How much longer will free valet laundry last

[TomTN]

We are booked on the 3-26 to 4-5 Voyager Med cruise, and I prefer to travel as light as possible. Is the free laundry for all likely to end?

We are also booked in Concierge class.  Has that class always received free valet laundry, and if "for all" ends will it still likely be free for Concierge?

 

[Portolan]

Concierge class and all classes below the named suites never had included laundry to the best of my recollection.  It was gradually added as a Seven Seas Society perk to the point where pre-COVID, Gold got 1 bag of free laundry per week, Platinum had unlimited laundry and Titanium also had unlimited dry cleaning.  Or something close to this.  That's why with the now included for all laundry, Gold and above get $100/suite as compensation for the loss of a unique benefit.

 

I doubt very much that this will end after things get back to more normal as it is very hard to remove standard benefits.

 

[CJANDH]

1 hour ago, Portolan said:

 

I doubt very much that this will end after things get back to more normal as it is very hard to remove standard benefits.

I agree. For perspective, I believe that the free laundry for all was added as a covid move to avoid pax crowding the laundromats. However, now it is an expected benefit and I doubt that RSS would get any brownie points from removing it. More likely the cost has already been baked into cost of your cruise.

[asnaleah]

Are we still able to do our own laundry?

[PinkMEB]

You still can do your own. I washed one load of items I didn’t want put in a dryer. I wasn’t sure what I was doing because I didn’t understand the symbols on the machine. The free laundry perk is wonderful and I think this began pre Covid. 

[Sunprince]

When the ships are back at 100% capacity, I wonder if the free valet laundry will be able to keep up with the the volume?

[Portolan]

1 hour ago, Sunprince said:

When the ships are back at 100% capacity, I wonder if the free valet laundry will be able to keep up with the the volume?

Anecdotally, it worked on past world cruises where all had free laundry.  Might require more personnel, but apparently the hardware is up to it.

 

Also, of course, much laundry was being done prior to the "free" valet laundry as many, ourselves included, thought or came to think it was silly to spend a lot on a cruise and then spend time doing our own laundry.  Which I, in fact, did on our early Regent cruises.

[flossie009]

18 hours ago, TomBeckCruise said:

Is the free laundry for all likely to end?

Very unlikely that this included service will be withdrawn, IM0

.

7 hours ago, PinkMEB said:

The free laundry perk is wonderful and I think this began pre Covid.

Included laundry & pressing was trialled on some cruises pre covid shutdown. It was announced as being introduced on all future cruises mid 2020

 

There was lengthy discussion at the time of the announcement in this previous thread:

 

9 hours ago, asnaleah said:

Are we still able to do our own laundry?

If you wish, but Regent’s laundry service is excellent.

The self-service laundry rooms are probably very quiet these days 😉

 

 

[wcsdkqh]

As a reminder, this “free” included laundry did not begin as a result of Covid. Back in 2018, as a test run, Regent included laundry on all Mediterranean cruises, and as I recall, there was no increase in turnaround time or decrease in service, and those ships were full. If laundry was turned in early morning, you got it back same day, the exception being last day when everyone wanted to return home with clean clothes.

[asnaleah]

I have had some less than wonderful ship laundry experiences, especially with delicates I wash in cold water. 

[TomTN]

7 hours ago, asnaleah said:

I have had some less than wonderful ship laundry experiences, especially with delicates I wash in cold water. 

My DW agrees.  

[Scout16]

I may be a bit old fashion, but I still would rather wash my own socks and underwear.  I also make sure that I do not tie up the machines by leaving lothing in the washer or dryer after it is finished. 

[coljack]

We are now "Gold" but will be getting valet laundry on next cruise for the first time for any reason--gold or COVID.  Do I understand correctly that this service will be one bag per week?

[journeyfan]

I love their valet laundry but I did have one unfortunate experience with it. Some years ago I bought a pair of North Face trousers that were stitched in such a way that they looked very wrinkled.  I decided they would be perfect to wear on overnight plane flights.  Unfortunately, I sent them out for laundering when I got on the ship.  When I got them back, I discovered that Regent had attempted to iron out the wrinkles.  They were a mess!  So no more wearing them on that trip.  Fortunately after I got home, I washed them and hung them to drip dry and most of the wrinkles were restored.🙂

[flossie009]

4 hours ago, coljack said:

Do I understand correctly that this service will be one bag per week?

 

All guests now benefit from the complementary Valet Laundry Service; with no limit - daily if you wish.

If the laundry bag is picked up from your room before 9am it should be back with you, laundered & pressed, that evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by flossie009

[Sunprince]

This makes travelling so much easier!  We will be packing a bit more lightly for our cruise in April.  It is so nice to have fresh professional laundry available daily!

[loriva]

14 hours ago, flossie009 said:

If the laundry bag is picked up from your room before 9am it should be back with you, laundered & pressed, that evening.

 

That was not our experience on a 14-night cruise on Explorer in Dec 2021-Jan 2022.  We sent out laundry one third into the cruise and then at two-thirds, both times well before 0900 hours.  The first batch came back the next day, after 2100 hours in the evening.  The second batch did not come back for two days--and we had to call twice to locate it.

 

I also used the self-serve laundry rooms for delicates.  Remember the number of self-serve laundry rooms has been reduced--at least on Explorer--with some decks only having one instead of one each at the front and aft.  Even so, no one else used the laundry rooms in the two times I visited.

[flossie009]

1 minute ago, loriva said:

That was not our experience on a 14-night cruise on Explorer in Dec 2021-Jan 2022.

I was quoting our experience on Splendor and Mariner December 2021 - Jan 2022

[mj_holiday]

We have always planned on the laundry we send out being returned the next day.  Then the many time it comes back the same day, we are delighted.

[UUNetBill]

1 hour ago, loriva said:

Remember the number of self-serve laundry rooms has been reduced--at least on Explorer--with some decks only having one instead of one each at the front and aft.  Even so, no one else used the laundry rooms in the two times I visited.

Explorer shows 8 total, one aft on deck 6, two on decks 7, 8, 9, and one forward on deck 12.  So while there's not one on each passenger deck, three decks have one both fore and aft.

 

Voyager, by comparison, has 5 - one on decks 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.  Looks like 4 on Navigator and Mariner seems to have just three.

 

At least according to the current deck plans...

 

[UUNetBill]

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

I was quoting our experience on Splendor and Mariner December 2021 - Jan 2022

Ours, too, in January 2022.  But the ship was only carrying 403 pax, so that may have played into it.

[labonnevie]

Explorer Jan/Feb this year we put laundry out before we went to dinner. It was back before lunch the next day. This happened three times. 

[loriva]

9 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

Explorer shows 8 total, one aft on deck 6, two on decks 7, 8, 9, and one forward on deck 12.  So while there's not one on each passenger deck, three decks have one both fore and aft

 

At least according to the current deck plans...

 

 

It appears the deck plans for Explorer have not been updated.  There was only one laundry room available on our deck, 8, in the aft.  On 9, I recall only the one forward being available.  (We were on the holiday cruise, so I walked all the suite decks all the way around aft to forward to see what folks had out for door decorations and also noted where laundry rooms should have been based on the deck plans.)   It was reported on the Regent board that some laundry rooms were converted into crew cabins to provide more solo space during COVID.

[ronrick1943]

More and more cruise lines are giving free Laundry as a perk—-it’s competition.  Think it will be around for an long time.,