Lounge chairs at the pool

[cruzemaven]

We have just spoken to a couple who sailed on The Regatta. They loved the service and the food but said there were a lack of chairs around the pool on a sea day. They said that people had to get up at the crack of dawn in order to get lounge chairs or else they were out of luck. I hope this is an exaggeration. I haven't read any complaints on this topic on this board. Maybe their experience was an aberration? We are going on The Insignia in about a month and was just wondering how early you have to get to the pool deck to find chairs. Suggestions, anyone?

[roothy123]

We cruised in late May. On sea days, it DID fill up around 11:00, with some chairs still available after that, but not necessarily in the sun. (I suppose it depends where you are in the great blue ocean, but on our first at sea day, one side of the ship was in full sun and the other side had a lot of shade, so most folks ended up on one side! There will probably ALWAYS be loungers available if you're willing to go up to the sun deck, a short flight of stairs up from the pool. There were TONS of unused chairs there. You're a little farther from the pool, and there is less frequent bar service and no music up there, but that was no big deal to me. The little golf thing is up there, too, if you're into that. I actually loved it up there, since it was quieter, more private, and for many hours of the day, I had few people around me. Also great views, since you can see on either side of you. I spent a lot of time up there taking pictures. There's also a wind shield at the front of the ship, so you can get some sun but no wind to bother you. Of course, if you're going now, the weather will probably be hotter and you may WANT that wind....

Oceania put a notice in the daily newsletter asking people to be considerate and not "reserve" chairs and then disappear for hours. They also mentioned that they might remove items if they sat on a chair with no person in sight for too long. (Not sure if they actually did that - didn't really notice.)

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about the chair situation....it was no big deal in May. I wouldn't rush out there at 8 and reserve a chair - that's contributing to the problem!

[chazaroo]

Roothy123 said:Oceania put a notice in the daily newsletter asking people to be considerate and not "reserve" chairs and then disappear for hours. They also mentioned that they might remove items if they sat on a chair with no person in sight for too long. (Not sure if they actually did that - didn't really notice.)

I think this is a problem on all cruise ships everywhere. We ran into it on Celebrity. Some people just aren't very considerate. Oh well.
By the way, thanks for the info on the dining options on your cruise Roothy.

[ClaudiaF]

Agree, it happens on all ships. It would be nice though that when people leave they throw their towels in the used towel bins.. but they for the most part don't.

[joan24]

One of the things that was great on our June 15 Baltic cruise was that right beside the new towel bin was a stack of blankets. Believe me you could really use a blanket on our cruise.
Joan