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

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, theloo said:

Are the laundry hours still 8am to 10pm?  I read an old thread that said there is one laundry room open 24 hours (I think on the Emerald, deck 5).

They've been open all night long any time I've past them. 

[BamaVol]

33 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

They've been open all night long any time I've past them. 

On CB in March, there was a sign in the door asking passengers not to use them after 10 and before 8.  I have no idea if they locked and unlocked the doors, but I doubt it.

[coo359a2]

I have had ships keep the laundry room open 24 hours, some from about  6/7am to 10pm.   Ask your room steward what the hours are and If your ship locks the doors. On longer cruises If it's my day for washing and doors are locked, I get there about 10 Minutes early to be first in line.  If a machine is broken on your deck, there are other decks that  you can try to find working machines that are not being used.

[BamaVol]

4 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

I have had ships keep the laundry room open 24 hours, some from about  6/7am to 10pm.   Ask your room steward what the hours are and If your ship locks the doors. On longer cruises If it's my day for washing and doors are locked, I get there about 10 Minutes early to be first in line.  If a machine is broken on your deck, there are other decks that  you can try to find working machines that are not being used.

I had to go up 2 decks because the token dispenser on my deck was not operating.  I figured, while I’m here, might as well do my wash.  I never saw a line when I walked past a laundry room, only met one other passenger while doing the wash. She was a regular, since her luggage had failed to make an airline connection.

Edited May 22, 2023 by BamaVol

[Woosgirl]

We just used the laundry room last week and had no issues. We did use it on a port day, but since we weren’t in a rush to get off the boat, we went and started the wash, had breakfast, threw everything in the dryer, went back to room to shower, then picked it all up. Couldn’t have been easier. Next time we know better and won’t pack as many clothes, for sure!

[Digisailor]

On the Caribbean Princess in February... my wife called and reported the token dispenser was out of order... someone came to look at it and just handed my wife a pile of tokens.  ("How many do you want?"). 

One thing is that many people don't seem to understand about the dryers...  that if you open (at least some of) the driers... they don't start up again unless you push the "start" button again.  (and you have to press it to get it to start in the first place.   (I don't know how many times I've opened driers that had the orange "operating" light lit up, but were obviously not operating... and had wet laundry in them.  I used to leave a note, but more recently I just start them... figuring someone probably wanted them dry. 

Once I came upon a non-operating token dispenser... but if you changed the language from English to something else and then back... that it started working.  (Kind of a software way to give it a shake or a rap on the side).   My wife said she showed that to someone else and they were amazed that it worked... don't know why... but it may help someone...
 

[BamaVol]

3 hours ago, Digisailor said:

On the Caribbean Princess in February... my wife called and reported the token dispenser was out of order... someone came to look at it and just handed my wife a pile of tokens.  ("How many do you want?"). 

One thing is that many people don't seem to understand about the dryers...  that if you open (at least some of) the driers... they don't start up again unless you push the "start" button again.  (and you have to press it to get it to start in the first place.   (I don't know how many times I've opened driers that had the orange "operating" light lit up, but were obviously not operating... and had wet laundry in them.  I used to leave a note, but more recently I just start them... figuring someone probably wanted them dry. 

Once I came upon a non-operating token dispenser... but if you changed the language from English to something else and then back... that it started working.  (Kind of a software way to give it a shake or a rap on the side).   My wife said she showed that to someone else and they were amazed that it worked... don't know why... but it may help someone...
 

The one I encountered had a Microsoft message on the screen.  That told me it was hopeless.  

[ontheweb]

14 hours ago, Digisailor said:

On the Caribbean Princess in February... my wife called and reported the token dispenser was out of order... someone came to look at it and just handed my wife a pile of tokens.  ("How many do you want?"). 

One thing is that many people don't seem to understand about the dryers...  that if you open (at least some of) the driers... they don't start up again unless you push the "start" button again.  (and you have to press it to get it to start in the first place.   (I don't know how many times I've opened driers that had the orange "operating" light lit up, but were obviously not operating... and had wet laundry in them.  I used to leave a note, but more recently I just start them... figuring someone probably wanted them dry. 

Once I came upon a non-operating token dispenser... but if you changed the language from English to something else and then back... that it started working.  (Kind of a software way to give it a shake or a rap on the side).   My wife said she showed that to someone else and they were amazed that it worked... don't know why... but it may help someone...
 

I don't think having to press start again after you open a dryer door is unique to Princess. In fact, I think it basically applies to all dryers.

[Buckeye10640]

On 1/29/2022 at 5:43 PM, Aralim said:

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?

My daughter did a load of laundry last week and the clothes were dry enough after one round in the dryer. Personally I  never send clothes out to be laundered, free or not. I would rather handle them myself. 

[coo359a2]

33 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

My daughter did a load of laundry last week and the clothes were dry enough after one round in the dryer. Personally I  never send clothes out to be laundered, free or not. I would rather handle them myself. 

Don't think I have ever used the full time given on the dryer.  Usually pull out my clothes after drying  20 minutes and hang in cabin to finish drying.  I also prefer to wash like I do at home and only send certain clothes to the laundry.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

Don't think I have ever used the full time given on the dryer.  Usually pull out my clothes after drying  20 minutes and hang in cabin to finish drying.  I also prefer to wash like I do at home and only send certain clothes to the laundry.

That's the secret so not to shrink most items, especially on the ship where Princess puts everything in their super hot dryers. 

We only send in older things & wash out items in our cabin sink.

The good things we bring home dirty.

[BamaVol]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I don't think having to press start again after you open a dryer door is unique to Princess. In fact, I think it basically applies to all dryers.

I had to call my wife for instructions on how to start the washer.  In a home I had lived in for 6 years.  Sometimes you just don’t know without a manual handy.

 

Before anybody accuses me, I do all the cooking at home and have for most of the 47 years we’ve been married.  And I know how to load and unload the dishwasher.  I just don’t make it to the laundry room.

[nudistcruzer]

On 5/23/2023 at 7:29 AM, ontheweb said:

I don't think having to press start again after you open a dryer door is unique to Princess. In fact, I think it basically applies to all dryers.

Yes, all of them.  I'm so jealous of someone that has never had to do laundry.  My mom had a maid. She would do my wash, but she always managed to turn my white underwear pink. So, from 14 years on, I did my own laundry. On the dishwasher subject, I saw the results of when a husband at a rented vacation condo squeezed a quarter cup of "Lemon Joy" into a dishwasher. I have never seen so many suds in my life!!! 

[Barry H]

We were on the Crown May 12-June 2. There was no token dispenser on Deck 8 and most of the others were out of order. Turns out that the washers and dryers would operate without tokens. Just push the coin slot and everything would start. The token dispenser was only there to purchase tokens for the soap and fleece.

 

Had heard that the Discovery Princess had free washers and dryers.

 

In conclusion, try the washer and dryer without a token before buying tokens.

[coo359a2]

1 hour ago, Barry H said:

We were on the Crown May 12-June 2. There was no token dispenser on Deck 8 and most of the others were out of order. Turns out that the washers and dryers would operate without tokens. Just push the coin slot and everything would start. The token dispenser was only there to purchase tokens for the soap and fleece.

 

Had heard that the Discovery Princess had free washers and dryers.

 

In conclusion, try the washer and dryer without a token before buying tokens.

On the Sky Princess and did my washing (x 2) and dryer (x2)  last Friday after 14 day cruise. 21 days left so will be doing laundry again.  Tried just pushing in the coin slot but no go on deck 11.  Tokens were $12 charged to onboard account.  Maybe one day we will be on a "free" laundry room cruise.  Do send out a few things to ship's laundry.

[tetleytea]

Pro tip:   if you're on a B2B, a perfect time to do self-laundry is on embarkation day.   No one else is there--their vacation just got started.  No waiting for a washer to become free, nothing.  You can do two loads at once, while you go back to your balcony and wait. 

[Teechur]

Does anyone following this thread know whether tokens will be needed on the Island Princess? 🚢