Silver Shadow: the worst cruise food we have ever had

[Travelcat2]

A lot of the OP's comments are responses to the cheerleaders here. I do not see him beating the issue to death. It's his opinion, he's entitled to it. I had a very similar experience on the Shadow but never on the other SS ships. And as I said, it's easy enough to avoid by not reading.

 

As you know, I'm not a SS cheerleader but have enjoyed my two sailings with them. When did you have poor food on the Shadow? I'm a bit concerned about our September, 2013 cruise on the Shadow. The only slight difference may be that the sailing will be both a L'Ecole des Chefs Voyage with Chef David Bilsland and a Wine Series Voyage. At least I'm hoping it will be better with Chef David on board.:confused:

[Stumblefoot]

When did you have poor food on the Shadow?

 

I had a very similar experience on the Shadow...

 

wripro, was this experience from your 2006 voyage on the Shadow from Hong Kong to Tokyo, or more recent? Do you remember who your head chef was?

 

I'm trying to determine if it may not be a Shadow problem per se, but rather a chef problem.

[Joc123]

Hi, Long time lurker but 1st post. DH and I are SB sailors but have booked Shadow - Singapore -Singapore because the itinerary suited. Hope we have not done the wrong thing. Over the years, things have changed on SB - salad has disappeared from menu in MDR, berries at breakfast etc, but if you asked for them they were always given. Do hope things have changed on Shadow but times are tough and we may just have to get used to it.

[WesW]

Joc123, Welcome to the Silversea board. Please let us know how you enjoy your Shadow cruise (is it the March 2013 or Feb 2014 cruise?)

[badgerdee]

Hi, Long time lurker but 1st post. DH and I are SB sailors but have booked Shadow - Singapore -Singapore because the itinerary suited. Hope we have not done the wrong thing. Over the years, things have changed on SB - salad has disappeared from menu in MDR, berries at breakfast etc, but if you asked for them they were always given. Do hope things have changed on Shadow but times are tough and we may just have to get used to it.

 

Hi Joc123. We board Shadow in Bali in two days (yay) so we'll definitely report back. Berries seem to be a hot topic so will scope that out.

 

Out of interest, have you booked the SIN-SIN cruise which has three days in Burma/Myanmar? We were going to do the voyage but chose the Panama Canal cruise this Christmas instead.

[Joc123]

Thanks for the welcome. We are on March 15th 2013 cruise

[dafne]

To Dmgmd50,

 

Just wanted to pass on- a friend of ours just came back from a Celebrity Cruise

on the Silhouette one month ago- and she said the food was "horrible".

 

You mentioned you were now going on a Celebrity Cruise.

 

So will be interesting to hear what you think after your cruise.

[Mr Luxury]

Isn't life funny,

 

One mans horrible is another mans fantastic.:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Isn't life funny,

 

One mans horrible is another mans fantastic.

 

 

What's even funnier is the focus on berries. I'm completely perplexed.

 

I get on cruises where many passengers fill their plates at breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatos, waffles and maple syrup and fruit (all on the same plate ... ) and the pile is so high they cannot see over it ..... and I come here and everyone is talking about the fresh berry deficit.

 

 

 

:confused::);)

[Mr Luxury]

What's even funnier is the focus on berries. I'm completely perplexed.

 

I get on cruises where many passengers fill their plates at breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatos, waffles and maple syrup and fruit (all on the same plate ... ) and the pile is so high they cannot see over it ..... and I come here and everyone is talking about the fresh berry deficit.

 

Jeff,these people can't be from the UK,we never mix Egg,bacon and sausage with anything as healthy as fruit,unless you count brown or red sauce.:)

 

I have however encountered a berry shortage on many a trip.

My wife gets really pissed off when she can't get her daily fix of blueberries.

The food and beverage managers on Seabourn know to keep some back for her.if not, they give her a wide berth and are not seen around the ship until a new supply of berries comes aboard.:D

[UKCruiseJeff]

Quite right ... none of them were from blighty ... in fact all of the blightyorians would sit around the edges tutting loudly when seeing such people would pass.

 

I hope your wife get's her blueberry hill thrill on her next cruise.:D

[Mr Luxury]

The funny thing is that when the ship runs out of blueberries,there are still blueberry pancakes on the menu.

I watch the faces of the waiters when my wife asks why there are berries for the pancakes and none available to eat seperately.

The waiters scratch their heads and rarely know the answer.

 

The answer given by the food and beverage managers is that the quality of the blueberries that are in the pancakes is not good enough to be served in a bowl and eaten seperately.

You see,you get all the bits and pieces when you order pancakes.

 

Hope you had yours last night on pancake day.:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

All homemade ... mine with Nutelalla and hers with lemon and icing sugar.

[Dmgmd50]

What's even funnier is the focus on berries. I'm completely perplexed.

 

I get on cruises where many passengers fill their plates at breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatos, waffles and maple syrup and fruit (all on the same plate ... ) and the pile is so high they cannot see over it ..... and I come here and everyone is talking about the fresh berry deficit.

 

:confused::);)

 

You need not be confused: what you are describing in not a healthy way of eating. Berries (and veggies) are healthy and therefore important to us. Also the salmon was awful so we wound up eating steaks that were okay but not something we prefer.

[Dmgmd50]

To Dmgmd50,

 

Just wanted to pass on- a friend of ours just came back from a Celebrity Cruise

on the Silhouette one month ago- and she said the food was "horrible".

 

You mentioned you were now going on a Celebrity Cruise.

 

So will be interesting to hear what you think after your cruise.

 

Thanks. I guess I was lucky of the Constellation and Solstice to have such good experiences, especially in their specialty restaurants. I am well aware that the food on Celebrity is hit or miss too, depending often on the ship. On the other hand, since the "per deim" for ten people on Celebrity is less than for the two of us on SS, I do not expect the food to be fabulous on the Silhouette. And I know that I will have to ask for berries since they are not out on the buffet. (I will let you know when we get back.)

[CanadianKate]

One trick when berries start to be 'rationed' is to have breakfast in your cabin and ask for berries to go on your cereal. That way they are only go to the few passengers who really care and not there to be taken for someone for whom berries are not a deal breaker.

 

Seriously, unlimited, cut up, fresh fruit and veggies is one of the luxuries I look forward to since it isn't something I get at home. Especially melons since my husband is allergic and I can't eat a whole one on my own before it rots. All the pastries and fancy desserts don't really mean anything to me, since I get more than my fill of those through church coffee hours and suppers, Although scones are the other special luxury we have on the ship.

 

And the focus on berries is only me. My husband has his 'full English' each morning and so won't eat in the cabin with me.

[RachelG]

Again, Kate, I agree. I love berries, but usually don't buy them at home because they would rot before I could eat the whole quantity. So it is a special thing for cruises.

[SANDAS]

I have just returned from 16 nights on the Cloud and was most interested to read this thread. The food in the main dining room was dreadful. Not a patch on the quality we have enjoyed previously on the Cloud. Under-seasoned, wrong temperature and generally lacking in succulence and flavour. I travel with a vegetarian and the vegetarian food was a complete disgrace. They have dispensed with the separate vegetarian menu and vegetarians now have to attempt to cobble together a balanced meal from the very few dishes available. I felt that the chef had no palate and little skill in timing. I am a Brit but we ate with Canadians, Americans, and Australians and they all felt the same. La Terrazza provided excellent vegetarian and main stream dishes. The Pool Bar was OK but had only one vegetarian choice - veggie burgers were discontinued and when we requested that some be made, this was refused. SS professes to cater for specialists diets and it used to do so. They should recognise that vegetarians pay the same fare as everyone else and that they like a choice for dinner - not just 'the vegetarian option'. Our ship also ran out of berries.

Everything else about the cruise was great.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Out of interest (and genuine healthy nosiness! :) ) has anyone who has posted either (a) taken it up with management whilst on board and/or (b) directly with SS on their return? If so what was the response?

 

Thanks.

 

Jeff

[SANDAS]

I took it up on board but with Jorge the Maitre D, not management which was stupid in retrospect but we kept hoping things would improve once we had Jorge on the case. I see now that it was probably not his responsibility to report it further. I have e-mailed SS since I returned but have not had a response so far. When I do, I will copy it onto this thread if people would be interested.

[wripro]

TC2 and Stumblefoot,

 

My experience on the Shadow was indeed in 2006 from Hong Kong to Tokyo and I have not sailed on her since. Intentionally. However, on other SS ships I have had a far more positive experience.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks for the reply .... you were very long suffering , and perhaps over tolerant?

 

I must admit, if I had had several poor meals in a row, I think that there would be a point when I'd demand that the (I think they still call him) the hotel manager comes down to see the food on the table, and I think I would explain to him that he will be returning to the restaurant every day to see the food until it was unnecessary. The first exchange would be humorous and laid back but would change quite quickly if things didn't change. I might if really riled and everyone being like minded on the table start photographing what was on the table. That would make them pretty jittery and help with anything I do when I get back.

 

The problem is, if passengers do not firmly escalate early on to a senior level, and ask that the exchange be documented after the first ..... and there shouldn't be a single unsatisfactory meal ..... then it is difficult to avoid being somewhat partly responsible if it prevails.

 

Hindsight is always easy, but the first time I had been given a sub standard meal or a lack of veggie choice commensurate with reasonable expectations of SS, management would know about it and be told that they needed to convince me fairly quickly that they were capable of an action plan to put it right immediately.

 

In the end we do get the quality and service we tolerate.

[SANDAS]

I do agree with you Jeff that we should have got the hotel manager involved at an early stage. I hesitated to make too much fuss to start with because when you are two ladies dining with people you have never met before you don't really want to make a fuss. Once we had made some friends some of the gentlemen took up the case but with no more success. Photos may have helped but the food mostly looked OK and photos can't show lack of flavour or the temperature. Lack of vegetarian choice was self evident but we were informed that all dishes were set at executive level before the cruise and could not be changed. This was why, they said, that vegetable curries and veggie burgers could not be made and we could only order from dishes already approved. Perhaps they lied!

Also the problem of the poor quality cooking in the main dining room was so fundamental, that short of replacing that chef mid-cruise I don't think the overall standard there could have been improved. La Terrazza was lovely so we did have that choice.

Next time I will be far more proactive but, really, it shouldn't be necessary on this class of cruise.

[Mr Luxury]

I have e-mailed SS since I returned but have not had a response so far. When I do,

 

Most of us would have passed away. :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Totally understand and agree, it certainly should not be that way, but I'd say that I think the points you raise, are the very reasons why it's imperative to do something fairly clear very early.

 

People often behave as though they were in a restaurant on land - and forget that they are imprisoned for long periods ie 16 days and it's not as though you can simply say "we won't be coming back". You're stuck.

 

No one likes to compromise the enjoyment of others by going over the top, but obviously once you've left the table the hotel manager should be hunted down. I would be requesting that he ask the MD to call him around an hour or so after we were tabled and I'd expect him to check with us daily until we told him we were generally happy with things. If they weren't I'd ask him to alert HQ of the situation and expect to hear from us. He would have no wriggle room once SS HQ were told of the issues and the lack of progress. I'd have a full refund.

 

Hopefully your next cruise will be better.