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Silver Muse

Dubrovnik

We chose this cruise as our good friends wanted to take this trip - it had been recommended to them by others - but they backed out. We knew nothing about cruises, having never been on one - except the perception that you had either the choice of: 1. Travelling with 10 million children dressed up as characters from movies; 2. Travelling with the equivalent of a floating frat party; or 3. Spending a considerable amount of time makking sure you were dressed 'suitably' for your fellow passengers.

We both needed a break, it was our 40th wedding anniversary and we decided to take a chance. After all, we both loved the cities of embarcation and departure -Dublin and Barcelona - if the ship experience was bad, we could stay in our cabin, have room service and read and watch movies.

The ship experience was amazing! We arrived by cab at the port, our suitcases were collected, we immediately went aboard and fifteen minutes later we were sitting outside, waiting for wine and fire-baked pizzas.   We bacame so relaxed over the next few days that one time we got on the elevator and after about 90 seconds, we looked at each other noting that neither of us needed to push a floor button. 

Our cabin was lovely. Each day a bottle of champagne magically appeared in our mini-fridge and my husband's shirts were perfectly starched and pressed. Mark, our butler, could not have been kinder or more thoughtful. He and Jeanette, our housekeeper, made the trip in our cabin the type of experience everyone wants. They were super. (A side story: One night, we encountered a little rougher waters and my husband needed to leave dinner at Indochine before dessert. Our waiter offered to have my dessert brought to our cabin. I was delighted and we left. When we reached our cabin, we turned on the television to watch the news...the next thing I knew, I was awake and my dessert was on the dining table in our cabin. My husband had fallen asleep, too - he didn't know what happened. We found out the next day that Mark had brought my dessert and when we didn't answer our doorbell, he quietly placed my tray on the table and left. I asked him if we were snoring - and he assured me it wasn't very loud...)

We pretty quickly settled into a relaxing routine. We arrived at Atlantide (the main dining restaurant - in addition to Indochine) each morning as they opened. Great service, charming servers and delicious offerings from an expansive menu. We went to La Terranova once for breakfast, but buffets aren't our favorites - so we stayed with Atlantide for the remainder of our trip. 

After breakfast we found comfy chairs in the Venetian Lounge and read for several hours. We were always asked if we wanted a beverage and their tea 'menu' was unbelievable.

Oh, no...it was time for lunch. Where did the morning go? (Tip: Use the stairs as much as you can to help manage the delicious meals.) 

Between lunches and dinners, we tried every restaurant. Our dinners at Indochine were delicious, but the service at Atlantide was more consistent; same story at LaTerranova. 

We ate at La Dame on our anniversary and it was worth the surcharge. While delicious, I'm not so sure I would say the same for the Japanese grill. 

The poolside Grill is super for lunch if the weather is nice. I wasn't so crazy about the 'hot rocks' for dinner, though. The woodfired pizzas were super and I could visit the gelato bar three times a day if I didn't care about weighing more than my clothes could cover.

We visited the fitness center almost every day and it was never busy. Immaculately maintained - it was compact, but met our needs. I had a massage at the beginning of the trip. The massage was excellent, but I canceled a second as I felt pressured to buy more services. I hope this comment reaches management.

We often went to the Silver Note after dinner for a night cap while we listened to the jazz duo. They were great and Danielle, the bartender made us a delicious drink - hazelnut liquor and lemon juice. She was a doll. That was the only entertainment we experienced - we go to bed early.

We met many lovely people on the ship and no one looked askance at what I wore to dinner. I should finish, by saying we enjoyed our trip so much - we have signed up for six more voyages with Silverseas in the next 16 months.

This was our first cruise ever!

Silversea is flirting with perfection with the Silver Muse and its crew.  We just completed a 13 day cruise from Dublin to Barcelona with stops also in Portugal.  This was our 5th cruise with them.  This went off seamlessly without a hitch.  I can’t imagine any other cruise line handling logistics better than they do.  Pre and post cruise hotels, transportation, embarkation, and disembarkation were all handled seamlessy, every car, every driver was there when the were supposed to be.  I can get used to going from hotel to airports in Mecrcedes limos.  Anyhow.

The star of this show is the Muse, Silversea’s new 600 passengere ship.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  Its interior is not showy at all, all muted tones, a palette of tans, greys and brown, creating a calm serene vibe.  I was apprehensive about this trip because it was a bigger ship than the other Silvesea ships we have sailed, the Whisper, Shadow and Wind which were all 300 passengers ships.  I was worried that the bigger number could play havoc with the client focused attention to detail the Silversea is noted for.  The opposite was true.  I think they have assembled their A-Team for the Muse.  They crew paid more attention to detail than on the smaller ships.  The 600 passenger ship is the future for Silversea while also going smaller with expedition ships for 100 to 200 passengers.  They just took the Spirit and cut it in half adding space bringing it up to 600 passengers.  The message here for Silversea regulars is not to fear they have lost their focus with the larger ships.  They make it work.

They also read these reviews and respond if needed, as they did by abandoning their reservations only policy for its 8 restaurants, after there was an outcry in Cruise Critic reviews, which was absolutely the right decision.  A few words about the restaurants.  The two larger dining rooms are Atlantide and Indochine.  Atlantide is what Silversea regulars with know simply as the  Restaurant.  In this case it is posher, more elegant than its equivalent on the smaller ships.  They nail it, the best food I have had on Silversea.  The menu features steaks that are all identified as to source and type-grass fed or prime, from France, Argentina etc.  The rest of the menu is what Silversea clients expect, they kill a lot of lobsters for example.  The menu does not change every night as on their other ships but that is no big deal.  Their other large restaurant is Indochine, which is a mélange of Thai, Indian, Chinese and just about every thing else under the sun.  Dishes like lobster pad thai, Malabar chicken which is a jazzed up version of the familiar chicken tikka masala, the even do a good Pho.  Unfortunately the passengers do not seem to be responding to this change of pace.  There is less demand here than in Atlantide which is a shame, because its an elegant room, sort of art-decoiswith great food.  

Also on offer is the usual La Dame, the Relais and Chateux restaurant which is reservations only, with a surcharge of $60 pp.   This is the best iteration, by far, of the three we have tried on the other ships.  Worth the money.  A tip is to make your reservations as early as possible because it tends to sell out.  The other reservations only restaurant is Kaiseki, which unfortunately doesn’t work.  It bears to close of a resemblance to a Benihana with the chef chopping and cooking food on a big grill.  I think they have already abandoned this concept, reverting to the Seishin concept found on the Silver Spirit, which was superb.  

They do have a problems with La Terrazza which is they Italian restaurant found on every none-expedition ship.  In the morning La Terarazza is the breakfast buffet.  The waiters will take orders for different types of eggs, pancakes, waffles and toasts.  The problem is that the waiters after bringing your waiter after bringing you your coffee and water, then use Ipad like device to place special orders.  These orders go to a central source and then delivered by, it seems, any other waiter available.  This results in confusion because no one is really responsible for your table, and orders seemingly get lost frequently in transition, which happened to us a few times.  

A similar problem exists with the evening version of it, which is reservation only but without a surcharge.  One night our order got completely lost and after a 45 minute wait, and several complaints the food finally came out but cold.  They also don’t change their change their menu.  This is a shame because on other ships La Terrazza is a highlight because of its fresh pasta and other Italian dishes reflective of Silversea’s Italian ownership.  On the Muse this needs some improvement.  

Also on offer is the Grill, their hot rocks concept found on all the other ships, which is an outdoor restaurant with tables aside the pool where the guests cook their food on super heated rocks.  Personally I don’t like to work for my dinner.  Other people seem not to mind it.  It too is reservation only and without a surcharge.  Above it on the deck overlooking the pool is Spaccanapoli a causal pizza only place that nails the Italian heritage thing by cooking great pizza.  

There is another restaurant, the Silver Note, a jazzy supper club kind of place which we didn’t try so no comment.  All in all the quality of Atlantide, Indochine and La Dame make for the best food in their fleet.  

Then there was a problem which turned into a real treat and reflects the crews attention to detail and service.  We were in a deluxe veranda, midship on deck 8.  On the first night we heard a grating noise that was not the usual creaking of a ship.  We complained to our butler, and there was an immediate response from the crew, who tried to find the problem.  They ended up concluding is was in the duct work in the ceiling on the suite below which they couldn't get to while it was occupied.  This resulted in a visit from the Hotel Director, who offered to put us in an Owners Suite.  Sure we said.  The butlers transferred every article in our room while we were at dinner even folding and hanging our clothes.  So we ended up in a suite bigger than most one bedroom apartments in Manhattan.  It had a dining table for eight, another dining table for four on the expansive veranda.  I would never book a suite like this unless we were doing an extended grand tour of weeks not days.  

There is one other problem I would like to point out.  I did say they read these things.  Please lose the lunch part of full day tours.  On an excursion to Granada to see the El Alhambra, which has to be on everyone’s bucket list, we stopped for lunch, which turned out to be a 4 or 5 course meal that lasted 2 ½ hours.  As if people on the cruise aren’t getting enough food.  I would rather spend the time visiting the sights.  For those who must have lunch they could provide a box lunch with beverages.  We have had similar problems on other excursions, including a disaster at beach club lunch that had a heavy metal cover band and a few hundred people from somewhere else drunk as hell dancing on the beach to horrid covers of bands like Metallica and AC/DC.  This was in Cozumel while on the Silverwind.  They ended up refunding the cost of the excursion everyone.  This again due to need the see to include lunch on all day excursions.  Lose the format, please.

All in all our experience on the Muse far exceeded our expectations.  Except for the few minor glitches I mentioned, this cruise was nearly perfect.  I can’t imagine anyone, including Silversea’s major competition, Regent, Seabourne and Crystal doing it any better.

Silversea/Silver Muse Nearly Perfect

We are long time Silversea Cruisers.  First time on Silver Muse.  It clearly represents a new direction for Silversea.  we are not sure who the cruise line is marketing too.  Let me explain.  Gone is the elegant dinning room, and in its place is a collection of dining options. 

While they represent a more modern approach to the dining experience, the new venues lack any sense of the wow factor. Comfortable, yes. Elegance, no.  In fact, the entire ship denotes a sense of soft colors, fabrics, and light paneling exuding blandness. There was a lot of use of artificial material for surfaces. Now, don't get me wrong.  This all tied together in a decorators well thought out scheme.  Unfortunately it turned out very uninspiring.  I have loved cruising-partly for the grandeur which this ship lacks. I am talking today grandeur, hip grandeur, modern grandeur, all missing.  

The staff were as fantastic as ever.  Best in industry in my opinion.

The food was OK.  Meat products we fine.  The fish was consistently over cooked and dry.  I think fish products were not left to get to room temperature before cooking thus drying out. in the cooking process.  Fish was not taken off the grill and left to finish on the plate.  We were surprised at this problem since on virtually all of our past Silversea cruises, fish was fantastic.  And yes, we did frequently and politely share our concern with ship staff.  

Now, Silversea is planning two more sister ships to Muse.  I hope there is still time to add elegance back in the mix.  By the way, did I mention the seven day menu has to go.  

Silversea has lost its way with this ship and marketing staff better make sure that young hip as well as seasoned cruisers feel they are getting ship value for their money.  

Will we sail with Silversea again?  You bet.  There still no better cruise line out there.  These comments hopefully will be helpful to the cruise line.

Bland Ship, Great staff

My husband and I traveled with my 85 year old mother and this cruise gave us memories we will never forget.

The ports we visited were fantastic.  The food and dining experience on board was spectacular.  We loved all the restaurants but probably our favorite is  Atlantide.  The quality and variety on their menu is wonderful.  We ate there for breakfast, lunch and dinner and all were magnificent.  We loved the bar there and Marilyn, the bartender, is a beautiful lady and the best bartender ever!  We loved her Margaritas and Lemon Drop Martinis.  Our waiters - Mahdi Abid, Kim, Eugene and Ayhan- truly made If unforgettable.  We forged true bonds with them all.   But again, all the restaurants are fantastic.  We love Mario, John, and Issac there. They all took such great care of us.  

But the best part of the cruise is the staff.  We met so many people that we will never forget. They are so kind and hard working and always have big smiles on their faces.  This was the absolute best part of our amazing vacation.

A Trip of a Lifetime

This was our first cruise on the Muse and we enjoyed every aspect.  The ship is beautiful and embarkation in Dublin was a breeze.  The crew was very friendly.  After reading some reviews I was a little concerned about the dining policies with no Main Dining Room, but the number of restaurants was nice and just about every meal was very good.  We had a Deluxe Verandah Suite on Deck 5 and we liked that we were near the Dolce Vita bar and just down the hall from the showroom.  We did have to miss one port (Waterford) due to weather, but an extra day in Dublin was fine.  

The ports were all very fun, we especially loved all the stops in Spain, La Coruna, Cadiz, Malaga and Barcelona.

We only attended a couple of shows and they were entertaining.  Really liked Jimmy the Cruise Director.  He made a very competitive trivia a lot of fun for all.

Can't wait for our next adventure with Silversea.

Outstanding in every way!

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