Chair hogs

[Corfe Mixture]

I am wondering if it is just a 'big ship problem'?

Last Christmas / New year , when we did the canal on Island Princess, there were no problems.

Don't misunderstand me, I am sure there were one or two 'hoggers' but they appeared to be the exception and most people seemed to give up their place when they left and there were always plenty of places available throughout all the sea days.

Certainly, I never found it difficult to find a lounger near the pool at any time of day.

This Christmas might be interesting as we are booked on Ocean, but we are arriving a few days early and, if the price is right, we will take a late booking five day trip on Caribbean Princess, which will give me the opportunity to make a direct comparison between the big ships and the smaller ships.

[SwissDave]

Dont know why people are saying Princess does not do anything. On several cruises over the last few years in the med, and last couple of weeks on Emerald they had staff going round (including security) checking chairs and removing items.


Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse tryping orrers.

[giselleacttwo]

I was once confronted by an angry passenger for "stealing" her lounger, which I had sat down in, thinking it was vacant because there was nothing on it. (Literally, nothing. No towels, no belongings). I pointed out that it had been empty and she pointed to a pair of flip flops underneath the next lounger over. :rolleyes:

[Woobstr112G]

[quote name='giselleacttwo']I was once confronted by an angry passenger for "stealing" her lounger, which I had sat down in, thinking it was vacant because there was nothing on it. (Literally, nothing. No towels, no belongings). I pointed out that it had been empty and she pointed to a pair of flip flops underneath the next lounger over. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

[I][SIZE="4"]So what did you say to her.....:D:D:D

Bob[/SIZE][/I]

[Corfe Mixture]

Interesting that a whole host of posts relating to how some people deal with the problem seem to have been deleted!!!

[OzKiwiJJ]

[quote name='Corfe Mixture']Interesting that a whole host of posts relating to how some people deal with the problem seem to have been deleted!!![/QUOTE]

One post plus quoted responses? Must be because one of mine was deleted and I was being a bit snarky to the person I was quoting. ;) :D

[KarateMan]

[quote name='Corfe Mixture']Interesting that a whole host of posts relating to how some people deal with the problem seem to have been deleted!!![/QUOTE]

It is very strange indeed.

If you are in a situation where you know someone is reserving a deck chair and you know it has been vacant for half an hour and there are a whole bunch of chairs in the area surely you have the right to bring it to staff members attention point out the problem and ask them to assist you by removing the belongings to lost property.

That is what I do. If I get no results I ask them again the same request (still politely) with a more raised voice and give them two options. 1) assist with my request, or 2) allow me to sort it out with reception.

On all occasions when given two options staff have immediately helped out by giving me a deck chair.

On one occasion they quickly ran up to the very top of the ship and untied a pile of deck chairs stacked 6 high and brought one down for me.

[Warm Breezes]

When we were on the Ruby Princess in March I went to see if I could find a lounger by the Aft pool since our room was just inside the hallway leading to it. All chairs were filled with people or things. One lady who saw me looking told me that the 2 chairs in front of hers had been empty for over an hour (they both had used towels on them). I took the towel off one of the chairs, put it underneath it and had a seat. A girl sitting in the chair next to me said "You've got to be kidding me. Your just going to take their chair." I didn't have to a word. The lady who pointed the chair out to me replied back "Seat saving isn't allowed. It's been empty for over an so its free and clear." The other lady was amazed we would have the nerve to do such a thing....she must be a chair hog herself to think there was nothing wrong with it. The thing that had me wondering on Princess was that since Princess just hands out towels willy nilly without keeping track of them, whats to stop people from just leaving them on the chairs when they are done and not putting them in the dirty bins? How do you tell if it is a deserted towel or a saved chair? Edited June 19, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

[quote name='Warm Breezes']When we were on the Ruby Princess in March I went to see if I could find a lounger by the Aft pool since our room was just inside the hallway leading to it. All chairs were filled with people or things. One lady who saw me looking told me that the 2 chairs in front of hers had been empty for over an hour (they both had used towels on them). I took the towel off one of the chairs, put it underneath it and had a seat. A girl sitting in the chair next to me said "You've got to be kidding me. Your just going to take their chair." I didn't have to a word. The lady who pointed the chair out to me replied back "Seat saving isn't allowed. It's been empty for over an so its free and clear." The other lady was amazed we would have the nerve to do such a thing....she must be a chair hog herself to think there was nothing wrong with it. The thing that had me wondering on Princess was that since Princess just hands out towels willy nilly without keeping track of them, whats to stop people from just leaving them on the chairs when they are done and not putting them in the dirty bins? How do you tell if it is a deserted towel or a saved chair?[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Your solution is the only feasible way to determine if a chair has been vacant for long period of time. It's impossible to just show up, look around and figure it out for yourself.
As far a towels goes- what else can they possibly do to curtail seat saving? Charge people for towels? That will never work plus it's an impossible task to keep track of them. We often ask people when we see them leaving and leave a towel behind if they gone for good. [/FONT]

[lexdisic]

On Brilliance a while back, we had to use our ship card to get a towel and would have been charged for it had we not returned it. May not solve the problem completely but at least it prevents people just leaving towels behind on chairs and not going back to them - even leaving them for a while may appear risky to some, so would free more chairs up.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

[quote name='lexdisic']On Brilliance a while back, we had to use our ship card to get a towel and would have been charged for it had we not returned it. May not solve the problem completely but at least it prevents people just leaving towels behind on chairs and not going back to them - even leaving them for a while may appear risky to some, so would free more chairs up.[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]IMO if they tried to charge for missing towels it would only lead to people stealing another one to replace it creating lots of bad vibes from people who nothing wrong. Not a great idea. [/FONT]

[geoherb]

I'm lucky that I don't want a chair most of the time. When we go for a swim, we go for swim. We put our things on the bleacher-like benches near the terrace pool and spa pool.

[lexdisic]

[quote name='Lovetocruiseprincess'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]IMO if they tried to charge for missing towels it would only lead to people stealing another one to replace it creating lots of bad vibes from people who nothing wrong. Not a great idea. [/FONT][/QUOTE]

You must have a high opinion of your fellow travellers if you think that :eek:

[caribill]

[quote name='Lovetocruiseprincess'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]
As far a towels goes- what else can they possibly do to curtail seat saving? Charge people for towels? That will never work plus it's an impossible task to keep track of them. [/FONT][/quote]

RCCL does not have pool towels in the cabin and requires you to check them out on the pool deck and check them back in. This is a big pain as sometimes you can be standing in line for a while to get a towel and again to check it back in. Not a fun way to spend vacation time.

If the towel is not checked back in by the end of the cruise, a ridiculous charge for it is added to your bill.

[Carolyn R]

[quote name='custompcsys']That's a good point, but a lot more expensive than what I was talking about. And back then it was all the deck chairs, not just one particular area. If memory serves I think it cost us about $140 for 2 chair for the week. No auto tip back in those days so the deck steward got an envelope.[/QUOTE]

The price for a deck chair back then at that price ($10 a day) would equal $30 and change in today's dollars. The price for the Sanctuary if you book it for full cruise is $30 a day! ;)

[PescadoAmarillo]

[quote name='Warm Breezes'] The thing that had me wondering on Princess was that since Princess just hands out towels willy nilly without keeping track of them, whats to stop people from just leaving them on the chairs when they are done and not putting them in the dirty bins? How do you tell if it is a deserted towel or a saved chair?[/QUOTE]
This is a huge issue with the way Princess distributes towels: when people leave their lounger for the day, some simply leave their towels on it. This leads to wondering if they're gone for the day or have left for 5 minutes, so that even chairs that aren't being hogged are designated as being taken. As much as I dislike the RC way of checking out towels, it does serve a purpose, and there was far less chair hogging on the Allure than what I saw on the Emerald (not to say there was none; it's just that there was a body in the huge majority of chairs).

Geoherb, I agree. The bleachers are the path of least resistance, and I like how I don't have to plan my entire day around keeping myself in a lounger. I guess that's another issue I'll have with the Royal/Regal...there is no bleacher seating anywhere; it's a lounger or nothing.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

[quote name='caribill']RCCL does not have pool towels in the cabin and requires you to check them out on the pool deck and check them back in. This is a big pain as sometimes you can be standing in line for a while to get a towel and again to check it back in. Not a fun way to spend vacation time.

[COLOR=Red]If the towel is not checked back in by the end of the cruise, a ridiculous charge for it is added to your bill.[/COLOR][/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]If my towel were missing while I was getting a drink or in the pool I'll guarantee I would have another before I left the area. There's no way I'd submit to being charged $25 for a missing towel. [/FONT]

[Warm Breezes]

[quote name='Lovetocruiseprincess'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Your solution is the only feasible way to determine if a chair has been vacant for long period of time. It's impossible to just show up, look around and figure it out for yourself. [/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS]As far a towels goes- what else can they possibly do to curtail seat saving? [COLOR=red]Charge people for towels? That will never work plus it's an impossible task to keep track of them.[/COLOR] We often ask people when we see them leaving and leave a towel behind if they gone for good. [/FONT][/quote]

Actually both CCL and NCL do keep track and charge you if you do not either return the towels you check out (they check towels out to you at the pool) or do not return to your room the ones that came from there. At least on those ships if I see a towel on a chair I know that someone is trying to save it vs a used towel deserted by the person who was using it on an open chair.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

[quote name='Warm Breezes']Actually both CCL and NCL do keep track and charge you if you do not either return the towels you check out (they check towels out to you at the pool) or do not return to your room the ones that came from there. At least on those ships if I see a towel on a chair I know that someone is trying to save it vs a used towel deserted by the person who was using it on an open chair.[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Do you know if they actually charge people or say they will. [/FONT]

[giselleacttwo]

[quote name='Woobstr112G'][I][SIZE=4]So what did you say to her.....:D:D:D

Bob[/SIZE][/I][/quote]

I'm a wimp and do my best to avoid confrontation (especially on vacation) so I rolled my eyes (inside my head) and went on my way.

[Warm Breezes]

[quote name='Lovetocruiseprincess'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Do you know if they actually charge people or say they will. [/FONT][/quote]

Since I always return my towels I can't tell you from personal experience...but I do recall a couple threads on CCL and/or NCL boards where posters were upset over getting charged $20 (it could be $25 I can't recall) for a missing towel. Just the idea that you could be is enough for most people, besides the chair hogs obviously, to keep closer track of their towels. At least it does for us. I applaud these lines for at least making an effort. That was one of the things that bothered me on Princess was not knowing if it was a saved seat or just an abandoned towel on an available seat. I saw many towels on chairs and I could see why some would not have any incentive to take care of their used towels. They had no reason to.

[Colo Cruiser]

I believe on Princess it used to be $45.

[rdsqrl]

[quote name='Warm Breezes']. . . The thing that had me wondering on Princess was that since Princess just hands out towels willy nilly without keeping track of them, whats to stop people from just leaving them on the chairs when they are done and not putting them in the dirty bins? How do you tell if it is a deserted towel or a saved chair?[/quote]
[COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Sure, that's a problem; seen it happen with my own eyes.

However, I think the solution of having people "check out" towels or being financially liable for them is killing a fly with a cannon.

A towel all on its own does not send me the message that someone is actively using that chair. If they're in the water, where are their shoes? Their wrap? Have they no water/drink? No book? Who comes out to lay by the pool with absolutely nothing else besides a towel?! I say that as a reformed hogger: even when I'd pop over to the buffet for my salad, the vast majority of my staff remained behind at my chair: beach bag, suntan lotion, hair scrunchie, extra book, bottle of water . . . (Admiral Scott took less stuff to the Antarctic than I drag up to the Lido every day.) So maybe the key in dealing with the perception of hogging is to be more actively inquisitive about that towel-draped chair and not assume it's taken. If the people nearby don't know or recall if it was recently used, the worst that could happen is the potential for someone suddenly standing over us, dripping wet, asking for their chair back. In which case, we simply move.
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[beg3yrs]

[quote name='rdsqrl'][COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Comic Sans MS]

Admiral Scott took less stuff to the Antarctic than I drag up to the Lido every day.
[/FONT][/COLOR][/quote]

ROTFLMAO! We resemble that remark ... thanks for the laugh. Edited June 20, 2014 by beg3yrs

[alexspepa]

[quote name='rdsqrl'][COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Sure, that's a problem; seen it happen with my own eyes.

(Admiral Scott took less stuff to the Antarctic than I drag up to the Lido every day.)
[/FONT][/COLOR][/quote]

bless his heart...he should have taken a bit more.