La Dame- $160 pp or $320 for dinner for 2!!!!

[Lemorvan]

Just now, Rothko1 said:

 

Just a personal thing.  I like the Riedel stemware look better.

 

Yes I like Reidel and have a number of different sets of them. The glasses in the photo look similar to Zalto or Zwiesel. Going on my first Silversea cruise February and March so will see firsthand. 

[Rothko1]

8 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I don’t remember from my last Moon cruise….are they not Zalto glasses?  I’ve replaced all my Riedel with Zalto - much prefer them.

If you don't want your Riedels, send them to me.  LOL

 

I use Riedel for almost everything, except for burgundy, I have beautiful Lenox glasses for those that I snagged before they discontinued the line.

[Rothko1]

8 minutes ago, Lemorvan said:

Yes I like Reidel and have a number of different sets of them. The glasses in the photo look similar to Zalto or Zwiesel. Going on my first Silversea cruise February and March so will see firsthand. 

 

Don't get me wrong...  the ones they have are completely fine.  I just don't like the look for whatever reason, compared to Riedels cabernet glasses.

[Rothko1]

But don't get me started on stemless wine glasses...

[Tothesunset]

1 hour ago, Rothko1 said:

 

Those wine glasses always bother me, for some reason.

'Cos they're empty? 

[CruiserFromMaine]

The price of La Dame is high on the newer ships, but I recall a wine lunch on Regent that was in the $160pp range and the champagne lunch was even more, over $200pp. La Dame has always been optional and if they spiff up the offerings maybe it’ll be enough of a special event to justify the cost; hard to tell from the email how much spiffing there will be. If it’s just the same La Dame with a much higher price, it’s not worth it especially considering I’m giving up a meal in Atlantide, La Terazza, pool grill or Silver Note. I’ll miss La Dame, though.I’m not going to assume right now, though, that all ships will raise the price and make no changes to La Dame. Kaiseki is less important to me but I’ll miss it a little if it’s the same thing just more expensive. 

[Dolcevita Diva]

2 hours ago, dawntrdr said:

It is interesting that the most of the comments about La Dame and Kaiseki on these boards have been, on the whole, rather lukewarm - with a few raves and a few bad experiences.  So, instead of raising the quality so that more people are signing up, they raise the price and expect people to take their word that the quality will be worth it.  Perhaps customers will think it's better because it costs more?  They tried that by moving the spa to the Otivm concept and my experience is that it was not worth it.

 

The idea that I do like is the SALT chef's table dinners.  Although that is a big (big!) swallow at $180 per person, it is at least a new concept and includes a kind of show.  And somehow food always tastes better when it is cooked in front of you and arrives piping hot.  Many people consider the ship as the resort and don't necessarily go for the ports, so this is something for them.  That said, these offerings are for those who like and can appreciate fine wines and spirits, and that leaves out DH and me.

 

Agree that this reminds me of the approach that they took with the Otivm spa, except at least with that rollout they provided some examples of the unique experience elements that would be provided.  In this case, the rollout and communications regarding this "enhancement" have been poorly handled.

 

In the past, the upcharge for La Dame and Kaiseki were nominal and were rationalized as a means of moderating demand since those venues are small and some of the ingredients offered in those venues (e.g., Wagyu beef) are higher cost ingredients than available in the other dining rooms.  Now, these venues are being turned into revenue generators. 

Hmm, what's next on the enhancement list? 

 

Stray thought...Silversea typically has charged around $200 for the premium wine or champagne tastings aboard the ship.  Here's a thought - can we order the $90 and $140 pairings from La Dame a la carte without dining in La Dame...? (just kidding) 😎😁

Edited July 27, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva

[Rothko1]

1 hour ago, Tothesunset said:

'Cos they're empty? 

 

That's always a tragedy

[Stumblefoot]

15 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

 

• Dress Code: Kaiseki and S.A.L.T. Chef's Table will be the daily dress code, while La Dame will always be Formal.

After all the gnashing of teeth over the last month about the latest dress code topic, I do find it interesting the point the message above makes, especially considering La Dame has followed the daily dress code in the past.  Could this be the first sign that the new ships (Nova & Ray) will forgo a broader formal night designation for the ship?

[Mr Luxury]

10 hours ago, Rothko1 said:

 

Just a personal thing.  I like the Riedel stemware look better.

 

The glasses in the picture of La Dame are Reidel,they are from the wings range.

I now use Reidel Wings glasses for all vintage Champagne.

The difference to how the wine opens up is excellent.

[Fletcher]

Whenever I see the words 'tasting' and 'menu' conjoined I run a mile.  Ditto the phrase 'fine dining.' This style of eating has virtually taken over the world's smart restaurants and that has been a colossal turn-off for me. These multi-course tasting menus can be prepared mostly in advance, the food sits for hours in those deadly sous vide things, they have aggressive portion control, they are artfully presented, often leave the diner starving by the end or bored to death because they take so long to serve. They have been created by accountants to produce high profit margins.  Michelin has encouraged them so there is now a thing called 'Michelin cuisine' which has replaced French cuisine, Italian cuisine and so on.  It all looks identical, from Tokyo to London to New York - a blob of this, a smear of that, a foam of this and half an asparagus stalk. There is a glimmer of hope that some restaurants are abandoning them and returning to carte style of dining.  So when I see Silversea offering tasting menus in their pretentious Dame restaurants I think they are a few years behind the curve.  The latest surcharge is a total joke though I'm sure there might be a few gullible people out there who enjoy fancy cutlery and glassware . . . 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Fletcher

[LAL Cruiser]

Let me start by saying that I too am a bit shocked the drastic increase in the upcharge amount for La Dame and Kaiseki on Silver Nova.  My partner and I enjoy dining at each of these venues while onboard Silversea (we are very loyal passengers) and an evening at La Dame is something that we always look forward to; we never objected to the previous supplemental charges (as many seem to do) and accepted that those charges were imposed primarily to regulate demand and inventory for these intimate restaurants (although that theory became a bit harder to support when the enlarged La Dame appeared on the Moon and Dawn.)   The food and service at La Dame and Kaiseki were always exceptional in our experiences.

 

I am very curious to learn exactly what Silversea has in mind with these products - they must have something new and exciting and different planned to justify the dramatic price increases.  While I agree that Royal Carib is revenue oriented, by now, Royal understands the Silversea product and its passengers and they have realized the price increases aboard Nova (and Ray) would be controversial. (Hello, Barbara M!)  Silversea's biggest strength is its huge volume of repeat and loyal passengers - and these prices increases are not going to make that group happy unless there is a very good reason to support such price increases!  We need to wait and see what exactly is included in the La Dame and Kaiseki menus, wines and experience; I am thinking and hoping that Silversea has come up with something extraordinary that goes beyond a better cut of meat and a better glass of wine.  That La Dame is "Formal" each and every night (another controversial move in an era when it is becoming more and more difficult to enforce the daily dress code) is, I think, a big clue that dining at La Dame on the Nova (and Ray) is going to be something very special.  Royal Carib does know how to imagine and create over-the-top products (look at the Icon of the Seas or Celebrity Edge ships - these ships are not for us but are ground breaking and breathe taking) and I think that the newly recreated and very expensive La Dame will be one of those very special products; I hope that I am right.

 

The SALT Lab experience also seems interesting - this is a "Chef's Table" experience (always pricey) that I look forward to experiencing.  We generally do 12 to 16 night cruises and welcome more and more dining choices.  (That said, we are also happy on the smaller ships and enjoy dinner in the Restaurant each and every night so go figure.)  We can all agree that Nova and Ray will introduce many changes to the Silversea product and we need to be prepared for some surprises along the way.

 

We are doing the 16 night Holiday Cruise on the Silver Nova (Lima to Port Everglades with a pre-cruise adventure to Lima/Cusco/Machu Pichu) and plan on dining at La Dame, Kaiseki and doing the SALT Lab experience (if possible) - even with the increased costs.  We are curious to see what Silversea has come up with and are hoping that these restaurants (especially La Dame) will have evolved into something truly extraordinary and memorable. We shall see. (I am also curious to hear if the increased costs make their way to the other ships - I think that it is inevitable - especially on the Moon and Dawn with their larger format La Dame space.)

 

What I find strange is that on mysilversea.com for our December cruise, La Dame and Kaiseki have totally "disappeared" from the Restaurant choices on the daily reservation pages.  We are still more than 120 days from departure, so it is too early to make reservations anyway, and I assume and hope that the mysilversea.com reservation system will be updated by the time we reach the 120 day milestone. The Silversea IT department needs to get this in order in the coming weeks.

 

We are giving Silversea the benefit of the doubt for now: let's hope that the product and experience being developed for La Dame, Kaiseki, and SALT Lab on Silver Nova justify the price being imposed.

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by LAL Cruiser

[lincslady]

I agree, Fletcher.  It is obvious that this is a good way of making profits for chefs; everyone is having the same ingredients, preparation can be as you say done partly in advance, and I imagine if you keep the same menu for a while you don't need particularly good sous chefs to do them once they have been trained.  I do admit that many in the UK will ask if you are allergic to anything in advance, and offer something different, as they should.

 

Dear old Heston has just started a new one apparently, it sounds very pretentious as usual, and  of course costs a fortune.

 

I have enjoyed Chef's dinners on Seabourn, consisting of just around 5 to 6 courses of well cooked and not too messed about dishes, but some of the recent ones in the over-hyped restaurants  are ridiculous, and after you can't even remember what you had, when it is so fussy and fiddly.

[Rothko1]

26 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

Whenever I see the words 'tasting' and 'menu' conjoined I run a mile.  Ditto the phrase 'fine dining.' This style of eating has virtually taken over the world's smart restaurants and that has been a colossal turn-off for me. These multi-course tasting menus can be prepared mostly in advance, the food sits for hours in those deadly sous vide things, they have aggressive portion control, they are artfully presented, often leave the diner starving by the end or bored to death because they take so long to serve. They have been created by accountants to produce high profit margins.  Michelin has encouraged them so there is now a thing called 'Michelin cuisine' which has replaced French cuisine, Italian cuisine and so on.  It all looks identical, from Tokyo to London to New York - a blob of this, a smear of that, a foam of this and half an asparagus stalk. There is a glimmer of hope that some restaurants are abandoning them and returning to carte style of dining.  So when I see Silversea offering tasting menus in their pretentious Dame restaurants I think they are a few years behind the curve.  The latest surcharge is a total joke though I'm sure there might be a few gullible people out there who enjoy fancy cutlery and glassware . . . 

 

Thank goodness for steak houses.  Nothing beats a 32 ounce Tomahawk...

[Aussieflyer]

2 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

 

Thank goodness for steak houses.  Nothing beats a 32 ounce Tomahawk...

My lord - that is almost a kilogram. How many people are you feeding with that size? 😁

 

I seem to be in the minority and enjoy a multi course degustation menu. One of the best was at Odette in Singapore - truly memorable.

[Rothko1]

21 minutes ago, Aussieflyer said:

My lord - that is almost a kilogram. How many people are you feeding with that size? 😁

 

I seem to be in the minority and enjoy a multi course degustation menu. One of the best was at Odette in Singapore - truly memorable.

 

Yeah, that's usually for splitting, or taking home the remainder for the dogs.

[Neilio]

Just my 2 cents. The stock (RCL) price is close to all time high. Market cap is over $28B. Surely the SS acquisition has paid off for RCL. They will continue to push the pricing boundaries as demand is still extremely high post pandemic. Time will tell. But, anyone who has recently cruised or travelled knows the reality of crowds and long lines. Just as airfares have exploded so to have cruise pricing. The only pushback that RCL will care about are empty ships. For now we will continue to see prices increasing and corporate profits soaring. This won’t last forever. But, we are in a much different time for the world economy. The product (SS) is still excellent. Happy and Safe Cruising to All.

[gaspari]

Not for us at these surcharges! Hope the don’t downrate the quality in the  other restaurants, as would be the start of a slippery slope

[drron29]

1 hour ago, Aussieflyer said:

My lord - that is almost a kilogram. How many people are you feeding with that size? 😁

 

I seem to be in the minority and enjoy a multi course degustation menu. One of the best was at Odette in Singapore - truly memorable.

No another Aussie who likes degustation menus. Odette was fantastic but as we get older way too much food so we preferred Whitegrass in Singapore.

[Fletcher]

1 hour ago, Rothko1 said:

 

 Nothing beats a 32 ounce Tomahawk...

I think George Armstrong Custer said that.

[bitob]

I see how many of you are passionate about this subject. Imo most ss cruisers really don’t care that much about the 2 extra cost restaurants. There are plenty of other dining options.  I doubt the huge price increase will deter folks from booking ss   
 

I agree it might deter a lot of folks from booking those restaurants 

[lincslady]

Aussieflyer - I have just looked up the menu at Odette's, and while the dishes all look fairly elaborate (and interesting), it seemed to be a 'normal' menu, i.e.  starters, mains, and desserts, as opposed to a 10 or more tiny courses tasting menu..  So you choose as many or few courses as you want; not quite the same thing, and much more what us old fashioned types enjoy.

[commodoredave]

17 hours ago, A Tucson Guy said:

The new and improved costs for the two restaurants is currently only for the Nova and the Ray. I think if SS finds enough suckers, they will extend it to the rest of the fleet. As I posted earlier, La Dame is not the French Laundry, by a long way.

Maybe SS is adopting a variation of the New Coke marketing strategy

In order to make La Dame a more appealing option on most of their ships, SS announces a dramatic increase in prices on the Ray and Nova. When passengers on the other ships see what a "great" value La Dame is at $60 per person, they flock to the restaurant and fill all the seats, increasing SS revenue. If seats at La Dame on the Nova and Ray are not filled, SS can then announce that they are reducing prices to $90 per person on these ships in response to passenger response. Then, they can announce that in order to avoid confusion, they will be instituting a common price of $90 per person for La Dame across the fleet. Now, they can look like a cruise line that listens to its passengers while still increasing the cost of La Dame by a significant amount. 

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

One of the best was at Odette in Singapore - truly memorable.

Agree.  Excellent restaurant.  

We also enjoyed Les Amis in Singapore very much.  I will never forget the langoustine dish I had there as it was the best of my life.

[A Tucson Guy]

1 hour ago, commodoredave said:

Maybe SS is adopting a variation of the New Coke marketing strategy

In order to make La Dame a more appealing option on most of their ships, SS announces a dramatic increase in prices on the Ray and Nova. When passengers on the other ships see what a "great" value La Dame is at $60 per person, they flock to the restaurant and fill all the seats, increasing SS revenue. If seats at La Dame on the Nova and Ray are not filled, SS can then announce that they are reducing prices to $90 per person on these ships in response to passenger response. Then, they can announce that in order to avoid confusion, they will be instituting a common price of $90 per person for La Dame across the fleet. Now, they can look like a cruise line that listens to its passengers while still increasing the cost of La Dame by a significant amount. 

It's time for a mutiny!! 

Edited July 28, 2023 by A Tucson Guy