Silver Shadow: the worst cruise food we have ever had

[Mr Luxury]

the hotel manager should be hunted down..

 

 

Jeff rermember that we don't have the same gun laws as those passive folks in the US.:)

[drron29]

One thing I agree with is the woeful vegetarian choices.We are not vegetarians but often ate with one and basically he had no choice.

 

And to the OP was it the Shadow cruise that visited Burnie,Tasmania.If so the absence of berries is unforgiveable.I was working in Burnie at the time and the raspberries,blueberries as well as cherries were beautiful and cheap.$20 for a kilo of raspberries,$15 for blueberries and $12 for cherries.

[Paulchili]

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

 

For the answer to your question, re-read OP's first post in this thread.

There you will see that he complained to the F&B manager to no avail :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

For the answer to your question, re-read OP's first post in this thread.

There you will see that he complained to the F&B manager to no avail :)

 

 

Thanks - yes I had read the original post and understood it.

 

Later in the thread I was interested to see in the several posts that followed where there had been quite a few complaints but little detail about what efforts had been attempted to sort it out and what quality of response there had been.

 

The only way that this will be sorted is if SS recognise that there is a reputation hit that is leading to a business impact plus some determined people seeking a full refund. How you handle the issue at the time has a considerable bearing on people's ability later to obtain refunds. It really is important to show that management were well aware of the problem but did nothing. I'm rather hoping that some do take a firm line and give SS the incentive they need to improve the catering. That is in both their own interests and their customers.

 

Thanks again.

[Dmgmd50]

Thanks - yes I had read the original post and understood it.

 

Later in the thread I was interested to see in the several posts that followed where there had been quite a few complaints but little detail about what efforts had been attempted to sort it out and what quality of response there had been.

 

The only way that this will be sorted is if SS recognise that there is a reputation hit that is leading to a business impact plus some determined people seeking a full refund. How you handle the issue at the time has a considerable bearing on people's ability later to obtain refunds. It really is important to show that management were well aware of the problem but did nothing. I'm rather hoping that some do take a firm line and give SS the incentive they need to improve the catering. That is in both their own interests and their customers.

 

Thanks again.

 

I have written an email to my travel agent and she has passed it on to the VP of Guest Relations at SS. I have no idea if I will hear back. I may call SS as well. I spoke to the food and beverage manager several times and told him the staff was more attentive but the food had not improved. I repeatedly complained to the maitre d' ( Debbie) who seemed exasperated with me. I am writing on Cruise Critic which won't do any good on SS, though it would be effective on the Oceania boards which their CEO not only reads but also occasionally responds to online.

 

Anything else you think I should do? Even if they offered me a discount on a future cruise, I would not most likely cruise with them again unless I hear things have drastically improved.

[dudesdynamos]

Sadly, the deterioration of the food confirms our opinion that Silversea no longer is or apparently wants to be a Luxury line. It is a sub Luxury line.

 

As I expressed on this forum regarding the Passenger List (and in a letter to Silversea's President and owner), Silversea is dying by a thousand cuts. I won't bore you with all the details of my previous post but a lot of "little" things disappeared since we first sailed on Silversea ten years ago. Champagne no longer waiting in the suite upon arrival, it must be requested. Miniscule serving of nuts in the bar, many times no hors d'oeuvres during cocktail time in the bar, frozen hash brown potatos for breakfast rather than made from scratch, a tiny serving of berries at breakfast, no more fresh flowers in public places, delayed dry dock, etc. First timers may not notice the changes, but many Silversea veterans we spoke to on our last cruise (our tenth) said they wouldn't be back. We feel the same way.

 

i wrongly blamed the bean counters but I apologize it is not the accountants going off on their own. This is the strategy the owners and management has decided to pursue and it is their right. They are in business and not pursuing a hobby. They are entitled to make money and they are doing what they think will give them the return they want. They are going after a different demographic, a younger perhaps in some cases less affluent cruiser who wants something better than a cheap cruise but won't pay for an expensive cruise.

 

 

Cutting the little things apparently wasn't enough, now they are going after the big ticket items like food and beverage. From DMGMD's first post it sounds like they are also trying to cut costs in another big cost area the crew. The sweet but unimformed staff in the dining room could be the result of hiring less experienced, less qualified or inadequately trained staff who are less expensive than the more experienced Silversea veterans who provide the backbone of any cruise.

 

As I mentioned previously, Silversea has frequently delayed drydock. They and their passengers have been very lucky that they haven't experienced any disasters like Carnival has encountered.

 

 

Unfortunately, people like ourselves, true Silversea groupies have to realize we can not get a luxury cruise experience on Silversea anymore. No amount of complaining to Silversea will make any difference because they don't care. They are filling their ships and apparently getting the returns they want.

 

If we want to get a true luxury cruise rather than the sub luxury product Silversea now offers we will have to sail with someone else.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Anything else you think I should do? Even if they offered me a discount on a future cruise, I would not most likely cruise with them again unless I hear things have drastically improved.

 

In the environment where most sensible people are against the "compensation society" we need to differentiate between gratuitous and dishonourable greed and the pursuit of people and organisations that make promises and not only fail to deliver but basically neither have any intention of delivering what they promise and when given the opportunity to put it right fail to do so. I also happen to feel that in a way wqe have an obligation to each other to be untolerant of organisations that purposefully fail to deliver or cheat on what they promise and charge in advance for. So that explains in clear terms my starting point.

 

It is somewhat difficult to judge in your situation because you have started down a path and I'm not certain whether it is good advice to change tack mid-way down that path. I'm also ill-informed in US consumer law but as it happens I am knowledgeable about UK consumer law.

 

In the UK I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that SS are "in breach of contract" and reasonably confident of obtaining a reasonable award if taken to court.

 

Silversea say:

 

Silversea is a luxury cruise line that offers unparalleled service and superlative comfort. Discover the art of luxury travel as perfected by Silversea Cruises.

 

They also say:

 

Gourmet cuisine inspired by Relais & Châteaux

 

It also says:

 

With the importance of food in Italian culture, you would expect dining to be a high priority at Silversea. And it most assuredly is. Moreover, gastronomic excellence is a given thanks to Silversea’s partnership with the prestigious Grands Chefs Relais & Châteaux. No matter where you dine, their influence is readily apparent in the great diversity and presentation of your selections.

 

I do not think that providing the level of catering meets that promise - pure and simple. I believe that anyone reading these descriptions would be dissapointed with what they receive.

 

So in your situation I'd pursue a claim.

[Paulchili]

Sadly, the deterioration of the food confirms our opinion that Silversea no longer is or apparently wants to be a Luxury line. It is a sub Luxury line.

 

As I expressed on this forum regarding the Passenger List (and in a letter to Silversea's President and owner), Silversea is dying by a thousand cuts. I won't bore you with all the details of my previous post but a lot of "little" things disappeared since we first sailed on Silversea ten years ago. Champagne no longer waiting in the suite upon arrival, it must be requested. Miniscule serving of nuts in the bar, many times no hors d'oeuvres during cocktail time in the bar, frozen hash brown potatos for breakfast rather than made from scratch, a tiny serving of berries at breakfast, no more fresh flowers in public places, delayed dry dock, etc. First timers may not notice the changes, but many Silversea veterans we spoke to on our last cruise (our tenth) said they wouldn't be back. We feel the same way.

 

i wrongly blamed the bean counters but I apologize it is not the accountants going off on their own. This is the strategy the owners and management has decided to pursue and it is their right. They are in business and not pursuing a hobby. They are entitled to make money and they are doing what they think will give them the return they want. They are going after a different demographic, a younger perhaps in some cases less affluent cruiser who wants something better than a cheap cruise but won't pay for an expensive cruise.

 

 

Cutting the little things apparently wasn't enough, now they are going after the big ticket items like food and beverage. From DMGMD's first post it sounds like they are also trying to cut costs in another big cost area the crew. The sweet but unimformed staff in the dining room could be the result of hiring less experienced, less qualified or inadequately trained staff who are less expensive than the more experienced Silversea veterans who provide the backbone of any cruise.

 

As I mentioned previously, Silversea has frequently delayed drydock. They and their passengers have been very lucky that they haven't experienced any disasters like Carnival has encountered.

 

 

Unfortunately, people like ourselves, true Silversea groupies have to realize we can not get a luxury cruise experience on Silversea anymore. No amount of complaining to Silversea will make any difference because they don't care. They are filling their ships and apparently getting the returns they want.

 

If we want to get a true luxury cruise rather than the sub luxury product Silversea now offers we will have to sail with someone else.

 

Your post gives many some serious food for thought (no pun intended).

[Stumblefoot]

If we want to get a true luxury cruise rather than the sub luxury product Silversea now offers we will have to sail with someone else.

So, which line is it that you'll be cruising on now that delivers the product and service experience you used to receive on SS?

[dudesdynamos]

I think we'll try Seaborne or possibly Sea Dream.

[zqtchas]

They are part of Carnival as well as Canard. When we were on the old QE2 in the Queen's grill that wasn't so great either!

[Scotspea]

Sadly, the deterioration of the food confirms our opinion that Silversea no longer is or apparently wants to be a Luxury line. It is a sub Luxury line.

 

As I expressed on this forum regarding the Passenger List (and in a letter to Silversea's President and owner), Silversea is dying by a thousand cuts. I won't bore you with all the details of my previous post but a lot of "little" things disappeared since we first sailed on Silversea ten years ago. Champagne no longer waiting in the suite upon arrival, it must be requested. Miniscule serving of nuts in the bar, many times no hors d'oeuvres during cocktail time in the bar, frozen hash brown potatos for breakfast rather than made from scratch, a tiny serving of berries at breakfast, no more fresh flowers in public places, delayed dry dock, etc. First timers may not notice the changes, but many Silversea veterans we spoke to on our last cruise (our tenth) said they wouldn't be back. We feel the same way.

 

i wrongly blamed the bean counters but I apologize it is not the accountants going off on their own. This is the strategy the owners and management has decided to pursue and it is their right. They are in business and not pursuing a hobby. They are entitled to make money and they are doing what they think will give them the return they want. They are going after a different demographic, a younger perhaps in some cases less affluent cruiser who wants something better than a cheap cruise but won't pay for an expensive cruise.

 

 

Cutting the little things apparently wasn't enough, now they are going after the big ticket items like food and beverage. From DMGMD's first post it sounds like they are also trying to cut costs in another big cost area the crew. The sweet but unimformed staff in the dining room could be the result of hiring less experienced, less qualified or inadequately trained staff who are less expensive than the more experienced Silversea veterans who provide the backbone of any cruise.

 

As I mentioned previously, Silversea has frequently delayed drydock. They and their passengers have been very lucky that they haven't experienced any disasters like Carnival has encountered.

 

 

Unfortunately, people like ourselves, true Silversea groupies have to realize we can not get a luxury cruise experience on Silversea anymore. No amount of complaining to Silversea will make any difference because they don't care. They are filling their ships and apparently getting the returns they want.

 

If we want to get a true luxury cruise rather than the sub luxury product Silversea now offers we will have to sail with someone else.

 

 

 

I expressed the same views as part of Stumblfoot's attempt to address all these problems in a letter to Betteridge. As expected, it fell on stony ground, she is only interested in profit and until numbers drop to a critical level, could not care less what people think of SS.

I am giving it one last chance (after a lot of soul searching and nearly cancelling) but if it is as bad as a lot of posters have alluded that is it, and I/we will not be back.

I WILL have reached the point where I am hoping they fail so that I can gloat that we told them so!!!!!

[Ravenscroft]

I think we'll try Seaborne or possibly Sea Dream.

 

Sea Dream, while I'm sure is a very high quality product, is in many ways a very different product to that offered by Silversea, Seabourn and Regent.

 

We are big fans of Silversea who took our first Seabourn cruise in December 2012 and it didn't meet our expectations. After reading all the rave reports on the Seabourn board here perhaps our expectations were too high, but we are very well travelled and on reflection I don't think they were too high. The problems that we had were not what we'd expect of a luxury cruise line. And what was particularly frustrating is that most of the problems were minor ones, which normally we either overlook or have them dealt with by management. But when you're experiencing several issues each day on a luxury cruise, when all you want to do is switch off from having to deal with problems, it soon builds into dissatisfaction.

Now I will say that the vast majority of people we talked to on our cruise had a really great cruise, but the few of us who were disappointed agreed that pricing level of luxury cruises, especially over the Christmas/NY period, means that we shouldn't be having the type of issues that we had on our cruise.

With recent changes announced by Silversea, and having read some comments here, I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't indicative of the way all the luxury lines are going. I'm sadly resigning myself to taking only land based holidays again.

[CanadianKate]

The best part about land-based holidays is that if something goes wrong, you can usually salvage at least part of the holiday. Food terrible at the resort? Eat elsewhere? Room unacceptable? Be moved or change hotels? Weather bad? Tough it out, or change locations.

 

On a cruise, you are held 'captive' when things go wrong. That's why we decided never to cruise again after our first cruise. On a 5 day cruise, the first port was cancelled, the third was shortened (and tender, not at pier). The second wasn't as advertised since the tours we wanted (one of which was the whole reason for taking that cruise) were cancelled. Had it been a land-based holiday we might have found other things to do, but it was a cruise so the days we missed port, they ran a bingo, and opened the casino and the shops. Period. Oh, and the kids were too young to go to the bingo. No kids program. Too rough for the dance lessons, too rough for the walking deck to be open. It was boring. There were other problems as well but the worst part was feeling that I was a hostage and there was nothing I could do to change the situation.

 

Years later we were given a cruise and it was what most people experience. So then we tried SS and were blown away. But at any time, things can go wrong, changing the experience drastically. I used to trust that SS would take care of things in a way that would keep me feeling positive. Now, I'm not sure that will be the case.

 

We'll see how our next cruise goes. And we'll wait until the end before deciding whether or not to put down another floating deposit. I've got several choices for our 2014 cruise and SS is only one of the options. I may choose not to be tied to SS with a deposit on file if I get the impression things have changed across the board and it isn't just an anomaly due to containers not being loaded.

[Silver Spectre]

I think we'll try Seaborne or possibly Sea Dream.

 

Unfortunately if you read the Seabourne board you will see that they are being 'carnivalised' much faster than SS is deteriorating.

[dudesdynamos]

Ravenscroft might be right, take land based trips until a true luxury product appears on the market.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Ravenscroft might be right, take land based trips until a true luxury product appears on the market.

 

 

That is also where we are. What is the point of going on a cruise if the food isn't as good as normal lunch at home ...... or as good as the street food you can buy for a couple of pounds in wonderful Singapore for example - where we now spend a lot of our time.

 

A really good and detailed understanding of both airline and hotel schemes has produced some wonderful trips in the place of the cruises we use to take. I hope that a line soon steps in to take our cash. :)

 

I wonder whether a sort of sticky thread with some headings where people logged their ship, cruise, details of each restaurant including grading the freshness and range might help CC'ers as well as SS management when they visit the board?

[Mr Luxury]

I find that I eat and live so well on land that I need to get away on a luxury cruise line just to have a taste of something ordinary.

The thing for me is being at sea.I love to switch off and just relax, far away from Michelin starred food and top class service.

[dudesdynamos]

Mr. Luxury, we agree, our favorite part of cruising is sitting on our veranda, with a good book and an adult beverage watching the ocean fly by. If these luxury cruise lines continue their race to the bottom, they'll start charging us for using our veranda.

 

UKCruiseJeff, couldn't agree with you more about Singapore. we go somewhere warm every winter for five months and last year we were in Singapore. We lived very near Lau Pa Sat a really great Hawker court.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I find that I eat and live so well on land that I need to get away on a luxury cruise line just to have a taste of something ordinary.

The thing for me is being at sea.I love to switch off and just relax, far away from Michelin starred food and top class service.

 

Very funny! (Show off! :D )

 

 

But to an extent I agree ... and that was basically where we had left it. But I would "like it all". Edible food isn't an excessive desire.

 

You may have noticed on a previous post that basically it ended up with sandwiches and DVD's in the suite ... but I think it's part of a bigger picture. I was going to say "I'm not a snob" ... but on reflection perhaps I am. When the lines start progressing downmarket so inevitably does the people that you are locked in with. When those people wish to ensure they get the maximum value out of the booze then the ambiance also changes. You get to a stage where to decision to "cruise" or "not cruise" is ambivalent and then you simply arrive at a tipping point. I think what many are saying is that the tipping point has passed and they are out for the time being.

 

As I have moaned previously, there is in my view a lucrative market for the product SS was when it had three ships. It would be more profitable and generate loyalty.

[UKCruiseJeff]

UKCruiseJeff, couldn't agree with you more about Singapore. we go somewhere warm every winter for five months and last year we were in Singapore. We lived very near Lau Pa Sat a really great Hawker court.

 

Know Lau Pa Sat very well ... there a couple of weeks ago. As it happens the best curry in Singapore is in Lau Pa Sat for a couple of pounds. And Satay street in the evenings ... (Why isn't there a "stuff my face smiley"? :D )

 

You may be interstested to google "singapore first time not just a stopover" to see some fairly long term discussions on how Singapore has morphed from simply being a stopover on the way to somewhere else ..... ;)

 

Having justy returned our next two trips have just been booked for two weeks each - one in August .... the next for CNY 2014.

[Ravenscroft]

 

I wonder whether a sort of sticky thread with some headings where people logged their ship, cruise, details of each restaurant including grading the freshness and range might help CC'ers as well as SS management when they visit the board?

 

I think that is a very good idea and would be very helpful.

Our most recent SS cruise was on Silver Spirit over Christmas/NY 2011-12. We had a truly wonderful cruise, with great food that was the best we'd had on a cruise.

However there were some reviews here, from posters I trust, only a week or two before our Spirit cruise who sailed on the same ship and had food that wasn't so good.

So it would be interesting to note inconsistencies like that.

[Ravenscroft]

I find that I eat and live so well on land that I need to get away on a luxury cruise line just to have a taste of something ordinary.

The thing for me is being at sea.I love to switch off and just relax, far away from Michelin starred food and top class service.

 

At the moment my husband is absolutely firm that he doesn't wish to cruise again, certainly not this year. When we were discussing holiday plans for this year I told him how much I love being at sea and how much I'd miss it.

His suggestion was "Well, that's fine. When we take our annual car trip to Burgundy this year we can cross the Channel on a ferry instead of using the tunnel, that will have to satisfy your desire to be at sea."

 

I should add that I don't expect Michelin quality food at sea, but I do expect top class service. I am certain neither are available on a cross channel ferry.

[UKCruiseJeff]

UKCruiseJeff, couldn't agree with you more about Singapore. we go somewhere warm every winter for five months and last year we were in Singapore. We lived very near Lau Pa Sat a really great Hawker court.

 

 

 

.... just noticed I posted some piccies of Lau Pa Sat in that other thread by coincidnce .....:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

I think that is a very good idea and would be very helpful.

 

 

I've had a go ... hopefully people for it will participate and those against simply ignore it rather than trash it ....:)