Etiquette is something you should never leave behind, especially when boarding a cruise ship with thousands of other passengers.
Some of the biggest complaints about cruises center around the way other passengers conduct themselves on board the ship. Passengers are not always mindful of how their behavior impacts the people around them.
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On most any cruise ship, passengers get frustrated by “chair hogs,” or people who try to claim a pool deck lounge chair for an extended period of time by leaving their belongings on it and then disappearing. Cruise lines discourage this behavior but it persists, especially on Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise ships.
“Pool deck chairs are only available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved,” Royal Caribbean emphasizes on its website. “We want to ensure that all guests have a great time at the pool. If a pool chair is left unattended for more than 30 minutes with no signs of any guests returning, our crew will remove any belongings and place them in the lost and found.”
But how well is this rule enforced on Royal Caribbean ships? That’s what passengers have been discussing recently in the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit.
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The pool deck can be packed on sea days.
Image source: Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Chair hogging causes drama on Royal Caribbean cruise ships
“Are people still putting their stuff on chairs just to try to block it for the entire day still or has that been resolved?” user Future_Blueberry_641 asked Royal Caribbean cruisers on Reddit.
The user also shared how passengers were creating conflict by trying to form queues for certain seating on a previous Royal Caribbean cruise.
“I (28 female) took a cruise on Symphony and the adult outside area had these rounded wicker chairs. A woman old enough to be my Mom raced me to one of these chairs one day and said I cut in front of her and then proceeded to lay on the chair next to me,” Future_Blueberry_641 wrote. “I did not move and she eventually got the idea and moved.”
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The passenger explained that they found it hard to relax while using the chair because people wanted to secure a place in line for it.
“Multiple times people came up to me and interrupted my relaxation and asked if they can have the seat after me.”
The passenger also noted that the cruise line wasn’t enforcing the no chair hogging rule on this particular cruise and asked if other passengers have seen Royal Caribbean monitoring chair use on recent sailings.
“I was told Royal will monitor and move items if no one is there after 15-30 mins.” Future_Blueberry_641 wrote. “But they didn’t do that on this cruise. How this been resolved or is this still happening??”
Passengers say Royal Caribbean is stepping up to stop chair hogs
One passenger who recently sailed on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas reported that the cruise line seems to be doing more to crack down on chair hogging.
“I was on Adventure last week and I can confirm, someone is walking around to track who’s never in a chair,” noted Comfortable-Mirror17. “This was only in the solarium as I didn’t go to the other area so I cannot confirm it happened there but it would make sense if it did.”
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“I will say they no longer put a Post-it note on a chair, she walked with a clipboard and made markings on that as necessary,” the user continued. “I also saw the big pink things that would be added to the top of some of the lounging chairs, I believe these were added if someone’s stuff was removed but I never witnessed it being added, only removed.”
It’s not clear whether this level of chair monitoring is happening on all Royal Caribbean ships. Some passengers noted that passengers may need to ask a crew member to remove unattended items from a chair they want to use.
“You need to ask staff (white shirts or towel station people are the best to ask, not waiters or lifeguards) and the earlier the better,” explained a1__steak_sauce. “Sometimes I’ve seen them put little cards on the chair with a time and then come back after 45 minutes and remove EVERYTHING unattended, but I’ve also seen them only remove stuff off the specific chairs a person wants.”
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