Escape Deck Chair Policy Question

[triptolemus]

The only reasonable plan is that if an ass ain't in it, it's free game. Anything else is problematic to manage, will never be perfect, and will always leave a number of people unsatisfied.

 

The only other option is if the deck were run like a restaurant, with a maître d'. Chairs are like tables - singles, 2-tops, 4-tops. But what a pain in the ass, right?

 

Or some combination of the two...open seating (no ass = open chair) in some areas, and managed seating in others.

 

It's never going to happen that way. So I guess, generally speaking, people could just be polite and kind to one another... but that seems less likely.

 

Edited June 4, 2016 by triptolemus

[NHL Philly Fan]

When 2 people come to the deck and start Unstacking 12 chairs themselves before the crew is done hosing the deck down at 6:30 in the morning. It shows how greedy/selfish people are . Happened last year on Epic, as I was walking to get coffee.

 

3 hours later someone finally showed up. people can twist it all they want, that is just plain wrong.

 

 

So it is now greedy to be at the pool before you are... LOL

[NHL Philly Fan]

When 2 people come to the deck and start Unstacking 12 chairs themselves before the crew is done hosing the deck down at 6:30 in the morning. It shows how greedy/selfish people are . Happened last year on Epic, as I was walking to get coffee.

 

3 hours later someone finally showed up. people can twist it all they want, that is just plain wrong.

 

 

So you stood there this entire three hours to see if anyone sat in the chairs at any point?

[Two Wheels Only]

I've never condoned or advocate anyone touching or moving anyone's belongings,...

Not claiming that you did just making a point to those who have or have condoned the act, sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

...just pointing out that the rules are meaningless unless NCL enforces them. When a company fails to enforce rules, unfortunately customers take it upon their selves to enforce them

Which is wrong on the part of the passengers who try to enforce them and especially wrong when the passenger incorrectly enforces the rule that isn't being broken. 60 minutes on a chair isn't against the rules. More than 60 minutes is.

 

....not saying this is right or wrong, just saying this is what happens.

It's wrong, not right by any means.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Two Wheels Only

[Two Wheels Only]

There were crew members on deck watching/letting the people take the lounge chairs off the stacks and putting towels, books, flip flops etc. on them.Why report what NCL people have witnessed?

 

Because NCL staff is more likely to act if people complain.

 

If you wanted one of those "reserved" chairs, you had the right to it since reserving chairs isn't allowed. NCL staff is authorized to remove items from reserved chairs since reserving isn't allowed.

 

No I didn't remove anything , so I wasn't wrong!

 

Good to know.

 

All cruiselines should come up with a better plan as Chair hogging takes place RCI , NCL, and Carnival.

 

It depends on how people are defining "chair hogging". Some in this thread are confusing "chair using" with "chair hogging".

 

A person who puts their towel on a chair and goes for a 45 minute swim before returning is not doing anything wrong nor is that person breaking any rule. Other people may call that "chair hogging" but it simply isn't.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Two Wheels Only

[FranknBeans]

Do not touch anyone else's property. Very, very bad advise.

 

Print this tag on yellow paper put on chair after 30 min. and DO remove their stuff.

 

Never had an issue using this when folks comeback, mainly because they know there guilty.

 

If people are rude enough to hog the chair then I can be rude enough to remove there stuff.:cool:

[Two Wheels Only]

Print this tag on yellow paper put on chair after 30 min. and DO remove their stuff.

Why not go to guest services and see if they have any of those.....oh, they won't. :rolleyes:

 

Are you putting the correct time that the chair was first seen unattended and waiting 30 minutes to remove items?....even though the actual NCL dailies state 60 minutes...

 

 

Never had an issue using this when folks comeback, mainly because they know there guilty.

Guilty of not knowing the policy? Yes, they are guilty.

Guilty of being a chair hog? No, not at all.

 

If people are rude enough to hog the chair then I can be rude enough to remove there stuff.:cool:

Then the person who returns can simply remove the other person from the chair....since people are free to invent and enforce their own rules, right? ;)

[Two Wheels Only]

Excerpt from an article on the subject....

 

The ships policy about `saving chairs`is very important to understand when it comes to leaving your lounger for any extended period of time, especially during the busy sea days. If I arrive on deck at 11 AM and come to 3 empty chairs beside someone and am told that they are occupied by members of their party who have gone to lunch, the cruise line does not expect me to confront the guest with the information that I have seen the chair vacant for 2 hours. Instead, it is expected that I find a deck attendant, I point out the vacant chairs to them, how long they have been empty and advise him I would like to sit there.

 

The seat is now marked in the same way a car is when parking limits are enforced. If the guest does not return in the specified time frame (normally 30-60 minutes), the deck attendant will come remove the items, to be held in a secure location, and you can then take over occupancy of those chairs. If the prior guests arrive and advise you the chairs were being held for them, you can say the chairs had been empty long enough for the deck attendant to remove their things.

 

Remember, a crew member will not simply take a chair away from someone, simply because they are not there. The bar staff can not assist you, you must go to a deck attendant and they will follow the policy they have in place in regards to wait times and securing of private property. The deck is a public venue and all guests must adhere to the rules of their particular cruise line. If common sense fails, then there is a policy to ensure everyone has the same information.

 

Full Article

 

...seems simple, doesn't it?

Edited June 4, 2016 by Two Wheels Only

[slinkythecat]

How about those Hot Tub hogs. The ones that sit in the hot tub all day with drink in hand with a whole group. One wonders when or where they ever use the bathroom. Uck.

[beerman2]

So you stood there this entire three hours to see if anyone sat in the chairs at any point?

 

No actually I am always out getting coffee around 6:30 am. on any cruise, but when walking back to room and witnessing it taking place and coming back to get b/ fast approx. 7:30 - 8:00 and still no sight of the "chair hogs" it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the obvious.

 

 

And just so you can figure it out I/we do find a seat somewhere around the pool shortly thereafter b/fast that would make it about 9:00 or so.

 

So yes I do pay attention to the surroundings. It's called be observant!

[e2011]

Heres how I handle it. I am an early riser so we take our kids to the pool right when it opens. If there are towels on all the chairs and no one in the pool or anywhere to be seen its obvious the is foul play afoot. Whoever drew the short straw from various travel groups gets up early and puts towels on chairs so the rest of the group can roll out of bed at 9, go get breakfast and have "their" chairs ready for them. I simply use the chairs and the nice towels, assuming they were put out just for me, and the by 10 we are done with the pool and we leave, putting fresh towels back on the chairs. In 15 years of cruising I have never had anyone show up to claim a chair that early so I have never had a confrontation. Or maybe its because I am 6'5 and 225 lbs. with Tats from head to toe. I don't really know...

[newbe dave]

NCL, there is an easy solution. RENT THE CHAIRS. Say $10 per day before 10AM. Maybe have a mid-day sale where the prices drop to $5 per day after 10AM. That would eliminate people thinking that they "own" a community chair just by putting a towel on it.

 

Maybe they can waive the fee if a person actually uses the chair. Meaning, that if you sit in the chair, you don't pay. If you leave, the chair is available for anyone else to use. When you come back, you get a different available chair. But if one person wants to wake up at 7AM and put 10 towels on 10 chairs, fork over $100. Then you have all 10 of them for the day.

 

To continually discuss your alleged ownership of a community chair because you placed your prized towel clips on it at 7AM is beyond stupid.

Edited June 5, 2016 by newbe dave

[tallnthensome]

NCL, there is an easy solution. RENT THE CHAIRS. Say $10 per day before 10AM. Maybe have a mid-day sale where the prices drop to $5 per day after 10AM. That would eliminate people thinking that they "own" a community chair just by putting a towel on it.

 

Maybe they can waive the fee if a person actually uses the chair. Meaning, that if you sit in the chair, you don't pay. If you leave, the chair is available for anyone else to use. When you come back, you get a different available chair. But if one person wants to wake up at 7AM and put 10 towels on 10 chairs, fork over $100. Then you have all 10 of them for the day.

 

To continually discuss your alleged ownership of a community chair because you placed your prized towel clips on it at 7AM is beyond stupid.

:D Don't give the cruise lines any more ideas how to nickel and dime us! LOL!

[14cruise]

We are sailing on the Escape the week of July 2. We have been on the Getaway twice, and loved it. One issue we did see on the Getaway was people putting towels/items on chairs as early as 7 am, only to not return to them until several hours later. It really was frustrating, and you had a lot of chairs in ideal locations unused for hours.

 

We recently heard that NCL is trying to deal with the problem with a system where they place a sticker on a "reserved" chair after a certain period of time. Can anyone confirm this, and let us know if it worked? Did you have difficulty getting chairs on the decks around the pool?

 

Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

They will not remove your items we were the escape on April 30th We were at the pool everyday by 730 We love the sun and like to be by the pool we made sure someone was at our seats most of the time or with in eye sight. we saw them come around with stickers but never removed items even though people left for hours and did not come back We saw one day a girl come down around the same time as us put three towels on three chairs put her clips on the towels and left. Came back at 12:30 so from 730-1230 no one returned. Someone had moved her stuff and she was not happy. Went to the pool staff and demanded her chairs. They moved chairs from the upper deck and made room.

[beerman2]

They will not remove your items we were the escape on April 30th We were at the pool everyday by 730 We love the sun and like to be by the pool we made sure someone was at our seats most of the time or with in eye sight. we saw them come around with stickers but never removed items even though people left for hours and did not come back We saw one day a girl come down around the same time as us put three towels on three chairs put her clips on the towels and left. Came back at 12:30 so from 730-1230 no one returned. Someone had moved her stuff and she was not happy. Went to the pool staff and demanded her chairs. They moved chairs from the upper deck and made room.

 

And that's part of the problem! I'm sure NCL doesn't want to tick-off pax, but to accommodate someone like HER just compounds the problem.

[Choochala]

There is seldom a reason to need to be right AT the pool....move a bit further away, and the loungers have more space. Being "hip to hip" with your neighbor isn't my thing! Usually there are plenty of loungers, but they may require you walk 15 steps to get wet!

 

I like to be able to see the kids when they are swimming

Edited June 7, 2016 by Choochala

[tallnthensome]

I'll say this .... We were on the Escape last month. There really aren't a lot of chairs on the main deck by the pool and bar that are open to the sun. These were the chairs that people wanted the most and were gone the quickest. Also the ones by the kids pool and aqua park. I had to get there by 7:30 to get a couple of premium chairs. If you wanted a deck over you and out of the sun you probably had an extra two hours before those were gone.

 

My thoughts on chair hogs is this. If you want to rise early and get a couple of chairs and then walk into the buffet right there and eat breakfast then that's cool with me. if you were back out in under an hour to sit in the chairs you saved then that's fine. That's what we did and that was back in the chairs by 8am. What isn't cool, and I did see, is some people getting to the chairs at 7 and not even using them by 11 still. That's just bs. If you need to just push the saved chairs out of the way and carry over some from areas that nobody is using and put them in place of the hogs stuff. You didn't take "their" chairs nor did you touch their property. They don't own deck real estate especially if nowhere to be found for hours and hours.