Laundry and Pressing

[scokely]

I'm curious about the laundry services on HAL. Does the laundry service include pressing? I'll need items washed but my husband will largely need things pressed, will we be able to get both accomplished with the unlimited or $20 bag?

[POA1]

8 minutes ago, scokely said:

I'm curious about the laundry services on HAL. Does the laundry service include pressing? I'll need items washed but my husband will largely need things pressed, will we be able to get both accomplished with the unlimited or $20 bag?

 Yes. If you want starch, you'll need to specify. Great for shirts. For underwear, not so much. 

[SumoCitrus]

I wish there was a better option for pressing shirts. Travel irons are confiscated. The little clothesline in the bathroom doesn't cut it I'm afraid. Same day pressing would be an excellent service.

[POA1]

1 minute ago, SumoCitrus said:

I wish there was a better option for pressing shirts. Travel irons are confiscated. The little clothesline in the bathroom doesn't cut it I'm afraid. Same day pressing would be an excellent service.

 

They have press only service. However, you may want to try Downy Wrinkle Remover spray. Combine it with steam from the shower and you'll solve most of your problems. 

[twoforthesea]

We used the laundry option on our 14 cruise on the NS. The first time I sent hubby's shirts I didn't specify that I wanted them laundered and starched so they came back clean but somewhat wrinkled. So the next time I made sure that I wrote in laundered, pressed, and starched and they came back looking great! This is a great option if you want to pack less and use their services.

[tutumomickey]

We have used the unlimited laundry service on 3 different HAL ships and have been so impressed, I joked about booking a cruise just to do laundry. I did not expressly ask for pressing but by choosing 'on hangers' all my husbands shirts came back perfectly pressed. An option I recently discovered for removing wrinkles from small areas , like a shirt or dress hem or neckline' is a hair straightner. These are allowed and I pack it anyway. Just set it on low and it works great.

[mcrcruiser]

Good info for laundry on HAL ships .

[ac08162]

Can you, or should you pre order the unlimited laundry?

Or do you just take care of this from your cabin?

Thanks

[twoforthesea]

We are over packers so we were not sure that we would need the laundry package so we just filled out the form that was in our cabin closet once we were about a week into the 14 day cruise. We sent a few things out two different times as we had dry cleaning and laundry. Dry cleaning is NOT included in the "put all you can in the blue bag" so we didn't choose that option. Either way you choose would be fine but "once on board" decision worked great for us. Hope this info helps!

[OlsSalt]

Taking the behind the scenes tour that included the laundry and pressing area, they also provide steam "pressing" along with items getting ironed. We too have been extremely happy with all the laundry services and we send out a "free" bag about every five days or so - underwear, socks, sleepwear mainly. We plan for a 48 hour turnaround, but often get 24 hours or under. Not always, so keep that outside timing in mind..  

[Been There, Planning That]

3 hours ago, twoforthesea said:

We used the laundry option on our 14 cruise on the NS. The first time I sent hubby's shirts I didn't specify that I wanted them laundered and starched so they came back clean but somewhat wrinkled. So the next time I made sure that I wrote in laundered, pressed, and starched and they came back looking great! This is a great option if you want to pack less and use their services.

 

Please clarify for  a slow thinker.  When you stuff one of those blue bags for the $20 charge, can you specify that only the few included shirts be pressed, but nothing else?

 

Thank you,

 

Ruth

[twoforthesea]

Hi, if I recall correctly the items you stuff in the blue bag are only washed and folded. I don't think this option had a place for specific instructions which is why we just sent the few items we had and priced them individually. We also wanted pants dry cleaned which is also not an option on the full bag order. So I think in summary if you just want things washed and ready to wear again without specific instructions you are good with this option. If you, like me, had special requests (pressing, dry cleaning, starch, etc.) for a few items it is better to do those as separate items. I do hope this makes sense and someone else please chime in if you have had a different experience. Also, all of the instructions and information is on the laundry bag which will be hanging in your closet when you board. have a great time!

[Been There, Planning That]

7 minutes ago, twoforthesea said:

I do hope this makes sense and someone else please chime in if you have had a different experience. Also, all of the instructions and information is on the laundry bag which will be hanging in your closet when you board. have a great time!

 

 

That makes complete sense and has been our experience on past cruises.  I misinterpreted your earlier post.

 

Thank you for such a speedy reply.

 

Ruth

[kazu]

43 minutes ago, twoforthesea said:

Hi, if I recall correctly the items you stuff in the blue bag are only washed and folded. I don't think this option had a place for specific instructions which is why we just sent the few items we had and priced them individually. We also wanted pants dry cleaned which is also not an option on the full bag order. So I think in summary if you just want things washed and ready to wear again without specific instructions you are good with this option. If you, like me, had special requests (pressing, dry cleaning, starch, etc.) for a few items it is better to do those as separate items. I do hope this makes sense and someone else please chime in if you have had a different experience. Also, all of the instructions and information is on the laundry bag which will be hanging in your closet when you board. have a great time!

 

There is a space for special instructions on the laundry form.  At least there always has been on mine and  I always fill it in.

 

Everything that needs pressing comes back pressed.

 

I’ve asked for cold water on certain items and low heat (circle them, mark it and then put it in the special instructions).  I’ve also specified starch on men’s shirts only.

 

There was dry cleaning on the other side and, if we wanted something dry cleaned (and pay for it), we selected it, identified the clothing and sent it off in the same bag most times.  You can have dry cleaning done - it’s just not included and a surcharge but the prices are fairly reasonable if you need something done.

 

Never had a problem.

 

 

[Been There, Planning That]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

There is a space for special instructions on the laundry form.  At least there always has been on mine and  I always fill it in.

 

Everything that needs pressing comes back pressed.

 

I’ve asked for cold water on certain items and low heat (circle them, mark it and then put it in the special instructions).  I’ve also specified starch on men’s shirts only.

 

 

And this within the $20.00 price per bag?   We do not qualify for free laundry if that matters.

[twoforthesea]

Hi Kazu-I wish that I had known this before our wonderful cruise on the NS! We would have packed less and saved some money on how we sent out our laundry for 14 days! I don't think we would have saved that much money but this is informative for me on future HAL cruises. I spent a lot of time writing separate instructions and now know that I could have been as general or as specific as I wanted. Most importantly we all learn from CC! Thanks for sharing!

[kazu]

27 minutes ago, Been There, Planning That said:

 

And this within the $20.00 price per bag?   We do not qualify for free laundry if that matters.

 

Yes it is.  We had the standard bag last time when we changed cabins where we could select.  So what I saw would apply to the $20 or $30 bag (if you’re in Europe 😉 ).

 

We are 5* and I just marked it at the top 5*.  

[POA1]

3 hours ago, ac08162 said:

Can you, or should you pre order the unlimited laundry?

Or do you just take care of this from your cabin?

Thanks

 

There's no cost advantage, so order once you're onboard.

[kazu]

26 minutes ago, twoforthesea said:

Hi Kazu-I wish that I had known this before our wonderful cruise on the NS! We would have packed less and saved some money on how we sent out our laundry for 14 days! I don't think we would have saved that much money but this is informative for me on future HAL cruises. I spent a lot of time writing separate instructions and now know that I could have been as general or as specific as I wanted. Most importantly we all learn from CC! Thanks for sharing!

 

Happy to share. 🙂. That’s what this board is all about 😄 

 

Yes at the bottom you’ll see “Special Instructions” and it’s a fairly large square.  Lots of room to write in.  So, for cold water, I circled the items and marked cold.  I also identify the clothing - ie - by shirt I write blue to make their job easier and mine when it comes back.  

 

Then on the special instruction I just do the circle and say these items need to be washed in cold water please and THANK YOU.

 

Same thing for “starch on mens’ shirts only”.

[Fouremco]

5 hours ago, POA1 said:

 

There's no cost advantage, so order once you're onboard.

Unless ac08162 thinks that the Loonie will lose ground to the USD in the period leading up to the cruise, in which case purchasing beforehand could save a few nickels. 

Edited January 16, 2019 by Fouremco

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Unless ac08162 thinks that the Loonie will lose ground to the USD in the period leading up to the cruise, in which case purchasing beforehand could save a few nickels. 

 A nickel saved is a nickel earned 😉. 

 

(For non Canadian CC members, we Canadians have no pennies any longer 😉 ) 

[Been There, Planning That]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 A nickel saved is a nickel earned 😉. 

 

(For non Canadian CC members, we Canadians have no pennies any longer 😉 ) 

 

But plenty of common 'sense.' 

 

RUth

 

[tv24]

We love the free laundry service in the Neptune suites and use it everyday.

[CM1984]

We have done $20.00 bag and amazing how much stuff you can get in there, rolling the clothes is essential.  Our last 10-day cruise, we paid for the daily service, it was $70.00 total, but a splurge that was appreciated.  We just filled out the form the first night stating we wanted the daily service, and all was fine, and yes, pressing was included.  They even hung up the T-shirts.

[TN Fem]

we get the daily unlimited service. It is $7/day per cabin and well worth it. We always put our laundry out before 9am and it was always back by about 5:30/6 at the latest same day, even though they don't guarantee same day.