Laundry Questions

[Angiet2]

Too funny, Lulley! Thanks again, for sharing that sweet story and the future TSA hypothetical story!

 

I was already really, really, really looking fwd to experiencing Azamara, but now, you have up'd my excitement level! See....who says laundry has to be dull?! This thread proves that CC'ers know how to make it a fun topic!

[Lulley766]

Angie,

 

I loved Azamara. It was my first time on this line after 35+ on other lines. Everything was perfect. The only glitch I had was the laundry situation. And, if that's all I had to complain about after 11 days, I had nothing to complain about at all.

 

I can't wait to get back on Azamara. It's worth every penny!

 

Lulley

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[Angiet2]

Angie,

 

I loved Azamara. It was my first time on this line after 35+ on other lines. Everything was perfect. The only glitch I had was the laundry situation. And, if that's all I had to complain about after 11 days, I had nothing to complain about at all.

 

I can't wait to get back on Azamara. It's worth every penny!

 

Lulley

\

 

OK! Now I am getting over the moon excited for my journey on Journey in July! I wish Azamara would hurry up w/ their 2014 schedule so I could book on board and get some extra spending money in the form of OBC!:D

 

There was an interesting thread on the Celebrity board today, comparing Azamara to Celebrity. Check it out...

 

I am hoping that Azamara is a bit more lively than Seabourn was. Seabourn is a LOVELY line, but Lulley, there was basically NOTHING to do in the evenings except eat/drink/converse... That's OK, but after a few nights, one starts to get a bit stir crazy!

[weebo]

I am hoping that Azamara is a bit more lively than Seabourn was. Seabourn is a LOVELY line, but Lulley, there was basically NOTHING to do in the evenings except eat/drink/converse... That's OK, but after a few nights, one starts to get a bit stir crazy!

 

Hi Angie,

I have the same question. We are an active middle aged couple and I am sometimes concerned there won't be any parties or lively activities in the evening. I guess since AZ stays in port so late, we can always party with the locals. :D

 

Especially if AZ passengers are more leaning towards the

Septuagenarians or reserved types.

[Angiet2]

Hi Angie,

I have the same question. We are an active middle aged couple and I am sometimes concerned there won't be any parties or lively activities in the evening. I guess since AZ stays in port so late, we can always party with the locals. :D

 

Especially if AZ passengers are more leaning towards the

Septuagenarians or reserved types.

 

Wow, Melissa! That was definitely the 'Word of the Day'! Bill O'Reilly will definitely be calling you to use that one on his show!

 

When we went on Seabourn, I had been working crazy hours so the 'down time' was welcomed by me. What I honestly did not care for, was the 'way out there' menu... I am a basic type of diner... I enjoy foods I can identify and definitely lean towards a more simple food palette (my DH says I am predictable and far from a foodie!). Seabourn's service was OUTSTANDING, but often times, we grew weary of the dress code in the dining room being a bit hoyty toyty, so we utilized room service on several of the nights. Sadly, our entertainment became waiting for room service and watching Dexter reruns on our in room DVD player:D

 

I really think that Azamara will be more lively and just overall, friendlier than Seabourn. Just the 'vibe' of the roll call and the boards is different.

 

SeaDream is my next small line I would LOVE to try! The folks on the SeaDream boards are so friendly! Wish their cruises weren't so doggone expensive!!!

 

Thanks for teaching me my 'word of the day'!!;)

[Lulley766]

My husband and I are in our early 50's, lively and pretty well traveled. I was afraid that the clientele would be snobby, but I was very wrong. It was indeed an older crowd, but they were also well-travelled with translated into a lot of interesting life experiences and stories. So, we spent a lot of time lingering over a glass of wine after lunch or dinner and conversing with folks.

 

I thought the activities on Azamara leaned a little towards dull. We didn't basically go to much of anything. They had a pianist a couple of times, once was a classical concert. They had a magician. I think they had a singer, but like I said, we went to dinner late, (after a late afternoon nap - see note on wine above - :) ) so that's where our time went.

 

The lectures were on historical topics, and I found the topics much like a college lecture. Yawn. I try not to learn anything too deep on vacation. Those lectures were too intellectual or my tiny little brain.

 

Trivia was held every 5 minutes, so you could always find a group somewhere playing. There were a lot of mah jongg and bridge players on board for that as well.

 

The non wine drinkers seemed to congregatre around the coffee bar and chat, or reading their Kindles. It was a friendly group.

 

My advice to you is - go with the flow. If you want to hit all the activities and lectures - go for it. But, it's your vacation, don't feel compelled to complete a roster of activities. Staring at the ocean from my balcony is the best activity on board.

 

Lulley

 

P.S. I almost forgot - if you are really bored, you can always check out the hotbed of activity in the laundry room...

[weebo]

P.S. I almost forgot - if you are really bored, you can always check out the hotbed of activity in the laundry room...

 

Hahahaha! very cute comment!

I think I will leave the laundry to the crew and send mine out. Like someone said before on this post, I didn't come all this way to do laundry! LOL Washing out a few things in the shower will be the extent of my laundry activities....

 

Hubby and I like to go dancing and go listen to live music (classical is beautiful, but not what I am referring to here) so I'm hoping we will be able to find a dance club or disco.

 

However, our cruise is so port intensive, I may be nodding off over a glass of wine after dinner from exhaustion! :D

 

Thanks for the update!

[zman2]

Get there at 7AM (I think that is when they unlock the doors. Put your stuff in washer and then go upstairs and have breakfast, use the athletic facilities, etc and then come back about 40 minutes later. Then do same thing with the dryer. It worked well last year, anyway. :-)

[Ithikan]

It was pretty funny, the "unmentionables" wrapped in tissue paper. He saved them that way for the next cruise. I think he's hoping to be searched at the airport so that they ask him what's in the wrapped tissue paper package. He can smile and say "My unmentionables". I'm sure the TSA will enjoy this to the point of us all being led away in handcuffs.

 

All because of the Azamara's wonderful laundry....

 

Love this story!

And although there is ever so much more to appreciate about Azamara, the laundry bag is a genuine plus. Our somewhat scruffy workout clothes were returned to us fresh and clean, and on their own hangers no less! Not the sort of treatment they get at home... I adored our last ACC cruise!

[Andy]

There was an interesting thread on the Celebrity board today, comparing Azamara to Celebrity. Check it out...

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

 

In case you are looking for the thread, here's a link. Plenty of excellent observations and comparisons. I've also shared my input, as we often sail Celebrity, and have sailed on Journey & Quest. Enjoy !

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1636071

[Angiet2]

I just read the most recent review on the Journey and had to laugh when the OP mentioned the laundry...and the animosity in the laundry room!!

 

My cabin is right outside the laundry room... This will be an interesting 11 days! Stay tuned for a 'blow by blow' review, once I return! :D

 

Here's the 'copy and paste' from the review:

 

The free laundry is a joke. There are only 4 washing machines and 4 drying machines for the ENTIRE SHIP. The first few days one washing machine was down, and two of the other washing machines did not work properly for the remainder of the cruise even though I did mention it on my mid cruise evaluation. With two of the washing machines, you press the start button and the agitator immediately starts twisting your clothes even though there is no water in the machine. It keeps twisting while the water is filling. The main problem is that 4 washers and 4 dryers are not nearly enough to work for 550 passengers. One day got very heated and a shouting match took place because someones clothes were sitting in the dryer for 3 minutes after the cycle ended. I heard there were a few other heated moments in this area. They need another set of these machines on decks 4 AND deck 8 were most of the cabins are located. I was lucky, I did use this area early one morning, but by the time I left about 10:00 the troops were arriving with their stinky pants in hand for a new round of "Battle for your Whirlpool Washer". And if you make it through round one, round two may be a bit more fun - "How long will your Vanity Fairs Last?" in the dryer that is after the cycle is complete, until someone yanks them out and puts them on display on top of the dryer - skid marks and all.

[GailnBrad]

It seems to me people get so 'worked into a lather' over the washers and dryers, types of soap, temperatures of dryers etc..Geez..It's bo big deal. No problem, no issues. Just go and wash your clothes. If it's busy, come back later. No biggie. It's just a simple nice convenience to have. Relax....remember your on vacation :)

[capegranny]

Some of you have had very interesting lives in the laundry room! I find that the only really BAD times to do laundry are on sea days or when it's raining and folks might decide to forego shore excursions. I agree with the suggestion that access is easier during the first couple of days of the cruise and since we often do pre-cruise traveling, I'm happy to get some laundry done in the first couple of days and then send it out after that. We've never had the experience of the laundry room being left un-locked late into the evening; I beieve it's supposed to close at 8 p.m.

[mister exec]

We had no problems with the complimentary laundry. We had been travelling for several days before we embarked, so we had clothes to wash when we boarded the Quest. It was busy already with others like us. Everyone was respectful and polite and helpful when you don't know how to use the machines the first time. If someone is not there when their washer is finished, usually someone takes your clothes out and puts them into a basket available in the laundry room. Yes, it can be busy, but it was never a big problem. Marc

[AM2903]

We are on B2B 23 nights and will have to navigate laundry at some point. Your experiences will help us manage. We are in Northern Europe, so I doubt we will have a story as good as the Brazillian party. If we do, I will make sure to post.

[Lulley766]

I commented on this very question a while back in this thread. I too, was on an 11 day cruise on this ship. To sum it up - pack what you need, rinse out what you can, and send the rest out to be laundered. Given what you pay to be on Azamara, don't cheap out on the laundry. It's just not worth the aggravation - trust me!

 

Mary

[weebo]

We just returned home last night after 12 days sailing on the Quest and I did laundry twice in the laundry room. It wasn't crazy in there either time and I only had to wait 15 minutes for a washer. I think it depended on when you went, as to how busy it was. I went in the afternoon before supper.

 

There were three washers and four dryers in the laundry room. They worked well and I found my clothes cleaned and dryed properly. You may want to take some dryer sheets but I don't think it's necessary. The soap must have some anti static properties; nothing I washed needed softening or had static. Plus, everyone I met in there was pleasant and friendly. No drama.

 

Its funny how laundry became a big issue for us this cruise. With being on a 12 day cruise, in July, with lots of ports, I found we needed to wear fresh clothes from the skin out each day. No re-wearing a pair of shorts two days in a row, etc. It was so hot and dusty on our excursions (Pompeii, Acropolis) that we had to wash each item to wear it again.

 

This was tough with bras, as I try to wear them twice at home (I don't sweat much as a rule) and I couldn't on this trip. But I found it easy to wash bras, panties and our swimsuits in the shower with me at night. I just soaped them up with the Azamara body wash and rinsed and hung them in the shower on wire hangers. I took 5 small plastic clothes pins for this reason: clip the hanger to the clothes line and it keeps the hangers from sliding to the middle.

 

Since we tried to pack light, we ran short of excursion clothes. I ended up sending a few pairs of shorts and tee shirts of mine and my hubby's to the laundry service to be washed. They did a great job and the shorts had the best ironing job they have ever seen!

 

If anyone has questions, ask away!

[Local17]

Azamara is closed for the night or I would have called them. . . but I'll ask here in case someone knows. . .

 

The bag of clothes things is available for suite passengers and "elite" frequent cruisers. . . and I know that you can pay by the bag. . .

 

Does Azamara offer a "bag a day" for the entire cruise like HAL does? It was $6 a day (IIRC) and it was an awesome deal / service. . . Was $20 or $25 for a single bag.

 

THANKS

Local17

[weebo]

I didn't get any deals like that... But we have only cruised twice and maybe you'd get that if you have a higher level in their loyalty club??

 

Also, we were in a veranda room, not a suite. In a suite I have heard you get one bag of laundry done for free... if I remember correctly.

 

Laundry costs: It cost $3 for a pair of shorts and $3 for tee shirts. $4 for pants. I have the whole lists of costs if you need them. I don't believe you get a bag done for a certain price.

[beachseeker]

I didn't get any deals like that... But we have only cruised twice and maybe you'd get that if you have a higher level in their loyalty club??

 

Also, we were in a veranda room, not a suite. In a suite I have heard you get one bag of laundry done for free... if I remember correctly.

 

Laundry costs: It cost $3 for a pair of shorts and $3 for tee shirts. $4 for pants. I have the whole lists of costs if you need them. I don't believe you get a bag done for a certain price.

 

2 items pressed if you are in a suite, no bags of laundry. Princess offers free laundry as a suite perk, which is a really nice!

[joeinsb]

This thread about the laundry facilities reminded me of an amusing incident that happened when my wife wife decided at the last minute after she was already dressed for dinner that she didn't like a small wrinkle in the fancy top she was wearing, so she dashed breathlessly into the laundry room to use the iron. Sitting there was an elderly gentlemamn who was waiting for his clothes to dry, and when my wife swooped in and took off her top (she had a dressy camisole underneath), the man said, "Oh my, if I had known there was going to be a floor show, I would have ordered dinner in.'' We have laughed about there ever since every time we use the laundry room.

[laurieb]

I read that for our club level, we get a free bag of laundy per week. Does 11 days count as 2 weeks, or does it have to be a full 14 days?

[sherrys]

Since this is a laundry thread and from many posts it is easier to send out laundry than use the washers, I have a question. How do more delicate blouses(cotton but should be cold water washed) or slacks come back? Do they iron everything or just dress shirts? I've always been hesitant to send things to a ship's laundry but I haven't cruised Azamara before. Can they be trusted with clothes I wouldn't like ruined?

[SunnyNy]

You read my mind, SherryS! Wouldn't want to have my clothes back a size smaller in the middle of the cruise!

[shoesonfire]

Since this is a laundry thread and from many posts it is easier to send out laundry than use the washers, I have a question. How do more delicate blouses(cotton but should be cold water washed) or slacks come back? Do they iron everything or just dress shirts? I've always been hesitant to send things to a ship's laundry but I haven't cruised Azamara before. Can they be trusted with clothes I wouldn't like ruined?

 

You can also have clothes dry cleaned if you do not want to risk something delicate to general laundry washing.