Carnival Cruise Line is Hunting For Chair Hogs

Ah, nothing like a sea day. After finishing your breakfast a little after 9, you head out to the pool deck, and there seems to be only a handful of people who made it there before you.  But wait…as you begin scouting out where you’ll park yourself for the next few hours, you notice that things aren’t exactly what they seem!  Each lounger, all 1200 in fact, are draped with a towel or possessively marked with a book!  How can that be?  And where are all the people?  Well, they’re at the gym, eating breakfast, watching the napkin folding demonstration, on line at the shore excursion desk, or very possibly, back in bed!  You see, these “chair hogs” were up on deck hours before you, claimed their spot, and left to do …whatever.  They’ll be back…maybe. Tough luck for you?  Not necessarily.

Carnival Cruise Line is now testing a new program aimed at hunting down chair hogs. Top Carnival cruise director John Herald recently announced that staffers on the line's new Carnival Breeze have begun policing seat saving by placing stickers with the current time on any deck chairs that are being saved with towels, books, shoes and other passenger items. After 40 minutes, if the chair still is reserved but unoccupied, the staff will remove the items and take them to the towel station by the main pool. The staff will leave a note explaining what they have done.  In time the program will be rolled out to the rest of the Carnival fleet. Hopefully, the other lines will take notice!