Is The Chair Hogging Dilemma Unsolvable?

[rbtan]

On 2/13/2024 at 10:32 AM, Acrusa said:

We still have our original teeth 

I thought that was an interesting necklace.

[Acrusa]

1 hour ago, rbtan said:

Ok....No one ever takes 20 min. to have breakfast or lunch. You reserve a lounge at 7AM & we are expected to believe you get everything done in 20 min? I've seen balony stories in my day & this is a good one. Basically anyone who leaves for 45 min. loses their right. to the chair. My spouse does a couple of tricks: Check the drink & see if its still cold or see if the chair is damp.If not he'll remove the books that most hogs swipe from the library & we'll move in. We did this several times on our Jan. 19 trip. People came back normally after we had been there nearly an hour. Not one said anything(good for them) We leave to do the following: Swim/rest room/relax. When we want food we just pack up & leave.We are not so rude as to bring food back to the chair. Nothing like seeing a mess where some slob spilled food on the lounger. Seen it a few times.. 

We always give up our lounge chairs when we go for lunch at 1:30 . How long do u think it takes to eat scrambled eggs or pancakes or crusant at waves in the morning not 45 minutes 

[EJL2023]

18 minutes ago, Acrusa said:

We always give up our lounge chairs when we go for lunch at 1:30 . How long do u think it takes to eat scrambled eggs or pancakes or crusant at waves in the morning not 45 minutes 

Well….part of the problem is you stated in post 287 that you take 20 minutes to go to breakfast AND lunch. 

[Acrusa]

4 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Well….part of the problem is you stated in post 287 that you take 20 minutes to go to breakfast AND lunch. 

that's correct but lunch is around 1:30 in terrace and then back to our storeroom 

[EJL2023]

9 minutes ago, Acrusa said:

that's correct but lunch is around 1:30 in terrace and then back to our storeroom 

That may be your reality but unfortunately that is not what you implied in your post. 

Edited February 15 by EJL2023

[arealcheapskate]

We wait 30 minutes, then move towels or books whatever onto the next chair over. 

 

If someone has a problem we tell them to take it up with guest relations.

 

Have never had an issue. People are too meek. Seriously, if you aren't using it - you lose it. 

[kibutzer]

Seems likely we are creating self fulfilling prophecy, talk about chair hogs, create more chair hogs...... just saying move the stuff. If they ask why are you sitting in their chair just say oh we've been here .....  time and thought is was forgotten. 

[mcgilldj]

5 hours ago, kibutzer said:

Seems likely we are creating self fulfilling prophecy, talk about chair hogs, create more chair hogs...... just saying move the stuff. If they ask why are you sitting in their chair just say oh we've been here .....  time and thought is was forgotten. 

I think it’s time we think about doing the following to hopefully get Oceania to respond to this problem: complain on the survey, and your travel agent, and to an Oceania representative at the main office. I believe if enough people make the effort, it could result in Oceania resolving the problem. Jan can you help?

[Snaefell3]

On 2/1/2024 at 7:09 AM, Harters said:

Let's wait till Walt returns to the forum this afternoon and reports continued success. And tomorrow. 

There were plenty (50%) of available loungers on Vista, Mar 16-27.  Plenty of good weather, too, on a MIA - Bahamas - Bermuda - Charleston - Port Canaveral - MIA.

[Kay S]

Death, taxes, cruise deck chair hogs... 🙂

[PhD-iva]

On 2/3/2024 at 7:36 AM, LaZ-Day said:

Doubt could a lawsuits like that ever gain win. Does Oceania state they will be responsible for unattended items? A few simple signs around the pool deck stating Oceania is not responsible for unattended items is all it would take to resolve the problem. 

You’re thinking US legal system. We don’t know where the lawsuit was brought…..

[rbtan]

On 2/3/2024 at 8:46 AM, edgee said:

 

Perhaps legal advice to O was better to not touch stuff and just remind guests of policy not to hog loungers for long periods of unoccupied time. This is my 9th Oceania cruise and the first time I have heard a "no hogging chairs" message included in twice daily announcements by cruise director.

I know this is late. We heard announcements about chair hogging on our Vista Jan. trip.We've also seen signs absolving Oceania against lost/stolen items around the pool deck(cabin theft issues might constitute potential legal issues.)When we wanted a lounger look for the following "Warm" drink glasses/Towels dry etc, We move right in & take our seats. Stuff left there gets moved, period! Did NOT have a single issue. We did see this woman(one time) try to save all the loungers around us.(about 6)She then left for a while & my spouse took all the towels & such & removed them.This allowed other pax to sit there. She returned about 30 min. later with her entourage & was p/o'd that the seats were now taken except one. When she complained I said sorry, you can't save chairs.

[harryw]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

You’re thinking US legal system. We don’t know where the lawsuit was brought…..

Prominent signage is a great idea!  (Maybe include “Violators Will Be Denied Dessert at Dinner.”)

[jonthomas]

We also moved stuff used to save the chairs....

 

When the woman returned in the aft, after being gone all morning, she was livid that we had done that.  She proceeded to gather all kinds of people known to her and began shouting all kinds of insults at us. She did this the whole time we were there, about an hour and a half, till we finally left to do other things. We left by saying, it is all yours now.

For the rest of the cruise, on the Vista, she pointed us out to others, as the low class people that took her chairs.

Who needs this kind of behavior on a cruise.

Wish O could do something.

[rbtan]

2 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

We also moved stuff used to save the chairs....

 

When the woman returned in the aft, after being gone all morning, she was livid that we had done that.  She proceeded to gather all kinds of people known to her and began shouting all kinds of insults at us. She did this the whole time we were there, about an hour and a half, till we finally left to do other things. We left by saying, it is all yours now.

For the rest of the cruise, on the Vista, she pointed us out to others, as the low class people that took her chairs.

Who needs this kind of behavior on a cruise.

Wish O could do something.

You could have stood up for yourselves & told them to !@# off.We had that happen once & my spouse told the party(perhaps same ones you encountered?) One more remark & we'll call security & have you  thrown off the ship. Shuts them up real quick. Never suffer a ..wipes. Throw the insults back.Start with I don't see your names stencilled on the loungers & you have NO RIGHT to reserve & hog chairs.If they continue kick it up a notch.Low class pax don't expect good come back insults.

[iowananny]

My favorite chair hog story is a classic.  On our last Caribbean cruise my husband had left for a tour and I was on the Vista sitting in the on a couch on the center of the boat near the bar.  I was visiting with a lady when a man and woman came up to the seating arrangement we were at and put down books, bags and other paraphernalia in the shaded area we were sitting in.  Then he sat down and with his phone on the speaker selection he first called an airline and demanded that their seats be changed for what I assume was his flight home.  He insisted his wife was severely disabled and she needed to sit at the front of the plane, preferably the bulkhead or first class.  He never mentioned paying extra for these seats.  While he was making his demand his wife, or maybe it wasn't, he might have brought his girlfriend along too and his severely disabled wife was in their cabin, was rearranging deck chairs for them with clips to keep their towels on so everyone would know they were taken. 

 

After receiving no satisfaction from the airline, he angrily hung up and called the hotel he had stayed at before the cruise.  Again, on speaker so we could join in on the fun.  Apparently, the pool had been closed the night he was there and he wanted all his money back for the inconvenience.  Again, he received no satisfaction but again he was going to call the supervisors and get what he wanted and the person he talked to would probably lose his job.

 

After all his troubles he and the woman he was with, who didn't seem at all severely disabled left apparently to get something to eat.  We sat there for over a half an hour after they left and they never came back although they had not two but four chairs waiting for them.  We both left but when I came back later their four chairs were still there with their belongings and no sight of the angry man and his severely disabled wife.

 

The woman I was talking to called him the most obnoxious man she had ever seen.  Lots of entitled people on cruise ships.  They wanted loungers in the sun and chairs in the shade and by god for what they paid they deserved them.  Forget about others, they don't matter.

 

 

[Vallesan]

4 minutes ago, iowananny said:

My favorite chair hog story is a classic.  On our last Caribbean cruise my husband had left for a tour and I was on the Vista sitting in the on a couch on the center of the boat near the bar.  I was visiting with a lady when a man and woman came up to the seating arrangement we were at and put down books, bags and other paraphernalia in the shaded area we were sitting in.  Then he sat down and with his phone on the speaker selection he first called an airline and demanded that their seats be changed for what I assume was his flight home.  He insisted his wife was severely disabled and she needed to sit at the front of the plane, preferably the bulkhead or first class.  He never mentioned paying extra for these seats.  While he was making his demand his wife, or maybe it wasn't, he might have brought his girlfriend along too and his severely disabled wife was in their cabin, was rearranging deck chairs for them with clips to keep their towels on so everyone would know they were taken. 

 

After receiving no satisfaction from the airline, he angrily hung up and called the hotel he had stayed at before the cruise.  Again, on speaker so we could join in on the fun.  Apparently, the pool had been closed the night he was there and he wanted all his money back for the inconvenience.  Again, he received no satisfaction but again he was going to call the supervisors and get what he wanted and the person he talked to would probably lose his job.

 

After all his troubles he and the woman he was with, who didn't seem at all severely disabled left apparently to get something to eat.  We sat there for over a half an hour after they left and they never came back although they had not two but four chairs waiting for them.  We both left but when I came back later their four chairs were still there with their belongings and no sight of the angry man and his severely disabled wife.

 

The woman I was talking to called him the most obnoxious man she had ever seen.  Lots of entitled people on cruise ships.  They wanted loungers in the sun and chairs in the shade and by god for what they paid they deserved them.  Forget about others, they don't matter.

 

 

Your post made me smile but at the same time ‘who are these entitled people?’

 

I can only say that on our, not many, 15 or so cruises we have always been lucky enough never to have met  ‘the entitled’ !!!

[iowananny]

He was not a typical passenger and sometimes it's better just to laugh rather than get mad.  And when they left all four of us who had seen their antics just laughed.

[Vallesan]

3 minutes ago, iowananny said:

He was not a typical passenger and sometimes it's better just to laugh rather than get mad.  And when they left all four of us who had seen their antics just laughed.

Good for you!

[harryw]

25 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

Good for you!

Greet anecdote. It was almost poolside theatre. Or an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. What would Philosopher King Larry David do? 

[basor]

Chair hogging appears to be an issue for those around the pool area.  We simply move to a different area of the ship and find lots of empty chairs in sun and shade.  We bring our O bag with cold drinks and enjoy the peace and quiet and view....the bars are happy to fill our water bottles with ice and drink to take to our chairs.

[true45]

Unfortunately on some lines, most recently Celebrity, all levels and locations of seating were affected, not just near the pool.  The chairhog problem seems to be growing.
.

[clo]

13 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Wish O could do something.

They could but I think it's unlikely that they will. Pissing off passengers isn't going to happen, I'm guessing.

[Baandb]

On 2/4/2024 at 6:26 AM, LaZ-Day said:

I think this is a very reasonable approach. If the person has not been in the pool area for more than 30 minutes, I would have no qualms about removing their items. ....

 

I might be a bit naive....Throughout this thread there appears to be an assumption that it is ok to reserve a lounger for a period of 20/30/60 minutes while the occupier is off doing something else.

My view is that only time a seat should be reserved is while the occupier remains in the pool area. That means the person is either sitting on the lounger, taking a dip in the pool or getting a drink from the poolside bar.

If leaving for any other purpose (eg a meal, returning to your room) the chair should be vacated.

***
The fundamental flaw with the presumption that 20/30/60 minutes is OK is that a fellow guest arriving at the pool has absolutely no idea how long a particular chair has already been vacant for.

When on holiday I don't think anyone has a desire to stand around the deck area for 30 minutes of so waiting to see if an unoccupied lounger becomes vacant. 
 

[Techno123]

@Baandb I'm with you although I will allow popping back to the room because you have forgotten your shades/sun cream etc and nipping to the loo is also allowed 😂😂.

 

Those who reserve 2 loungers per person (one in the shade and one in the sun) are selfish beyond words and should be made to walk the plank into shark infested waters (well maybe a stern word from someone in authority 😜)