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Where have the libraries gone?


Tutorcruiser
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We have enjoyed traveling on HAL ships for many years. Among the many pleasures was the library, the  daily NYTimes synopsis  of news and sports, etc.  After being away for a couple of years, we recently sailed on the Oosterdam from San Diego down to Mexico and back.  We were amazed that there was no longer a library onboard, no NYTimes printout, etc.   The entire floor, which  housed the library books, the computers, etc. had been reconfigured with technology.  There were a few reference books available and that was it.  Is this the case onboard all the HAL ships?  

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The smaller ships (S- & R-classes) still have their libraries intact. The larger ships (Vista & Signature ships), have had them removed other than a few reference books. The Pinnacle Class ships never had a library in the first place. 
Very sad to see these resources go. 

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Sadly we were on Crystal and they had a library. My husband went in to read the NYTimes.  There was one copy and it was being read and was told it would be $6.50 if they printed out another copy.  I remember when you could get a synopsis of the paper anywhere. 

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9 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Libraries are disappearing from all mainstream cruise lines. Similar discussions happening on Princess, Celebrity, Royal and Carnival boards.

Yes, many people now read books, magazines & newspapers on their device be it Smartphone, Kindle or tablet.

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Our CD years ago told us that HAL was spending too much money repairing and replacing books and were replacing the libraries with seldom used techno tables.

Thankfully on our last half dozen Pinnacle class cruises the book exchange is flourishing

Please drop off finished magazines and books, they won't be on the remaining  cramped  shelves for long

Bob

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I'm currently on Oosterdam and knew in advance about the library removal so we brought an extra suitcase with books.  There is a tiny paperback exchange shelf in the Crow's Nest port side and we plan to leave all our books as we finish them.  Several folks wandering around the first days of cruise looking for a library so we are no the only ones missing them.  Supposedly the rationale for eliminating the NY Times  daily paper was environmental (save paper) but I sure as hell don't see any decrease in all the sales flyers we are getting daily in our cabin.  HAL needs to listen to their loyal cruisers more or more of us will leave.  I'm glad to hear that Norwegian is keeping libraries but I'm sad to hear the Princess may be losing theirs.  Looks like I will be spending more time on UK cruise ships now as they believe in libraries and good lecturers.

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1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

Yes, many people now read books, magazines & newspapers on their device be it Smartphone, Kindle or tablet.

So another way to make me pay for an internet package. I guess I’ll cruise ignorant of world events. 

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1 hour ago, comcox said:

 Looks like I will be spending more time on UK cruise ships now as they believe in libraries and good lecturers.

 

While I bring my own library (i.e., Kindle), I heartily agree regarding lecturers. 

 

I am really finding it hard to replace Voyages to Antiquity; I wish they were still sailing under their original premise and not as part of the "Road Scholar" organization. :classic_sad:

 

What other British lines have good lecturers?  (I have not sailed with Cunard but may try them soon. I just generally prefer smaller ships.)

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On a 10-day Koningsdam cruise a few weeks ago, I read all the books I brought with me and DH found 4 paperbacks in the Observation Deck.  3 were in German and 1 in English and fortunately by one of my favorite authors. It kept me busy until the end of the cruise. Very disappointing there weren't more - there were big, glossy, table top books there, too, but nothing to bring to the cabin for me to read. I don't bring my Kindle to read books on cruises. We'll be on the Veendam in 2 weeks and I'll be sure to bring enough paperbacks with me this time just in case.

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24 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

 I don't bring my Kindle to read books on cruises. 

 

Just curious -- why not?

 

I love having the ability to have multiple self-selected books at my fingertips for reading. Cuts down on weight in bags and simplifies things like having to bring guidebooks, reference books, books for light reading, etc. 

 

Kindles are so transportable, easy to read in sunlight (little glare) and in low light, hold a charge for days, and the newer ones are water resistant. 

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39 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

...  What other British lines have good lecturers?  (I have not sailed with Cunard but may try them soon. I just generally prefer smaller ships.)

 

We did a TA on QE2 and there were very interesting lectures given by a retired US Ambassador, a noted jazz musician, a gentleman that worked on the NASA program and one other that I can't remember at the moment.  There were at least two lectures a day as well as concerts, astronomy lecture with viewing in their planetarium (I think they said it was the only one at sea).  And, their library is really wonderful.  We had more than enough books to keep us busy for the duration when not attending an event.

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1 hour ago, Hobbsey said:

So another way to make me pay for an internet package. I guess I’ll cruise ignorant of world events. 

Unless they have changed since our sailing in the summer of 2018, you can browse the nytimesonline for free without buying any internet package.

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3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Unless they have changed since our sailing in the summer of 2018, you can browse the nytimesonline for free without buying any internet package.

The same in October 2019.

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12 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Unless they have changed since our sailing in the summer of 2018, you can browse the nytimesonline for free without buying any internet package.

Well that would be great.  Thanks for the info.  

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42 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Just curious -- why not?

 

I love having the ability to have multiple self-selected books at my fingertips for reading. Cuts down on weight in bags and simplifies things like having to bring guidebooks, reference books, books for light reading, etc. 

 

Kindles are so transportable, easy to read in sunlight (little glare) and in low light, hold a charge for days, and the newer ones are water resistant. 

I own a kindle but never use it to read. Just old school I guess but I love the printed page.  Plus, as most sleep experts will tell you, reading from an electronic screen before can cause sleep problems. 

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3 hours ago, bobpell said:

Our CD years ago told us that HAL was spending too much money repairing and replacing books and were replacing the libraries with seldom used techno tables.

Thankfully on our last half dozen Pinnacle class cruises the book exchange is flourishing

Please drop off finished magazines and books, they won't be on the remaining  cramped  shelves for long

Bob

Regarding the book exchanges, you mentioned magazines??  I usually travel with a few to catch up on the ones I subscribe to and haven’t got around to reading. Does this mean I can leave them on the ship for others to enjoy rather than tossing them or lugging them home?  That’s a nice idea and I can’t believe I wasn’t aware of this before. 
 

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

While I bring my own library (i.e., Kindle), I heartily agree regarding lecturers. 

 

I am really finding it hard to replace Voyages to Antiquity; I wish they were still sailing under their original premise and not as part of the "Road Scholar" organization. :classic_sad:

 

What other British lines have good lecturers?  (I have not sailed with Cunard but may try them soon. I just generally prefer smaller ships.)

Cunard really is wonderful.  Whilst QM2 is huge, her space to passenger ratio is quite high. She has a splendid library and even has a small bookstore though it was reduced after the remodel. 

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There is absolutely no way I would embark on a cruise reliant upon the ship to provide the quantity and types of books I would want to read.  When we pack, we download several books to our kindles.  That way we're ensured to have plenty of reading material.

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19 minutes ago, Hobbsey said:

I own a kindle but never use it to read. Just old school I guess but I love the printed page.  Plus, as most sleep experts will tell you, reading from an electronic screen before can cause sleep problems. 

 

Kindle e-readers do not contribute to this problem. Kindles use e-ink which doesn't produce the same type of blue light that a smartphone or tablet would.

 

https://gigaom.com/2014/12/23/do-e-readers-really-harm-sleep-depends-what-you-call-an-e-reader/

 

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1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

[re: kindle-loaded reading material]

 

I love having the ability to have multiple self-selected books at my fingertips for reading. Cuts down on weight in bags and simplifies things like having to bring guidebooks, reference books, books for light reading, etc. 

 

Kindles are so transportable, easy to read in sunlight (little glare) and in low light, hold a charge for days, and the newer ones are water resistant. 

 

I am of the same mind as cruisemom42. At home I still love the feel and convenience of a text emblazoned with ink on paper. At sea or in an airplane, I am delighted to have a supply of thrillers and crime novels loaded electronically on my kindle.

 

We are about to escape the icy grip of a Chicago winter with a 17-day Panama Canal transit. In preparation I read, to my amazement and delight, David McCullough's masterful 600+ page history of the canal project. That one I'm lugging along in hard copy, for reference. But other than that and my monthly Give Us This Day prayer book, everything else is going on my kindle.

 

We were on the Rotterdam in September. The library was well stocked with reading materials and games and puzzles (although, come to think of it, I never saw anyone manning the librarian's desk). In the entry to the Lido buffet at breakfast and here and there at other spots throughout the day, including the library, hard-copy 4-page news summaries were available in multiple languages (French, German, and Dutch, as well as English) and the English-language versions hailed from multiple countries (NYT for the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia). The US versions ran out quickly, but I very much enjoyed deciphering the French and German versions and getting the Canadian, UK, and Australian slants as well.

 

For longer-form reportage, the Navigator app contains a tab with selected NYT articles, which I also enjoyed and appreciate. If I find on our upcoming PC cruise on the Oosterdam that the hard-copy summaries are omitted, I'll be satisfied with the NYT as offered on the Navigator app.

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