Chair hog strategies for 2016

[monteman]

I don't think the issue here is someone going to the restroom or grabbing a drink or some food to bring back to the lounge chair they are using. I think at issue are all the chairs staked out early in the morning and then not used for several hours. It's pretty easy to tell the difference. If there are a kazillion chairs by the pool being obviously held, and we want to actually USE one, we Weill remove the folded, dry towel and place it on the one next to it and use the chair. Someone times we move it and it has nothing to do with being a wuss but everything to do with choosing to not have our day ruined by some inconsiderate entitled-feeling fellow passenger who thinks staking out 10 chairs ( or two) and not using them is ok.

 

We use a chair for a couple hours then leave, taking our stuff with us, and have lunch or whatever and take our chances later when we want to sit there again. That's the way it was meant to work.

[mjkacmom]

I am pretty certain the sign on one of the walls near the pool states 30 minutes. I have seen that sign myself on several of the NCL ships.

 

PS: I have never seen any NCL crew enforce the rule though...

 

At the bottom of the guest services section, right side, says 60 minutes.

 

[luv2swimwdolphins]

I stay away from the pools, too many kids running around making a racket. No offense meant parents, just a personal choice. I head to an upper sun deck. I miss the bar, but if I can't snag a vibe pass it's the the next best choice. I've dumped people's stuff on the floor, but I've had a few shouting matches because of it and it's just not worth the drama. Let the hogs stick together and snort, they smell anyway...[emoji6]

 

All my posts of have been relatively mild mannered, but this topic sends me to the moon. DH and I do the same thing. We too avoid the pool during sea days and sit on the upper decks. I can still walk the steps to the pool and why take seats that young parents could really use? (why they let their kids swim without assistance is another thread and one that might get me kicked off CC..but I digress) I can live without another Sexy Legs Contest (enough already!) There's a special room in cruise heck for chair hogs. The sense of entitlement is enough to make my toes curl. And I did see some questions.."I go get suntan lotion and you will dump my stuff?" Absolutely NOT. Chair hogs are easy to spot from those simply running to bar, buffet, bathroom or pool. Chair hogs place only towels and hold chairs on a string of chairs. No sign of life for hours. After their massages, meals, sleeping late, nursing their hangover, etc etc, they stroll in as if they only emit the odor of roses and have a meltdown that that their "stuff is gone"..........Oh the element of truth to the stereotype is so true, it can make you weep.

[canadianeh934]

While I agree that people shouldn't leave the chairs all day when others could be using them, I think the 30 minutes isn't long enough. Surely people are able to go for lunch and be able to take their time and not have to worry about someone touching their stuff.

 

Personally I wouldn't think of start moving someone's personal items and I wouldn't be happy someone touching mine.

 

Seriously....if you are going to lunch you have vacated the chair, take your stuff with you!

 

It is people who act like a child that causes these issues....a child lays claim to a toy in the same manner....I used it and it is still mine, even if they were no longer using it!

 

Going to the washroom, or for a swim or getting a drink etc....is fine. Going for lunch....please that is a the issue that is being discussed.

 

If Cruise lines did a better job of enforcing their rules the need for others touching other cruises items would be nil. A chair that is vacant for 30 minutes is abandoned.

[triptolemus]

Hail the King and Queen!

 

[DiamondGirl83]

Seriously....if you are going to lunch you have vacated the chair, take your stuff with you!

 

It is people who act like a child that causes these issues....a child lays claim to a toy in the same manner....I used it and it is still mine, even if they were no longer using it!

 

Going to the washroom, or for a swim or getting a drink etc....is fine. Going for lunch....please that is a the issue that is being discussed.

 

If Cruise lines did a better job of enforcing their rules the need for others touching other cruises items would be nil. A chair that is vacant for 30 minutes is abandoned.

 

I disagree; it's the people that wander to the pool late and think they have the right to start throwing people's stuff around that cause the issue.

 

How is spending 10/20 minutes at the buffet having a quick lunch different than going for a swim? Surely they would be of the same time frame?

If I've been lying in the sun for hours, I will leave my stuff and leave the sun to grab a quick lunch. I don't see a problem with that.

[bbryan5]

So just to be clear here.. What does NCL say? Is the supposed time limit 30 minutes, or 60? Anyone know for sure?

[DiamondGirl83]

So just to be clear here.. What does NCL say? Is the supposed time limit 30 minutes, or 60? Anyone know for sure?

 

It said 60 minutes on the daily that someone posted earlier.

I think that's fair as if I was going away for longer than that I would probably take my stuff. All this you can't go for a quick lunch is ridiculous.

[pcur]

I was on the Allure last year, and went over to get some man's footstool when he left at 11:30. My assumption was he was going to lunch. He arrived back in 5 minutes, and before I had a chance to give it back to him the guy sitting next to him starting badmouthing me for taking it.

 

The two of them sat there and talked to each other about me in LOUD voices, insulting me horribly. Talk about passive-aggressive behavior.

 

I told my husband about it when he arrived, feeling kinda stuck in the situation. Give the stool back (which I was going to do, anyway), and cause an even bigger problem, or just sit there, or leave?

 

My husband went over and quietly, very calmly, asked the man if he had something he wanted to say to me. The guy kept insulting me to my husband! Never looked at me.

 

My husband, still quiet and calm, called him an a-hole and sat down. I was afraid of the guy!

 

Within 10 minutes after he came back and started in about me, the deckhands came by and put footstool out for ALL the chairs!!!

 

When I left to go to the cabin to get something, the man walked over and said, "they say the bigger man is the one to apologize", and apologizes to my husband for the things he said about ME. My husband quietly said, "you need to say this to my wife, not me". The guy never did.

Edited January 3, 2016 by pcur

[luv2swimwdolphins]

I was on the Allure last year, and went over to get some man's footstool when he left at 11:30. My assumption was he was going to lunch. He arrived back in 5 minutes, and before I had a chance to give it back to him the guy sitting next to him starting badmouthing me for taking it.

 

The two of them sat there and talked to each other about me in LOUD voices, insulting me horribly. Talk about passive-aggressive behavior.

 

I told my husband about it when he arrived, feeling kinda stuck in the situation. Give the stool back (which I was going to do, anyway), and cause an even bigger problem, or just sit there, or leave?

 

My husband went over and quietly, very calmly, asked the man if he had something he wanted to say to me. The guy kept insulting me to my husband! Never looked at me.

 

My husband, still quiet and calm, called him an a-hole and sat down. I was afraid of the guy!

 

Within 10 minutes after he came back and started in about me, the deckhands came by and put footstool out for ALL the chairs!!!

 

When I left to go to the cabin to get something, the man walked over and said, "they say the bigger man is the one to apologize", and apologizes to my husband for the things he said about ME. My husband quietly said, "you need to say this to my wife, not me". The guy never did.

 

I had a physical reaction to this post...as if I was knocked in the stomach. What an ugly experience. I had a similar one during a land vacation and I didn't know the "rules" of the beach chairs. The man actually made me cry...long story short I gave him his chair back and said "I was raised better than that and he could have his chair" Guy was mortified and turned shades of red as I was trying not to breakdown. (He was about 60 and I was about 30) Anyway...sounds like you got stuck . This goes beyond chair hogs, lets all treat each other w respect and realize "stuff" happens and we can make accommodations for innocent faux pas

 

PS I am NO CRY BABY. This guy was an old bully.

[NLH Arizona]

I disagree; it's the people that wander to the pool late and think they have the right to start throwing people's stuff around that cause the issue.

 

How is spending 10/20 minutes at the buffet having a quick lunch different than going for a swim? Surely they would be of the same time frame?

If I've been lying in the sun for hours, I will leave my stuff and leave the sun to grab a quick lunch. I don't see a problem with that.

 

I don't have an issue with someone going for lunch, a drink, the restroom or pool. What I have an issue with are those that come stake their claim in the morning and don't come back for hours or those that save chairs in the sun and then some in the shade.

[DiamondGirl83]

I don't have an issue with someone going for lunch, a drink, the restroom or pool. What I have an issue with are those that come stake their claim in the morning and don't come back for hours or those that save chairs in the sun and then some in the shade.

 

Oh blimey someone saving two chairs would annoy the hell out of me too.

I'm usually out there at the first sign of sunlight anyway, coming from not so sunny climes the sun is one of the best things about being on holiday.

[pcur]

I had a physical reaction to this post...as if I was knocked in the stomach. What an ugly experience. I had a similar one during a land vacation and I didn't know the "rules" of the beach chairs. The man actually made me cry...long story short I gave him his chair back and said "I was raised better than that and he could have his chair" Guy was mortified and turned shades of red as I was trying not to breakdown. (He was about 60 and I was about 30) Anyway...sounds like you got stuck . This goes beyond chair hogs, lets all treat each other w respect and realize "stuff" happens and we can make accommodations for innocent faux pas

 

PS I am NO CRY BABY. This guy was an old bully.

 

I'm sorry my story upset you. I want people to know that sometimes other people over-react when they get angry. This guy was obviously a misogynist, and I felt really sorry for his wife. He would only talk to my husband, who kept his cool.

 

People can become VERY territorial and easily threatened.

[luv2swimwdolphins]

No worries at all! I agree w you. You're husband is a gentleman.

[Starflyr3]

Just a thought. Certainly, I am not ok with people who put towels on chairs at 6 am and don't return of until 3 pm. But. As an example here: last year on the Jewel, I took my kids (6 and 3) to the pool. I put our stuff on a chair and stood at the edge of the pool to supervise. We were there 2-3 hours. I wasn't comfortable sitting that far away from the pool (the chair was in the shade) while the kids were swimming in an overcrowded pool that was too deep for them to touch bottom. Does that make me a "chair hog"?? I was there, just not "sunning" (it wasn't a lounge chair). Should I have put all our towels/sunscreen/cards/shoes somewhere on the floor? Because that's just gross.

 

And that being said, it's a big part of the reason our Jade cruise is booked in the Haven.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Starflyr3

[cb at sea]

Unless there are NO loungers anywhere, I wouldn't bother with "defeating the chair hogs"! There are almost always empty loungers somewhere that will suit you...sun or shade. If there are absolutely NONE...talk to a pool attendant, and tell them to please find you a seat!

[luv2swimwdolphins]

It is impossible to clearly define but we know it when we see it. You are the complete opposite of a chair hog. You're a concerned parent having fun w their kids. Placing things on a deck chair is not hogging a row of seats at 6am with no intention to return to until 2. IMHO

 

ENJOY YOUR NEXT CRUISE! [emoji51]

[wilmingtech]

Id love to see NCL hang baskets or install a shelf along the rails that go around the pools on the Jewel Class and Dawn Class ships.

 

Something you could put your flip flops and towel in.

 

When we were on our RCL cruise the only thing we used the chair (a single chair) for was to pile all our stuff on (6 of us)

 

-Sean

[LrgPizza]

On all of our NCL cruises, the freestyle dailies always state 60 minutes. CC'ers often like to decide that it's 30. I prefer to respect the rules of NCL, which state 60.

[dacsmom]

I was on an RCI cruise in October and was very happy to see people in yellow t-shirts with deck patrol on the back of them really monitoring the deck chairs. If you wanted a chair they would find one for you. There were not any chair hogs and no confrontations because they were the ones who removed the items. After the second day the chair hogs disappeared and it was very easy to find a chair almost anywhere.

[Linda the Book Lover]

I was on an RCI cruise in October and was very happy to see people in yellow t-shirts with deck patrol on the back of them really monitoring the deck chairs. If you wanted a chair they would find one for you. There were not any chair hogs and no confrontations because they were the ones who removed the items. After the second day the chair hogs disappeared and it was very easy to find a chair almost anywhere.

 

Nice:D

[2boyzmom]

I was on an RCI cruise in October and was very happy to see people in yellow t-shirts with deck patrol on the back of them really monitoring the deck chairs. If you wanted a chair they would find one for you. There were not any chair hogs and no confrontations because they were the ones who removed the items. After the second day the chair hogs disappeared and it was very easy to find a chair almost anywhere.

 

Sounds great! I really don't need confrontation and stress when dealing with a freakin chair. I would much rather let the attendant deal with these abusers...

[Capella Black]

I have a weird solution. If there is a good chair unused, but with a small amount of stuff (and especially if there are several next to each other), I pile the stuff up carefully on a table or one chair, and then used the empty chair. If people come back and ask what I've done, I explain I was using the unused chair while it wasn't needed. I immediately ask if they wanted to use it again, and if so, move onto another set. I have great mobility, and only want somewhere sunny, so moving about isn't an issue for me. The extreme politeness tends to quickly kill any aggression.

 

The added bonus - I maximize chair usage!

[caribou9]

I simply avoid the pool deck completely. I won't even walk through the pool area; certainly not because of the children. They aren't the ones I find annoying.

[Luvmypups]

I was on an RCI cruise in October and was very happy to see people in yellow t-shirts with deck patrol on the back of them really monitoring the deck chairs. If you wanted a chair they would find one for you. There were not any chair hogs and no confrontations because they were the ones who removed the items. After the second day the chair hogs disappeared and it was very easy to find a chair almost anywhere.

 

My husband and I aren't ones to remove peoples items from a chair and sometimes make several laps, usually on an upper deck, not by the pool, looking for empty seats before finding them. We too were on an RCI cruise in September and the deck patrol came through the Solarium removing towels from empty chairs, so my husband and I put our stuff on a couple of the lounge chairs. We went to the pool for about 10 minutes and before we could get back to the loungers, a couple came up, put our stuff on the ground and proceeded to take the loungers. When I saw what had occurred I went and confronted them and they proceeded to accuse me of taking their chairs while they were gone getting something to eat, (they thought I had removed their towels). I told them there was nothing in the chairs when we sat down. The didn't want to, but they got up and left. It doesn't matter how considerate you try to be, someone is always going to try and be a bully if they think they can get away with it......:o:rolleyes: