It’s All Fun and Games…until – wait oh and Books Aboard Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam
What to do to pass the time on a cruise ship? Some people come prepared with decks of cards and I have even seen some who packed games to pass the time. Others will bring books to read whilst sailing. And for the others like myself that either pack lightly or did not think to bring those things…Holland America has a couple of places around the ship that can help stave off boredom, sharpen your mind and occupy the days. Here’s what HAL’s Niuew Statendam had to offer:
LIBRARY
Recently added to the Nieuw Statendam, the library is located on the second floor by the World Stage. It is a room that is airy and bright and a welcome addition for those itineraries that are sea day heavy – definitely appreciated by those that are #teamcarry-on.
The design is bright and airy with books organized by genre with a surprisingly wide selection to choose from with most titles having multiple copies available.
Note that this was on embarkment day but when I came mid-cruise, the library definitely was noticeably sparse so head here early in your cruise if you want to borrow any books especially popular titles and why I have listed this as an embarkment/day two activity =)
There are only three seats available in the library and can provide good lighting dependent on ship direction and weather. Remember that this serves as a library so as noted on the outside sign that the books are to be borrowed only. However there is a book exchange section with a format that you may be familiar with from other cruise ships with a leave one, take one ethos.
Crow’s Nest
Located on Deck 11 (Observation Deck), the Crow’s Nest is where I would grab my flat whites in the morning. This is also where you can find a variety of games and activities in addition to the cafe/bar. I could work on a crossword whilst enjoying the beautiful scenery of this picturesque Nordics sailing. There were also multiple jigsaw puzzles set out to put together.
Upon entering the crow’s nest on the starboard side, you will find a wall of board games as well as Mahjong sets. There were many different games to choose from including Catan, Uno, Scattergories, Sorry, Scrabble, Boggle, Cribbage, Battleship and many more!
There’s also a handful of chess tables set up along the windows.
I thought these were wonderful additions for my cruise – do you find them to be as great?
Have you gone on any other HAL cruises? Are these on all the ships?
Very helpful!