What's the worse thing that can happen?

[keishashadow]

Cruise lines need to enforce their chair hog policies.

 

 

Last sailing on sunshine the serenity pool staff was thankfully on da ball as to placing a piece of tape on unattended loungers and would return and remove the stuff in half hour or so

 

Has this practice stopped?

[winddawn]

Last sailing on sunshine the serenity pool staff was thankfully on da ball as to placing a piece of tape on unattended loungers and would return and remove the stuff in half hour or so

 

Has this practice stopped?

In my 26 Carnival cruises, I've only ever seen Carnival staff enforcing the "no saving chairs" policy on one cruise. And that was way back when the policy was first implemented.

[Tapi]

Where do people put their stuff who are with their kids?

 

 

 

They are obviously going to be on the move all day at the water park and so forth and you will have a bag with towels, sunscreen, hats, etc.

 

If you're going to be within view of your belongings, then go ahead and leave them. But if you're going to be on the move then take your stuff with you. I travel with a light backpack. Very convenient and keeps my hands free to tend to the kids while I have constant control of my belongings. If I'm going to the pool or in the water, I place the backpack within view for the reasons mentioned in a previous post.

 

5 cruises with children under the age of 5 and not once have I felt that I HAD to leave my stuff on a chair unattended while I went somewhere else on the ship.

[elliair]

Do Princess ships typically carry less passengers than the newer mega ships?

 

I don't know about the mega ships, but the Princess ships we've been on have all been full. The last cruise on the Crown did not have enough seating in the buffet area. A couple of groups of people sat all day long at two tables playing games. Breakfast/lunch/dinner, they were there. They paid their fare, so they are entitled to sit wherever they choose all day long. The waiters waited on them too with whatever they wanted to drink.

[Weeziblu]

to the poster who asked if people sit and stare at empty chairs for 30 min (or however long).. the answer is simple...

 

I've walked around and around and around looking for chairs and eventually loop the same areas multiple times looking for a place to sit. When you've done this for OVER 30 minutes and see the same unoccupied chairs being saved with a single item, THAT'S how you know.

 

I find it incredibly rude when people to get up at sunrise and save loungers poolside only to go back to bed/brunch/whatever and not bother taking "their" seat until late afternoon. Some of us could have used that lounger all morning and it would have been available for you by the time you arrived.

[deadmoney]

These threads are always good for a laugh.

[stlouistravelers]

Personally, if the items have been there for more than 20-30 minutes, I'd give them to a crew member and tell him that somebody must've forgotten them, and to take them to lost and found. If the owner later shows up, I wouldn't get confrontational or say that I personally removed the items, but I would tell him that a crew member was collecting unattended items and to check with Guest Services. End of story.

 

Why do people get so wrapped up about this subject. By moving or touching someone's property you just got confrontational. You are subject to all of the abuse that can result from the situation especially if it a pound of flesh type of person. They can file a report that you stole some of their property which then puts you under scrutiny of the security services, they can grab your property when you get up and throw it overboard. These are just examples. It is never the end of story. I just find that if I mind my own business then my world is so much more serene and I tend to enjoy my vacations more.

[eh24fan]

Last year on our NCL Gem cruise, the chair hogs were ridiculous. One morning I was at the pool with my 7 year old, he wanted to do the slide in the main pool area and while there were plenty of chairs that were being used by a towel, magazine or flip flop, there were very few people using the chairs. After sitting at a table for about 20 minutes, I grabbed our stuff, took the towels that were using the chairs closest to the slide and put them under the chairs, awaiting their owner's. We were out there probably 2 hours and not once did someone come to claim their chairs. I will not hesitate to do the same in the future.

[Tapi]

They can file a report that you stole some of their property which then puts you under scrutiny of the security services.

 

 

If you found items left behind at a lounge, restaurant, or any other public place, would you turn them in to guest services/lost and found? Or would you just leave the items there and look the other way thinking that the person must be saving a seat or for fear of being accused of robbery or of getting your butt kicked? Turning items in left behind by the pool would be no different.

 

Thankfully, while I have turned in lost items to guest services several times before, I haven't had to remove any items from a pool chair in all of my years of cruising. I don't spend enough time at the pool deck to be affected by this. But if I had to do it, the way described above would be the least confrontational IMHO.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Tapi

[Elaine5715]

Both my last two spring cruises on the Glory and Breeze, they were marking unattended chairs and enforcing the time limits. Not perfectly, but enough so they were noticed.

 

Best advice, it you are going to take a chair away from a flip flop that was just working on it's tan, move the chair to another location, even just a few feet away. Folks all of a sudden are unable to identify "their" chair.

[KatieCharlotte]

On the rare occasions when I need a lounger in a certain area to watch my kids or can't find a lounger anywhere, I will look for a lounger being held only by shoes. You can't tell me that your shoes needed to be left on the lounger or that I damaged or stole them by putting them on the ground. Should you come back, I would be happy to move. If the loungers are filling up and I just want a place to put my kids' stuff, I will try to find a dry place that is not on a lounger, or at worst will pile it all on one lounger. When we move to a different area, everything comes with us.

 

Everyone benefits when the loungers are used to their full capacity, rather than sitting empty for a half hour or more. I rarely want to be in the same spot for more than an hour (because of kids' needs, wanting to move to the shade, hunger, etc.), so I can use your lounger when you don't need it and we're all happy.

[srlafleur]

Even if I were a sun worshipper (which I'm not), I don't see what the big deal is about being right next to the pool all the time, anyway (unless you're watching your kids in the pool, of course). I can't remember being on a cruise that there weren't plenty of seats in the sun, but well away from the pool. I'd just do my sunbathing there, and if the need for a quick dip arose, stroll to the nearest pool and back to my distant seat again. It's quieter, anyway.

Finding an outdoor seat in the shade, now, is another story.

[euphscott]

These threads are always gold - I get that folks are angry about the hogs. And they DO exist. And they do have attitudes of - I beat you here - I can stay until I get tired of it or the possibility.

 

That said - I have NEVER been on a cruise ship where I could not find a chair. Prime property snaps up quickly - I get that, but the wailing and gnashing of teeth seems a little overdone as well since there are plenty of chairs to be found somewhere out on deck.

 

Good luck out there guys - the cruise ship wars can be quite dicey....

[KatieCharlotte]

These threads are always gold - I get that folks are angry about the hogs. And they DO exist. And they do have attitudes of - I beat you here - I can stay until I get tired of it or the possibility.

 

That said - I have NEVER been on a cruise ship where I could not find a chair. Prime property snaps up quickly - I get that, but the wailing and gnashing of teeth seems a little overdone as well since there are plenty of chairs to be found somewhere out on deck.

 

Good luck out there guys - the cruise ship wars can be quite dicey....

 

For the most part, that has been my experience too. But on our spring break Elation cruise when we were truly at full capacity (many rooms w/ five people) there was one afternoon when I walked the entire ship looking for one lounger to share with my daughter before I put someone's sandals on the ground.

[montana200024]

What if you are in the pool and not in your chair?

 

when i cruise and decide to go into the pool, i leave my stuff on one of the tables till i am ready to find a chair and relax..

swimming in the pool and lying in the sun are two different things...so this is why i don't take a chair till i am finished in the pool

[LibratPDX]

Cruise lines need to enforce their chair hog policies.

 

I've seen them trying to. On my last cruise a crew member had a clipboard and was putting stickers on vacant-but-occupied chairs, but if/when passengers remove the stickers they don't have any control over it.

 

I would surrender the items to a crew member and claim ignorance when the person showed up. If somebody is in the pool they should be taking turns with a friend who can watch their stuff while they are in the pool then switch. IMO there is no perfect solution, but then I'm not a lounger :D

[keishashadow]

In my 26 Carnival cruises, I've only ever seen Carnival staff enforcing the "no saving chairs" policy on one cruise. And that was way back when the policy was first implemented.

 

Have only noticed it on serenity deck. last cruise I would get up every sea day and be settled in a lounger on first serenity deck facing the big screen before 7 am. We usually book a balcony but I'm an early riser and enjoy the quiet time up on deck & watching the ship 'come to life'. On the sunshine I picked a spot where there was shade most of the day but we could still move forward for sun if desired. DH would join me after he pulled himself together, usually before 8 am

 

Other guests caught on quickly & started to appear earlier, drop their towels and not resurface for hours. By the third sea day, the pool attendants started to remove the personal items by 9 am. Not sure if somebody complained to trigger their actions or not.

 

I've seen them trying to. On my last cruise a crew member had a clipboard and was putting stickers on vacant-but-occupied chairs, but if/when passengers remove the stickers they don't have any control over it.

 

I would surrender the items to a crew member and claim ignorance when the person showed up. If somebody is in the pool they should be taking turns with a friend who can watch their stuff while they are in the pool then switch. IMO there is no perfect solution, but then I'm not a lounger :D

 

the pools are so small & crowded, no real swimming there, it's a quick dip to cool off & back to being a world-class lounger for us.:D

 

if only they could have built in timers attached the chairs that a guest has to hit when they leave. once time is up, the chair is fair game lol

[cmecruise1962]

My EX-boyfriend has a borderline personality and he would get so upset by chair hogs! Every morning, I would wake up early (7AM ish)and go out and grab a chair and put my stuff on the chair next to me for him. I loved getting up early, grabbing coffee and reading my book. He would come join me for a while usually by 9:00 AM or so, and I would point out all of the chair hogs. There was always chairs left, so I never felt bad about saving a chair for him. If anyone had wanted that chair, I would have given it up.

 

Anyhoo...the night before the last sea day he tells me he's beating them at their own game. I don't believe him, but he shows up about 10 minutes after I got there with a whole bunch of stuff....towels, sweatshirts, books, etc and proceeds to place one item on every chair in our row and then sat down to wait. Because he had taken a whole row, many chair hogs were foiled. And then, when he saw a "deserving" couple or family, he would "gift" them with the chairs. Sheesh!! I felt like the biggest chair hog EVER and wanted to leave, but that would have been a HUGE fight, so I just sat there surrounded by people that couldn't figure out what this crazy guy was doing.

 

Did I mention he's my EX boyfriend?? :o

[ddlb]

BUT....

your comment was "I can't go to lunch for 30 minutes? Yikes!"

 

Yes, you can. But if you come back and your stuff is moved or gone, don't be surprised.

The bottom line is very simple. If you have a seat, make sure you always have an eye on it. If it's out of eyesight, then it's no longer yours. I don't care how long you've been gone.

 

Fair is fair, and there is NO RESERVING SEATS. That's Carnivals' policy.

 

Some people get self righteous about people sneaking liquor onboard, or smoking on balconies, and whatnot. But, alot of the same people have no problem with reserving seats, and that's hypocritical.

If people are going to follow rules, then follow ALL OF THEM.

 

P.S., We travel in a group, and we WILL take CARNIVAL's unattended chairs.

You make an excellent point. I mentioned in a prior post I check my water and pop instead of lugging it around and boy it sure opened my eyes to the error of my ways and breaking the rules! I must say though from now on I will put the pop/water in big zip lock bags inside a big plastic garbage bag inside my suitcase (no cloths) to prevent the possibiity that one could burst and leak all over someone else's luggage! I think more people "bend" at least one rule especially the one where you are supposed to board at a given time! Since I am the OP I found everyone's comments really interesting in this thread.

[Out to sea!]

we will wait for 30 mins, if the people do not come back we take the chairs. we give the stuff to the cruise workers and enjoy the day. if the people come back, we tell them there stuff was given to the cruise staff end of story.

 

FYI, on most ships, it's 40 minutes now. ;)

[Out to sea!]

Princess has a fairly strict chair hog rule. Princess stated in the Patter that if you leave a chair unattended for more than 30 minutes, your belongings will be removed so that other passengers can take advantage of the chair. They do enforce it too.

 

States the same thing in the Carnival Funtimes (except it's 40 minutes). Problem is not a lack of policy, it's enforcement of the existing policy.

[Out to sea!]

What if you are in the pool and not in your chair?

 

40 minutes is 40 minutes. Doesn't matter where you are, just that you are NOT in the chair.

[Out to sea!]

On the Glory last week there always seemed to be chairs, even in the serenity area.

 

What I don't get is are you going to stand and stare at a chair for half hour to an hour to see if someone comes back? And if they do, move to the next chairs and stare another half hour to an hour? If you are sitting staring you already have chairs, right?

 

Can you only look at one pair of chairs at a time? :confused:

[Out to sea!]

Last sailing on sunshine the serenity pool staff was thankfully on da ball as to placing a piece of tape on unattended loungers and would return and remove the stuff in half hour or so

 

Has this practice stopped?

 

They were still doing it in March.

[CookiePie]

It is a problem. I really don't understand why people think it is ok but they do. We watched prime location chairs unattended for hours on our last cruise. I never saw it enforced by staff. I felt bad watching people make the rounds looking for a chair when there are so many saved and abandoned.