Pool Chair Etiquette Question

[auntjoy036]

I am recently back from an eastern Caribbean sailing on the Reflection. (Great trip!) I traveled with my 86 year old Mother.

 

We aren't pool-centric people, but in the middle of the day one day we decided to go sit in the shady area near the pool (not the Solarium). I knew some chairs would be occupied or saved. I was shocked, however, that virtually every chair was claimed. Twenty percent had people in them. OK so far. Thirty percent had towels plus other belongings like sandals, books, etc. I took that as a sign of use. But half of the chairs had just a towel neatly spread over the cushion. Are those chairs available or reserved? Can it really be that nearly every chair, sun and shade, was reserved?

 

On the day in question, I asked an employee, "How do I know which chairs are available?" He looked past me to Mom, sitting in her wheelchair, her hair a crown of silver curls. He asked her, "What chair would you like? Do you like this chair?" He pulled the towels off of two otherwise empty chairs and we sat down. So chalk one up to Mom's charms. But I would like to know for future reference if all of those towel only chairs are reserved.

 

Thanks.

 

Vicki

[DYKWIA]

I suppose if it was between noon and 2 ish a lot if people would be getting lunch. My wife and I usually have sunbeds all day having breakfast about 7.30 and then getting sunbeds AND using them straight away - some days we will go to the buffet around noon and bring something back other days we will disappear for about 20-25 minutes for lunch, never more as we're 1 course buffet people at lunch.

 

Even if we're running late we have never had a problem finding two loungers, but we're not that fussy, anywhere warm - top deck / pool deck , fwd / aft, port / starboard - it doesn't matter.

[Eloise4Ever]

My reading of this situation is that chairs with just a towel on them are available. If the towels are neatly folded they have been placed there by the pool attendants preparing the chairs for use. If the towels are spread out and/or rumpled they have been left by a guest. I’d be surprised if anyone went to the pool/bar/lunch without leaving some small personal item on the chair if they intended to return. Manners would dictate that guests place their towels in the used towels bins when they are finished with the chairs but you would be surprised at the number of people who don’t do this. I am always grossed out when I have to remove someone elses sweaty towel before I can use the chair :(.

[jagoffee]

If our recent Eclipse cruise is an indication of all of the Celebrity ships, Celebrity has totally given up on the idea of "not reserving seats in consideration of other guests". The lastest fad is the clips attached to a towel on an empty seat. My wife and observed this behavior on our daily walks. Later I noticed seats being vacate for hours even on port days.

 

The answer to your question is that many inconsiderate guests do not remove their towels when they leave and sometimes Celebrity places folded towels on loungers. Therefore IMO it would be proper and necessary to discard the towels as required.

[kjwkjw]

A single folded towel that looks like it was just taken from the fresh towel rack and placed on the edge of the lounger, with no personal belongings around, is an available lounger in my opinion. And I'm more than happy to discuss it with anyone that wants to say it's theirs. I will thank them for going to the trouble of providing me with a fresh towel, however.

[Charles4515]

 

But half of the chairs had just a towel neatly spread over the cushion. Are those chairs available or reserved? Can it really be that nearly every chair, sun and shade, was reserved?

 

 

 

 

 

The ones with single neatly spread towels at the top half have been placed by the pool attendants and are available. When someone is using a chair the towel will not be neatly spread, it will be rumpled, and usually there will be some personal items on them.

 

 

 

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[davekathy]

...I

On the day in question, I asked an employee, "How do I know which chairs are available?"...

Vicki

 

IMO you did the correct thing by engaging a pool attendant. :)

[Charles4515]

IMO you did the correct thing by engaging a pool attendant. :)

 

 

 

That is a good idea if in doubt, but if there is no one sitting in a chair, or there are not any personal items, like a bag, book, magazine, the chair can be considered unoccupied. When people are coming back they leave something on the chair besides a towel.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Charles4515

[DavidYYC]

If there are just towels - I will remove them, and plonk myself down. I have noticed that many people are too lazy (or spiteful) to remove the towels they have used, and make it obvious that the lounger is available.

 

Lounger hogs are the pits. Happily I like the sheltered areas, but on sea days even those are fair game for passengers who think they deserve a lounger in 3 different locations.

 

I think you did very well.

[sanger727]

If the towel was folded or rolled up on the chair I would read that as a vacant chair the attendant put a towel on. A towel spread on the chair like someone was about to lie down was most likely an attempt to save it. But agree that attendant removing the towel was the best course of action.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

A few thoughts from a certified sun worshiper who spends many days a year relaxing in loungers on cruise ships :). There is no etiquette.....in fact....etiquette is dead! If you do not believe me....look at how folks dress in the MDR, watch how many guys wear baseball caps indoors.....etc. So its not a matter of etiquette...but involves common sense. If you see a towel on a chair, and notice nobody using it for an extended time period (say 30 min for argument sake) just remove the towel and sit down! That being said, we usually have no problem finding loungers on Celebrity ships. There are often empty loungers....but they are just not near the pool...and sometimes will be on one of the upper decks (above the pool deck). In fact, we prefer to be away from the pool area to escape the noise and activities that happen at and around the pool.

 

But if you have your heart set on a perfectly located lounger near the pool, you simply need to be in your chair pretty early in the day (often by 9:30).

 

Hank

[Champagne Cruiser]

If I find loungers with just used towels and nothing else I ask the person nearby if they have seen the occupants lately and if not I ask the pool attendant to remove the towels.

[davekathy]

That is a good idea if in doubt, but if there is no one sitting in a chair, or there are not any personal items, like a bag, book, magazine, the chair can be considered unoccupied. When people are coming back they leave something on the chair besides a towel.

 

 

In the OPs case only towels were on the chairs that the pool attendant removed for them. What the OP did was correct. That's why my comment to the OP. I wouldn't have made the comment otherwise.

Edited February 16, 2017 by davekathy

[Charles4515]

In the OPs case only towels were on the chairs that the pool attendant removed for them. What the OP did was correct. That's why my comment to the OP. I wouldn't have made the comment otherwise.

 

 

 

None said your comment was not correct. But if I see towels on a chair and no one in them and no items left on them I am not shy about occupying. The pool attendants put unused towels on chairs and also passengers leave their used towels on chairs who are not returning. The OP asked what it meant when a chair had no people, no belongings and a towel. The answer is the chair is vacant.

 

 

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[davekathy]

None said your comment was not correct. But if I see towels on a chair and no one in them and no items left on them I am not shy about occupying. The pool attendants put unused towels on chairs and also passengers leave their used towels on chairs who are not returning. The OP asked what it meant when a chair had no people, no belongings and a towel. The answer is the chair is vacant.

 

 

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...and that's why I told the OP she did the correct thing by asking a pool attendant. She didn't know. It doesn't matter what you or I or anyone else elects to do. She didn't know what to do and asked the pool attendant. Possibly in the future the OP may be more willing to remove what looks to be a used towels on a vacant pool lounger (?).

[RickT]

If I find loungers with just used towels and nothing else I ask the person nearby if they have seen the occupants lately and if not I ask the pool attendant to remove the towels.

 

Good answer. As others have mentioned, people are either clueless or rude and vacate a chair without bothering to remove their used towel. Hard to tell when a chair is available or someone has gone to get a drink. Asking the people nearby will usually help clarify which chairs have been empty for a while. Having a pool attendent remove the towels also provides you with a bit of backup in case anyone does show up claiming that chair to be theirs.

[cb at sea]

You did the right thing. If a chair is "saved" it's fairly apparent.. The folks nearby know if someone is actually USING the chair...I always ask the folks sitting nearby if someone is using those chairs, if I can't find anywhere else to sit.

[auntjoy036]

Thank you all for your helpful replies. The pool attendant asked the people nearby if anyone had been in the chairs he chose for us recently. They said no. So I wasn't too worried that day but wanted to know what to do in the future (two cruises on the books). Also we weren't being picky about location. We'd entered from the Solarium and were almost to the Lido entrance - towels as far as the eye could see - when I despaired and asked for help.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

My reading of this situation is that chairs with just a towel on them are available. If the towels are neatly folded they have been placed there by the pool attendants preparing the chairs for use. If the towels are spread out and/or rumpled they have been left by a guest. I’d be surprised if anyone went to the pool/bar/lunch without leaving some small personal item on the chair if they intended to return. Manners would dictate that guests place their towels in the used towels bins when they are finished with the chairs but you would be surprised at the number of people who don’t do this. I am always grossed out when I have to remove someone elses sweaty towel before I can use the chair :(.

 

I believe that if someone, whether a 'hog' or not, will leave a personal item if the intent is to hold the space. As I am on this forum, and have extensively read posts, I have an educated opinion. My DH however, not so much!

 

Scenerio: We go out to the pool deck. Find a couple of loungers that work for us. Place our 'stuff' on it. Go to the pool bar (priority). Settle in. Sixty minutes later, we move on. DH just gets up and leaves. Me.... I remove the towels and place them in the bins. The difference in behavior? I'm a cruise critic addict. He is not. He does not understand how if he leaves towels on the lounger it's like 'saving'. He's not mean, or trying to be a jerk. Yes, I do clean up after him :)

[sanger727]

If you see a towel on a chair, and notice nobody using it for an extended time period (say 30 min for argument sake) just remove the towel and sit down!

 

 

The trouble with this is that I rarely spend more than an hour in a lounger at a time. While I'm not very particular about which lounger I use. Sometimes there is only a small area where there's sun, not too much wind, and either near or far from the noise; depending on which you prefer. So find that all the loungers in that area have towels on them; it's not reasonable to expect that I'm going to spend half to all of my lounge time waiting to see if those loungers are in use.

 

I don't really understand why someone would leave a towel when they are done... it's silly to believe that a crew member can read their mind and know if they are going to get a drink and don't want to leave their things to blow away/get stolen vs they are done. It seems common courtesy to take your towel when you are done. And I would prefer it if the crew members would remove any towels where items aren't left behind.

 

This actually makes me prefer the cruise lines where the policy is that a towel is left in your room and you can check out extras but are responsible for them (will be charged if they aren't returned). When that's the case I have not found towels left out without the intention of the owner returning (often towel clips are left to keep the towel on the chair).

 

 

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[JaniceB]

Sounds like when in doubt ask the pool attendant.

[conquesodor]

On the day in question, I asked an employee, "How do I know which chairs are available?" He looked past me to Mom, sitting in her wheelchair, her hair a crown of silver curls. He asked her, "What chair would you like? Do you like this chair?" He pulled the towels off of two otherwise empty chairs and we sat down.

 

I want to 'high five' the attendant that helped you.:D