Beach towel wardens linering up
The idea of Germans getting up at dawn to claim sun loungers with their towels may be a cliché, but at least one cruise ship company has appointed wardens to police how long such loungers have been reserved but unused.
After decades of other people moaning, German-owned AIDA cruise ships have eagle-eyed wardens patrolling the decks, a local German newspaper reported on Wednesday. They put stickers on any towel that has been left to block a sun bed.
Any towels still left without their owners 30 minutes later are removed. While the wardens do not leave parking tickets, a returning lounger hoarder will find a stern note telling them what has happened. The system has been so successful in curbing part-time sunbathers who leave a towel on a lounger all day to stop others from using it, that it is being tried out on a cruise ship run by American holiday firm Carnival Cruises If it works, all cruise passengers travelling with the company will be introduced to the strict sun bathing etiquette, although they will have a slightly longer, 40-minute, grace period.
AIDA spokeswoman Kathrin Heitmann told the paper that so far they had received mostly positive feedback about the “beach towel wardens”.
On most cruise liners there are no shortage of swimming pools some of which are reserved for adults and certainly no shortage of sun-beds but often a very limited number that have bodies on them, just towels. Like the hotels on the Costas, goodness knows what time the sun-bed hoggers get up.
This anti-social habit has been seized upon by some wily purser with a Ryanair-inspired idea, and is clearly inspired by demand deliberately exceeding supply. This has to be a precursor to big cruise lines charging a supplement for the best sun-beds on sea days? It’s an outrageous idea but I bet it will catch on.
Princess Cruises already does charge in the very lovely Sanctuary, an adults-only area with squashy day beds, shade and chilled fruit kebabs. P&O Cruises introduced The Retreat on Azura this year, with the same function. The business class of sun-beds that you could leave unoccupied all day long once you have paid, It’ll be a sad day if and when this happens the social housing day beds but sun-bed-hoggers will only have themselves to blame! I bet Michael O’Leary from Ryanair is thoroughly hacked of that he didn’t sell them the idea, although perhaps he did.
Remember that this is where you read it first when you next carry on cruising and you find sun-beds as additional extras on your account. JC.
