Elite Benefit Erosion

[BridgeMates]

I simply don't understand the attraction of the free laundry service. Since we are almost at the end of our cruising season, and I am getting a bit weary of sitting in the passenger Laundromat, I have been more lenient about sending out items. In addition to two T-shirts previously ruined and three shorts buttons broken, I just yesterday three away two pair of underwear with holes after one washing. I don't understand why others haven't had these issues, but have heard from crew that the Emerald washers and/or dryer drums have burrs which snag everything (tablecloths and napkins included).

 

We have done at least 15 loads of laundry on our own this winter to avoid such issues. We would never dream of asking PSD for free tokens because we are "entitled" to free laundry. To me, it's the passenger Laundromats that are the real perk, not the free laundry benefit.

 

Just want to say we've not had your problems with the laundry (been on the Emerald 2x). I don't send anything fragile or expensive tho just in case.

I love having the free laundry benefit, most especially on the longer cruises. Definitely don't abuse the privilege. The last week I just pack the dirty clothes. Everything goes in the wash or to the cleaners when I get home anyway. Even if it's clean, it's all squished down and wrinkled in the suitcases.

[ggprincess2004]

When it comes to laundry and free laundry, having Princess do some of our laundry is great, and it also is nice to have the passenger laundry rooms, as there is some stuff I just won't send out. I don't want it in hot water or hot dryers. But being able to send the "tougher stuff" out really does save us time and other hassles, it comes back clean and pressed - pressing I don't have to do. As to whether we leave the ship with mostly clean or mostly dirty clothes, it very much depends on what we are doing after the cruise - flying directly home, or heading to a hotel for vacation/business reasons.

 

We also really do need to have the internet access, especially on longer cruises. Between keeping in touch with older parents, the grown kids, the cat nanny, and handling personal finances, it is vital. It would be nice to have a little leeway when it comes to limits on minutes, especially when the connection is slower than it normally is.

[Pam in CA]

Shake your head and chuckle all you want. Most of us do enjoy the free laundry; especially on those longer, warmer weather cruises. I can honestly say, I have never received a ruined item back. Maybe I'm just lucky. The laundry fiasco was certainly a memorable event on the Royal, Oct. TA but, hopefully that was an isolated incident. It wouldn't bother me at all if Princess put a limit on amount of laundry to be sent out. I'm sure it's coming!

I agree. We each have our own preferences and since the laundry option is there, many take advantage of it. Sure, it takes only an hour or so to do it yourself but if you're off the ship every morning at 7am and returning at 5pm after a full day of intensive touring six days in a row, you don't have a lot of time or energy to do much other than shower, change, have dinner, maybe watch some entertainment, go to bed and do it all over again the next day. It's one thing to take a relaxing Caribbean cruise where you're going to the beach every day or snorkeling and another when you're walking miles every day exploring ruins, walking up mountains, appreciating antiquities, etc. on a port-intensive cruise. A 17-day cruise with multiple climates is also very different from a 5- or 7-day cruise packing-wise. It's easy to laugh until you're the one dragging a$$ and looking forward to a sea day which is a week away.

 

FYI, for those laughing at some for sending out all their clothing to the laundry, I wear and bring disposable undies until after I board the ship. That eliminates the "ick" factor. :)

[Ethel5]

I agree. We each have our own preferences and since the laundry option is there, many take advantage of it. Sure, it takes only an hour or so to do it yourself but if you're off the ship every morning at 7am and returning at 5pm after a full day of intensive touring six days in a row, you don't have a lot of time or energy to do much other than shower, change, have dinner, maybe watch some entertainment, go to bed and do it all over again the next day. It's one thing to take a relaxing Caribbean cruise where you're going to the beach every day or snorkeling and another when you're walking miles every day exploring ruins, walking up mountains, appreciating antiquities, etc. on a port-intensive cruise. A 17-day cruise with multiple climates is also very different from a 5- or 7-day cruise packing-wise. It's easy to laugh until you're the one dragging a$$ and looking forward to a sea day which is a week away.

 

FYI, for those laughing at some for sending out all their clothing to the laundry, I wear and bring disposable undies until after I board the ship. That eliminates the "ick" factor. :)

 

What she said!!! :)

 

To 24639..My undies don't get stained and my IQ is well above normal-not Mensa but close.

[metairiegal]

We are platinum.

 

We just got off the Ruby last week and did not go to the P/E disembarkation lounge. We went to the regular, lowly, disembarkation lounge and they had coffee and pastries, too. Plus, even though we had free internet minutes, they were so painfully slow, it really wasn't worth the frustration of trying to use the computers.

Edited March 25, 2014 by metairiegal

[Julia’s Journey’s]

 

The free laundry situation - as Elites, we limit what we send out, only sending a out a not-too-full bag about every 3rd day. I don't mind doing a load of wash if necessary and I don't want to over-use that benefit. I can only hope others will be considerate too.

 

 

I agree, we sent 3 not so full bags on the royal TA, did our own laundry and had it washed and dried in a couple of hours, I love that they have laundries onboard. Our cabin steward did say some cabins were sending three bags in the morning and three in the evening and they knew it wasn't there clothes.

Princess should have put a stop to it the first day!!!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

[Go-Bucks!]

. . . one perk I have little interest in is the free laundry. For me, the idea of sending my clothes to be washed in a big machine with other people's dirty stuff is kind of "ew."

 

So . . . do you bring your own towels and sheets with you from home?? What's the difference in wiping your body with towels or sleeping on linens that thousands of other people have used and are washed with many others in the laundry? Same sort of "ew"' isn't it! ;)

 

I love the laundry perk!! :D

[shredie]

What's the difference in wiping your body with towels or sleeping on linens that thousands of other people have used and are washed with many others in the laundry?

I didn't claim it made sense. :) I like the disposables idea...

[Skai]

I have to laugh at some of the comments in this thread. "Erosion" of benefits is a funny way to put it. Figuring with my little pencil here, I estimate we will be Elite in the summer of 2015 (or maybe sooner since we have discovered how fun it is to "cheat" with those Coastals. ;)) At my current lowly status of Platinum, I like the perks (Internet, shrimp fountain in the P/E lounge, disembarkation coffee and pastries, etc.) but one perk I have little interest in is the free laundry. For me, the idea of sending my clothes to be washed in a big machine with other people's dirty stuff is kind of "ew." I have become a master of sink washing. :)

 

Of course, I understand that free laundry is important to some people, and I'm glad they have the option. I can see how they might worry that the perk will disappear for whatever reason, but to see it as "Elite Erosion" seems a tad snooty, IMO. (Okay, maybe I'll change my tune after we finish a few more Coastals.) :D

 

 

1st world problems. :rolleyes:

 

The way some of these 'elites' go on and on and on about their woes.....It makes me want to book a couple b2b2b2b2bs of 3 and 4 day sailings just to dilute the elite ranks even more mwuhahahahahaha:D

[Ethel5]

So . . . do you bring your own towels and sheets with you from home?? What's the difference in wiping your body with towels or sleeping on linens that thousands of other people have used and are washed with many others in the laundry? Same sort of "ew"' isn't it! ;)

 

I love the laundry perk!! :D

 

A lot of people place too much emphasis on the "EW" factor! Folks-there are germs everywhere and none of us will come out alive.

[Colo Cruiser]

So . . . do you bring your own towels and sheets with you from home?? What's the difference in wiping your body with towels or sleeping on linens that thousands of other people have used and are washed with many others in the laundry? Same sort of "ew"' isn't it! ;)

 

I love the laundry perk!! :D

 

 

You gotta point.

[Woobstr112G]

I think the Royal T/A was an extreme example of the laundry abuse yet Princess did nothing to control it which resulted in massive delays, immense frustration and upset just about everyone on the ship, from the stewards to passengers paying to have their laundry done. The excuse given was that there were a lot of Elites onboard and that laundry couldn't be done while docked in Venice. Hogwash! I've taken quite a few cruises with as many or more Elites onboard.

 

What happened is that some people were sending 5-7 bags a day, every day and many were sending multiple bags a day. Granted, there was a delay due to Venice so that the first day, there was a delay of a couple of days to get your laundry back. By the end of the cruise, laundry was taking 7-8 days between sending it out and getting it back. People were literally screaming and crying for their clothing, even if it was wet, so they could pack. It was a disaster.

 

IMHO, Princess could have easily controlled this by limiting laundry to one bag a day per cabin. That's very reasonable even for people spending several days pre-cruise touring. You can fit 2-3 days' worth of clothing in a bag per couple. As a single, I often send 4-5 days' clothing in one bag. To me, the situation was controllable/fixable but Princess chose not to do anything which resulted in everyone mad, angry and upset.

 

I agree.....:):):)

 

Bob

[BruceMuzz]

Sending out laundry for others is like the Seinfeld episode where Courtney Cox played Jerry's girlfriend but pretended to be his wife. We just made Elite. I'd hate to see an erosion of the benefit now that we've earned it. Perhaps Princess just needs to police the laundry situation better.

 

Some Princess Elite pax bring every piece of clothing they own with them on the cruise in order to send it out and get it all cleaned for free.

 

Others bring just a few pieces of clothing and a dozen non-elite relatives along, and send in all the dirty clothing from all their relatives for cleaning.

 

How do you propose that Princess "police the laundry situation better" ??

Truth Serum injections?

Lie Detector tests?

Check dirty undies for names written on them?

[Nancyquilts]

Some Princess Elite pax bring every piece of clothing they own with them on the cruise in order to send it out and get it all cleaned for free.

 

Others bring just a few pieces of clothing and a dozen non-elite relatives along, and send in all the dirty clothing from all their relatives for cleaning.

 

How do you propose that Princess "police the laundry situation better" ??

Truth Serum injections?

Lie Detector tests?

Check dirty undies for names written on them?

I rather like the idea posted above to limit the number of bags. X only allows one per person for Elite for the whole voyage.:eek: I certainly wouldn't complain if we would be limited to one bag per cabin per day, for instance.

[Pam in CA]

Some Princess Elite pax bring every piece of clothing they own with them on the cruise in order to send it out and get it all cleaned for free.

 

 

 

Others bring just a few pieces of clothing and a dozen non-elite relatives along, and send in all the dirty clothing from all their relatives for cleaning.

 

 

 

How do you propose that Princess "police the laundry situation better" ??

 

Truth Serum injections?

 

Lie Detector tests?

 

Check dirty undies for names written on them?

Very true. However, they could control it better. When an excessive amount of laundry is being sent out, I think it's reasonable to limit it to one bag per cabin per day.

[Dreamer333]

Keep it simple... don't wear underwear.

[Ethel5]

Keep it simple... don't wear underwear.

 

Considering the average age of the Princess cruiser, that's an "EEW.":D

[Dreamer333]

considering the average age of the princess cruiser, that's an "eew.":d

 

lol!!!

[LewesBeach]

Some Princess Elite pax bring every piece of clothing they own with them on the cruise in order to send it out and get it all cleaned for free.

 

Others bring just a few pieces of clothing and a dozen non-elite relatives along, and send in all the dirty clothing from all their relatives for cleaning.

 

How do you propose that Princess "police the laundry situation better" ??

Truth Serum injections?

Lie Detector tests?

Check dirty undies for names written on them?

 

1 suggestion was posted earlier: pre-printed bar coded bag tags delivered to your cabin the first day, same as shore excursion tix. X amount of bag tags per cabin based on number of cruising days. When they're gone, so is your free laundry. If you want to waste them on other people clothes, fine. It will control the total amount going into the laundry on a cruise.

[Christine Frances]

I rather like the idea posted above to limit the number of bags. X only allows one per person for Elite for the whole voyage.:eek: I certainly wouldn't complain if we would be limited to one bag per cabin per day, for instance.

 

 

Elite members on X get 1 bag pp per cruise but it is for 30 items so 60 items total per couple. Elite + gets 2 bags pp x 2 so 120 items per cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[bhopal21]

These things have a tendency to get "over engineered" so I think a simple one bag per cabin per day would go a long way toward preventing abuse.

 

Mike:)

[Colo Cruiser]

These things have a tendency to get "over engineered" so I think a simple one bag per cabin per day would go a long way toward preventing abuse.

 

Mike:)

 

Yes like I said before its not rocket science. :cool:

[Weluv2cruise2007]

We just finally reached Elite status and looked forward to the laundry, but not if it's a 36hr turn around. We normally bring half the amount of clothes we need for a given cruise length so when it's time for laundry we need it same day. No big deal...one load in the laundry mat is not bad. We would be doing our gym clothes anyways because I wouldn't send all my dri-fit out to be laundered. So if we don't use the laundry, and the upgraded amenities are gone, I guess all we get for our long awaited Elite status is a one time mini bar set up and a black card? Woo hoo! Lol!

[bhopal21]

We just finally reached Elite status and looked forward to the laundry, but not if it's a 36hr turn around. We normally bring half the amount of clothes we need for a given cruise length so when it's time for laundry we need it same day. No big deal...one load in the laundry mat is not bad. We would be doing our gym clothes anyways because I wouldn't send all my dri-fit out to be laundered. So if we don't use the laundry, and the upgraded amenities are gone, I guess all we get for our long awaited Elite status is a one time mini bar set up and a black card? Woo hoo! Lol!

 

 

Don't forget the 18 internet minutes.:rolleyes:

 

Mike:)

[paul929207]

We just finally reached Elite status and looked forward to the laundry, but not if it's a 36hr turn around. We normally bring half the amount of clothes we need for a given cruise length so when it's time for laundry we need it same day. No big deal...one load in the laundry mat is not bad. We would be doing our gym clothes anyways because I wouldn't send all my dri-fit out to be laundered. So if we don't use the laundry, and the upgraded amenities are gone, I guess all we get for our long awaited Elite status is a one time mini bar set up and a black card? Woo hoo! Lol!

The Elite laundry benefit has never been for same day service. Some times it comes back the same daay, but it is promised for the next day.