ABOARD THE SILVER SPIRIT –We have been on this lovely ship for 12 days. We have sampled all of the restaurants but one, the Stars Supper Club, and we have not eaten there because it does not open for dinner until 8:30 p.m., a bit too late for us.
Considering this is a ship that carries a max of 540 passengers, there are many dining options.
The two best dining venues are at an extra charge. The top restaurant on the ship is Le Champagne, which is affiliated with Relais & Chateaux. On most cruises, reservations for the entire week are gone by 3 p.m. on embarkation day. They only serve 24 people per evening. It is a genuine, multi-course gourmet experience and well worth doing on your cruise. They offer a fine wine list if you want to go that route, however, the ship’s complimentary wines are available. The up-charge is $30 per person, well worth it. The chef in this restaurant is Luciano Bonci, from England.
Most people I have talked with have eaten here once during the cruise, often celebrating a birthday or anniversary. Because of the small number of people on this cruise, maître ‘d Carl Promnitz said people could eat there more than once but I don’t think many have.
The second restaurant is an Asian fusion offering called Sheisin. The chef is Rommel Celon of the Philippines and the centerpiece of the room is an octagonal cooking station in the center of the room where the chef prepares sushi, sashimi and other delicacies.
This restaurant is also tiny (seats 24) and seems to have many repeaters. The charge is $20 for a four-course meal or $30 for the nine-course “degustation.” Of course, we tried the whole meal and by the time we got to the wagyun beef at the end we were full. What is nice is that they allow you to freely substitute your courses, so I swapped sushi for tempura-fried prawns. Everything we tried was excellent.
Other dinner options on board include the main restaurant, La Terrazza, The Grill and the Stars Supper Club.
The main restaurant is a bit of a letdown. Simply called “The Restaurant,” its ceilings are low and the décor is bland. It serves a full menu and we have found everything to be good, as expected on Silversea. We have only eaten here two evenings during this 14-day cruise. Tonight is the final formal night and we will dine there again. It is a better venue when you have a larger group.
La Terrazza is a multi-use facility. It is a buffet for breakfast and lunch (although you may order the food brought to you by waiters), then turns elegant for high tea each afternoon and is converted into an Italian restaurant each evening. There is no upcharge here. We have eaten here several evenings as we like both the venue (you can eat outdoors) and the menu.
Another outdoor option is The Grill. This is a large balcony that overlooks the pool area. During the evenings, a list of meats and seafood is presented and your choices are brought to you on a “hot rock” and you cook your entrée to its desired doneness.
After being a bit skeptical, we tried this a couple of nights ago and found it enjoyable and the food very good. Chet has a rib steak and I had a filet.
All meals are served with a choice of salad, a baked potato (with trimmings) and a skewer of grilled veggies. There is also a choice of desserts. Live music is a nice addition.
The simplicity of the menu makes this dining option work very well. Although they place the wooden cooking platter right in front of you, we found it easier to move it to the side and eat our meal off of an additional plate. This might be harder to do if you had four or more at your table, but works fine for two. (See photo) Again, there is no upcharge for this and the balcony was full the night we were there. We plan to dine there tomorrow night, our last night.
The Stars Supper Club, which we have not tried, serves a tapas menu after 8 p.m. and a jazz duo performs. We might stop in there for a nightcap tonight. Now we are off to a pub lunch in the bar…
Photos by Cynthia Boal Janssens
November 28, 2012
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
