We are long time Silversea cruisers with nearly 400 days and have always defended them. Not any more. We enjoyed our recent cruise but it was hit and miss at best and considerably down market. Forget the dress code, jeans and tracksuits in the restaurant on informal and even formal nights. Guests were scruffy and dare I say unwashed! I actually began to dress down as I wondered why I bothered changing for dinner, no one else did. Even the Captain looked a tad scruffy.

They have obviously taken on a lot of new staff, which the old guard of Philippine waiters and bar staff are struggling to train on the job with varying degree of success. Meal times have descended into chaos, and the head waiters are bossy, loud and cause more trouble than they are worth. We could not understand why some of the wonderful waiters we have sailed with for over 20 years seemed depressed and sad, but it all became evident when we could see the challenges presented. Apparently these new staff are being paid more money than the experienced staff who are expected to train them. No wonder they are in their boots and feel very hurt.

Food in the restaurant was hit and miss, some days amazing, others mediocre at best. But the biggest complaint I have yet again is the fact there is no fresh fish. Sailing through the richest fishing waters in the world with the best fish imaginable available in each port we visited and we were served frozen fish and shellfish each night, some inedible! We had the same experience on the Muse in Alaska. Despite the excuses of the head waiter and F&B manager, this is not red tape and local challenges it is totally down to Silversea management. Other ships can do it, in fact we saw fresh fish being loaded onto the Celebrity ship berthed next door. Read more