Carnival Cruise Line is starting the process of removing libraries from its cruise ships.
The cruise line is no longer building libraries on any new ships built, and ships with existing libraries are having them removed during renovation at dry dock, to make way for more space in other venues.
Traditionally, a cruise ship’s library is a smaller venue anyway, with a selection of books and often board games that passengers can borrow and use during their cruise.
Book selections would vary by ship, and board games weren’t always complete, showing that the cruise line wouldn’t put a lot of investment into the library once complete anyway.
And it has now been confirmed that, due to fewer guests using the libraries on the ships, the decision has been made to remove them and either add more bar space or expand other popular venues, such as the casino.
We have stopped building new ships with libraries. The reason is so we can have other bars, restaurants etc. there and the reason is also that, well, the amount of people who want to borrow a book and sit, in library silence on their Fun cruise was, we saw, getting less and less.
John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador
Reaction on Carnival’s social media has been mixed – some past guests are sad that a traditional cruise feature is disappearing, while others didn’t even know that there was a library onboard.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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Can Carnival think of any more ways to get more income. Removing libraries is the last straw – to make room for no doubt another bar. No longer is cruising with them a pleasure. They don’t care at all for their passengers it’s all about how much they can get away with. Shocking.
I always think its a pity that the Entertainment team don’t organise a specific time for games like scrabble, rummikub, etc for passengers, like myself, who do not have anybody to play with so that they can meet up with others to enjoy a game. As it is, you need a partner, so the games hardly get used.
I always bring my Kindle with me on vacations so I won’t miss the library on a cruise ship. I know some people and families like to play games but many often had pieces missing. Sometimes it was just a nice place to meet someone else who liked to read or a quiet place to hide out for a bit. The older crowd might miss them the most but the majority of people are looking for some fun and excitement when they go on a cruise. You can stay home and read.
Funny, Holland America is returning libraries to its ships. Maybe that’s where the books are coming fom.
That would make sense!
Sometimes you want a place to be scape that’s quiet, was included in your base fare, was someplace to even listen to your audiobook in peace. A nice place away from the hustle and bustle. I have found the libraries onboard say NCL or Royal ships, tucked away many times and you might see people “hiding away” while gazing out the window, or playing a game, or reading on their Kindle or finding a book to wile away the time. I think many of we readers, even in if we bring our own entertainment, want that specific spot to get away because being alone doesn’t mean being lonely. But hearing that Carnival will turn the real estate into another bar or restaurant or shop is kind of sad because it just means they want to increase their income. A library doesn’t make you money. So it’s sad but understandable but “depressing” for those of us that don’t necessarily want to drink ourselves into a stupor or gamble. Oh well. I’ve only been on a 4-night Carnival cruise anyway; no time to look for a library Rhenish if I had wanted.