Elite Bag(s) of Laundry?

[jules815]

Does an Elite couple each receive a bag of wash and fold laundry, or is it one bag per stateroom? My husband and I will be on Reflection in December for 10 days. It will be my husband's first time sailing with X. One of my favorite perks. :)

[A Sixth?]

One bag (actually 20 or 30 items) per cruise per Elite passenger. Two if Elite Plus.

[jules815]

One bag (actually 20 or 30 items) per cruise per Elite passenger. Two if Elite Plus.

 

Great, thanks. I love this perk.

[warmwinds]

If your husband is not yet Elite (and he shouldn't be since it's his first time with X, not sure of any Royal Carib carryover?) - you alone will get the one bag for your cabin.

 

(Wait, is that right? We've always had status in tandem...and since you can bring him to the Elite cocktail hour, etc, now I'm wondering if I'm wrong?)

[Redtravel]

There are some restrictions. You cannot send laundry out on the last 3 days of a cruise. Depending upon the length of your cruise, this restriction may be a problem. We did a pair b2b one week cruises. We could not use the free bags on the last 3 days of each cruise.

[excitedofharpenden]

There are some restrictions. You cannot send laundry out on the last 3 days of a cruise. Depending upon the length of your cruise, this restriction may be a problem. We did a pair b2b one week cruises. We could not use the free bags on the last 3 days of each cruise.

Yes, I find this restrictive too. I know you sail on Azamara and it's laundry right up to the second to last day which works much better, especially on b2bs.

 

Phil

[JMG]

Just off the Summit and the letter we received notes that:

 

...your Elite level benefits will be added to your SeaPass card.

 

Complimentary Laundry:

-Up to Two Pressed items. One Time use.

-One Dry Clean item. One-time use.

-One Bag of Laundry (wash,dry,fold) One time use

The offers apply automatically to the first items submitted. Write "Loyalty" in comment section of form.

 

Terms & Conditions

Laundry:

-All offers do not include Express service.

-Wash/dry/fold - not valid final three days of the cruise.

-Pressing and/or dry cleaning - Not available the day before the end of the cruise.

-Pressed items - Does not include dry cleaning.

[JMG]

If your husband is not yet Elite (and he shouldn't be since it's his first time with X, not sure of any Royal Carib carryover?) - you alone will get the one bag for your cabin.

 

(Wait, is that right? We've always had status in tandem...and since you can bring him to the Elite cocktail hour, etc, now I'm wondering if I'm wrong?)

 

The letter we got on the Summit in regards to the Captain's Club Lounge does state - "All Elite Members and their companions staying the same suite/stateroom over 21 years old are welcome"

 

That seems to explain the difference between the cocktail hour and other benefits.

[internetwhiz]

Be careful what you send. Undies, shorts, pjs, tshirts that aren't your favorite. Those are good things to send. I make a iPhone pic of what I send, and take duct tape to close the bag.

[thepoint]

Just off the Summit and the letter we received notes that:

 

...your Elite level benefits will be added to your SeaPass card.

 

Complimentary Laundry:

-Up to Two Pressed items. One Time use.

-One Dry Clean item. One-time use.

-One Bag of Laundry (wash,dry,fold) One time use

The offers apply automatically to the first items submitted. Write "Loyalty" in comment section of form.

 

Terms & Conditions

Laundry:

-All offers do not include Express service.

-Wash/dry/fold - not valid final three days of the cruise.

-Pressing and/or dry cleaning - Not available the day before the end of the cruise.

-Pressed items - Does not include dry cleaning.

 

 

We are just off the Millennium and it was our first cruise as Elite. We did not receive any notification while on the ship as to what Elite benefits were on our sea card. However, I had printed them off, prior to the cruise, so I knew we had laundry, gelato, pressing, casino match, etc. It is a good idea to print this off from the website and take it with you, so you will know what you are entitled to. We did receive all the special invitations to the Elite functions.

[internetwhiz]

Be careful what you send. Undies, shorts, pjs, tshirts that aren't your favorite. Those are good things to send. I make a iPhone pic of what I send, and take duct tape to close the bag.

[snowmc]

Each Elite passenger receives the benefits. There should be a letter in your cabin at embarkation stating the perks you receive and the times/places of the special events. If it is not there, ask your cabin steward to bring it as soon as possible. You don't want to miss out on something!

[phoenix_dream]

We are just off the Millennium and it was our first cruise as Elite. We did not receive any notification while on the ship as to what Elite benefits were on our sea card. However, I had printed them off, prior to the cruise, so I knew we had laundry, gelato, pressing, casino match, etc. It is a good idea to print this off from the website and take it with you, so you will know what you are entitled to. We did receive all the special invitations to the Elite functions.

You should receive a letter that lists the perks. If you do not receive the letter, simply ask your stateroom attendant for it, or ask at guest relations. The perks are for each Elite passenger, so I expect the OP will get perks loaded on just one card. I also agree with the other poster that you want to be careful what you send. They do always wash and dry in hot water (probably for sanitary purposes). If your clothes should not be cleaned that way do not send them. They also come back folded rather than on hangers (except for the dry cleaning). When we were in a suite we asked our butler to have them on hangers and he did so, but on all our other trips in 'regular' cabins below suites we were never successful when asking.

[Baron Barracuda]

Does an Elite couple each receive a bag of wash and fold laundry, or is it one bag per stateroom? My husband and I will be on Reflection in December for 10 days. It will be my husband's first time sailing with X. One of my favorite perks. :)

 

DD was diamond on royal, so elite on X. Honeymooned on Reflection couple of years back. SIL had never cruised before. Signed him up for C&A before wedding and at embarkation discovered he was listed as elite. Not sure if it's supposed to work that way, but for him it did. Still elite on a couple of sailings since. They love X.

[Beanb41]

We always put a plastic bag liner in our laundry bag. 30 items will normally split the paper bag unless lined

[varoo]

One bag (actually 20 or 30 items) per cruise per Elite passenger. Two if Elite Plus.

Even though the perk is listed as one bag (or two bags) per person, the limit is actually on the number of laundry items sent, as you state, not on the number of bags.

 

So when sending out large, bulky items to be laundered, some of us prefer to use 2 (or even 3) laundry bags instead of trying to cram everything tightly together in one bag.

 

You can enumerate exactly how many of each item you are sending right on the laundry form, and you get a copy to keep for yourself (so that you, as well as the laundry employees, can easily see how many pieces of laundry you have in each category).

They have never lost anything of ours -- yet.

 

We are just off the Millennium and it was our first cruise as Elite. We did not receive any notification while on the ship as to what Elite benefits were on our sea card. However, I had printed them off, prior to the cruise, so I knew we had laundry, gelato, pressing, casino match, etc. It is a good idea to print this off from the website and take it with you, so you will know what you are entitled to....

The list of appropriate level Captain's Club perks and events should be on the letter from the Captain's Club host that is placed in each cabin on embarkation day.

So there should be no need to print them yourself.

Sometimes the perks are listed on the back of the letter.

If you don't receive the letter for some reason (or if you should lose or misplace it), you can always request another copy.

 

 

 

On the new Edge ships, a nice feature would be the ability simply to ask Celebrity's version of Siri or Cortana or Alexa for whatever Celebrity info we want. ;p

But let's hope they would not use the same people who are responsible for Celebrity's infamous website.

[Xport]

I know you sail on Azamara and it's laundry right up to the second to last day which works much better, especially on b2bs.

 

Azamara does an exceptionally professional job with laundry, Phil... But considering that Azamara's ships are a third the size of Celebrity's Millennium Class and a quarter the size of Celebrity's Solstice class, I find their loyalty-based laundry benefit to be--putting it kindly--miserly...

• At the Explorer tier on Azamara--equating to the Select tier on Celebrity--the Azamara allowance of one complimentary bag of laundry per stateroom per seven days is more generous than Celebrity's per-member discount against a bag of laundry on cruises of twelve days or longer...
  
• But at the Discoverer tier on Azamara [equivalent to the Elite tier on Celebrity], the Discoverer + tier on Azamara [equivalent to the Elite + tier on Celebrity], and the Discoverer Platinum tier on Azamara [equivalent to Zenith tier on Celebrity], the complimentary laundry benefit on Azamara never grows... At each membership tier, it's still one bag per stateroom per seven days even if traveling in a suite [which carries the same laundry allowance--regardless of loyalty--but the benefits are not additive if eligible for both]...
  
  • The Celebrity Elite benefit is one complimentary bag of laundry per member per sailing...
    
  • The Celebrity Elite + benefit is two complimentary bags of laundry per member per sailing...
    
  • The Zenith benefit is unlimited laundry per member per sailing...
    

  [*]Given that cruise itineraries on both lines are trending shorter rather than longer, it's difficult to conjure a circumstance in which the Celebrity benefit at Elite or Elite + [Azamara Discoverer or Discoverer +] isn't the more advantageous... And at Zenith/Discoverer Platinum, there is no comparison...

  [*]If you do a B2B with Celebrity in the future and find that the laundry "cut off" at the end of your first cruise proves problematic in terms of getting ready for the second, you might find that a word with your Steward, a Housekeeping Supervisor, or Butler [if you have one] can remedy the issue... In my limited experience, the early "cut off" for laundry submission is primarily born out of concern that disembarking guests get their laundry back in timely fashion should something in the operation go awry; accommodation [i sought it once/was granted it once] may be possible...

For me--especially as I tend to sail solo--the Azamara loyalty internet allowance also leaves a whole lot to be desired... I could--but won't--discuss that at length too...

 

Azamara offers a terrific cruise experience from many dimensions and--for the right itinerary capitalizing on small-ship size in terms of port location/access; most important to me--can't be beat even though I sometimes nevertheless miss things that come with larger scale... But from a loyalty perspective--especially since they base free-nights [i "get" it] and, seemingly now, category upsell opportunities based upon the number of cruises sailed with Azamara rather than combined cruise history between both lines--I just can't give them a serious look on relatively comparable itineraries...

[jules815]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, he's a Diamond carry-over, so Elite with X.

 

I've never thought about taking pictures of what was sent. Not a bad idea!

 

And yes, would never put anything too good in the bag. We've done shorts, tee shirts; white and color. Mostly my husband's stuff. I've sent cotton nightgowns and beach cover-ups. Nice to be able to have the sweaty port clothes taken care of.

 

The bloody Mary or Mimosa at breakfast for Elites, is that in the dining room, or do they have a specialty restaurant serving breakfast?

[Hydrokitty]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, he's a Diamond carry-over, so Elite with X.

 

I've never thought about taking pictures of what was sent. Not a bad idea!

 

And yes, would never put anything too good in the bag. We've done shorts, tee shirts; white and color. Mostly my husband's stuff. I've sent cotton nightgowns and beach cover-ups. Nice to be able to have the sweaty port clothes taken care of.

 

The bloody Mary or Mimosa at breakfast for Elites, is that in the dining room, or do they have a specialty restaurant serving breakfast?

 

I learned the hard way (not from X) not to send anything but whites to be laundered on board. I swear they put bleach in every load!!! But I've never had anything not returned to me.

[Xport]

The bloody Mary or Mimosa at breakfast for Elites, is that in the dining room, or do they have a specialty restaurant serving breakfast?

 

On Solstice-Class ships--such as Reflection--the Morning Coffee Break for Elite, Elite+ and Zenith Captain's Club members is typically held in Tuscan Grille between 8:00 and 10:00 AM on port and sea days...

 

You should receive a "Welcome" letter from the Captain's Club Host[ess]--so far the system has not failed me--in your stateroom with all the details specific to your entitlements during your cruise upon boarding... If not there, promptly inquire with your room steward, the Captain's Club Host[ess], or Guest Relations...

[suekay]

I learned the hard way (not from X) not to send anything but whites to be laundered on board. I swear they put bleach in every load!!! But I've never had anything not returned to me.

I had the opposite problem - new white socks came back a dingy grey. It's put me off using the laundry

[excitedofharpenden]

Azamara does an exceptionally professional job with laundry, Phil... But considering that Azamara's ships are a third the size of Celebrity's Millennium Class and a quarter the size of Celebrity's Solstice class, I find their loyalty-based laundry benefit to be--putting it kindly--miserly..

I wouldn't disagree with a lot of what you said about the comparable benefits and have made representations about it before (with one small success). I was just agreeing with the poster that you need to watch out for the early cut off of the laundry on X. I cruise for the overall experience rather than the perks (which are nice to have). Bottom line price is important too and we know which way that is going on Azamara at present.

 

Phil

[phoenix_dream]

I learned the hard way (not from X) not to send anything but whites to be laundered on board. I swear they put bleach in every load!!! But I've never had anything not returned to me.

Been sending items of all colors for many years. Have never, ever had a problem with colors transferring or bleeding. Lots of wrinkles and shrinkage - that's for sure.

[Xport]

I cruise for the overall experience rather than the perks (which are nice to have). Bottom line price is important too and we know which way that is going on Azamara at present.

 

I don't sail for the perks either, Phil... In fact, I recently completed my first two river cruises and--though very different than ocean cruises--thoroughly enjoyed every moment of them... For me it's itinerary first [Azamara sometimes wins] and price second [Azamara never wins these days] with the value of perks versus equivalent cash outlay for those important to me [not all, starting with alcohol, are] my personal tie-breaker...

 

I did a thirty night B2B on Journey [12+18] in early 2015 and, several months before [the current LCV Ambassador in Miami had not yet assumed her role; she has since done much to clean-up ambiguity in Terms & Conditions], I posed a question to Azamara Customer Service as to whether my time aboard would be measured in total [four weeks] or by cruise segment [as measured, three weeks] for laundry purposes... I was misinformed and packed accordingly... No big deal--I sprang for a bag of laundry--but was initially vexed by the bad advice I'd been given and the rather dismissive tone [so unusual aboard Azamara] of the ship-based loyalty rep [who also misinformed me in response to another question I posed once aboard; it was unaddressed on the website just before I left but, two weeks after my return, the Terms & Conditions were updated without allusion to effective date (the Way Back Machine internet archive utility can be very telling; for me, a second time to close another loophole in administrative practice that I know had been handled inconsistently)] when I casually/constructively mentioned the disconnect... I didn't chose to escalate either of these episodes or the uncharacteristic behavior I encountered aboard but they have--in spite of the generally warm/welcoming/collegial/service and satisfaction-driven vibe aboard ship; it rightly serves as a source of pride/differentiation--left a lasting impression of the land-side operation starting at the top... I haven't been back...

 

I recall your having reported a minor victory relative to reconsideration of internet terms [offset of complimentary package value against purchase of unlimited service] ... Thanks for your advocacy!

[excitedofharpenden]

 

I did a thirty night B2B on Journey [12+18] in early 2015 and, several months before [the current LCV Ambassador in Miami had not yet assumed her role; she has since done much to clean-up ambiguity in Terms & Conditions], I posed a question to Azamara Customer Service as to whether my time aboard would be measured in total [four weeks] or by cruise segment [as measured, three weeks] for laundry purposes... I was misinformed and packed accordingly... No big deal--I sprang for a bag of laundry--

Interestingly they may have learned. When I was on Journey in April/May doing a 20 night and 17 night b2b they gave the b2bers an extra laundry voucher so we had a total of five. Sensible.

 

Phil