red chips on chairs to prevent pool hogs?

i was talking with someone that has been on BA and they said even though they got up at 6am they had trouble getting a chair but that the staff puts red dots/chips on the chairs to monitor the hogs

personally i dont care as we arent sun worshippers but this interested me because i hadnt read about it in all my forum readings.

I've been on the BA a couple of times and have never seen red dots put on chairs. Some other cruise lines used to use a system like this but I never seen it done on NCL.

i know they sail on NCL a lot but i cannot say for sure it was on NCL, i just assumed. i know they did one royal cruise.

We sailed on Anthem in April and didn't see anything like this. Chair hogs took over the solarium early in the morning and no one said a word.

At one point we removed some times from a chair after a few hours and no one ever showed up. The book and towel were there again the next day...

Never seen this on NCL.

A couple years ago one of the NCL ships used blue dots but since crew doesn't like to antagonize passengers it wasn't enforced too well and wasn't used very long.

i was talking with someone that has been on BA and they said even though they got up at 6am they had trouble getting a chair but that the staff puts red dots/chips on the chairs to monitor the hogs.

How does this possibly work? Is there a time on them? Do the staff remove them when someone actually uses the chair? Do staff remove the offending belongings after a certain time? Is any of this information passed on to cruisers? if so, where?

They need to have like a meter maid but for loungers. Place a dot and come back and check an hour later and if no change take their stuff to a bin to be picked up if they want.

They did it once on the Epic I believe. It was blue stickers that had a time written on it and stick to back of the chair. They would come back after a certain time and the stuff hadn't moved in that time period they removed the stuff on the chairs. Was nice. Always had a seat and no chair hogs. I believe it was one hour they gave you.

Appears to use a meter maid chalk marking the vehicle tire method.

Park the car and the meter maid marks the tire on passing.

Returns after a period of time - car still parked - chalk mark visible

citation issued. If the car is moved the chalk mark is erased away on

the road even just around the block.

But this presents an awkward moment you just can't chalk mark the

customer - the deck chair yes perhaps with a erasable magic marker.

Any real enforcement puts the crew in a tough situation.

On a humors note have a timed catapult deck chair. Exceed your allotted

time and be launched into the pool - or maybe have a sliding conveyor

edging to the pools edge when times up you are dumped - chair is

recycled back at the start for a new customer.

Then perhaps this is not much of an issue except in high traffic areas with

sunlight exposure or some other attraction and only those areas need to

be monitored - Hey lets play a game of Musical Chairs ! ?

 

 

On a humors note have a timed catapult deck chair. Exceed your allotted

time and be launched into the pool - or maybe have a sliding conveyor

edging to the pools edge when times up you are dumped - chair is

recycled back at the start for a new customer.

Thanks for the image. Great to read this first thing in the morning!

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

For all of the massive number of complaints about this mythological creature called a chair hog, I have yet to see one on any cruise. Only one time was it even slightly difficult for me to find a chair when I wanted to use the pool. Even then I just walked a few feet away from poolside and was all set. Then again I do not think that someone is evil for getting to the pool before me and getting a poolside chair instead of leaving one for me! :rolleyes:

They did it once on the Epic I believe. It was blue stickers that had a time written on it and stick to back of the chair. They would come back after a certain time and the stuff hadn't moved in that time period they removed the stuff on the chairs. Was nice. Always had a seat and no chair hogs. I believe it was one hour they gave you.

Just one hour? When I go to the pool it is not unusual at all for me to be in the water longer than that.

Yeah was no longer then an hour. My husband peeked at a sticker. They hand write the time time then place sticker on the back of the chair. They would patrol the loungers and if anywhere were outside of the time they were using they picked up the stuff and brought it to the towel counter.

I can't imagine standing in those tiny pools for over and hour. I avoid the pools anyway as I see people spilling drinks in them and seemingly never leave for hours. One big toilet I'm sure. Lol

How does this possibly work? Is there a time on them? Do the staff remove them when someone actually uses the chair? Do staff remove the offending belongings after a certain time? Is any of this information passed on to cruisers? if so, where?

The time limit will be posted in the Freestyle Daily, I believe at the bottom of the schedule of daily activities. Time limit may vary by ship, but usually an hour. They did a trial of the "blue dots" a few years back, but I don't know if they are still using them. I don't spend much time on the pool deck. This is the first I've heard about a time being written in. My guess is that they would make a round at a certain point after the pool gets busy, put dots on anything suspicious and then make another round in 1 hour. If still unoccupied, the items holding the chair would be removed and taken to the towel counter and eventually sent to guest services. Of course, if someone returns to a chair, and finds a dot, they are going to take it off, especially before they leave again, which is fine, because the chair is in use.

I'm sure monitoring and enforcement is totally lax, as staff do not like confrontation, but it may be a deterrent to the person who puts a towel and flip flops on a chair in prime pool side territory at 6:00 am on their way for coffee to enjoy on the balcony before a nice shower and a leisurely breakfast, returning to their hogged chair at 11:00 am or maybe after lunch if they get sidetracked somewhere, and expects to find their flip flops still occupying the chair.

The time limit will be posted in the Freestyle Daily, I believe at the bottom of the schedule of daily activities. Time limit may vary by ship, but usually an hour. They did a trial of the "blue dots" a few years back, but I don't know if they are still using them. I don't spend much time on the pool deck. This is the first I've heard about a time being written in. My guess is that they would make a round at a certain point after the pool gets busy, put dots on anything suspicious and then make another round in 1 hour. If still unoccupied, the items holding the chair would be removed and taken to the towel counter and eventually sent to guest services. Of course, if someone returns to a chair, and finds a dot, they are going to take it off, especially before they leave again, which is fine, because the chair is in use.

 

I'm sure monitoring and enforcement is totally lax, as staff do not like confrontation, but it may be a deterrent to the person who puts a towel and flip flops on a chair in prime pool side territory at 6:00 am on their way for coffee to enjoy on the balcony before a nice shower and a leisurely breakfast, returning to their hogged chair at 11:00 am or maybe after lunch if they get sidetracked somewhere, and expects to find their flip flops still occupying the chair.

But that "scout" who heads out at 6am saves multitudes of chairs for their whole gang. And you always see these blocks of empty chairs with towels on them, or with the top folded down. These loungers are almost always in the sun. Doesn't affect me as I care about the health of my skin. I'm looking for a chair under the overhang and always find one.

But that "scout" who heads out at 6am saves multitudes of chairs for their whole gang. And you always see these blocks of empty chairs with towels on them, or with the top folded down. These loungers are almost always in the sun. Doesn't affect me as I care about the health of my skin. I'm looking for a chair under the overhang and always find one.

Vince

This is so true! I was on my way for coffee early one morning ( 6 a.m.) on the Epic 2 years ago. 2 people came on deck and actually started Unstacking the chairs before the NCL deck people were finished washing the deck.

Put out 12 chairs, put everything from flip flops to books on them then left.

DW and I went to bfast at 8:30 came back about 9. Still nobody.

About 9:30 the "group" slowly started to arrive!

Probably the worst "chair hogging" I have seen .

We were on the Escape in April and they came around with blue stickers and noted the time, but nothing ever happened after that LOL

It's like they were just appeasing the guests, but then not following through.

It's a wonder that with that many reported chair hogs, none of them are actually on these forums to defend their lifestyle, or even better, to openly exchange tips and tricks about how to be more efficient about it...

Like...

How early must you send your scout to have the best spots?

How often must the scout come back to the chairs to preserve them?

What stuff can you safely leave on the chair?

What to do when you find your stuff is gone?

What excuses have the best chance of working to get back your chair if you find someone else sitting there?

Any tips on how to get those chairs anyway if your scout forgot to wake up?

How come we never see those chair hogs on Cruise Critics?

Never seen this on NCL.

Ahhh yes. A few years ago it was reported that NCL was putting Blue dots on loungers to monitor chair hogs. Try searching Blue dots on these boards for a good read.

Appears to use a meter maid chalk marking the vehicle tire method.

Park the car and the meter maid marks the tire on passing.

Returns after a period of time - car still parked - chalk mark visible

citation issued. If the car is moved the chalk mark is erased away on

the road even just around the block.

 

But this presents an awkward moment you just can't chalk mark the

customer - the deck chair yes perhaps with a erasable magic marker.

 

Any real enforcement puts the crew in a tough situation.

 

On a humors note have a timed catapult deck chair. Exceed your allotted

time and be launched into the pool - or maybe have a sliding conveyor

edging to the pools edge when times up you are dumped - chair is

recycled back at the start for a new customer.

Then perhaps this is not much of an issue except in high traffic areas with

sunlight exposure or some other attraction and only those areas need to

be monitored - Hey lets play a game of Musical Chairs ! ?

USING the chair is NOT "hogging"! Just so you know! If you use the chair for 12 hours straight....it's your chair! Part of "using" it is taking a dip now and again, and perhaps, hitting the bathroom or going to the bar for a refill!

Just off Gem last week and I did notice some placement of blue dots on unoccupied chairs. However, I didn't see any further action taken.

Just off Gem last week and I did notice some placement of blue dots on unoccupied chairs. However, I didn't see any further action taken.

Good. No need for chair hoggs. I have witness first hand a chair hogger arguing with a couple that moved the towels off the chairs. The towels were their for 2 hours.

My experience is I have never had any issues getting a chair. Normally sit in the same area and you get to know the folk around you.