Darn Darn Darn!

[heidik]

[quote name='Morgsmom']

I, too, had an issue with the Princess library's hours. I was there the last time and the surly attendant from the CD staff was manning the desk. A book came in for return that I wanted to borrow but she wouldn't check it in so that I could check it back out. She asked me to return at another time to do so. Ludicrous! Since the books are shelved willy-nilly that was like asking someone to find the needle in the haystack.[/quote]

Ditto re the above -- I finally got into the library, got my books, went to the desk, stood there waiting to be acknowledged by the "Asst. Cruise Director" who was manning the desk. He finally looked up from the computer and said "do you want to check those out?" as if he was talking to a child.....no smile, very strange. I tried alittle humor by laughingly saying I kept missing the darn open hours by a minute or so every time and he basically snapped at me and said "read the Patter. The hours are clearly stated there." Duh, no kidding! No smile - definitely looked like he wanted to be somewhere else....Not a pleasant experience in any way, shape or form.

[Pam in CA]

[quote name='Marian Paroo'][COLOR="Purple"]All this makes me want to get an ereader more and more for the trip, I can always ask my US friend who I will meet up with abroad to bring one, but I have to check to see which one has the best service in my neckadawoods (Tel Aviv).[/COLOR][/QUOTE]Check out the Kindle as it has international wireless.

[DrivesLikeMario]

[quote name='heidik']Boy oh boy, I've gotta tell yuh, the way Princess operates the Library (at least here on the Sapphire) is incredibly frustrating! I love to browse and putter around a library and generally will select about 5 or so books to take out -- it is blowing my mind that Princess locks up all of their books and that the Library is only "manned" for a couple of hours twice a day! You can't even browse!!! :mad: I am on Day 7 now of my voyage and I have not been able to hit the darn library when someone was there to let me into the books....thankfully I brought 6 books with me, but I'm down to my final 1/2 of my last book with no new books in sight...gulp.....:eek: Princess - why oh why do you have to lock up your library books - don't you realize that some of us love to relax and indulge in having the time to simply browse around?? Why do you tease us with these locked glass cases???

just venting.......this is crummy.[/QUOTE]

You need to go on the QM2. They not only have a fantastic library with a full time librarian, they have a terrific book store fully stocked with interesting books. In their library, there are comfy leather chairs facing forward, with a perfect view of the ocean. :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

[quote name='Pam in CA']Check out the Kindle as it has international wireless.[/QUOTE]

Pam gives you good advice. It's the only thing that bugs me about my Nook - I can't download new books when in Europe. :mad:

[bjkTX]

[quote name='caribill']As seen below[/QUOTE]

We were on the Royal for two weeks last year and the library is really impressive. They didn't have someone there most of the time, but it seems like it was always open. I went several times and just took out a book. But then we were a very trustworthy group...... :-)

[BosoxI]

[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]

There is nothing like having a real book in my hands. The joy of reading a good book is almost matched by the feel of a leather cover, beautiful illustrations, or fine paper. But there's no way I'm dragging books on a cruise ship, especially now with airline weight restrictions. Actually, I have usually been lucky in finding some decent books on board, but I don't need to take a chance anymore. If I can't find anything good, I have a good friend Mr. Kindle on the nightstand.

[Cruisin' Chick]

[quote name='heidik']Ditto re the above -- I finally got into the library, got my books, went to the desk, stood there waiting to be acknowledged by the "Asst. Cruise Director" who was manning the desk. He finally looked up from the computer and said "do you want to check those out?" as if he was talking to a child.....no smile, very strange. I tried alittle humor by laughingly saying I kept missing the darn open hours by a minute or so every time and he basically snapped at me and said "read the Patter. The hours are clearly stated there." Duh, no kidding! No smile - definitely looked like he wanted to be somewhere else....Not a pleasant experience in any way, shape or form.[/quote]


Kinda reminds me of our first Princess cruise when we went up to the kids' area to sign up our girl for the Pelicans. We arrived for the first registration meeting (I think at 7pm; we had our dinner seating at 8pm) and the door was locked at 7:02 or so with a sign to come back in an hour for the next meeting. Seemed ridiculous to be that squirrelly on time.

We made sure we were on time the next two cruises, but I don't remember those counselors shutting the door on the hour. And for our cruise in December, when we were in the Remix center to sign up our girl, it didn't seem to be a crime to be a few minutes late there either.

I can see if parents are arriving 10 or more minutes late, it would be inconvenient for both the counselors and those parents already there, if there has to be a recap (I did exchange some words once in a PTA committee meeting with one parent who came late but expected a recap from me, and I told her to wait til after the meeting -- she didn't like that). But a few minutes late????

[Pia1913]

[quote name='BosoxI']There is nothing like having a real book in my hands. The joy of reading a good book is almost matched by the feel of a leather cover, beautiful illustrations, or fine paper. But there's no way I'm dragging books on a cruise ship, especially now with airline weight restrictions. Actually, I have usually been lucky in finding some decent books on board, but I don't need to take a chance anymore. If I can't find anything good, [COLOR=red][B]I have a good friend Mr. Kindle on the nightstand[/B][/COLOR].[/quote]

Ahem..........make that Ms. Kindle, if you please. ;)

[FritzG]

We were on the Celebrity Eclipse TA in October, and I was appalled at the passengers' attitude toward the "honor" library. By Day 2 the shelves were nearly empty, and all through the cruise we heard passengers saying that for what they paid for the cruise they were entitled to take books home. On the last morning there was a constant stream of people coming out of the library with a stack of books. They weren't b2b passengers because the ship was new to Miami, and the next cruise was a 3 day travel agent and special guest cruise.

I'm an avid reader, and I wish the libraries on Princess had longer hours, but I guess it has to be that way to keep a full library. On every Princess ship I've been on the donated books were in a separate, unlocked cabinet.

[Plant]

[quote name='Nancyquilts']And don't you get the urge to put everything in alphabetical order by author? I hate having books scattered all over out of place.:D[/quote]

This drives me nuts, too! How hard would it be to put books in alphabetical order?

[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]

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I had my Kindle "die" while on a cruise. Luckily, I found someone else with a Kindle who could look up the User's Guide on [I]their[/I] Kindle (the Guide is [U]useful[/U]-unless you can't get your Kindle to come on to read it!) Turn's out that all you have to do is push the power button all the way to the right for 15 seconds to reboot your Kindle.

[quote name='BosoxI']There is nothing like having a real book in my hands. The joy of reading a good book is almost matched by the feel of a leather cover, beautiful illustrations, or fine paper. But there's no way I'm dragging books on a cruise ship, especially now with airline weight restrictions. Actually, I have usually been lucky in finding some decent books on board, but I don't need to take a chance anymore. If I can't find anything good, I have a good friend Mr. Kindle on the nightstand.[/quote]

I bought the lighted Kindle cover from Amazon when I bought my Kindle. I love it! My Kindle feels like a "real" book and I can see what I'm reading :). I also love being able to increase the font size. I can't see the paperback size font very well anymore :(.

[Marian Paroo]

[quote name='BosoxI']There is nothing like having a real book in my hands. The joy of reading a good book is almost matched by the feel of a leather cover, beautiful illustrations, or fine paper. But there's no way I'm dragging books on a cruise ship, especially now with airline weight restrictions. Actually, I have usually been lucky in finding some decent books on board, but I don't need to take a chance anymore. If I can't find anything good, I have a good friend Mr. Kindle on the nightstand.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]After seeing the Edgar Allen Poe manuscript episode on [I]Warehouse 13[/I] last night (we are always a tad behind with American series here), I can see the advantages of a Kindle!!!!![/COLOR]

[BosoxI]

[quote name='Pia1913']Ahem..........make that Ms. Kindle, if you please. ;)[/quote]

I can't. I'm a happily married man:p