Is Silversea Making Cutbacks Akin to Celebrity?

[mnocket]

I'm considering my first Silversea cruise.  The Celebrity Board is fuming about service cutbacks - particularly in food quality/selection.  Having read several recent Silversea reviews, there seem to be a fair percentage that are now complaining about food quality.  Some are HIGHLY critical and it has me wondering if RCL is forcing cutbacks across all of their cruise lines.  I don't want to pay 2X Celebrity fares and still find the food lacking.  Any thoughts from experienced Silversea cruisers who have recently sailed?

[A Tucson Guy]

4 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I'm considering my first Silversea cruise.  The Celebrity Board is fuming about service cutbacks - particularly in food quality/selection.  Having read several recent Silversea reviews, there seem to be a fair percentage that are now complaining about food quality.  Some are HIGHLY critical and it has me wondering if RCL is forcing cutbacks across all of their cruise lines.  I don't want to pay 2X Celebrity fares and still find the food lacking.  Any thoughts from experienced Silversea cruisers who have recently sailed?

We just did a cruise on the Dawn last July and last November. Everything could not have been better. We love all the dinner choices and the service and quality was over the top. You can't always believe what is posted on the internet. We have five more cruises booked on SS for the future. My only thought is to think about the newer larger ships, but that is just me.

[Stickman1990]

We’re new to Silversea and on Silver Muse at the moment (we’ve sailed Crystal, Regent and Seabourn by way of comparison) and the food and service is top notch, certainly no sign of economising at all 

 

we’ve interacted with several Silversea frequent cruisers and there been no mention from them of any apparent economising by Silversea 

[ak1004]

We returned from our first SS cruise in December and found it excellent, with few very minor issues. A couple weeks later I read two 2 star reviews about the same cruise, that defined it as awful and cruise from hell.

 

I learned to take all reviews with a grain of salt..

[Randyk47]

We didn’t sense any cutbacks on our recent Dawn cruise at least in terms of the quality and quantity of food, our cabin, or the overall condition of the ship.  If there was any issue it might have been slight lapses in service but mostly around the pool and sometimes in the breakfast service in La Terrazza.   By their own omission they were still short service staff but working hard to recruit and train new personnel.  I still participate in a couple of other cruise line sections here and that seems to be a regular comment.  We simply are not quite up to pre-Covid manning and resulting standards yet.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Randyk47

[Silver Spectre]

6 hours ago, mnocket said:

I'm considering my first Silversea cruise.  The Celebrity Board is fuming about service cutbacks - particularly in food quality/selection.  Having read several recent Silversea reviews, there seem to be a fair percentage that are now complaining about food quality.  Some are HIGHLY critical and it has me wondering if RCL is forcing cutbacks across all of their cruise lines.  I don't want to pay 2X Celebrity fares and still find the food lacking.  Any thoughts from experienced Silversea cruisers who have recently sailed?

No. There may be supply issues and minor staffing issues, but that’s it at the moment.

[mnocket]

8 hours ago, A Tucson Guy said:

We just did a cruise on the Dawn last July and last November. Everything could not have been better. We love all the dinner choices and the service and quality was over the top. You can't always believe what is posted on the internet. We have five more cruises booked on SS for the future. My only thought is to think about the newer larger ships, but that is just me.

 

8 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

We’re new to Silversea and on Silver Muse at the moment (we’ve sailed Crystal, Regent and Seabourn by way of comparison) and the food and service is top notch, certainly no sign of economising at all 

 

we’ve interacted with several Silversea frequent cruisers and there been no mention from them of any apparent economising by Silversea 

 

8 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

We’re new to Silversea and on Silver Muse at the moment (we’ve sailed Crystal, Regent and Seabourn by way of comparison) and the food and service is top notch, certainly no sign of economising at all 

 

we’ve interacted with several Silversea frequent cruisers and there been no mention from them of any apparent economising by Silversea 

 

7 hours ago, ak1004 said:

We returned from our first SS cruise in December and found it excellent, with few very minor issues. A couple weeks later I read two 2 star reviews about the same cruise, that defined it as awful and cruise from hell.

 

I learned to take all reviews with a grain of salt..

 

5 hours ago, Randyk47 said:

We didn’t sense any cutbacks on our recent Dawn cruise at least in terms of the quality and quantity of food, our cabin, or the overall condition of the ship.  If there was any issue it might have been slight lapses in service but mostly around the pool and sometimes in the breakfast service in La Terrazza.   By their own omission they were still short service staff but working hard to recruit and train new personnel.  I still participate in a couple of other cruise line sections here and that seems to be a regular comment.  We simply are not quite up to pre-Covid manning and resulting standards yet.

 

1 hour ago, Silver Spectre said:

No. There may be supply issues and minor staffing issues, but that’s it at the moment.

Thanks for the replies.  Good to hear that standards are pretty much intact.

[ronrick1943]

We cruised in January 2023 for the first time on Silversea, we enjoyed the cruise but we don’t think the food is that upscale.  We had s few good meals, and a few not so good.  We found the buffet breakfast and lunch really not up to par with Regent.  Another item was the beef, it really isn’t top grade i our opinion.  Also they need to at seasoning when cooking.  Service was outstanding, the crew really good, are Butler outstanding.  We don’t ask for a lot, but when needed-always on top of things.  I also feel embarking and exiting the ship was really easy and fast.

[bohaiboy]

We had two food issues on the Moon in December.  The steaks (with the exception of akaushi beef in the Japanese rest) was inedible, very tough.  My wife sent her steaks back so many times they finally started cooking her the akaushi beef in any restaurant.  Our other bad experience was at the The Grill, where the seafood had a very ammonia smell to it indicating it was most likely nit frozen immediately after catching.  The chef should have smelled it while cooking as we let them cook that night.

[texanaust]

The steaks are too thin in Atlantide.  No possible way to cook them med-rare.  Also our butler was terrible.  He asked so many times for us to write a recommendation/review that I had to sit down with the HD to discuss the issue. 

Apart from that, I really liked Silver Moon especially the Salt Bar with Afzal as the bartender.

[TheRampantSnail]

We had two cruises on the Moon (and one on Regent Splendor) last year. The quality of food was excellent throughout, as was service. It was on Regent I felt service and quality (with notable exceptions) were below par.

[mnocket]

Interesting comments about the quality of the beef.  One of the major complaints on the Celebrity board is that higher cuts of beef (and fish) have gone missing and what remains is of poor quality.  Maybe corporate is tightening the screws fleet-wide?

Edited February 22, 2023 by mnocket

[riandei]

We recently sailed Celebrity and I am here doing research.  We have sailed Crystal and love them, but currently no itinerary works for us in 2024.

 

Our celebrity sailing was like a week at the red roof inn.  Dreadful. Will not sail them again.   We have sailed them probably 20 times.  The product is not even remotely close to past sailings.

 

 

[ClefsDor]

We recently sailed on the Muse and the quality of the steaks was superb, both in Atlantide and the Grill. We are fussy about meat, especially steaks and we were very pleasantly surprised as we normally avoid ordering steaks on cruise ships but this became our go to dinner if nothing else on the menu appealed.

[drron29]

17 hours ago, texanaust said:

The steaks are too thin in Atlantide.  No possible way to cook them med-rare.  Also our butler was terrible.  He asked so many times for us to write a recommendation/review that I had to sit down with the HD to discuss the issue. 

Apart from that, I really liked Silver Moon especially the Salt Bar with Afzal as the bartender.

Well these are the 2 steaks I had in atlantide on the Dawn. not too thin for me.

[texanaust]

5 hours ago, drron29 said:

Well these are the 2 steaks I had in atlantide on the Dawn. not too thin for me.

Your steaks look better than what I had on the Moon.  The taste was okay, but the thickness was similar to a minute steak.  It won't stop me sailing on SS but the steaks are definitely superior on Seabourn.  

[turtlemichael]

6 hours ago, drron29 said:

Well these are the 2 steaks I had in atlantide on the Dawn. not too thin for me.

On our current cruise, Silver Shadow World Cruise, we tend to have steaks in the Grill and other things elsewhere. I have to say that the filet mignon is consistently amongst the best I have had anywhere.

[CinciCruise]

We sail Celebrity at least yearly with an adult disabled daughter who uses a wheelchair, and we sail Silversea yearly without her. We were on a Celebrity Caribbean cruise in November and just returned from the Silver Dawn last week. Silversea’s food is excellent and much better than Celebrity’s. The service is better and the cabins are larger. It is a true luxury experience. Yes, it is more expensive, but worth it. The only area where Celebrity shines over Silversea is nightly shows and lifts for pools and hot tubs. Of course, a larger ship allows better entertainment and more accessibility. We do not cruise on Silversea for the entertainment, but our daughter expects it when she cruises and she needs to use a pool or hot tub with a lift. There is a cruise for everyone. I do not understand the complaints. about the food or service on Silversea. As for the filet mignon, we also thought it was better at the grill than Atlantide. All were better than Celebrity’s meat. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

@CinciCruise thanks for your thoughtful post, which really gives context to the saying 'horses for courses.'  I can very much understand (from our cruise history over a variety of cruise lines) how Celebrity would be the best line for your daughter, while you can appreciate Silversea's strengths when sailing on your own.  IMHO this is a very important thing to keep in mind before posting, that different people have different needs and expectations.  There is no one 'best' cruise line for everybody.

[drron29]

On 2/23/2023 at 7:51 PM, turtlemichael said:

On our current cruise, Silver Shadow World Cruise, we tend to have steaks in the Grill and other things elsewhere. I have to say that the filet mignon is consistently amongst the best I have had anywhere.

Yes I also enjoy the steaks at the grill because I can cook it just the way I like it. Nearly raw!

[lincslady]

Sorry, drron, I like steaks rare, but that is going too far.  It  almost made me feel sick at the idea of eating it.  A chacun....... etc.

 

Lola

[labrasett]

39 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Sorry, drron, I like steaks rare, but that is going too far.  It  almost made me feel sick at the idea of eating it.  A chacun....... etc.

 

Lola

I am with you there but I hate pictures of peoples food anyway.   While this is not a flattering picture of the meat it does look like a really good piece of steak, just too too raw.

[les37b]

32 minutes ago, labrasett said:

I am with you there but I hate pictures of peoples food anyway.   While this is not a flattering picture of the meat it does look like a really good piece of steak, just too too raw.

 

Wait. You mean that was cooked? I thought it just had some seasoning on it! lol

 

I'll have mine on the other end of the scale! I like me food cooked! 

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, lincslady said:

I like steaks rare, but that is going too far.

 

4 hours ago, labrasett said:

…it does look like a really good piece of steak, just too too raw.

 

3 hours ago, les37b said:

You mean that was cooked? I thought it just had some seasoning on it!

I’m awaiting the forum’s resident foodie to weigh-in on the matter. 🥩

[Daveywavey70]

Oh My drron. Each to their own but I'd have given it another minute each side on top of the radiator for my preference.