"Reserving" Chairs by the pool

[brigittetom]

I get up too late on a cruise to ever have hopes of finding a chair by the pool so I just gave up a few years ago. :rolleyes:

In the past I would just look for an empty chair and ask the people sitting nearby if the chair was still in use since there were towels on it. More often than not the answer would be that they hadn't seen anyone for at least an hour. Only one time did the people actually come back to claim their chair but they had been gone so long they really couldn't tell which was theirs anyway because people tend angle the chairs as the sun moves. :)

[Leejnd4]

[quote name='jcruise67']You can bet we're up pretty early. If we get there early enough to get a chair, we just place our towels on it and go to breakfast. Many pax are reluctant to take or move them. I guess its a chance we take to get a chair by the pool.

John[/QUOTE]
So, John, you don't see how this statement indicates that you are a chair hog yourself? You feel that you should have a right to claim a chair because you saw it first, even if you don't intend to use it for a while? You don't think that someone who shows up after you drop your towel on this chair, and intends to use it NOW, not an hour from now, should feel justified in removing your towel and sitting on the empty chair?

If you want a chair, go to the pool and sit down on one -- and stay there.

LeeAnne

[Chick's pal]

I'm here to tell you that this same kind of behavior happened at an all-inclusive I visited last spring. Not nearly enough chairs to accommodate the whole resort. Add to that patrons who were mainly late-risers due to the evening over-embibing that an all-inclusive allows. Then throw in very few areas of shade. Most chairs were "reserved" by 7:30 am, but guests didn't show to sit in them until noon. So it's a general human behavior trait, folks, not just one possessed by cruisers!

One last thing: Why do non-swimmers like me sit around the pool when we don't swim? The upper pool deck is really windy, it's hard to read and stuff is always blowing around (like half-empty cups of punch that spill on you.) I like to take part in the poolside programs, watch the dance contests, performers and the like. These are the two reasons why I like to sit "by" the pool, rather than up one deck or in another spot onboard. Sometimes I sit in the bar, too, even though I don't always drink. ; )

[tbelian]

[quote name='Leejnd4']intends to use it NOW, not an hour from now,[/QUOTE]

Who takes an hour to eat breakfast??

[Leejnd4]

Depends on where you go -- can easily take an hour in the dining room.

[tuggers]

I took my musceli (sp) cereal out to my lounger by the pool to eat. Unfortunately it was windy and lo and behold a gust picked up the cereal and put it all over my clothes. We called it the attack of the musceli! LOL!

BTW, having towels by the pool is a step up. We do not want to do like some lines and have you bring your towel from your room. Very unchic!

[brigittetom]

Tuggers, I agree. Not to mention having to go back to the cabin to take your towel back before you can have lunch. I'd rather lose out on a chair versus having to haul that towel back and forth. :rolleyes:

[19stephanie66]

ok if i set the clock for 30 minutes to go to the bath room and pick up a yummy slice of pizza or tasty cheeseburger and pomme d'frittes then come back i should find my lounge chair taken (me thinks not :D ) also i have never seen this putting a towel on a lounge chair before going to bed at night..............they remove every single lounge chair to wash the decks and then spread them back out much later in the am............as far as i have ever noticed :D also maybe one could bring some type of inflatable lounge chair and blow it up and place it wherever one wanted! (i am just full of wonderful ideas:)) because it has been noted i am a pompeous american somewherelse on these boards :D .................stephanie from bean town usa....................god i love to cruise!

[brigittetom]

19Stephanie, Actually, no they don't. They put all of the chairs in place in the evening unless there is an evening function. I like to read by the pool until it's time to get ready for dinner. They take great pains to put each and every chair into place for the next morning. We have also been up in the pool area around 3AM and those chairs are still in place. :)

[JRoeT]

Leanne wrote: "If you want a chair, go to the pool and sit down on one -- and stay there."

Again, right on!!!

[rjg41]

[quote name='Andym']What a great topic this is !

We rant and rave but the hogs will still be there.

[/QUOTE]

Well, you might be right and you might be wrong. On at least some Royal Caribbean ships they have begun to very effectively deal with the issue. As stated earlier, the entire post, along with the poll results will be mailed to Celebrity. It might help and it might not but no harm in trying. Keep those votes coming in.

[19stephanie66]

hi brigette ......guess i need to correct myself as i have only been on carnival and royal many times :D they collect every lounge chair stack them up in piles of 20 or so and spend many hours washing each and every level of decks! i have been there and seen this with my own eyeballs ........so i dont feel i am wrong.......with reguard to royal caribbean international and carnival cruiselines.....if you want to come out at 3:00am or later and put out a towel to "save" your chair good luck to you.......you will end up with a 22.00 charge to your sign and sail card trust me:D .....stephanie from boston baked bean town

[brigittetom]

Stehpanie, No, We don't go out at 3AM to put towels out. We just like to sit and enjoy the view because we were too cheap to book a balcony most times. :D Honestly, I have never seen the crew out there past the early evening hours of putting every chair in place. Mind you, I'm only speaking of the expierience on Celebrity.

[jcruise67]

OK...Hold on a sec...

I'm getting a little ripped on this thread, so I feel it is necessary to set the record straight. I've been cruising for a very long time and I have the utmost respect for other pax. I have even offered my chair to them at times because I'm satisfied sitting on the pool ledge. Especially older pax where I see they can't find a chair anywhere. Though I may snag a chair lounge by the pool from time to time, I never leave it for more than the time it takes for a dip in the pool or to grab a quick bite to eat during the day. If I know I'm going to be away for a considerable amount of time, I offer my chair right away. More times than you can imagine, I couldn't get a chair by the pool and I was fine with it. I'm truly a happy-Go-Lucky person, an eternal optimist I've been called, but I wouldn't think of ever being a chair hog. 9 out of the last 10 cruises my wife and I travelled alone. I apologize if some of you misconstrued my point.

John

[Bisous3]

Well John you said, "If we get there early enough to get a chair, we just place our towels on it and go to breakfast". Thats being a chair hog. Sad, but true.
Suzanne

[jcruise67]

what I meant was ...we place our towels down, get breakfast and return to the pool area. Now thats a matter of 15 min. tops.

John

[Andym]

John,

Just go get Breakfast then come and use the chair. Why 'reserve' (hog) it first.

[tuggers]

Because in 15 mnutes 300 towels will be on chairs with no one in sight!

[jcruise67]

Thanks Tuggers. Look, if I happen to get a chair, then I'm fortunate. If I don't, no big deal. Everybody knows the lounge chairs are on a first come first serve basis. The old saying holds true..."You snooze, you lose". Look....this thread will go on forever because every cruiser has an idea about the lounge chairs. However, we all know what the reality of it truly is.

John

[WeBeCruisin']

It's amazing to see how far chair hogs will go in attempting to justify their selfish, arrogant rudeness. Of course, if they were capable of realizing how rude they were, I don't guess they would be chair hogs, would they?

Maybe the cruise lines could come up with some kind of sticky something or twist-tie that could be attached to the top of the chairs. When the pool butler noticed an empty chair with stuff piled on it, he could write down the time he noticed it, and fill in a second line with a 20-minutes later time. That way, when looking for a chair, the passenger could just see if the expiration time had come yet and, if so, then be justified in removing the items. The cruise line could have some kind of shelving unit upon which the items could be placed. 20 minutes should be more than sufficient to go to the restroom, grab something from the burger/pizza bar, take a dip in the pool, or run back to your cabin to get the book or sunglasses you forgot. Anything longer than 20 minutes is chair-hogging.

Or, maybe even better, have shelving units by the pool for people to put their books, sun-tan lotion, flip-flops, etc. on while they performed the various above-mentioned tasks. Then, when they came back, they could look for a new chair, just like everyone else does who isn't a chair hog. Ironically, under such a system, there would probably almost always be chairs available. It seems like most of the time on sea days when you're looking for a chair, only about half actually have people in them. The others are "reserved" by people who are in their cabins napping, playing bingo, in the spa, watching a movie, etc., but who want a special chair "reserved" for them just in case they get in the mood to go down by the pool.

[tuggers]

Twenty minutes seems to have become some peoples 'rule'. Interesting.

[Leejnd4]

Tuggers, I suspect that's mainly because some RCI ships have actual signs stating that pool chairs cannot be reserved for longer than 20 minutes. I don't recall the actual wording of the sign, but I do specifically recall the 20 minutes, and that's where I got it. That certainly seemed reasonable to me. And since RCI owns Celebrity, it seems to flow that 20 minutes should be a reasonable expectation on all ships.

LeeAnne

[Spf12]

Put this thread to bead.Over 96 responses and no solution.Chair hogs will exist and thje rest of us will complain.I just got off Summit 1/7/05 and observed many people reserving chairs by the pool and occupying them.I,personally, don't reserve chairs for my family. There are enough chairs on deck 11 with a nice breeze.There is no breeze on deck 10 around the pool.

[Leejnd4]

Hey, why end a perfecty fine discussion? Yes of course there will always be chair hogs. But if some of those inclined to chair-hogging read what we really think of them, they might be less inclined to do it next time. And if the cruise lines read any of this stuff, they might be MORE inclined to do something about it!

LeeAnne

[stanjj111]

1. After 20 minutes call over a representative of the cruise line
2. tell them you are moving the stuff
3. if and when they return direct them to the staff