Ship's laundry and DS's sensitive skin

[mikesteg]

We'd like to take good advantage of the platinum laundry perk on our next cruise. It's a 9-day on Spirit, so it would be very nice to bring just 3 or 4 days worth of daytime clothing.

 

However, DS has sensitive skin. He's grown out of it somewhat but even putting sunscreen on him 9 days in a row will be pushing our luck. I'd hate to get in a situation where he starts reacting to the detergent as well. DW has sensitive skin also, but she can just slap on some steroid cream if it gets too bad. DS will just be 24 months, so that's not an option with him ... nor is much of anything else that will knock down a rash.

 

Does anybody have experience with the laundry and sensitive skin? Adult of child. I know I'd have a better shot on the main board, but you all undoubtedly better understand the desire to try to proactively protect a LO.

 

Thanks in advance. :D

 

~~~~

 

A side question: what is a good excuse to bring the baby monitor? The balcony upgrade is a surprise to DW, and she knows I'd never leave them alone in a cabin. So, I need to bring the monitor so we'll know when it's safe to come back into the cabin after bedtime... but I need a good excuse. I likely can smuggle the bits in my bag(s), but ideally would like to not have to worry about that. We're flying in same-day, so no hotel excuse.

 

DW isn't a cruise expert, so maybe I could cite a requirement from "the United States Public Health" :p

 

Again, thanks in advance. :D

 

And thanks for the balcony upgrade... it was the discussion here (and a decent price drop) that convinced me to go for it. ;)

[cb at sea]

You don't need an excuse to bring a baby monitor....lots of folks do it!

 

As far as the detergent, for that child, I'd bring all the clothes he might need....it would be horrible if he got an annoying rash, just because you didn't want to bring enough things!

Pack lightly for everyone else, if you want, but bring what he needs! You can't count on them doing his laundry seperate from everyone else!

[crusinmama06]

Truthfully, I wouldn't risk it, perk or no perk. ;) I might throw my own clothes into it - maybe. But if I knew my kids would have an allergic reaction to a detergent (which my one does - I have to use all of the Cheer/All Free and Clear stuff) then I wouldn't risk it -- especially on vacation. You know how it goes, if your kids on miserable, then you are miserable. :p

 

Don't use the free laundry on the kids clothes unless there is a REALLY icky accident that you don't want to take home with you. :D

 

Monitor - seriously, I wouldn't bring it. Out of all of the cruises and all of the balconies, we simply crack the door. And also, we keep the curtains open a crack to peep in from time to time. The kids are so wiped out, they haven't ever stayed up on a cruise. They are asleep by the time their heads hit the pillows.

[mikesteg]

You don't need an excuse to bring a baby monitor....lots of folks do it!

 

No, I don't need an excuse, but I want to preserve the surprise for my wife. The possibility that she wouldn't challenge the need to bring the monitor is pretty much zero. I'm not in the habit of giving her orders (and oddly enough, she doesn't take them well anyway :eek:)... so that would leave me needing some sort of rational explanation as to why I'm packing it. ;)

 

However, if it's not necessary then I can skip it. I was under the impression from prior postings that you can't hear much in the cabin over the wind noise. If cracking the door will solve the problem then that'll do. I suspect that would allow us to go in and out with less chance of waking the kids also.

 

 

As far as the laundry, yeah I guess discretion is the better part of valor on this one. They are pretty small and light anyway.

 

 

If they are good for the next 2 months, maybe I'll share the platinum embarkation perk with them instead. :D

[VikkiGarcia]

I have somewhat sensitive skin as an adult. When I used the laundry service aboard it left ways to much degergent/chemicals on my clothing. I do not mind the towels. But after being in a shirt for a few hours I went back to the cabin and changed. I could see the irritation on my skin.

[kitty9]

I get hives from certain detergents, and I had a problem with Carnival's laundry, but not Celebrity's or RCI's. Maybe they use different detergents. But to be safe, I would not send his laundry out.

[reallyitsmema]

I wouldn't risk sending out the laundry, bring a little of the detergent you use at home and do one load of laundry if necesary. I would also make sure you bring whatever hand soap your child tolerates and anything else you can think of that you might need topically.

 

I can relate to have sensitive skin. I react to so many lotions and soaps that it is crazy. I bring my own soap for the bathroom sink, shower, laundry etc so I won't react. I also bring topical steroid cream, antihistamines and anything else I am currently taking to deal with any flare ups.

 

Sunscreen is a big issue with me too. I tolerate Coppertone Water Babies or Neutragena sunscreens but no others so I always bring twice as much as I need. I also make sure I have pure aloe with me since I have had trouble finding that in the past too.

 

I have even been known to bring my own pillowcase or have put a tshirt over my pillow if my face is reacting.

 

I would just overpack anything and everything just in case. I know some will have issues with that advice but there is nothing worse than standing in a drugstore in Cozumel trying to find that one cream you know will help that you decided not to pack.:)

[lmg1230]

I will echo the "better safe than sorry" advice. My younger daughter and I both have very sensitive skin and break out in rashes and hives from time to time. Two years ago, we were on a Princess Baltic cruise and picked Emma up from the kid's club prior to dinner on the first sea day. She had just started to break out in a few hives at the time but within 30 minutes they were spreading across her body and we had to take her to the medical clinic where she was given a shot of antihistamine to halt the reaction. The doctor's best guess was that she had reacted to the cleaning chemicals used on the carpets as the kids had been sitting in a circle on the carpet just prior to pick up. Any cleaning products/detergents that they use on board will almost certainly be much stronger than what you use at home so it's best to limit contact if there is a chance of a reaction. Much easier to pack lots of little clothes than deal with the stress of watching your child have an allergic reaction while onboard a ship.

 

Lisa

[Cruisin' Chick]

I started using allergen free detergent about seven or so years ago when my daughter started getting rashes from her clothing. The rash went away. When we were on a cruise about five and a half years ago, I brought along ziplock bags of our detergent, but when I was out of the laundry room for a second, mind you, someone offered my hubby some of their leftover detergent and before I can stop him, it was in the washer. I then hoped my daughter had grown out of her allergy. But nope, the rash came back. (yes, I restrained myself from saying something to hubby) When we got home, I washed all of her clothes in our detergent.

 

Before our December cruise, I bought the scent free Purex 3-in-1 sheets and did a laundry load -- no rash. It could be that she has grown out of the allergy or else it's the fragrance or some other chemical in the detergents that bother the girl.

 

One dealbreaker for a cruise for my family is a self-service laundry room (we're trying to do longer cruises or combo land/sea trips).