Towels

I often read that people just put their towels on lounges and hammocks especially in the adult only area and other never get a chance to use it. Is that even allowed?

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No, it is not allowed.

Yes, people do it all the time.

Why reserve a chair you are not going to use, and deny it's use to others who want (or need) it?

Yes, the chair-hogs do it.

Most folk consider it's perfectly reasonable to reserve a lounger in this way (usually with a minor personal item or two such as a book, rather than just a towel) for five minutes to use the bathroom or take a dip in the pool, but totally unreasonable to do so for a couple of hours while you take in a film in the cinema or even go ashore (yes, it happens).

Problem is, between those two extremes we all have our own opinion on how long is too long.

Get a snack & bring it back?

Go eat a snack in the buffet & then return?

Go to the deck first to reserve a chair, then go for breakfast?

Go for lunch & then return?

Go for a 30-minute class?

Then there's the commander-in-chief who'll reserve a line of twenty for his group.

Most cruise lines have a policy of allowing loungers to be reserved, usually for 30 minutes, the policy tends to be well-publicised & some have little notes that they put on unoccupied reserved loungers. But how well the policy is policed or enforced is very mixed. Asking staff to remove those items after 30 mins is the simplest & safest way to deal with it, cos you are then merely taking an unoccupied & unreserved lounger - "I think a crew-member removed your stuff, why don't you go see him". But despite the policy, more often than not the crew won't want to get involved.

There are various other answers, such as putting stuff on the deck or handing it to deck staff (or if they don't want to know, handing it over at the bar - whether the barkeep wants it or not) but that can be a source of friction.

Throwing other folks' stuff in the pool is very tempting - but I'll only ever treat that as a spectator-sport :D

JB :)

Yes people do it and it is against the rules but darn it it's their vacation too and they should be able to do what they want:rolleyes:;).

As mentioned if you do encounter this the easiest way to deal with it is to ask a crew member to remove the items. In my experience I have seen this done but never to the extent that we couldn't find a lounger somewhere (we don't need to be right by the pool so that helps).

"Hogging " a chair, and using the chair are 2 different things. If you have been sitting in your lounger, and get up to take a dip in the pool, or get a drink at the bar, or go to the bathroom, you are still "USING" your space at the pool.

Hogging is when you "hold" a chair, and do not use it...going to breakfast, or eating elsewhere is hogging.

That said, there are usually pool attendants that will remove offending items, if you ask! Also, ask the other folks sitting around the "hogged" chair if anyone is using it!

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the "chair hogging" problem. :(

LuLu

 

Problem is, between those two extremes we all have our own opinion on how long is too long.

 

Most cruise lines have a policy of allowing loungers to be reserved, usually for 30 minutes, the policy tends to be well-publicised & some have little notes that they put on unoccupied reserved loungers. But how well the policy is policed or enforced is very mixed. Asking staff to remove those items after 30 mins is the simplest & safest way to deal with it, cos you are then merely taking an unoccupied & unreserved lounger - "I think a crew-member removed your stuff, why don't you go see him". But despite the policy, more often than not the crew won't want to get involved.

There are various other answers, such as putting stuff on the deck or handing it to deck staff (or if they don't want to know, handing it over at the bar - whether the barkeep wants it or not) but that can be a source of friction.

Throwing other folks' stuff in the pool is very tempting - but I'll only ever treat that as a spectator-sport :D

 

JB :)

I subscribe to the college class principal. at my school, the official policy was.. if the Professor had not shown up within 20 minutes you were free to leave and not be penalized. plenty of time to go to the loo, grab an umbrella drink or change.

On my last cruise, I wanted to sit in a shady area by the pool to watch the morning movie. Couldn't find any on the non-smoking side, except for one chair that was surrounded by others that had people sitting/lounging on them. I asked if anyone knew the person who had left a shirt (actually a blouse) and a paperback book. Everyone shook their heads. I asked if any of them have been there for at least a half hour and a few of them had been. That meant the person surpassed the posted 30-minute limit. And it seemed that only kids were in the pool.

So I moved the items to a small table and told my new neighbors, "You didn't see that," and got plenty of chuckles and smiles. Not one person protested.

It was at least an half hour from then that the woman finally showed up and sheepishly retrieved her items and disappeared. If she had dared say anything to me, I would have suggested she take a look at the sign that was nearby.

I do wish the crew members would take the initiative to put stickers on those deck chairs and then return and move the items to a table or a set of cubbyholes. I've heard some cruise lines do this.

On my last cruise' date=' I wanted to sit in a shady area by the pool to watch the morning movie. Couldn't find any on the non-smoking side, except for one chair that was surrounded by others that had people sitting/lounging on them. I asked if anyone knew the person who had left a shirt (actually a blouse) and a paperback book. Everyone shook their heads. I asked if any of them have been there for at least a half hour and a few of them had been. That meant the person surpassed the posted 30-minute limit. And it seemed that only kids were in the pool.

 

So I moved the items to a small table and told my new neighbors, "You didn't see that," and got plenty of chuckles and smiles. Not one person protested.

 

It was at least an half hour from then that the woman finally showed up and sheepishly retrieved her items and disappeared. If she had dared say anything to me, I would have suggested she take a look at the sign that was nearby.

 

I do wish the crew members would take the initiative to put stickers on those deck chairs and then return and move the items to a table or a set of cubbyholes. I've heard some cruise lines do this.[/quote']

 

While it might be nice for the crew to take a more active role in enforcement it would be nicer if people acted like adults and followed the rules;).

It is a rough situation.

Chair hogging isn't suppose to happen -- but it does. Cruise lines claim that after so much time, they will remove the items left on the chairs -- towels, books, etc. But it doesn't happen. Who is going to time how long items are left on chairs? And the cruise lines don't want to get people mad.

I think if more people do tell crew members (certainly beverage servers are circulating nearby all the time) that they noticed some abandoned objects and the crew members put a sticker on the chair to check in a short while and actually removed the items -- maybe the chair hogs will get the message they can't reserve chairs. The hogs themselves won't know which server or deck chair worker had actually taken away their items. Even other passengers can verify the abandonment of the items ("I've been here since 9am and that book and towel was there when I got here."). Yes, there are deck chairs that are often still available stacked up.

But if there's a whole group of chairs in a desirable spot (non-smoking, smoking, sun, shade) that aren't being used for a long time (and the occupants aren't in the pool), I don't see any problem in taking one of the chairs for my use if I'm going to be using it. And I don't see why anyone else shouldn't do the same.

And certainly if a group just went off to the buffet to grab their breakfast or lunch, wouldn't it be better if just some go at a time while the rest can explain their friends will be right back with their plates (and if these people are actually eating inside....they are being chair hogs and need to take their belongings and return after their meal).

This thread reminds me of the worst case of chair hogging that I recall reading about here on Cruise Critic. I can't remember which forum I read it in or which line it was but a couple was reserving a lounger for some kind of show for a friend and waved anyone away that tried to take it. Time for the show and no friend shows up, so they take the lounger and stack in on top of one of theirs so no one can use it:eek:. I'm not sure that I'll ever read anything to top that.

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the "chair hogging" problem. :(

LuLu

How about if it is a book, return it to the free book exchange in the library. If anything else, just move it to somewhere else far away from its initial location. That is what I do. I do not know why all of us who follow the rules have to be so careful of the people who ignore them.

DON

Why would you go to the trouble of moving items far away. Why wouldn't you just move them off to the side and sit? Don't understand not to mention some people go to pool or hot tub. Oh and Why cant you guys get up early and get a seat. So basically you want to come whenever and just move someone else's things and sit where you want. You're right that's way better?

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