Grandeur and chair hogs

[Mark_K]

And I can guarantee you those two couples will think twice before they tie up those chairs for more than 3 hours again........This is the last of my comments about this subject ....I did the right thing and no one can tell me otherwise!!!!!

Long set behaviors are not likely to change from one event. My guess is that they chalked it up to someone being a jerk and will continue on their merry way without changing at all.

[Jerseyboy1]

Hey referee....more power to ya. I can't stand chair hogs either. Rules are rules. These people are probably the same ones that blow by me in the right-hand lane of the interstate because where they are going is more important than my safety. We can't all just rollover for these people. You did the right thing.

[DetroitMark]

Hey Detroit...I can only wish that on your next cruise, that you and your family will be one of those poor souls that will keep walking around the pool area,asking "IS THAT SEAT SAVED"

 

Yeah. I don't doubt for a MOMENT you would wish ill will on someone else. Probably get some pleasure from it too. We already established, that's the kind of person you seem to be, remember?

[cage keeper]

Good for you Referee. If more people would do this instead of just "talking about it" the pool hogs would soon get fed up, being in the minority. I believe that you have every right to do this. These "me people" are being totally selfish and inconsiderate of others. My husband has done the same thing in the past, usually after waiting a reasonable amount of time (1 hour) and we have never had any problem. I believe you have to stand up and be counted in life, especially between RIGHT AND WRONG.

 

I hope Referee is on my next cruise and I would be eternily grateful for her or him opening up chairs for me. We almost never sit by the pool because there are no empty chairs available. Only towels reserving them. On our Explorer cruise last March a very nice young pool girl did keep chairs open. The only time we had great seats. :D

[Morecruisesplz]

I hope Referee is on my next cruise and I would be eternily grateful for her or him opening up chairs for me. We almost never sit by the pool because there are no empty chairs available. Only towels reserving them. On our Explorer cruise last March a very nice young pool girl did keep chairs open. The only time we had great seats. :D

 

It's a shame this customer had to do the job of the cruise line employees but they really give us no choice when they have rules but refuse to enforce them. We checked into our timeshare condo in Cabo this year and there was a new sign on the kitchen counter: "Many guests enjoy picking their favorite pool chair location by leaving a towel and personal belongings on it early each morning. Because we want all of guests to be happy you might also want to make a early trip to the pool to pick out your chair for the day." That might be happen next on cruises.

 

But please be careful when removing the belongings of others. On our family Disney cruise earlier this year I was reading a book at a table near the pool one morning waiting for some of the grandkids to come up for breakfast. The entire first two rows of chairs had towels and stuff on them by then. A couple came out, grabbed the towels on two first row chairs and the magazines, threw them on nearby chairs and started to sit down. Just then a very upset older lady jumped up from another table and went running up to the couple and chewed them out very loudly - up one side and down the other. I thought for sure they were going to come to blows! The couple who had moved her stuff left the pool area totally embarrassed and the lady (I'm guessing Grandma sent there to keep an eye on stuff) went back to her table to keep watch.

 

You never know who might be watching you!

[KYCRUISEMAN]

That's been my only experience with the "hogs". They reserve 6 seats then have Grandma sit nearby to chase people away. It's all wrong, but it's human nature.

 

No conflict from me. We always are able to find a place to go even if it's to grab the single un-used chair and carrying it around until we find another one to pair it with!

 

But - we're not chair hogs and I don't like 'em at all.....

[GXmanDC]

I'm surprised anyone is annoyed with the OP. On my cruises the deck staff has been pretty good about picking up the belongings. I'd be pissed if I came out and saw no lounge chairs available because people left towels or other belongings to "reserve" the chairs. I wish RCI would be even better about it, and make all those people pay for lost towels. It would add to the company's bottom line.

[Scotchick]

Nobody likes chair hogs, except the chair hogs. In all honesty, I have to say that it actually hasn't happened to us a lot, but at the same time, we would have no hesitation at all in dealing with it. This is actually the cruise lines job to enforce this rule, which of course, they are not doing, and this entails people taking it into their own hands. We all should impress on the cruise management how much of a problem this can be. Of course, one would need to have some b..ls in order to stand up to both the cruise lines and the offending chair hogs. This seems to be lacking with some of our fellow cruisers. Also, to equate removing someone's belongings from a chair to viciously damaging their vehicle seems to be quite ridiculous to me.

[compman9]

Dealing with chair hogs is easy for cruise lines, if they cared enough about their paying guests. The only reason for leaving a towel should be to use the pool facilities or restroom.

 

All pool towels could have,

"If not back in 30 minutes please remove."

written on one side of the towel.

 

All passengers should be entitled to ask a pool attendant to monitor these towels.

[DetroitMark]

Another possibility is that they had an emergency, or someone fell ill, or they're an elderly couple who put their things there ... went for a soda ... and completely forgot where they were sitting.

 

But once you've appointed yourself as cop and executioner, the only possible story is the one that appoints you king.

 

One cruiser wrote, "It's a shame this customer had to do the job of the cruise line employees but they really give us no choice when they have rules but refuse to enforce them."

 

Well ... no, you have other choices. One is to mind your own business when you and the Mrs are all set with a chair already and the shoes on the chair 20 feet away isn't affecting your life one whit.

 

.

[Treckr1]

We just returned from this cruise. A delightful interlude for everyone who was able to relax and just enjoy rain or shine.

 

Apparently OP cannot relax and mind their own business.

 

We used and enjoyed the Solarium each day - throughout the day. At no time did we have any difficulty finding seating. We joined groups of 5 in the hot tubs and had wonderful conversations. Sometimes we had the whole hot tub to ourselves.

 

Repeat - seating was a NON-ISSUE.

 

Which of the other 9 Commandments did you break on board?

[Mark_K]

Nobody likes chair hogs, except the chair hogs. In all honesty, I have to say that it actually hasn't happened to us a lot, but at the same time, we would have no hesitation at all in dealing with it. This is actually the cruise lines job to enforce this rule, which of course, they are not doing, and this entails people taking it into their own hands. We all should impress on the cruise management how much of a problem this can be. Of course, one would need to have some b..ls in order to stand up to both the cruise lines and the offending chair hogs. This seems to be lacking with some of our fellow cruisers. Also, to equate removing someone's belongings from a chair to viciously damaging their vehicle seems to be quite ridiculous to me.

I'm not quite clear on how the fact that RCI doesn't enforce a rule gives you the right to. Do you also forceably remove people from the MDR if they're wearing shorts? Or if the cops aren't enforcing the use a turn signal rule and you see someone not signaling do you pull them over and give them a Taylor 1 ticket?

[Mark_K]

Dealing with chair hogs is easy for cruise lines, if they cared enough about their paying guests. The only reason for leaving a towel should be to use the pool facilities or restroom.

 

All pool towels could have,

"If not back in 30 minutes please remove."

written on one side of the towel.

 

All passengers should be entitled to ask a pool attendant to monitor these towels.

All passengers ARE entitled to do that.

[thestonewolf]

Seriously!! You had no business throwing away someone else's shoes! or $80 worth of towels.

 

I could see if you wanted to use the chairs, perhaps MOVING their stuff, but clearly you already had chairs! What is it to you???

 

Childish, yes. Perhaps borderline criminal!

 

Shame on you.:mad:

 

I think the shame should be more on the people that left their stuff there. There is no reason at all for the chairs to be unused for that long a period. I'm sorry but if you aren't there for more then a half hour, you have lost the use of that chair. :cool:

[DetroitMark]

I'm sorry but if you aren't there for more then a half hour, you have lost the use of that chair. :cool:

 

You apologize as though you're unfortunately the one who has to enforce the rule, much as you dislike it.

 

lol

 

......er.......I'm sorry.......but you're not.

 

 

The ship creates, polices, and enforces its rules. Passengers have no more power than a passing gull to do anything but deal with it on their own emotional level, or take matters into their own hands and move themselves into the same realm of arrogant, self involved rule breaking as they experience the "Chair Hog" to be. In fact, worse on a some levels because usually the Chair Hog never meant to hurt anyone, they just weren't considerate. The self perceived "Rule Police" proceeds with fully conscious malice.

[SamFritz]

For those who are criticizing this "citizen police" approach: how about this? What if instead of taking the towels and personal belongings away, the items were just set on a nearby table or on the floor?

[Mark_K]

For those who are criticizing this "citizen police" approach: how about this? What if instead of taking the towels and personal belongings away, the items were just set on a nearby table or on the floor?

I guess that would be better than throwing someone else's belongs in the used towel bin, which is clearly inappropriate. But still, IMO, the appropriate thing to do, assuming you feel the need to do something, it is to let RCI staff know about the situation and let them do whatever it is they want to do.

[Rala]

For those who are criticizing this "citizen police" approach: how about this? What if instead of taking the towels and personal belongings away, the items were just set on a nearby table or on the floor?

 

I HAVE done exactly this, Sam, of course after waiting a reasonable time (half hour or so) for the hogs to return. Never had a problem.

 

To Detroit Mark...Your statement "The ship creates, polices, and enforces its rules"...... The ship may create the rules, but as for policing and enforcing them, they DO NOT !!! If they did, this thread and many others would not exist.

[Mark_K]

I HAVE done exactly this, Sam, of course after waiting a reasonable time (half hour or so) for the hogs to return. Never had a problem.

 

To Detroit Mark...Your statement "The ship creates, polices, and enforces its rules"...... The ship may create the rules, but as for policing and enforcing them, they DO NOT !!! If they did, this thread and many others would not exist.

It is, in the end, their ship and their rule. I'm not quite clear on how the fact that RCI chooses not to strictly enforce it gives the passengers the right to.

[DetroitMark]

For those who are criticizing this "citizen police" approach: how about this? What if instead of taking the towels and personal belongings away, the items were just set on a nearby table or on the floor?

 

This is a kind, sane approach. You know .... the polite kind our mothers taught us when we were six.

 

The vigilante-style "rules into your own hands" approach just makes half the people frown at you, most of the other half laugh at you ... and about 4 people support you until the day Cruise Critic deletes your thread because it got BORING.

[bigdaddyvoges]

I honestly can't believe there are cheerleaders for this behavior. They are old and crotchety.....nuff said..... if I saw YOU touching my belonging, YOU would have a problem on your hands, what you did is simply NOT right. Nowhere in your docs does it say you have the right to touch and move peoples stuff and possibly cost them money.... SHAME on you!!!!

[jplotts865]

Unfortunately we live in a rather rude, "me first" sort of world where manners and consideration have all but vanished. When I run into this problem - and I certainly have - I just find ANY person in a uniform and ask them to help me find a place to sit. I have always been successful dealing with this problem in this manner - and I don't have to get into a potential screaming match with some obnoxious fellow passenger with that damned "I bought my ticket, I can do as I please" mentaility.

[CodyC815]

I have to side with the OP, I've never done it but I've had times when there were two people in the solarium but every chair was taken

[bbenson]

The difference between right and wrong........ hummm.

 

It is WRONG to STEAL the belongings of other people.

 

Plain and simple.

 

 

True, however, it is NOT wrong to turn items into ship staff that are obviously Lost or Abandoned as these items so obviously were.....

 

i mean its one thing if you set your stuff down on a chair and then get in the pool, or get a drink at the pool bar, or something. As long as you are still in the immediate area and can see the chair and your stuff then I don't think it matters how long you are /are not in the chair and I don't mean having grandma hold six chairs for someone that's never there. I mean you, the chair holder be the vicinity.

 

But it's entirely different when people plop their stuff down and then go back to their cabin to finish sleeping, or the SPA or whatever and aren't using the chair and seem to have very little interest in using the chair.

 

At that point I really have to stop and consider...well, he/she set down his/her towel and hasn't been back in X hours and is nowhere to be seen. At this point YES, I'd say it's perfectly fine to move someone else's things.... after all, if they actually CARED about the stuff they wouldn't set it down and leave it forever!

[martinchem]

I say gently put their crap under the lounge. If they say something just deny any idea of what their talking about and say well at least whomever moved your stuff didn't put it in that garbage can over there, and point toward any direction. I have enjoyed many a "reserved" lounge with no interuption for the duration of my stay, I'd say 99% of the times.