Finally a cruise change I think we can all agree with!

[Paid4c4]

I think the photograph needs no explanation!

[Colombia20102018]

Hogs will be hogs

[Pooch]

When a towel is laid over that sign, it’s meaningless.

[teddy]

It’s nice to see Royal try. 
 

[DoomSlayer]

They have PSA images on the screen by the pool too every once in a while telling people that they can retrieve their unattended belongings from the towel station. On adventure now and saw it in between chive showings. 

[Southern Waters]

This will work if the cruise staff enforces it, otherwise chair hogging will go on as usual.

[RCIfan1912]

Hoping for the best but not expecting it. It's a tough one to deal with and enforce. People get nuts. 

[Randon1234]

1 hour ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Hoping for the best but not expecting it. It's a tough one to deal with and enforce. People get nuts. 

I've never experienced chair hogging, but its been awhile since I've cruised. It will be interesting to see if this really is an issue or not. I 100% am not a chair hog, we don't reserve or save seats, we just find some when we arrive at the pool. 

With that said, I know I will be extremely mad if I'm in the pool with my kids and someone tries to move our belongings just because they don't physically see us at the chair at that moment. It kinda shocks me that people would actually touch another's belongings all for a chair. 

[Emoore]

28 minutes ago, Randon1234 said:

With that said, I know I will be extremely mad if I'm in the pool with my kids and someone tries to move our belongings just because they don't physically see us at the chair at that moment. It kinda shocks me that people would actually touch another's belongings all for a chair. 

 

I wouldn't touch them myself, but if it's been 45+ minutes and nobody has ever returned to the chair, I'll ask a crew member to remove them in  keeping with Royal's policy. 

 

I don't think anyone is moving stuff just because nobody is near it at that moment in time.  The staff sets timers.

[CanHardlyWait]

I kinda wish they put removed after unattended for more than 45 minutes on the signs. Really set out the general idea.

Also keep the crazy people from carrying on If someone goes for a swim or to the bathroom. Some people need basic manners spelled out.

[Matt]

15 hours ago, Southern Waters said:

This will work if the cruise staff enforces it, otherwise chair hogging will go on as usual.

Bingo

[MaryCS62]

Just got off Anthem, and I saw little cards that were left on unattended (towels only, no belongings) lounges in the Solarium with the time the attendant first noticed it. These particular ones were labeled 730 am, I think.  They removed the towels around 930 am, which was about the point when there weren't really any more empty loungers.  Didn't spend a lot of time by the pools, as it was a little cool so I did other things, but it worked that one day

[FireFishII]

22 minutes ago, MaryCS62 said:

 but it worked that one day

One day at a time. 

[bluer101]

I witnessed the staff removing belongings on Odyssey of the Seas a few weeks ago. The issue became when the person that had their stuff removed by the staff came back. The person started to yell and argue with the new person in the chair vs the staff for removing it. It also became a fight but staff stepped in. The back and forth arguing lasted a good 20 minutes too. 

[dr martini]

so many different crew and passengers across so many ships, some sailing multiple times a week so your mileage may vary etc etc

all that said, I really thought these made a big difference on our Freedom cruise a month ago.  we were able to find a chair when we wanted to.  my tenth cruise overall (seventh with Royal) and first time seeing these signs, I really thought they made a difference and was happy to see them.  it's at least a gesture in the right direction, a shrug, haha hey something is better than nothing and this is a nice easy, passive (mostly) non-confrontational acknowledgement of the problem.  they're also bright pink and fun and very straightforward, now let's make something like this for the (now all but defunct) dinner dress code 

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE AND ARE THINKING ABOUT ASKING, THEN NO, IT'S NOT IN THE DRESS CODE.

 

[Coda_Sarah]

interesting that it seemed every other chair had the sign? What's up with that?  

[JulietTango]

Was just on Anthem and they had signs stood near the pool chairs, along with stickers near the towel station. However, I didn't see the staff members enforcing it that much. When I went for my morning walk at 7:30am, I already saw towels on the chairs with no one there . 

[JulietTango]

3 hours ago, Coda_Sarah said:

interesting that it seemed every other chair had the sign? What's up with that?  

They probably don't want to put one on each lounger as it's probably too costly for them to make one for each.

[HeWhoWaits]

13 hours ago, Coda_Sarah said:

interesting that it seemed every other chair had the sign? What's up with that?  

The people who will ignore the signs on every other chair will still ignore the signs on every chair so half is plenty.

As others have said, the key is not signage but enforcement of the policy.

[Xaa]

Yep, enforcement is the key and if they do enforce, then they need to be there when the person comes back and wants to accost the new person sitting in the seat.

On Anthem a couple weeks ago, we did our morning ritual of watching the sunrise from the hot tubs.  We settled on the ones in the indoor pool area.  One morning, we went up, dropped our towels on a chair with our seapass cards.  Had to be around 5:30.  Got into the tub and just enjoyed ourselves.  When we got out about an hour later, there was a card on our stuff with a time.  It made me smile because I want them to enforce the rules and also because we were the only ones in the area and they didn't put together that it was our stuff.

It does call into question the process though because were were absolutely there, in plain view and using the facility literally 5 feet from the chairs.

The hogs were out in force too.  On normal mornings, by the time we would leave the tub to head for breakfast, many chairs were covered in towels.

[ScottD]

I saw a post on reddit from a Royal ship last week with little stickers and a time written on them with warnings of removal. 

[RCVirgin22]

Maybe the chairs should come with timers, I mean it shouldn't take long to dip in the pool and come back, right? Or go get a drink/restroom break.  I don't advocate for "reserving" a chaise all day or while you go take a nap, eat lunch or whatever takes 2-6 hours time. But it would be a pain to have to change chairs every time you had to get up to use the facilities or get a drink. Since I have nothing to leave behind because I don't carry much beyond my MP3 player to listen to while sleeping and sunburning, so there's nothing for me to eve use for "reserving" my chair.  Now I've never sailed RCL, but others I've not had too much difficulty finding  a place to sit. Though it might be different if you're trying to seat a family of four. 

[Ryanmw]

On 3/21/2023 at 8:24 AM, Xaa said:

Yep, enforcement is the key and if they do enforce, then they need to be there when the person comes back and wants to accost the new person sitting in the seat.

On Anthem a couple weeks ago, we did our morning ritual of watching the sunrise from the hot tubs.  We settled on the ones in the indoor pool area.  One morning, we went up, dropped our towels on a chair with our seapass cards.  Had to be around 5:30.  Got into the tub and just enjoyed ourselves.  When we got out about an hour later, there was a card on our stuff with a time.  It made me smile because I want them to enforce the rules and also because we were the only ones in the area and they didn't put together that it was our stuff.

It does call into question the process though because were were absolutely there, in plain view and using the facility literally 5 feet from the chairs.

The hogs were out in force too.  On normal mornings, by the time we would leave the tub to head for breakfast, many chairs were covered in towels.

I would think the moving of the time card would be enough to show that you are using the chair often enough to justify its saving

[Randon1234]

1 hour ago, RCVirgin22 said:

Maybe the chairs should come with timers, I mean it shouldn't take long to dip in the pool and come back, right? Or go get a drink/restroom break.  I don't advocate for "reserving" a chaise all day or while you go take a nap, eat lunch or whatever takes 2-6 hours time. But it would be a pain to have to change chairs every time you had to get up to use the facilities or get a drink. Since I have nothing to leave behind because I don't carry much beyond my MP3 player to listen to while sleeping and sunburning, so there's nothing for me to eve use for "reserving" my chair.  Now I've never sailed RCL, but others I've not had too much difficulty finding  a place to sit. Though it might be different if you're trying to seat a family of four. 

I think individuals who want to spend more time in the pool and not just a dip shouldn't have to worry about this either. There is a big difference between the hogs and people using a chair correctly. Unfortunately I only forsee problems arising because everyone believes they know how to police the situation best. 

[Pooch]

On 3/21/2023 at 8:24 AM, Xaa said:

Yep, enforcement is the key and if they do enforce, then they need to be there when the person comes back and wants to accost the new person sitting in the seat.

On Anthem a couple weeks ago, we did our morning ritual of watching the sunrise from the hot tubs.  We settled on the ones in the indoor pool area.  One morning, we went up, dropped our towels on a chair with our seapass cards.  Had to be around 5:30.  Got into the tub and just enjoyed ourselves.  When we got out about an hour later, there was a card on our stuff with a time.  It made me smile because I want them to enforce the rules and also because we were the only ones in the area and they didn't put together that it was our stuff.

It does call into question the process though because were were absolutely there, in plain view and using the facility literally 5 feet from the chairs.

The hogs were out in force too.  On normal mornings, by the time we would leave the tub to head for breakfast, many chairs were covered in towels.

Five feet away & you didn’t see the person leaving the note.  Maybe they also did not see you.

[HeWhoWaits]

3 hours ago, Pooch said:

Five feet away & you didn’t see the person leaving the note.  Maybe they also did not see you.

If @Xaaand party were sitting in the hot tub watching the sunrise, there is a very good chance they were all facing away from the deck chairs and would not have seen the crew member placing notes. As for the crew member not seeing them, that can be explained by a singular focus on doing the job (without bothering to check if anyone was nearby).

[Pooch]

Or honestly not seeing them.

[Sea Squirrel]

9 hours ago, RCVirgin22 said:

Maybe the chairs should come with timers, I mean it shouldn't take long to dip in the pool and come back, right? Or go get a drink/restroom break.  I don't advocate for "reserving" a chaise all day or while you go take a nap, eat lunch or whatever takes 2-6 hours time. But it would be a pain to have to change chairs every time you had to get up to use the facilities or get a drink. Since I have nothing to leave behind because I don't carry much beyond my MP3 player to listen to while sleeping and sunburning, so there's nothing for me to eve use for "reserving" my chair.  Now I've never sailed RCL, but others I've not had too much difficulty finding  a place to sit. Though it might be different if you're trying to seat a family of four. 

When I lived in The Netherlands, the free short term lots used parking disks. You slide the dial to the time you left your car. Longer than 2 hrs, you got a ticket. If the attendant noticed the dial was set with a time later than the current time, you got a ticket. Royal should use these bad boys, lol. In all seriousness though, I think the non-threatening signs are a good try, even if it is just to make non-hogs feel better. 
 

 

[Xaa]

10 hours ago, Pooch said:

Five feet away & you didn’t see the person leaving the note.  Maybe they also did not see you.

I'm certain they didn't see me.  They wouldn't have put the card if they had.  The tub is elevated by 3 or 4 stairs and we were looking out to the horizon.  Didn't even see them in the area that I recall.

I wasn't upset about it.  Happy actually.  I do worry though about people in a similar situation who might be upset about it and would be right to be.

[Carlos A.]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:49 PM, dr martini said:

so many different crew and passengers across so many ships, some sailing multiple times a week so your mileage may vary etc etc

all that said, I really thought these made a big difference on our Freedom cruise a month ago.  we were able to find a chair when we wanted to.  my tenth cruise overall (seventh with Royal) and first time seeing these signs, I really thought they made a difference and was happy to see them.  it's at least a gesture in the right direction, a shrug, haha hey something is better than nothing and this is a nice easy, passive (mostly) non-confrontational acknowledgement of the problem.  they're also bright pink and fun and very straightforward, now let's make something like this for the (now all but defunct) dinner dress code 

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE AND ARE THINKING ABOUT ASKING, THEN NO, IT'S NOT IN THE DRESS CODE.

 

Maybe there aren't so many chair hogs on Freedom because its doing 3/4 nights cruises with only one sea day on the 4 nights and having port days almost every day.

[Randon1234]

7 hours ago, Carlos A. said:

Maybe there aren't so many chair hogs on Freedom because its doing 3/4 nights cruises with only one sea day on the 4 nights and having port days almost every day.

You make a good point here. Is chair hogging an every day problem or just sea days? 

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, Randon1234 said:

You make a good point here. Is chair hogging an every day problem or just sea days? 

It's a bigger problem on sea days, but not exclusive to them. 

Bigger because there are more chair hogs AND more people who want to use chairs.

[Ditchdoc]

Well .... I'm in "its depends" category. It depends in part on demand.

If 90% of the ship is on land at CoCo Cay and there is little demand and a lot of unused deck chairs, it does not matter too much if you 'reserve' a couple of spots early on while you get breakfast etc.

On the other hand, on a sea day, when the pools are crowded and half the ship wants a spot at the pool, then the crew needs to be a bit more diligent about about looking for 'abandoned' deck chairs.

To me, putting a sign on almost everything is obnoxious and ugly. Put a few signs in conspicuous places so people know and/or reminded. Like the police mark tires of limited parking areas, mark chairs in a simple way. Every 30 minutes to an hour, walk back through and any marked chair that is still unoccupied is made available for someone else.

Its not rocket science but it is common courtesy.

 

[HeWhoWaits]

26 minutes ago, Ditchdoc said:

Its not rocket science but it is common courtesy.

Common courtesy, like common sense, hasn't been so common for about 20 years.

[tonyfsu21]

Hogs out in full force this week on Wonder. The hogging methods are getting more evolved though with the chair hog kit which includes pastel colored towel clips, dollar store purses and off brand portable speakers ($6 at Walmart) in an effort to look official. 

[tonyfsu21]

11 hours ago, Randon1234 said:

You make a good point here. Is chair hogging an every day problem or just sea days? 

Every single day. The hogs are out at 6am and they disappear until 10-11am. 

[tonyfsu21]

On 3/19/2023 at 8:32 PM, Emoore said:

 

I wouldn't touch them myself, but if it's been 45+ minutes and nobody has ever returned to the chair, I'll ask a crew member to remove them in  keeping with Royal's policy. 

 

I don't think anyone is moving stuff just because nobody is near it at that moment in time.  The staff sets timers.

The staff will move it for you. I have had to do this before when there are no chairs for my family but rows of chairs with the standard issue chair hog essentials on them. They watch for a bit and then clear the chairs for you. I have taken this into my own hands on a few occasions but only after watching the hogs at 6am while doing my AM walk and knowing the perpetrators. It’s a dog eat dog world.

[Randon1234]

3 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

The staff will move it for you. I have had to do this before when there are no chairs for my family but rows of chairs with the standard issue chair hog essentials on them. They watch for a bit and then clear the chairs for you. I have taken this into my own hands on a few occasions but only after watching the hogs at 6am while doing my AM walk and knowing the perpetrators. It’s a dog eat dog world.

People eally shouldn't do themselves. Whether right or wrong, have the staff do it. Otherwise it just becomes he said she said bs. 

[tjcruisers]

A journey of a thousands miles begins with the first step. As long as Royal enforces it I'm happy. If people have to scan their seapass cards to get their belonging back it'll become pretty obvious in a hurry who the offenders are.