When do you reserve sun loungers?

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Cruising Lynne said:

I thought it was 30 minutes on the pool deck. Does anyone know the official amount if time? 

 

Check the dailies.

It can be 60 minutes.

It can be 30 minutes.

It can be 15 minutes.

I've seen all of the above at one time or another in NCL dailies.

 

Whether going to the restroom, bar, pool, buffet, your stateroom, etc. doesn't matter. It's based on time gone.

[UKstages]

34 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Whether going to the restroom, bar, pool, buffet, your stateroom, etc. doesn't matter. It's based on time gone.

 

 

well, i don't work for NCL, but i am a bit of a linguist... and words have meaning.

 

if someone is in the pool or at the bar or talking to somebody nearby... and the chair is just "over there" within the pool complex in which they are swimming or drinking or talking, they are not really "gone," which technically means they have departed. and if someone is in the bathroom, they are not really "gone," because their intention is - presumably - to return after their business is done. if there is a fifteen minute rule or a thirty minute rule - or whatever - and it takes longer than that to do their business, well, i guess rules are rules, but c'mon! no reasonable person would deny a person a chair if they came back from the bathroom in seventeen minutes.

 

as for whether somebody is actually "using" a chair... if you are nearby in the pool or in the bathroom, one might argue you are indeed using the chair because the entire point of having a chair is to provide someplace you can sit when you are not in the pool or in the bathroom or at the bar. it's the place where you put your stuff when you are using the facilities adjacent to the chair. there are cruisers who go into the pool for an hour or more and i would never for a moment think that they weren't using their chair while doing so.

 

people! what we're really talking about are those who leave chairs and lounges unattended for hours on end. the problem is... at the fifteen minute mark, one has no easy way of knowing if the chair will be unattended for sixteen minutes or three or four hours.

 

and if somebody goes into the pool for twenty minutes, there is no easy way to know that their seemingly "unattended" chair is associated with somebody just over there who is actively using it, just not sitting in it at that specific moment in time.

 

solo cruisers have a similar dilemma at the buffet, which is why some print out signs to place on their table that say "occupied - be right back" when they get up to get another plate and they don't want their table cleared.  maybe it's time for similar signs at he pool? "in the pool... actively swimming" or "in the bathroom - be right back." and then write in the time, so people know it wasn't a note that was left two hours ago.

 

the best thing to do to avoid having somebody mistakenly take your chair is to make chair friends with the folks nearby who can vouch you are a living human being who is actively using it!

 

you'll notice that most of what i've said here is about defending your chair, not reclaiming a chair from a hog. because the average bear, unless they stand there monitoring chairs for a set period of time, has no way of knowing how long they've been vacant and whether somebody is "actively" using it. and should it somehow be determined that the chair has been abandoned or that it's been set aside by somebody who has no intention of using it for a set period of time... well, it's really up to NCL staff to remove whatever is on the chair and return it to the pool (pun intended).

[bkrickles1]

14 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Whether going to the restroom, bar, pool, buffet, your stateroom, etc. doesn't matter. It's based on time gone.

I know that you are way more experienced than I am, but this is not exactly what I've been told by NCL employees on my last 2 cruises.

I sailed Escape in 2018 and Encore in 2020 and it was the first time I'd seen the signs posted by the pool area (or maybe the first time I noticed). It was also on the big screens early in the mornings.

Anyway, I was curious and specifically asked a couple of people on each sailing what the deal was with these posted times.

I was told the same thing each time. These "unattended" times were meant for the people who leave the pool area completely. They are trying to stop people from setting up at 6am and disappearing until 10am or the ones who leave for 90 minutes to have breakfast/lunch.

It's not intended for those of us who spend many hours in the pool area and frequent the whirlpools, pools, bars, etc.

Maybe I was told false information or maybe NCL expects their passengers to use the same common sense that others in this thread have already mentioned.

Either way, it's a cruise and we're there to have fun and relax.

 

138 days till Joy sailing!

[Two Wheels Only]

4 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

Maybe I was told false information or maybe NCL expects their passengers to use the same common sense that others in this thread have already mentioned.

 

My post was more related to time since that seems to be the only thing that is clearly stated by NCL. If you get up from a lounger to get a drink from the bar and you are back in 8 minutes, no problem. You are within the allotted time and the lounger is still rightfully yours. If I run to the buffet to get fries and I'm back in 8 minutes, the same applies. 

 

Some people (not me) believe that as long as they are in the "area" they can leave the empty lounger for an unlimited amount of time. That is not true. 

 

4 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

These "unattended" times were meant for the people who leave the pool area completely. They are trying to stop people from setting up at 6am and disappearing until 10am or the ones who leave for 90 minutes to have breakfast/lunch.

 

Everyone agrees that THOSE people are the real problem and THOSE people are the real chair hogs. Unfortunately, trying to stop THOSE people leads to the policy that can have unintended consequences for the following....

 

5 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

It's not intended for those of us who spend many hours in the pool area and frequent the whirlpools, pools, bars, etc.

 

Again, people in the pool, at the bar, etc. aren't the intended targets for the time limit. There isn't a large enough staff to monitor where everyone is going. If one person puts a towel on a lounger and goes into the pool for a 30 minute swim at the exact same time that someone else puts a towel on a lounger and goes back to their room for a nap, all that the staff (and other guests) sees is 2 loungers with a towel and no body. The clock starts ticking for both. 

 

I am strongly against guests moving the items of another guest. NCL staff has that authority while guests do not. In the above scenario, if NCL staff moved the items from those 2 loungers after 20 minutes (if the limit is 15 minutes) and other guests sat in those loungers, I wouldn't have a problem with what happened. It's extremely "unfair" to solo guests who might feel tied to a lounger but it's also easier for solo guests to find a single unoccupied lounger. Groups or families do have the advantage since 1 person can guard the loungers while the rest are free to swim, go for a drink, etc. If ALL in the group leave the loungers, those loungers should be cleared by staff after the allotted time for others to use.  

[sverigecruiser]

We had a spasuite on our first cruise on the Epic and every morning we walked over the pooldeck to get to the Haven restaurant. Most mornings we saw the same family reserve some chairs by the pool. Since I had no interest in spending any time by that pool I didn't really cared about it but I thought that it should be fun to ask any of the staff if they could remove their things. I didn't do it but I could have done it.

[Happy-48]

There will be less people on board as in 2019

Otherwise the ships cant follow the basic rules

And due to restrictions you cant place your lounger, chair, tablet where you want them to be

I never worried about getting a lounger..

Worries i leave at the terminal or better at home🙃

Edited August 30, 2021 by Happy-48