Pics of the new Nieuw Statendam Library

[newtocruiseinblue]

Just off the Nieuw Statendam Roundtrip Eastern Caribbean Dec 10th sailing and wanted to share my experience with the new library on Deck 2 by the World Stage. It was bright, peaceful, and beautiful! I loved the selection of books, checked one out and read the entire thing on the day that HMC was cancelled due to high winds. I highly recommend a visit!! 

Edited December 18, 2023 by newtocruiseinblue
Typo

[hrhdhd]

Thanks for the pictures! I went by two or three times, and it was locked up tight.

 

BTW, now you have to read It Starts with Us, which continues that story. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by hrhdhd

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[ski ww]

Nice to have a library again, especially on cruises with more sea days. 

[POA1]

12 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

Thanks for the pictures! I went by two or three times, and it was locked up tight.

 

BTW, now you have to read It Starts with Us, which continues that story. 

When we went, it appeared to be locked. The doors, which look to be regular pull doors, have a latch handle at the bottom. Turn it, and the door opens as expected.

 

I pulled the normal handle and the door didn't budge. However, we saw someone in one of the chairs, so we realized that there was another piece of the puzzle. You have to turn the latch handle first. Not an intuitive design, but we read a lot of whodunnits. 😃

[Sea42]

Thanks for sharing!

I like the bright, modern feel of it. I much prefer it to the faux, old English library design.

[syesmar]

14 hours ago, newtocruiseinblue said:

Just off the Nieuw Statendam…and wanted to share my experience with the new library on Deck 2 by the World Stage. It was bright, peaceful, and beautiful!…

Thank you for sharing! It looks lovely. Is there any noise overflow from the World Stage, or is it fairly sound proof?

[johnnyswitzerland]

Have there been other changes aboard NS?  Hoping to see the Half Moon Bar and more sophisticated design of the Club Orange dining room show up on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam to match Rotterdam VII.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

Have there been other changes aboard NS?  Hoping to see the Half Moon Bar and more sophisticated design of the Club Orange dining room show up on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam to match Rotterdam VII.

CO was not updated during the recent drydock (Nov 10-25) on NS. Some updates:

Modifications throughout the ship to be ADA compliant (wider doorways, push buttons, lower sinks, new signs,...)

Casino staircase was removed to allow for it to be expanded. 

Kids Club revamped to included a family friendly gameroom.

Spa completely redone.

Explorations Central bar redesigned.

I know I've left something out.

Other than ADA modifications (including bathrooms where applicable), cabins were not updated in terms of finishes, bedding, carpet, etc as these were still mostly in good condition. The changes were mostly in public areas.

[johnnyswitzerland]

Thanks for the detailed info, @Haljo1935.  I'm surprised she needed such extensive compliance work, being relatively new.  The curved staircase between Music Walk and the casino has been removed?  It was a beautiful focal point.  Sad to hear it.

[hrhdhd]

4 hours ago, POA1 said:

When we went, it appeared to be locked. The doors, which look to be regular pull doors, have a latch handle at the bottom. Turn it, and the door opens as expected.

 

I pulled the normal handle and the door didn't budge. However, we saw someone in one of the chairs, so we realized that there was another piece of the puzzle. You have to turn the latch handle first. Not an intuitive design, but we read a lot of whodunnits. 😃

Now you tell me. 😬

[Haljo1935]

18 minutes ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

Thanks for the detailed info, @Haljo1935.  I'm surprised she needed such extensive compliance work, being relatively new.  The curved staircase between Music Walk and the casino has been removed?  It was a beautiful focal point.  Sad to hear it.

Hotel GM Mustafa said all ships have to be compliant by 2027 and this was HALs first to be done, so many similar modifications are coming to the rest of the fleet.

Some of the changes are obvious, but others are more subtle. The removal of the casino staircase was to accommodate enlarging the casino.

The Explorations Cafe Bar is really different and looks great. It seems to make that entire area look bigger even though the overall footprint didn't change.

[saltshell]

So glad they added library to NS.

[CNSJ]

The return of a library (First Rotterdam, now NS) may be evidence that HAL is listening to passengers, and no doubt monitors this forum.  I would have preferred a more traditional wood bookshelves library, but fire codes and the more modern look were understandable drivers.

 

Better seating and lighting helps make a library.  The massive puzzle tables on the R class made the Explorations Lounge/Library so appealing.

[helby]

Koningsdam also has the library.

 

.

 

 

 

 

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, CNSJ said:

The return of a library (First Rotterdam, now NS) may be evidence that HAL is listening to passengers, and no doubt monitors this forum.  I would have preferred a more traditional wood bookshelves library, but fire codes and the more modern look were understandable drivers.

 

Better seating and lighting helps make a library.  The massive puzzle tables on the R class made the Explorations Lounge/Library so appealing.

Library was also added to Eurodam during her April drydock.

[cruisemom42]

....and Westerdam has it as well.

[CNSJ]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

....and Westerdam has it as well.

All good signs in my opinion.  Now if they would just remove those silly monitors in the front of the crow's nest and put a few more lounge chairs with ottoman's there!

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, CNSJ said:

All good signs in my opinion.  Now if they would just remove those silly monitors in the front of the crow's nest and put a few more lounge chairs with ottoman's there!

NS does not have the monitors - there's a nice unobstructed view! Pictures are on my phone and I'm not, so I'll add a couple later.

[ski ww]

7 hours ago, CNSJ said:

All good signs in my opinion.  Now if they would just remove those silly monitors in the front of the crow's nest and put a few more lounge chairs with ottoman's there!

I having been thinking the same thing. They could be at the back of the room, seating at the windows is always hard to come by.

[newtocruiseinblue]

18 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Hotel GM Mustafa said all ships have to be compliant by 2027 and this was HALs first to be done, so many similar modifications are coming to the rest of the fleet.

Some of the changes are obvious, but others are more subtle. The removal of the casino staircase was to accommodate enlarging the casino.

The Explorations Cafe Bar is really different and looks great. It seems to make that entire area look bigger even though the overall footprint didn't change.

Here are some explorations cafe pics! I loved the Christmas touches on the art installation. Someone said they removed tables by the windows and installed this art (I assume to make room for wheelchairs) 

[newtocruiseinblue]

On 12/18/2023 at 10:56 AM, syesmar said:

Thank you for sharing! It looks lovely. Is there any noise overflow from the World Stage, or is it fairly sound proof?

I apologize for the delay in answering your question. I am feverishly catching up for the Christmas holiday since returning from my cruise. While I was not in the library when there was an event going on in the world stage, I could imagine that you could probably hear some noise from it. I did not sit and read in the library but found some quiet places on board to get away and read. I did see people sitting in there and reading though. Seemed like a nice place to read. Cheers to Holland America!