Pool Chair Savers - Watch Out

[wwcruisers]

Lysolgn -- Wow -- how annoying! I'm really surprised that this couple's "repeat performance" around the pool deck didn't warrant a call to security. Sounds like it was pretty clearly "disruptive behavior"! :eek:

[bellebud]

This is a little like drivers who drive at a little different speed that you-- ever notice that anybody who drives a little slower than you is an idiot, and anyone who drives a little faster than you is a maniac?

 

George, is that you???? :p

[true45]

I think to see people walking around not finding a place to sit -- and there are chairs "reserved" & empty for 2 hours while someone has lunch elsewhere is just inconsiderate. So glad Celebrity is tackling this issue. Thank you to those who have told how they handled the issue.

[Cruizer Bill]

The rule is 30 minutes. I would recommend contacting a crew member to move the stuff but if they don't, move it yourself and plead ignorance.

[Pengawin3]

We had spent all morning on our first ever day at sea (first ever cruise) on the deck above the pool. We'd been there from about 10 in the morning and went off for lunch about 1.30. We were gone for 45 mins. We left everything except valuables on our 2 chairs and found someone had removed all our items and put them on the floor and were sleeping on our beds. I didn't think we were chair hogging - just going for lunch!!

We found this upsetting as we had only ever been to hotels before now and this had never happened! Had we made a mistake by trying a cruise...........

No! It was the only time it happened and I'm happy to say we have booked again.

I don't like chair hoggers either, but come on..... going for a quick lunch!!:)

 

Karpela,

45 minutes is NOT A QUICK LUNCH. A quick lunch is going to the pool bbq or buffet and returning to your seat WITH YOUR LUNCH. That being said, the new occupants should have been ready to give up their newly acquired lounge chairs upon your return.

 

Sorry you will not cruise again because of this one minor incident.

[Lois R]

Karpela,

45 minutes is NOT A QUICK LUNCH. A quick lunch is going to the pool bbq or buffet and returning to your seat WITH YOUR LUNCH. That being said, the new occupants should have been ready to give up their newly acquired lounge chairs upon your return.

 

Sorry you will not cruise again because of this one minor incident.

 

I agree with your assessment of what is quick and what is not.

Another way it could be quick (without eating at your seat) would be

to go to the buffet, get your food, eat it:D and then go back to the

pool....takes about 23.5 minutes;)..of course if there is a long line

then you would have scrap that plan.

[caribbeansun]

Which is fine until the offender fits your description?

 

When he saw me,he thought twice about a confrontation.I'm in super shape and by my user ID says I don't back down.

TOM

 

Maybe X could host some ultimate fighting bouts with the prize being a pair of chairs ;)

[junglejane]

We had spent all morning on our first ever day at sea (first ever cruise) on the deck above the pool. We'd been there from about 10 in the morning and went off for lunch about 1.30. We were gone for 45 mins. We left everything except valuables on our 2 chairs and found someone had removed all our items and put them on the floor and were sleeping on our beds. I didn't think we were chair hogging - just going for lunch!!

We found this upsetting as we had only ever been to hotels before now and this had never happened! Had we made a mistake by trying a cruise...........

No! It was the only time it happened and I'm happy to say we have booked again.

I don't like chair hoggers either, but come on..... going for a quick lunch!!:)

I have no patience for this. Would you think it was okay to "save" a table in the buffet for your use throughout the day, whenever you want to use it? Of course not. To me, the pool is no different. Use it while you're there. When you go somewhere else to have a sit down lunch, pick up your stuff and let someone else use it. Look for another when you get back. It's rude to do anything else.

[bobbyleduck]

I have no patience for this. Would you think it was okay to "save" a table in the buffet for your use throughout the day, whenever you want to use it? Of course not. To me, the pool is no different. Use it while you're there. When you go somewhere else to have a sit down lunch, pick up your stuff and let someone else use it. Look for another when you get back. It's rude to do anything else.

 

I can't possibly express how much I agree with this, so let me just say thank you for saying exactly what I've tried to say before, but you've done a much better job.:)

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[jgnova]

I have another "reserved" seat/table peeve: People who walk into the buffet when it's crowded, see a longish line, see an empty table, and walk over and put their stuff down while they then wait in line. They then return to "their" table. If everyone does this, there will never be empty tables for people who wait in line first.

 

j

[Sally Forth]

I have no patience for this. Would you think it was okay to "save" a table in the buffet for your use throughout the day, whenever you want to use it? Of course not. To me, the pool is no different. Use it while you're there. When you go somewhere else to have a sit down lunch, pick up your stuff and let someone else use it. Look for another when you get back. It's rude to do anything else.

 

We actually saw "table hogs" when we went through the Panama Canal. Families would take turns sipping tea and holding window seats all day.

 

Viv

[Sally Forth]

You do have to wonder if anyone who hadn't cruised would still consider doing so after reading this thread. We do pack ourselves in like sardines around the pool, especially on sea days. Luckily, for the most part there always seems to be plenty of space elsewhere. And the pool deck is so delightfully empty at night!

 

Good for X for taking a stand on this issue, and I hope they do on all their ships.

 

It's not exclusive to cruises. I've seen the chair hogging in mega-proportions at all-inclusives and fights break out between guests.

 

Viv

[Cruizer Bill]

I can't possibly express how much I agree with this, so let me just say thank you for saying exactly what I've tried to say before, but you've done a much better job.:)

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

 

I'd like to take this one step further and suggest we be "toilet hogs" !!! Yes, mark off our favorite toilet for use later in the day and to prevent other "unclean" people from using it!!! LOL! :D

[Woobstr112G]

I have no patience for this. Would you think it was okay to "save" a table in the buffet for your use throughout the day, whenever you want to use it? Of course not. To me, the pool is no different. Use it while you're there. When you go somewhere else to have a sit down lunch, pick up your stuff and let someone else use it. Look for another when you get back. It's rude to do anything else.

 

Well said my friend.....:):):)

 

Bob

[jagoffee]

I'd like to take this one step further and suggest we be "toilet hogs" !!! Yes, mark off our favorite toilet for use later in the day and to prevent other "unclean" people from using it!!! LOL! :D

 

Good one. Us older folks will probably be back in two hours anyway, but happens if we move to a different area of the ship and do not want to walk so far?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Another way it could be quick (without eating at your seat) would be

to go to the buffet, get your food, eat it:D and then go back to the

pool....takes about 23.5 minutes;)..of course if there is a long line

then you would have scrap that plan.

 

I hate it when such blatant misinformation is spread around on these boards. Everyone knows that it takes about 23.6 minutes.:rolleyes::D

 

One thing lost in my response to karpela was that, as the policy is currently being enforced by Celebrity, she actually would have been fine with being away from her chair for 45 minutes. She would not even have received a card. Many of us agree that it's wrong to be gone for that long, but apparently X is okay with it.:( I'm hoping that the present practice is just the introduction, and they will be gradually tightening it up to 30 minutes for a card, 1 hour to remove effects. For now, it's a step in the right direction.

 

You know, now that I think about it, how much good does the card do? If someone is gone for between an hour and two hours, they get a nice little hint that they can't be away from the chair that long, but anything over two hours, and the hardcore hogger who stakes a claim at 8AM and comes back at 2PM will never know the difference. The only hope is that there are cards out on other chairs at that time that people can point to and say, "This must be what happened to you." The cards may also serve as a deterrent to someone who shows up at 9:30, sees a card on SuperHogger's chair, and takes the hint.

 

I've heard of the card system being used on other lines, so maybe I'm just not awake enough yet to envision how this works. I get that when a hog shows up, their belongings are gone, and they're told by the staff what occurred. I'm just not sure what purpose the card serves, since it'll be gone along with the belongings.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I'd like to take this one step further and suggest we be "toilet hogs" !!! Yes, mark off our favorite toilet for use later in the day and to prevent other "unclean" people from using it!!! LOL! :D

 

What, precisely, were you planning on using to mark your territory?:eek:;)

[farsight]

What, precisely, were you planning on using to mark your territory?:eek:;)

 

Be careful of the knowledge you ask for!!! :o:eek:

[wvufan]

On a related note, the worst hoggers we have encountered in all our cruises are the people on Alaska cruises who park all day long at the tables in the buffet area. It is often so bad that you can't even find a seat for lunch. Luckily, I am not a bit shy about sitting at a table where there are others who are obviously not eating and just daring them to say something.

 

As far as pool area chairs, I don't see the appeal. For some reason some people consider them "prime" real estate and those who manage to score those lounges are the "in crowd." A lot of people act like they are in high school and that they MUST eat at one of the favored tables or they will be ruined for life. Frankly, we feel the pool area is undesireable for many reasons, and would much rather sit in a lounge on an upper deck where we can look out at the ocean instead of other pool people, and be able to choose sun or shade. If we want to swim, we are just a short walk and a deck away.

 

Having said all that, we applaud junglejane's attitude!

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[UK Cruiser]

I have read lots, but never responded to a chair hog thread, until now.

 

In about 12 cruises I have spent probably less than an hour total in the pool loungers, so the hogs don't really affect my cruise.

 

My take on hogging is that we all have one derriere/a**/rear/behind, or whatever you wish to call it and if your posterior is utilising a chair on the ship, you do not have a right to reserve an alternative chair elsewhere. So, if you are in the restaurant, buffet, bingo, art auction, your balcony, etc., you should not be reserving a seat by the pool or anywhere else on the ship.

 

 

One posterior = one chair.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

While I do applaud the effort Celebrity is making and hope that it expands to all pool areas on all their ships, this problem is more widespread than just on cruise ships.

 

Everywhere you go you see signs notifying patrons that seats may not be saved/blocked - bars, theaters, restaurants, public pools, resorts, beaches, etc. Guess what - they are almost universally ignored! Americans, and to a lesser extent some other nationalities as well, have this cultural instinct that it is our God-Given "right" to take possesion of public spaces/facilities for our own private use. It is a part of our culture that I am quite frankly ashamed of! As a general society we have forgotten how to share, how our actions can impact others and what simple and common courtesy can do to make life a more enjoyable experience. We are selfish, self-focused and generally a rude people. Until our societal values change, the chair hogging on cruises will continue, regardless of cruise line policy.

[krca11]

I just had to......I agree that there shouldn't be any saving of chairs around the pool - period but I feel the same is true with tables. It's infuriating to walk around -several- times carrying a tray and finding no where to sit during breakfast or lunch. This was especially bad during the Alaska cruises we've taken- always the tables by the windows and not a one of the people eating. Usually playing cards or just sitting holding court at "their table". There are so many other great places to sit on the ship, I've never understood why anyone would plunk down at a table in the buffet area and take up residence!

 

We've pretty much given up eating in the buffet areas and do room service, the pool grill or MDR.

 

I try to use the loungers on the top deck and not by the pool because there's usually some free but it would be nice to sit by the pool and/or take a dip too!

[Calico Jack Sparrow]

:D

I hadn't given this much thought but I do believe I know what I would do now. If someone has the audacity to say this when placing things on several chairs, I will wait till they leave and put all books and belongings on one chair and leave. If I waited a couple of days before doing this, I might even get a standing ovation from all in the solarium.

 

Bravo!

This is perfect.

Nothing bothers me more than the inconsideration of others.

What better way to "show them the error of their ways".

[Calico Jack Sparrow]

If you just go around and consolidate all the items left on a group of chairs, some innocent soul sits in the now empty chairs. When the lounge savers return, they would honestly be told that the chairs were empty.

The ensuing "discussion" could be quite amusing.

 

Bad boy. My twisted mind.:p

[Cruisini]

I vote for the 1 hour rule. Sounds very fair to me. 30 minutes is plenty of time to save your chair while grabbing something to eat and drink. When we're at the pool, we like to just snack on the food from the grill. Heck, I'm even willing to change my signature to say "save me a chair for 30 minutes by the pool"! :D I also like the idea of checking out your chair from the attendant. They check out towels, why not chairs? The attendants should be the ones to remove items from chairs, that way the rules can be enforced with authority, not fists. Fairly and reasonably!:) I speak from experience after having been on both sides of this. Really, it's about time that there was decency and order when it comes to chairs at the pool. Thanks Celebrity!

 

Pam