Pool side chairs: How to Hog one, how to get a hogged one?

[VentureMan_2000]

Looking for opinions on what folks have done to Hog ("reserve" :rolleyes: ) Pool side chairs, or conversely, how to get hogged Pool side chairs that only appear to be "reserved" with no-one in it?

[JanetMarie]

Since we predominantly sail on Princess, their policy is no reserving over 30 minutes. That being said, if a chair(s) is unoccupied for over that, I pick the stuff up and deliver it to the deck attendant, pointing at the sign. ;) Let them deal with it. I've had enough of the chair hogs over the years. Last cruise - get this. 3 couples reserved chairs on EACH SIDE of the pool, so that when the sun moved, they had their chairs, UNTIL ;) folks caught on to them! ;)

[MichTraveler]

I read a great response from these boards a while back and am looking forward to trying it on my next cruise:

 

If a chair has been empty for 30 mintutes except for the towel or book to "hog" it, move the belongings and enjoy. When the "owner/hog" shows up and complains that you are in their chair, say "When the person sitting here last got up, they said they were done. How long have you been gone?"

[DollyCruise]

Read the Carnival Board.......same question, same answers.

 

Dolly

[JanetMarie]

Princess, too, has a rather large thread on this topic - quite entertaining!

[CaribKat57]

Janet Marie...that has to be one of the best chair-hog stories I've heard...ROFL. Some nerve, those people....too funny. :p

[momofmeg]

Sometimes it does not hurt to ask nicely. Hubby and I had 2 deck chaises by the pool. there were a couple of empties on either side of us. A man with wife and 2 kids came by. He needed 4 in a row and he asked if I would mind moving to the other side of my hubby as there were only 3 together. I agreed -did not mind a bit.

 

The old saying is you catch more flies with honey then vinegar, you know. If he had demanded I move over I doubt I would have but as he was nice about it and said he wanted the 4 chaises together because his kids were young and he wanted to keep an eye on them I was glad to comply.

[GLW513]

I once saw a woman place one nasty looking flip flop on one chair and the other one on the chair next to it. Since, she was wearing shoes I guess that she keeps them just for this manuever.

[JanetMarie]

:eek: A little drop of super glue will be sure to keep the chair hogs butt in place, ONCE they decide to plop it down. :eek:

[obnurse]

Come on, chair hogs! We KNOW you're out there! Defend yourselves!

[joelmarj]

Okay, here's the confessions of a chair hog. Of course, justification will be part of the explanation.

 

I've traveled frequently with sisters, spouses, kids - a combined group of up to 19 of us with 7 or 8 adults, the rest kids. Both land vacations and cruises (yes - i know, kids don't belong on cruises either) When we vacation, we enjoy sitting on lounges, sampling the various umbrella drink of the day and spending time TOGETHER. That to us IS vacation.

 

Our entry to the dark world of chair hogging started on one trip where it was apparent the seasoned chair hogs had staked their claims at dawn. :cool: It was actually Mexico, but peak season and a very busy hotel. We got to the pool at the unforgivable hour of 8 AM, only to find 3 chairs scattered around the area. Trying to move the 3 to one close proximaty of each other was a challenge as well, not even attempting anywhere near the pool. So began our vacation of "alternate chair sitting".

 

This is where I ask for leniency on the part of everyone out to force chair-hogs to walk the plank. We established what we thought was the proper ettiquette for chair reservations (also known as hogging) First, we take turns getting up early. One or two from the group get up early. That person goes and obtains at MOST 5 or 6 chairs. NOT THE 19 OUR GROUP REPRESENTS AND NOT 6 ON EACH SIDE OF THE POOL.;) If we find that our group is not going to use some or all of them, we always proactively give them up. We place towels and assorted other items and group them together. The designated chair sitter then stays with the chairs until others come. Then the sitters alternate for pool time, eating, bathroom, etc. At no time do we leave the chairs unattended even minutes let alone for hours, nor do we reserve for every adult and kid that might show up for 5 minutes. We also rarely take right up front by the pool as it's too busy and noisy. Usually we prefer a view or a quiet area for easy conversing.

 

The one thing to point out though, is that this is a measure of last resort. :( We are truly loungers and enjoy sitting outside all day. We've even skipped ports. We also only do this when it is clear that the precedence has been set and chair hogs are in full effect the first day. It is solely a reaction to what becomes the protocol on vacation. Personally I think is stinks to have to do it, because the last thing I want to do is get up at 6 am on vacation.

 

So, I don't agree that it should have to be done. I think the cruiselines and resorts need to be responsible for "policing" their policy so guests don't have to deal with it. But when the key part of my vacation is based on being able to lay on a lounge with my friends and family, it's to be done.

 

Okay, Flame away - I'm the bad guy, but its not with ill-intentions.

 

(by the way, we took the kids on a family appropriate Carnival cruise and kept a close eye on them at all times. And no, they aren't perfect angels, but we do our best. Don't want to add cause for flames:D )

[Trevoli]

The way you've described it, that doesn't sound like chair-hogging to me. Always having someone in attendance of the chairs is key.

 

What people resent (and I'm one of those people) is fellow passengers that come along at whatever hour, drop a paperback book or towel on a lounge chair(s) and then disappear. Sometimes for HOURS.

 

I've never had the nerve to deposit these belongings with a crewperson and then wait for the inevitable confrontation (getting into an argument with somebody is the LAST thing I want do, under any circumstances, let alone on vacation), but one day I may be feeling extra brave. And when I do, I will use the line that MichTraveler suggested. Love it.

 

T

[coulombic]

I would take a much simpler approach to the chair hog "removal and wait for confrontation". Simply remove their belongings and instead of waiting for the confrontation, simply move the chairs to another location. Their belongings are sitting in an empty spot on the deck and how in the world are they going to identify "their" chair....they all look the same. :D

[lougee1043]

dont spend that much time at the pool but wat i would do is wait a reasonable amount of time and if the person doesnt return I would take their belongings and give them to a pool attendant and then if they return while i am still in the chair and they inquired about their stuff i would say that a pool attendant removed it because the chair wasnt occupied

[Trevoli]

2 more great ideas.

 

Thanks,

 

T

[suntanzi]

I've never had the nerve to deposit these belongings with a crewperson and then wait for the inevitable confrontation (getting into an argument with somebody is the LAST thing I want do, under any circumstances, let alone on vacation), but one day I may be feeling extra brave. And when I do, I will use the line that MichTraveler suggested. Love it.

 

T

Just think of the nerve the chair hog has to drop their stuff for hours and hours while they roam around the ship. You don't have to pander to that kind of selfishness, don't feel bad for operating under basic rules of fairness. :)

[Trevoli]

Yes, of course, I know in my head that the chair hog is the offending party in this scenario, but that sure doesn't stop them from acting like a belligerent @$$hole when they show up to reclaim "their" chair.

 

So, if I can get a chair by the pool AND avoid the confrontation, that's what I'll do.

 

My wimpiness is probably a hold-over from an experience I had on a cruise a very long time ago. While on a ship's tour, a fellow passenger overheard part of a private conversation, took our remarks TOTALLY out of context (we'd been talking about a friend of hers) and got completely bent out of shape. She said some very unkind things to us, and that's an understatement. I was so shocked that I was speechless (that doesn't happen very often), and didn't explain (not that I owed her an explanation). Anyway, for the rest of the cruise, whenever our paths crossed, she kept it up, and it made for a very unpleasant few days. This happened about 10 years ago, and whenever I think of it (luckily, not very frequently), I still get upset.

 

T

[suntanzi]

Yes, of course, I know in my head that the chair hog is the offending party in this scenario, but that sure doesn't stop them from acting like a belligerent @$$hole when they show up to reclaim "their" chair.T

aww, I hear ya. Do you speak any other languages? As in responding with "Non capisco inglese? or "Je ne comprends pas" :)

[sunshine95030]

I'll be going on my first cruise in many many years this Christmas, and I'm now concerned that no chairs will be available for my family and I! How big of a problem is this chair hogging thing? I guess the thing to do is get to the pool area fairly early and claim a chair, eh? Someone tell me it's not that bad!

[Trevoli]

I don't think you'll have a problem getting a chair(s) away from the pool, in the shade or on a different deck.

 

The lounges near the pool are always in demand by people like me who want to take a dip in the pool and/or use the shower to cool off when it gets uncomfortably hot.

 

I am not a chair hog, though. If I'm going to be gone for longer than 15 minutes, I'll take my stuff with me. We'll even take turns getting food in order to make sure chairs are not left unattended. I'm hyper-sensitive to this because it drives me up the wall to see chairs "reserved" by others for long periods of time, and I'm not a "if other people do it, then so will I" type of gal.

 

T

[chanser]

There will be 4 of us going on RCL (Mariner of the Seas) Feb 13th. We have cruised together before and never get to sit together by the pool because of "chair hogs." However, we have always found enough lounge chairs quite a distance away. Just once, we would like "prime location" without stooping to the hog level. Does RCL have a 30 minute time limit, too?

[TWA4Ever]

Just once, we would like "prime location" without stooping to the hog level.

 

When we're on-board ship, every spot is a "prime location."

[Ddddddave99]

We found out at our last resort how the chair hogs do it. We caught them placing the things on the chairs late/early at night, not actually getting up and saving them, but saving them before bed!

We always watch for awhile now and if no1's there, we grab 'em. Havent been confronted yet.

[MrsPete]

JoelMarj -- I don't think you're describing chair-hog behavior because your group is USING the chairs. Personally, I don't care if you "claim" 19 chairs 24 hours a day from the minute you get on board to the minute the cruise ends IF YOU ARE USING THEM. I define "using" them as sitting in them -- not using them for your stuff -- except for a quick trip to the restroom or the bar. If you get to the pool before I do, the chair is yours; I have no legitimate reason to complain -- I should've come a bit earlier.

 

My beef -- and I think the beef of everyone else here -- is the people who drop their belongings off by the pool, then meander all over the ship doing anything except using the chair.

[VanillaGorilla]

Sometimes it does not hurt to ask nicely. Hubby and I had 2 deck chaises by the pool. there were a couple of empties on either side of us. A man with wife and 2 kids came by. He needed 4 in a row and he asked if I would mind moving to the other side of my hubby as there were only 3 together. I agreed -did not mind a bit.

 

The old saying is you catch more flies with honey then vinegar, you know. If he had demanded I move over I doubt I would have but as he was nice about it and said he wanted the 4 chaises together because his kids were young and he wanted to keep an eye on them I was glad to comply.

What's a chaises?

 

lol...just kidding...but it was the same typo twice, so I had to say something...:D