HAL library content on Alaska ships

[oaktreerb]

Do the ships currently sailing in Alaska have a lot of books about the history of Alaska or what life is like for those who live in Alaska?   Our 28 day solstice cruise is coming up and I’m hoping to find some educational books in the Westerdam onboard library to enhance our voyage.  (I did find an Alaska related book hidden in a library cabinet on the K’s Hawaii voyage).   In local bookstores (Juneau and Ketchikan) there are a lot of books written by Alaska authors, both fiction and nonfiction.  I hope there will be some onboard.   One question asked by Roll Call members is for recommendations for books about Alaska.

[RuthC]

21 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

One question asked by Roll Call members is for recommendations for books about Alaska.

Absolutely, positively, read James Mitchener's Alaska. What a thrill to read about the places and then see them.

Dead Horse Gulch was especially impressive the first time I saw it. I swear, the grass was still tamped down from all the people and horses who had walked that path. (it is out of Skagway, on the train ride up the mountain.) 
To see the facade of the Arctic Brotherhood Lodge, and know the story behind it is fun. (also Skagway; right in town.) 

[SilvertoGold]

Not sure about the books for Alaska but the Noordam had very few non-fiction books when we sailed in April this year. The Library was fantastic, a huge plus for cruisers, but it had mostly fiction. A lot of "coffee table" sized/type of books that I didn't pay attention to: wrong place, wrong time, but I read 7 older non-ficition books in 39 days and really loved this new Library.

I am not sure anyone has much time to read on an Alaska cruise, but I do hope HAL has some books on Alaska!

[dockman]

3 hours ago, RuthC said:

Absolutely, positively, read James Mitchener's Alaska. What a thrill to read about the places and then see them.

Dead Horse Gulch was especially impressive the first time I saw it. I swear, the grass was still tamped down from all the people and horses who had walked that path. (it is out of Skagway, on the train ride up the mountain.) 
To see the facade of the Arctic Brotherhood Lodge, and know the story behind it is fun. (also Skagway; right in town.) 

Agree.  Michener's Alaska to me is a very good read that does a good job of relating much of the people and events that helpe mold Alaska for centuries.  I have read it several times usually just prior to yet another Alaska cruise.

[oaktreerb]

Anybody currently on the Westerdam?  This cruise is supposed to be an EXC cruise.  I’m wondering if the library will enhance our Alaska adventure.

[WriterOnDeck]

21 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

I am not sure anyone has much time to read on an Alaska cruise, but I do hope HAL has some books on Alaska!

The Solstice cruise the OP refers to has 14 sea says, so we should have some opportunities to read!

[QuattroRomeo]

On Noordam now so will check.

[SilvertoGold]

26 minutes ago, WriterOnDeck said:

The Solstice cruise the OP refers to has 14 sea says, so we should have some opportunities to read!

Surprisingly, we were on the Koningsdam for a month of 7 day Alaska cruises and found little time to read - we were amazed at how intensive the days were and how quickly the time went past!! The 7 day cruises do have their drawbacks! Have a great time!!

[WriterOnDeck]

4 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

Surprisingly, we were on the Koningsdam for a month of 7 day Alaska cruises and found little time to read - we were amazed at how intensive the days were and how quickly the time went past!! The 7 day cruises do have their drawbacks! Have a great time!!

Yep, big difference in 7-day B2Bs and longer cruises. Thanks!

[QuattroRomeo]

I looked at all of the shelves I could find on Noordam, and saw exactly one  Alaska book!

 

[oaktreerb]

3 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

I looked at all of the shelves I could find on Noordam, and saw exactly one  Alaska book!

 

Thank you for checking!  It was published in 2020 so relatively current.

I wonder who chose that title!  Thank you for doing the research for me. 

Have a great time on your cruise!

[Stpatsirish]

A great book to read before you go is Klondike by Pierre Burton, all about the gold rush

[dockman]

4 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

I looked at all of the shelves I could find on Noordam, and saw exactly one  Alaska book!

 

If that is somehow supposed to be a library it is truly pathetic.

[oaktreerb]

19 hours ago, dockman said:

If that is somehow supposed to be a library it is truly pathetic.

 The newly reestablished HAL libraries are pretty nice.  You can find multiple copies of some current titles.   I was hoping that an Alaska cruise would have Alaska themed books.  That does not seem to be the case for 7 day itineraries.  

[dockman]

42 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

 The newly reestablished HAL libraries are pretty nice.  You can find multiple copies of some current titles.   I was hoping that an Alaska cruise would have Alaska themed books.  That does not seem to be the case for 7 day itineraries.  

I hope the new version of HAL libraries is not like the pic of the Noordam "library" above (dated 5/27?)...that is a display of  coffee table books and certainly not what most would call a library with at least a few hundred ++ copies of a variety of fiction, non fiction, etc....I do look forward to the return of real libraries on all HAL ships.  Can someone post a pic of what the new libraries look like please.  Thanks

[Radbooks]

The new libraries are great! There are many books, mostly new and popular sorts of things. I think that picture was just to show the ONE book that was about Alaska. I will say that if you want a book, go to the library early. I saw people walking out with four and five books. It left the shelves sort of bare in some areas.

[dockman]

6 minutes ago, Radbooks said:

The new libraries are great! There are many books, mostly new and popular sorts of things. I think that picture was just to show the ONE book that was about Alaska. I will say that if you want a book, go to the library early. I saw people walking out with four and five books. It left the shelves sort of bare in some areas.

That is great news...i actually gave up on HAL for several years as 4 star in part because of no library....now if we can get them to not do away with all the wide promenade decks with nice teak loungers.  Maybe they do sometimes listen to clients concerns?

[QuattroRomeo]

2 hours ago, dockman said:

Can someone post a pic of what the new libraries look like please.  Thanks

 

Start here in my review for the full Noordam library:

 

[albingirl]

11 hours ago, Radbooks said:

The new libraries are great! There are many books, mostly new and popular sorts of things. I think that picture was just to show the ONE book that was about Alaska. I will say that if you want a book, go to the library early. I saw people walking out with four and five books. It left the shelves sort of bare in some areas.

I hate to be like the police, but wouldn't it be nice if people would limit themselves to one or two books to borrow rather than four or five?  It's like anything else, the more you take, the less for others.

[SilvertoGold]

57 minutes ago, albingirl said:

I hate to be like the police, but wouldn't it be nice if people would limit themselves to one or two books to borrow rather than four or five?  It's like anything else, the more you take, the less for others.

There was a sign in the Noordam Library that noted one book at a time could be taken out. Without any kind of public-library-style check-out system pax will do what they please. I was overjoyed to see this fantastic library (what an improvement!)  and could always find two books, one for each of us.

Edited May 29 by SilvertoGold

[Woofbite]

On 5/27/2024 at 8:33 AM, oaktreerb said:

Anybody currently on the Westerdam?  This cruise is supposed to be an EXC cruise.  I’m wondering if the library will enhance our Alaska adventure.

 

I just got off the Westerdam from Japan and was on the Zuiderdam African trip last year.  Both had similar libraries and books - none or few relating to the destination so I think the book selection is common to the stocked libraries.  As the cruise progressed, books related to various places we visited started showing up in book exchange section.