Silver Shadow: the worst cruise food we have ever had

[billcrooz]

I've been sitting here waiting to read your comment to my post. We would have fun sitting in a bar aboard a ship one night. Of course, I say this after consuming a bottle of wine during lunch while floating in the South Pacific.

 

Have been shopping with the chefs enough times to know that they do buy whatever they care to locally. I believe SS corporate to have a stranglehold on what their on board management can do for food. SB appears to have a much different approach. ALL my bitches about SS are aimed at corporate and not the on board personnel.

 

And I did notice your recent post questioning the wisdom of carrying on with this company.

 

 

 

We have zero days booked with SS for 2013 and fourteen for 2014.....at no charge. 280 days booked on competing lines for 2013.

 

 

 

 

Glad I made your day.It must be boring to wait around !

[Dmgmd50]

Since he's been talking about food on the Shadow, surely he's referring to SS and Black Rock Grill.

 

I was referring to the Pool Grill on SS where they cook the dinners on hot rocks at your table. It was nice eating outdoors until the sun went down. They had electric heaters over the tables - but those near our table were broken and had not been fixed, another example of how the ship was run!

[Dmgmd50]

Followed your experiences ... you're description is compelling because your posts sound so well balanced and will sadden many. Very sad that SS no longer seem to allow Chefs local sourcing authority and budget as and when they dock ..... which seems to be the key to your food issues. Unless the allow Chefs to go out and buy as they go in addition to the centrally sourced and delivered staples - then they basically have formulaic MacDonalds chefs where everything is done to rote.

 

When you mention Hot Rocks - do you mean the place at Passenger Terminal at Sydney - or do you mean on SS? If Sydney ..... then you really do have my sympathy ....... not a good end to some poor on-ship food .....

 

My wife thought the vegetables could be Bird's Eye (a brand in the USA). And if she ordered green beans, the waiter would ration them out as if they were something special. It was rather pathetic. Perhaps some Americans prefer larger portions than the Europeans, but we found the portions very meager.

[UKCruiseJeff]

My wife thought the vegetables could be Bird's Eye (a brand in the USA). And if she ordered green beans, the waiter would ration them out as if they were something special. It was rather pathetic. Perhaps some Americans prefer larger portions than the Europeans, but we found the portions very meager.

 

 

Know Birds Eye well ..... Don't know whether you have a Captain Birds Eye in the US but the last one on the UK adverts was an old friend of mine . ..... an actor called Martyn Reid .... quite a shock the first time he was on TV dressed up as the Captain .... nearly dropped my gin .........:):eek:

 

Rationing out frozen veg is just puzzling.

 

I hope you find a better cruise next time. Sorry to hear of this trip.

 

edited: Let us know about your next cruise decision.

[RachelG]

I did notice that they were very stingy with the veggies on Silversea. Meager portions, if any at all. And many did appear to be frozen. We were in the Arctic, so I let that go as probably not being able to easily procure a steady supply of fresh.

[dusababy]

Stingy, meager portions -- have you ever heard of healthy eating? This is not Cheesecake Factory -- most U.S. diners/restaurants serve way too much food on a plate -- one reason for the obesity among Americans.

 

I don't know what happened on the Shadow voyage but it's an anomaly to me -- I've never had a similar experience described on any of the SS ships.

[RachelG]

I am an EXTREMELY healthy eater. Not talking about portions of meat, pasta, or desserts. Those portions were what I consider appropriate. I am talking about vegetables, which is what we are supposed to be eating a lot.

[ging466]

I don't know what happened on the Shadow voyage but it's an anomaly to me -- I've never had a similar experience described on any of the SS ships.

 

Agree with dusababy.

 

On my recent Shadow cruise (September 2012), the veggies were definitely NOT Birdseye or frozen for that matter. They were beautifully steamed veggies, a mixture of broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, asparagus. I always asked for these as a side dish to my main course.

 

The descriptions of food in the above posts, doesn't sound like the same ship that I was on last September :confused:

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[badgerdee]

We're boarding Shadow in Bali next week. Hopefully this experience was an anomaly. We'll report back from aboard but, I must say, the only time I've had poor food and service is debarkation day. Even then, it's not poor, just hurried.

[markincanada]

We're boarding Shadow in Bali next week. Hopefully this experience was an anomaly. We'll report back from aboard but, I must say, the only time I've had poor food and service is debarkation day. Even then, it's not poor, just hurried.

 

 

I agree, we will be on the Singapore to Hong Kong trip in April to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Considering the cost of a Silversea cruise, if the food is not above average i will be very disappointed.

[Mr Luxury]

. Perhaps some Americans prefer larger portions than the Europeans

 

Those of us that have had the good fortune to watch the tv show

"Man V Food" had probably come to that conclusion.:D

[texasskier]

have enjoyed two cruises within this past year on silver shadow: tokyo to shanghai and singapore to hong kong. With the exception of the gourmet restaurant which we found pretentious and sterile, the food was excellent.

[fudge]

I am from Europe and a Brit, are you saying we care less about our food than the Americans? Are you saying your standards are higher than ours?

 

You maybe right in saying we have different tastes however, we still expect a decent level of service and food, after all we are paying the same price! :p

[Older Party]

Food, like entertainment, is subjective. When I read reviews, I take them with a grain of salt, knowing human beings have vastly different tastes and opinions. I have dined in 5 star restaurants I thought were horrid and have seen award winning entertainments I did not enjoy, but I would never want my opinion to sway another person's enjoyment of the same. I am always suspicious of really bad reviews anyway. I immediately think the reviewer has an agenda I'm not privy to. Oftentimes, the more someone dislikes something, the more curious I am to check it out for myself. ;)

[oregon50]

Oftentimes, the more someone dislikes something, the more curious I am to check it out for myself. ;)

 

That is a great attitude to have.....for a restaurant. There are maybe 50 SS customers posting on this site during a four month period? I do believe in the 80/20 rule. But really, consulting with an astrologer would make more sense than using these posts to guide a first time booking decision.

[Travelcat2]

I am from Europe and a Brit, are you saying we care less about our food than the Americans? Are you saying your standards are higher than ours?

 

You maybe right in saying we have different tastes however, we still expect a decent level of service and food, after all we are paying the same price! :p

 

Loved your post! Think the answer is also subjective. I adore British pub food (I'm married to a Brit) and cannot find a place in the U.S. that can do it as well as in the U.K. Yes -- we definitely have different tastes -- IMO this does not make one better than the other. We also need to consider that Silversea is Italian. So, we have a lot of U.S. and U.K. guests dining on food that is most likely prepared by an Italian chef:D

 

I cannot imagine what a first timer thinks about this thread. We have been very confused about Silversea recently. We cancelled a cruise a couple of weeks ago and have since rethought it and plan on rebooking next week. BTW -- we enjoy Silversea's food!

[Dmgmd50]

Stingy, meager portions -- have you ever heard of healthy eating? This is not Cheesecake Factory -- most U.S. diners/restaurants serve way too much food on a plate -- one reason for the obesity among Americans.

 

I don't know what happened on the Shadow voyage but it's an anomaly to me -- I've never had a similar experience described on any of the SS ships.

 

We try to eat healthy. Therefore we expect good fruits, vegetables, chicken, and good fish. We didn't find it on this cruise. We only ate the steaks because everything was so lousy!

[Dmgmd50]

Food, like entertainment, is subjective. When I read reviews, I take them with a grain of salt, knowing human beings have vastly different tastes and opinions. I have dined in 5 star restaurants I thought were horrid and have seen award winning entertainments I did not enjoy, but I would never want my opinion to sway another person's enjoyment of the same. I am always suspicious of really bad reviews anyway. I immediately think the reviewer has an agenda I'm not privy to. Oftentimes, the more someone dislikes something, the more curious I am to check it out for myself. ;)

 

I will tell you my agenda: I am angry about spending so much money for a cruise where the food was so awful. And since many of the passengers on this cruise shared my opinion, I want to warn other people what they might find so they are not as shocked as we were. Many of the people were on multiple previous cruises, and like us, none had experienced this before. Perhaps it was atypical, but at the price we paid, this should not be expected. If it was RCL or Princess pricing, I would not be complaining! And if you read any of my previous posts, I am not usually a complainer.

[jcjbloca]

My experience cruising with Regent, Crystal and Seabourn is that they all source fresh fruits/produce/seafood at selected ports along the way. In fact, it is usually a highlight of the cruise to follow the Seabourn's chef to shop at the local market. Besides being a free excursion, it is quite a sight to see the chef order 25 cases of fresh figs, 150 pounds of strawberry, or a 200 pound fresh tuna all in one go. I am surprised that Silversea is not following this practice.

[Otis]

I agree with the OP. We were on the Shadow in the Fall of 2011 and were surprised at how little we liked the food. This is what I wrote in the posted review:

 

The dinners in the dining room were just dreadful from our menu selection/taste perspective. Lots of smoked duck, stilton, foie gras, gelees, etc. - heavy and odd combinations. We are easy to please, but tended to pick "always available" choices, which were bland but edible.

 

We ate at La Terrazza for one dinner and had an extraordinary pasta followed by tuna that couldn't be cut with a steak knife, so we hit both extremes. Breakfast and lunch buffets at La Terrazza were fine, but nothing special. I do appreciate that the Dining Room was open (though lightly used) for both breakfast and lunch, which was not true on Seabourn.

 

This, by the way, was maybe our 20th cruise and the only one in which we decided to call it out as a negative. The food on our last 3 Seabourn cruises was better by far.

[Merriem]

This was our exact sentiments on the Shadow in April 2012. The food was very poor. We are going on the whisper later this year and hope this is not an issue.

[oregon50]

Here's the problem.you just can't go off the ship and buy anything that's local anymore. The liability is enormous !...you could poison the whole ship.by the way Oregon 50, you have been caterwauling about Silversea for years.What are you sailing on now ?

 

Any other brilliant statements?

[billcrooz]

Any other brilliant statements?

 

Yes I believe your ship has sailed!

[rojaan19]

Well smoked duck,stilton and foie gras-some of my favourite foods.I must be special as Silverseas seems to be catering to me personally.

Hint-we all have different likes and dislikes.

[drron29]

PS-the above thoughts are actually mine-Rojaan had been using my computer.