Its still a dick move. Use the chair for its purpose, or don’t use it.
On the plus side, a lot of resorts and cruiselines are starting to see this as rude, and putting an end to it by removing unattended personal items themselves.
Yeah, I almost got in a fist fight with a jackass whose wife left her stuff on a pool chair for over an hour before I finally moved it off. He and his wife came back a couple of hours later and were outraged that my wife “took” her chair.
Sheesh. Jerk.
The buffet is OK and you can certainly live off of it, but I always go to the dinner. My wife and I do get into the whole formal thing and enjoy it, but I would never skip eating in the formal dining room even if I were the only one not dressed up.
And her SO?
Really? A fist fight? Why didn’t you just call Gopher over and get him to do his purser thing?
Hijack to a different subject: ordering dinner in the dining room (based on my Carnival experience).
There may be a half dozen entrees. The portions are on the modest side. If you or your hubby want a good-sized meal, or you really want both the fish and the steak, this is the thing to know: you may have more than one. Heck, you can get three of one and two of another, or four different ones. However, it’s MUCH easier if you order it all at the get-go, rather than ordering a second plate after the first arrives. Likewise for appetizers/salads/desserts, etc.
Some people leave the dining room hungry and/or frustrated because they think they’re limited to one item. Don’t be one of them. 
I’ve been on a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises and, believe me, you don’t have to agonize over attire. RC recommends certain attire for certain nights, but they’re not too strict about it. They won’t 86 you from the dining room if you’re wearing jeans on formal night, for example. Expect attendees to the Networking reception, which is a smaller affair, to be more formally attired than the general passenger complement who attend the formal dinner afterward.
You can hang out at the pool all day if you like. This is Royal Caribbean, not Azamara, or even Celebrity. Relaxation is what this cruise line is all about.
This is correct. You can even have room service if you like and eat out on your balcony, above the calming waves and below the stars, assuming you will have a balcony.
Royal Caribbean’s buffet is not 24 hours on any of their ships as far as I’m aware. Depending on the ship, there may be one or two small eateries where you can get a quick bite. Your best option for 24 hour dining is room service.
This is actually a bad idea, especially on Royal Caribbean, as they’ve instituted a policy of not saving deck chairs after many, many complaints. They will now move your stuff.
Don’t rely too heavily on 2-way radios. Some of Royal Caribbean’s ships are getting a little long in the tooth and have many metallic obstructions a radio signal can’t get around or through. Also, many 2-way radios are LOS (line of sight) and any obstruction whatsoever will prevent communication with your party.
And the pool does not have bleacher-style stadium seating, it has a few dozen chairs that are meant to be used by people who are actually…uh…at the pool. Still a dick move.
Few dozen chairs? I obviously haven’t been on the chintzy cruises you have. Mine have always had hundreds of chairs surrounding 3 or more pools as well as various decks and sunny spots; there are literally enough chairs for every single person on board.
I wasn’t aware Royal moves things for people lately. Obviously that changes things.
Also, to those recommending multiple dishes, are you nuts? The only people who I’ve seen eat multiple dishes are teenage boys and the morbidly obese. Cruise food alone makes the average person pack on a few pounds in a week (though the OP should be safe in just a few days).
Well, slight hyperbole on my part. Picture two slightly overweight guys in their 40’s in a shouting match. More like that.
You 'fessed up? I play dumb. Oh, it was there when I arrived (or missing if I turned it in to lost and found. Can’t trust entitled assholes to not start screaming at you.
If there are plenty of chairs for everyone, there is no reason to save one.
Chintzy? You’re a class act all around. There’s roughly 2,000 passengers on most major cruise lines. I guarantee there are not 2,000 seats next to the pool, no matter how vehemently you try to defend your dickish behavior. If there are so many seats, you wouldn’t have to go claim your territory before breakfast so you have somewhere to lay around all day.
Large ships hold twice that.
I was just throwing out one figure that I knew to be the case based on the past couple cruises I have been on. But I doubt there are 4,000 lounge chairs next to the pool either 
this has pretty much been my experience on carnival, i’ve done 4 cruises with them. don’t fret over what you’re going to wear to dinner, some people go all out with the evening gowns and tuxes and others will dress more casually. i think their biggest preference is that you not wear shorts or flip flops to the dining room, but enforcement is pretty casual. not complicated at all, just dress comfortably and enjoy.
if anyone’s counting, i agree that leaving your stuff on a deck chair and coming back later is a dick move. there may well be enough chairs for everyone aboard(i’ve never counted) but they sure won’t all be poolside. there’s some chairs on the upper decks as well, but those spots are much less crowded than by the pool and there’s usually no problem finding a chair. i kind of preferred those areas for sunbathing, actually, they were much quieter.
also, everyone’s experiences varies, of course, but ordering multiple dishes at dinner has never been limited to the obese and teenage boys on the ships i’ve been on. pretty much everyone does it, from what i’ve seen. for appetizers especially, portions are on the small side, so it’s not like you’re chowing down 3 appetizers the size of what you’d get at chilis or applebees or something. order what you want, have a good time, and maybe have a salad for dinner when you get home. 
Hey! I was a bag picked up laying on a poolside chair…
Awww, somebody needs a little hooked on phonics!
What that means in 3rd grade English is there are hundreds of chairs poolside and there are enough chairs for every single person on board. Not “there are thousands of chairs by the pool”.
Getting back to the OP…don’t forget slide-on or thong sandals for the pool! You’ll be walking a distance from your room to the pool, so you don’t want to take your slingbacks with ya
Finally! I’d be lucky to finish one plate…three? OK, I guess to pick a little off this one and a little off of that one as a sampler, but what a waste of food. Sharks in the sea-lanes must eat well.
But my one horrible vice… Dear Og, I loved having a balcony off of our room!!! The splash of the wake, the smell of the water, the winking lights from distant ships, the clarity of the stars…and the privacy to enjoy them alone or with a SO, possibly with a bottle of wine…
“I wonder where we’ll end up?”
“Away from the things of man, my love. Away from the things of man…”
There are certainly not enough chairs for every man, woman, and child on board. Of my 8 cruises, the least-populous was 1,700ish people, the most-populous 3700 or so. And there are not anywhere near that many chairs on the outside decks. If there were enough chairs out and about for everyone, you wouldn’t need to save one the way you do.
It’s a totally rude thing to do, and on both RC and Carnival they will move your things after about half an hour.