Chair Hog Issue

[busybusybusy]

Was on the Zenith earlier this month. There were several chairs on a upper deck with no one sitting in them for hours. I was sitting in my chair watching this. Finally a person comes up to the chairs and just as he is about to sit down a person farther down the row pops up and says "those chairs are for my kids."

 

 

We have this problem in the winter at indoor swimming meets, which can last all day. People come in at 7am, plop down a towel and a book, and you don't see them until their kid swims, which may be noon. What I have done in this situation is said, "Oh, ok. When they get here I'll get up." And I do just that. Nine times out of ten no one comes by, but I do move if they do. This is what I plan on doing when I sail in 24 DAYS:D :D

[wdblake]

So much moaning over "chair hogs". While I agree that people should not leave a chair saved for more than 30 minutes I also think that if I am willing to get up bright and early to scout out a good spot I should not have to give up my seat because I have to go to the bathroom or grab a quick bite to eat. Most cruises I have been on have had available spots up until 10am. If you want to sleep in till noon you should not expect to find a chair when you walk out. Also if someone throws my stuff off my chair my wife and I would not only read them the riot act rather loudly but would also call security to have the person removed. Just because you want a seat does not give you the right to handle peoples personal belongings. That to me is more rude than chair hogging. If you want a deck chair so bad get up early and claim one. If you see a chair that has been claimed for a long time complain to the pool staff. Most pool staff will even bring out extra chairs if they are all taken.Cruisng should be fun and relaxing. It seems silly to get worked up over a chair when there are simpler solutions than hogging and fighting.

[WeBeCruisin']

So much moaning over "chair hogs". I also think that if I am willing to get up bright and early to scout out a good spot I should not have to give up my seat because I have to go to the bathroom or grab a quick bite to eat. If you want to sleep in till noon you should not expect to find a chair when you walk out. Also if someone throws my stuff off my chair my wife and I would not only read them the riot act rather loudly but would also call security to have the person removed. If you want a deck chair so bad get up early and claim one. .

 

And another chair hog is heard from. "Oink, oink, oink". :eek:

 

Isn't it precious how they "dash" to the Windjammer and "grab" a bite to eat. and "run" to the spa for their two-hour treatment, or "dash" to Bingo, or "scamper" to their room for a three-hour nap?

 

And they get so confrontational.... they'll "read the riot act rather loudly" or, as one chair hog from New York avowed, they'll put anyone in the hospital who touches their comic books... or whatever it is that chair hogs read... if they can read. :eek:

 

I still maintain that there would be no problems if my "cubby" or "cubicle" idea were used. Have a bank of cubes on each side of the ship. If you have to leave your chair for any reason, place your "stuff" in one of the cubes, and take a numbered tag for that cube. When you come back, pick up your stuff and take an empty chair. There would always be empty chairs available.

 

There would never be a chair hog problem if this simple solution were used. If stuff is on a chair with no one occupying it, just put (or have the pool attendant put) their stuff in an empty cubby and they can hunt for it when they come back. So simple.

 

Allen

[Lou33]

Okay, what about a handicapped person that can't wolf down a meal in 20 to 30 minutes? And, that same person doesn't usually get off of the ship at ports but stays at the pool which they enjoy. And, trying to find an easy chair for a handicapped person to be in (need one at the end) isn't usually available if you give it up.

Oops, I forgot, getting to the restroom and back may take 15 minutes and two people have to go to help.:confused:

Tell me the solution and I'll try to follow it.:cool:

 

Hi Judy,

 

The solution is to follow the Celebrity policy and not reserve chairs. If nobody did this, then in general, everyone would have chair whenever they wanted. Even a chair at the end. The pool attendant can help with that.

 

Of course it is reasonable to leave 15 minutes to go to the pool or the restroom, but I don't understand anybody "holding" a chair while going to the restaurant. It's hard for anyone to get back in less than 30 minutes. Why not take a leisurly lunch and make the chair available for fellow passengers?

[Lou33]

Many people leave books on their chair for hours, but another common chairhog technique is for one person to arrive early and stake out several chairs for their family and friends. We saw one lady that claimed about 7 chairs right in front of the pool for several hours. She would put a book on one chair, a shoe on another, another shoe on another, and keep moving them around. When someone asked if they could use them she snapped "those are for my nephews and nieces!" Well nobody showed up except for two people who sat there for about 10 minutes. Then other people came up to her and talked about how "it's too hot out here" and left. Eventually she got frustrated and left. I think she got sunburn.

[rjg41]

So much moaning over "chair hogs". While I agree that people should not leave a chair saved for more than 30 minutes I also think that if I am willing to get up bright and early to scout out a good spot I should not have to give up my seat because I have to go to the bathroom or grab a quick bite to eat. Most cruises I have been on have had available spots up until 10am. If you want to sleep in till noon you should not expect to find a chair when you walk out. Also if someone throws my stuff off my chair my wife and I would not only read them the riot act rather loudly but would also call security to have the person removed. Just because you want a seat does not give you the right to handle peoples personal belongings. That to me is more rude than chair hogging. If you want a deck chair so bad get up early and claim one. If you see a chair that has been claimed for a long time complain to the pool staff. Most pool staff will even bring out extra chairs if they are all taken.Cruisng should be fun and relaxing. It seems silly to get worked up over a chair when there are simpler solutions than hogging and fighting.

 

In case you missed my earlier link to "chair hog" pictures, take a look. http://community.webshots.com/album/376087831YcCjLI

 

I guess you think what is pictured is OK.

 

For those that want to impact this issue, write Celebrity.

 

Note my letter posted earlier:

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Dan Hanrahan, President

Celebrity Cruise Lines

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

 

Dear Mr. Hanrahan:

 

I recently wrote Jack Williams (copy attached) concerning the problem on of people saving chairs in the pool area on Celebrity ships. We did hear from a member of the Celebrity staff. I have some further comments and in view of Mr. Williams departure, I thought I should address them to you.

 

Before I get to that, we on the February 27 sailing of Infinity out of Valparaiso and we had a wonderful time. The service was outstanding and the staff did a wonderful job. Celebrity continues to be our cruise line of choice.

 

While on Infinity I noted that “Celebrity Today” contained the following:

 

"We would like to request that guests do not reserve deck chairs.

 

These are on a first come, first serve basis so as to not inconvenience fellow guests. If you leave and anticipate returning in a short while leave you belongings on or near the chair. However, if your time away from the chair exceeds a reasonable time, for your protection, the Pool Attendant will gather your belongings and store them, for you, in a safe place until such time as your return."

 

This item in “Celebrity Today” had little or no effect and the Pool Attendants did little to control the problem. Further, what does “reasonable time” mean? Lack of a meaningful policy and pro active enforcement, the only people who will follow the policy are those like my wife and I who support the concept “….to not inconvenience fellow guests.”

Lack of enforcement also encourages others to save chairs so they can get one during the day. The attached pictures speak volumes as to the magnitude of the problem.

 

You will note that some of the pictures show that “saved” chairs have not been occupied and are still “saved”, with the same items on them, more than an hour from when the first picture was taken. During the day saving continued and finding open chairs was difficult.

 

I draw special attention to picture #19, taken at 7:43am. You will note little pieces of paper on them. Each piece of paper had the name of the person that the chair was being saved for. Now note pictures # 22 and #23 taken at 9:03am showing the chairs still not occupied. After the second pictures were taken, I brought the saved chairs and papers with names to a Pool Attendant’s attention and pointed out that the chairs have been vacant for over an hour. He looked and without saying a word walked away. A half an hour later the chairs were still vacant and the Pool Attendant had done nothing. You’ll note the dictionary as the “personal item” on the chair. Who reads a dictionary? People brag on Cruise Critic how they go out and buy cheap used paperbacks at garage sales to use as the personal item on a chair so if they lose them, no big deal.

 

In picture #1, #4, and #7 you’ll note the chairs saved on the far side of the pool. These chairs were saved and occupied by the same group of people every single day of the cruise. Another group did the same thing on the opposite side of the pool. We also noted a couple that saved two chairs in the sun and two chairs in the shade all day, and moved back and forth between them.

 

As noted in my letter to Mr. Williams, we were on Navigator of the Seas in March, 2004. The Pool Attendants on the cruise were very pro active. They would be on deck about 7am. If any chairs had been saved before they arrived they removed the items. As people showed to save chairs the attendants politely said, “Sorry, you cannot do that”. If they missed someone leaving items they promptly removed them. During the day they kept an eye on things and removed items left unattended after about 30 minutes. The process was very effective and despite the fact we had a full ship, chairs were always available. It was great.

 

We have two cruises already booked on Celebrity for next year. We hope that you will tighten your policy and enforce it.

 

Thank you for considering this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

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[Arubalisa]

All passengers are entitled to use of the chairs, so why should you have it for your use exclusively all day?

What is the recommended period of time that one should use a lounge chair?

[oceanqueen571]

I have a great one...on my recent Med cruise, coming back to the ship after a morning of sweltering excursions and a mid-afternoon departure, chaises around the pool were basially non-existant. My friend and I came upon a few chaises lined up near the hot tub and rushed to sit down. A teen and her father, simulataiously rushed to these chaises also. I sat down on my chaise and was asked to leave as "she saw it first." They had 3 and wanted the 4th. When I did not get up I was called rude by the father! I did get up as they were causing a scene and moved to another spot in a regular chair, but watched this chaise that was never sat in.

[wdblake]

I in no way condone the flagrant violation of keeping chairs saved indefinately.

I think a thirty minute span of time is reasonable. In the past my wife and I have only left our chairs for lunch (which takes less than thiry minutes since it is a buffet) and to escort my wife to the ladies room which I believe is the gentlemanly thing to do. She is a die hard sun worshiper who will stay out on deck from early morning till 4pm. We never leave to go to shows or shipboard activities. We also try to get a chair on the upper deck since the breeze is better.

The problem with chair hogging is there is no easy solution to the problem. Most cruises I have been on only have two or three pool attendants and there is no way for them to keep track of how long a chair has been left vacant.

If you don't go poolside early and save a spot you will spend your well paid for vaction time meandering around the pool area hoping to find a seat or as in the the case of the last poster getting into a confrontation with other people looking.

You cannot charge for seats as this creates a class system of seating. How much is fair to charge? Do you charge more for closer to the pool and etc.

Personally I think pool attendants should go out of their way to provide patrons with chairs when they arrive. How hard is it to keep extras in a closet?

You see someone wandering around looking, you go to a storage area and provide them a chair. Its not like you will run out of deck space.

Maybe provide cabins with lightweight folding chairs that you could take up yourself. I have toted chairs to the beach, I certainly wouldn't mind toting one from my cabin if I knew that mean't I would have a place to sit. Maybe stamp these chairs with the cabin number so others couldn't take them.

It just seems that with the LARGE amount of posts complaining about this issue the industry would do more to rectify the situation other than just saying "please don't save". Just my 2 cents.

[rjg41]

Copied from my letter above. WE SAW THIS WORK EFFECTIVELY!!!!!

 

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"As noted in my letter to Mr. Williams, we were on Navigator of the Seas in March, 2004. The Pool Attendants on the cruise were very pro active. They would be on deck about 7am. If any chairs had been saved before they arrived they removed the items. As people showed to save chairs the attendants politely said, “Sorry, you cannot do that”. If they missed someone leaving items they promptly removed them. During the day they kept an eye on things and removed items left unattended after about 30 minutes. The process was very effective and despite the fact we had a full ship, chairs were always available. It was great."

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[Greselda]

rjg41!!!

 

Kudos to your very well written letter!!! Our hat is off to you and yours!!

 

I am sure all of us understand the early vs late "arrivals" to the pool deck, however, this is a pleasure cruise and should be viewed as such! I think for the most part 95% of us cruisers go by the "rules of common decency" and unless they are simply going for a "potty" break they pick up their books, suntan lotion, etc., and make a chair available.....it is always that 5% of ugly cruisers that make it a problem for the rest of us. What my hubby and I do is simply ask around if it is very crowded with "things on the chairs", and if there is truly nothing available at the time, we simply find another wonderful activity to do onboard and WE ENJOY OUR PLEASURE CRUISE!!!

 

Greselda :)

[Shelly&Jack]

On our most recent cruise, the chair hog problem was very much an issue. We were six adults and four children (they did not need chairs). I just kept track of chairs in my area that had stuff on them and not used. After about 45 minutes I advised the deck attendants and they removed the stuff. About 30 minutes later the people arrived and I just referred them to the deck attendants with a I don't know nothing look on my face.:rolleyes:

Lesson learned, have the crew remove the stuff and you can thus avoid having a confrontation with other passengers.

 

On our first cruise way back in 1987 on the Home Lines Atlantis (they were sold to Holland America around 1990) they charged for the deck chairs. You had to see the deck steward at the beginning of the cruise and pay him cash for the chairs. The pool was at the rear of the ship and the chairs were set up like a bleachers. Thank goodness that isn't done anymore.