Is anybody sitting there?

For me cruises are as stress free as a vacation could be. But one thing that doesn't really float my boat is trying to find a deck chair at the pool -- or anywhere on deck, for that matter -- on one of the days at sea. If you're alone, well, it's a bit easier to find a solitary chair, kinda like finding a single seat in a movie theater on a Friday night. But if you're with somebody, well, it can be frustrating at times.

Obviously, it's not possible to have a deck chair for every passenger, so on sunny days at sea, it stands to reason that some people are going to be slightly inconvenienced. To me, that means having to wait awhile until a chair frees up. But there's the rub: chairs don't free up. Oh, they're unoccupied, alright, but didn't you know that placing a towel on the chair reserves the chair for you in perpetuity? And if you place a book -- even a softcover trash novel! -- on the chair, well, that chair may still be waiting for you next cruise, too!

If you sense a bit of frustrated sarcasm, well, I apologize. But it's one of my pet peeves. Look, if a person gets up to go the lavatory, fine. If he (or she) gets up to take a dip in the pool, okay. If a person gets up briefly to run to the buffet to get a little nosh and returns to his precious chaise, that's okay, too, especially if one's spouse is there to stake out the territory. But for cryin' out loud, people shouldn't leave their towels or books on a chair and come back three hours later and expect it to be empty and waiting for them.

End of rant.

-- CruiseCounselor