Books set on cruise ships

[arxcards]

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Usually I get annoyed with them because little details about the cruise environment are wrong, especially ones set in current times. I sometimes wonder if the author had ever set foot on a cruise ship. 

Ahh, yes. Frustrating. Movies have much the same problem, but then again, so do some travel writers and vlog'rs.

[Not_too_sirius]

If you want some REAL non-fiction about a different kind of cruise line's PIRATICAL business model, you should look for "The Barefoot Pirate"..

 

It's the story of Mike Burke and how he started with rebuilding a sunken sailboat and used every trick in the book to parlay into a fleet of 4 tall-ships.  Too bad mismanagement brought them down and they lost .3.  The last one, the Mandalay came back into service for about 4 years but bad luck brought a broken mast and then came COVID that dried up the cash.. She is sitting in the Trinidad boatyard praying for  a cash infusion to get this 100 year old lady back onto the open sea.

[cruiseaholic78]

This is a.good one.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28187230-the-woman-in-cabin-10

[cruiser3775]

21 hours ago, arxcards said:

They do have a couple of book/game trolleys in random places about the ship, and they could easily double-up on them if the passengers are utilising them.

Well that was the theory on Carnival Splendor last month. The reality was different. The book trolleys would hold a couple of hundred books when fully stocked. The reality was that the first day i went there were maybe 10 books, of which four were in languages other than English.  The only books I found on the ship, later in the voyage were ones placed on the trolley by other passengers, not ship's books.

 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, cruiser3775 said:

Well that was the theory on Carnival Splendor last month. The reality was different. The book trolleys would hold a couple of hundred books when fully stocked. The reality was that the first day i went there were maybe 10 books, of which four were in languages other than English.  The only books I found on the ship, later in the voyage were ones placed on the trolley by other passengers, not ship's books.

Yes, I would reaffirm that if there is interest, there will be stocked trolleys. If there is not much interest, they will be predominantly loaded with board games.

[cruiser3775]

The problem wasn't lack of interest. there were people everywhere reading actual books, not e-books.  I spoke to several who were as disgruntled as me about the lack of a library.  Obviously, Carnival had not stocked up on books at all, perhaps because it was coming off three weeks in dry dock. But more likely because the company is phasing out libraries completely.  By comparison, some pics of the excellent new library on Oosterdam:

 

[Bubbeh]

2 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

I spoke to several who were as disgruntled as me about the lack of a library.

Bit of a non sequitur; while lots may be disgruntled, is anyone ever gruntled?

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

The problem wasn't lack of interest. there were people everywhere reading actual books, not e-books.  I spoke to several who were as disgruntled as me about the lack of a library.  Obviously, Carnival had not stocked up on books at all, perhaps because it was coming off three weeks in dry dock. But more likely because the company is phasing out libraries completely.  By comparison, some pics of the excellent new library on Oosterdam:

 

Also an awesome library on QM2, which I would recommend you get the opportunity to visit at least once. If a library is an important consideration, don't cruise on Carnival.

[SinbadThePorter]

On 10/10/2024 at 9:22 AM, cruiser3775 said:

The reality was that the first day i went there were maybe 10 books, of which four were in languages other than English.

 

On Luminosa early last year I found three books in the library.

 

Two were in Italian and the other was a cricket biography.

 

Maybe all the other books were on loan. 🤓

[cruiser3775]

55 minutes ago, arxcards said:

If a library is an important consideration, don't cruise on Carnival.

It is not among my biggest criteria, but it is one of the factors I think about when booking. The library is one of the places I go to on my first day exploration of the ship. I wish I could take more books with me, but flying into a city to start the cruise makes it difficult, and I dislike e-books.

For several reasons, I have decided that Carnival is just not a good fit for me - also not happy with the choice of on board entertainment.  The basic problem is the lack of cruises in and out of Australia in our winter. Now I'm having to fly further to get to cruise ports.

 

I'm booked on a Cunard cruise next year, and looking forward to their library.

 

[arxcards]

6 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

It is not among my biggest criteria, but it is one of the factors I think about when booking. The library is one of the places I go to on my first day exploration of the ship. I wish I could take more books with me, but flying into a city to start the cruise makes it difficult, and I dislike e-books.

For several reasons, I have decided that Carnival is just not a good fit for me - also not happy with the choice of on board entertainment.  The basic problem is the lack of cruises in and out of Australia in our winter. Now I'm having to fly further to get to cruise ports.

 

I'm booked on a Cunard cruise next year, and looking forward to their library.

 

That is the dilemma. For years I wished P&O could be more like Princess, but there are plenty that love P&O the way it is and prefer it to Princess, so it is really about my taste and not about P&O changing.

 

I know this isn't true, so I am only stirring the pot - perhaps vigorously. As they say, readers are leaders. One could sarcastically think that Carnival has removed Splendor's library because not many of their target market can read.

[ceeceeDee]

11 hours ago, arxcards said:

That is the dilemma. For years I wished P&O could be more like Princess, but there are plenty that love P&O the way it is and prefer it to Princess, so it is really about my taste and not about P&O changing.

 

I know this isn't true, so I am only stirring the pot - perhaps vigorously. As they say, readers are leaders. One could sarcastically think that Carnival has removed Splendor's library because not many of their target market can read.

Naughty, Geoff! 😄 The same has been said about P&O's target market. 😂 Mind you, they don't actually advertise the existence of a library. I think we went on about 2 P&O cruises before I realised they even had one.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

Naughty, Geoff! 😄 The same has been said about P&O's target market. 😂 Mind you, they don't actually advertise the existence of a library. I think we went on about 2 P&O cruises before I realised they even had one.

We were lucky. Our first P&O cruise was on Pacific Sun and nearly everyone knew where the library was, because at dinner time it morphed into the Steakhouse. 

[Sally0101]

"Table for Eight"  by Tricia Stringer  is set on a cruise ship from Sydney going to the pacific.  

 

[cruiser3775]

16 hours ago, arxcards said:

One could sarcastically think that Carnival has removed Splendor's library because not many of their target market can read.

I tend to agree. Carnival obviously thinks we all leave our brains behind when we go on a cruise.  Sure, I'm an expert at relaxing, but I hate being regarded as dumb enough to accept what they are offering for entertainment. Their "enrichment" speakers were abysmal.

[Essiesmom]

Years ago, someone on CC recommended The Ship Dwellers: The story of a happy cruise.  By Albert Bigelow Paine.  This was written in 1908 about a voyage taken by the author.  When he was a child in the 1860s his father brought home The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain and read it to the family.  Ever since he had wanted to recreate that journey.  Finally did it in his 40s.  Left from NYC on Valentines Day.  It’s very descriptive, and especially interesting if you have done a TA and continued into the eastern Med…which at that time was considered The Orient.  He ended the narrative in Egypt…I think he ran out of adjectives.  It’s available on Amazon free for Kindle.

  After reading that, I also got the Twain book free for Kindle.  I did t like it as well as The Ship Dwellers… it rather reads like a frat boys summer off.  
  If you don’t own a Kindle, you can get the Kindle app on your tablet.  When I get books I know will have charts or pictures I get them on my iPad.  EM

   

[Kristelle]

I recently read a book called Dangerous Women by Hope Adams.

 

Not set on a cruise ship - but is set on a ship voyage.

 

Dangerous Women by Hope Adams

Story of women aboard the Rajah, a ship transporting women convicts to then Van Diemens Land in 1841
On the voyage they collectively make the large patchwork quilt now known as the Rajah Quilt
This is historical fact - the Rajah really was a convict ship and the Rajah Quilt really was made on board and is now in the National Museum in Canberra
The main characters are real historical people - and then author invents stories of the women convicts and a murder mystery on board - interesting historical fiction although the mystery itself does drag out a bit.

Edited Monday at 07:42 AM by Kristelle

[arxcards]

14 hours ago, Kristelle said:

I recently read a book called Dangerous Women by Hope Adams.

 

Not set on a cruise ship - but is set on a ship voyage.

 

Dangerous Women by Hope Adams

Story of women aboard the Rajah, a ship transporting women convicts to then Van Diemens Land in 1841
On the voyage they collectively make the large patchwork quilt now known as the Rajah Quilt
This is historical fact - the Rajah really was a convict ship and the Rajah Quilt really was made on board and is now in the National Museum in Canberra
The main characters are real historical people - and then author invents stories of the women convicts and a murder mystery on board - interesting historical fiction although the mystery itself does drag out a bit.

I wonder if there is a connection to Tassie's Female Factory.

[possum52]

6 hours ago, arxcards said:

I wonder if there is a connection to Tassie's Female Factory.

There were I think five Female Factories in Tasmania, operating from c1821 to c1856 and it is likely the women would have been sent to one of the then existing Female factories or assigned to free settlers as servants.

 

My husband's great great grandmother's sister was a convict on the Rajah on the same voyage when the quilt was made. I would like to think Mary was involved in the making of the Rajah quilt but probably not, knowing some of the story of her life in VDL. Mary was assigned to a free settler in Hobart and then went to Launceston Female Factory. Her sister, Rob's great great grandmother and their mother were also convicts who arrived the same year. All convicted of quite minor crimes in Liverpool. 

Edited Tuesday at 04:31 AM by possum52

[arxcards]

12 minutes ago, possum52 said:

There were I think five Female Factories in Tasmania, operating from c1821 to c1856 and it is likely the women would have been sent to one of the then existing Female factories.

 

My husband's great great grandmother's sister was a convict on the Rajah on the same voyage when the quilt was made. I would like to think Mary was involved in the making of the Rajah quilt but probably not, knowing some of the story of her life in VDL. Mary was sent to Launceston Female Factory where she married twice. Her sister, Rob's great great grandmother and their mother were also convicts who arrived the same year. All convicted of quite minor crimes in Liverpool. 

Amazing. Thanks Leigh.

I was only aware of the one outside of Hobart. VDL was rarely a destination of choice in those days.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Amazing. Thanks Leigh.

I was only aware of the one outside of Hobart. VDL was rarely a destination of choice in those days.

Actually VDL was a choice of quite a few free settlers including some of Rob's ancestors and rellies who settled in Hobart and the Longford district near Launceston. The Hobart ones went on to Melbourne after a few years but the Longford ones mainly stayed and farmed in the area. Former Australian cricketer David Boon is a descendant of these early settlers at Longford. Those who didn't stay in Longford moved to South Australia and Victoria.

[Bubbeh]

21 hours ago, possum52 said:

Her sister, Rob's great great grandmother and their mother were also convicts who arrived the same year. All convicted of quite minor crimes in Liverpool. 

Not trying to be rude or in any way cast aspersions on your family history but, is anyone's convict rellie actually convicted of a major crime?  Over the years I've known heaps of people with transported ancestors (and some that just claimed they did) and without exception each has been convicted of a minor crime eg, stealing bread, handkerchiefs etc.  What on earth did colonial Britain do with her heinous criminals?  Especially those that were not executed.

[possum52]

23 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

Not trying to be rude or in any way cast aspersions on your family history but, is anyone's convict rellie actually convicted of a major crime?  Over the years I've known heaps of people with transported ancestors (and some that just claimed they did) and without exception each has been convicted of a minor crime eg, stealing bread, handkerchiefs etc.  What on earth did colonial Britain do with her heinous criminals?  Especially those that were not executed.

Cast away! 😂 Between us we have a few ancestors/rellies who were transported, all to Tasmania and the ancestors all ended up in Victoria after their time was finished. Yes, all were convicted of fairly minor crimes although two were sentenced to life. One for assault and robbery and the other for smuggling. These two were transported during the 1820s.
 

Things were pretty tough in Great Britain and Ireland. People were starving and stole to feed and clothe their families. I’m sure our convicts were not necessarily bad but were caught up in their destitution and the younger members of their families followed into criminal activities. 
 

Rob has mother and daughter convicts and I have two fathers and sons. 
 

Those convicted of more serious crimes were hung in GB and Ireland. 
 

Convict records, particularly those for Tasmania/VDL are easy to access. 

 

In the mid 1700s, the brother of one of my ancestors was transported to America for life, he was part of a notorious smuggling gang on the south east coast of England. His trial transcript is online on the Old Bailey website. 

[Bubbeh]

21 hours ago, possum52 said:

Rob has mother and daughter convicts and I have two fathers and sons. 
 

Those convicted of more serious crimes were hung in GB and Ireland. 
 

Convict records, particularly those for Tasmania/VDL are easy to access. 

 

In the mid 1700s, the brother of one of my ancestors was transported to America for life, he was part of a notorious smuggling gang on the south east coast of England. His trial transcript is online on the Old Bailey website

Crikey that's impressive. All I can claim is the possibly fallacious story that we come from a long line of witches.  Grumpy is convinced it's true and that all I lack is a familiar (black cat) then I'd excel.  😜