On a cruise two years ago, I followed a woman one morning who was wearing two sun hats with two tote bags looped over her shoulders and a bunch of beach towels in her arms.

Where in the world is she going, I wondered. I quickly discovered that she was staking out a whole line of beach chairs by the ship’s pool.

When I checked back more than an hour later, the woman was still sitting there – alone – with all that stuff spread out to save nearby chairs for her family or friends. That stinks.

Under a new Carnival Cruise Lines system, shipboard team members monitor sun lounge use and if they observe a seat that contains a towel or personal belongings but appears to be unoccupied, a notification is placed on the chair indicating the current time.

If the chair remains unoccupied for 40 minutes, the contents are removed and held for the guest’s safekeeping.

Signs in the outdoor deck areas, as well as notices in the daily shipboard newsletter and info  displayed on the Seaside Theater poolside LED screen are giving passengers plenty of notice about the change.

I certainly heard no complaints about it on the my recent voyage on the Carnival Breeze.  All I heard were just compliments from pleased passengers. Me, too.

By Jackie Sheckler Finch