Sun bed hogs.

[Bgwest]

There are those among us who appear to have WAY too much disposable time available to them. 😀

[drwbrt]

3 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

There are those among us who appear to have WAY too much disposable time available to them. 😀

I got six kids under 12 years, a full-time job, and run two small businesses out of my house.  If I didn't count lounge chairs at 2am I wouldn't know what to do with my time. I like cruising.

[Scirocco Breeze]

I think I'll just give up on packing swimwear. I've got no interest in a 6am chair grab, I just want maybe an hour a day or so where I can go for a swim, lounge around with a drink while I dry off, maybe enjoy a little of the poolside entertainment. If I mentally accept it isn't going to happen, instead of walking round the pool decks getting angry, I'll probably have a better time.

[Potstech]

Again great numbers but does not show who gets to determine "reasonable time".  It shows chairs and people on one ship but not activities, food available, nearest bathrooms. Nor doe it take into account age and medical condition of those using or trying to use the loungers.  Also you are totally and completely ignoring that the cruise line sets the rules and not an individual passenger who is good with numbers. Your concept of unreasonable and the corporations seems to be entirely different.  But enjoy your efforts as they are interesting just not practicable.  

[donaldsc]

5 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's not wrong but how would it distinguish what a person is doing when they left the chair, like being in the pool or other activities in the area like talking to another person nearby? 

You could also ask another nearby person to reset it for you while your gone to the bathroom and snack. 

 

The beauty of the proposal is that it does not matter what or where the person who has inserted to token is or doing.  It only means that someone has gotten a lounger token for a defined period and the lounger is not available for that period.  If you really want a specific lounge you note when the time expires and come back at that time and if the person who put in the token has not extended it the lounge is yours.  No need to come back any earlier.  

 

This is exactly the same as a car parking meter.  If the parking meter says 40 minutes left the spot occupied for 40 minutes.  The system would be easy to install and would not require any additional crew members to make it work,  The only issue would be when Princess decides to monetize it by selling lounge tokens.  

 

I think that my solution is brilliant.  Don't tell me that it is wrong or that you do not like it.  Tell me why it would not work.  It wouldn't even cost the cruise line much money or labor to install it.

 

DON

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, Potstech said:

Who gets to determine what a "reasonable time" is? 

Until anything changes, I'll be the one who times my absence from the chair, which in most people's opinion is very reasonable. 

I certainly don't arrive at 7:30 AM & hold it till mid morning but simply reserve it during my very quick buffet break.

(especially now that they want to charge me for food and drink delivery)

We also remove the towels when leaving.

Compared to what I've experienced on most of the ships, it's more than accommodating. 

I'm waiting for reserved seating for the Premium package people. 😜

[808cruisers]

....or maybe we give up the premium to stay Reserve Collection Cabana - Cabana Deck!!  If only I could fly with the stars someday. 😉 

[New2cruise2022]

56 minutes ago, Potstech said:

Again great numbers but does not show who gets to determine "reasonable time".  It shows chairs and people on one ship but not activities, food available, nearest bathrooms. Nor doe it take into account age and medical condition of those using or trying to use the loungers.  Also you are totally and completely ignoring that the cruise line sets the rules and not an individual passenger who is good with numbers. Your concept of unreasonable and the corporations seems to be entirely different.  But enjoy your efforts as they are interesting just not practicable.  

It’s a matter of social awareness and kindness. The numbers are theorizing data points. But the data points aren’t fake. Capacity is well published. There is a margin of error for the sun beds, but you can appreciate that. The reality is there are only X number of good hours of sun during the day. The itinerary is set so the number of sea days is within a margin of error of +/- a day (if a port is skipped). The numbers are science but they are illustrative. They give perspective. If I’m going to use this chair — I should use it. If I’m taking a resource away from someone, I shouldn’t waste it. There is kindness and consideration in that approach versus, “I paid for this cruise, so I’m entitled. I can use it when ever or not at all.”

 

Like George Costanza often yelled, “We’re living in a society!”

[New2cruise2022]

37 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Until anything changes, I'll be the one who times my absence from the chair, which in most people's opinion is very reasonable. 

I certainly don't arrive at 7:30 AM & hold it till mid morning but simply reserve it during my very quick buffet break.

(especially now that they want to charge me for food and drink delivery)

We also remove the towels when leaving.

Compared to what I've experienced on most of the ships, it's more than accommodating. 

I'm waiting for reserved seating for the Premium package people. 😜

This really is a good idea. It works for the loungers in the Sanctuary …

[Rick&Jeannie]

18 hours ago, donaldsc said:

My token operated sit-o-meter suggestion would solve  the how-long-is enough issue.  If you park your car and the parking meter runs out the meter maid doesn't ask or care why you overparked - you just get a ticket.  On a ship if the sit-o-meter runs out exactly the same thing happens - loss of your lounger.  They could even put little flags on each meter so people could easily see that the sit-o-meter has run out.  Can anyone tell me what is wrong w this concept except that Princess will soon start charging for sit-o-meter tokens.  Don't tell me that the concept is wrong.  Tell me why it would not solve the problem.

 

DON

Shhh! They will have someone working on a medallion scanner that mounts on the chairs! 🙄

[deltahog]

On 8/5/2023 at 8:54 AM, drwbrt said:

Basically, the information suggests that an equitable distribution would be one chair hour per passenger per day (on Discovery Princess).

 

 

That's remarkably close to my off-the-cuff, no data analysis suggestion that every cabin get an assigned time of one hour for a guaranteed chair.  Per day or per cruise though......what about a reasonable compromise of per sea day.  Who wants their assigned time to be on a port day, anyway.

Edited August 7, 2023 by deltahog

[New2cruise2022]

On 8/5/2023 at 8:48 AM, drwbrt said:

I got six kids under 12 years, a full-time job, and run two small businesses out of my house.  If I didn't count lounge chairs at 2am I wouldn't know what to do with my time. I like cruising.

@Bgwest I guess it is less about who has WAY too much time and more about how they use that time. Some use it to just complain, others use their time to identify a problem, understand the problem, and provide context for that problem and help find possible solutions. 🤷🏿‍♂️ 

[Bgwest]

31 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

@Bgwest I guess it is less about who has WAY too much time and more about how they use that time. Some use it to just complain, others use their time to identify a problem, understand the problem, and provide context for that problem and help find possible solutions. 🤷🏿‍♂️ 

Guess you told me, huh?🤣🤣

Enjoy your cruise. 

[New2cruise2022]

1 minute ago, Bgwest said:

Guess you told me, huh?🤣🤣

Enjoy your cruise. 

I added a shrug. Different strokes, different folks, or whatever.

 

The whole point is to invest a little time — whether on a cruise or anywhere else in life — affording consideration and kindness to others. 
 

The sun beds-to-passenger-to-time ratio illustration wasn’t intended to be perfect scientifically and doesn’t even suggest the need for a set of policies to dictate how long is reasonable to use a chair. Setting those standards, let alone enforcing them, is a nightmare to implement. 
 

However, the gap between number of beds and number of passengers is wide enough that passengers should at least pause to ask if their individual approach to using/reserving is in fact kind and considerate given the limited resources. That’s it. Real context to understand what the landscape. 
 

There will always be chair hogs. Like, legitimate I-don’t-care-about-anyone-but-myself chair hogs. But maybe they are actually a small percentage and, I suspect, most people are not chair hogs at all or a lesser degree of a chair hog. But if people took just a few minutes to consider others, they may use (actually use, as in lay on) a bed for a few hours and decide to give up the chair when they go to lunch instead of leave their stuff on it, go to lunch, decide they are too full to lay down again. 
 

Lots of people making small adjustments can go a long way to making big change. 

[drwbrt]

3 hours ago, deltahog said:

That's remarkably close to my off-the-cuff, no data analysis suggestion that every cabin get an assigned time of one hour for a guaranteed chair.  Per day or per cruise though......what about a reasonable compromise of per sea day.  Who wants their assigned time to be on a port day, anyway.

First impressions are funny that way; good estimating!  The data pointed to just over 1-hour per day no matter what day.  I looked at it both by sea and non-sea days.  It works out about the same.  I think guaranteeing a chair is tough, but I don't hate the "this chair reserved until xx:xx pm" placards that you get at the towel stand.

[Malleykatt]

Hi. OP back and I see it's a topic of interest.

Well quick update a few people on board have read this as I overheard someone agreeing with removing towels if beds are not used. We did bag a sunbed today as we missed a port stop due to high seas. The pools were all over the deck and so sunbeds were not allowed out. 

Had a nice sea day overall.

[Pickels]

On 8/3/2023 at 2:26 PM, ldubs said:

 

I guess that is true.   I wonder if we will see something similar for pool loungers.  

Love The Sanctuary, that's why we cruise with Princess. 

[Notalotofinfo]

People hog chairs on a cruise ship?

[MrSchwump]

This is really only a problem for about 2-3 hours each day. I’d say between 9 to noon or so. I have always seen open chairs before 9a or after lunch. 

[LittleFish1976]

On 8/5/2023 at 1:46 AM, MissP22 said:

Well I'm sorry but as I see it, the way I utilize the lounge chair is perfectly fine. Princess nor anyone else has never removed my items even if I am 10 minutes late returning. 

Just asking - what's considered a fair amount of time to leave your chair unattended and expect to have it back when you return?

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, LittleFish1976 said:

Just asking - what's considered a fair amount of time to leave your chair unattended and expect to have it back when you return?

30 plus or minus minutes. I consider that quite reasonable and I have never lost a chair yet.

[Greg4502]

This is a good one. It occurred on the last cruise I was on. Never seen it before. Some had locked two lounge chairs together with a cable bicycle lock. It was the scuttle butt for that day.

[MissP22]

6 minutes ago, Greg4502 said:

This is a good one. It occurred on the last cruise I was on. Never seen it before. Some had locked two lounge chairs together with a cable bicycle lock. It was the scuttle butt for that day.

That's a good one for sure. I would have been monitoring the chairs to see when they returned. 

Did you happen to take a photo by chance?

It would have been a first. 😁

[The Greater Fool]

My spouse and I don't spend much time around the pool, but on the occasions on which we choose to for an hour (never near prime-time) or so:

1. we look for a couple empty seats.  If they are available, yippy;

2. we look around for a couple chairs that seem too neat to have been used; We then ask folks nearby if they have been used recently; If not, we put their items on the table and sit down;  Otherwise, we repeat until we find a likely set of chairs;

3. Typically, we sit for our hour or so, then move on after we replace the items we moved;

-

On the extremely rare occasions the original chair users show up, it goes one of two ways:

1) We get up immediately and move on... thanking them for the use of the chairs, no harm done.  Since no one ever returned within a 1/2 hour, it was a win-win for everyone involved;

2) The people stopped us from getting up, grabbed their things and left the deck.  Again, a win-win;

 

Good luck,

Tek

[roadster08]

On 8/4/2023 at 11:17 AM, donaldsc said:

How about this approach.  You put something like parking meters on each lounge.  When you get to the pool you can get a free lounge token from the pool attendant for a defined time to be no longer than 1 hour.  You put the token onto the meter to indicate that the lounge is occupied for 1 hour.  You are allowed to occupy the lounge for longer than 1 hour but you have to get up to get another token.

 

I am obviously being facetious - or am I?  The only possible problem that I can see is that Princess being Princess they will soon start charging for the pool tokens.

 

DON

I prefer that the chair work more like a toaster. After time expires everything remaining on it pops up in the air then overboard. The chair, empty of personal items, is ready for for the next guest.