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Avid cruise enthusiast who cruised so many times he decided to make it a career. Ian has sailed on over 30 cruise lines across 6 continents, from budget-friendly Carnival sailings to luxury Regent Seven Seas voyages. He built CruiseShipTracking to help fellow cruisers track ships, plan voyages, and find the best deals.
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Cruise ship deck chairs face stronger sustained wind than a typical pool deck, so elastic bands or heavy-grip clips rated for higher wind hold towels in place better than standard poolside clips, especially on upper open decks.
In This Article
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Wind on an open deck is stronger than most people expect, especially at sea speed or on higher decks, and an unclipped towel over a lounge chair will end up on the floor or over the rail within minutes. Towel clips and bands solve this cheaply, and they double as a way to mark your chair as taken without leaving valuables unattended. Here is what actually holds against real deck wind, not just a light breeze.
Why deck chair towels need clips more than pool towels do
A cruise ship moving at 18-22 knots creates real wind across open deck areas, well beyond what a poolside towel at a resort ever deals with. Standard towel clips built for calm pool decks often fail here, so a design rated for windier conditions matters more on a ship than it would on land.
Best elastic bands for securing towels to chairs
The Beach Towel Bands 4-Pack wraps around a lounge chair frame and towel together, holding tight through wind gusts that would slide a standard clip loose. The elastic design also flexes with chair movement, which matters on a ship deck where chairs get bumped and repositioned throughout the day.
Beach Towel Bands 4-Pack
- Stretchy silicone bands wrap around the chair and towel
- No clips to break or lose
Bands are more secure than clips, they wrap the whole towel to the chair
View on AmazonBest clip-style option for a firmer grip
If you prefer a traditional clip over an elastic band, the Beach Towel Clips 8-Pack gives enough clips to secure towels for a full family across multiple chairs, with a firmer mechanical grip that some cruisers prefer over elastic for very windy upper decks.
Beach Towel Clips 8-Pack
- Eight clips keep your towel on the lounge chair in the sea breeze
- Also works for securing towels on cruise ship railings
Wind on the pool deck constantly blows towels off chairs, clips end the frustration
View on AmazonBest quick-dry towel to pair with your clips
A towel that takes hours to dry becomes a soggy, heavy mess by the second use. The Youphoria Microfiber Travel Towel dries fast enough to use again the same afternoon, and its compact packed size means you are not sacrificing suitcase space for a towel the ship already provides poolside anyway (useful for adults-only decks or specialty areas where ship towels are not stocked).
Youphoria Microfiber Travel Towel
- Packs down to the size of a water bottle
- Ultra-absorbent microfiber
Avoid the ship towel return hassle, bring your own compact towel ashore
View on AmazonFor families needing more than one towel without buying full-size beach towels, the Eunzel Microfiber Beach Towel 2-Pack gives two towels in one compact package, both sand-resistant, which matters for port-day beach stops more than for shipboard pool use.
Eunzel Microfiber Beach Towel 2-Pack
- Microfiber dries 3x faster than cotton, ready for reuse the same day
- Sand-free material shakes clean
Ship towels are heavy and slow to dry, microfiber is the smart upgrade
View on AmazonCarrying towels and gear together on port days
Getting a towel, sunscreen, and a water bottle down to the beach at a port stop requires a bag that can handle wet items on the way back. The Bodysurf Waterproof Beach Tote holds a wet towel without soaking through to whatever else is in your bag, which matters since most tote bags are not built to handle actual ocean water and wet sand together.
Bodysurf Waterproof Beach Tote
- Fully waterproof tote keeps electronics and valuables dry at the beach
- Large capacity for towels, sunscreen, and snacks
Private island and beach excursion days demand a waterproof bag you can trust
View on AmazonChair etiquette: what clips solve and what they don't
Clips keep your towel from blowing away, but they do not reserve a chair, which most cruise lines actively discourage (and some enforce with a "reserved item removal" policy after a set time). Use clips for their actual purpose (securing a towel while you are using the chair), not as a way to hold a spot while you are elsewhere on the ship.
How to choose towel clips or bands for a cruise deck
Grip strength is the only spec that actually matters, and it is rarely printed clearly on packaging, so check reviews for specific mentions of wind resistance on a ship or in coastal, windy conditions rather than general poolside use. A clip rated fine for a backyard pool can still slide loose on an upper deck where wind speeds run consistently higher.
Material affects how long clips last through a week of sun and salt air exposure. Plastic clips left in direct sun for several days can become brittle and crack, while a UV-resistant plastic or a coated metal spring clip holds up better across a full sailing, especially on itineraries with multiple sea days and extended deck time.
Band versus clip is mostly a preference call, but each solves the wind problem slightly differently. Elastic bands wrap the towel and chair together as one unit, which holds up better in sudden gusts, while clips grip only the towel to the chair frame at two points, which some cruisers find easier to attach and remove quickly between activities.
Quantity should match your actual party size across the whole trip, not just day one. Pack at least one clip or band per towel per person, plus one or two spares, since clips are small and easy to leave behind on a chair when you pack up in a hurry for a shore excursion.
Cruise line differences in deck chair rules
Most mainstream lines have a written policy against reserving loungers with towels, bags, or personal items for extended periods, and staff will remove unattended items after a set window, commonly around 30-40 minutes, though the exact time varies by ship and even by which pool deck you are on. A clipped towel does not exempt a chair from this policy.
Some lines are stricter about this than others, particularly on itineraries and ships known for crowded pool decks during sea days, where crew actively patrol and remove items rather than waiting for a complaint. Check your specific cruise line's current deck chair policy before your sailing if chair availability is a known concern for your itinerary.
Common questions
Do I need special towel clips for a cruise, or will any beach clips work?
Cruise decks see stronger sustained wind than a typical beach or pool deck, so clips or bands rated for higher wind resistance hold up better than basic poolside versions.
Can I use towel clips to reserve a deck chair on a cruise?
No, most cruise lines have policies against reserving chairs with towels or personal items, and crew will remove unattended items after a set period, regardless of whether they are clipped down.
Should I bring my own towel on a cruise?
Most cruise lines provide pool towels, but a quick-dry microfiber towel is worth packing for port-day beach stops where ship towels are not available or where you do not want to carry a large, slow-drying ship towel off the vessel.
How many towel clips should I pack for a family cruise?
Plan for one clip or band per towel per person, plus one or two spares, since small clips are easy to lose on a chair or misplace during a quick shore excursion changeover.
Do towel clips work on ship pool chairs with mesh or slatted seats?
Yes, most clips and elastic bands grip mesh, slatted, and solid-frame lounge chairs equally well, since they attach to the frame edge rather than the seating surface itself. Check the clip's jaw width against your ship's specific chair frame if it looks unusually thick or thin in photos.
Clip your towel down the moment you set up a chair, since deck wind picks up fast once the ship is underway. Check current cruise deals before booking, browse our best cruise sea day essentials guide for the rest of your pool deck kit, and see port guides for beach-specific gear by destination.
