Chair Hogs New Low

[2wheelin]

This was on Harmony on Easter week the first Picture is the first day at sea at 730 . The second picture is the second day at sea at 830. Notice all the empty seats taken by towels. I was told that there were people out at 530am putting towels on chairs. By the last sea day I got up early and got us 4 seats by the sports pool and we took turns sitting in them until we were ready to hang out there. It's sad we had to play the game but at least we stayed there and didn't leave them unoccupied.But on that day I guess enough people complained all week so the "towel police" started marking chairs and taking stuff off it was great to finally see. I wish they did this the whole cruise.

You didn’t stay there. You took turns saving unoccupied chairs. If they were empty it is the same as leaving a towel. Still, the worst is those who occupy chairs in one location while saving chairs in another for later.

[help04me]

What does a bad mannered guest have anything to do with Carnival?

No single cruise line has a market on rude behavior - sadly it's a human issue, not a cruise line issue.

i agree just seems prevailate on carnival ships . i see you are from tx i wonder if all cruises out of tx are that welcoming. i never go on cruise ship to connected but this time the atmosphere of the crew and co cruisers was great. i made some friends from tx and never expected that nor was i looking for that. so a big thanks to your state

[time4u2go]

What does a bad mannered guest have anything to do with Carnival?

No single cruise line has a market on rude behavior - sadly it's a human issue, not a cruise line issue.

I was thinking the same thing. There's certainly no shortage of bad behavior on Royal Caribbean.

[Deedeelynn]

Just back from Freedom OTS 4/28/18 cruise and chair hogs in full force in Solarium. No one removing items/towels from chairs not sat in by human for several hours. The new low was pair of CHs who left their bags on two chairs in the shade and proceeded to go to their chairs in the sun on another part of the ship. They never sat in the shade chairs but did come back a couple of times to get items from their bags. We sat next to these chairs for 5 hours and there were people looking for chairs constantly. The sign saying they would remove items from abandoned chairs was almost directly in front of us.

 

Work2Cruis

We were on the Freedom April 22-28 cruise and had the same problem with chair hogs. We got down to the pool around 8 am and the 5 chairs up by the pool were taken. They weren’t occupied until around 1 pm! I’ve never seen them enforce the chair saving rule! Take that back, we were in the pool and noticed that a couple in the pool had their towels removed from their chair and they were in the pool! Ridiculous!

[papaflamingo]

Let's have T-shirts made that say "I'll save your seat for a drink!";p:cool::*

I'm in for sure! 👍:cool:

[tugboat]

We just got off the Oasis and there was a guy walking around with a clipboard acting like he was monitoring the chairs. However I never saw him write one post it note or remove anything and after about 10:00 he disappeared.

 

I told my husband I believe it was all for show to make people think they were doing something about chair hogs.

We just got off the Equinox the pool patrol was alive and well clip board and he would remove things off the chairs we the owners came back all the neighbors would tell they took to long. My neighbor said if you see something say something the pool Patrol would take care of it. also it was great not having to check out your pool towels.

[carolitis]

Still can not find out if anyone gets charged for towels if people or "towel patrol police" remove them. I will get in my where my family knows I am set up and where to find me seat where I am comfortable if I can. But I will have 7 grandchildren saying come watch me in different pools , hot tubs, flow rider both sides and other activities on pool deck. So for the few hour I go out to pool deck I anticipate being called away from my chair a lot. Since I will not leave the ship at 2 ports they will want to share with me. But I cannot sit on my scooter the whole time and must rest my neck and back. If someone removes my towel, clips, and bag , will accept gracefully. Hope to retrieve my actual belongings. But just want to know if I will be charged for the towel if it disappears. Do they actually do that?

[Homosassa]

The new low was pair of CHs who left their bags on two chairs in the shade and proceeded to go to their chairs in the sun on another part of the ship. They never sat in the shade chairs but did come back a couple of times to get items from their bags.

Work2Cruis

 

I have a chair hog story that tops this. The hogging was a "team" effort.

 

We sailed in 2003 on the Empress of the Sea. On board with us was a girl's hockey team with friends and relatives. Every day, a team representative was on deck around 7 AM (we saw it on the way to breakfast) and 30 chairs in the sun around the pool and 30 chairs in the shade blossomed with a neon colored team tee shirt stretched over the back of the chair and a towel. Several guardians then took turns chasing off any others.

 

The Empress is a small ship with a single pool and limited seating around the pool. The large number of saved chairs made a big dent on the available seating. Those reserved chairs sat empty most mornings and had limited use in the afternoon.

 

I was traveling with family (nine of us) and when we wanted deck chairs after lunch, we started removing the tee shirts and the towels and using the chairs. Of course the guardians yelled at us and we ignored them

 

We also made sure that other passengers knew that the chairs were available and other people did start removing the tees and towels to use the chairs.

[tugboat]

Still can not find out if anyone gets charged for towels if people or "towel patrol police" remove them. I will get in my where my family knows I am set up and where to find me seat where I am comfortable if I can. But I will have 7 grandchildren saying come watch me in different pools , hot tubs, flow rider both sides and other activities on pool deck. So for the few hour I go out to pool deck I anticipate being called away from my chair a lot. Since I will not leave the ship at 2 ports they will want to share with me. But I cannot sit on my scooter the whole time and must rest my neck and back. If someone removes my towel, clips, and bag , will accept gracefully. Hope to retrieve my actual belongings. But just want to know if I will be charged for the towel if it disappears. Do they actually do that?

 

 

 

Lol don’t give RCL any ideas on make money, that would solve the chair hog problem if you don’t leave someone to guard your towel pool patrol picks it up and charges you.

 

If they did that I would guess you wouldn’t have a problem finding a lounge chair.

 

 

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[poncho1973]

I've had great success in recent years by just getting the attendant and asking them to do their job (AKA handle it) and they've been really great.

 

I have also seen seats go hours with nothing but a towel and just removed said towel (long after the expiration time) and sat down. It's just a towel with no name on it. Prove it was yours. Prove that this was the seat you sat the towel on and broke the rules. The pool attendant probably took your towel guys! That sucks.

 

I made some comments about chair hogging on the NCL board in my review of my first sailing on them. One poster went NUTS defending this. They had imaginary scenarios and invented this "John" guy that had all these cruisers out to get him and ruin his cruise. It was interesting to say the least. Poor "John" and his ruined vacation. He was just following the rules and got scammed out of his lounger.

[jsjr]

It's a shame they can't tag chairs to a room or something.

[BillOh]

Just back from Freedom OTS 4/28/18 cruise and chair hogs in full force in Solarium. No one removing items/towels from chairs not sat in by human for several hours. The new low was pair of CHs who left their bags on two chairs in the shade and proceeded to go to their chairs in the sun on another part of the ship. They never sat in the shade chairs but did come back a couple of times to get items from their bags. We sat next to these chairs for 5 hours and there were people looking for chairs constantly. The sign saying they would remove items from abandoned chairs was almost directly in front of us.

 

Work2Cruis

 

 

I think that qualifies as a new low ;) I wouldn't leave my bag unattended that long, but they must not have had anything important. I am a fan of chair hog threads, but I can't contribute this cruise. We had the "coveted corner" aft on Jewel and rarely left our balcony on our only sea day.

[JimAOk1945]

Same here. We always have a balcony and don't cruise without one.

 

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[Teeara]

Same here. We always have a balcony and don't cruise without one.

 

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Ditto. :cool:

 

Although I will say this much. If I removed someone's towel and belongings, I would give them to the pool person, tell them not to rat me out and then sit in the chair. When the owners come looking for their stuff I would simply say that the chair was empty when I got there. Unless someone else points me out there is no way for them to know that I moved their stuff. :halo:

 

Sometimes I wonder if all the people in line at the front desk are there to protest those towel charges on their bills...:confused:

[ocean waves]

I hate chair hogs, I’m on vacation too. When I go the solarium I take note of the neatly placed towels, the old visor and book, sometimes I’ll even take a picture for the time stamp, if the hog isn’t back in an hours time I seek out the pool person and tell them I’m moving the stuff, if there’s no pool person I just move it. Why does everyone let these people get away with this. I put up with it myself for years, not anymore.

 

 

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[Baron Barracuda]

Maybe cruise lines are just hiring the wrong people for deck patrol. Suggest they recruit retired NYC meter maids. They'll closely enforce the rules and compared to the crap they heard on the job anything an angry chair hog has to say is definitely minor league.

[gerif]

Maybe cruise lines are just hiring the wrong people for deck patrol. Suggest they recruit retired NYC meter maids. They'll closely enforce the rules and compared to the crap they heard on the job anything an angry chair hog has to say is definitely minor league.

Oh, I like this one.

[Blauelini]

Ats some point in the near future the cruise lines will see this whole subject as an opportunity to stuff their pockets with MORE cash by coming up with a "Reserve-your-lounger-for-a-day-by-paying-a-fee" plan. Several years ago drink packages were introduced and they are now very popular- reserved loungers could be the way to go.

Princess Cruises has very nice cabanas with 2 chairs and probably the thickest chair cushion I've ever used in their adult only section. There were 4 on each side of the pool. You could reserve it per half day for $50 ($100) for the whole day. On embarkation day you had to head up there right away because the reservation sell out quick on sea days. Was worth it has they provided 3 towels per chair as well. It was hilarious to see the inept crowd try to sit in them while they were occupied. They had staff on hand to tell them to bugger off. I enjoyed looking at their failing to properly plan faces as we took our reserved seats. I wish RC would do this...

 

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[Cruisin-Cori]

This thread is so fascinating... I had no idea. Never an issue finding a pool deck chair on Epic. I went up and always found one. Now I am wondering if this will be an issue on Symphony. Guess I'll find out the hard way! ;) I feel so bad for all that have experienced this... there is just no excuse for not treating people the way you expect to be treated, we are all on vacation to enjoy ourselves, not fight over chairs. WOW is all I can say...just WOW.

[tugboat]

This thread is so fascinating... I had no idea. Never an issue finding a pool deck chair on Epic. I went up and always found one. Now I am wondering if this will be an issue on Symphony. Guess I'll find out the hard way! ;) I feel so bad for all that have experienced this... there is just no excuse for not treating people the way you expect to be treated, we are all on vacation to enjoy ourselves, not fight over chairs. WOW is all I can say...just WOW.

 

Epic may have chairs what it is missing is pool space come on man:cool:

Edited May 9, 2018 by tugboat
spelling

[Cruisin-Cori]

Epic may have chairs what it is missing is pool space come on man:cool:

 

Oh well, yes that part was true. The pool was tiny. I was just reading so I didn't pay much attention BUT you are correct, I didn't remember that part. LOL ;p

[Homosassa]

It's a shame they can't tag chairs to a room or something.

LOL - when I started cruising in the 1970's this is exactly how chairs were handled.

 

For a nominal fee, the attendant would place a deck chair in the position that you wanted and add a tag with your name and cabin number.

 

For the rest of the cruise, that chair was yours.

 

Of course, ships had adequate deck space for the number of passengers on board .

[mcatmcat]

I’m so glad to leave in south Florida never had and never will fight for a chair.

Unless you are picky about the position chairs will always be available. Go a deck above the pool level and you will find them. I travel in a group of 2 to 4. Finding 2 chairs together is easy.

 

Watching Symphony videos I found great places to seat n relax in the morning. I guess I will apply for the first time in a cruise the “ if I can’t beat them join them”

 

 

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[brillohead]

I'd love to have a timer (like a kitchen timer) built into the chairs. If you're leaving your seat, you turn the timer. At the end of 30 minutes, a flag pops up to let others know that time has expired and this seat is now available. Kinda like a parking meter. If you need a seat and there are none empty, you can take one that has stuff on it with an expired meter.

 

I also wish people would consolidate groups into one chair if everyone's going to be in the pool. A family of four, where mom is watching the small kids in the pool and dad is in the hot tub with a drink.... y'all do not need to spread out towels on four different chairs! Your kids are NEVER going to sit in them, for starters, and you're never going to have both parents sitting because someone is (hopefully) always watching the kids in the water. Pile all your stuff on one chair and go have fun, leaving the three other chairs available for people who will actually sit in them.

 

I think it would help, too, if Royal had storage cubbies available on the pool decks. People who are going to be in the pool all day could have a spot to put their towel, cover-up, bag, sunscreen, etc., without having to use up a chair that would otherwise be used for actual lounging.

[InsureFun]

The same thing is happening at resorts (especially timeshare properties). People out by the pool before sunrise laying down towels, books and bags and then disappearing (sometimes leaving the resort). They come back later and act indignant if their space has been invaded. Resort employees are reluctant to enforce the rules.

 

So I would head out even earlier (6 am) and stake my claim but I would occupy the chair all morning while reading my book. When the regular chair hogs see that I beat them to the punch they would give me nasty looks and try to annoy me by setting up close by and making a lot of commotion with their friends/family. Sometimes they would talk to me and let me know how they are staying for two or three or four weeks, as if that gives them some sort of priority over the one week guests.

 

If going to a resort I make sure it’s a swim up suite...Excellence is a favorite.