Is the self-service laundry on Princess worth it vs using regular laundry service?

[Aralim]

Hi all,

 

My family and I will be sailing Regal Princess for a 2-week sailing in the Mediterranean this summer. One thing we're debating is whether to use the self-service laundry room to take care of our clothes sometime after the first week, vs just using the official laundry service.

 

I know the cost of the self-service will be a lot less compared to using the regular service, especially if we bring some laundry detergent and softener pods of our own. And we know better than to wash/dry anything delicate or important in those machines. But since we'd be doing it on a sea day, will we be fighting with tons of other people all trying to do the same thing, and spending most of a sea day cooped up in the laundry room waiting for an available machine? And with the dryers in particular, do they truly get the job done with one 30-minute run or do they typically require buying multiple tokens to get a single load properly dry?

[gvre]

we are Elite and my wife will not let use the laundry service as they have ruined her clothes too many times.

 

[VibeGuy]

Honestly, I’ve never seen the laundry rooms crowded or had to wait long for a machine.  
 

We send out everything beyond socks and undergarments and have not had an issue with damage aside from one pair of linen trousers ten years ago.  I’ll run the risk to always have a closet full of clean clothes, perfectly pressed, with no more effort on my part than bagging and filling out the laundry ticket.  I’m on vacation. 

[john watson]

I have found the laundry service very good but only put relatively tough garments in.  Small delicate fabric items can be hand washed in cabin and use the dryers or hang up in the shower on the line overnight.

 

Regards John

[Kmkub]

 One of Princess' unique features is the self-service laundry. I just used it a few days ago, and it was completely empty.

 

You use your medallion to buy tokens ($3 per load.) All in all, I paid $7 for one load, which included the detergent.

 

There is a sign with approx. times for how long each load takes. I just set the timer on my phone. I was done in just over an hour; but less than 10 minutes of that was in the laundry room itself. Most of the time, I was on the balcony, reading a book.

 

 

[justafem]

We've done both, send it out and do it ourselves.  Personally, I prefer to do it ourselves.  I can easily decide which items are delicate and which setting to use, while if they items are sent out, they are washed in vats of boiling water and agitated until they fall apart.  

 

Service desk has been handing out laundry tokens (free!) for the last several months.  We do laundry on port days, we don't normally leave the ship, so it's easy to pop in and out of the laundry room as needed.

 

Never seen more than 1 other person in the laundry room, even on sea days, possibly lucky, possibly most people bring enough clothing.

 

What I do know, is sending it out, (unless you're elite and it's free) is pricy.  At least the price to me is more than I'm willing to spend.  Actually cheaper to replace clothing than to have them do the washing. 

[SinbadThePorter]

4 minutes ago, justafem said:

Actually cheaper to replace clothing than to have them do the washing. 

 

Especially T-shirts.

[PrincessLuver]

8 minutes ago, justafem said:

We've done both, send it out and do it ourselves.  Personally, I prefer to do it ourselves.  I can easily decide which items are delicate and which setting to use, while if they items are sent out, they are washed in vats of boiling water and agitated until they fall apart.  

 

Service desk has been handing out laundry tokens (free!) for the last several months.  We do laundry on port days, we don't normally leave the ship, so it's easy to pop in and out of the laundry room as needed.

 

Never seen more than 1 other person in the laundry room, even on sea days, possibly lucky, possibly most people bring enough clothing.

 

What I do know, is sending it out, (unless you're elite and it's free) is pricy.  At least the price to me is more than I'm willing to spend.  Actually cheaper to replace clothing than to have them do the washing. 

 

We are Elite and prefer to use the self-serve laundry on long cruises.....we have had quite a few clothes damaged with the ships regular laundry service.   For us it is easy.....I head to gym first thing in morning.....put a load in the washer/washers if it needs to be done...on the way back put it in dryer/dryers and by the time we have eaten breakfast it is usually finished and we almost have never see a sole as other have mentioned at that time of day......

Edited January 29, 2022 by PrincessLuver

[CineGraphic]

We won't sail on a ship that doesn't have a self-serve laundry.

 

I'm not paying someone $5.00 to wash a pair of socks.

A full load of laundry could cost you the same as bringing a 3rd person along for the ride.

 

Only once were all of the machines in use on our deck, so we used the laundry room one deck below.

[SinbadThePorter]

15 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Only once were all of the machines in use on our deck, so we used the laundry room one deck below.

 

The evening before disembarkation they tend to get busy.

[PurpleHays]

2 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

The evening before disembarkation they tend to get busy.

The evening before disembarkation I'm packing them dirty and washing at home.

[Aralim]

2 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

The evening before disembarkation they tend to get busy.

24 minutes ago, PurpleHays said:

The evening before disembarkation I'm packing them dirty and washing at home.

 

I'm on board with this! Since our sailing is 2 weeks, I figure we'll pack for 10 days and wash what needs it on day 8 or 9, which IIRC are both sea days before a marathon of port days.

 

Thanks a bunch for all the helpful replies! We do plan to wash any delicates in the cabin's sink and hang to dry in the shower or on the balcony (with clips!), and just do the undies / socks / t-shirts / other durables in the self-service. And by the sound of it, we should have no problem with crowds or with needing to keep too close an eye on it.

[brisalta]

We use the self service laundry on board and have never seen it really busy. There are irons and ironing boards there.

 

I always pack a heavy duty plastic hanger to hang on the line that is in the shower. It is useful air drying some items of clothing. I also pack some disposable gloves to use when washing items in the sink.

Edited January 30, 2022 by brisalta

[c-boy]

 

" I'm not paying someone $5.00 to wash a pair of socks."

 

🤣

[SargassoPirate]

50-some cruises on various lines and I have yet to send laundry out.  If a self-serve laundry is not available on the ship, I travel with mostly quick dry clothing that I wash out in the cabin and it dries overnight.  For pressing, I carry a small spritzer bottle and spritz any wrinkles and hang them in the bathroom while I shower.  

 

I should also add that I build in land tours on one end of the cruise or the other, sometimes as long as 4-5 weeks, so the quick dry travel clothing comes in handy on land as well.  Also, I pack things that will do double duty, for instance black jeans/slacks and a range of colored T shirts.  The only thing extra that I pack that may be "cruise only" is a black sport coat that weighs 20 ounces.  For dress up nights on the ship it's black jeans, black sport coat, and colored T with a matching pocket square.

 

Easy beezy and all I have to do is look better than they guys they let in with a ballcap on backwards that stays on throughout the meal.

 

[ontheweb]

I once had used the self service on Princess,  and it could not have been more crowded. I do think the circumstances were somewhat unique. We were on a Baltic cruise, and there was no laundry available on the 2 days in St. Petersburg. It did seem like everyone was doing laundry the next day (Helsinki port). I went to the laundry room on our floor, and there was a long wait for a washer. And there would have been a long wait for a dryer. And to make it worse, one of the 2 dryers had no heat. I did take my wet clothes to another floor's laundry room. It was somewhat quicker though still a wait, but the floor was covered with water.

 

I would have to look back at my review of the cruise to tell exactly how many hours the process took, but I can tell you that it was much too long.

[dickinson]

We always use the self serve.  hubby wakes early and does it then.  Sometimes we have done it during the afternoon.  Sometimes it is busy but you can always do it another time or on another floor.  We have a little plastic container that we put pods in and bring a plastic baggy with dryer sheets so we don't have to purchase it onboard.

 

We don't have Princess do our laundry because I have read too many threads where people say their clothes were lost or ruined.  I hear they only use high heat.  That will not be ok for our clothes.  

[cjpj]

I'm elite and will use the ships service for sturdy clothing, socks granny underwear, inexpensive tee shirts. Anything that requires special care, I do myself either in the laundry mat or in the shower. I don't use the sink, I just take it in the shower with me. Dry it on the line in the shower or on the balcony (if I have one).

[Mittens101]

We always do our own laundry if we find it’s needed.  Why send out when it easier to do it and get it over with. . 

[dog]

Always use self laundry. Only send out shirts worn on formal nights. 

[Husky61]

The wife and I don't go on a cruise to wash clothes.  Always send them out and have never had a problem.

[JerrySueW]

The self-serve laundromat is great. I almost never run into another person. In fact, on longer cruises I like to have a cabin near the laundromat so I don't have to schlep my stuff too far. You might want to pack some laundry sheets to save a little $. There are severable brands and some are 3-in1 (wash, softener and anti-static). Really easy to use and don't take up any room in your luggage. 

[gardenbunny]

To each his own but I am a DIY person.  During our 2 world cruises (we brought 2 weeks of clothes formthe 100 days) it became an “activity” on sea days based on how full the dirty clothes basket was.  Would put in a load to wash at bfast or lunch, wait 30 minutes and put in dryer.  Do something else for 45 minutes and go get them.  Fold in the room - all done. DH did send out his shorts and slacks and dress shirt.  (his clothes are large and since those were “safe” items it saved doing another full load just for those 😀)

Plus I prefer to do my own.

Being Elite, on a shorter cruise I decided to send out the sturdy items.  Because so many Elites were own board it took 3 days.  I had to wash out some underwear in the sink! 

With capacity currently low, wait time probably is minimal for either self or send out.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

14 hours ago, Aralim said:

 

I'm on board with this! Since our sailing is 2 weeks, I figure we'll pack for 10 days and wash what needs it on day 8 or 9, which IIRC are both sea days before a marathon of port days.

 

Thanks a bunch for all the helpful replies! We do plan to wash any delicates in the cabin's sink and hang to dry in the shower or on the balcony (with clips!), and just do the undies / socks / t-shirts / other durables in the self-service. And by the sound of it, we should have no problem with crowds or with needing to keep too close an eye on it.

This is a solid plan. I used to do that bc of all the negative comments about things being destroyed.  Then I sailed in a full suite which comes with same day free laundry service and I thought why not?  
 

I packed clothes that I wouldn’t be heartbroken if they died or got lost. So my older but still in good condition stuff. Then I sent a bag of clothes out daily. I think it’s easier to tell if somethings gone missing that way & it’s easier to take a group photo of items before stuffing in the bag.  I sent everything even my washable dresses……cotton, linen, silk…..and DH blue linen sports jacket for cleaning. Amazing results. I have never looked back and use the laundry service for every cruise now. Elites get free laundry although not same day like full suites. It can take 1-3 days in my experience.  
 

I absolutely love the crisp press on my clothes and especially DH button up shirts. He jokes that we should just put his shirts in the laundry bag on embarkation so they come back beautifully pressed. 
 

In approximately 150 days of sailing in the last 6 years I’ve had only one item lost and none damaged in the least.  When you’re given complementary laundry it shows as a charge and a credit on your folio so I know that for me and DH it runs about $200-$250 for a 10 day cruise. We come home with a small amount of dirty clothes as I don’t send anything out on the last 2 days. 
 

 

[kenexx]

Always send it out.  Never had an issue.  Come back really fast if you’re in a full suite which is great service.