Enchanted... no library

[stoneharborlady]

On 1/1/2020 at 11:28 PM, Shmoo here said:

Of course, there are still a few of us who prefer actual books.

 

 

Actually, I think there are a lot more than a few of us. Kindle does not do it for me!

Edited January 27, 2020 by stoneharborlady

[npcl]

On 1/1/2020 at 12:49 PM, phonejock said:

Recently there was a thread about there just being a book cart, not a library, on the Sky Princess.

DH and I are booked on the Enchanted this summer.  I looked at the deck plans twice, and I do not see

a library. Looks like I will be buying a Kindle this spring 😁

 

 

If you have a smart phone you do not even need to buy a kindle.  Just download e-book reader apps for Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, as well as generic ones such as FBReader for epub format.  Lots of sources for books other than Amazon.

[stoneharborlady]

On 1/19/2020 at 7:48 PM, nini said:

I totally understand and agree! However, taking books on a flights and cruises is not really

practical anymore. So, our Kindles are our backup. Give me a real book anytime...

Actually a real book is not much different in size than a Kindle, might be a bit heavier, but its worth it to me, and for my nickle, totally practical.  I guess its simply a matter of whats important to you.  And my books are much more important to me than a bottle of wine.  Folks carry those onboard.  We can each name our poison.  

[npcl]

3 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

Actually a real book is not much different in size than a Kindle, might be a bit heavier, but its worth it to me, and for my nickle, totally practical.  I guess its simply a matter of whats important to you.  And my books are much more important to me than a bottle of wine.  Folks carry those onboard.  We can each name our poison.  

Is an issue if one reads like I do and will go through 8-10 books on a 15 day cruise.  Now I carry a library of about 800 books with me on my cell phone.  Can reread old favorites as well as quickly download new ones. Plus the advantage of being able to read anytime I am waiting for a few minutes with the page automatically kept, without having to carry a book around.

 

If someone only reads one or even two books a cruise then not much of an issue.  For me a one book would not even last past a short flight.

Edited January 27, 2020 by npcl

[stoneharborlady]

12 minutes ago, npcl said:

Is an issue if one reads like I do and will go through 8-10 books on a 15 day cruise.  Now I carry a library of about 800 books with me on my cell phone.  Can reread old favorites as well as quickly download new ones. Plus the advantage of being able to read anytime I am waiting for a few minutes with the page automatically kept, without having to carry a book around.

 

If someone only reads one or even two books a cruise then not much of an issue.  For me a one book would not even last past a short flight.

In that case you are wise to stick to your cell phone.  Two or three books would be perfect for a 15 day cruise for me.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, npcl said:

Now I carry a library of about 800 books with me on my cell phone.

That's great, for you.  But I can't imagine trying to read a book on my cell phone.  It's not that easy for me (as an old person) to focus on something that little for long periods of time.  And the necessary scrolling back and forth, up and down if I zoom in - no thanks.

[npcl]

1 hour ago, Shmoo here said:

That's great, for you.  But I can't imagine trying to read a book on my cell phone.  It's not that easy for me (as an old person) to focus on something that little for long periods of time.  And the necessary scrolling back and forth, up and down if I zoom in - no thanks.

You do not scroll.  You adjust the font size you need and the app adjusts the text per page.  So what is one page in the book, might be 10 pages in the reformatted text depending upon text size.  So all you do as you read is swipe the right edge to advance to the next page or swipe the left edge to go back a page.  The apps have easy access to table of contents as will and a slide bar to go to a specific page.  Very easy to read and use.  The only negative would be in reading books with inclusions such as maps which do not get adjusted, but for normal novels no issue at all.

 

I use black background with white text with blue light filtered.

 

You can always download the free app and look at a free book to get an idea. 

Edited January 27, 2020 by npcl

[BarbinMich]

On 1/2/2020 at 12:14 AM, Shmoo here said:

Well, HAL has eliminated libraries, also.

We were on the HAL Zuiderdam a few years ago and there was a small library in a back corner of Explorations.  Don't see it there on the deck plan anymore <g>.

[Shmoo here]

8 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

We were on the HAL Zuiderdam a few years ago and there was a small library in a back corner of Explorations.  Don't see it there on the deck plan anymore <g>.

Yep.  

[nini]

23 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

That's great, for you.  But I can't imagine trying to read a book on my cell phone.  It's not that easy for me (as an old person) to focus on something that little for long periods of time.  And the necessary scrolling back and forth, up and down if I zoom in - no thanks.

You would be VERY pleased with a Kindle Fire. The "pages" are bigger than a paperback and "swiping" is just like turning a page. You can adjust the size of the font and brightness as well. There is NO scrolling in any direction. 

And you can take many books with you... when you finish one then you have more to choose from, whether

you are on the airplane, the airport terminal, a tour bus, or relaxing in a lounge on the ship.

[jeromep]

On 1/1/2020 at 1:28 PM, Clampram said:

I bought a Kindle 3 years ago just to cut back on the books in my luggage. I read fast and I love to read. I am surprised that I really love my Kindle and it's so easy to load and books are much cheaper or free depending on how you get them. I have not seen a good library in the last 5 years on any Princess ship........they've all been mostly empty, even on Day 1

I tend to agree on all your points.  The Kindle is a great device, but even if you don't have one you can get the Kindle app for iPad and use that, too.  Works just as well, although I think there is more eye strain reading on the iPad.

 

I've never been impressed with the libraries on Princess ships.  I've seen a few configs, ranging from a dedicated space to something combined or adjacent to the Internet Cafe.  I think the library as a space is a good thing to have on the ship, I don't think it gets heavily used and so logic states that the space be dedicated to something else.  What I think is quickly becoming a waste of space is Internet Cafes.  With most folks bringing their own device with them, the need for a fleet of computers in a space is less and less meaningful.  Most onboard Internet Cafes that I've seen are deserted most of the time  It makes a bit more sense if the tech specialists on board are provided an office about the size of the Circle Host and they have published office hours of when they are available to assist with personal devices.

[sunsetme]

I like to read at the beach and I am not taking my kindle there. First of all you can't see the screen and second I don't want to get sand on it. I like to find a book at the ship's library, preferably a paperback. I also find authors I would never try. It's a shame to have eliminated the library.

[MISTER 67]

On 1/1/2020 at 10:53 PM, Pam in CA said:

It’s not just about replacing the library with space to make money. Go anywhere on any ship and the vast majority of passengers are using a reader (Kindle, Nook, IPad, etc.) rather than a hard-covered book. Fewer and fewer people are reading paperback or hard cover books. It takes a lot of books to create a library as you have to offer a wide variety. 

 

I used to pack lots of books but now I just carry my Kindle around with me, whether at home or on a ship. It’s so easy (and free) to download e-books from the library. 

We are holdouts, still buy hardcovers.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

We are holdouts, still buy hardcovers.

You an a few others but nowhere near enough to maintain dedicated space for a library these days.

[Rebels82]

I am on the Enchanted tomorrow so not trying to say anything negative about Princess. I love libraries too and Oceania has amazing great libraries.. The larger ships, with 1250 passengers, have libraries with 2000 books. The libraries are beautiful…especially on the smaller ships where they have a fireplace. 

[Plant]

 I'd love to read "real" books.  Unfortunately, I don't see as well as I used to, so reading on my Kindle where I can enlarge the type makes me happy!

 

[WinksCruises]

Perhaps a glimmer of hope... We were on the Caribbean Princess a couple of weeks ago (12/21) and I was surprised to find their library stocked (a little bit, anyway) with some relatively new titles. And multiple copies of certain bestsellers for use by book-clubs at sea.  That's just like heaven for me.

 

(That said, it's clear too many people don't return the books, so it's a genuine loss of revenue across the fleet, so why bother?  Crooks, Covid, and Kindle are convenient scapegoats for ceasing the service). Sad, because I love stumbling on a new title to read while there.

 

And there's still a shelf where people just donate their finished paperbacks for others to enjoy.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by WinksCruises

[generichandle]

3 hours ago, Rebels82 said:

I am on the Enchanted tomorrow so not trying to say anything negative about Princess. I love libraries too and Oceania has amazing great libraries.. The larger ships, with 1250 passengers, have libraries with 2000 books. The libraries are beautiful…especially on the smaller ships where they have a fireplace. 

One reason Oceania has great libraries is because they now have the Ocean Princess in their fleet. Ocean had the very best library at sea. I spent many hours/day in there on sea days. Wonderful library on a beautiful ship!

[DUCHESSRN]

Ruby had a magnificent Library on the Christmas Cruise.

[donaldsc]

One reason that ships no longer have libraries is that they do not generate revenue.  Ships will mostly ruthlessly eliminate anything on the ship that does not improve their bottom line.

 

DON

Edited January 19, 2022 by donaldsc

[pris993]

On 1/1/2020 at 7:53 PM, Pam in CA said:

It’s not just about replacing the library with space to make money. Go anywhere on any ship and the vast majority of passengers are using a reader (Kindle, Nook, IPad, etc.) rather than a hard-covered book. Fewer and fewer people are reading paperback or hard cover books. It takes a lot of books to create a library as you have to offer a wide variety. 

 

I used to pack lots of books but now I just carry my Kindle around with me, whether at home or on a ship. It’s so easy (and free) to download e-books from the library. 

Just because others use kindles does not mean it is the best way to enjoy a good book!!  

[nini]

Truly, even though I bring my Kindle with me, the BEST way to read a book is with the real thing. I so loved going to the ship's library as a first order of business and selecting a couple of books. I love leaving mine for others to read as well. It is good to hear that some of the ship libraries are alive and well. With today's technology, it is to be expected that they are no longer considered important.

And I loved finding games with the books too!