Dry Cleaning Warning - ms Noordam (March 2014)

[Floridastorm]

My understanding is that HAL ships have Self Service Laundries. Do you use your cabin key for the washers and dryers? Also, do they have iron and ironing boards or is pressing only done by the staff?

[serendipity1499]

My understanding is that HAL ships have Self Service Laundries. Do you use your cabin key for the washers and dryers? Also, do they have iron and ironing boards or is pressing only done by the staff?

 

Only some of HAL's smaller ships have self service laundries.. Don't believe any of the Vista & newer ships do.. The ships that have laundries for Psgr use have both Irons & ironing boards for Psgrs use..

 

I haven't been paying attention, since years ago I decided not to do any more laundry on board myself, as it takes hours away from our vacation.. However, have never sent anything out to be dry cleaned.. I've always been leery of doing that so take enough dress clothes to last the whole trip.. I only send bags of wash & wear clothes out to be laundered on board..

 

Betty

Edited March 10, 2014 by serendipity1499

[serendipity1499]

It's included with the suite. So it's either free or $8,116 depending on how you look at it.

 

The upper limit on dry cleaning according to the Neptune concierge is $100 per item. I opted to take it up with Seattle and retain the garments. The men's store in Portland, ME where I purchased the items is sending me a receipt and checking on the availability of the fabric for my jacket. Once I have that information, I'll start the process with Seattle.

 

Best case scenario, they'll cover the replacement cost. Worst case, I'll have to pay for items myself. If that happens, I can get some before & after photos and get to work.

 

There were a lot of unhappy people sitting in the Neptune lounge with garments draped over their arms. The problems happened with 80% of our dry cleaning. Fortunately, my DW's slacks didn't shrink down. They lost a little sheen, but they're not ruined. DBIL had a pair of pants marked for dry cleaning and they got washed as well. Once again, his slacks were okay and not wrecked.

 

I'm hoping for a good resolution to the situation.

 

Hope you get a good resolution & enough to replace those items..

 

BTW in your first post you mentioned the bags..I thought those were only for laundry which is to be washed & all dry cleaning was to be left out on the bed..:confused:

 

Am I wrong in assuming this?

 

Betty

Edited March 10, 2014 by serendipity1499

[sapper1]

Only some of HAL's smaller ships have self service laundries.. Don't believe any of the Vista & newer ships do.. The ships that have laundries for Psgr use have both Irons & ironing boards for Psgrs use..

 

I haven't been paying attention, since years ago I decided not to do any more laundry on board myself, as it takes hours away from our vacation.. However, have never sent anything out to be dry cleaned.. I've always been leery of doing that so take enough dress clothes to last the whole trip.. I only send bags of wash & wear clothes out to be laundered on board..

 

Betty

 

I only send stuff I don't care about to the laundry and we have free laundry as a perk. I wash a number of items by hand and never use the dry cleaners. In fact, when a waiter dumped wine on my husband's suit on the NA and he was given a dry cleaning voucher he elected to wait until we got home to have it cleaned.

Edited March 10, 2014 by sapper1

[POA1]

Hope you get a good resolution & enough to replace those items..

 

BTW in your first post you mentioned the bags..I thought those were only for laundry which is to be washed & all dry cleaning was to be left out on the bed..:confused:

 

Am I wrong in assuming this?

 

Betty

 

In the suites, there is a bag and a sheet with 2 columns. The first column is laundry. The second column is dry clean /press. I never jam something good like a sportcoat into the bag. I lay it next to the bag. The room steward shoves everything into the bag anyway, but I figure that the less time stuff spends smooshed up, the better.

 

We make it a point not to ever send anything confusing out. For example, we would not send a launder shirt and a dry clean shirt on the same day.

 

The laundry room is supposed to sort things properly and in the past they always have. The ship acknowledged that the ruined items were clearly marked for dry cleaning.

[POA1]

I only send stuff I don't care about to the laundry and we have free laundry as a perk. I wash a number of items by hand and never use the dry cleaners. In fact, when a waiter dumped wine on my husband's suit on the NA and he was given a dry cleaning voucher he elected to wait until we got home to have it cleaned.

 

Since dry cleaning is included as a perk for paying for the suite - and they have a dry cleaning plant onboard - I think it's pretty reasonable to expect it to be done well. After all, food is included and we're not all bringing on our own meals.

[kjw869]

I wonder if they had a problem with their dry cleaning machine. We were on the 11-day Noordam cruise on 1/27/14 and used their dry cleaning and laundry service six times. There was never one problem, everything came back perfect. We have almost everything dry cleaned except for underwear and socks. We have been on the Noordam twice, and it is the only ship that had same day service.

 

We were in the Neptune Lounge often and never heard any complaints. There had to be something wrong with their machine for this to happen, and I hope you get fair restitution for your clothes that were ruined.

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO

Especially after what happened on our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise.

FAR too many people have hit the new 200 day Star mariner program and now lots of people are constantly sending out tons of clothes to be laundered. People brag about taking home clean laundry.

We all know that HAL has cut crew in every department and that would include the laundry/dry cleaning department.

Thus the few staff they have down there are doing tons more laundry than they did a few years ago. So now they are trying their best to get everything washed and ironed as quickly as possible. Thus errors are being made -- they are not checking carefully to see what items need to be washed and what has to be dry cleaned.

HAL made a BIG mistake when they started to grant people with 200 "points" (sorry I said 200 days before -- I forgot that full fare suites get double points) free laundry.

Sorry for the rant.

[sapper1]

Since dry cleaning is included as a perk for paying for the suite - and they have a dry cleaning plant onboard - I think it's pretty reasonable to expect it to be done well. After all, food is included and we're not all bringing on our own meals.

 

I have been told by someone who definitely knows, that they can have the latest up to date equipment and it all comes down to the person who is pushing the buttons.

[kjw869]

I wonder if they had a problem with their dry cleaning machine. We were on the 11-day Noordam cruise on 1/27/14 and used their dry cleaning and laundry service six times. There was never one problem, everything came back perfect. We have almost everything dry cleaned except for underwear and socks. We have been on the Noordam twice, and it is the only ship that had same day service.

 

We were in the Neptune Lounge often and never heard any complaints. There had to be something wrong with their machine for this to happen, and I hope you get fair restitution for your clothes that were ruined.

 

I misread your original post and learned that you sent the items out for dry cleaning and they were laundered instead. I'm wondering how could anyone in the laundry department toss a sport jacket in the regular wash??

 

This is negligence on the cruise line and they should at least reimburse you for the cost of your damaged clothing.

 

I hope the same person isn't working on the Zuiderdam in May!

Edited March 10, 2014 by kjw869

[ScriptOhio]

Just sayin': On the Nieuw Amsterdam this past February I sent a full bag of clothes to the laundry. Included in the bag was 2 handkerchiefs. I got 2 handkerchiefs back; but they weren't the same ones that I had sent. Mine were similar the these:

 

 

The ones I got back had a slightly different pattern. I just kept them. I wonder if the guy that got mine noticed the difference. :p

[SetAnOpenCourse]

 

I hope the same person isn't working on the Zuiderdam in May!

 

Last year on a Zuiderdam Alaska cruise my sportcoat was damaged by dry cleaning. Perhaps on the form I should have checked off only "clean", not clean and press. It came back with the liner drooping below the edge of the coat, and the lapels curled up a bit. Our Neptune concierge made a note of it but didn't offer anything, and I never heard from HAL. The damage was disappointing, as was HAL's response. There must be a lack of training or supervision.

Edited March 11, 2014 by SetAnOpenCourse

[kjw869]

Last year on a Zuiderdam Alaska cruise my sportcoat was damaged by dry cleaning. Perhaps on the form I should have checked off only "clean", not clean and press. It came back with the liner drooping below the edge of the coat, and the lapels curled up a bit. Our Neptune concierge made a note of it but didn't offer anything, and I never heard from HAL. The damage was disappointing, as was HAL's response. There must be a lack of training or supervision.

 

We were also on a B2B Zuiderdam Alaska cruise last May, and fortunately had no problems with the dry cleaning, or the laundry. I hope our luck holds up in a few months.

[SilvertoGold]

I only send stuff I don't care about to the laundry and we have free laundry as a perk. I wash a number of items by hand and never use the dry cleaners. In fact, when a waiter dumped wine on my husband's suit on the NA and he was given a dry cleaning voucher he elected to wait until we got home to have it cleaned.

 

This is a smart attitude!

[SilvertoGold]

JMO

Especially after what happened on our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise.

FAR too many people have hit the new 200 day Star mariner program and now lots of people are constantly sending out tons of clothes to be laundered. People brag about taking home clean laundry.

We all know that HAL has cut crew in every department and that would include the laundry/dry cleaning department.

Thus the few staff they have down there are doing tons more laundry than they did a few years ago. So now they are trying their best to get everything washed and ironed as quickly as possible. Thus errors are being made -- they are not checking carefully to see what items need to be washed and what has to be dry cleaned.

HAL made a BIG mistake when they started to grant people with 200 "points" (sorry I said 200 days before -- I forgot that full fare suites get double points) free laundry.

Sorry for the rant.

 

The 4 star program may very well be taxing HAL's ability to do a good job of all they try to do. Nevertheless, we do not see all that many 4 and 5 stars on most cruises. I think the most was about 50.

The WC must have hundreds and hundreds: can't begin to imagine how they manage, except with extra crew.

Edited March 11, 2014 by SilvertoGold

[cbr663]

We were in a NS on the Eurodam and sent our formal clothes out for a pressing. Many items came back soiled and stained. When we brought it to the attention of the concierge, we had a face to face meeting with the laundry supervisor who accused us of sending soiled items to the laundry. We were not impressed.

 

One thing that we learned from this experience is that the laundry service is unreliable. You send anything out and you take your chances. So, we now ask ourselves: is it worth the risk to pack anything expensive for a cruise when the air line can lose it or the cruise ship can ruin it? For us, the answer is a resounding "no".

 

This is just another reason why we do not participate in formal nights. I have never felt great in a wrinkled tux.

[Floridastorm]

Only some of HAL's smaller ships have self service laundries.. Don't believe any of the Vista & newer ships do.. The ships that have laundries for Psgr use have both Irons & ironing boards for Psgrs use..

 

I haven't been paying attention, since years ago I decided not to do any more laundry on board myself, as it takes hours away from our vacation.. However, have never sent anything out to be dry cleaned.. I've always been leery of doing that so take enough dress clothes to last the whole trip.. I only send bags of wash & wear clothes out to be laundered on board..

 

Betty

 

We're on the Veendam which I understand does have a self serve laundry. For a 10 day trip we would do a laundry only once as we take enough clothes for 5 days. And, how long does it take to do a load of laundry, a couple of hours at most? Considering that quite a few people have had problems with sending their clothes out to be washed, at least when you do your own you know it's done right and everything comes back.

[POA1]

I wonder if they had a problem with their dry cleaning machine. We were on the 11-day Noordam cruise on 1/27/14 and used their dry cleaning and laundry service six times. There was never one problem, everything came back perfect. We have almost everything dry cleaned except for underwear and socks. We have been on the Noordam twice, and it is the only ship that had same day service.

 

We were in the Neptune Lounge often and never heard any complaints. There had to be something wrong with their machine for this to happen, and I hope you get fair restitution for your clothes that were ruined.

 

So you used up all the good dry cleaning on your sailing? ;) That explains it.

[kjw869]

So you used up all the good dry cleaning on your sailing? ;) That explains it.

 

You're right, that must be it!

[Mtn2Sea]

POA1's problem reminds me of a friend's experience on another cruise line a few years ago. Just prior to his cruise, my friend went to a consignment store and found a beautiful, almost new tux in his size, but the pants were too long. He took the tux on his trip and immediately sent the pants out to be altered, indicating he wanted the length to be 32 inches. In this part of the world, the length of men's pants refer to the inseam. When the pants came back, they had been beautifully altered, but they measured 32 inches on the out seam. The ship people refused any compensation. When my friend got home, his wife took a photo of his wearing his tux, which showed quite a bit of his bare legs. He then sent a letter and the photo to the corporate office. They sent him a check for $200. He was happy - he had paid $25 for the tux at the consignment store.

[PCruzer]

I would never send anything, of value, on HAL, to be either drycleaned, (or laundered for that matter)! :eek: Some people are under the impression that their laundry items are washed in the water temperarture that thay have indicated on the requisition, when, in fact, everything is probably washed/dryed in hot water/dryer! :mad: In fact, on my recent Ryndam cruise, items were placed in a washer in a launderette; (those that were not out of order); the water temperature was set for cold water & the clothes were removed hot from having being washed in hot water! :mad: If one cannot afford to have their items of clothing lost/ damaged/shrunken, then one should not be sending them, at a hefty cost, to be laundered in the first place! ;)

When you send clothing to the laundry for washing, they also don't separate dark colors from light colors. I sent 2 brand new white t-shirts for washing, and they came back a dingy white/gray color!

 

I always check everything the minute it is returned to the cabin.

That is a very good idea. One time my husband sent out a heavy twill shirt for washing. When it came back he didn't check it and didn't wear it again on the cruise. When we got home and he went to put it away, he discovered there was a quarter-sized hole in it. It was a clean cut and not frayed. It actually looked like someone took a pair of scissors and cut it out!

[jtl513]

My understanding is that HAL ships have Self Service Laundries. Do you use your cabin key for the washers and dryers? Also, do they have iron and ironing boards or is pressing only done by the staff?

On the ships that have them (the Veendam does) they're coin operated. You can get change at the front desk. A special low-sudsing detergent is dispensed by the machines. If you prefer to bring your own detergent, use half the normal amount. The laundry rooms have irons and boards.

.

Edited March 11, 2014 by jtl513

[POA1]

POA1's problem reminds me of a friend's experience on another cruise line a few years ago. Just prior to his cruise, my friend went to a consignment store and found a beautiful, almost new tux in his size, but the pants were too long. He took the tux on his trip and immediately sent the pants out to be altered, indicating he wanted the length to be 32 inches. In this part of the world, the length of men's pants refer to the inseam. When the pants came back, they had been beautifully altered, but they measured 32 inches on the out seam. The ship people refused any compensation. When my friend got home, his wife took a photo of his wearing his tux, which showed quite a bit of his bare legs. He then sent a letter and the photo to the corporate office. They sent him a check for $200. He was happy - he had paid $25 for the tux at the consignment store.

 

I wish I was in that situation. My vest will be $325 to replace and the coat will be $850. I suppose I could hit the thrift stores and buy my cruise wardrobe, but it seems kind of counter intuitive.

 

Like I said earlier, we've never had a problem with HAL dry cleaning or laundry before this trip. The worst thing that used to happen was that the little plastic laundry tags would poke you if you forgot to remove them.

[BruceMuzz]

I hear you. However, since the ship operates a full time dry cleaning plant and sells the service as a suite perk, I didn't expect this much of a mess. We have to trust them to cook food, sail the ship, and whatnot, so I was expecting a little more.

 

Thank goodness I only sent 1 vest and not my tuxedo. I would have had to wear my shrunken jacket and tiny tux pants on formal nights. (With a sign taped to the back that said, "Tuxedo Made Extra Awesome by HAL Dry Cleaning."

 

Correction.

There is no cruise ship in the world operating a full time dry cleaning plant.

The required chemicals for real dry cleaning are not only dangerous, but carcinagenic.

ALL the cruise lines removed their dry cleaning plants many years ago, and replaced them with a wet cleaning process that is far safer and environmentally friendly - but not as good for delicate fabrics.

Most cruise lines not only brag to passengers about the new process, but also warn that it is not a good idea to send delicate or expensive clothing for this cleaning.

[POA1]

Post deleted. There is no point in arguing with BruceMuzz. He knows for a fact that my stuff wasn't sent out for dry cleaning and that the cruise line warned me to never bring anything of value - especially clothing - onto a ship.

Edited March 12, 2014 by POA1