and look at the menus and pick your favourite evenings.

 

On one of the ships the md of one of the restaurants was sadly in the habit of accepting tips and seemed to be reticent to open tables to others ..... But we managed to cause the practice to be stopped.

 

Assume first come, first served and be first. But if you change your mind give them as much warning as possible so that your table can be released.

 

Thanks for that UK CruiseJeff..... I can't help thinking that we may have met before ?

[Travelcat2]

This has probably been asked before, sorry..

 

Is there a limit on how many times you can reserve tables at the other restaurants?

 

I know that you can reserve La Terrazza as many times as you would like (one reservation at a time) but also wonder about Le Champagne.

[PremiumSuite]

The food on Seabourn is miles ahead of Silver Seas on any day. Better breakfast selections, Restaurant 2, The Restaurant, Patio Grill, Afternoon Tea all is far superior on Seabourn. We are Diamond members on Seabourn with over 250+ days.

[Tropicalkwek]

I sailed on Silver Spirit in March 2011 and on Seabourn Quest in August 2012, so I am commenting on the food at different points in time. In general, I prefer Seabourn to Silversea meals. Silversea beats Seabourn for breakfast and Pool Grill meals. Silversea Spirit also has an advantage over Seabourn in it's Supper Club, Stars. Stars is a great dining concept that my wife and I particularly enjoy. However, lunch and dinner is better on Seabourn; and there is no further charge to dine in Restaurant 2. Overall, my vote goes to Seabourn.

[Ballyboffin]

Thank you Travelcat2.

[UKCruiseJeff]

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.

 

I was thinking about your question and it reminded me of a lengthy bottle of wine I had with one of the Executive Chefs at SS. For reasons I won't bore you with he made contact and he supplied the wine and we had a very interesting hour and a half when we discussed at some length some of the challenges with providing the level of cuisine he aspired to and how he felt it was limited by circumstances. I asked him how much of his prep was using sous vide techniques and I was stunned to hear it was very low .... in fact I wondered whether it was used at all. This was frankly astonishing.

 

Sous vide was almost designed for the environments cruise lines have. It provides extraordinarily consistant high quality results provideable quickly and in volume. When used properly it improves food ... particularly proteins ie steaks, chicken, fish etc. and improves food safety. It allows the best chefs to prepare in advance and for final prep to be undertaken with less highly trained chefs. I am convinced that greater use of sous vide on SS would both improve the qaulity of food drastically, reduce waste, reduce costs, provide the opportunity of longer menus offering more choice and make the service much more responsive. It would imho change the quality of what they do out of recognition to where they are today.

 

Many people don't understand the process - they think it's boil in the bag. In fact food is rarely boiled. Food can be cooked to the correct temperature and held for extended periods and they improve and do not deteriorate. With steaks for example the process can improve the texture of cheaper steaks and they are held at rare'ish and finished on the broiler or in the pan. Chicken can be cooked to a lighter lever safely because it is pasteurised and therefore pinker more succulent chicken is perfectly safe. Proteins can then have saucing added offering a wide range for a core range of meats or fish. There isn't a single downside.

 

Blumenthal and most other of the very best restaurants use the process extensively .... and we've been using a domestic version for some years and wouldn't be without it.

 

So the answer to your question is - "Yes - they can do both ... but they don't seem to be doing all they can ... sadly"

[Herman The Cat]

I know that you can reserve La Terrazza as many times as you would like (one reservation at a time) but also wonder about Le Champagne.

 

If the ship is sold out, our experience has been they will only grant you one reservation per venue and wait list you for the other nights you would like to dine there. This is what occurred in August 2011 in the Med. Their opinion was they want to give each passenger the change to dine in the other restaurants. We were wait listed for La Terrazza for a second dinner and it finally came through the last night of the cruise (despite checking in with the maitre'd each day). We will see what happens next week as we believe our cruise is sold out.

[Mr Luxury]

If the ship is sold out, our experience has been they will only grant you one reservation per venue and wait list you for the other nights you would like to dine there. This is what occurred in August 2011 in the Med. Their opinion was they want to give each passenger the change to dine in the other restaurants. We were wait listed for La Terrazza for a second dinner and it finally came through the last night of the cruise (despite checking in with the maitre'd each day). We will see what happens next week as we believe our cruise is sold out.

 

 

 

Wait list anyone? :)

[Scotspea]

Sous vide was almost designed for the environments cruise lines have. It provides extraordinarily consistant high quality results provideable quickly and in volume. When used properly it improves food ... particularly proteins ie steaks, chicken, fish etc. and improves food safety. It allows the best chefs to prepare in advance and for final prep to be undertaken with less highly trained chefs. I am convinced that greater use of sous vide on SS would both improve the qaulity of food drastically, reduce waste, reduce costs, provide the opportunity of longer menus offering more choice and make the service much more responsive. It would imho change the quality of what they do out of recognition to where they are today.

 

Many people don't understand the process - they think it's boil in the bag. In fact food is rarely boiled. Food can be cooked to the correct temperature and held for extended periods and they improve and do not deteriorate. With steaks for example the process can improve the texture of cheaper steaks and they are held at rare'ish and finished on the broiler or in the pan. Chicken can be cooked to a lighter lever safely because it is pasteurised and therefore pinker more succulent chicken is perfectly safe. Proteins can then have saucing added offering a wide range for a core range of meats or fish. There isn't a single downside.

 

Blumenthal and most other of the very best restaurants use the process extensively .... and we've been using a domestic version for some years and wouldn't be without it.

 

So the answer to your question is - "Yes - they can do both ... but they don't seem to be doing all they can ... sadly"[/quot

 

 

 

 

Sorry don't agree. Sous vide has it's place but is unsuitable for many recipes for which it is used. It is not a panacea for poor cooking and does change, very badly on some occasions, the food to which it is applied.

I eat out extensively and have had lots of innapropriate 'water bath' cooking which had ruined the ingredients.

[PremiumSuite]

Sous vide was almost designed for the environments cruise lines have. It provides extraordinarily consistant high quality results provideable quickly and in volume. When used properly it improves food ... particularly proteins ie steaks, chicken, fish etc. and improves food safety. It allows the best chefs to prepare in advance and for final prep to be undertaken with less highly trained chefs. I am convinced that greater use of sous vide on SS would both improve the qaulity of food drastically, reduce waste, reduce costs, provide the opportunity of longer menus offering more choice and make the service much more responsive. It would imho change the quality of what they do out of recognition to where they are today.

 

Many people don't understand the process - they think it's boil in the bag. In fact food is rarely boiled. Food can be cooked to the correct temperature and held for extended periods and they improve and do not deteriorate. With steaks for example the process can improve the texture of cheaper steaks and they are held at rare'ish and finished on the broiler or in the pan. Chicken can be cooked to a lighter lever safely because it is pasteurised and therefore pinker more succulent chicken is perfectly safe. Proteins can then have saucing added offering a wide range for a core range of meats or fish. There isn't a single downside.

 

Blumenthal and most other of the very best restaurants use the process extensively .... and we've been using a domestic version for some years and wouldn't be without it.

 

So the answer to your question is - "Yes - they can do both ... but they don't seem to be doing all they can ... sadly"[/quot

 

 

 

 

Sorry don't agree. Sous vide has it's place but is unsuitable for many recipes for which it is used. It is not a panacea for poor cooking and does change, very badly on some occasions, the food to which it is applied.

I eat out extensively and have had lots of innapropriate 'water bath' cooking which had ruined the ingredients.

 

Sorry sous vide or not, I am paying for 6 star service and having my meals boiled in a bag! a la minute or nothing at all is my motto.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I think it just goes to show the degree of ignorance on the subject.

 

eg

 

 

The Fat Duck Restaurant, Heston Blumenthal, awarded three Michelin stars, restaurant of the year, Best Restaurant in the World and Best Restaurant in the UK.

 

Zagat: 27 / 30

 

Sous-Vide Cooking with Heston Blumenthal

 

His flagship restaurant, The Fat Duck, along with its dedicated experimental kitchen, is located in Bray, a small town outside of London. It's widely regarded as one of the top five restaurants in the world, and it's no coincidence 100% of their proteins, and a great deal of their vegetables, are cooked via the sous-vide method.

According to Blumenthal, "sous-vide cooking is the single greatest advancement in cooking technology in decades."

 

I eat out extensively and have had lots of innapropriate 'water bath' cooking which had ruined the ingredients.

 

If you have genuinely "have had lots of innapropriate 'water bath' cooking which had ruined the ingredients." may I respectfully suggest you eat at better places and stop ordering food prepared in a way you dislike?

[Herman The Cat]

Wait list anyone? :)

 

 

:D LOL!

 

Though I may not be laughing next week!

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for the information on reservations. We must have been on two cruises that were not full as we made multiple reservations in La Terrazza. We look forward to dining in Le Champagne on each of our back to back cruises next year.

[billcrooz]

I think it just goes to show the degree of ignorance on the subject.

 

eg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have genuinely "have had lots of innapropriate 'water bath' cooking which had ruined the ingredients." may I respectfully suggest you eat at better places and stop ordering food prepared in a way you dislike?

 

The Fat duck where it's 180 euros per plus gratuity and they boil it?...we are on a ship and you cannot compare a land based restaurant with a sea going vessel.

As its been stated ad nauseoum ,with some of the rock bottom pricing especially that 20% discount that was sent out recently,we can not expect unfortunately what we experienced when we first experienced Silversea back in the 90's

[UKCruiseJeff]

The Fat duck where it's 180 euros per plus gratuity and they boil it?...we are on a ship and you cannot compare a land based restaurant with a sea going vessel.

As its been stated ad nauseoum ,with some of the rock bottom pricing especially that 20% discount that was sent out recently,we can not expect unfortunately what we experienced when we first experienced Silversea back in the 90's

 

 

As I thought I'd explained, clearly the process is even more useful on a ship than on land. I won't repeat the reasons why ....

 

The explanation with respect to the Fat Duck was provided to address the earlier misplaced opinion by another poster that 6 star cruise ships shouldn't "boil in the bag" and that expensive and/or very good food shouldn't be cooked sous vide. Also, because understandably most people clearly do not know anything about the subject it is not "boil in the bag." Also, the fact that the Fat Duck is expensive has nothing at all to do with using Sous Vide except that Blumenthal thinks it is the most important development in decades and even more important than say muicrowave cookers. The price of the Ducky is more to do with the small number of tables and the number of people working in his kitchen and nearby lab, and market forces meaning they can sell all the tables they want at almost any price. Sadly even at the price, it doesn't make a profit. That is the price of his passion!

 

You are correct in saying that on SS the problem is one of cost cutting but you are incorrect in not understanding that sous vide procedures could drastically improve food and at the same time cut costs for SS. It will also improve food safety. If you eat well then you probably already eat quite a lot of food prepared in this way without knowing it. Just to add to your angst ..... the very best steak you will ever likely eat will use sous vide prior to final prep and delivery - but it is widely unkown. When a steak is done to your absolute liking for almost 90% of the steak ie perfect in the middle and consistant towards the top and bottom .... it's probably sous vide started and then finished. I bet that's a suprise ......:)

 

The issue sous vide has is the ignorance amongst the public generally about it, but they always think they know and have strongly held opinions as evidenced here. That is why the vast majority of top chefs and restaurants routinely use sous vide without making much of a fuss about it. There is a PR challenge for sous vide. You cannot use it for everything but used properly - and as Blumenthal had said all of his restaurant proteins are prepared using sous vide and a lot of vegetables - it is extraordinary. Blumenthal loves it because it produces perfect food consistently and it is difficult not to.

 

May I suggest that if you are genuinely interested in learning more about it then I suggest you google a bit as the vast majority of top restaurants and chefs use it extensively because of the ability to replicate quality and produce food "a la minute" to perfection and people that genuinely understand and enjoy their food - and certainly those that enjoy cooking will be very open minded to learning new techniques adopted by most of the very best. Buy one and try it in your own kitchen if you enjoy cooking.

 

Also - for what it's worth - I was a sceptic when I first learned about it - but the proof is in the eating - and it changes the way that a kitchen - even a domestic one - works. It would change the quality of SS food out of recognition ...........

[Travelcat2]

UKCruiseJeff: Suggest you write to Silversea about this and hope that they are receptive. As a passenger, I care that the food is well prepared (well seasoned, not under or over-cooked). How it gets that way isn't much of a concern. As stated previously, we have not had difficulty finding food on Silversea that we enjoy. I do wish that other ships had the quantity and quality of sushi and sashimi that is available on the Spirit.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks.

 

I've discussed the issue a couple of years ago at a level that would initiate change if change were contempated. Not followed up since for reasons I said earlier, that is that it simply isn't of sufficient importance to us. Like you - we're content with it - in our case because the other aspects of SS are perfect for us.

 

I did however once have an interesting time trying to explain what "salad cream" was for my eggy sandwiches!:)