janmcn Posted February 16, 2018 #1 Share Posted February 16, 2018 For the Powers That Be in management: Libraries with books are still wanted...and used! An informal small analysis of two rows of the main theater (folks waiting for the show) showed most people reading REAL books. Those on electronic devices were playing games. I saw nobody reading a Kindle and nobody was reading a book on a device. Keep the libraries with books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hflors Posted February 16, 2018 #2 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I agree!!! I am just hoping they haven't taken the library out of Rotterdam when we sail her next year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT1962 Posted February 16, 2018 #3 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) For the Powers That Be in management: Libraries with books are still wanted...and used! An informal small analysis of two rows of the main theater (folks waiting for the show) showed most people reading REAL books. Those on electronic devices were playing games. I saw nobody reading a Kindle and nobody was reading a book on a device. Keep the libraries with books! To each his own, but I would prefer to see money spent on better and more entertainment offerings than on more books. I use a tablet and love it. Also, from other posts I have read, dozens of books “disappear” each cruise due to people failing to return them before leaving the ship. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Edited February 16, 2018 by JT1962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted February 16, 2018 #4 Share Posted February 16, 2018 We read real books!! No kindles or nooks for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicfairy Posted February 16, 2018 #5 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 more here for real paper books. The feel of a book and the anticipation of turning the next page. Can't get that by touching a button. We don't need to worry about the battery dying or the paper getting a little wet either. Nope my daughter and I still enjoy a good paper book. Ps I'm 51 & she is 25. Sent from my LGMP450 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted February 16, 2018 #6 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I'm also a book lover. But when you see what is been done on ships going in for dry dock, the library is slowly been done away with. It's the longer cruises where this is been felt the most. Sad. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare puppycanducruise Posted February 16, 2018 #7 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I love real books too. But, I also use a kindle. On most cruises, I bring several paperbacks, read them and leave them in the library on the ship for someone else. I'm sure others do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobpell Posted February 16, 2018 #8 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Our CD on the KDAM last Oct. was asked in a Q&A about the lack of books and whether more were on the way. He stated due to torn, taken or stained books that cost HAL thousands a year to replace that there was a shift towards an electronic library. So I ask all who finish their soft or hard cover books during a cruise to drop them off for others to enjoy. Thanks Bob:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comcox Posted February 16, 2018 #9 Share Posted February 16, 2018 To the "powers that be": I won't sail on any ship that does not have a library! Period! So if you are taking or have taken the library out of any of your ships let me know immediately as I will be cancelling any bookings I have or are thinking about booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare albingirl Posted February 16, 2018 #10 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I like both but when I travel it's so much easier to load up my kindle with a lot of books. Especially for a long cruise. I also bring a few paperbacks, and donate them, but using the kindle is handy. However, it is really nice to go to a well stocked library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocketMan275 Posted February 16, 2018 #11 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I wouldn't dream of going on a cruise reliant upon someone else's opinion of something I might like to read. I can go through a book a day so I'll load my IPad prior to the cruise with several books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted February 16, 2018 #12 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I went to a Q&A on K'dam recently. When she goes in for her routine drydock, she is supposed to get 700 books. This announcement was met with vigorous applause. (Although, looking at the design of the new Crows nest, it looks like a half dozen here, a half dozen there, not anything organized) We travel with paperbacks and put them in the book swap when we finish. I have a kindle on my tablet, but DH doesn't like digital books. Yes, a library is someone else's choice of books, but that's OK. I'll browse and take a chance on a new (to me) author. Worst case, I don't like it and get a different book the next day, but more often than not I've been happy with library books. I've found some good "reads" on ship libraries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowinc Posted February 16, 2018 #13 Share Posted February 16, 2018 We take paperbacks and our Kindles, but part of our boarding ritual is to visit the ship's library and (hopefully) find something to read. Although there have been times when nothing appealed to us, the trip up there forms a part of our routine of waiting to board, checking out the room, confirming reservations for this and that, and visiting the MDR to ascertain our assigned table. The library area is pleasing to us because it is visually attractive, but largely because it forms a part of that established ritual, and is a "fun" thing that confirms to us that we are at last onboard. We enjoy it, but I am sure that we will find something else to do if for some reason the Powers That Be should remove the library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa Girl Posted February 16, 2018 #14 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I agree!!! I am just hoping they haven't taken the library out of Rotterdam when we sail her next year.... If it wasn't taken out at the time of drydock last fall, you will probably find it intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa Girl Posted February 16, 2018 #15 Share Posted February 16, 2018 To each his own, but I would prefer to see money spent on better and more entertainment offerings than on more books. I use a tablet and love it. Also, from other posts I have read, dozens of books “disappear” each cruise due to people failing to return them before leaving the ship. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Why does it have to be one or the other? Glad you like your tablet. I love my ebook. But it doesn't replace the joy of perusing the books in a well stocked library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted February 16, 2018 #16 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 more here for real paper books. The feel of a book and the anticipation of turning the next page. Can't get that by touching a button. We don't need to worry about the battery dying or the paper getting a little wet either. Nope my daughter and I still enjoy a good paper book. Ps I'm 51 & she is 25. Sent from my LGMP450 using Forums mobile app Yeah, that does ruin library books. Many of the books that have to be replaced at the library are books with water damage. While I always have a hard copy book that I'm reading at home, I never travel with one. My Kindles are so much lighter and more compact I'd never go back to traveling with a "real" book. As for a ship library, I think they are a great feature. But I would not base my vacation decision on whether or not ship has one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted February 16, 2018 #17 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I like the library as a quite place to go but have never even touched a book there. I can carry the Library of Congress on my iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockman Posted February 16, 2018 #18 Share Posted February 16, 2018 A good ship library can be a bit of a refuge...a place to sit in relative peace & quiet in nice comfy chairs and good lighting. The type of refuge that seems to be getting harder to find on too many ships. Seems to me that the take one leave one paperbacks small shelf or two on most ships are overflowing with extra donated books. Why not expand to ten or twelve shelves for used paperbacks? Cost the cruise line nothing but a nice addition for many book lovers. I always leave at least 3 or 4 paperbacks on every cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted February 16, 2018 #19 Share Posted February 16, 2018 As I've said on several other library threads, I have particular likes in terms of reading materials, and I love having my Kindle with hundreds of books at my fingertips (reference books as well as novels and nonfiction works related to ports, etc.) However, I do think a nice library is a good thing -- especially one with atlases, reference books that are itinerary-relevant, classic literature, etc. It seems in the mind of a lot of HAL posters that the library is also synonymous with a cozy place to read. Again, not something I really use. I'd prefer a shady outdoor spot on a nice day at sea. On a not-so-nice day I still think there are better places.... So I guess to sum up, finding a nice library on a ship would be a bonus, but certainly not any kind of a requirement for me. And I really don't get the whole "must have a 'real' book" thing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelnap Posted February 16, 2018 #20 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I usually bring 6 or 7 paperbacks with me each cruise, and I always leave them in the book exchange place in the library. Since I will read 2 or 3 books a day on sea days, I do appreciate it when others do the same, as I couldn't pack that many books. Yes, sometimes you have to search for something to read in the book exchange but I have found some new authors that I hadn't read before and liked what I read. I don't care for the E-readers as they are not as enjoyable to me as a real book is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted February 16, 2018 #21 Share Posted February 16, 2018 The reason we like the libraries -- I would never buy DH a Kindle or a Nook. He tends to fall asleep while reading and the books drop to the fall or onto the patio at home. The Kindle or Nook would be ruined in a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted February 16, 2018 #22 Share Posted February 16, 2018 The reason we like the libraries -- I would never buy DH a Kindle or a Nook. He tends to fall asleep while reading and the books drop to the fall or onto the patio at home. The Kindle or Nook would be ruined in a day. There are some very good protective cases and covers out there for Kindles (and tablets). Otterbox, for example, which has been a highly regarding and durable phone cover for years also makes models for Kindles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted February 16, 2018 #23 Share Posted February 16, 2018 No library? Horror! I often find interesting new authors in the ship's library. I also bring my kindle which is loaded with library books from home, but they don't last throughout a long cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted February 16, 2018 #24 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I'm also a book lover. But when you see what is been done on ships going in for dry dock, the library is slowly been done away with. It's the longer cruises where this is been felt the most. Sad.Allan No library? Horror! I often find interesting new authors in the ship's library. I also bring my kindle which is loaded with library books from home, but they don't last throughout a long cruise. Exactly! on a short cruise it's not a big deal as you can bring your own, your kindle, whatever. On a longer cruise with some sea days it's a different kettle of fish. So glad we will be on a ship for our next 28 days with a lovely library ;) and reference books ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr328 Posted February 16, 2018 #25 Share Posted February 16, 2018 HAL is in the business of making money. Stocking a library is a cost with no offsetting revenue. The library space on a ship is a lost opportunity for revenue in that a venue or additional cabin can’t be there. Buy an e-book reader and load up multiple books or pack enough physical books. Your local library offers free or extremely discounted e-books. I personally would rather pick my content before cruising than be subject to limited selection on a ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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