Ship library

[lukes]

Wondering if the library on the NCL gem s available for lending books?  Are there children's books available?  Would save packing some for night time reading. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[weltek]

Assuming the Gem is like the other NCL ships I've been on, yes, you can check out books. Not sure about the availability of children's books. I have to imagine there are at least some.

[ontheweb]

How about the Prima? Does it have a library, or has NCL eliminated in on their newbuilds?

[MagnoliaBlossom]

On the Star in August there were no books in the library at all.  I assume they had been removed as a precaution with COVID and had not been returned.

 

it is not quite the same experience, but you could download the Kindle app to your iPad and get books from several sites for free.

[KP@Sea]

I wonder if the Kid’s Club has any books that they would be willing to lend?

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

How about the Prima? Does it have a library, or has NCL eliminated in on their newbuilds?

No library. 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No library. 

I wish the answer was different 😢, but thanks for answering my question.

[Sand and Seas]

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

How about the Prima? Does it have a library, or has NCL eliminated in on their newbuilds?

Someone we chatted with on the Prima said there was some type of app offered onboard to download books.   It was like something her local library allowed for downloads.  Sorry I don't know more than that as I prefer reading hard copy books.  

 

Having said that, I found it interesting that Prima's Observation lounge was lined with bookshelves.  There were many interesting books on those shelves, but many were 'glued' together.   We enjoyed reading the variety of titles on those shelves.  Actually saw a Norah Roberts book in French🤔 

 

There are cabinets by the starboard entrance that contain Sudoko, Crosswords, Scrabble & other games.  I also left a hard-copy book in one of the cabinets there for someone else to enjoy and saw a couple of others left there too.   

 

As a side-note, if you visit the Observation Lounge between 3 & 5pm, there are great fresh baked oatmeal cookies, quiche, and some nice little sandwiches.  Also loved the bar there.  The OL isn't as large as on Bliss & other ships, but still very nice.

[MSUjohn]

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No library. 

well that sucks and sucks hard. the library is one of my favorite things on the ship. always a day one activity. i always suspected this would happen; not only does it occupy space on a ship that doesn't generate revenue.... if you are in your stateroom reading a book you are not out spending money elsewhere. they can now use that space to nickel and dime us for something that use to be complementary. 

[SplashOfWater]

2 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Someone we chatted with on the Prima said there was some type of app offered onboard to download books.   It was like something her local library allowed for downloads.  Sorry I don't know more than that as I prefer reading hard copy books.

It's the Libby app. I use it to check out ebooks and audio books from my local county library system. From what I read, the app is used on the Prima, but you can't see what's available in the "library" until embarkation day. There's more info here, under the "Norwegian Prima's Digital Library" section:
https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/prima/whats-on-board/Activities

[dexddd]

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I wish the answer was different 😢, but thanks for answering my question.

If you are in Haven on Prima there were books in the lounge and we had probably 20 in our room.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Someone we chatted with on the Prima said there was some type of app offered onboard to download books.   It was like something her local library allowed for downloads.  Sorry I don't know more than that as I prefer reading hard copy books.  

 

Having said that, I found it interesting that Prima's Observation lounge was lined with bookshelves.  There were many interesting books on those shelves, but many were 'glued' together.   We enjoyed reading the variety of titles on those shelves.  Actually saw a Norah Roberts book in French🤔 

 

There are cabinets by the starboard entrance that contain Sudoko, Crosswords, Scrabble & other games.  I also left a hard-copy book in one of the cabinets there for someone else to enjoy and saw a couple of others left there too.   

 

As a side-note, if you visit the Observation Lounge between 3 & 5pm, there are great fresh baked oatmeal cookies, quiche, and some nice little sandwiches.  Also loved the bar there.  The OL isn't as large as on Bliss & other ships, but still very nice.

Books glued together, that is strange. And I agree with you that physically holding a book is the way to go.

 

Thank you for the information about the Observation Lodge.

 

 

[ontheweb]

5 minutes ago, dexddd said:

If you are in Haven on Prima there were books in the lounge and we had probably 20 in our room.

Not in the Haven, but I guess your information might be useful to some others.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Before we leave home I always download ten books on my kindle.  Since I’m an KindleUnlimited member I can only down load ten at a time.

 

in the past I have found free/unlimited books for children and brought them along.  You can also use your iPad or laptop by using the free Kindle app.

[Sand and Seas]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Books glued together, that is strange. And I agree with you that physically holding a book is the way to go.

 

Thank you for the information about the Observation Lodge.

 

 

It was strange!  We saw some interesting book titles, and they were REAL books, but I guess they wanted to keep most of them on the shelves as decor.   

[vtgumby]

We just got off the GEM a few days ago and it had a very nicely stocked library including children’s books. A fairly good selection of adult fiction including multi lingual books with their usual strange hours of being open for one hour late afternoon.
In any case, hopefully they won’t change anything after dry dock which is where the GEM is right now.

[Treasure Hunter]

Check at guest services for books left

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, vtgumby said:

We just got off the GEM a few days ago and it had a very nicely stocked library including children’s books. A fairly good selection of adult fiction including multi lingual books with their usual strange hours of being open for one hour late afternoon.
In any case, hopefully they won’t change anything after dry dock which is where the GEM is right now.

WHOA...you actually answered the original question! Well done!