Laundry Strategy on a 22 day cruise on the Eclipse

[donaldsc]

I would be surprised if $50 per bag was the "select" price. Just a few months ago it was $20. I assume that you are talking $US. Prior to becoming Elite where we have free laundry we used to hand wash most of our clothes as required and hang them on a rigged up clothes line on the balcony. In most cases if we did them on sea days they would be dry either during the day or overnight in warm climes. While Select we would send our heavy clothes away to the laundry. If there are two select passengers in a cabin there are two options for bag laundry. As the laundry bag is paper suggest you take a plastic rubbish bag to use as a liner whereby you can get more clothes in without bursting the paper bag

 

I am surprised someone from the crew has not told you that you are not supposed to hang clothes out to dry on the balcony. Can you imagine what the ship would look like if there were clothes hanging on every balcony. There has to be something on the company WEB site saying that this is not allowed or else they may feel that a prohibition is not explicitly required as nobody would actually do it.

 

DON

[Hestia]

I plan on using the built in clothesline on Constellation next month. I didn't realize that S class doesn't have this feature, but I'm glad I know so that I can plan ahead for my Reflection cruise next year. Any suggestions for a DIY clothesline to use in your cabin?

 

I bought one of these for camping and loved it so much I bought another for cruising. If you're in the US it is likely cheaper... I cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

(Insert non affiliated blurb).

 

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=69003&cat=2,42194,67373

[Cruise a holic]

Hook magnets are not heavy enough, I've used thin wire hangers on the upper part of the drapes, or wherever I could find to hang them.

 

If you go on line, you will find that some are heavy duty and can handle the weight- Or if you prefer no line- buy a few heavy duty hooks and use the wire hangers on the hooks- a little nicer then the clothes line hanging in your cabin.

[chemmo]

We do have 'cruise clothes'. We send undies and nightwear to the laundry (we no longer pay but did before)....Husband has son (when he comes with us) have those real light weight 'jersey' fabric polo shirts which rinse, wring and dry really fast...I cruise with black skirt and black slacks which will last the cruise and mix and match with a variety of easily rinsed and dried tops...sometimes we will send the odd item for dry cleaning....if you need to it isn't a big deal. As we usually land stay pre and post cruise (to say nothing for our poor clothes travelling around the world first)....we do expect to either spend some money on board on laundry and pressing or just before/after cruise....As someone said, see some laundry costs simply as part of your holiday costs..

[Straughn]

My solution to washing out lightweight items and hanging to dry in the cabin.

 

https://www.containerstore.com/s/laundry/drying-racks-accessories/lingerie-drying-rack/12d?productId=10025593

 

This can be hung on a towel rack. A shower clothesline, a hook or in the closet. Love this. It lives in my suitcase so I never forget it.

[griffy116]

We used to carry too many suitcases and now we do what we can to travel light, not just because of the cost of the luggage, but just the aggravation of having so many pieces. I wash out a few pieces and I use the large clothes pins (the cute ones you use to hold the beach towels from blowing) and I wash out two articles in the sink, roll them in a clean pool towel to squeeze the water out, then clip the two garments on the back of the chair on the balcony. They hold them secure and they aren't an eyesore. I can hang these two items before going to dinner and they're dry by the time we have dinner, see a show and then they're dry. I carry clothes on the cruise that dry quickly and don't wrinkle. They're pieces bought specifically for those reasons. I've found that clothes hanging inside the cabin just don't dry fast enough. The wind truly does dry them super fast. I also send out the bag. I just consider it a part of the trip and I hate the idea of using a laundromat. I've even sent a favorite pair of slacks that got into a toast that went bad with some sangria to the ship's laundry and they came out good as new!

[Beanb41]

An alternative to the pool towels which are bulky and at times difficult to wring out, consider the artificial Chamois that one sees at fairs and trade shows. They are light absorb a lot of water and are easily wrung out. Ours cost us around $20 for 3 pieces each about a metre square

[2-4-cruisin]

We just returned from a 2 week cruise on the Eclipse. We are select members and the special on laundry was $50 for as many clothes as you could get into the bag. We rolled up our clothes into small rolls and fit more clothing into the bag than if we had just stuffed it in without rolling. We decided to do laundry on the ship and take less clothing in order to avoid having to cart an extra suitcase or two. What we spent in laundry costs made up for paying for an extra suitcase on the plane, there and back. By the way, the cruise was fantastic!

[Ken the cruiser]

We just returned from a 2 week cruise on the Eclipse. We are select members and the special on laundry was $50 for as many clothes as you could get into the bag. We rolled up our clothes into small rolls and fit more clothing into the bag than if we had just stuffed it in without rolling. We decided to do laundry on the ship and take less clothing in order to avoid having to cart an extra suitcase or two. What we spent in laundry costs made up for paying for an extra suitcase on the plane, there and back. By the way, the cruise was fantastic!

 

Thanks for that! I think we now have a plan without having to do any laundry in the room. Roll our dirty clothes up tightly, put them in the paper laundry bag lined with a plastic rubbish bag and use our OBC to pay for it. Cool. Thanks everyone for all your inputs. They have been a great help!! :D

[alcpa1]

I am another fan of the hanging gizmo fro The Container Store. It's already been on 4 continents and served us well.

[Luvcrusn]

Hook magnets are not heavy enough, I've used thin wire hangers on the upper part of the drapes, or wherever I could find to hang them.

 

I bought a set of 4 heavy duty chrome colored magnetic hooks on Amazon. I use them in the shower with twine between to hand wet bathing suite and laundry and use those towel/chair clips as clothespins. I've hung a bunch of stuff at once and 2 hold up A LOT of wet stuff at once. Just look at the weight it holds. We returned a set we bought at home depot because they weren't strong enough to hold wet stuff.

[nomadguy]

I am another fan of the hanging gizmo fro The Container Store. It's already been on 4 continents and served us well.

I use that at home over the laundry sink and it's one of my favorite items but never thought to pack it!

 

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[Ken the cruiser]

Prior to becoming elite and have the free bag of laundry each for a cruise, we sent most of our clothes to be laundered.

Are we understanding your statement correctly 4774papa? When we make Elite status, will each of us get a free bag of laundry (every 7 days) on a cruise or is it one per stateroom? For example, how many bags of laundry will we get free on a 21 day b2b cruise which combines an 11 day cruise and a 10 day cruise?

[nomadguy]

Are we understanding your statement correctly 4774papa? When we make Elite status, will each of us get a free bag of laundry (every 7 days) on a cruise or is it one per stateroom? For example, how many bags of laundry will we get free on a 21 day b2b cruise which combines an 11 day cruise and a 10 day cruise?

1 bag laundry every sailing & 1 garment dry cleaned.

 

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[Ken the cruiser]

1 bag laundry every sailing & 1 garment dry cleaned.

 

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If we are both Elite status is that one bag per stateroom or one bag per person per sailing?

[perditax]

Regarding hand washing, there are a couple of kickstarter items on Amazon, the Scrubba and the Laundreez, shown here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Laundreez-1-Portable-Clothes-Washer/dp/B013C98X72

 

But once I got a good look at the Laundreez, I realized it's basically identical to travel "dry sacks" you can also get on Amazon for about 1/4 the cost. The scrubba is similar. They're lightweight waterproof bags that you put your clothes in, fill with water and a little soap and agitate in whatever way seems best, drain water and rinse. It's basically just giving you a slightly bigger and better-controlled washtub than the sink or shower.

 

So I bought a $12 dry sack and I'm going to try using to wash a few things on my next trip.

[Beanb41]

If there are two elite people in a cabin there will be two opportunities for free laundry. One elite equals one bag of laundry irrespective of length of cruise. A B2B is two cruises

[Ken the cruiser]

If there are two elite people in a cabin there will be two opportunities for free laundry. One elite equals one bag of laundry irrespective of length of cruise. A B2B is two cruises

Thanks for taking the time to spell it out. That's exactly what we were hoping to hear!

[vickykay]

This post reminds me of a funny story. When on our Baltic cruise several years ago ( which was an expensive cruise so $50 more or less was not a huge impact) we were sitting near an older couple who were complaining tha that there was no laundermat on the ship and they had to pay $$ to send their laundry out. This was after telling us of all the upscale cruise lines ( ie Crystal, etc) they usually go on. As previously said, it's just part of the price of the cruise and a good way of thinking about it.

 

By the way, we have found that the dry cleaning prices are comparable to those at home and will often send out a few pieces that we worry might shrink, such as pants that I usually hang to dry at home. Never had a problem with things shrinking otherwise.

 

Enjoy your cruise! A b2b sounds wonderful.

[vickykay]

Also, these are some great suggestions. I'm going to look for the item from the Container store.

[Cruise a holic]

This post reminds me of a funny story. When on our Baltic cruise several years ago ( which was an expensive cruise so $50 more or less was not a huge impact) we were sitting near an older couple who were complaining tha that there was no laundermat on the ship and they had to pay $$ to send their laundry out. This was after telling us of all the upscale cruise lines ( ie Crystal, etc) they usually go on. As previously said, it's just part of the price of the cruise and a good way of thinking about it.

 

By the way, we have found that the dry cleaning prices are comparable to those at home and will often send out a few pieces that we worry might shrink, such as pants that I usually hang to dry at home. Never had a problem with things shrinking otherwise.

 

Enjoy your cruise! A b2b sounds wonderful.

 

I also find it amazing that people pay thousands of dollars for a cruise and then if asked to pay additional for a piece of luggage go crazy. Why deprive yourself of dressing the way you feel comfortable and not worry about laundry because you wouldn't bring an additional piece of luggage or send out laundry.

[Ken the cruiser]

You have it all wrong. For us, as we book as far out as possible, the pre-cruise planning stage is just another part of our cruise adventure. It's not the money per se, it's the hunt for finding tidbits along the way so when we actually go on the cruise, it will be as stress free as possible. Whether it's figuring our how to move up the "class" level (if it's worth it) and identifying which perks we'll get, rebooking several times to get a better promotion and/or a cheaper fare, finding out about upsells, applying for shareholder benefits (although RCL is quite restrictive of which we passed on while CCL is the most inclusive), booking excursions and now pre-booking using OBC on Celebrity, and yes, even finding out about the laundry costs. For example on HAL they have unlimited laundry for $7 a day. It's all part of the pre-cruise planning and every cruise line is different.

 

When we started cruising about 3 years ago, we would never have any OBC and would never rebook a cruise simply because we were just looking forward to going on the cruise. Then when we realized we really enjoy cruising, we started booking early and finding there are a lot of ways you can save money and build your OBC stash before and during your cruise!

 

Then, two things happened last year. First, we discovered CC and the wealth of knowledge you all bring to the table. Then, from discussions on CC with some of its members and booking our first Crystal cruise, we locked in on a great TA that gets us an additional 6-8% in price reductions and OBC on each cruise we transfer to them.

 

So the quest for cruise knowledge (thank you CC!) is always an ongoing adventure for us, especially since we have found cruising with the same cruise line can get kind of boring after awhile.

 

Anyway, that's our story and, again, thank you for all of the great laundry ideas you've passed along on this thread!

[QShip]

Does the Millennium have a clothesline in the shower?

[Cruise a holic]

You have it all wrong. For us, as we book as far out as possible, the pre-cruise planning stage is just another part of our cruise adventure. It's not the money per se, it's the hunt for finding tidbits along the way so when we actually go on the cruise, it will be as stress free as possible. Whether it's figuring our how to move up the "class" level (if it's worth it) and identifying which perks we'll get, rebooking several times to get a better promotion and/or a cheaper fare, finding out about upsells, applying for shareholder benefits (although RCL is quite restrictive of which we passed on while CCL is the most inclusive), booking excursions and now pre-booking using OBC on Celebrity, and yes, even finding out about the laundry costs. For example on HAL they have unlimited laundry for $7 a day. It's all part of the pre-cruise planning and every cruise line is different.

 

When we started cruising about 3 years ago, we would never have any OBC and would never rebook a cruise simply because we were just looking forward to going on the cruise. Then when we realized we really enjoy cruising, we started booking early and finding there are a lot of ways you can save money and build your OBC stash before and during your cruise!

 

Then, two things happened last year. First, we discovered CC and the wealth of knowledge you all bring to the table. Then, from discussions on CC with some of its members and booking our first Crystal cruise, we locked in on a great TA that gets us an additional 6-8% in price reductions and OBC on each cruise we transfer to them.

 

So the quest for cruise knowledge (thank you CC!) is always an ongoing adventure for us, especially since we have found cruising with the same cruise line can get kind of boring after awhile.

 

Anyway, that's our story and, again, thank you for all of the great laundry ideas you've passed along on this thread!

 

Ken

Always interested in ways to get discounts and cruise credit. We haven't had good experiene with TA's= sometimes a free dinner- but a pain to contact them if I want to change cabins, rates etc. Who do you use? Any "hint" would be appreciated/

[nomadguy]

Ken

Always interested in ways to get discounts and cruise credit. We haven't had good experiene with TA's= sometimes a free dinner- but a pain to contact them if I want to change cabins, rates etc. Who do you use? Any "hint" would be appreciated/

I love hints too Ken!

 

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