Q – We have been following your ratings and rankings of the top, the very top, worldwide cruise lines and we are excited to be trying Silversea in 2026 on a wonderful itinerary. You rank them as second best in the World – high praise. But on one of threads I follow I see that Silversea is now charging for dinners – something that doesn’t compute with its high per diems. I can afford whatever they charge but I would really like to know what my additional dining costs will be on the Dawn from Split to Lisbon? By the way, your telephone number is tough to find and I recently discovered you are unlisted. Who the hell is your Marketing Manager?
A – We now have cruise lines that are engaged in partnerships with top-line Michelin chefs and some of the options on the very top lines in our rankings are now charging for dining that really goes beyond the normal gourmet experience. Some of the “extra charge” dining experiences come with or offer extraordinary wine flights for those so-inclined. What we look for in our rankings is just how necessary is it for guests on a five star line to avoid paying anything extra to dine while still enjoying a “better than the restaurants at home”.
Here is a point often missed by cruisers: Your best restaurant at home normally gets deliveries on Monday/Tuesday and/or Thursday/Friday. Weekend food is rarely fresh. But on most itineraries, the Chef and staff make runs into local markets and pick out groceries and proteins that are fresh and meet their high standards. So you are often dining on better overall ingredients, like fish less than 24 hour sold, when you dine aboard one of the five-star’s on our list.
On your cruise, there are five restaurants that carry no additional charge. They are: Atlantide – La Terrazza – Silver Note – The Grill – Spaccanapoli
There are the extra charge dining options and the current pricing:
- Salt Kitchen – Stands for “Sea and Land Taste”. This is a “culinary voyage into local cuisine and culture. It is normally $230 Per Guest. It is worth trying once but we find that our “Foodies” like to dine in this venue more than once during a voyage.
- La Dame – Truly French with some great DNA, $160 Per Person at the moment.
- Kaseki – A serious Japanese venue at $80 per person. Some of the discussion revolves around the fact that Crystal does not charge for its sushi bar.
So – is there kickback about these extra charges? Really very little. Food costs are hard to predict almost two years ahead of a sailing and extra charge dining options seem to be ingrained in portions of the lux cruise experience.
Our telephone numbers have been generally unlisted for forty years. Our Marketing Manager, one A.V. Churchill, has never felt that we should be accessible. A.V. is very British and will not book anyone on any travel unless it is to Great Britain or its (Empire) and reachable by British Airways. But always feel free to reach out to us at 630-717-7777. We’ll make sure that A.V. doesn’t answer the phone. After 40 years, he still does not know quite how to work the phones.
