Wish Royal would adopt something like Carnival's new chair hog policy

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Anyone who says they've never seen a chair hog problem hasn't traveled very much.

 

 

There were absolutely no chair hogs on our last cruise.  Of course it was in the North Atlantic with highs barely into the 60's...🤣

[DirtyDawg]

4 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

There were absolutely no chair hogs on our last cruise.  Of course it was in the North Atlantic with highs barely into the 60's...🤣

Your post gave me a great idea of whet to pack for our next Royal Caribbean hot weather cruise to ward off the chair hogs.

Portable snow making machine!

We will have our choice of any lounge chairs on the pool deck! 😁

 

[HappyTexan44]

Noob here, Future Royal Cruise booked.   This may be a stupid question.  

Given that:

1. You are charged $25 for not returning you towel.
2. People reserve chairs using towels.  

 

Aren't chair hogs basically leaving $25 on the chair?    What keeps someone from just grabbing a random towel from a chair hog and returning it instead of the towel that blew away while they were at port?   

 

[time4u2go]

10 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

Noob here, Future Royal Cruise booked.   This may be a stupid question.  

Given that:

1. You are charged $25 for not returning you towel.
2. People reserve chairs using towels.  

 

Aren't chair hogs basically leaving $25 on the chair?    What keeps someone from just grabbing a random towel from a chair hog and returning it instead of the towel that blew away while they were at port?   

 

On another thread I suggested that people should get some amount of OBC for EVERY towel they turn in, even behind the number that they checked out.

[DirtyDawg]

37 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

On another thread I suggested that people should get some amount of OBC for EVERY towel they turn in, even behind the number that they checked out.

That might cure the chair hog problems on Royal but might create a new problem. Roving bands of teenagers stealing towels to turn in for OBC. If they did this on Holland America it would be roving bands of octogenarians. 😁

[Ret MP]

3 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 it would be roving bands of octogenarians. 😁

Hey hey hey, I resemble that remark!

[Ret MP]

Let's face it, If the cruise lines don't take the issue seriously, the only answer is "Pier Pressure".  And with the attitudes of many these days, Pier Pressure would probably do nothing but create victims of this that or the other thing.  

[danoconnl]

Last cruise on odyssey got a chair right by the pool because an attendant had just removed towels.  Guy cam by about an hour later, looked perturbed but nicely asked where his stuff might be.  We told him probably at the towel desk.  After that didnt' see attendants moving stuf, but we moved to the upper level because the music was so loud.

 

Dan

[CanHardlyWait4NextYear]

12 hours ago, Tagsalong said:

On Mariner now, going to Bermuda, and yellow post-it notes with times on every unoccupied chair and day-bed in Solarium.

Oh, please take a photo.

[VegasVic14]

On 10/17/2022 at 3:18 PM, cynt said:

 

NO! I do not want to check out or reserve ANYTHING ELSE on a cruise! Let the chair hogs have their chairs by the pool. I don't want them anyway. I'm perfectly fine lounging in a chair with shade. We reserve enough things on Royal ships. HARD NO to reserving lounge chairs. 

There's nothing special about being adjacent to the pool. There are hundreds of loungers (sun & shade) with better views than seeing fat guys in speedos trying to impress women.

[rudeney]

7 minutes ago, VegasVic14 said:

There's nothing special about being adjacent to the pool. There are hundreds of loungers (sun & shade) with better views than seeing fat guys in speedos trying to impress women.

 

Really I'm only trying to impress my wife!  

[bucfan2]

Carnival’s chair policy may be worth admiring, but wouldn’t go much beyond that. Experts are putting their odds of filing for bankruptcy around 51-53%….careful what we wish for I guess.

 

https://www.macroaxis.com/invest/ratio/CCL/Probability-Of-Bankruptcy

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

On another thread I suggested that people should get some amount of OBC for EVERY towel they turn in, even behind the number that they checked out.

 

So on that North Atlantic cruise where there were only four or five of us crazy people in the pools, the towel guys weren't getting much business.   Once when I walked up and presented my silver SeaPass, the guy just handed me towels and said no need to scan cards for suite guests.  When I went to return them, another guy tried to scan my card to "check in" the towels and I told him no need, but he insisted.  Of course it wouldn't work, but he kept trying.  Another day, I guess it was too cold for the towel guy, so I just grabbed a couple, and again, upon returning, he insisted on trying to scan my card which didn't work.  Apparently, you can't check-in more towels than you've checked-out.  Dang! 

[PolicromaSol]

On 10/17/2022 at 11:21 AM, smokeybandit said:

It'd be a bear of a process, but it'd be nice if they had a chair reservation process. Free for an hour, then a charge if you want it more than an hour at a time.

Don't give them any ideas....

[Junkhouse]

Who needs a chair hog patrol when there are passengers who take it on themselves. It started raining so we picked up our towels and left our clips on the chairs. We came back 20 minutes later and our clips were off the chairs and near the pool. The unapologetic chair cop said she did it to get 4  chairs together including one member who had cancer.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Junkhouse

[AtSeaAlways]

This issue needs a technology solution.  They make a washable soft RFID tag designed for hospital laundry- you can wash it 200 times.  I am pretty sure I saw three blue towels Monday appear on prime poolside loungers at 0800 and were still there at 1600.  RFID tracks location and ownership.  If you put out towels early and go on a shore excursion, busted.  If you have a tag yourself and leave the pool area for four hours - the same.  If anyone has guilt helpfully returning towels - the owner will get a bill credit.  If staff has a phone reader- they can see if you are at the pool bar and can leave the towel in place.  Shore excursion staff could collect ship towels left at area beaches this way also. 

[ReneeFLL]

On 10/17/2022 at 4:54 PM, dada2199cc said:

...Wasting 15 minutes even once costs me more than $20.

While on vacation? 🙄🤣🙄🤣

[sgmn]

On 10/17/2022 at 11:50 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

Yes, but the staff fears complaints -- fair or unfair -- and with good reason.  

 

Then RC is at fault for not supporting their staff properly with senior staff/officers.

 

Nobody should have to fear doing their job correctly.   Says a lot about some of the passengers too

[DirtyDawg]

35 minutes ago, dada2199cc said:

 

For sure.  I value my time more than money, but dollars is a good method to see if something is worth my time.

 

$20/15 minutes is probably the value of MOST people who cruise -- they just never considered it.

 

There is zero chance of me doing something that wastes 15 minutes of my life if I can get that time back for a $20.

ONLY $20 bucks for 15 minutes of your time??? Man, you are WAY underestimating your worth. To waist 15 minutes of my time it would cost at least $100 bucks.

 

And not one of these Bobby Borden's.

 

One of these Benji's!!

 

😁

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, sgmn said:

Then RC is at fault for not supporting their staff properly with senior staff/officers.

 

Nobody should have to fear doing their job correctly.   Says a lot about some of the passengers too

Agree, but that's the crew's reality.  

Edited October 19, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[996turbos]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Agree, but that's the crew's reality.  

Sadly you're correct. Off HOS last Sunday. Two women were tearing into a ships officer about someone "touching the stuff on their chairs". They, of coarse, swear they went to lunch and were gone for less then 20 minutes. He listened carefully, took down their room number in his pad, and apologized for the issue. Ship staff are in a bad spot. Kick out the "squatters" and now you have 4 unhappy guests. Do nothing more then apologize and you only have two unhappy guests. I spoke to him briefly after they left and mentioned what a tough spot chair hogs put them in. He just laughed and nodded. 

[AtSeaAlways]

16 hours ago, time4u2go said:

On another thread I suggested that people should get some amount of OBC for EVERY towel they turn in, even behind the number that they checked out.

I used to game a system like this on yacht charters. You got one bath towel per berth.  The office would trade dirty for clean.  I would go in the marina shower on turnaround day and gather for trade abandoned used towels and we could leave on our trip with a few extra clean ones.    

 

Having guests do this vs crew could cut down on bad survey scores- such a nightmare.  

[taraleigh05]

When I was on Anthem in March there were attendants removing items from chairs. It was so nice for us actually wanting to sit at the pool. The only issue I had was a woman screaming at me about how I was in her chair, but I told her when I got there, there was nothing there, and the nice couple next to me told her that the staff had removed her items hours ago. 

[Donsyb]

On 10/17/2022 at 6:21 PM, smokeybandit said:

It'd be a bear of a process, but it'd be nice if they had a chair reservation process. Free for an hour, then a charge if you want it more than an hour at a time.

Oh great, even more nickel and dining! Don’t give RC ideas 😂

[HappyTexan44]

20 hours ago, AtSeaAlways said:

I used to game a system like this on yacht charters. You got one bath towel per berth.  The office would trade dirty for clean.  I would go in the marina shower on turnaround day and gather for trade abandoned used towels and we could leave on our trip with a few extra clean ones.    

 

Having guests do this vs crew could cut down on bad survey scores- such a nightmare.  

 

Isn't this stealing?   That one handed out to each person, didn't they expect that back at the end of the trip?    Maybe I'm not understanding 'turnaround day' and you didn't take towels home with you.