How does the library work?

[meandmycruise]

I'm a big reader and imagine I'll want to use the shipboard library frequently when on my 11 day cruise.

 

How does it work? Do you just help yourself or do you have to check books out and back in? What types of books does the library offer?

 

Hoping it's not all a Readers Digest Condensed and National Geographics!

[paul929207]

I have seen it both ways on Princess ships. Sometimes, the library was open set hours with a member of the cruise staff checking books out. On other ships, the library was not monitored and was open 24 hours.

[Aus Traveller]

I'm a big reader and imagine I'll want to use the shipboard library frequently when on my 11 day cruise.

 

How does it work? Do you just help yourself or do you have to check books out and back in? What types of books does the library offer?

 

Hoping it's not all a Readers Digest Condensed and National Geographics!

There aren't any Readers Digest Condensed or National Geographics! The selection is a reasonable range of fiction and a non-fiction section. I suggest you go to the library as soon as you can after you board. You will find that very soon, there is not much of a selection left.

[LoriPhil]

The library size varies by ship - some will have more selection than others.

 

Typically there is also a shelf or two near the games where other cruisers have left their paperbacks (those are available to take off-ship when you leave if you're still reading .. basically those paperbacks are "free to a good home"). I always donate the books I brought to read while traveling - makes room for different books to read on the way home!

Edited September 8, 2016 by LoriPhil

[RNGALNG]

My husband is also a prolific reader. I like getting the daily quizzes they leave out. So we visit the library often on each ship. In the past few years, they have made it a self serve room. You can go look, remove a book, sign a paper on the desk that you are borrowing it, and go off to 'read all the words out of it.' They ask that you return them by a certain day/time before your cruise is over.

 

they have all subject matter on the shelves. Fiction to travel to biography. . . most are hardbound and a good portion are newer editions or new books. If you travel with paperbacks, most ships will have a place for you to donate your empties and to just pick up a new one for the trip home. It's all a win/win room and area for all of us book lovers. Enjoy!

[daka]

Unfortunately, too many people are "hogs", they go right to the library and grab a bunch of books right away. By day 2 there is hardly any "good stuff" left.

Then, to compound the problem, they don't return the books till the last day.

I have given up on this...I bought a tablet, and I download 3 or 4 books from the library for the cruise....

[champagne123]

Bring your own book. The amount of germs on publicly used magazines and books is insane. They are actually dirtier than paper money. You may google it if you don't believe me. The WORST are the magazines in Doctor offices. Ewwwww.

[moki'smommy]

As noted, the size of the library varies greatly by ship. On the Diamond it was more than 3 times the size of the Caribbean.

 

Our experience (Caribbean November/December 2015, Diamond 2016) was that the library was open 24/7 on an honor system. Each morning there was a suduko and a crossword puzzle placed on a counter--take one if interested. The books were divided into a section of shelves of books supplied by PCL (mostly hard cover with an ID on them) and a set of shelves of books left by guests. On the Diamond, the Princess collection was further divided into fiction and non-fiction sections. You take what you wish, return it when you are finished or by the end of the cruise. I usually bring a couple of books for airplane reading, etc. and contribute these to the "left by guests" section so someone else can enjoy them.

 

The selections, topics, authors were wide ranging. On the Caribbean, the "left by section" was basically 2 shelves. On the Diamond it was 3 sets of shelves, floor to above my head height.

[Gwendy]

Bring your own book. The amount of germs on publicly used magazines and books is insane. They are actually dirtier than paper money. You may google it if you don't believe me. The WORST are the magazines in Doctor offices. Ewwwww.

Been using public libraries for over 50 years, no major issues. Also worked in a lschool library for years, with all those grubby kids, still no issues. Wash hands before and after reading if you need to.

I generally sign up for book club, books issued from library generally on first sea day, then hosted meeting to discuss. Check Princess Patter for details, also details in Cruise Personaliser re which books are being read if you want to get an early start.

[moki'smommy]

Unfortunately, too many people are "hogs", they go right to the library and grab a bunch of books right away. By day 2 there is hardly any "good stuff" left.

Then, to compound the problem, they don't return the books till the last day.

I have given up on this...

 

Some people do this, but I was pleased to find something of interest almost each time I went down...which was almost daily on our 20 night cruise. And I did return each book as I finished with it.

[gottagocit]

I'm a big reader and imagine I'll want to use the shipboard library frequently when on my 11 day cruise.

 

How does it work? Do you just help yourself or do you have to check books out and back in? What types of books does the library offer?

 

Hoping it's not all a Readers Digest Condensed and National Geographics!

 

Shortly after the release of my first novel I've donated a couple copies to library to the Emerals's library and one for the crews reading collection on our next cruise. For the entire voyage both remained checked out and the end of the transatlantic neither were on the shelves. Hopefully that meant several different cruisers were enjoying them. Unfortunately I've read many posts indicating some people to take treat the library as a free source of books to keep. I had hoped by signing them with a note stating they were for the ship's library, they would remain there. Next time we sail on the ship I'll check.

 

I'll be on the Caribbean in a couple weeks and will do the same there.

 

Chris

[Sea Hag]

Bring your own book. The amount of germs on publicly used magazines and books is insane. They are actually dirtier than paper money. You may google it if you don't believe me. The WORST are the magazines in Doctor offices. Ewwwww.

 

You're for sure right on that! The other shoe dropped for me a couple of years ago about magazines in the doctor's office. Ewwww! Now I take my Kindle.

[waltd]

As far as ship library's go the worst and emptiest was on the Caribbean Princess in April and the best I've ever seen was on the QM2. WOW what a library.

[OCruisers]

The library size varies by ship - some will have more selection than others.

 

Typically there is also a shelf or two near the games where other cruisers have left their paperbacks (those are available to take off-ship when you leave if you're still reading .. basically those paperbacks are "free to a good home"). I always donate the books I brought to read while traveling - makes room for different books to read on the way home!

 

Best to get to the "free to good home" selection the first day you board the ship. ;)

[floridalover5623]

I find that the selections lately on Princess are pretty poor. Everyone is using readers these days.

I load up at home before leaving & have plenty to last the trip.

[Jasperdo]

I saw in your signature that you will be on the Emerald Princess. The library on that ship is quite small. Here are a few photos of the library on the Ruby Princess, a sister ship of the Emerald. As you can see, many of the shelves are empty. As others have said, go early for the best selection:

 

 

 

 

[easyboy]

Unfortunately, too many people are "hogs", they go right to the library and grab a bunch of books right away. By day 2 there is hardly any "good stuff" left.

Then, to compound the problem, they don't return the books till the last day.

I have given up on this...I bought a tablet, and I download 3 or 4 books from the library for the cruise....

After much disappointment on book hogs in most cruises, my niece now uses ebooks on her kindle. Came in handy too on her bag.

[Lucky TGO]

My wife always takes her own books and leaves them in the library.

Tony

[meandmycruise]

I saw in your signature that you will be on the Emerald Princess. The library on that ship is quite small. Here are a few photos of the library on the Ruby Princess, a sister ship of the Emerald. As you can see, many of the shelves are empty.

 

Thanks for the photos. It is small! I'll add a trip to the library to my list of things to do as soon as I board. I've got a couple of books I might reread and then donate too.

[wishfulone]

As others have said, the good books go very quickly. I choose one on the first day and by the time I return it the shelves are usually quite empty so the second choice is always a bit ho hum. Some ship's have good libraries others are a bit weird. On a cruise early this year almost every book (fact and fiction) was about the supernatural or gory sci-fi type of thing. There was nothing I wanted to borrow.