Key Aspects:
- Two years ago, a cruise guest decided to bring a lounger from the Lido deck all the way down to their cruise cabin on Deck 1 – and the stunt is making waves on social media once again.
- Their motive is unclear, but many in the cruise community have assumed that this person was going to great lengths to hog their favorite seat.
- This stunt is obviously not allowed, but it’s unclear what consequences, if any, the cruise guest may have faced for their actions.
Just when I think I’ve seen it all during my time covering the cruise industry, I am only one Facebook post away from being shocked once again.
While it’s no secret that Carnival Cruise Line has been plagued by a chair hogging problem, I never would have expected to see a guest go so far as to drag a lounge chair from the Lido deck all the way down to their stateroom.
However, this is exactly what somebody did back in 2023 and the unusual stunt is going viral for a second time in the present.
At the time, Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald posted on his public Facebook page to encourage others to not follow this example, along with a picture showing the lounger on the floor of the corridor with a man reaching down to grab it.
This could either be the cruise guest dragging the chair to his cabin, or judging by the blue shirt, a crew member trying to return it to its rightful place on the Lido deck.
“Please don’t bring one of the sunbeds down from the Lido to your own cabin. And this one was for an inside cabin on deck 1. Oh FFS,” Heald wrote.
This is still an outrageous stunt, but I could maybe understand if the cruise guest was looking to enhance the set up on their private balcony.
But in a tiny interior cabin, which is typically only around 185 square feet on Carnival’s ships, I don’t know that a full lounger could even fit inside.
I would also love to know how they managed to get the lounge chair from the Lido deck all the way to the ship’s bottom deck. It would be a tight squeeze in the often crowded elevators!
“The fact that they were even able to make it off the outside decks is beyond me! I mean, NOBODY saw them drag it off the decks, into an elevator and down the hall? NOBODY,” one person agreed with me.
It’s unclear if the cruise guest faced any consequences for their actions, but Carnival can levy fines of up to $500 for violating the cruise line’s code of conduct.
Carnival Continues to Crack Down on Saving Seats
Although the cruiser’s motive has never been confirmed, others in the cruise community have assumed that they wanted to guarantee that they had a reserved lounger for relaxing by the pool.
“That’s one way to make sure you get a lounger in the morning,” one cruise fan joked.
“This takes to a whole new level of hoarding the loungers,” another wrote, along with several laughing face emojis.
Another guessed: “I know there’s a chair hog problem, but taking the chair back to your cabin so you have it when you’re ready to get up?”
Over the years, Carnival has had to consistently reinforce that seat saving is not allowed, both at the pools and in other venues onboard, such as the theaters and Punchliner Comedy Clubs.
But the biggest issue has been for the seating around the pools, where loungers are in high demand and the best spots go quickly.
Some inconsiderate guests ruin the fun for everyone by rushing up to the Lido deck early in the morning to reserve loungers for their travel party potentially several hours before they actually intend to use them.
Of course, this seat saving method is nowhere near as unique as bringing your preferred lounger to your cruise cabin.
Last year, Carnival really cracked down on chair hogging by rolling out the “chairing is caring” policy.
Under this program, dedicated “ChairShare” team members monitor the pool deck for reserved chairs and loungers that are going unused for extended periods of time.
These crew members then leave stickers on unattended loungers notifying guests that their spot will be unreserved on their behalf if they don’t return in 40 minutes.
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Once time runs out, the crew members will check to see if the guest who has reserved the chair has returned.
If they haven’t, their belongings will be removed so other cruisers can take advantage of the in-demand loungers.
