Why is Silk Den So Underused?

[sail7seas]

We have sailed Eurodam five cruises and now two weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam. We think Silk Den a beautiful bar on both ships and unlike any others on the ships.

 

Yet so many times, the place is deadly quiet. Time and again, we were among only 6-10 people there.

 

We also noticed that Eurodam has at least six more seats at the bar than Nieuw Amsterdam and can't figure out why they left one side of the bar with no stools?

 

We can't figure out why almost no one goes there..... any have a thought about it?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We cruised on the Nieuw Amsterdam just about at the same time you did this year.

It was always busy and crowded when we were there.

In fact many times we weren't able to get a pre-dinner cocktail at 5 PM because the mixology classes were always held there and many of the people just stayed over for cocktails.

Even after dinner we sometimes had a hard time getting a table by the windows for cordials.

[CTBob]

We have sailed Eurodam five cruises and now two weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam. We think Silk Den a beautiful bar on both ships and unlike any others on the ships.

 

Yet so many times, the place is deadly quiet. Time and again, we were among only 6-10 people there.

 

We also noticed that Eurodam has at least six more seats at the bar than Nieuw Amsterdam and can't figure out why they left one side of the bar with no stools?

 

We can't figure out why almost no one goes there..... any have a thought about it?

It is well hidden except for those who go to Tamarind to eat. Took me three days to get to it on the Nieuw Amsterdam and there was almost no one there. It was a great spot to relax in peace and quiet. But if it doesn't get more use they will probably change the purpose of that space in the future. Until then I hope to enjoy it on my Eurodam cruise next year.

[trophy_23]

Both times on the Eurodam it was dead also. I think maybe some people just forget that it is there because it is a bit out of the way.

[sail7seas]

We are always late traditional dining and now on seven weeks between Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam, of the times we went there for pre-dinner cocktail, the room was echoing it was so empty.

 

We would watch people enter and leave Tamarind and just about none of them stopped for a pre or post dinner drink.

 

Too bad as they are beautiful lounges IMO

 

[Expo67]

A nice secret as we enjoyed martini's there each evening with a beautiful view. I thought that overall that all the bars were quite empty when we walked through them on the Nieuw Amsterdam last week. Perhaps we just walked through at the wrong time but they seem quite vacant. The only bar that seemed to get used a lot was the Aft Sea View bar. My guess would be that maybe it is because of the tighter smoking policy at bars. :confused:

[sail7seas]

We also noticed the bars were not busy but I think it because many are drinking in their cabins...... either liquor they brought aboard (snuck ?) or purchased for their cabins.

 

On board revenue seems to be very low from a casual observer's viewpoint. People seek the lowest prices they can get for their cabins and spend as little as they can while on board. They aren't doing a lot of 'side spending' it appears.

 

Not a criticism or even anything about which I have an opinion. I say this strictly as an observation of what we noticed during our two weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam. I suspect there was not a boom in revenue.

 

 

[terrydtx]

I noticed the same thing last week on the NA. We went up for drinks one night after dinner to the Silk Den with our group of 6 and it was empty. We had drinks and did a lot of laughing and asked the bar server if we were making too much noise and he said not at all as it was nice to have for once a lively group enjoying them selves. This was after the sail away from San Juan and the same server told us the bar had been way too quiet all week.

[DFD1]

It's a bit off the beaten path. Not as convenient for a casual stop-over drink as some of the others. It's more of a destination and it's decor may be a bit dressy for daytime use.

 

We like it a lot and use it almost every afternoon. It's a good alternative if the Ocean Bar is too busy or loud.

 

IMO

[Boytjie]

On our RSVP charters bars are always very busy but I also noticed that the Silk Den was very quiet. It was nice to find a quiet place to hang out, though.

 

I also think that it is out of the way and many don't know about it - or the Tamarind.

[RovinBee]

We went there and it was very comfortable, very pretty but it must have been during a time when no service was offered since we were never waited on. The views were gorgeous and the banquet maybe a little too comfy since we felt lulled to nap. It would have a great appetizers & cocktail spot but honestly, we were often too tired to do much more than get our regular meals and shore time fun. We'll definitely try again on our next cruise though!

[celle]

It is well hidden except for those who go to Tamarind to eat. Took me three days to get to it on the Nieuw Amsterdam and there was almost no one there. It was a great spot to relax in peace and quiet. But if it doesn't get more use they will probably change the purpose of that space in the future. Until then I hope to enjoy it on my Eurodam cruise next year.

 

We like it that way! It's a beautiful, quiet place to relax and avoid the crowds.

[WNcruiser]

We will definately be going there this week while on Eurodam. I don't mind if it's quiet, we will just enjoy the views...

[jtl513]

The Silk Den was never very busy when we saw it on our 12 days on the N.A.

I think the Pinnacle Bar and Explorer's Lounge may pick up some pre-dinner business from people waiting for a specific sized Open Seating table in the MDR, and some post-dinner business from people who stop to listen to the Adagio Strings for a while. Since the Tamarind is all reservations, the S.D. doesn't get that kind of pre-dinner drop-in traffic passing by, and it has no music to draw in post-diners.

If HAL does decide the S.D. doesn't get enough use as a bar, it could easily be made an expansion of the Tamarind, which could use the space!

[KirkNC]

Maybe they should have some Happy Hour's there like the Ocean Bar and Crow's Nest. That will get some folks there. We are on our first Signature class cruise in a few months, the SD sounds like a wonderful place for our pre-dinner libation ;).

 

Kirk

[sail7seas]

We are always late Traditional Dining (8 P.M.) and never have happy hour offers. We go for our pre-dinner drink at about 7:15. We found Pinnacle Bar and Silk Den quiet every time we went. Ocean Bar had horrible music we avoided but Explorer's Lounge was nice. There were a few more people at Explorer's than Pinnacle Bar but I'm starting to really believe people are carting their own liquor and are drinking in their cabins or carrying around glasses they poured themselves or are not drinking.

 

[canadianbear]

We discovered the Silk Den after eating at the Tamarind and it was dead-no one in there except staff. It was absolutely beautiful-I thought quite stunning but we never did have a drink there as we ran out of time. I hope they don't do away with it but also hope people do go there or they will close it down and put something else there.

[ANSalberg]

We have sailed Eurodam five cruises and now two weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam. We think Silk Den a beautiful bar on both ships and unlike any others on the ships.

 

Yet so many times, the place is deadly quiet. Time and again, we were among only 6-10 people there.

 

We also noticed that Eurodam has at least six more seats at the bar than Nieuw Amsterdam and can't figure out why they left one side of the bar with no stools?

 

We can't figure out why almost no one goes there..... any have a thought about it?

 

SSSSSShhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Himself]

I have a question: Are the drinks Pacific Rim drinks or is it a regular bar? FYI, I usually drink Whiskey Sours. Do they have them there?

[sail7seas]

They do all the 'regular' drinks as well as a full saki menu.

[Globaliser]

I agree: it's because it's out of the way. Unless you're eating in Tamarind, it's a long way to get there and a long way to get back. There's no passing trade, as it were.

 

But I also agree that it's a shame, because it's such a lovely and attractive space.

[ASIWISH]

We have noticed the same thing on both the Eurodam and the NA... We asked the Bartenders and he mentioned that most people don't know it's there, and towards the end of the cruise more people wander up.

 

Last month - GOD, HAS IT BEEN A MONTH ALREADY!!! UUGH - it was virtually empty. We have pre-dinner drinks from 5:30-7, then show, the dinner.

 

They had the LGBT events up there, nightly... and even they were only attended by a couple people.

 

We love it up, there... and agree that we should keep it a secret! The music in the Ocean Bar is horrible, but we love to watch the dancers. I wish the Pinnacle Bar was more crowded, but never saw more than 5-6 people there. I wish we could could stay up late enough to see the Northern Lights, but head to bed after an after-dinner walk...

 

Interesting though on the people drinking their own booze in their cabins... never thought about that!!!

[Typhoon1]

It is always dead up there.

 

My guess is most people don't even know it exists. If you don't dine at Tamarind, you might never see Silk Den.

[sapper1]

I know it is there and it is lovely but it is so out of the way that I don't think about it. We like to have our pre dinner drinks in the Ocean Bar where we can watch the "parade" going by. We just like to have people around. The Tamarind is lonely.

[lovetocruise2020]

We love the Silk Den

We have booked it for our group, we are doing a private pre-lunch (Tamarind) cocktail hour there before sailing into San Juan. :)