Carnival taking action re chair hogs

[Mike.s]

Not before time, hope it's successful and if it is Royal adopt this approach

“Team members monitor sun lounge usage and if they observe a seat that contains a towel or personal belongings but appears to be unoccupied, a notification is placed on the chair indicating the current time.”

The notification is usually a piece of tape of a small sticker which is used as a visual sign that the guest is absent.

The policy ends: “If the chair remains unoccupied for 40 minutes, the contents are removed and held for the guest’s safekeeping.”

Guests’ belongings will be removed from the lounger after 40 minutes have passed if the passenger doesn’t return.

https://www.express.co.uk/travel/cruise/1682376/carnival-cruise-chair-hogs-holiday-nightmare

 

[Poolside]

Royal has done this in the past for lounge chairs in the Solarium.

[tjcruisers]

I like it and I hope Royal follows suit. I usually hit the jogging track at around 6am and would see a large number of people go, place a book or something on a chair then leave. I've had some fun with it and at times have moved the belongings slightly on the chair, something obvious to me that I can tell the items hasn't been moved when I come back later (i.e. the top right corner of it touching the rail of the chair at a 45 degree angle). Some people don't come back to well after lunch

[Psycho and Barb]

We have seen Royal do this in the past on a few ships.  The problem we saw was how bad the Royal staff were treated and how some cruiser claimed they only went the restroom even though we had not seen anyone in those chairs at all.   We saw one very intoxicated individual become very hostile to the staff member...So hostile, we contacted security.  Everyone knows it needs to be done but Royal needs to back their staff or better yet, have security do the tagging and removal so they could use their bodycams to record any negative reactions. 

[SPS]

I hear they've got just the right guy for the job.

[tonyfsu21]

There’s chair hogs and then there’s Freedom 3 or 4 night out of Miami chair hogs. I have seriously never witnessed more hog sightings at 06:00 on any other voyage we have been on. Keep in mind we are D+ and sail the Freedom weekend voyages quite a bit. I would say 60-70% of the chairs and 100% of the prime locations had either a book or a towel on them and it was still dark out. This happened every single morning and I witnessed it while taking my AM walk. 

[Psycho and Barb]

54 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

There’s chair hogs and then there’s Freedom 3 or 4 night out of Miami chair hogs. I have seriously never witnessed more hog sightings at 06:00 on any other voyage we have been on. Keep in mind we are D+ and sail the Freedom weekend voyages quite a bit. I would say 60-70% of the chairs and 100% of the prime locations had either a book or a towel on them and it was still dark out. This happened every single morning and I witnessed it while taking my AM walk. 

Want to have some fun?  Grab some of them towels and books and drop them at the towel station.  Grab a cup of coffee and grab you a seat…It might take a few hours for the show to start

[Reigert2008]

I guess we’ve been lucky. Anytime we’ve wanted a chair, we’ve never had issues finding one that was acceptable.

[Matt]

13 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

There’s chair hogs and then there’s Freedom 3 or 4 night out of Miami chair hogs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjtv172r25U/

[Kathleen]

 A hotel I stayed at recently did something very similar. They walked around and placed a laminated paper size notice clipped to the top of the lounger with the time. Then they went back and grabbed all the ones still remaining on the chairs when the time expired. At this hotel though, you were not responsible for your towels, monetary wise like you are on the ship, but it was a great solution. They could use the notices over and over since they were laminated and they could just erase the time for the next time they used them.

[jeffporfirio]

Is this a a US sailings thing?

We've cruised mostly out of European ports with DCL, and never seen anything of the sort (maybe a few chairs, but not the whole lot).

We're doing our first RCCL out of Rome next summer, hoping it's either a US thing, or there is some enforcement by then. 

[billnye97]

20 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

There’s chair hogs and then there’s Freedom 3 or 4 night out of Miami chair hogs. I have seriously never witnessed more hog sightings at 06:00 on any other voyage we have been on. Keep in mind we are D+ and sail the Freedom weekend voyages quite a bit. I would say 60-70% of the chairs and 100% of the prime locations had either a book or a towel on them and it was still dark out. This happened every single morning and I witnessed it while taking my AM walk. 

Oh no, we are going to be on Freedom this December. We did rent a cabana on the one sea day cause we figured it would be crazy for chairs but I really hate that mentality people have. 

[loki007]

On 10/18/2022 at 6:26 AM, Poolside said:

Royal has done this in the past for lounge chairs in the Solarium.

i was on Mariner in July and they were doing this in the Solarium until 10am. So basically people would sleep on the chairs from 630am until 10 then left for hours 

[Va4fam]

3 hours ago, jeffporfirio said:

Is this a a US sailings thing?

We've cruised mostly out of European ports with DCL, and never seen anything of the sort (maybe a few chairs, but the the whole lot).

We're doing our first RCCL out of Rome next summer, hoping it's either a US thing, or there is some enforcement by then. 

Not sure.  We sailed Brilliance out of Ravenna this summer and the chair hogs were out every day.  Most of the passengers were from Europe.   Even though it didn't seem like the ship was full, every chair on the pool decks and solarium were occupied by blue towels all day.  We ended up finding chairs on the bow below the gym. 

[PG Cruiser]

I've suggested long ago that they should have some sort of parking meter type timers for the chairs.  

 

[asquared17]

i'm not opposed to this in theory but i am curious about how it will be received/enforced.

since we are usually sailing as a pair, we usually split for breakfast/lunch for these reasons (not wanting to lose our spot) and we also don't like to leave our personal belongings behind. once you leave the towels behind, there's the rule-follower in me that worries about what would happen if i didn't bring my towels back/or someone swept them away because they wanted my spot

[Atlantix2000]

18 hours ago, asquared17 said:

i'm not opposed to this in theory but i am curious about how it will be received/enforced.

since we are usually sailing as a pair, we usually split for breakfast/lunch for these reasons (not wanting to lose our spot) and we also don't like to leave our personal belongings behind. once you leave the towels behind, there's the rule-follower in me that worries about what would happen if i didn't bring my towels back/or someone swept them away because they wanted my spot

There's a big difference between leaving your towel/stuff on a chair while you go to lunch and leaving it there at 8AM because you plan to swim at 3PM.  I'm not going to grab a newly vacated spot but if I know that towel hasn't moved in hours, I see no problem with taking that lounger.  I do wonder if chair hogs just grab any available towel when they come back so they don't get charged for them.

[asquared17]

3 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

  I do wonder if chair hogs just grab any available towel when they come back so they don't get charged for them.

wow and we've just unlocked a new fear!

[TXcruzer]

The title of yjo post needs updated "Carnival posts policy" ; I doubt there will be any action taken

[CharmMicah68]

We resigned from the fight...

It was simply too frustrating on ships to even waste the time trying.  We have places in the "wings" that you can still hear the music, maybe a little farther from the bar, and climb a set of stairs.  You are not bumping elbows with everyone, have more time as you walk to see the pool you tried secure a chair by has an shocking unfavorable body to water ratio, people are swamred everywhere, and empty drink glasses look like the aftermath of a college rager.

I    do feel for the people that are SOOOO driven to save a chair, as if it will singularily define the joy or experience of the cruise hinges on it.  It is sadly humourous.

Curious if Icon larger larger/more pools will change this dynamic.....or make it worse.

[Audrey V.]

They have all things electronic.  It seems like a no brainer that the ships could give each person a tag to put on individual towels when they are checked out, so that if someone moves or takes the towel, the credit is properly attributed to the person checking it out. If someone truly steals a used towel, you are on the hook. But if staff is moving it from a chair hog, they won't be charged (punished for being a hog is okay). 

[Xaa]

20 hours ago, Audrey V. said:

They have all things electronic.  It seems like a no brainer that the ships could give each person a tag to put on individual towels when they are checked out, so that if someone moves or takes the towel, the credit is properly attributed to the person checking it out. If someone truly steals a used towel, you are on the hook. But if staff is moving it from a chair hog, they won't be charged (punished for being a hog is okay). 

I think if you check out a towel you better keep track of it.  Leaving it on the lido deck unattended while you go back to sleep is not a level of care conducive to keeping something of value.  I'll have no sympathy for chair hogs leaving their items and then having a difficult time getting their towel deposit back.

I don't think the towel is a place for electronics.  It's the chair.  Scan your seapass every 30 minutes or the yellow light goes on.  15 minutes later it turns to red and guests can ask an attendant to remove the items and open the seats.  No seapass card can have more than 2 chairs scanned at any one time.  Scanning a third, releases the first.

[Rackham]

On 10/22/2022 at 7:55 AM, CharmMicah68 said:

We resigned from the fight...

It was simply too frustrating on ships to even waste the time trying.  We have places in the "wings" that you can still hear the music, maybe a little farther from the bar, and climb a set of stairs.  You are not bumping elbows with everyone, have more time as you walk to see the pool you tried secure a chair by has an shocking unfavorable body to water ratio, people are swamred everywhere, and empty drink glasses look like the aftermath of a college rager.

I    do feel for the people that are SOOOO driven to save a chair, as if it will singularily define the joy or experience of the cruise hinges on it.  It is sadly humourous.

Curious if Icon larger larger/more pools will change this dynamic.....or make it worse.

I'm anticipating the split kids/regular pool design to make it worse. Many years ago, guests at Walt Disney World could make an unlimited number of dining reservations when their reservation window opened and could cancel them at any point in time without penalty.  It became popular to book multiple reservations for any particular meal so parties always had at least one reservation at whichever park they decided to visit that day. Disney policies and procedures have since changed to make it harder, and more expensive (cancelation fees if canceled so many hours before and no show fees) to pull that trick now. How this applies to the split pool design on Icon is I'm expecting people to claim enough chairs for their party in multiple locations aboard. So maybe they'll stake out a section in Surfside and another set in Chill Island just in case they decide to spend time at one or the other when before they'd sprawl out nearby a main pool and be satisfied.  

[asquared17]

we typically tend to go on the sundeck above the pool since we find the pooldeck to be very crowded, as others have said. for the first few days, we are usually not swarmed by people although that changes near the end of the cruise -- and suddenly it seems that everyone wants to be in the same spot as us #trendsetters hahahaha just kidding

...although the way the deck chair dynamics shift throughout the cruise is kind of fascinating to watch as it unfolds.

[Psycho and Barb]

9 hours ago, Xaa said:

I'll have no sympathy for chair hogs leaving their items and then having a difficult time getting their towel deposit 

All they have to do is grab a replacement towel from the towel station early in the morning when nobody is around…The towels are out and ready but nobody around to hand them out.   We have seen chair hogs stop and grab a handful and use them to mark out their chairs.

[Adriana]

@Psycho and Barb, they need an emoji with like fire coming out of its head!! Chair hogs, ugh!! I really can’t stand that entitlement!

[Psycho and Barb]

25 minutes ago, Adriana said:

@Psycho and Barb, they need an emoji with like fire coming out of its head!! Chair hogs, ugh!! I really can’t stand that entitlement!

Or a chair with a hog sitting in it

[JustMeJoe]

Has anyone witnessed these signs?  I've been told this photo is from Freedom OTS.  Hope they have a LARGE Towel Stand.

[Carlos A.]

22 hours ago, JustMeJoe said:

Has anyone witnessed these signs?  I've been told this photo is from Freedom OTS.  Hope they have a LARGE Towel Stand.

This should be a thing in all RC ships.  

[Buffet Denizen]

On 10/23/2022 at 3:53 PM, Psycho and Barb said:

Or a chair with a hog sitting in it

Big inflatable piggies marked with the time they were set down! 

[Woody14]

Was on the Voyager in October and I went for a walk at 5:00 am on deck and there were already people putting stuff on chairs to reserve them.  It has definitely gotten a bit ridiculous.

[asquared17]

i mean i do an early walk (not at 5am though, sweet lord) -- but i don't put stuff on the chairs until i've showered, eaten breakfast and come back to lay out for the day. like... how on earth do people expect their things to remain there for hours???

[mom2mybugs]

I hate getting up that early to get a spot for the day and then watch the sea of towel filled/people empty chairs around me.  So frustrating.  My husband and I usually have one person at our 2 chairs all the time so we never get to eat together, etc.  I’m even hearing you have to get off the ship immediately to get a seat at the cococay beach club pool. And don’t get me started on why people feel they need to save chairs for their kids who sit maybe 2 mins a day!!  we are cruising New Year’s Eve and there will be a ton of kids.  We never did that!  I’m actually kind of excited for harmony.  We have been to all the ports a gazillion times so we are going to do our pool deck/solarium sitting on the port days and wander trivia and other spots on sea days.  Hoping that makes it doable.  Jane

[Pooch]

Ok, sad to admit I caved.  On Explorer last month, we loved the Solarium area.  I’m an early riser & would run up about 7:30, grab chairs & some coffee. Back down to the room to grab hubby & we’d have breakfast in WJ.  In the chairs by 8:30ish for the rest of the day.  When I’d go up at 7:30 about half the chairs were taken.  I tried to justify it by telling myself we actually used the chairs all day.

[Xaa]

Very honest of you @Pooch.

There's a saying that goes something like "when leadership walks by someone doing substandard work and says nothing, this is now the new standard".  So it is with chairs.  You want a rule, I want a rule, many people want a rule.  Royal has made a rule, but they ignore it which creates this new rule where you can reserve the chairs.  This tacit rule then does not punish those who violate the initial rule, but those who follow it.  You're just functioning in that system Pooch.

It's really either that or let someone else do it to you.  As cruisers we can't really change it without a commitment from the cruise lines.  Not lip service, a real commitment.

[Neesa]

The signs are ignored, sadly they count on people to do the right thing. This was on our Serenade sailing a week ago, I was there early. Not until about 1100 people started rolling in, notice they saved right under the sign. 

[bretts173]

2 hours ago, Neesa said:

The signs are ignored, sadly they count on people to do the right thing. This was on our Serenade sailing a week ago, I was there early. Not until about 1100 people started rolling in, notice they saved right under the sign. 

They would have got away with it one day only.

[BrianB]

This week on the Anthem...sea days in the Solarium. 

[Pooch]

See now we never left the chairs unattended.  Our butts were in them unless we to a quick pool break to cool off.

[teddy]

My wife and I are early risers, so on sea days we get coffee and hang out in the Solarium.  Once the Windjammer opens up, we go one at a time and get a plate, with the other of us staying at our seats.  We do the same for lunch. 

We spend most of the day at the same chairs, and one of us is always there.