Replenishing the libraries

[Ommadawn]

I went on an Alaskan cruise on the Solstice a few weeks ago. I had seen pictures of how emaciated the library on that ship had become. I packed two hardback books that I no longer wanted into my suitcase and I traded the two books for one book from the library. I think if each of us readers do that on each cruise (or even half of us), then we could replenish the libraries on the ships and we would have a much wider selection from which to borrow and from which to trade. You can't even receive a rate of trade that good at a used bookstore.

 

Does that sound like a good idea to y'all?

[563toM]

When we first boarded the Apex this year we sat in the library because we wanted to avoid the crowd until the ship left the dock.  There were two families that did just what you are thinking of doing.  It was great because the families encouraged reading with their children and they brought a wide range of reading material from teenager to adult.  Between them they unloaded about 6 tote bags full of books and I thanked them for the kindness.

[chemmo]

Great idea, unfortunately many of us fly in to cruise so tend to rely on our downloads. On our last Equinox cruise we regularly saw a group of quilters meeting up to enjoy their craft. Definitely a space worth saving as a quiet, relaxing corner on the S class ships.

[Lena11033]

I use downloads now, saves space (and weight) when traveling but its a good idea for those who actually have books

[hcat]

Great idea

I use downloads to read on the ship but have a few interesting  books I can contribute on our next cruises. Hope E Class has a spot for them.

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

This sounds like a good idea but very unlikely it will happen. As you can see many use electronic readers including my wife who belongs to a book club at home. If you finish a book you can just down load another one. The choices are endless. Also you can enlarge the print if need be.  It's no coincidence or surprise that the libraries are shrinking on cruise ships and that they aren't being replenished with books. We recently moved and tossed out too many books to count because nobody wanted them including our local libraries. Electronic books don't take up as much space either.

Edited July 10 by Iamcruzin

[thebutlerdidit]

I left 3 or 4 books in the library on my last Reflection cruise.
 

On Equinox, I donated a book in Polish to the crew. That was an oopsie from Amazon. I had ordered a book, and when it arrived, I admired the cover but didn’t crack it open and it went straight to my to-be-read pile. It was way past the return date when I got around to it. By that time I found the situation very funny. I left it with the Retreat concierge.

Edited July 10 by thebutlerdidit

[cruisetonowhere10]

For souvenir shoppers, packing the books and leaving them will free up space to bring goodies home. Just a thought.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We donate our old books to charity thrift shops so they can make some money 

[kabmab]

4 hours ago, 563toM said:

When we first boarded the Apex this year we sat in the library because we wanted to avoid the crowd until the ship left the dock.  There were two families that did just what you are thinking of doing.  It was great because the families encouraged reading with their children and they brought a wide range of reading material from teenager to adult.  Between them they unloaded about 6 tote bags full of books and I thanked them for the kindness.

Unless you are talking about Eden, there really aren't libraries on E class ships which is a shame.  People mention a library cart, but on a number of E class cruises I have never seen it.  I'm not sure Celebrity even wants to deal with library spaces and books.  Over a few cruises on Equinox we saw the number of books in the library dwindle.  

 

I still read physical books, but for travel my Kindle wins.  Books just take up too much space and add too much weight.  We donate our books to the small library in our community.

Edited July 10 by kabmab

[563toM]

2 hours ago, kabmab said:

Unless you are talking about Eden, there really aren't libraries on E class ships which is a shame.  People mention a library cart, but on a number of E class cruises I have never seen it.  I'm not sure Celebrity even wants to deal with library spaces and books.  Over a few cruises on Equinox we saw the number of books in the library dwindle.  

 

I still read physical books, but for travel my Kindle wins.  Books just take up too much space and add too much weight.  We donate our books to the small library in our community.

The library area was located above the Eden.  You can only access it from deck 5 but it's located on deck 6.  I did make a note in the review after the cruise that they need to add doors to the area to make it a quiet space.  It was a heavily used area and the printers are located there so it should be a quiet area as every time we visited there were people using the space reading, playing board games and using the printers.  

[NanaPam00]

3 minutes ago, 563toM said:

The library area was located above the Eden.  You can only access it from deck 5 but it's located on deck 6.  I did make a note in the review after the cruise that they need to add doors to the area to make it a quiet space.  It was a heavily used area and the printers are located there so it should be a quiet area as every time we visited there were people using the space reading, playing board games and using the printers.  

The wide open aft view is kind of a point of Eden, so doubtful they will close it off. I have also seen folks sit up there during shows, trivia and other events, so it really is a multi-use space. 

[kabmab]

Ah, okay that's Eden.  Not officially a library, I doubt there is that intent on E class.  Of course up to individual interpretation.

Edited July 10 by kabmab

[PurpleTraveller]

I always bring a couple of books to read from home. Last week on Constellation I donated a book to the library as I appreciate borrowing a book if needed and I needed the space for purchases. 

[Tom and Ingrid]

Anyone off the Silhouette recently think that I should cart a few books for our trip this month?  

 

We always have books to donate to the local library. Our home has a dedicated room for our books, but my wife is always adding, while I (who read 99% on Kindle) am usually trying to subtract (hence the donations).  I could see finally paring down my hardbacks and freeing up some new shelves for my wife's stuff. And a bit of space for "souvenirs" on return makes sense.

[KKB]

Already doing this!

I just cleaned out my bookshelves--newer books, &/or popular authors I tossed in a tote & put it in our extra bedroom.

Have 5 cruises Dec-Apr, will toss a few books in my suitcase for each & put them in the ship library. (Ascent in Dec...I will only put a couple paperbacks in case nowhere to put them--I will check that area of Eden, fingers crossed)

[sdnich]

I enjoy reading a book and like this idea! I will try to save some room on our next cruise for a couple books .

[Ciaranaman]

2 hours ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

Anyone off the Silhouette recently think that I should cart a few books for our trip this month?  

 

We always have books to donate to the local library. Our home has a dedicated room for our books, but my wife is always adding, while I (who read 99% on Kindle) am usually trying to subtract (hence the donations).  I could see finally paring down my hardbacks and freeing up some new shelves for my wife's stuff. And a bit of space for "souvenirs" on return makes sense.

When we were on the Silhouette, in May, the library had quite an extensive range of books for borrowing/trading.  My DH found a couple new-to-him to read during the cruise.  I barely touched the one I brought 🤣.  That being said, I don't know how updated the majority of titles were.  I'm sure they can always use some current bestsellers if anyone has room in their bags to bring them along.

~Bernadette

[jelayne]

13 hours ago, 563toM said:

When we first boarded the Apex this year we sat in the library because we wanted to avoid the crowd until the ship left the dock.  There were two families that did just what you are thinking of doing.  It was great because the families encouraged reading with their children and they brought a wide range of reading material from teenager to adult.  Between them they unloaded about 6 tote bags full of books and I thanked them for the kindness.

Where is a library on the Apex?  We have been on all 4 E class ships and never saw a library.  There was a cart by Guest Services on the Edge & Apex where you could drop off books.  On the Beyond and Ascent there was s shelf in Eden where some dropped off of picked up books to read.

 

[563toM]

40 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Where is a library on the Apex?  We have been on all 4 E class ships and never saw a library.  There was a cart by Guest Services on the Edge & Apex where you could drop off books.  On the Beyond and Ascent there was s shelf in Eden where some dropped off of picked up books to read.

 

CORRECTION:  I was thinking of a Royal Caribbean ship Anthem of the Seas.  We did two cruises back to back and I got them mixed up.  The Anthem of the Seas library  is on deck 6 which is inside the Two70 theater.  Sorry for the confusion all of you were right, I was wrong.

[phoenix_dream]

I always bring and leave several books.  Unfortunately most people don't and the ship doesn't buy them anymore.  In fact, when you leave them the ship slaps their own sticker on them so no one takes them home which I think is wrong since they didn't buy them.  But I would absolutely LOVE to see more people bring books and leave them when they are done.  Many of us (like me) much prefer a book in hand to reading on a tablet or Kindle.   

[Ommadawn]

23 hours ago, chemmo said:

Great idea, unfortunately many of us fly in to cruise so tend to rely on our downloads. On our last Equinox cruise we regularly saw a group of quilters meeting up to enjoy their craft. Definitely a space worth saving as a quiet, relaxing corner on the S class ships.

 

Not to cast aspersions, but I flew from Lubbock, Texas to Bellingham, Washington, and then took a train from Bellingham to Vancouver to board the ship with the two hardbacks in my suitcase. It is doable. 🙂

[chemmo]

28 minutes ago, Ommadawn said:

 

Not to cast aspersions, but I flew from Lubbock, Texas to Bellingham, Washington, and then took a train from Bellingham to Vancouver to board the ship with the two hardbacks in my suitcase. It is doable. 🙂

Crossing the pond would require me to board without clothes if I gave a lot of space for books! Seriously, next time I cruise from Southampton I will take any unwanted books with me however we also tend to do this…

 

20 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

We donate our old books to charity thrift shops so they can make some money 

Although recently some charity shops are saying they have enough books…

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

Crossing the pond would require me to board without clothes if I gave a lot of space for books! Seriously, next time I cruise from Southampton I will take any unwanted books with me however we also tend to do this…

 

Although recently some charity shops are saying they have enough books…

We buy books from the charity shops and donate most of them to veterans hospitals and homes in the area.  DH takes some to read on the ship and has been passing those on to crew members.

[phoenix_dream]

On 7/10/2024 at 2:33 AM, chemmo said:

Great idea, unfortunately many of us fly in to cruise so tend to rely on our downloads. On our last Equinox cruise we regularly saw a group of quilters meeting up to enjoy their craft. Definitely a space worth saving as a quiet, relaxing corner on the S class ships.

I always fly into ports (live in the Chicago area) and I always bring books to read and leave.  Last b2b I brought and finished six.  Yes, it takes up some luggage space and weight but it's worth it.  I confess, though, that since we travel so much with our airline status we are allowed 70lb per bag, although we rarely go over 50lbs.