The posh steakhouse at sea was overdone. So it was totally reimagined

Luxury cruise ships have long had traditional steakhouses, but a pleasing sea change has influenced their style and menus over recent years.

Do you need to don a suit to eat a steak? Should you carry a French dictionary, so you know the difference between entrecote and faux-filet? Do you have to navigate an entire cutlery set when all you’re eating is a slab of beef with modest side dishes?

The Silversea Grill.

I think not. I realise that at times, cruise guests enjoy a sense of occasion: starched tablecloth, winking cutlery, sommelier with Bible-thick menu. But for me, that moment isn’t while eating a simple steak or grilled fish.

I’ve been pleased in recent years, therefore, to find that the uptight, traditional steakhouse on top-end cruise ships has been relaxing like a perfectly done tenderloin just before it’s served.

Silversea has dispensed with a posh steakhouse altogether, replacing it with popular The Grill. It has a monastically simple menu, with mains bracketed in a small selection of salads and desserts and accompanied by vegetable skewers, fries or baked potatoes.

You order a pork chop, T-bone, rump steak or glorious pink slab of salmon, generously sized and top quality. You fling it on a hot rock and cook it yourself. For a posh vessel, the rising smoke, jumping fat and balmy sea breezes combine to create an unusual venue.

Silversea isn’t the only cruise line to recognise the growing guest mood – at least some of the time – for unpretentious eating. Shipboard steakhouses are increasingly likely to be informal or outdoors, though as focused as ever on quality cuts.

Windstar Cruises has introduced casual outdoor restaurant Star Grill by Steven Raichlen, an American backyard barbecue guru and television personality, with dishes such as pork skewers, German sausages and Texas-style brisket.

Celebrity Cruises’ Lawn Club Grill features outdoor furniture and invites guests to assist with the barbecuing. An impressive menu covers the usual steakhouse cuts but extends to kebab skewers, tandoori chicken and bratwurst too.

Only a few top-end lines have retained a dyed-in-the-wool steakhouse. Regent Seven Seas Cruises has stuck with upmarket American-style steakhouse Prime 7, which dishes up spectacular dry-aged beef and top-notch seafood.

Oceania Cruises retains Polo Grill, which has classic wood furnishings, leather seats, crisp tablecloths and superior service levels. The fare is classic too, such as Maine lobster, dry-aged steaks and Colorado rack of lamb.

But Oceania offers an alternative at Waves Grill which, although essentially a burger bar, rises to a superior level. Its menu hits all the eclectic, informal, relaxed trends that seem to be creeping across luxury cruise ships. You can order Cajun chicken, teriyaki salmon and sandwiches stuffed with slow-roasted marinated pork, Cuban style. You can tuck into lobster medallions.

Even the burgers are a cut above. You can get a wagyu beef burger with black truffle sauce, or a black Angus beef burger enriched with cheddar and bacon smoked over applewood. A satisfying bite, and no suit or French dictionary required.