Towel hogs

[PescadoAmarillo]

Dealing with towel hogs should not be the responsibility of the paying passenger. It is an inherent problem with mega sized cruise ships which results in a free-for-all. And, that's why we have decided to sail on smaller more passenger friendly ships.

This is very true. We went from the HAL Maasdam last November to the Emerald Princess. On the Maasdam, I could get a chair poolside anytime of day, port day or sea day. It wasn't that people didn't use them, it's that there was no shortage of chairs. No shortage meant no need for anyone to chair hog...when people weren't using the chair, there was nothing placed on it to hold it, because they knew there would be another one available when they returned.

[Alberta_Cruisers]

As bad as the situation is with chair hogs (and it is very bad!) I would hate to think everyone is sitting around watching everyone else, being timed when going for a swim or even worse being interrogated when I returned from the bathroom. Sounds like something out of the old Soviet Union:rolleyes:

 

I agree. A number of comments have indicated that you walk in, find an empty chair regardless of the items there and claim it as your own after 10 mins or so. The person could be in the bathroom. If you haven't waited the 30 mins before removing another persons belongings, then that is as bad as the chair hog.

[apollobeach]

Why do cruise lines allow groups of individuals put towels on a number of chairs in the early morning

and then walk away for hours? Cruise ships could stop the practice of chair hogs if they did not allow the above to continue!!!

[Georgia Buckeye]

And after they learn proper hogging on the ship, they have it perfected for the airport. Sitting here now with more bags in seats than people:mad:!

 

PIGS grow up and learn some consideration for your fellow man!

 

I love getting on the plane and finding that the overhead over my seat is already stuffed full by the wonderful folks in the back of the plane who took the space so they didn't have to haul their luggage from the back to the front of the plane upon landing... not even getting into the issue about why they didn't check the over sized bag to begin with. We were on a recent flight where we were chastized by the flight crew for putting coats and hats in the overheads because they were meant for luggage- really????

[Crowsie]

Didn't have any trouble getting chairs last week on the Ruby. It was so hot people left the pool for the day around noon.

 

However, on a recent land vacation the hogging was rampant.

 

After walking the massive pool area twice, I finally asked someone if the chairs next to them were being used. They said the towels had been there for at least an hour...so I had a pool attendant remove their things.

 

Then..when the offenders came to finally claim their chairs....two hours later....my response to them was ...." the lady that was using these chairs told me I could have them since she was done for the day"

 

That line works every time, because it puts another anonymous person in the mix!;)

[BWDscotty]

Didn't have any trouble getting chairs last week on the Ruby. It was so hot people left the pool for the day around noon.

 

However, on a recent land vacation the hogging was rampant.

 

After walking the massive pool area twice, I finally asked someone if the chairs next to them were being used. They said the towels had been there for at least an hour...so I had a pool attendant remove their things.

 

Then..when the offenders came to finally claim their chairs....two hours later....my response to them was ...." the lady that was using these chairs told me I could have them since she was done for the day"

 

That line works every time, because it puts another anonymous person in the mix!;)

 

I like this approach!!

[apollobeach]

link to another thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1392623

 

Why do cruise line refuse to deal with and stop the issue of chair hogs?

[1 HappyCruiser]

Didn't have any trouble getting chairs last week on the Ruby. It was so hot people left the pool for the day around noon.

 

However, on a recent land vacation the hogging was rampant.

 

After walking the massive pool area twice, I finally asked someone if the chairs next to them were being used. They said the towels had been there for at least an hour...so I had a pool attendant remove their things.

 

Then..when the offenders came to finally claim their chairs....two hours later....my response to them was ...." the lady that was using these chairs told me I could have them since she was done for the day"

 

That line works every time, because it puts another anonymous person in the mix!;)

 

There's nothing wrong with saying that the attendant took the towels away. ;)

The best explanation I've read about why they opt not doing their job was given by BruceMuzz

So the only hope is taking on the job yourself if you feel the need.

[moniquet]

The smaller ships do seem to have the least problem. Never had chair hogs on HAL's smaller ships, although we didn't on Cunard either.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

There's nothing wrong with saying that the attendant took the towels away. ;)

The best explanation I've read about why they opt not doing their job was given by BruceMuzz

So the only hope is taking on the job yourself if you feel the need.

 

 

I would say the attendant took them away also.;)

[Crowsie]

There's nothing wrong with saying that the attendant took the towels away. ;)

The best explanation I've read about why they opt not doing their job was given by BruceMuzz

So the only hope is taking on the job yourself if you feel the need.

 

 

The main reason I love using this line is because it implies that the hog was gone SO long that multiple people took advantage of the chairs!

[1 HappyCruiser]

The main reason I love using this line is because it implies that the hog was gone SO long that multiple people took advantage of the chairs!

They had a table on the Grand a while ago for collected items from the chairs & you could sign out for them on a sheet. I don't know if they were places there by the people of the staff. This was by the main pool only.

[Lily429]

we just returned from our cruise on Carnival Liberty, we encountered the same problem. Wanting to sit by the water slide to watch our daughter we had nowhere to sit although there were 50 something chairs nearby! All containing towels, bags, water bottles, and hats but NO PEOPLE! Luckily our server from the previous sea day remembered us and took control of the situation; he removed the towels from 2 chairs providing us with front row seats to the water slide. He also told us to feel free to do the same next time we encounter this situation; the 20 minute rule applies, they (the servers) just don't have the time to sit around watching chairs and removing towels. Amazingly enough we noticed MANY older adults (who should know better) doing the crime :confused:

[mic123]

We saw the funniest thing on the Ruby last week. We were walking by the pool area and saw two lounge chairs with life size laminated photos of two people's heads. Each "head" was taped to the top front of the lounge chairs. I am guessing these would be in the chair hog category :)

[DrSch]

We saw the funniest thing on the Ruby last week. We were walking by the pool area and saw two lounge chairs with life size laminated photos of two people's heads. Each "head" was taped to the top front of the lounge chairs. I am guessing these would be in the chair hog category :)

 

 

Sounds like the king and queen of hogs

[Iamcruzin]

We saw the funniest thing on the Ruby last week. We were walking by the pool area and saw two lounge chairs with life size laminated photos of two people's heads. Each "head" was taped to the top front of the lounge chairs. I am guessing these would be in the chair hog category :)

 

I guess they were using the blow up dolls to reserve seats in the Princess theater

[Toddy709]

We saw the funniest thing on the Ruby last week. We were walking by the pool area and saw two lounge chairs with life size laminated photos of two people's heads. Each "head" was taped to the top front of the lounge chairs. I am guessing these would be in the chair hog category :)

 

I would have had to go back to my cabin for my Sharpie marker!!! I could have had a lot of fun with that one!

[Whoo]

I would have had to go back to my cabin for my Sharpie marker!!! I could have had a lot of fun with that one!

 

Too funny!:) Would love to see the "real" faces when they saw your handiwork!

[mic123]

I wish I had my camera with me so I could have taken a picture. Would have loved to share it.

[mic123]

I guess they were using the blow up dolls to reserve seats in the Princess theater

 

It's possible. We didn't go to any of the shows, so I can't verify :D

[seastar2]

I do this all the time. I'll wait 20 minutes or so, or ask someone nearby how long the chair has been vacant. Then the towel gets removed and placed on the ground nearby. That's it. Too bad if they come back an hour later. I just tell them to find another chair. I have never had an argument. What are they going to do? Complain? No one would listen. If everyone removed towels after 20 minutes or so we would not have this problem as no one would try to save chairs anymore.

 

 

On the Grand this past March the pool attendants DID PLACE NOTICES ON THE CHAIRS AND DID RETURN TO REMOVE ITEMS....I never saw anyone come back to make a fuss....if they just saw towels they removed them. There was a table with items on it that had cards saying what time the items were removed after the notice was placed on the chair. This was at the muts pool and only on seadays....:rolleyes:

[paul929207]

On the Grand this past March the pool attendants DID PLACE NOTICES ON THE CHAIRS AND DID RETURN TO REMOVE ITEMS....I never saw anyone come back to make a fuss....if they just saw towels they removed them. There was a table with items on it that had cards saying what time the items were removed after the notice was placed on the chair. This was at the muts pool and only on seadays....:rolleyes:

Glad to hear it.

[littlesteelo]

You think chair hogs are bad...

 

I'm now reading about table hogs who

race to reserve a table by the window

in Horizon Court before they even get

their food.

 

They put books or other objects on the

table to hold it while they stand in line.

 

Could you imagine if everyone did that?!

 

This happened all the time in the windjammer on RCI. One woman even simply left her seapass card on a table of 4 to reserve it. We were about to go hand it in when she came back wanting to know why we had 'taken her table' :eek:

[burrpp]

Cruising is getting to be a real challenge for fair minded folks. In addition to pool/deck chair hogs, there are library chair hogs (mostly sleeping!), Horizon Court hogs and even showtime chair hogs. As always the cruise staff are reluctant to enforce the rules for fear of offending the hogs. Bring it on!:confused:

[never enough chocolate]

Well, this happened to me a number of years ago on the Caribbean Princess. My husband & I were looking for a chair and of course they were all "taken". I watched and found 2 great chairs that no one had come back to for an hour. So, I placed their towels someplace behind the chairs. Well, after about 2 hours of enjoying the sun, we went into the pool. I glanced over towards our chairs and saw some guy taking our stuff off of the chairs and actually throwing the stuff behind him! I jumped out of the pool and got into the biggest screaming match with the guy; I thought he was going to punch me! My husband (the brave soul) went to get help! Well, eventually the guy left, but he was really peaved! My advice would be to have one of the pool attendants remove the chair hogs' belongings! But I agree, something more has to be done on this subject. It is so frustrating to try and find a chair and 80% them are "reserved".