Passenger Not Prepared for What Cruise Ship Library Had To Offer

A video of a cruise passenger's unexpected find in a cruise ship's library facility has gone viral on TikTok. The clip was shared by @simplystevienicole and has had 171,000 views since it was posted on April 19. The footage was captured on the Liberty of the Seas vessel from the Royal Caribbean cruise line, according to a later comment by the poster. Read more: Compare the Best Rewards Credit Cards for Travel A message overlaid on the clip says: "When you were excited to see the cruise ship's library." The footage shows the camera go past a sign on a wall that reads, "Library." The camera then scans across a room with a few sofa chairs in it, as well as a nearly empty bookshelf, which has just a few books on it. A caption shared with the post reads: "This was so funny I had to share! I'm sure they don't keep many due to theft, but it was funny. Glad I stuffed my Kindle and brought my books too." The post comes as cruise passenger volume in 2023 reached 31.7 million, surpassing the figure reported in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, by 7 percent, according to a 2024 report from the Cruise Lines International Association. Read more: How to Choose a Travel Credit Card The number of passengers who are new to cruising was found to be on the rise. Just over a quarter (27 percent) people on cruises in the last two years were found to be new to it, marking an increase of 12 percent on the year prior, according to the report. Expedition and exploration were found be the fastest-growing sectors of cruise tourism, with a 71 percent rise in passengers traveling on expedition itineraries from 2019 to 2023, the report said.

'Disappointing'

Users on TikTok were amused by the scene in the viral clip. Jackie Poss simply wrote: "Well, that's disappointing." MissG9.6 said: "I used to work in the cruise industry. I tried so hard to change this. Forgive my failure, my friends." The original poster replied: "No worries dear! I just thought it was so funny. Unfortunately I'd say a lot of passengers unfortunately steal the books if the ship did try to stock it and probably the reason it's so empty." Cesar said: "There's gotta be a minimum number to legally be considered a library." User lithobreaker wrote: "I have more books on my personal bookshelf." "My local clinic has more books than this 'library,'" said @mrs.mulder. "The library sign takes up more room than all the books," wrote user578627455488. Newsweek has contacted the original poster via TikTok and Royal Caribbean by email for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

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