Libraries on HAL ships

[Novice Senior]

Have any of you made use of HAL libraries? Our 30 day cruise on Ryndam will have several long stretches at sea. I'd hate to use up too much on my precious luggage allowance with books -- even paperbacks. In the past I've picked up light fiction at garage sales and simply left behind in hotel rooms finished books.

I enjoy more serious fiction and travel journals. Can we count on a fairly good selection of recent books in the library?

[f-mattox]

We were recently on Veendam, sister to Ryndam, and were very pleased with the variety of genres and number of selections in the ship library.

Even more impressive was the knowledge and helpfulness of the library attendant. We wanted to do a little research on a couple of historical sites in Denmark to which we had a familial connection. The attendant not only directed us to several useful volumes, but actually became interested in our pursuit and helped with the research. Most impressive!

[Novice Senior]

Your response has just made additional space available in my suitcase.

Thanks

[Crusin' fools]

The Ryndam has a wonderful library. They even have a paperback book exchange so you can trade off any you bring with you. The music listening stations in the library are wonderful for just sitting and gazing out at the ocean and playing your favorite music wilst reading the latest fiction or updated info on your ports of call. The library attendant can be extremely helpful and we have found them all to be well informed and supportive.

[Novice Senior]

Thanks again, for more reassuring advice. I will limit myself to bringing a couple of starter books.

Ruth

[mickeyd]

I thought that the Statendam's library had a pretty limited collection during out July cruise. They had a pretty good travel collection but not much depth in any other ares IMHO.

[Novice Senior]

Thanks for the recent update on libraries. We plan to bring along a few paperbacks to get us started, hope to be able to trade and then sift through the library.

We'll have 4 sea days before reaching Hawaii, and if desperate could buy more there.

Ruth