If i move your towel...

[Flatbush Flyer]

I would just ask a member of the crew for assistance.

 

 

 

Keith

 

 

The voice of reason. And if the pool attendant refuses to do anything, ask to speak to his supervisor (and so - up the line to the hotel director if necessary). Watch how fast something will be done when you demonstrate that you will pursue the issue with superiors.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[Cruisin' Chick]

How do you know a towel or flip flops, etc. has been in a chair for hours with nobody ever returning to it unless you're nearby watching? Which would mean you must of already found a seat anywsy. No? As far as I know you can have a chair all day long so long as you return to it at least every 45 minutes. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't sit near the pool.

 

On my last cruise, my hubby and I gave up on trying to find deck chairs to eat our lunch (from the poolside grill) and sat down on the edge of a bench by the pool. I watched some empty but "reserved" chairs and some were empty for at least 20 minutes (and who knows how long they were occupied by a body last). On Princess, the posted time limit is 30 minutes.

 

On another day, I went to the pool area to watch the late morning movie on the MUTS screen. All the chairs in the shady area were occupied or had stuff on it. I went over to one deck chair that had a shirt and paperback book on it and asked the people sitting in that area if they had seen the person who had placed the items there. Nobody had -- and asking a further question: has this been more than 30 minutes, a few passengers did say they were there at least that amount of time. So I moved the items to a table and said, "You didn't see that" to which I got some chuckles. About an hour later (I checked my watch), a sheepish woman appeared and took the items away. If she had said anything to me, I would have shrugged and point over to the sign and suggest she read that.

 

I didn't put her items on the floor to get wet. And my tush was in the chair the whole time. And when I got up to grab some lunch, I left the chair for good.

[Jeepenfun]

Saw this on the front page of CC website. Now I know what to look for and expect. http://www.cruisecritic.com/slideshows/?ID=549

 

I personally like the picture with the "reserved" sign on the lounger. Now if I saw that, knowing that carnival does not allow reserving of deck chairs, that sign would be filed into the nearest round file cabinet lined with a plastic bag.

[JVilleGal]

I just pick up a chair and move it. When the Chair Hogs come back or if they ever come back, their chair just won't be there!!

[sail7seas]

This summer on the Oasis, the pool attendant frequently made rounds or it appeared that way.......she walked around and around......

 

Of course four chairs under two umbrellas side by side had towels on them from the time we got there 9am ish till someone came to to sit on them about noon.

 

Nothing was done, I guess because no one voiced a concern.

 

So, if no one complains, they do not enforce the rule, at least on this one sailing (August 1, 2015).

 

We always sit at the edge of the pool and a number of people around us noted the empty chairs.

 

Sea Ya

 

If I had to make a wild guess why the 'enforcer' didn't enforce the chair hog rule for those seats, I'd suggest she may have received a nice tip to be sure those seats were waiting for the hogs when they appeared. :)

 

Of course, I could be wildly wrong.

 

 

[momof3cruisers]

I just pick up a chair and move it. When the Chair Hogs come back or if they ever come back, their chair just won't be there!!

 

Ha ha...we were actually accused of stealing a chair hog's seats due to moving a couple of chairs. There were four or five saved chairs in a row with an empty one on the end that had a towel sort of draped over part of the side like it had been left behind. We sat in the row behind for a bit and then asked a pool attendant if we could move our two. chairs up to the other row because where we were was fairly shaded. He said sure and helped us to do so.

 

At least half an hour after we had moved this man came up with his kids and started ranting about people taking their chairs. Now, we were also using the one that had the towel mainly on the floor as the attendant took it when he helped us move our chairs. I have no idea when people took the chairs on the other side of his bag, because there weren't four chairs together anymore. He clearly thought we had taken his chairs. I told him that we had moved the two chairs and the third one was empty. He kept ranting and muttering and making an idiot of himself.

 

After my first explanation, I turned back to my family. There were five of us sharing those three chairs, btw. The kids were coming and going and didn't need a chair FT in my opinion. Then he started telling me again that those were their seats. Some other lady told him at that point that she had seen us move those chairs up there. He was truly nuts, but I wasn't going to let him bully us out of our seats that were NOT his in the first place. I did point out that you weren't supposed to leave your stuff on seats so maybe the staff moved his stuff, and he ranted about them only being gone for ten minutes. I decided to ignore him again.

 

What I knew and he didn't was that there was a security guard standing right behind him. :D I truly have no idea what happened to his other two or three chairs he seemed to think belonged to him. When he finally noticed the security guy, he settled down.

[JVilleGal]

Well I will admit when I move chairs I move them a good distance away from their original location. I do always talk to the pool attendant first and give them the single Flip Flop on each chair :) hehehehe ;)

Edited October 26, 2015 by JVilleGal

[Karysa]

It's the law of the playground (sometimes law of the jungle). He (or she) who wants it most and is willing to defend their territory will get it. Yes it can get ugly, but that's life. We saw a great "seat save showdown" in the comedy club once. It was so bad the comedian actually called out the woman trying to save the seats. She was "boo"ed by the whole club. It was epic.

 

The examples of chair hogging noted really decrease the allure of cruising to me these days. I'm no youngster anymore and far removed from my playground days so vacationing where "the law of the playground ( sometimes law of the jungle)" is the law of the land/sea :) is less and less appealing to me and I would happily pay more money to cruise to pay for staff to patrol and stop this kind of behaviour.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Karysa

[slidergirl]

Chair hogs are not indigenous to just cruise ships. Go to any resort with a pool and you will find similar species hogging the chairs. I did a stint this summer at an Eastern US beach resort. I was living at the resort for my time. I'd go through the pool area (it was HUGE) to get to work. I always saw plenty of chairs already "reserved" before 8am. When I finished work, I'd go back to my room and put on shorts (or my running skirt) and a top and go down to the pool area to find a lounger to relax and decompress after the workday. I would watch chairs with stuff on them not being occupied for over the hour that I sat there.

Years ago, I was witness to a fight over some beach chairs at a resort in Puerto Rico. I was next to a group of chair that had stuff on them, but never occupied in the 2 hours I was there. A father and young son came up looking for chairs and asked if anyone had used them. I told him no. he moved stuff onto one of the chairs and started to sit down when 2 people from the group ran up and started verbally abusing them for "stealing their chairs." The group had put stuff on chairs in case they wanted to be in the sun, but were sitting in the very back under the shade!!!! I just told the dad that he and his son could have my chair and I got up and left. I wouldn't have wanted to be next to such loudmouth boors, anyway...

[DeesEscape]

Which is exactly why I cruise in a balcony cabin…I always have my “seat” reserved and paid for from the minute I step onboard. However, on those occasions when I want to be in the mix top deck, I’ve never had a problem finding a chair on any of the past cruises I’ve taken but then I’m not one that has to be poolside or die. LOL

 

With thousands of people onboard all of whom feel equally entitled to have their vacation their way (and why wouldn’t they since we all paid for the privilege) it can get tricky in certain situations. I don’t have time to police and CSI adults who should know better and set an example of appropriate conduct (or not) or get into confrontations over a lounge chair. Yes, it’s the principle of it all and the rules but it is also my vacation. If whatever cruise line I’m utilizing has a policy in place to not hog chairs that they don’t consistently adhere to then it is up to me to accept that fact and make some decisions on what my actions will be to ensure that the behavior of others doesn’t have the power or influence to ruin my hard earned long-awaited vacation relaxation and fun. One can either get up before dawn; stalk other’s every move poolside for that “coveted” seat(s); bring the situation to the attention of crew members; move the inconsiderate other passenger’s belongings knowing that there is a 50/50 chance of confrontation or just find some place to sit without hope or expectation for a specific location.

[notentirelynormal]

There have been many times we were on our way to breakfast and walk by the pool with every single lounger taken with towels, etc. Not a single person in sight. We eat a leisurely breakfast and walk back. Still not a single person. Now that I realize what is going on, just makes me want to pull each towel off as I walk by. I just might do that :D

[bobsfamily]

There have been many times we were on our way to breakfast and walk by the pool with every single lounger taken with towels, etc. Not a single person in sight. We eat a leisurely breakfast and walk back. Still not a single person. Now that I realize what is going on, just makes me want to pull each towel off as I walk by. I just might do that :D

Not so funny thing would be within 15 minutes all the seats would be filled with "new" towels of people who came out and found chairs that had not been taken yet!

[Lil2Angelic]

Thank you OP for starting this thread! One of the funniest I've ever read! I literally had tears running out my eyes from laughing so hard when I was reading this yesterday! That one comment about "the law of the land ( or law of the jungle)..Epic just Epic! I was skyping with my son and we were just rolling! My son's been on one cruise with us but taking his wife on her first cruise soon. She was asking me about laying by the pool and after I showed my son this thread I'm sure she's like :eek:!! Bwahahahaha! He was saying.. "Wow, I might need to practice my left hook before this cruise"..and I said "and maybe pack some boxing gloves"

[Karysa]

Chair hogs are not indigenous to just cruise ships. Go to any resort with a pool and you will find similar species hogging the chairs. I did a stint this summer at an Eastern US beach resort. I was living at the resort for my time. I'd go through the pool area (it was HUGE) to get to work. I always saw plenty of chairs already "reserved" before 8am. When I finished work, I'd go back to my room and put on shorts (or my running skirt) and a top and go down to the pool area to find a lounger to relax and decompress after the workday. I would watch chairs with stuff on them not being occupied for over the hour that I sat there.

Years ago, I was witness to a fight over some beach chairs at a resort in Puerto Rico. I was next to a group of chair that had stuff on them, but never occupied in the 2 hours I was there. A father and young son came up looking for chairs and asked if anyone had used them. I told him no. he moved stuff onto one of the chairs and started to sit down when 2 people from the group ran up and started verbally abusing them for "stealing their chairs." The group had put stuff on chairs in case they wanted to be in the sun, but were sitting in the very back under the shade!!!! I just told the dad that he and his son could have my chair and I got up and left. I wouldn't have wanted to be next to such loudmouth boors, anyway...

 

Maybe I have been lucky but I have never had an issue obtaining a chair at the beach or by the pool at our timeshare in St. Maarten or at the AI's that I have visited. There are more people on the ship and most people want to enjoy the sun on seadays where the AI or timeshare folks may be out driving around or on an excursion so perhaps that's the reason.

[Karysa]

There have been many times we were on our way to breakfast and walk by the pool with every single lounger taken with towels, etc. Not a single person in sight. We eat a leisurely breakfast and walk back. Still not a single person. Now that I realize what is going on, just makes me want to pull each towel off as I walk by. I just might do that :D

 

You are a paying guest. The hired staff should be doing that job!

[Nisky18]

I have seen people looking for a lounge chair while I'm sunning in one. I will often offer my chair and state I'll be in the pool for awhile. I have no problem sharing loungers. If I find a chair when I arrive at the spot I like, why should I hog it..it seems so silly. I'm never more than a couple of hours in one place. Also, if a so-called chair hog knows he or she will be away for a meal or tour or class or nap or whatever, why oh why would an attempt be made to reserve that chair?!_

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[legaljen1969]

I think it's a very touchy subject. I understand both sides because I've been on both sides.

We cruise as a couple and should be able to leave our bag for 15 minutes to swim in the ocean together... We weren't being chair hogs! We had been in those chairs all day!

But I've also been on the other side of the chair hog situation where it's impossible to find a chair and there's plenty of chairs just with towels and whatever else on them. But since that's happened to me, I won't move someone's stuff.

 

On our last cruise, I noticed many "chair hogs." My husband is not a big fan sunbathing, so I can usually find a random chair somewhere. I have had people tell me "That chair hasn't been used all day, just move the stuff and sit there." I have put stuff down under the chair, and occasionally someone will come to retrieve their belongings.

 

If I have to get up and go the restroom, or retrieve something from my cabin (that I may have forgotten), I will usually ask someone to watch my chair so I can run to the restroom. Usually people are quite nice about it, and will keep watch over a chair if you have to run the occasional quick errand. I have done that for folks too. If they want to take a dip in the pool, run to the restroom or go retrieve something from their cabin, I will just politely tell someone "They just got in the pool. They are coming right back."

There's nothing wrong with helping out a fellow cruiser or asking them to help you keep an eye on things.

 

I have never had a problem with confrontations over chairs.

 

As to the person who said "If you can see that a chair has been vacant for a long time, you must already have a seat," well I have been seated in the shade waiting for a seat to come available in the sun. While I do technically already have a seat, I would like a better one. If I notice a vacant seat for a prolonged period of time, I may go over and ask if anyone knows where the people are OR if they are coming back. If I have the opportunity to "upgrade", I will certainly take the opportunity.

[Fouremco]

I usually get up early & get coffee at the buffet.

 

If I happen to see someone place their stuff on some poolside chairs and leave, and shortly thereafter, I happen to encounter them entering their cabin, if said cabin's door is covered in tacky decorations, I'm definitely going back to the pool to move their stuff!

 

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So it's ok to be a chair hog, as long as you don't have tacky door decorations? :confused:

[notentirelynormal]

So it's ok to be a chair hog, as long as you don't have tacky door decorations? :confused:

 

I'm pretty sure it was a joke based on the many door decorating threads.

[mactwit]

Last year on Adventure of the seas there was a crew member who would leave a post it under the towel with the time the lounger was empty....If it was still empty next time he passed and more than 30 mins had passed he removed the towels....fair I thought.

 

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[Sea Hag]

Chair hogs are not indigenous to just cruise ships. Go to any resort with a pool and you will find similar species hogging the chairs. ..

 

Would that species be chairhogus disgustingous?

[slidergirl]

Would that species be chairhogus disgustingous?

 

Absolutely. ;)

I wish I could note some physical characteristics that would allow us to be on the alert for these noxious creatures, but they are very chameleon-like and can blend in to their surroundings...

[Mango Mike]

All I know is that I would be mad as hell if you tried to move my towel or chair (that is if I were still sitting on/in it :D)

[The Sunset Glow]

Never needed a seat by the "pool" that bad, in fact when I did stay out in the sun a lot I wanted a view of the ocean... not a pool.

 

^^this

 

Unless our kids are with us and in the pool and need to watch them we go up a deck and find chairs by the railing and turn them around to face the ocean. Always lots of chairs available up there.:)

[Jeepenfun]

Never needed a seat by the "pool" that bad, in fact when I did stay out in the sun a lot I wanted a view of the ocean... not a pool.

 

I like that idea too. Why look at a puddle of water when there's an ocean behind you?

 

^^this

 

Unless our kids are with us and in the pool and need to watch them we go up a deck and find chairs by the railing and turn them around to face the ocean. Always lots of chairs available up there.:)

 

And dont get me wrong if you have kids playing in the pool you'll want to be watching them just incase. But if its just me or my wife, I'd want a view of the ocean too. watching the ocean is more relaxing then a pool with kids or people splashing around.