Deck Chair Etiquette Question

Hi Everyone,

I will be going on a cruise with my parents (very experienced cruisers) but as they are not big on sun bathing or swimming, they did not really have a good answer to this. I normally take European city vacations, or American hiking vacations, so I know the etiquette for those situations, but cruising seems a bit different.

I do not want to be a chair hog. However, let's say I want to swim. In a hotel or beach, I would choose one chair, put my towel/sunscreen/book/sandals down, and swim. After 30 minutes or so, I would come back, dry off lounge for a half hour. Rinse and repeat.

My question is: does this constitute chair hogging? If so, am I supposed to bring all my stuff to the poolside? If not, how big is my risk someone will assume I am chair hogging and remove my things.

Sorry if this question sounds dumb, and thanks for the help!

No, you are fine. Chair hogging is showing p at 7am claiming one or more chairs, going off and returning at 10am to sit in your chairs.

Leaving your chair for some amount of time (under 1 hour) is just fine. As Paul explained, showing up on deck, snagging multiple chairs but not sitting in them until much later is a problem.

I'm often up early to grab a chair. I drop my stuff, head to the buffet & grab breakfast. Then I bring my food back to my chair to have a view while I eat. I get up & down throughout the day -- swim, lunch (same routine as breakfast), drinks (I get my own non-alcoholic drinks), bathroom etc.

Etiquette doesn't require you to be glued to the chair all day. As long as you are in it at least as much as you're out of it, you're good.

How you do it is fine. When you are AT the pool, you will be using both chair AND pool....you don't have to relinquish your lounger while you take a dip!

"Chair-hogging" is when you go and claim a lounger well before you actually plan to use it...and it sits covered by towels, books, etc...for hours without anyone ever SITTING in it!

Thank you to all three respondents. I really appreciate it. I get very anxious about using proper etiquette on vacation, so now I can relax. :)

Thank you for being considerate to others and have a great cruise!

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No one will consider you a hog simply because you occupy a chair all day. As long as you are in it or it's holding your stuff while your in the pool, no issues. If you leave the area and leave stuff in your chair to 'reserve' it, you're hogging.

The other thing some people have been doing is maintaining multiple chairs; usually one in the shade and one in the sun. Personally, outside of a few minutes to use the restroom or get a drink I don't leave sight of my chair. So if it's near the pool and your in the pool no issues. When people stretch it to leaving their stuff in their chair while they go for lunch, it gets into hog territory... or when someone is an early riser and goes out and reserves several chairs for people in their group, but the rest of the group sleeps in and doesn't come out for hours.

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Just keep in mind that people on a cruise ship are still strangers. I wouldn't leave a Kindle or expensive sunglasses, etc. out on a lounger while swimming.

Just keep in mind that people on a cruise ship are still strangers. I wouldn't leave a Kindle or expensive sunglasses, etc. out on a lounger while swimming.

Amazing the valuables you see just laying there.

Amazing this comes up every month. Just move the stuff and sit down. No one can do anything about it. Rules are rules. I have move stuff on every cruise I've been on and only one woman got in a huff, even had 3o empty chairs by the time she came back.

The biggest problem is when people have finished sun bathing they can't be bothered to pick there towels up to put in the soiled bin!!!

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No one will consider you a hog simply because you occupy a chair all day. As long as you are in it or it's holding your stuff while your in the pool, no issues. If you leave the area and leave stuff in your chair to 'reserve' it, you're hogging.

Interesting as I would definitely consider someone who occupied a chair all day as a chair hog. The use of the term "hog" comes from someone who lazes around all day and does practically nothing. You can still use the chair and be a hog.

Interesting as I would definitely consider someone who occupied a chair all day as a chair hog. The use of the term "hog" comes from someone who lazes around all day and does practically nothing. You can still use the chair and be a hog.

Yeah, no. The dictionary definition in this context is: keep or use all of (something) for oneself in an unfair or selfish way

Interesting as I would definitely consider someone who occupied a chair all day as a chair hog. The use of the term "hog" comes from someone who lazes around all day and does practically nothing. You can still use the chair and be a hog.

I disagree. As long as you're not dumping stuff on a chair to "save" it when you're not going to be using it in the next 30 minutes (which is usually the time cruiselines use), you can sit in that chair all day long (save for a few minutes to use the restroom or a few minutes (and I mean a few) to grab some food and return to eat it at your chair...you are not what is considered a chair hog by those on CC. You are using that chair. The deck chairs are for "lazing" on.

i got a chair on the Golden for a movie as i was by myself i left the blanket there so i could go get pop corn 3 mins max got back blanket was gone don't know if someone claimed blanket to use or a crew member put it in the soiled bin either way had to get another

On the Reflection cruise we just debarked yesterday, one day I was enjoying a clamshell lounger in the Solarium. The one next to me had a Tervis tumbler on the table in front and two books lying on the cushions. I was there for two hours and no one ever came and used it.

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I was on a cruise in December and watched a women put six towels on six chairs and then left. I was there all day and only saw a couple people come and go several hours later. Even though there were signs posted that items would be removed after 30 minutes if you did not show up. No one touched any of their things all day. What a waste. This is chair hogging.

I was on a cruise in December and watched a women put six towels on six chairs and then left. I was there all day and only saw a couple people come and go several hours later. Even though there were signs posted that items would be removed after 30 minutes if you did not show up. No one touched any of their things all day. What a waste. This is chair hogging.

She must have "forgotten " them and returning them to the towel desk for her would have been the cruiserly thing to do. Or help yourself to six extra towels...

Interesting as I would definitely consider someone who occupied a chair all day as a chair hog. The use of the term "hog" comes from someone who lazes around all day and does practically nothing. You can still use the chair and be a hog.

Mmmm, not really how I'm looking at it. The noun hog refers to pigs, or someone selfish or dirty; not just lazy... the verb hog means: to greedily take up more than ones share... as far as I'm concerned if you are using the chair then your getting your fair share... it's when you start claiming chairs that you are not using that you are 'hogging' them

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I do not understand why someone wants to save so many chairs or even just one to never even use it anyway? What is the point in this?

I do not understand why someone wants to save so many chairs or even just one to never even use it anyway? What is the point in this?

I think it's people who know it's difficult to get a chair at all let alone when it's sunny in the afternoon and you actually want to use it so they save them early in the morning to ensure they have them later when they want to use it. IMO

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I think it's people who know it's difficult to get a chair at all let alone when it's sunny in the afternoon and you actually want to use it so they save them early in the morning to ensure they have them later when they want to use it. IMO

 

 

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Which makes sense if they actually came back to use it eventually, but it sounds like a lot of times that never happens....

Which makes sense if they actually came back to use it eventually, but it sounds like a lot of times that never happens....

I wouldn't be shocked to learn they reserve them at 2 different spots and then decide which one they feel like going to

Hi Everyone,

 

I normally take European city vacations, or American hiking vacations, so I know the etiquette for those situations, but cruising seems a bit different.

At the risk of veering away from the cruise topic a bit, have you ever hiked the Smoky Mountains? We love it down there.

I do not understand why someone wants to save so many chairs or even just one to never even use it anyway? What is the point in this?

On nice days it can be hard to find a chair mid day near the pool. Especially if there's a group that wants to sit together. So the one early riser in the group will reserve 6 chairs, or however many they need early morning and then others will come and go throughout the day. The trouble with that is they may reserve 6 chairs for 8 hours, and fill 3 of them for just a few hours. Whereas if I'm by myself or w one other person and we just want to sun for an hour after lunch. There are perfectly good chairs going unused because they are being reserved for these mystery people that may not come out for several hours.

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