Whether you’re thinking of booking your first cruise holiday or are looking forward to sailing in the coming months, a cruise expert has warned guests of a major faux pas many holidaymakers often make. You’ve likely woken up at a hotel or resort only to spot all of the sun loungers around the swimming pool covered with towels – sometimes before breakfast has even begun.
But if you’re thinking of reserving a sun lounger on your cruise holiday, think again. Etiquette expert Grant Harrold, on behalf of Spincasino.com, explained that this is just one of several mistakes first-time cruise-goers may make.
“Reserving sun loungers is a big no-no,” he warned. “You do get people first thing in the morning who will run down with their towel, but there are only so many sun loungers and it should be first come first served.
“It’s one thing to get up to get something to eat or drink but it’s another to go and set a towel down like a little reservation card on a dining table and expect people to leave it before you come back two hours later. You really shouldn’t.”
While it’s okay to leave your towel on your sun bed to go and get a drink from the bar or collect something from your room, reserving a bed for hours on end is seen as a faux pas.
Some cruise lines have already made moves to put a stop to the bed hogging behaviour onboard their vessels. The team has started using stickers to discourage hogging. A sticker is placed on an unattended lounger by a member of the crew.
After 40 minutes, if the crew return and the chair is still unattended, the passenger’s items will be removed and placed in the towel hut.
John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line ambassador, previously told Express.co.uk: “If they are not back by that time, we will remove it. It’s the only way we can make it fair.
“Ever since I’ve worked on cruise ships, there’ve been people desperate to get the chairs. We are doing our very best.
“It’s not a perfect system, it would be silly of me to suggest otherwise. But it is something that we need to do.”