Darn Darn Darn!

[cat-tav]

The difficulty of traveling with enough books to read--especially considering airline weight restrictions--is one of the reasons I bought a Kindle. Now I can always carry a couple of hundred books in my purse and I never run out of something to read and I don't have to depend on a sometimes undependable library or staff.

[caribill]

Look what is happening: Borders is closing it's stores. Barnes and Noble suffering great financial problems.

 

 

 

That is not due to a lack of people reading.

 

It is due to internet purchase of real books and the introduction of the Kindle and its imitators.

[Nancyquilts]

Azamara and X have libraries open 24/7.

[Pam in CA]

Is this another problem with the Sapphire’s CD? Every where I look on this board there’s another complaint about the Sapphire’s CD. If you can believe all of the posts, he must really suck:(

I wasn't going to point the finger, but yeah. Anything that relates to passenger onboard entertainment/activities/interests is his overall responsibility. There are three primary roles on the ship: ship operations, hotel (which includes dining) and entertainment. I don't know the specific titles or designations but those are the generalizations. The CD is responsible for everything related to the passenger's onboard experience other than dining and "hotel".

[Cruisin' Chick]

the library is in the Internet Cafe on the Golden. Looking at a random Patters for our last cruise, the library was open 11am to noon and 4pm to 5pm on a port day. And 10am to noon and 3pm to 5 pm on a sea day. Don't know if this is the schedule for all the days.

 

I'm particular about my reading material on cruises (even though not necessarily particular about quality as I usually bring at least one chick lit book) so I'll bring enough books as well as a puzzle magazine to suit me. I was thinking about getting a kindle or other e-reader before my next cruise just to save on space. Maybe get some of my guide books for the ports on it too.

[drandyl]

Hmmm...maybe you could have just traveled to your local library and browsed and read all day and saved all that cruise money????

 

I am trying to figure out if you were serious.... or just joking.

 

If you were serious you certainly did not contribute anything of value to this thread or to the concerns of a fellow cruiser.

 

We were on the Sapphire in December and found the same issues... Some of the input on this thread has been very helpful.

[u2cruiser]

It beggars belief that books have to be locked up, but I can understand why, if the laundry sheet story is anything to go by :(

Why, when most of us don't even want to lug our finished books home, so donate them, would anyone choose to steal them? How could anyone enjoy a stolen book at home with the Princess labels on them?

 

It would be great if the book swap shelf was placed outside the library doors, so always available. I donate clean, new books but only ever seem to find dog eared tatty books at book swaps anyway.

 

Are you otherwise enjoying the cruise heidik?

[rugbypopsie]

Whilst I am fond of "real" books...none of the libraries on recent cruises have had much of a selection...therefore I am afraid I will be joining the ranks of those turning to electronic books.. Kindle here I come..no weight and almost unlimited selections.:)

[u2cruiser]

Kindle users, silly question methinks, but how do you rate reading a book on a Kindle compared to a real book? eg, i like to see how much I have left to read; does it say at a glance page 296/450 or something like that?

 

I'm on Transatlantic next and with 23kg allowance drastic measures are called for.

 

Do you think there'll ever be a place for pre loaded Kindle-type library loans on cruises? Choose from certain genres? Now there's a plan :)

[Minoushka]

I cannot imagine why anyone would take a book home from the library .I stress out so much over luggage weight that it would be the last thing I take,Plus I usually Leave a few books I brought along NOt to carry them back

 

WIERD !!!

 

On our last cruise I never opened a book ...NOTIME WE had Very full Days I never even had time to nap !!! Very port intensive!!

 

mIchele

[scranger]

Kindle users, silly question methinks, but how do you rate reading a book on a Kindle compared to a real book? eg, i like to see how much I have left to read; does it say at a glance page 296/450 or something like that?

 

DW and I love ours. Personally, I like the text-to-speech function when it's available. It's a computer-generated voice, but still is surprisingly listenable--no Xylon warriors, etc. There's a bar at the bottom of the page that indicates the percentage of the book already read.

[bjkTX]

DW reads a lot and always carried a couple of books on our cruises, so like many others to save the space and weight in our luggage I bought her a Kindle a few years back - and she loves it. She said the only thing she misses is being able to hold the book and being able to trade them with her friends :-)

[u2cruiser]

DW and I love ours. Personally, I like the text-to-speech function when it's available. It's a computer-generated voice, but still is surprisingly listenable--no Xylon warriors, etc. There's a bar at the bottom of the page that indicates the percentage of the book already read.

 

Thanks scranger. I didn't know it had a speech facility.

Apologies for going off topic.

 

I always find the libraries onboard a bit sterile, probably because I am an ex primary school librarian and am used to being surrounded by exciting kids books just shouting out to be read :)

[Infi]

I think the main reason the library is open so rarely is because it is staffed by the cruise staff. They have many other responsibilities onboard and are assigned to staff the library during their down time - usually early evening or around lunch in my experience. I doubt Princess is willing to pay for a full-time librarian, so unless they go to the honor system, it will be up to the cruise staff to man the desk.

 

For what it's worth, I've only seen the locked libraries on Princess. Celebrity and HAL's are on the honor system.

[scopewest]

My last Carnival cruise not only had locked libraries, when I asked to have a door opened, she asked what book I wanted and reached in and handed it to me!

 

I was on HAL's Oosterdam, 24/7, sign out sheet on the desk, and the books were tagged for security. Thanks for the head's up for Sapphire, since this time we're driving to the port I can take a couple extra books.

 

I'd get a Kindle but I'm not about to pay to download the books I already bought in hard cover. If they'd come up with some way for me to scan all my books at home into the device, I'd buy one.

[Lynda90]

[quote name='u2cruiser']Kindle users, silly question methinks, but how do you rate reading a book on a Kindle compared to a real book? eg, i like to see how much I have left to read; does it say at a glance page 296/450 or something like that?

I'm on Transatlantic next and with 23kg allowance drastic measures are called for.

Do you think there'll ever be a place for pre loaded Kindle-type library loans on cruises? Choose from certain genres? Now there's a plan :)[/quote]
[B]I never leave home without it! I love mine and there are so many free books offered. I have at least 50 books stored on mine. Wouldn't even think about schlepping books along and adding weight to my already bulging luggage. :p[/B]

[heidik]

[quote name='Lynda90'][B]I never leave home without it! I love mine and there are so many free books offered. I have at least 50 books stored on mine. Wouldn't even think about schlepping books along and adding weight to my already bulging luggage. :p[/B][/quote]

Unfortunately, my first experience with Kindle was my last. I bought one specifically for my last 14-day cruise, was all excited, downloaded a ton of books. Got to my hotel after flying into Ft Lauderdale the night before my cruise - the Kindle screen was all scrambled and everything was "stuck"....totally worthless. Sorry......but I am soooooo not a fan after this experience :(

[u2cruiser]

[quote name='heidik']Unfortunately, my first experience with Kindle was my last. I bought one specifically for my last 14-day cruise, was all excited, downloaded a ton of books. Got to my hotel after flying into Ft Lauderdale the night before my cruise - the Kindle screen was all scrambled and everything was "stuck"....totally worthless. Sorry......but I am soooooo not a fan after this experience :([/quote]

LOL! Sorry to laugh but you don't have much luck with books do you? How about taking up sudoku? :D

[Teresa Price]

Pacific Princess open 24 hours a day, great selection and fab book exchange! Small ships rule! Sorry for you though.

[BoardwalkBabe]

We are both avid readers and drive to the ports we sail from, so we are fortunate in that we can bring along a huge pile of books without having to worry about weight restrictions. I read at least one book per day while on a cruise and DH also goes through several.

I am still interested in a Kindle but not until I have finished the giant pile of books I have already purchased!

[Marian Paroo]

[quote name='Essiesmom']It's that way on every line I've sailed, although since the library isn't a grudging afterthought on Cunard, they do have the longest hours...and by far the largest libraries! EM[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that Cunard has proper trained librarians on their ships.

Now that is a job to dream about![/COLOR]

[Pam in CA]

[quote name='Teresa Price']Pacific Princess open 24 hours a day, great selection and fab book exchange! Small ships rule! Sorry for you though.[/quote]Absolutely! The Pacific/Ocean/Royal Princess have the best, and most gorgeous library afloat. Largest selection and just a beautiful room.

[Jasperdo]

[quote name='u2cruiser']Kindle users, silly question methinks, but how do you rate reading a book on a Kindle compared to a real book? eg, i like to see how much I have left to read; does it say at a glance page 296/450 or something like that?
[/QUOTE]I bought a Kindle for my wife for Christmas. She loves it, and she's the types of person that has bookshelves overflowing with books. It's great for travelling. We have over 100 books on it already. And most of them have been free. We've discovered some new authors we'd never heard of.

To answer your question: Yes, you can see how much of a book you have left to read. But it's done differently. The Kindle can't have "pages", because you can change the font size, which greatly effects how many pages there will be. So, they have "locations", which is a block of around 15 words. The book will have maybe 8000 locations. At the bottom of the screen it will say "Locations 1750-1775 of 8000". Plus, there's also a bar across the very bottom of the screen that fill in as you read the book. It also says what percentage of the book you've read. For example, if you're halfway through the book, it will say 50%, and the bar will be half filled in.

[u2cruiser]

[quote name='Jasperdo']I bought a Kindle for my wife for Christmas. She loves it, and she's the types of person that has bookshelves overflowing with books. It's great for travelling. We have over 100 books on it already. And most of them have been free. We've discovered some new authors we'd never heard of.

To answer your question: Yes, you can see how much of a book you have left to read. But it's done differently. The Kindle can't have "pages", because you can change the font size, which greatly effects how many pages there will be. So, they have "locations", which is a block of around 15 words. The book will have maybe 8000 locations. At the bottom of the screen it will say "Locations 1750-1775 of 8000". Plus, there's also a bar across the very bottom of the screen that fill in as you read the book. It also says what percentage of the book you've read. For example, if you're halfway through the book, it will say 50%, and the bar will be half filled in.[/quote]

Thank you. that makes perfect sense now. I'm used to reading most things online, including daily news, so I suppose it will be a fairly easy transition and very convenient. It's not that much different to buying digital music is it?

[Lynda90]

[quote name='heidik']Unfortunately, my first experience with Kindle was my last. I bought one specifically for my last 14-day cruise, was all excited, downloaded a ton of books. Got to my hotel after flying into Ft Lauderdale the night before my cruise - the Kindle screen was all scrambled and everything was "stuck"....totally worthless. Sorry......but I am soooooo not a fan after this experience :([/quote]
[B]Did you call Amazon and get a replacement. I've heard they have an extremely responsive customer service department. Wouldn't have done you any good on that cruise, but perhaps another. It's too bad you had that experience as they are wonderful devices. :p
[/B]