How to do laundry on a long cruise

[islandwoman]

I've found a B2B, total of 38 days on the Zuiderdam that I'd like to book, but I don't think that ship has a laundromat.  I don't have the free laundry benefit on HAL, and even if I did, there are many of my clothes that I'd be afraid to trust to the ship's laundry. (bad experiences on another cruise line)  It isn't possible for me to pack enough clothing for 38+ days.  How do you deal with laundry on long cruises when the ship doesn't have a laundromat? 

[TAD2005]

On all the newer, larger HAL ships, they have a fantastic laundry service.  There are 3 plans, pay by the item (highest cost), pay by the bag ($20 per bag in North America, $30 in Europe), and the unlimited package.  The unlimited package is $7 per day for the whole cabin, not per person.  It's $9 per day in Europe, but if you order and pay for it with Ship's Services ahead of your cruise, many folks say they get the $7 rate.   The bag looks small, but you can really stuff a lot in there, by rolling your items.   Using either plan, if you have your laundry bag ready to go by 9:00 AM, your items will be washed, pressed, on hangers or in a basket by the next day.   You can't use any of the plans on the last day before your disembarkation.   The laundry will not get it back to you in time to pack it.   

[Stratheden]

I am currently on the Noordam and have the unlimited package.   I have been sending out laundry most days.  Out by 9.00am back around 4.30pm.  The service has been magnificent and no problems with any garment.   I wouldn't hesitate sending anything to them. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am very careful what I send out to the laundry -- as a result I now pack mostly polyester clothes.

[VennDiagram]

32 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I've found a B2B, total of 38 days on the Zuiderdam that I'd like to book, but I don't think that ship has a laundromat.  I don't have the free laundry benefit on HAL, and even if I did, there are many of my clothes that I'd be afraid to trust to the ship's laundry. (bad experiences on another cruise line)  It isn't possible for me to pack enough clothing for 38+ days.  How do you deal with laundry on long cruises when the ship doesn't have a laundromat? 

 

We do "by the bag" onboard, in North America it is $20/bag.  That is great for items like jeans, cotton pants, t-shirts, sleepwear, shirts.  We also travel with other easy to wash/fast dry clothes that I could wash in the shower and hang to dry.  That mostly takes care of all our daytime clothing.  For evenings, I expect to get 2 or 3 wearings from everything, since it only gets worn for 2ish hours a day.  And I rely mostly on neutral colours, with some versatile jewelry and accessories, for evenings.  I could do 38 days with one checked bag of my own, and a carry-on, using the "by the bag" laundry for my daytime wear.

[wyobean]

Used the $20 bag on our 39 day cruise. Loved it. I did wash out undergarments in my cabin from time to time. Wore many items more than once before laundering. Worked out great for us.

[RuthC]

51 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

On all the newer, larger HAL ships, they have a fantastic laundry service. 

HAL has the same service on the older, smaller, ships, too.
This service has been available on all HAL ships for years.

[OlsSalt]

I send out cotton and linen items and they all comes back pressed so beautifully.  Never once had a problem with any item we have sent out, for almost 10 years.   Once DH had a couple of undershorts lost, but now he has some great souvenir ones from the Shetland Islands.  That was our only mishap. Once they sent something back, since they discovered some pin holes in a cotton tee-shirt and were afraid to wash it in case the small holes  got enlarged. That is the level of care they offer. 

[mcrcruiser]

Good info on HAL's laundry 

[asebastian]

Is it $20/bag for South America as well? Just about to head out to Buenos Aires for the 22-day South America and Antarctica cruise on the Zaandam.

[TN Fem]

3 hours ago, asebastian said:

Is it $20/bag for South America as well? Just about to head out to Buenos Aires for the 22-day South America and Antarctica cruise on the Zaandam.

We did this cruise 2 years ago (you'll love it). We did the $7/day laundry. It was well worth it. It is such a hard cruise to pack for as you will experience all the seasons so laundry service is key. 

[wyobean]

We did that cruise 2 years ago also and did the $20 bag. Yes, it is hard to pack for a cruise that covers 4 seasons in that length of time...lol

[knittinggirl]

We also love HAL's laundry service.  I ask for two bags, and mark one bag Cold Water Wash/Cool Dry.   I believe the unlimited laundry for Europe is $9 per day.  We were happy to give up a drink a day and pay for HAL's laundry service.  Made it so much easier.

 

Over the years, we've done a lot of laundry on Royal Caribbean (no laundremat).  We use mostly quick dry clothes and underwear with Tide sink packs.   Wash it in the sink, wrap it in a towel (we use Aquis Microfiber) and hang in bathroom to dry.   It's usually dry by the next morning.   At least we did this until my arthritis couldn't tolerate wringing the clothes anymore.

[whogo]

Unlimited laundry cost has varied for us. On our 2016 30 day collector cruise, unlimited laundry was $7 per day for the Mediterranean cruise, $8 per day for the transatlantic portion. On our 38 day cruise from Vancouver to Auckland last October the cost was $6 per day.

 

I have been happy with HAL's laundry, they do better than I do at home. Mrs. Whogo does her bras by hand and said that her whites came back gray last cruise. Our clothes seem to age more quickly on a cruise, perhaps HAL's laundry is a little rougher on them. HAL's laundry would have to get much worse before I would do my own laundry on a cruise.

 

[bay guy]

For things we don't want the ship laundry to handle, we bought a Scrubba and use that to wash those items. We take a small bottle that has our preferred liquid detergent in it.

[Charlies Aunt]

1 hour ago, knittinggirl said:

We also love HAL's laundry service.  I ask for two bags, and mark one bag Cold Water Wash/Cool Dry.   I believe the unlimited laundry for Europe is $9 per day.  We were happy to give up a drink a day and pay for HAL's laundry service.  Made it so much easier.

 

Over the years, we've done a lot of laundry on Royal Caribbean (no laundremat).  We use mostly quick dry clothes and underwear with Tide sink packs.   Wash it in the sink, wrap it in a towel (we use Aquis Microfiber) and hang in bathroom to dry.   It's usually dry by the next morning.   At least we did this until my arthritis couldn't tolerate wringing the clothes anymore.

 

 

Instead of wringing the clothes once they are rolled in the towel place them on the bathroom floor and stamp on them. They then dry quite quickly.

[wombatKY]

I think the laundry is hard on your clothes too. Those uniforms and linens they wash are hard wearing, not delicate fabrics.

 

My strategy is to have a cruise wardrobe, that is purchased just for this purpose and that can withstand their laundry. (Unfortunately, if we cruise with you in the same season, different year, you may recognize some of my stuff - sorry - at least, it's clean.)

 

I also ask for cold wash, low heat.

 

I hand wash and dry my unmentionables in the bathroom, with many, many apologies to room stewards everywhere. I too have had new underwear, returned with a most unattractive grey tinge and prefer to hand wash those things.

 

I bring clothes that I no longer desire and if they don't survive, I can live with it.

 

It is definitely a chore, whether you do it or HAL does.

 

Now, if I could just find a way to ensure I remove all of those laundry tags at the end of every cruise.

 

[worshipsf]

Just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam where we did the unlimited laundry (first time using ship laundry services) and were quite satisfied overall.

 

I'm stumped though by the tags they put on the clothes to mark whose it is... how do y'all get these off? They put them right on the stitches of the hems, and I can't figure out how to get them off without damaging the stitches below.

[Msrigby]

Finding the tags on clothes months after a cruise makes me smile. Such an unexpected treat. 

[Swice]

Typically when sailing Europe, we go a few days early and may stay a couple of days after the cruise.     

The $9 daily rate totally removes the stress of packing and washing in the room/cabin.      We tend to walk a lot and are active (some of those European cities are hot!), so it's nice to board the ship and immediately send out our traveling clothes and the clothing we just wore pre-cruise and start "fresh."       We typically don't pay for a lot of extras on a cruise but the laundry is worth every penny in my opinion.   

Reduce your stress and go for the unlimited.

[islandwoman]

Thank you everyone for sharing your techniques and experiences.  They are very helpful. 

[rdt10]

I haven't sailed on HAL yet. The first will be on the Nieuw Statendam. Do the laundry packages include dry cleaning?

[kazu]

10 hours ago, rdt10 said:

I haven't sailed on HAL yet. The first will be on the Nieuw Statendam. Do the laundry packages include dry cleaning?

 

No, drycleaning is not included in the laundry package.  It is available at an extra cost.

[OlsSalt]

I have used a zippered nylon laundry bag when I have items I don't want tossed around in the washers - when using the unlimited 4 star laundry option as there is no per item charge. 

[Dizziedi]

We will be on our first HAL cruise on the 14th for 14 nights I have just purchased the unlimited laundry package - $US98 for wash and fold but I paid an extra US$56 for pressing.  I will still do my own 'handwashing'.  I wish Royal Caribbean would introduce this system.  We spend a fortune on laundry, even with complimentary wash and fold bags.

 

Cheers

Di