A question about 'chair hogs'

[littlesteelo]

I know most people, especially me, hate those who put things on sun loungers and come back hours later, but I was thinking about this on my recent cruise, where I used the pools a lot, and often went in with friends and without the rest of my family, leaving my things on a sun lounger (towel, sandals etc.). Is this also wrong in your opinion, and where should you leave your things if you decide to go in the pool without anyone to watch your things? I would feel pretty annoyed if I got out of the pool after an hour or two and my things were gone.

[u2cruiser]

I don't consider that chair hogging if you're in the pool. You stay in for 2 hours? :eek: :D

 

What really annoyed me on Ventura was the amount of families that set up camp of 6 or more sunbeds in the same area every day, regardless of how many happened to be using them. The aft terrace pool was 'full' every single morning with hardly anyone using them! They kept the sunbeds all day long on sea days. We did see some brave souls taking the towels off.

 

I wish they would be more consistent about removing towels on unused chairs instead of just making announcements and warnings in the Horizon.

 

It just didn't happen on Celebrity, though that was mainly full of Floridians and they don't bother so much about sunbathing as they have it all year round.

[littlesteelo]

I don't consider that chair hogging if you're in the pool. You stay in for 2 hours? :eek: :D

 

What really annoyed me on Ventura was the amount of families that set up camp of 6 or more sunbeds in the same area every day, regardless of how many happened to be using them. The aft terrace pool was 'full' every single morning with hardly anyone using them! They kept the sunbeds all day long on sea days. We did see some brave souls taking the towels off.

 

I wish they would be more consistent about removing towels on unused chairs instead of just making announcements and warnings in the Horizon.

 

It just didn't happen on Celebrity, though that was mainly full of Floridians and they don't bother so much about sunbathing as they have it all year round.

Well, maybe not 2 hours solidly in the pool, but there's some hot tub time in there as well. When you're 17, time flies in a pool :D They definitely don't remove stuff anymore though, it said in the Horizon it's not policed.

[FLUFFY01]

HI

On one of the cruises I saw people not only having sun beds but a separate table as well, out of the sun. Total greed.

 

Regards

 

Jo:)

[u2cruiser]

Well, maybe not 2 hours solidly in the pool, but there's some hot tub time in there as well. When you're 17, time flies in a pool :D They definitely don't remove stuff anymore though, it said in the Horizon it's not policed.

 

Sounds like you had a great time and good weather :D

 

Pool butlers are the answer. You picked up your towel at the pool on Celebrity and a butler found you a sun bed if you wished. Towels were removed as soon as the beds were left without extra belongings on them plus there was a 30 min curfew for leaving beds. I don't think that was strictly adhered to though.

 

Half the time on Ventura you didn't know whether the bed had been vacated and the towel left there as they couldn't be bothered to drop them off at the bin.

[littlesteelo]

Half the time on Ventura you didn't know whether the bed had been vacated and the towel left there as they couldn't be bothered to drop them off at the bin.

I couldn't even find the bins on Ventura, so I just dumped my towel on the floor somewhere :rolleyes:. The best way to solve the problem is what Royal Caribbean do, where they have a pool towel desk near the pool where you 'check out' how many towels you want with your card and you have to return them by the last day or you get fined $20. So you have to take the towel with you.

[u2cruiser]

I couldn't even find the bins on Ventura, so I just dumped my towel on the floor somewhere :rolleyes:. The best way to solve the problem is what Royal Caribbean do, where they have a pool towel desk near the pool where you 'check out' how many towels you want with your card and you have to return them by the last day or you get fined $20. So you have to take the towel with you.

 

I've read that about RCI before. Great idea!

 

Chair hogs was the main gripe on Ventura. Everyone was moaning about it. We just went up to the top deck where the bungee is. There were always spare beds up there.

[Catherine Janaway]

A real pet hate of mine.

 

I am more likely to have a morning swim and sit and read for a while and then go to breakfast.

 

Although not on a cruise but at hotels I used to see 1 family member come down and put towels out for about 6 - 8 people.

 

I've reached the age that if I see empty beds with nothing but a towel and it looks unused, I'll move it.

 

It is TOTALLY selfish!

[CASPALL]

Good on you Catherine!

 

Caryl

[sobral]

I think a 30 minute curfew is too short. I went for lunch with full intention of returning to my sunbed but the service was so bad at lunch it took me ages to get a table and get served, and when I returned after 40 minutes my sunbed had a warning ticket on it (not on Ventura) Also once after 20 minutes while we were booking an excursion, they also put a warning ticket on it. I suppose it was good they were policing the situation anyway. We have on many occassions seen one person from a family group get up early and put towles on 6-8 sunbeds, go off the ship for the day and come back in the early evening to do a bit of sunbathing! That is unacceptable! Checking towels in and out is a good idea, as is giving towles in cabins to be returned and picked up by cabin stewart in the evening and replaced with clean ones if necessary.

[steelerannie]

When we were on the Panama Canal cruise in February, we'd got up at 6.am. :eek: and sat on the relaxer chairs on the side decks. There were 4 of us so we took it in turns 2 at a time to go to the front or back. Never for very long anyhow as we were sat and could watch the people working the locks from where we were sat! We went for breakfast at 9.30, came back at 10 and our seats had been taken, and all our belongings thrown on the floor. When we challenged the people, they said we'd been gone over an hour!! We were absolutely livid.:mad:

[mrspjotter]

We had our worst case of chair hogs this year on Azura - we have been on 2 previous RCI cruises and never experienced anything like we did this year - my husband almost had a stand up argument at the beginning of 1 cruise with a another man.

 

There should really be a better way of sorting this out - it was on the front cover of horizon every day but 60% of the passengers seemed to totally ignore it!

[Jackthemonkey]

Bloody rude to reserve Loungers and chairs at all for any length of time. It was great to see the exec purser on azura recently dealing with it as well. The bafoon that thought he could intimidate her never stood a chance.

Theres plenty of room, if your so uptight and self centered you feel you have to get out there at 7:30 in the morning with you towel then dont expect any sympathy when you get caught. Any longer than it takes to visit the loo and your fair game in my view.

[Host Sharon]

This a real problem if like me you travel alone. When I need the loo, I leave a book etc on it, but also usually tell the person next to me that I will be back in a minute. I would never reserve a sunbed while I went for lunch though !

[bogofman]

Its usually the larger groups that i've seen hogging beds. 1 or 2 in the party reserve the beds for the whole party, often some don't arrive for hours.

 

I've seen some beds occupied with towls books etc for hours and the person then comes back only to collect thier book etc and go back to the room to get ready for dinner.

 

they leave thier stuff on the bed on the off chance they may come back to use it. Grrrr.

[Catherine Janaway]

This a real problem if like me you travel alone. When I need the loo, I leave a book etc on it, but also usually tell the person next to me that I will be back in a minute. I would never reserve a sunbed while I went for lunch though !

 

I'd like to think that no-one would be that bad as to oust you when you've gone to the loo.

 

Personally I don't have a problem with people leaving their loungers while they go for lunch as long as they've been using them for the morning (at least a few hours)

 

My issue is with those who are out and about first thing with no idea when or if they'll use the loungers but 'nab' them anyway.

 

I suffer quite badly with psoriasis and the sun does wonders for it so I tend to lie out in it as much as possible, so it's very frustrating when people 'reserve' the loungers and don't intend to use them until later in the day!

 

Its usually the larger groups that i've seen hogging beds. 1 or 2 in the party reserve the beds for the whole party, often some don't arrive for hours.

 

I've seen some beds occupied with towls books etc for hours and the person then comes back only to collect thier book etc and go back to the room to get ready for dinner.

 

they leave thier stuff on the bed on the off chance they may come back to use it. Grrrr.

 

That's what makes me mad too!

 

Holidays are supposed to be relaxing and I hate the stress of not knowing whether I'll get a sun bed or not! :(

[Somerset Cruiser]

When we were on the Panama Canal cruise in February, we'd got up at 6.am. :eek: and sat on the relaxer chairs on the side decks. There were 4 of us so we took it in turns 2 at a time to go to the front or back. Never for very long anyhow as we were sat and could watch the people working the locks from where we were sat! We went for breakfast at 9.30, came back at 10 and our seats had been taken, and all our belongings thrown on the floor. When we challenged the people, they said we'd been gone over an hour!! We were absolutely livid.:mad:

 

Would you leave a seat reserved in a lounge or a bar for 30 minutes while you go for breakfast?

[Host Sharon]

Of course - one solution is to sail on smaller ships with plenty of deck space and sunloungers. I never had a problem on Artemis for example.

[sobral]

Bloody rude to reserve Loungers and chairs at all for any length of time. It was great to see the exec purser on azura recently dealing with it as well. The bafoon that thought he could intimidate her never stood a chance.

Theres plenty of room, if your so uptight and self centered you feel you have to get out there at 7:30 in the morning with you towel then dont expect any sympathy when you get caught. Any longer than it takes to visit the loo and your fair game in my view.

 

I am not uptight or self centred- just an early bird who enjoys the mornings and I am one of them who gets up early and finds a sunbed in a suitable place. But I use it all morning. I presume you were referring to those who reserve in the morning and then never use them.

Always will be a controversial issue I guess, and we make jokes about our german counterparts!:)

[Denarius]

I know most people, especially me, hate those who put things on sun loungers and come back hours later, but I was thinking about this on my recent cruise, where I used the pools a lot, and often went in with friends and without the rest of my family, leaving my things on a sun lounger (towel, sandals etc.). Is this also wrong in your opinion, and where should you leave your things if you decide to go in the pool without anyone to watch your things? I would feel pretty annoyed if I got out of the pool after an hour or two and my things were gone.

I believe that if your clothes and shoes were on the lounger it would be reasonable for anyone else to conclude that you were in the pool (you are unlikely to be wandering elsewhere wearing just your swimming gear) and that it would be unreasonable for them to remove your clothes to use the lounger themselves. P&O insist that you wear shoes and top for your walk between your cabin and the pool. In the absence of a poolside changing room with locker facilities you have little option other than use a lounger to store your clothes whilst you swim.

[jeanlyon]

Exactly the same on Azura. One couple had 4 chairs. Two in the sun and two in the shade!

 

At the aft pool we couldn't find anywhere, so we sat on the teak decking. Two chairs remained unused with one item on each for one hour and 40 minutes, so we removed them to a table and used the beds. The owners came back half an hour later, were extremely rude, said they had only been 20 minutes. Luckily another person had seen them as well and told them they were lying. Hilarious.

[CASPALL]

The confrontation thing is something I'd rather shy away from - too many passengers are agressive about hogging their chairs. I've seen too much sunbed rage!

 

Jean - Azura was terrible last year,wasn't it! Sometimes my husband and I just went back to our cabin to read our books!

 

Caryl

[LibraLass41]

I think a 30 minute curfew is too short. I went for lunch with full intention of returning to my sunbed but the service was so bad at lunch it took me ages to get a table and get served, and when I returned after 40 minutes my sunbed had a warning ticket on it (not on Ventura) Also once after 20 minutes while we were booking an excursion, they also put a warning ticket on it. I suppose it was good they were policing the situation anyway. We have on many occassions seen one person from a family group get up early and put towles on 6-8 sunbeds, go off the ship for the day and come back in the early evening to do a bit of sunbathing! That is unacceptable! Checking towels in and out is a good idea, as is giving towles in cabins to be returned and picked up by cabin stewart in the evening and replaced with clean ones if necessary.

 

 

Which cruiseline was this?

[capasamari]

We paid the extra and booked a balcony cabin on Ventura one Christmas purely so we knew we would always have somewhere to sit. It was blissful.

 

Carol x

[LibraLass41]

Celebrity also have Pool Butlers, this is one is action on Equinox, wonderful idea... I wish P&O would employ one of their deck stewards to be a pool butler....I think a hour is fair time to leave a sunbed unoccupied, any more than that, then sorry you forfit the bed, and you should find another one...why should a bed lie empty in the sunshine when other fare paying passengers are walking around looking for one.?