Reserving chairs / loungers beside the pool

[Fouremco]

On my last Celebrity cruise, one of the pool butlers told a lady to leave a personal item on the lounger if she wanted to reserve it for some time, because if it is just a towel it will be removed. Now, that certainly helps the situation...not!

I suspect that the pool butlers are the same crew members tasked with enforcing the dress code in the dining rooms at night. :p

[Marelaine]

I also like to walk at daybreak and see people (sometimes in their pajamas) leaving stuff on chairs by the pool. I have to admit... after my walk I've piled all of it up on ONE lounger and left. Maybe more than once.

 

Thank you!

[cruisestitch]

It is always better in these cases, instead of touching passengers' stuff, to snag an officer and have him/her clear the loungers for you.

[oskarNZ]

I also like to walk at daybreak and see people (sometimes in their pajamas) leaving stuff on chairs by the pool. I have to admit... after my walk I've piled all of it up on ONE lounger and left. Maybe more than once.

 

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[kathynorth]

I was reading another thread here and someone said they always bring large clips with them to clip their clothes / towel to the chairs / loungers by the pool so no-one takes them.

 

I thought the chairs / loungers would be on a first in first served basis - I didn't know you could actually put stuff on them to 'reserve' them

 

does anyone know if this is the case?

 

The chairs and loungers are supposed to be first come first serve. Fellow cruisers are not "allowed" to do this, but unfortunately lots of people do. I've been on a few cruises where the pool staff used 30 minute cards to identify "saved" loungers. This gave passengers the opportunity to go grab a quick bite or to pick up something from their room without losing their seat and also identified the chronic abusers so the loungers could be freed up for passengers who wanted to actually sit on the lounger or chair.

[Muffinz]

DW and I live in our deck chairs on sea days. I am normally up and in a lounger by 8 (with my trusty Kindle) and that is where we stay until late in the afternoon. For those who do not have much cruise/resort experience or understand about "chair hogs"......well it does get ugly :(. We recently returned from 21 days on the Reflection where we had perfect weather for nearly every day. By 9am, nearly every chair on the shady side (pool deck) was "reserved".... What happens is a single person (always seems to be a lady) will show-up around 8 (or earlier) and grab 4-8 loungers. They put on towels, towel clips, and usually leave a personal item on each lounger. On many days nobody ever used those loungers for the entire day...and that same woman would return around 4 and remove everything from their "reserved" chairs. It only takes a dozen such folks to create a chair shortage (in the best shade spots) and nobody on Celebrity does anything to help. Many others will "reserve" chairs early in the morning and not actually use those chairs to around lunch time.

 

We spoke to one of the so-called "pool butlers" and he explained that despite the 30 min rule, they were under pressure not to cause problems by removing things from any chair. We have been cruising since the mid-70s.....and this is the ways its been on every cruise or every cruise line (and we have been on more than a dozen cruise lines). There are easy solutions, but the cruise lines apparently prefer to look the other way and not get involved....until people start getting angry (we once saw a fist fight over 2 loungers).

 

One time (many cruises ago) DW and I came out on deck at 8:30 to find every shade chair "reserved". We sat at a nearby table and had breakfast and coffee and kept an eye on some chairs. Around 10am, when many chairs were still unused, we simply removed some towels and towel clips from two chairs (along with books from the library) and took them to a pool deck staffer and explained that somebody must have forgotten their stuff (the staffer said he would put the "stuff" into Lost and Found at Guest Relations). We then sat in those loungers. Around 2pm a couple showed-up and told us "these are our chairs." I just looked at them innocently and said, "we have been in these chairs for 4 hours and did not see your name on them." They then said they had left their stuff on those chairs and we suggested they go to "lost and found." When they again tried to demand "their chairs" we suggested they go find a senior officer and complain. We never saw them again :).

 

Hank

 

I don't think it should be allowed - for people to put things on a chair / lounger to reserve them in the morning at 8am then come back at 2pm and expect those loungers to still be there waiting for them

in my opinion that is very rude.... others could have used those loungers all day - I consider that very inconsiderate!

 

I hope it doesn't happen on our cruise on Solstice in March / April

[bEwAbG]

I hope it doesn't happen on our cruise on Solstice in March / April

 

It will.

[ClaudiaB]

Reading this post makes me very happy we spend 0 minutes on a lounger near a pool on a cruise. I honestly had no idea it was this bad.

[bEwAbG]

Reading this post makes me very happy we spend 0 minutes on a lounger near a pool on a cruise. I honestly had no idea it was this bad.

 

It is this bad but it happens on every cruise line as well as at land resorts. I was appalled when I first encountered it years ago. I think the resorts can be worse, actually, because the pool sometimes is a ghost town yet all the chairs have belongings on them. At least on Celebrity, there are usually loungers to be found somewhere else...just not right beside the pool.

[Fouremco]

I'm not sure why there's such a strong demand for poolside loungers. We never have trouble finding loungers further afield and don't mind walking for 30 seconds or so to get to the pool when we want a swim. As far as I can tell, the sun (or shade) is of no better quality next to the pool than it is elsewhere aboard. :cool:

[cltnccruisers]

I'm not sure why there's such a strong demand for poolside loungers. We never have trouble finding loungers further afield and don't mind walking for 30 seconds or so to get to the pool when we want a swim. As far as I can tell, the sun (or shade) is of no better quality next to the pool than it is elsewhere aboard. :cool:

 

We've never been poolside. We're just there to get some sun and fresh (hopefully) air. We might go in the pool for a few minutes or we might not. My wife's big concern is that I'll doze off and start snoring. :halo:

[bEwAbG]

To make it worse, some of these people are also holding loungers in two places so they can move with the sun.

 

I only see damaged skin rather than tans, so it doesn't really matter to me, but the principle irks me.

[davekathy]

Reading this post makes me very happy we spend 0 minutes on a lounger near a pool on a cruise. I honestly had no idea it was this bad.

I'm not into pools or hot tubs so I have no interest sitting near them for many reasons. But I do enjoy sitting in the sun on sea days. So after a real early walk in the morning I shower and we go for breakfast in the MDR. After that I change and head up to the deck above the pool deck between 9 -9:30 AM. I have never had a problem finding a lounger up there on any ship. At least that's been my experience. I grab a lounger on that deck, spin it around so I can sit and watch the ocean drift by while enjoying my BP in the sun for the rest of the day. If I feel like lunch I head over to the mast grill for a burger since it's on the same deck. No hassles at all.

[crash3x]

I was reading another thread here and someone said they always bring large clips with them to clip their clothes / towel to the chairs / loungers by the pool so no-one takes them.

 

I thought the chairs / loungers would be on a first in first served basis - I didn't know you could actually put stuff on them to 'reserve' them

 

does anyone know if this is the case?

 

Yes people bring towel clips and yes there are some people who save chairs and just don't sit in them for hours. I a full and very busy cruise in 2016 where alot of people were doing this. after waiting for two hours I approach security on deck and they placed a notice on chairs after .......30 mins security removed belongings an we got some chairs.

 

The people returned they were pissed but seriously w1e are talking empty chairs being held from 8 in the morning until 1230 when the notice was placed and we were given chairs around 115 and the people didn't come for the chairs till after 2.

 

They called use every name in the book and how rude we where.....Security saw this and escorted them away.

[SargassoPirate]

Yes people bring towel clips and yes there are some people who save chairs and just don't sit in them for hours. I a full and very busy cruise in 2016 where alot of people were doing this. after waiting for two hours I approach security on deck and they placed a notice on chairs after .......30 mins security removed belongings an we got some chairs.

 

The people returned they were pissed but seriously w1e are talking empty chairs being held from 8 in the morning until 1230 when the notice was placed and we were given chairs around 115 and the people didn't come for the chairs till after 2.

 

They called use every name in the book and how rude we where.....Security saw this and escorted them away.

 

Classic transfer of accountability - do something wrong, get caught, blame everyone else. Cops and teachers see it every day.

 

We need enforcement of the cruise line policy by the cruise line. PAX should not be the ones to enforce the no chair hog policies - the cruise line should never allow it to start with. The more chair hogs are allowed to flourish, the more chair hogs there will be. Chair hogs are basically bullies, only they are stealing your lounger instead of your lunch money.

 

We all need to complain about chair hogs on every cruise - or nothing will change.

[NLH Arizona]

Reading this post makes me very happy we spend 0 minutes on a lounger near a pool on a cruise. I honestly had no idea it was this bad.

I don't do sun, but love to sit out in the shade and people watch. What is more disappointing then those that hog one chair, are those that hog a chair in the sun and then another one in the shade. I watch one large family doing this and when someone went over toward the chairs in the shade, the wife was up in a minute yelling at them that the loungers were taken.

[crash3x]

Classic transfer of accountability - do something wrong, get caught, blame everyone else. Cops and teachers see it every day.

 

We need enforcement of the cruise line policy by the cruise line. PAX should not be the ones to enforce the no chair hog policies - the cruise line should never allow it to start with. The more chair hogs are allowed to flourish, the more chair hogs there will be. Chair hogs are basically bullies, only they are stealing your lounger instead of your lunch money.

 

We all need to complain about chair hogs on every cruise - or nothing will change.

 

Agreed it should not be allowed. The pool and deck attendants should deal with it. And in my case they did. I was told to talk to a gentlemen and he was not in a security uniform but it did say that on his name tag. And from his pocket he pulled out a sheet pad of policy warnings ...Slips of paper that say you have been warned and you have 30 minutes to occupy they lounger or your belongings will be removed and can be retrieved at such and such location.

 

So it is obvious they know this is an issue and are prepared to act on it if asked (yes, you shouldn't have to ask but....). It is the passive people who just grumble about it but don't do anything to force the cruise lines hand to keep this from happening.

[daydreamer16]

And taking it even further, wonder if you could use those to score prime seating at the Martini Bar [emoji6][emoji483]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

Yes, Yes I like that!

[Ready to go]

I would like to see a choice of cards with (id# if necessary) to place on chairs, such as I am in the pool, I am in the hot tub, I am getting a drink, I am in the restroom, etc so that those of us that have legitimate reasons to be away and are reachable, and not just holding chairs in case we decide to show up, can keep our place in case we stay a bit longer in the pool etc. there is a difference in “no shows” and those taking advantage of pool area facilities

[Fouremco]

I would like to see a choice of cards with (id# if necessary) to place on chairs, such as I am in the pool, I am in the hot tub, I am getting a drink, I am in the restroom, etc so that those of us that have legitimate reasons to be away and are reachable, and not just holding chairs in case we decide to show up, can keep our place in case we stay a bit longer in the pool etc. there is a difference in “no shows” and those taking advantage of pool area facilities

It's not a question of where you are when away from your chair, but how long you are away.

[Hlitner]

I'm not sure why there's such a strong demand for poolside loungers. We never have trouble finding loungers further afield and don't mind walking for 30 seconds or so to get to the pool when we want a swim. As far as I can tell, the sun (or shade) is of no better quality next to the pool than it is elsewhere aboard. :cool:

 

Here is the problem (for us). On certain ships (especially the S-Class Celebrity vessels) there are a large group of loungers on the outside of the pool deck (both sides) under the overhang. On many sea days only one side will be in the shade...and there are many folks (including us) who prefer a shady seat. If you go up one deck there are often plenty of seats, but there is no shade. On the Royal Class Princess ships there is an area on the deck above the pool deck that is in the shade...even that area is in great demand. We could care less about being near the pool, but simply seek out a lounger that will give us shade from morning till late afternoon. Very few of the folks that grab these shady chairs even go into the pool. When Celebrity designed their S-Class vessels they were very aware of the demand for shade and had the foresight to create a large overhand (over the pool deck) to provide a decent number of shady areas, We suspect it would all work fine as long as folks did not save seats they do not use. But this is now the world of the "me me me" folks...who will save those seats all day....only to use them for perhaps an hour (of that). And another recent post about folks holding two sets of chairs (sun and shade) reminded us of a large group that did just that...on our recent Regal Princess cruise, They grabbed 8 loungers in both the sun and shade (near us). Most of the say they sat in the sun or pool...but for a few minutes every couple of hours one of them would walk over and plop down in one of their shade seats for about 5 minutes. . When we saw others looking for some seats in the shade I really was tempted to say something.....but DW made me behave :).

 

If only the cruise staff would do their jobs....there would not be a problem. But putting a note into the daily schedule that (you cannot save seats for more than 30 minutes) is not good enough unless the policy is enforced.

[CruiseGal999]

I was reading another thread here and someone said they always bring large clips with them to clip their clothes / towel to the chairs / loungers by the pool so no-one takes them.

 

I thought the chairs / loungers would be on a first in first served basis - I didn't know you could actually put stuff on them to 'reserve' them

 

does anyone know if this is the case?

 

Are you sure you read that correctly? I've seen people state they clip towels and bathing suits to the chairs on their balcony to dry. OR just to keep these items in place while they swim ... but NOT to reserve chairs. At least, I haven't seen that written.

[Miaminice]

Are you sure you read that correctly? I've seen people state they clip towels and bathing suits to the chairs on their balcony to dry. OR just to keep these items in place while they swim ... but NOT to reserve chairs. At least, I haven't seen that written.

 

;) I guess that kind of depends... if they keep their items in place at 7am in the morning while they swimm to the buffet for 3 hours, they might not call it reserving a chair LOL

[Beejay4016]

I also like to walk at daybreak and see people (sometimes in their pajamas) leaving stuff on chairs by the pool. I have to admit... after my walk I've piled all of it up on ONE lounger and left. Maybe more than once.

 

You get my vote. Well done, you.

[Beejay4016]

Classic transfer of accountability - do something wrong, get caught, blame everyone else. Cops and teachers see it every day.

 

We need enforcement of the cruise line policy by the cruise line. PAX should not be the ones to enforce the no chair hog policies - the cruise line should never allow it to start with. The more chair hogs are allowed to flourish, the more chair hogs there will be. Chair hogs are basically bullies, only they are stealing your lounger instead of your lunch money.

 

We all need to complain about chair hogs on every cruise - or nothing will change.

 

Spot on, they are bullies, and arrogant people with a belief in their own entitlement.