How long is to long for saving chairs

[rcacace]

22.76 minutes. If you are there for 22.75 seconds or less, then you must add the amount of time that you were previously away from your chair to the amount of time that you will now be away from your chair. Then take the square root of pi, divide by 16%, and you'll have your answer.

 

See how easy that is? :D

 

I'll just have to count on the pool attendant to come up with that figure. ;)

[jt1120]

Easy question to answer, don't save chairs. If you are with someone, they can save yours while you go potty or for a swim or for a bite to eat. But when I saw two chairs on a cruise ship that had custom made covers with their names embroidered on them, I lost it. Every day they were in the exact same spot. Can't remember the cruise line or the ship, but that was uncalled for. Easy answer, out of RESPECT for others, unless you're going to be on deck, don't save chairs.

 

And here I thought the whole formal/casual debate was contentious. This one is better!

[YOW]

Easy question to answer, don't save chairs. If you are with someone, they can save yours while you go potty or for a swim or for a bite to eat. But when I saw two chairs on a cruise ship that had custom made covers with their names embroidered on them, I lost it. Every day they were in the exact same spot. Can't remember the cruise line or the ship, but that was uncalled for.

 

LOL. Ya know, if I had seen that, I might just have added some 'customisation' underneath their names, e.g. "is a @%$". ;)

[rcacace]

I've expressed my opinion about the chair time situation but how do the others here deal with the problem? I really don't believe that people on this board hog the chairs otherwise they wouldn't take the time to convey their feelings but at the same time I don't think they really abide by any strict time limit either.

We do not hog the chairs by any means & it's a rare day that we leave our chairs with a bag or something to hold them. The chairs that we do "hold" are also not ones that anyone would even want in the first place, usually in secluded places in the shade as we tend to stay away from the main pool areas with the loud music, games & announcements.

[hajekfam]

We were on one cruise and found that the same chairs had tee shirts put over the backs (I guess similar to the covers that jt1120 talked about) everyday. Most of the time there was no one in those charis. I had wanted to get up early and see what time they got up there to cover the backs but somehow, I could never seem to wake up that early on a sea day. As this was a transatlantic and the weather was quite warm, there were a lot of sea days where you could enjoy the pool. And everytime we went out, we saw those same chairs covered but only once during our time out there did we see someone in them.

[roadster08]

I have to say that I am really fascinated by the number and diversity of opinions generated by this question. Some of you are real characters!

 

The best answer, I believe, is -- it depends. If you size up the situation and see no reasonable options, asked the passengers around how long the person has been gone, what's so horrible about removing the occupier's belongings and securing them under the seat or with the attendant? Should they come back, smile and say something like "It's very crowded today and I've been holding this seat for you until you got back. Your things are ..." Then I would find a new place to sit unless they insisted I not get up.

 

For me, it's just a chair, no need to develop a strong emotional attachment to it. I recognize that others will not see it the same way, and to each his own opinion.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Leejnd4]

I have to say that I am really fascinated by the number and diversity of opinions generated by this question. Some of you are real characters!

 

The best answer, I believe, is -- it depends. If you size up the situation and see no reasonable options, asked the passengers around how long the person has been gone, what's so horrible about removing the occupier's belongings and securing them under the seat or with the attendant? Should they come back, smile and say something like "It's very crowded today and I've been holding this seat for you until you got back. Your things are ..." Then I would find a new place to sit unless they insisted I not get up.

 

For me, it's just a chair, no need to develop a strong emotional attachment to it. I recognize that others will not see it the same way, and to each his own opinion.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

I think the most surprising thing about this thread is how many of you seem to find this to be a new discussion! Seriously? Chair Hogs have been a major topic of discussion on Cruise Critic for years! They even did an official poll on this topic once, and published the findings under News.

 

Anyway, to answer rcacace's question of how do we handle it - I think I answered that pretty well earlier. I park my SELF in my chair, not my belongings. The rule is 20 minutes - if I'm going to be gone from my chair for less than that, I don't worry about it (although I did use that little sign once). If I'm going to be gone for more than that, I take my things and respectfully abandon the chair for someone who is actually going to use it. No I don't use an egg timer - I use my common sense.

 

Roadster08 - I have to say I disagree with you about one part of your post - the part about giving the chair back if they come back. First of all, I won't take a chair unless I'm pretty certain the hoggers haven't been around for at least 30 min. If I remove belongings to claim a hogged chair, I give them to the attendant. If they come back, they can throw a hissy fit if they want - the chair is no longer theirs. I will not give in to rude people and allow them to bully me or push me around. And I'm sorry, but I just cannot fathom any situation in which I would have to leave the chair. Come on, picture it: Some some bozo is throwing a tantrum over a chair that I am IN, which they abandoned long ago...what's gonna happen? They look like an idiot, everyone KNOWS they were a chair hog, I'm IN the chair - what are they gonna do, physically remove me? I believe any attempt to do so would be considered assault.

 

I would simply turn over and continue to read my book, ignorning the bozos. How hard is that?

[FinelyCruising]

Here's the part that's hard....that others are then forced to have their serenity challenged by the confrontation which I will estimate takes 10 minutes from start to finish and blemishes and otherwise outstanding and glorious day with nonsense.

 

Then when the fracas is over, and the assembled group disperses,there's at least another 10-20 minutes of a cool down, which includes a more quiet tone, but one that can easily be heard to sound like anger and resentment or possibly a long and lengthy jubilation of I showed them, either side searching for validation from the guests in the vacinity for the outcome. Naturally, anyone in the area will be engaged in either scenario by the confrontation, and not by choice.

 

IMHO there are no winners and no losers in this game of confrontational chair stalking, just a corruption of the peace and quiet we all seek when we get on a ship to relax.:o

[Leejnd4]

Here's the part that's hard....that others are then forced to have their serenity challenged by the confrontation which I will estimate takes 10 minutes from start to finish and blemishes and otherwise outstanding and glorious day with nonsense.

 

Then when the fracas is over, and the assembled group disperses,there's at least another 10-20 minutes of a cool down, which includes a more quiet tone, but one that can easily be heard to sound like anger and resentment or possibly a long and lengthy jubilation of I showed them, either side searching for validation from the guests in the vacinity for the outcome. Naturally, anyone in the area will be engaged in either scenario by the confrontation, and not by choice.

 

IMHO there are no winners and no losers in this game of confrontational chair stalking, just a corruption of the peace and quiet we all seek when we get on a ship to relax.:o

 

Well, I agree with you to a point - and that is that confrontational chair hogs are a blemish on an otherwise outstanding day. What I disagree with is that it needs to involve anything after the chair hogs have dispersed. When I had those two women confront me on Voyager, I pretty much just ignored them. I'm sure others around me were watching, but I didn't discuss it with anyone afterwards, and I when they left, I just shook my head in disgust and went back to my book. It's not like I demanded everyone around me give me accolades, and do a full debrief of the incident!

 

When we had that encounter with the family that almost came to blows, yeah that one involved a bit more interaction from the surrounding folks - as I mentioened, they actually applauded me! And yeah, it was rather uncomfortable when it was going on...but it ended up being a pretty entertaining thing for the folks nearby to watch, especially when the pool attendant took our side, and the chair hogs packed up their stuff and huffed off. I sincerely doubt there was a single person nearby who thought it ruined their otherwise lovely day - if anything, they probably enjoyed watching the action.

 

And if you think about it, what's my other option? Meekly give in to the bullies, gather my sand toys and slink away? When I've done nothing wrong? For what? To keep these whackos from having their hissy fit, just to avoid the discomfort? I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to do that. I didn't cause the fracas - I was just happily hanging out in my chair, enjoying the day. The chair hogs are the ones who went ballistic and impacted everyone around them. I'm sorry, but I just have no control over what whack jobs are going to do...and some of them might blow like this. Not my fault - not my problem. But I'm sure as heck not going to cowtow to them and let them ruin MY day because they have no concept of appropriate behavior in polite society. What I WILL do is attempt to minimize the impact by either ignoring them completely, like buzzing flies, until they buzz away...or I will simply bring a pool attendant (or security, if they REALLY go whacko) and then let the authorities deal with them. Not my problem anymore.

 

Giving in to bullies is never the answer - even if it means a bit of a confrontation. What's the worst that can happen?

[usha]

Giving in to bullies is never the answer - even if it means a bit of a confrontation. What's the worst that can happen?

My guess would be a black eye and/or a broken nose...

two things that might impact my cruise experience in a negative way!:eek:

[Canadianhey!]

Well, I agree with you to a point - and that is that confrontational chair hogs are a blemish on an otherwise outstanding day. What I disagree with is that it needs to involve anything after the chair hogs have dispersed. When I had those two women confront me on Voyager, I pretty much just ignored them. I'm sure others around me were watching, but I didn't discuss it with anyone afterwards, and I when they left, I just shook my head in disgust and went back to my book. It's not like I demanded everyone around me give me accolades, and do a full debrief of the incident!

 

When we had that encounter with the family that almost came to blows, yeah that one involved a bit more interaction from the surrounding folks - as I mentioened, they actually applauded me! And yeah, it was rather uncomfortable when it was going on...but it ended up being a pretty entertaining thing for the folks nearby to watch, especially when the pool attendant took our side, and the chair hogs packed up their stuff and huffed off. I sincerely doubt there was a single person nearby who thought it ruined their otherwise lovely day - if anything, they probably enjoyed watching the action.

 

And if you think about it, what's my other option? Meekly give in to the bullies, gather my sand toys and slink away? When I've done nothing wrong? For what? To keep these whackos from having their hissy fit, just to avoid the discomfort? I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to do that. I didn't cause the fracas - I was just happily hanging out in my chair, enjoying the day. The chair hogs are the ones who went ballistic and impacted everyone around them. I'm sorry, but I just have no control over what whack jobs are going to do...and some of them might blow like this. Not my fault - not my problem. But I'm sure as heck not going to cowtow to them and let them ruin MY day because they have no concept of appropriate behavior in polite society. What I WILL do is attempt to minimize the impact by either ignoring them completely, like buzzing flies, until they buzz away...or I will simply bring a pool attendant (or security, if they REALLY go whacko) and then let the authorities deal with them. Not my problem anymore.

 

Giving in to bullies is never the answer - even if it means a bit of a confrontation. What's the worst that can happen?

 

I totally agree. When you walked back on the deck the next day, people wouldn't remember you but I will bet that when the chair hogs walked on the deck people remembered them. Hopefully they learnt their lesson for a day or two.

[rcacace]

What they desperately need is as sign that posts that the pool attendant will remove all belongs after a certain max time period & be held for claim. It could also be his discretion to increase the allotted time depending on how crowded the area is on any particular day.

[Leejnd4]

My guess would be a black eye and/or a broken nose...

two things that might impact my cruise experience in a negative way!:eek:

 

If someone is insane enough to physically assault me over the fact that I'm sitting in a chair, I will see to it that they are arrested and charged with assault - not to mention the lawsuit that I will file for their unprovoked assault. And it WOULD be clearly unprovoked, with plenty of witnesses. They'd have to physically pick me up out of the chair to commence their assault.

 

They do have brigs on cruise ships.

 

Does anyone really think they should get up and walk away because some lunatic is threatening physical violence? I do not. If someone is threatening me with physical violence, I will call out for security and have them detained. Again, I don't give in to bullies - ANYWHERE in life.

 

Rcacace - I have seen signs on some cruise ships, although I don't remember which ones had them. I do know that Monarch had very visible signs that said something like "Pool chairs cannot be saved for longer than 20 minutes" or some such thing. Those were the signs I pointed to when the two women confronted me.

[FinelyCruising]

And if you think about it, what's my other option?

 

To answer your question, other options have been presented on this thread as part of the general discussion.

 

Overall, my thoughts are not particularly about sides taken or personalizations of specific incidents, it's about what happens to others when these confrontational events occur in their proximity a more encompassing point of view rather than it being an incident between just one or two people associated with a particular chair.

[Ardy53]

Just disembarked yesterday from Venice to Barcelona. At least 3 MAJOR chair incidents, one of which came within a whisker of fists being used.

 

Also, items removed from chairs were not held by pool attendants - they were sent to guest relations for collection.

 

Our position was very clear - if only towels on a chair, remove them and use the chair. If belongings lying on the chair, wait 30 minutes, then place them under the chair.

 

Roy

[Rick-cruiser]

Roadster08 - I have to say I disagree with you about one part of your post - the part about giving the chair back if they come back. First of all, I won't take a chair unless I'm pretty certain the hoggers haven't been around for at least 30 min. If I remove belongings to claim a hogged chair, I give them to the attendant. If they come back, they can throw a hissy fit if they want - the chair is no longer theirs. I will not give in to rude people and allow them to bully me or push me around. And I'm sorry, but I just cannot fathom any situation in which I would have to leave the chair. Come on, picture it: Some some bozo is throwing a tantrum over a chair that I am IN, which they abandoned long ago...what's gonna happen? They look like an idiot, everyone KNOWS they were a chair hog, I'm IN the chair - what are they gonna do, physically remove me? I believe any attempt to do so would be considered assault.

I would simply turn over and continue to read my book, ignorning the bozos. How hard is that?

Well, I agree with you to a point - and that is that confrontational chair hogs are a blemish on an otherwise outstanding day. What I disagree with is that it needs to involve anything after the chair hogs have dispersed. When I had those two women confront me on Voyager, I pretty much just ignored them. I'm sure others around me were watching, but I didn't discuss it with anyone afterwards, and I when they left, I just shook my head in disgust and went back to my book. It's not like I demanded everyone around me give me accolades, and do a full debrief of the incident!

 

When we had that encounter with the family that almost came to blows, yeah that one involved a bit more interaction from the surrounding folks - as I mentioened, they actually applauded me! And yeah, it was rather uncomfortable when it was going on...but it ended up being a pretty entertaining thing for the folks nearby to watch, especially when the pool attendant took our side, and the chair hogs packed up their stuff and huffed off. I sincerely doubt there was a single person nearby who thought it ruined their otherwise lovely day - if anything, they probably enjoyed watching the action.

 

And if you think about it, what's my other option? Meekly give in to the bullies, gather my sand toys and slink away? When I've done nothing wrong? For what? To keep these whackos from having their hissy fit, just to avoid the discomfort? I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to do that. I didn't cause the fracas - I was just happily hanging out in my chair, enjoying the day. The chair hogs are the ones who went ballistic and impacted everyone around them. I'm sorry, but I just have no control over what whack jobs are going to do...and some of them might blow like this. Not my fault - not my problem. But I'm sure as heck not going to cowtow to them and let them ruin MY day because they have no concept of appropriate behavior in polite society. What I WILL do is attempt to minimize the impact by either ignoring them completely, like buzzing flies, until they buzz away...or I will simply bring a pool attendant (or security, if they REALLY go whacko) and then let the authorities deal with them. Not my problem anymore.

 

Giving in to bullies is never the answer - even if it means a bit of a confrontation. What's the worst that can happen?

Leejnd4, I want you to know that I love all your posts - you always speak frankly, eloquently, and are completely rational in your thoughts/actions. On this topic, in particular, I agree 100% with everything you've said. I think you should run for mayor of your town. Seriously.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience regarding this topic…

On our last cruise, during the first of many sea days, 11 lounge chairs - yes 11!!..in a row!! - immediately in front of the swimming pool were "reserved" and unattended for over 3 hours. It was late morning / early afternoon - between 11am and 2pm - and during that time only one person had come back.. for about 10 minutes! It didn't affect us directly, as we were sitting in chairs right behind them. BUT... what really bothered me was that, for over 3 hours, we saw a LOT of people looking around for lounge chairs, and had to go somewhere else - much further away - while these were completely empty for hours. Although I was on vacation, this whole situation bothered me….I just could not get past how selfish and inconsiderate these people were.

 

I called the pool attendant over about the situation, and he said I needed to talk to security. I immediately thought, “hmmm, ok, I thought you were the pool attendant and situations like this were your JOB…”, but OK. I walked over to the security guy who was patrolling the deck. When I showed him the chairs and explained what was going on, he said there was nothing he could do about it. He was very apathetic... you could see he didn’t want to be bothered. I noted his name and went back to getting some sun.

 

SO... later that evening I made an appointment with the Hotel Director and had a little "chat" with her about everything. It didn’t take much time on my part… I just trotted down to her office before dinner for about 15 minutes. She was actually EXTREMELY nice and cordial, very concerned, and thanked me profusely for alerting her to the extent of the problem – and said she NEEDED to hear about these things from passengers to know what was going on during each sailing. She also wanted the name of the security guy – I gave it to her. She said that, certainly, it was the pool attendant’s job to handle the situation, and the security guy should not have spoken to me in that way.

 

Let's just say that, the next day, there were OFFICERS (not just the pool attendants) patrolling the pool area the entire day, sometimes in groups of 3 and 4. Any chairs that were empty for a long while, they were taking towels/t-shirts/flipflops off left and right… The security guy and pool attendant from the day before were not to be found. None of the other passengers knew what had prompted such an effective approach to the situation, but I felt good about speaking up and taking a stand.

 

So the solution is this: by all means… ask a pool attendant to remove the items off a chair if you notice it has been "reserved" for 30 min or more. BUT, if you notice widespread and consistent abuse… SPEAK TO THE HOTEL DIRECTOR directly, and make it clear that you will not tolerate such blatant selfishness and inconsideration by any of your fellow passengers.

 

I hope this helps.

 

- Rick

[Canadianhey!]

Just disembarked yesterday from Venice to Barcelona. At least 3 MAJOR chair incidents, one of which came within a whisker of fists being used.

 

Also, items removed from chairs were not held by pool attendants - they were sent to guest relations for collection.

 

Our position was very clear - if only towels on a chair, remove them and use the chair. If belongings lying on the chair, wait 30 minutes, then place them under the chair.

 

Roy

 

 

Maybe if chair hogs have to walk to guest relations, do you think that may be just maybe they would think twice about hogging.:confused:

[hajekfam]

Just to let new Celeb cruisers know - the attendants put out towels on the chairs when they set them out in the morning so if you do see just a rolled up towel on the chair or draped over the arm in the morning, it might not be a chair reserved by a chair hog.

So unless I see something else on or next to the chair, I do not consider a chair with just a towel as in use by another.

[FinelyCruising]

Just to let new Celeb cruisers know - the attendants put out towels on the chairs when they set them out in the morning so if you do see just a rolled up towel on the chair or draped over the arm in the morning, it might not be a chair reserved by a chair hog.

So unless I see something else on or next to the chair, I do not consider a chair with just a towel as in use by another.

 

Good point!

[ginagirl]

Are you sure about the rolled towels not belonging to any of the chair hogs??? Afterall, I'm not one of the brave ones on this thread.:D

[DC2OC]

 

 

 

So the solution is this: by all means… ask a pool attendant to remove the items off a chair if you notice it has been "reserved" for 30 min or more. BUT, if you notice widespread and consistent abuse… SPEAK TO THE HOTEL DIRECTOR directly, and make it clear that you will not tolerate such blatant selfishness and inconsideration by any of your fellow passengers.

 

I hope this helps.

 

- Rick

 

Thanks Rick for some great advice.................Frank

[hajekfam]

Are you sure about the rolled towels not belonging to any of the chair hogs??? Afterall, I'm not one of the brave ones on this thread.:D

I have gotten up early (once or twice) and have seen the pool attendants putting out the towels as they were arranging the lounge chairs.

[Leejnd4]

To answer your question, other options have been presented on this thread as part of the general discussion.

 

Overall, my thoughts are not particularly about sides taken or personalizations of specific incidents, it's about what happens to others when these confrontational events occur in their proximity a more encompassing point of view rather than it being an incident between just one or two people associated with a particular chair.

 

Finely, can you point me to these options? Sorry, I'm just not seeing that there are any more than two basic options, when confronted by a returning chair hog: 1) stay where you are, or 2) pick up your things and leave.

 

I choose #1. :)

 

As for how this affects the people around me - I do see your point that my choice to not give in to bullies could possibly result in an impact on the folks around me. But the reality is that -- it's not ME doing it! I'm just quietly sitting in my chair. Any "incident" that occurs that impacts others nearby would be caused by the chair hog, not me. I simply do not accept that it is MY responsibility to prevent a nutcase who is 100% in the wrong from having a cow publicly, disturbing others around him. Not my fault, not my problem. And no, I'm still not giving back the chair. ;)

 

And you know what? I never gave in to my kids' tantrums to get candy when in the grocery line either. I would REMOVE them from the grocery line, but I never just gave them the candy to keep the peace.

 

Just disembarked yesterday from Venice to Barcelona. At least 3 MAJOR chair incidents, one of which came within a whisker of fists being used.

 

Also, items removed from chairs were not held by pool attendants - they were sent to guest relations for collection.

 

Our position was very clear - if only towels on a chair, remove them and use the chair. If belongings lying on the chair, wait 30 minutes, then place them under the chair.

 

Roy

 

Wow, how unfortunate that you ended up with so many selfish, inconsiderate bozos on your cruise. I do feel bad for the people who had to witness this - but I also am glad to hear that at least SOMEBODY stood up to them.

 

I'm also happy to hear that the items were sent to guest relations. I agree that if chair hogs have to go hunting for their stuff, they might think a little longer about leaving them out there. :)

 

As for placing others' belongings under my chair, I have a problem with doing that, for two reasons: 1) it confirms that I'm the one who evicted them from their hogged chair, whereas if their stuff is no longer there, it's possible they may just assume that the attendants moved it and leave me alone, and 2) it gives the appearance that I have taken possesion of their personal belongings, for which I do NOT want to be held responsible. I could be accused of stealing something from them, or damaging them in some way - sorry, but I don't want to assume that responsibility. No, when I evict chair hog artifacts, I give them to the pool attendant. What they do with them from that point forward ain't none of my bidness! :D

 

Leejnd4, I want you to know that I love all your posts - you always speak frankly, eloquently, and are completely rational in your thoughts/actions. On this topic, in particular, I agree 100% with everything you've said. I think you should run for mayor of your town. Seriously.

[/Quote]

 

GARSH! Thanks! I'm immensely flattered - seriously! :o

 

 

So the solution is this: by all means… ask a pool attendant to remove the items off a chair if you notice it has been "reserved" for 30 min or more. BUT, if you notice widespread and consistent abuse… SPEAK TO THE HOTEL DIRECTOR directly, and make it clear that you will not tolerate such blatant selfishness and inconsideration by any of your fellow passengers.

 

I hope this helps.

 

- Rick[/color]

 

Thanks for sharing this story - and THANKS for taking the time out of your vacation to do the right thing - and to do something for your fellow passengers! You will never know how many chair hogs you prevented from hogging - and how many of your fellow pax were allowed to have an enjoyable day at the pool because of your selfless actions. Good on you! I wish more people would do things like this. It doesn't take much to stand up for what's right and make a difference - and I trust that the sense of satisfaction more than made up for the few minutes out of your vacation. :)

[Leejnd4]

I have gotten up early (once or twice) and have seen the pool attendants putting out the towels as they were arranging the lounge chairs.

 

Oh, and just a comment that I, too, have seen this, on several different cruise lines. The way you tell the difference between the attendant-placed towels and the chair-hog towels is that the attendant-placed towels are generally rolled up, whereas chair hog towels are usually spread out.

 

Actually, if ALL you see on a chair is a spread-out towel, that isn't even necessarily chair-hogging, because many people leave their towels on the chairs when they're leaving for good.

[gillianrose]

In my opinion, it depends on the time of day. I think it's fair to hold your chair while you go to have lunch.

 

I disagree. It's unfair to tie up unoccupied (meaning no one present) chairs/chaises/tables on cruise ships for any amount of time, if one is not in the area actually using the facilities, the pool or hot tubs, and the adjoining partner is not there, either. Worst of all is when entire groups (families, whatever) stake out areas and leave en masse for lunch or trivia, or whatever.

 

If one's spouse or friend or child/children is staying in the area and they can VERBALLY tell someone looking for a place that the individual seat is being held for a brief time (bathroom break, bringing back munchies or whatever), that's fine, but to leave one's stuff while going to eat lunch is not fair, and I would (and do, as a matter of course) alert people actively looking for a place that the seat has been unoccupied for X amount of time. Then, if the offender comes back and starts hassling them, we will speak up and defend the new occupants.

 

Sorry, but it really isn't fair to "have one's cake and eat it too."