stevendom57 Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 In an effort to thwart chair hogs has anyone considered a "parking meter" type contraption on deck chairs? It would be simple, scan your cruise card and get 60 minutes of time on the clock. Put your books and towels on the chair if you wish. When the timer goes off a crew member can remove the items and free up the chair. If you are legitimately in the pool area, go top off the timer and get another 60 minutes. Baked Alaska, Ship, KristiZ and 3 others 4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 I like the ingenuity but do you have any idea how much that would cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevendom57 Posted April 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 9 minutes ago, twangster said: I like the ingenuity but do you have any idea how much that would cost? Quite a bit. You could cut back on the cost by doing it only for the desirable chairs around the pools and the half-shell type cabana type chairs. All of the chairs on the upper decks looking out over the water could be the regular "unmetered" type. There are always plenty of those available. Baked Alaska and PPPJJ-GCVAB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevendom57 Posted April 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 You could even get fancy and allow someone to reserve the chair automatically when the first person's time runs out. Using the onboard app the chair could text you and tell you that your chair is available. Hmm, does anyone have a phone number for the patent office? Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 Or simply enforce the rules. Cheaper. coneyraven, stevendom57, sammy79 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 6 minutes ago, stevendom57 said: You could even get fancy and allow someone to reserve the chair automatically when the first person's time runs out. Using the onboard app the chair could text you and tell you that your chair is available. Hmm, does anyone have a phone number for the patent office? New revenue stream. $5 per hour per chair. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevendom57 Posted April 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 10 minutes ago, twangster said: $5 per hour per chair. I would pay $5 per hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 9 minutes ago, stevendom57 said: I would pay $5 per hour That's what I am afraid of. Too many people would. 12thman, Tanner and teddy 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshgates Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 NCL has the Vibe area on some ships, it's a couple hundred a week but they only sell as many passes as there are chairs in it and usually sells out insanely quick. I'll admittedly get the to port early in hopes of snagging a pass. Love/hate relationship with it, but I was a little surprised Royal didn't have something similar when I first tried them. HBCcruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 Swipe your Seapass card on the chair. First hour is free. After that you start getting charged. Baked Alaska, PPPJJ-GCVAB and DDaley 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPS Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 1 hour ago, stevendom57 said: It would be simple, scan your cruise card and get 60 minutes of time on the clock. Put your books and towels on the chair if you wish. When the timer goes off a crew member can remove the items and free up the chair. I would prefer a catapult system attached to the chairs. "Five-minute Warning" at 55 minutes, If you and your belongings aren't removed or renewed at the 60 minute mark, you/your belongings get launched! Scoular, rjac, RCVoyager and 8 others 2 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 32 minutes ago, SPS said: I would prefer a catapult system attached to the chairs. "Five-minute Warning" at 55 minutes, If you and your belongings aren't removed or renewed at the 60 minute mark, you/your belongings get launched! No trash in the sea... Eaglelover, mom2mybugs, Ian T and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floski Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 THESE CHAIRS ARE FAULTY!! PPPJJ-GCVAB, Sharla and twangster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmar02 Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 12 minutes ago, twangster said: No trash in the sea... Maybe take more of a sinister Bond villain approach where the chair opens up and the items are dropped directly into an incinerator. PPPJJ-GCVAB and twangster 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrznTxn Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 The latest in chair hog prevention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 1 hour ago, SPS said: I would prefer a catapult system attached to the chairs. "Five-minute Warning" at 55 minutes, If you and your belongings aren't removed or renewed at the 60 minute mark, you/your belongings get launched! I was just about to say ... ejection seat version would be popular. stevendom57 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 I just had a vision of someone hacking into the system and randomly ejecting people from their loungers. "There's the guy who cut in line at the WJ last night... gaboing" JimnKathy, LovetoCruise87, whitsmom and 5 others 2 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted April 27, 2021 Report Share Posted April 27, 2021 6 hours ago, twangster said: Or simply enforce the rules. Cheaper. Without the meters, there would be no tangible and quantifiable proof of chair hogging. Another idea would be color coded tags that indicate hours. For example, a blue tag means you occupied the chair at 10AM. By 12 noon, crew can approach you to ask you to give up the chair for others. That’s a 1-2 hour period of time you’ve occupied the chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownHolly Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I've been kind of awful in the past when I have seen the same stuff sitting unmoved on a chair for over an hour... I'll set the stuff on the ground where the chair is, and drag the chair off to another area/spot. I fry up like a lobster easily, so just need shade. Not particular about where that is either, so... I've never been around later to witness fallout from this strategy. HeWhoWaits, Baked Alaska and PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 10 hours ago, HtownHolly said: I've been kind of awful in the past when I have seen the same stuff sitting unmoved on a chair for over an hour... I'll set the stuff on the ground where the chair is, and drag the chair off to another area/spot. I fry up like a lobster easily, so just need shade. Not particular about where that is either, so... I've never been around later to witness fallout from this strategy. My preferred approach is to take the pool towel from verifiably unused chairs and return them to the towel station. Scan the towel in on my SeaPass, too - just to be safe if someone in my stateroom forgets to scan one in during the cruise. PPPJJ-GCVAB, Shari3 and Baked Alaska 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 12 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said: My preferred approach is to take the pool towel from verifiably unused chairs and return them to the towel station. Scan the towel in on my SeaPass, too - just to be safe if someone in my stateroom forgets to scan one in during the cruise. Or ask for an exchange then keep the clean towel in your cabin until you need it so you never have to scan your seapass card to get one. cruisellama, jticarruthers, PPPJJ-GCVAB and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 10 minutes ago, twangster said: Or ask for an exchange then keep the clean towel in your cabin until you need it so you never have to scan your seapass card to get one. Another good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownHolly Posted April 29, 2021 Report Share Posted April 29, 2021 13 hours ago, twangster said: Or ask for an exchange then keep the clean towel in your cabin until you need it so you never have to scan your seapass card to get one. Y'all are both my kind of people. cruisellama and twangster 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWong Posted April 30, 2021 Report Share Posted April 30, 2021 On 4/27/2021 at 11:58 AM, twangster said: New revenue stream. $5 per hour per chair. Thanks. I can already hear folks on the DIS boards complain about more nickel and diming... cruisellama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted May 2, 2021 Report Share Posted May 2, 2021 We don't do the pool thing so this thread is hilarious to us!! People really hog the chairs closet to the pool? You really have to scan your seapass card to get a towel? What if someone takes your towel by mistake or on purpose? You have to pay for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 2, 2021 Report Share Posted May 2, 2021 12 minutes ago, 12thman said: What if someone takes your towel by mistake or on purpose? You have to pay for it? Yes. $25 for a used towel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted May 2, 2021 Report Share Posted May 2, 2021 I think it would be more financially sound, although not cruiser friendly, to have members of the shows used as deck chair ninjas instead of using "deck chair meters". Think about it. They could work their daily exercise routine into deck chair ninja sessions, VERY effective reduce the number of deck chair violators and word would get around the fleet that you better not be a deck chair hog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisellama Posted May 2, 2021 Report Share Posted May 2, 2021 On 4/27/2021 at 10:47 AM, stevendom57 said: In an effort to thwart chair hogs has anyone considered a "parking meter" type contraption on deck chairs? It would be simple, scan your cruise card and get 60 minutes of time on the clock. Put your books and towels on the chair if you wish. When the timer goes off a crew member can remove the items and free up the chair. If you are legitimately in the pool area, go top off the timer and get another 60 minutes. Add an air horn, or flashing red light, maybe even a small electric shock? Chair hogs need to be embarrassed. Next time they ask for a pool towel, they would be given one with a porky image. stevendom57 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted May 2, 2021 Report Share Posted May 2, 2021 39 minutes ago, twangster said: Yes. $25 for a used towel. That's crazy!! People are that lazy they can't bring the towels back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 There is a cheaper option than installing meters: Each chair will have a barcode , people will be able to scan it using the application which will start a virtual timer. To reset the timer you scan it again or just seat in the chairs . The crew can scan the barcode to check if it is reserve or not and will be able to remove things from the chair incase time is over . That way when things are removed the crew will also know to whom the belong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 An even cheaper option is a small laminated paper that reads "Please bring this to the towel station as soon as you return". Crew places them on any lounger that appears to be hogged. To secure in the wind they weave them through the webbing or place it under a foot. On their next scheduled pass if they see any card they previously placed still there they collect those belongings and free up the lounger. Basically like a parking meter maid that chalks the tires on a car then comes back around 30 minutes later. If the tire is marked on their next pass by they have found a violator. No app development involved, no reliance on a server, no waterproof or ruggedized handheld devices required, no cost to code a chair or re-code as chairs wear out and are replaced. Keep it Simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 13 hours ago, 12thman said: That's crazy!! People are that lazy they can't bring the towels back? The $25 pool towel fee is easily gotten out of, and I really don't think "towel theft" is common at all. If someone really took your towel, I am confident you could tell towel person someone took it and they would give you a new one without any questions. The fee is really there to prevent people from taking towels on shore excursions and not bringing them back onboard. Evidently, that was an issue a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho and Barb Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 On 4/27/2021 at 7:08 PM, HtownHolly said: I've been kind of awful in the past when I have seen the same stuff sitting unmoved on a chair for over an hour... I'll set the stuff on the ground where the chair is, and drag the chair off to another area/spot. I fry up like a lobster easily, so just need shade. Not particular about where that is either, so... I've never been around later to witness fallout from this strategy. I love to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee on the pool deck on sea days. I once watched a lady place twenty towels out on twenty prime pool location chairs and leave...I believe she helped herself to the towels at the towel station as they we still neatly flooded. Somehow the towels got removed by someone getting more coffee. The lady and her TWO friends returned just after 11 am. They made three laps around the area looking confused as to where her towels were...She couldn't figure out why people were sitting in her chairs. Sure wished I world of brought the GoPro with me that morning. HeWhoWaits, twangster, JLMoran and 3 others 2 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 50 minutes ago, Psycho and Barb said: I love to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee on the pool deck on sea days. I once watched a lady place twenty towels out on twenty prime pool location chairs and leave...I believe she helped herself to the towels at the towel station as they we still neatly flooded. Somehow the towels got removed by someone getting more coffee. The lady and her TWO friends returned just after 11 am. They made three laps around the area looking confused as to where her towels were...She couldn't figure out why people were sitting in her chairs. Sure wished I world of brought the GoPro with me that morning. Celebrity doesn't swipe cards for pool towels and they place folded towels on loungers as a courtesy. Basically a folded towel on a lounger means "available". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 It's a sad statement on people, common courtesy and todays society in general that any of these ideas even need to be considered. stevendom57 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted May 3, 2021 Report Share Posted May 3, 2021 I believe I've mentioned this story before... I did the PADI certification on Adventure in Jan 2020. The classes are in the pool on sea days. We would get there at 6 am and finish up right around the time the pools open to everyone. We would put our belongings on chairs right near the pool during the classes. One of the mornings I went to retrieve my stuff when we were finished. Someone was near the chair and had tossed a towel on it while they were waiting for the area to officially open. They got mad at me for "stealing" their chair....I was simply picking up my bag. JLMoran 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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