Just off the Dream: Deck Chair HOGS

[lmhall2000]

I agree with you 100%. I read a post from a guy that feels if you leave the chair for a dip you forfeit your chair. He would even take thinks off and put them on the new towel spot. We would go to Flo's and grab something to eat for lunch and it it at our chairs. We try not to abandon the chairs for long periods plus we rotate through our group.

I would never remove someone's belongings, but I think you should not eat and lounge..the lounge chairs are for lounging, not eating a meal..there are other tables for that...my point just goes back to the number of people and the number of chairs...I really would feel guilty lounging more than 30 minutes if all the chairs were taken/full...I could not in good conscience 'keep' a seat while I do Aquaduck, get some food, jump in the pool for a dip...I would even feel guilty having more than one chair for our family of five...we'd keep all our stuff under the chairs...and have someone sitting in it the WHOLE time mainly for safeguarding our bags/shoes etc. So, if two of us wanted to ride the aquaduck, I'd ask one in the pool to come and watch our stuff while we rode..

But then again, I've never had that luxury..anytime my kids were in the pool there were no seats..at all. I'm hoping the Dream has more and this isn't an issue...but I still expect common decency, and if I'm on my walk at 6:30am in the gym and see things 'claiming' seats..I'll be the first to ask a CM to have it enforced...that's just nonsense...but they've probably been pushed to that point because they too got tired of the squatters who think they're entitled to a seat the entire day...not right.

Tara

 

[KevieKev05]

I would never remove someone's belongings, but I think you should not eat and lounge..the lounge chairs are for lounging, not eating a meal..there are other tables for that...

So, if I'm lounging and working on my tan, you're telling me that when I get hungry and want to eat (which will take less than 10 minutes the way I eat), I have to forfeit my chair, move all my belongings to a table, eat for 10 minutes, then try to find another lounge chair to continue my tanning? I understand the issue with people being chair hogs, but I think people have a right to eat at their lounge chair while they're soaking up the sun and they shouldn't have to "leave" just to eat a quick lunch from Flo's, especially if another member of your party brought the food to you and you didn't even leave your chair to get the food...

 

[lmhall2000]

So, if I'm lounging and working on my tan, you're telling me that when I get hungry and want to eat (which will take less than 10 minutes the way I eat), I have to forfeit my chair, move all my belongings to a table, eat for 10 minutes, then try to find another lounge chair to continue my tanning? I understand the issue with people being chair hogs, but I think people have a right to eat at their lounge chair while they're soaking up the sun and they shouldn't have to "leave" just to eat a quick lunch from Flo's, especially if another member of your party brought the food to you and you didn't even leave your chair to get the food...

I think that would be the considerate thing to do, as I said, there were no beach chairs because people did what you described above...then they do it for Aquaduck, then they do it for a quick bathroom run, then they do it for a quick coffee at the Cove, then they do it to jump in the pool and spend a short time (ya meet someone, start chatting, you could be in that pool an hour) so at what point will chair hogs decide they'll release their hold on a chair? I'm more speaking to those that say they have the right to be there all day if they want...it's just not right....

When we were on the Med it was more that large families were 'holding' 5-6 chairs...every 10-15 minutes there might be one body in one of those 5 chairs...because they were off getting food, in the pool, playing ping pong, in the hot tub...so 5 chairs had 4 with no bodies...just not right in my mind.

Tara

 

[KingRichard]

So, if I'm lounging and working on my tan, you're telling me that when I get hungry and want to eat (which will take less than 10 minutes the way I eat), I have to forfeit my chair, move all my belongings to a table, eat for 10 minutes, then try to find another lounge chair to continue my tanning? I understand the issue with people being chair hogs, but I think people have a right to eat at their lounge chair while they're soaking up the sun and they shouldn't have to "leave" just to eat a quick lunch from Flo's, especially if another member of your party brought the food to you and you didn't even leave your chair to get the food...

Can you work on your tan on the upper decks or do you need to be right next to the pool where parents of small children need to be?

 

[jeanico2000]

I think things are being taken to extremes in this discussion. We are not talking about people who leave their chairs to enjoy the pool or go for a ride on the Aquaduck, or who are working on their tans and decide to take a 10 minute break to eat lunch, but rather those who arrive at 7AM, lay out all their stuff on chairs, and then don't return until 10AM or 11AM, then leave again for lunch, etc... It's just a matter of simple courtesy towards your fellow cruisers, and sadly the chair hogs usually have a 'me, myself and I' attitude.

 

[lmhall2000]

I think things are being taken to extremes in this discussion. We are not talking about people who leave their chairs to enjoy the pool or go for a ride on the Aquaduck, or who are working on their tans and decide to take a 10 minute break to eat lunch, but rather those who arrive at 7AM, lay out all their stuff on chairs, and then don't return until 10AM or 11AM, then leave again for lunch, etc... It's just a matter of simple courtesy towards your fellow cruisers, and sadly the chair hogs usually have a 'me, myself and I' attitude.

Bingo

 

[BASTHEFIRST]

I'm afraid I have to whole-heartedly disagree. I grew up near the beach and lifeguarded pools most of my youth, so i've seen every bit of the chair hogging gambit. BUT as unfair as it can be, if someone makes the effort to get up and out before you to claim their spot, they win. While I agree a time limit for "empty" chairs would be a great way to help on the DCL, it's not that there aren't chairs available. It's that there aren't chairs NEXT TO the pool available. That can be frustrating when you're trying to keep your eye on the kids (believe me that's me with my son), but you can leave your stuff on a chair on a deck above overlooking the pool and go down with your kids. The problem is you're looking to not move like everyone else. Would you move all your stuff if you were on the beach to go get something to eat, or swim? No, of course not. So it's unrealistic to expect it around the pool either, frustrating as it can be. Remember, everyone is on vacation, and that entire day around the pool may just be that person saving that chair's idea of the perfect vacation day. There probably are way too many people saving more chairs than they need for way too long without using them, but as others on here have said, they usually get noticed by a guest or staff. If I want to ride the Aquaduck or play in the pool with my son, I expect my stuff to be on my chair when I come back, or trust me we'd have a REAL problem, and i'm as easy going as it gets. Unfortunately, you can't teach common decency, so in the mean time we can only give the truly selfish a gentle nudge and hope for the best. But if you're on-board when I am and are that upset, my son and I would gladly give up our chair for you. After all, it's a vacation and all about the smiles!

 

[Billinaz]

I would never remove someone's belongings, but I think you should not eat and lounge..the lounge chairs are for lounging, not eating a meal..there are other tables for that...my point just goes back to the number of people and the number of chairs...I really would feel guilty lounging more than 30 minutes if all the chairs were taken/full...I could not in good conscience 'keep' a seat while I do Aquaduck, get some food, jump in the pool for a dip...I would even feel guilty having more than one chair for our family of five...we'd keep all our stuff under the chairs...and have someone sitting in it the WHOLE time mainly for safeguarding our bags/shoes etc. So, if two of us wanted to ride the aquaduck, I'd ask one in the pool to come and watch our stuff while we rode..

Tara

I not only would remove items from the chairs, I do it. Ive watched people come up on deck and put shoes, bags, etc on the entire front row of chairs. After they left I piled them all up on the towel bin.

The person happened to come back a couple hours later, to find all their stuff still on the towel bin and several families getting use of the chairs that the stuff was previousy on.

I have no tolerance for this selfish and pigheaded attitude. If you are grabbing a bite from the cafe, or jumping in the pool for a few, Im good with it.

If you are going to be a selfish jerk, dont expect your stuff, or whatever you happen to put on the chairs, to be there when and if you finally get there.

 

[Billinaz]

Thats why they even print no reserving sun loungers right on them!

 

[KingRichard]

Thats why they even print no reserving sun loungers right on them!

That's for the other people isn't it?

 

[FJS961]

I not only would remove items from the chairs, I do it. Ive watched people come up on deck and put shoes, bags, etc on the entire front row of chairs. After they left I piled them all up on the towel bin.

The person happened to come back a couple hours later, to find all their stuff still on the towel bin and several families getting use of the chairs that the stuff was previousy on.

I have no tolerance for this selfish and pigheaded attitude. If you are grabbing a bite from the cafe, or jumping in the pool for a few, Im good with it.

If you are going to be a selfish jerk, dont expect your stuff, or whatever you happen to put on the chairs, to be there when and if you finally get there.

DAD?!?

 

[disgrits]

It seems to me that this could be easily fixed with a time limit rule--not for folks who are occupying the seats, but for those empty "reserved" seats. I like the idea of the lost and found after 60 minutes.

The lockers they have installed at the "Vibe" teen deck would probably have been a great idea at the family swim area as well.

 

[jessicaerv]

I not only would remove items from the chairs, I do it. Ive watched people come up on deck and put shoes, bags, etc on the entire front row of chairs. After they left I piled them all up on the towel bin.

The person happened to come back a couple hours later, to find all their stuff still on the towel bin and several families getting use of the chairs that the stuff was previousy on.

I have no tolerance for this selfish and pigheaded attitude. If you are grabbing a bite from the cafe, or jumping in the pool for a few, Im good with it.

If you are going to be a selfish jerk, dont expect your stuff, or whatever you happen to put on the chairs, to be there when and if you finally get there.

Wow. How did you know they weren't just going for a quick bite at the cafe, which you indicate is alright by your standards? You just somehow KNEW they were going to be gone for hours? For me, this is the heighth of presumption/assumption. UNLESS you misspoke and you waited for quite a long period of time BEFORE you moved their belongings?

I feel very lucky that I have not been inconvenienced by chair hogs YET. However, now that I will be cruising with my toddler I may notice this issue and become frustrated as you all are.

 

[Karen Mouse]

Wow! - so some of you would happily remove my belongings if I quickly nipped to use the bathroom??!!! - are you that desperate for a chair!

Last cruise my belongings were removed from a pool chair - I was gone for less than 5 minutes ... and the "kind considerate person" who removed them simply dumped them on the floor in a huge puddle. Everything in my bag was soaked and several things ruined and my coverup was dripping wet, so I had to go back to my room in just my swimsuit. Its a good job my camera wasnt in that bag or my 3 weeks of holiday pics would have been lost forever along worth a $500 camera!

THINK before you dump other peoples stuff.

Common sense and decency tells you to wait for at least 15 minutes, and IF you do move stuff then put the belongings somewhere sensible and easily visible so the poor people dont think they've been stolen.

I totally agree that a row of empty chairs with nothing but one item means people are "saving" them, but if you can see its genuinely being used then HANDS OFF!

 

[jeanico2000]

Wow! - so some of you would happily remove my belongings if I quickly nipped to use the bathroom??!!! - are you that desperate for a chair!

Nobody said that in this thread. Going to the bathroom does not a chair hog make. The poster was talking about people who place things on the chairs, and then leave for two or three hours to do something else. What happened to you was awful and uncalled for.

Again, with a bit of control by a deck patrol (like on RCCL's Oasis) to enforce the rules, this wouldn't even be an issue.

 

[Billinaz]

Wow. How did you know they weren't just going for a quick bite at the cafe, which you indicate is alright by your standards? You just somehow KNEW they were going to be gone for hours? For me, this is the heighth of presumption/assumption. UNLESS you misspoke and you waited for quite a long period of time BEFORE you moved their belongings?

I feel very lucky that I have not been inconvenienced by chair hogs YET. However, now that I will be cruising with my toddler I may notice this issue and become frustrated as you all are.

Let me add a couple of facts.

It was about 6AM and I was trying to get some photos with nobody else on deck ( and none were).

It was also really cool. I had to go back and put on jeans because the shorts I was wearing really didnt cut it.

The person came up and dropped one shoe on this lounger, another shoe on a different one, etc.

Then she went to the elevator and was gone.

When I was done with the photos I wanted, about 40 minutes had gone by and only 1 or 2 people briefly came up on deck (it was kindof windy and really cold).

I saw her later when I was done with breakfast finally coming to the pool and I saw her scan the area and finally see her stuff on the towel bin. Obviously it was her first attempt at looking for her stuff or she would have known where it was.

Ive been on 8 cruises so far, and seen these people many times. One time I had some kids RUN past us on our way down the aisle in the WD theater and sit about 10 seats apart in in the front row (where we were walking to after waiting 45 minutes at the door with our entire party of 5) then start saying these seats were saved.

We sat right where we were going to anyway, and 20 minutes later 2 more of their family appeared and whined because the seat were 'saved' for them and we sat there anyway.

If you want those seats, wait in line and have your entire party with you.

 

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We have never had issues with deck chairs on the Wonder and Magic (we are happy with any chair and don't care if its in the front row). However, the chair hog issue is a bigger issue with the hammocks on Castaway Cay. It never ceases to amaze me how many get unused with items on them. I almost wish Disney would have a sign-up for them or enforce some sort of time limit when they are not being used.

One other pet issue which we have experienced twice is when the pirate party is moved indoors. It amazes me how many adults push their way to the front at the expense of the children trying to get a better view. When we see this rude behavior, we use it as a teaching opportunity for our children. We don't allow it to ruin our fun.

 

[AKMOUSE]

This is not a problem on just DCL. We recently returned from Hawaii and the same thing happened at that resort. Chairs with towels piled on them, which meant to me that they were taken. We would spend hours at the pool and never see one person come over to the chairs. We would be forced to pile our items on the ground and run like crazy to snatch up a chair that looked like it was free. It amazes me how rude people are.
We did witness one family arrive and it was very clear that they had reserved their chairs as all of them were dressed.

On our DCL cruise we would walk around searching for a chair and their was always a CM monitoring and clearing chairs. They would even offer and say that the person must have left. I don't know how a rule can be enforced. It is common courtesy to vacate if you are not going to be there.

Or - if you are reading this board and you think reserving chairs for the entire day to use at your leisure, it is not cool.

 

[gerryspeirs]

Am I crazy? This drives me crazy, as do people who enter a place to eat and someone gets a table and just sits there with no food while another person waits in line. IMO if you haven't paid for your stuff then get your a$$ of the chair...

I think I am crazy,

 

[cmwade77]

If you actually read that book in your state room about the cruise, it clearly states that you are not allowed to save chairs and if a CM sees unattended items that they will be removed and taken to lost and found. So the rule is in place, now they just need to stick to enforcing it.