Chair Hogs

[scapino]

I've been following the Celebrity board for the last few weeks as I have finally decided to take a step up with the Jan 5th Silhouette. I've cruise NCL, Carnival and RCCL but heard Celebrity equates to staying at the "W" vs. Holiday Inn for the others. I'm very excited for the perfect 25th anniversary cruise.

 

My question is: are chair hogs a problem on Celebrity as they are on other main stream lines? Will I find towels, books and flip-flops dominating the pool deck chairs at 7AM like you'll find elsewhere? Thank you for your responses. 56 Days and counting.......... CAN'T WAIT!!!

[2theship]

Chair hogs are everywhere but the enforcement of rules really varies by ship.

[Mabers]

Yes, you probably will, but on my last cruise, a couple of weeks ago, I saw 'chair hog' police going up and down the aisles collecting towels off the loungers after asking adjacent people if the chairs were taken by friends. Seemed like at least they are trying to control the situation.

M.

[ghstudio]

I've been following the Celebrity board for the last few weeks as I have finally decided to take a step up with the Jan 5th Silhouette. I've cruise NCL, Carnival and RCCL but heard Celebrity equates to staying at the "W" vs. Holiday Inn for the others. I'm very excited for the perfect 25th anniversary cruise.

 

My question is: are chair hogs a problem on Celebrity as they are on other main stream lines? Will I find towels, books and flip-flops dominating the pool deck chairs at 7AM like you'll find elsewhere? Thank you for your responses. 56 Days and counting.......... CAN'T WAIT!!!

 

There will always be people who believe that they are "special" and could care less about anyone else. Celebrity does not have a monopoly on these people....they are on every cruise line. Celebrity is trying to address the problem....but those "special" people turn ugly when anyone challenges their rights. Personally, I believe that anything left for over 1 hour on a chair with no one returning should be thrown overboard....but that's just me.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Reports seem to indicate that they have been more diligent of late in their efforts to control chair hogging. On Summit back in February, I remember they had a humorous video that was playing on the ship's TV channels illustrating the problem-- they didn't come right out and use the term "chair hog," but they may as well have.

[Keith1010]

Chair hogs are on all cruise lines.

 

Keith

[Wolfie469]

I believe that anything left for over 1 hour on a chair with no one returning should be thrown overboard....but that's just me.

 

Why punish sea life? Just sayin'.

[royalcruz]

You can usually hog a great chair yourself if you get your stuff out there by 10 AM. :D

[cb at sea]

Chair hogs are everywhere...not just on ships! They are especially prevalent at resort hotels with great pools.....

 

They're everywhere.....can't be helped. Apparently.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Why punish sea life? Just sayin'.

 

Right! :D

 

Just deposit the offending items with the pool butler.

[Kris7562]

In reading these boards, I'm developing a fear... That I'm a..... chair hog.

 

If I get up early, stake out a seat, and head to breakfast, but head back to my chair after I eat and am there, for the most part, until I get up and head to lunch - am I a chair hog? I often will do this - and leave my book, towel, etc. at my chair while I eat or swim for a bit. But I'm generally in my chair the remainder of the day, reading my book!

 

Am I doing something wrong?? Please don't attack - I promise not to do it again if it's wrong!

[Shake]

Right! :D

 

Just deposit the offending items with the pool butler.

 

I like it. Finally a voice of reason !!!

 

:cool: :cool:

[Pilot70D]

In reading these boards, I'm developing a fear... That I'm a..... chair hog.

 

If I get up early, stake out a seat, and head to breakfast, but head back to my chair after I eat and am there, for the most part, until I get up and head to lunch - am I a chair hog? I often will do this - and leave my book, towel, etc. at my chair while I eat or swim for a bit. But I'm generally in my chair the remainder of the day, reading my book!

 

Am I doing something wrong?? Please don't attack - I promise not to do it again if it's wrong!

 

OK, here is one person's opinon.

Your breakfast activity is chair hogging. Go have breakfast. Following that head to the pool and take your chances with the rest of us for chair availability.

Once you have a poolside (or near poolside) chair it isn't hogging or unreasonable to leave your stuff on the chair while you go swimming. Very few people swim for hours on end so the time that the chair is unoccupied is probably going to be relatively brief. By the same token leaving one's stuff on a pool chair during BRIEF absences isn't chair hogging. There is no concise definition of brief but to me brief means thirty minutes or less. If someone is in the pool then fine longer than thirty minutes is OK but all too many people use the chair, leave their stuff and then vanish for over an hour. Too long in my opinion.

As you have probably learned form these boards already, antichair hogging enforcement varies all over the place. On some cruises the pool staff is pretty good about it. On other cruises enforcement of chair rules happens only if Jupiter and Mars are aligned properly AND there have been an even number of rainy Tuesdays since the last Vernal Equinox.

I am glad to read that you are concerned. Enjoy that pool chair on that next cruise.

;):);)

[royalcruz]

In reading these boards, I'm developing a fear... That I'm a..... chair hog.

 

If I get up early, stake out a seat, and head to breakfast, but head back to my chair after I eat and am there, for the most part, until I get up and head to lunch - am I a chair hog? I often will do this - and leave my book, towel, etc. at my chair while I eat or swim for a bit. But I'm generally in my chair the remainder of the day, reading my book!

 

Am I doing something wrong?? Please don't attack - I promise not to do it again if it's wrong!

 

Yes, you are a chair hog...I do the same thing. I usually find 2 chairs together, sit for a few minutes to make sure they are in a good place and in good condition, then we go to breakfast buffet for less than 30 minutes and return. Yes, we are chair hogs, but after 10 AM it can get so hard to get a chair in the solarium or in the shade that my day would be ruined by the rest of the chair hogs. I never leave my chair for longer than 30 minutes, and I am a very considerate person otherwise. When we travel with other couples we don't reserve chairs for them, as I feel that this is crossing the line.

[SusieV]

Don't forget to come join our roll call!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1199110

[A Sixth?]

In reading these boards, I'm developing a fear... That I'm a..... chair hog.

 

If I get up early, stake out a seat, and head to breakfast, but head back to my chair after I eat and am there, for the most part, until I get up and head to lunch - am I a chair hog? I often will do this - and leave my book, towel, etc. at my chair while I eat or swim for a bit. But I'm generally in my chair the remainder of the day, reading my book!

 

Am I doing something wrong?? Please don't attack - I promise not to do it again if it's wrong!

 

Yes you are.

 

Do you go to the food court at the mall on your way to work and "reserve your primo lunch spot" ?

 

:D

[PartyAllDaTyme]

In reading these boards, I'm developing a fear... That I'm a..... chair hog.

 

If I get up early, stake out a seat, and head to breakfast, but head back to my chair after I eat and am there, for the most part, until I get up and head to lunch - am I a chair hog? I often will do this - and leave my book, towel, etc. at my chair while I eat or swim for a bit. But I'm generally in my chair the remainder of the day, reading my book!

 

Am I doing something wrong?? Please don't attack - I promise not to do it again if it's wrong!

 

If you're at breakfast or lunch less than 30 minutes, then no, you're not a chair hog. Occupying the chair for the whole day, except for absences of 30 minutes or less, is not hogging the chair, it's using the chair. It might be better form to not grab a chair right away then head off to breakfast, but it's allowable under the rules.

[4Sheets2theWind]

I tend to agree with the 30 minute rule, but to me that does not apply at the start of the day. There is no chair reservation here, it whether a chair is in use. So OK to keep a chair for 30 mins while you swim/pop back to you cabin to get something etc. But to just plonk you stuff on a chair and then go to breakfast is tantamount to reserving, as you have no intention of using it at that time. And to me its no excuse to say "I only do it as otherwise I can't get a chair I like" as the problem is largely caused by so many people taking the same attitude. Not acceptable IMHO.

 

Just my 2p.

 

Personally, I believe that anything left for over 1 hour on a chair with no one returning should be thrown overboard....but that's just me.

 

No, it isn't just you ;)

[helpthejuggler]

On Celebrity I have always found a chair as needed, and we often only head there late morning or afternoon.

 

We love to just walk the decks stopping for drinks and chatting as we go.

 

Maybe I have a low tolerance for sitting still in the sun. If we go to the pool it is for a couple of hours at a time. There is so much going on that a day in one spot is a waste.

 

Nobody needs a chair all day do they?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I tend to agree with the 30 minute rule, but to me that does not apply at the start of the day. There is no chair reservation here, it whether a chair is in use. So OK to keep a chair for 30 mins while you swim/pop back to you cabin to get something etc. But to just plonk you stuff on a chair and then go to breakfast is tantamount to reserving, as you have no intention of using it at that time. And to me its no excuse to say "I only do it as otherwise I can't get a chair I like" as the problem is largely caused by so many people taking the same attitude. Not acceptable IMHO.

 

And while I tend to agree that scouting out a chair and immediately heading off for breakfast is not exactly cricket, it's within the rules set down by X and if someone wishes to take advantage, I don't find it to be that terribly uncourteous. What if they sit in the chair for a half-hour first? How about five minutes? One minute? One second? A line needs to be drawn, and the line is drawn at the unoccupancy of the chair for 30 minutes, with nothing said about a minimum time it must be occupied first. I believe it's generally considered to be acceptable if the chair is empty for 30 minutes while someone is swimming in the pool or soaking in the hot tub, they return for a few seconds to "reset the clock," then head off again. I see no substantial difference.

 

Fellow Cruise Critics, is there a need to establish a minimum time for "butt in the chair?" If so, what should that be, and why? How difficult would it be for the pool attendants to factor this into their policing?

 

Thanks to Kris7562 for providing cannon fodder-- er, food for thought-- on an aspect of the Great Chair Hog Debate!;):cool::D

[Can'tstopcruising]

Are you all saying that while in the pool, it is necessary to watch the clock to make sure that you are not passing the 30 minute limit? Doesn't sound much like a relaxing vacation to me.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Are you all saying that while in the pool' date=' it is necessary to watch the clock to make sure that you are not passing the 30 minute limit? Doesn't sound much like a relaxing vacation to me.[/quote']

 

It's not ideal, but it's a good compromise between the need to keep the chairs available for those who want to use them and those who want to both swim and have a chair available for when they get out of the pool. If you think you're going to be in the pool for longer than a half-hour and don't want to have to watch the clock, don't be tying up a chair. Or if you do stay longer, just be prepared for the possibility of having to pick up your belongings from the pool attendant who picked them up and then having to find a new chair. If you want to both swim and have the chair available, bite the bullet and watch the clock.

 

I'd like to see some cubbyholes provided where one could stash their towel, shoes, books, and so on, and not have to tie up a chair or leave them lying on the deck.

[Can'tstopcruising]

It's not ideal, but it's a good compromise between the need to keep the chairs available for those who want to use them and those who want to both swim and have a chair available for when they get out of the pool. If you think you're going to be in the pool for longer than a half-hour and don't want to have to watch the clock, don't be tying up a chair. Or if you do stay longer, just be prepared for the possibility of having to pick up your belongings from the pool attendant who picked them up and then having to find a new chair. If you want to both swim and have the chair available, bite the bullet and watch the clock.

 

I'd like to see some cubbyholes provided where one could stash their towel, shoes, books, and so on, and not have to tie up a chair or leave them lying on the deck.

 

Steve, you are a tyrant! Do you realize the ultimates you are giving me? These sound like rules for an army training camp, not for a cruiseship!

[4Sheets2theWind]

And while I tend to agree that scouting out a chair and immediately heading off for breakfast is not exactly cricket, it's within the rules set down by X and if someone wishes to take advantage, I don't find it to be that terribly uncourteous. What if they sit in the chair for a half-hour first? How about five minutes? One minute? One second? A line needs to be drawn, and the line is drawn at the unoccupancy of the chair for 30 minutes, with nothing said about a minimum time it must be occupied first. I believe it's generally considered to be acceptable if the chair is empty for 30 minutes while someone is swimming in the pool or soaking in the hot tub, they return for a few seconds to "reset the clock," then head off again. I see no substantial difference.

 

Prickly subject, isn't it ;)

 

For me, whilst it may be within the letter of within the rules set down by X, it's not within the spirit. If someone is by or in the pool then I wouldn't mind how long they keep a chair (within reason) without actually sitting on it. But it would get my goat if they reserve a chair just so it's available for a later time, while they go off and do something else (like breakfast). To me at least, that's just denying someone else to use something that would otherwise be available.

 

(Actually I didn't know X had a specified rule, but glad they do).

 

PS. If I admit I've never been on a cruise (but thinking about it) does my opinion become invalid? ;)

[ghstudio]

No one has addressed those wonderful folks who throw stuff on two chairs per person to "reserve" them, one in the sun and one in the shade...you know who you are!

 

It's really incredible to me that anyone can think that's ok....but it goes on all the time. I really dislike the "me" people.....the ones who apparently believe "I am the only person that matters, after all, I paid for this trip, I should get everything I want, whenever I want it...who cares about any of the other passengers...they should fend for themselves."