Library on the Eclipse

[CAT58]

Hi everyone

 

My husband and I will be taking our first sea cruise on the Eclipse very soon. As we both love reading could anyone tell me what sort of books are in the library. Also do you have any advice for first time cruisers. Thank you:)

[billydog]

Hi everyone

 

My husband and I will be taking our first sea cruise on the Eclipse very soon. As we both love reading could anyone tell me what sort of books are in the library. Also do you have any advice for first time cruisers. Thank you:)

 

The library on the Eclipse is in an open space in the central atrium. I found it impossible to read in due to overall noise levels. This is a particular problem every evening when a loud electric pop type band plays in the atrium with the loud music polluting all areas on the atrium , including the library. Overall it was badly planned. Other than that the Eclipse is a great ship.

 

The type of books depends a lot on what previous cruisers have left. I wouldn't depend on this and I think you should bring your own books.

[MrsNorman]

Hi, we love reading as well but we normally bring our own books. There do appear to be lots of books in the library but they have a selection in a number of different languages so unless you're a linguist that would narrow down the number that may be of interest to you. We have found the library to be a nice place to sit for a change. There is noise at various times from the atrium and also I get distracted by people zooming past in lifts. We prefer to take our books to the sky lounge, where although there may be other noise distractions from time to time, we have the sea to look at. You will love the Eclipse, we were totally thrilled with our first experience of it.

[chemmo]

Another vote for bring your own. I think with more and more guests having their reading matter on iPads etc that the stock on board will not be getting replenished as fast as it used to...I have only ever resorted to choosing a book from their library once (18 night CP cruise) and the choice wasn't great....

 

If you do decide to choose from the library first day may give you more options...

 

Also agree the library isn't the best spot for reading but it is a great spot to people watch. On a recent cruise there were a group of embroiderers who met in the library on sea days...they were a quiet group but they did use quite a bit of the space...agree the sky lounge (or your own balcony) are probably better places for a quiet read.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[awhfy]

I always throw 4-6 paperbacks that I've read into the suitcase. I donate them to the ship library, but I wait till halfway through the cruise to drop them off. It isn't a managed library; i.e., not filed alphabetically & no way of knowing what's on the shelves other than looking through each book. Enjoy your first cruise!

 

 

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[CAT58]

Thank you all for your replies. They are very helpful. Looks like we will be bringing some of our own books. We don't have to worry about baggage allowance so I may well bring some to put in the library that we don't need. I am always looking for good homes for books. :)

[frteach]

Visiting the library is one of the things that I look forward to doing soon after boarding and settling into our cabin. I have always found something that interests me, and there is a good selection of classics and recently published books as well, IMO. I rarely buy books, preferring to use a library. I also download a few on my e-reader for downtime in airports and on the plane, so I always have something, but I enjoy browsing through the library on the ships that I have been on.

[Tiggertastic]

There s a very big choice of books in the library, both fiction and not. There is also one section where previous cruisers books are left that you can take and put back at the end. Sometimes there are guide books too.

 

 

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[Northern Aurora]

CAT58: Celebrity uses the "honor system" for their onboard libraries. The Celebrity owned books will have a sticker indicating that they are owed by the cruise line, but there will also be a number of passenger donated titles. But with the honor system I suspect that a number of the cruise owned titles "walk" off the ship.

 

Like a number of other passengers we also pack books to donate.

[annbarker23]

Very limited choice of books on our recent Millennium cruise. Glad we took our own which we. donated at end of cruise. Agree that library is not particularly conducive to reading and that the balcony is the best place to do this in peace.

 

 

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[Alakegirl]

The library on Millennium and the other m Class ships is a cozy room. On Eclipse and other s Class ships it's open to the atrium. The eclipse has the best library of the s Class ships, imo.

[leehal]

I would personally give the Library a miss, good place to catch germs!

[zebra36]

I usually bring a paperback or two that I get from a GW store and leave them behind when read. I will sometimes find additional reading in the limited library on board.

[MrsNorman]

It is good to have a browse around the library to see if there is anything we would like to read, but normally we have brought enough on Kindle or paper books. We like to get ourselves a takeaway coffee from Al Bacio on sea day afternoons and read on our balcony or on the bed or couch. I always bring a book to write in as well, because it is nice to write about excursions etc. :)

[CAT58]

Thanks for all your help and advice. Only 7 weeks until we sail to the Baltic. I am so looking forward to visiting new places without having to fly!

[MrsNorman]

Don't forget to post a review to let us know how you got on, will you? We have booked for the Baltic cruise on Silhouette for next May. I have already got Rick Steves' Northern European Cruise Ports guide book, which looks very comprehensive, because we are thinking of looking round most ports ourselves, with the exception of St Petersburg. :)

 

It is lovely, not having to go through an airport and once you're on the ship it starts to feel really relaxing straightaway.

[CAT58]

I shall look out for the Rick Steves book as we have only booked a tour for the 3 days we are in St Petersburg. Thank you.

[Cakeyandbeano]

I shall look out for the Rick Steves book as we have only booked a tour for the 3 days we are in St Petersburg. Thank you.

 

 

 

If you have a kindle or small tablet I downloaded the Rick Steves book, I originally bought the paperback version but it is a very thick book & I didn't fancy carrying it around. Downloaded the kindle version onto a 7" tablet which fitted into my bag and found it so easy to keep looking at.

 

 

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[miched]

I usually find a book or so to read from the Library. Many times something that is just a reference book about a certain subject showing a lot of pictures that I can just mindlessly look at.

 

Best is to have a table or phone with books loaded on it. Easier to carry around and convenient.

 

I never had a problem with trying to read when it is noisy. If it gets too bad I sit on my balcony. At night on the balcony you will need to provide your own light as there isn't a balcony light on the S class ships. This makes a electronic device better to have. Am glad that they don't have balcony lights as many will leave them on all night and it ruins being able to sit on a dark balcony gazing at the sky.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[donaldsc]

Hi everyone

 

My husband and I will be taking our first sea cruise on the Eclipse very soon. As we both love reading could anyone tell me what sort of books are in the library. Also do you have any advice for first time cruisers. Thank you:)

 

I usually load 20 - 30 books on my e-reader as I do not know what I will want to read on the cruise. That is the easiest way to do it.

 

DON

[phoenix_dream]

I am a big reader and prefer holding a book in my hand to reading on my tablet. I was on the Eclipse in January and felt it had a wonderful library, particularly as compared to many other Celebrity ships (M class are horrendous!). I like mystery fiction and various non-fiction titles. They had quite a variety, but it was rare to find anything less than a year or two old. If you are particular, bring your own or load them on your Kindle or whatever. If the cruise is lengthy, check back periodically as people return books, and also leave books they have brought and finished. Towards the end of the cruise there is quite a bit of that (magazines also).

[varoo]

I would personally give the Library a miss, good place to catch germs!

But the main reason we dislike the libraries on Celebrity ships are that they are interior rooms with no ocean views.

We were spoiled by the wonderful libraries on HAL ships that have large windows looking out to sea and comfortable reclining chairs.

[CAT58]

Many thanks for all your replies. Much appreciated.

[frealan]

To all travelling today or tomorrow, have a safe journey

 

 

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