Laundry

[Edinburghgirl1]

We are taking our first cruise with Holland America next February and it’s a long one 35 nights. We will have been in San Diego for 4 nights when we board the Koningsdam. We will definitely need some laundry done and wondered what options  would be open to us on such a long cruise in terms of cost. 

[Cruise Suzy]

You can

1) stuff a bag with several days' worth of clothing

OR

2) purchase unlimited laundry and send as much or little as you want every day except the day before disembarking.

 

Prices were just raised this past week, so I'm not sure what the cost is for your cruise. Unlimited went from $7/day to $8.50/day for cruises up to 14 days. You can check this price online, it's under Cruise Activities then Packages in the Manage My Bookings section of the HAL Website.  Individual bags had been $20.

[Edinburghgirl1]

13 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

You can

1) stuff a bag with several days' worth of clothing

OR

2) purchase unlimited laundry and send as much or little as you want every day except the day before disembarking.

 

Prices were just raised this past week, so I'm not sure what the cost is for your cruise. Unlimited went from $7/day to $8.50/day for cruises up to 14 days. You can check this price online, it's under Cruise Activities then Packages in the Manage My Bookings section of the HAL Website.  Individual bags had been $20.

Thank you 

[OlsSalt]

Packing with laundry demands in mind is one way around long cruises and the laundry. Pick thinner rather than bulky items.

 

We honestly don't have that much that requires daily  laundry needs - we pack about 7 days of underwear/socks, one set of night clothes and one set of silk underwear to use as laundry-day bed clothes. Those are our most routine laundry demands.  (NB: we are five star so we get the laundry for free - but even so we both can easily work within the one bag limit).

 

Some items  can be rinsed and hung out in the bathtub clothes line over night  - I like linen as the surprisingly easiest travel fabric for overnight wash and wear.  But most clothes we find simply don't get that much wear or demands put on them to require that much extra laundry beyond once a week. 

 

So using one bag a week for the routine wash items - can probably be enough - and one does learn to stuff that bag very efficiently to get it all into every gaping air space left. At least this has been our own experience after 600+ days onboard.

 

Others experience can and will vary greatly. And no, I  don't think you can smell us coming! Like they claimed they could smell Attila the Hun's armors coming long before they saw them.

 

Some early long cruise packing tips I got from other CC members: pack for two weeks only and repeat for the length of the longer voyages.  For variety only change your tops, not an entire outfit. Pick a basic "bottom color" (pants, skirt)  along with one color of  shoes and (try to)  stick with it.

 

Truth told, I still way over pack which is another way around the laundry thing - I still have things left over at the end of the cruise that I never wore. Plus get the lightest suitcase you can find (IT brand is one of them) so you are not paying luggage fees, to just ship your suitcase, and not the things you want to wear instead.

[mjwaruba]

52 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

We are taking our first cruise with Holland America next February and it’s a long one 35 nights. We will have been in San Diego for 4 nights when we board the Koningsdam. We will definitely need some laundry done and wondered what options  would be open to us on such a long cruise in terms of cost. 

We are David and Mary-Jo  from Massachusetts and are also on this cruise.  My husband was just asking me about laundry for a 35 day cruise.  I am disappointed they don't have self-serve.  I only wash clothes in cold water and low dryer temp!  Well. If clothes shrink I guess bathing suits and cover ups will have to do.  It will have nothing to do with the food or wine consumption!😎😎

[StLouisCruisers]

1 hour ago, mjwaruba said:

We are David and Mary-Jo  from Massachusetts and are also on this cruise.  My husband was just asking me about laundry for a 35 day cruise.  I am disappointed they don't have self-serve.  I only wash clothes in cold water and low dryer temp!  Well. If clothes shrink I guess bathing suits and cover ups will have to do.  It will have nothing to do with the food or wine consumption!😎😎

Mark your laundry slip cold water wash and low heat dry.  

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, mjwaruba said:

We are David and Mary-Jo  from Massachusetts and are also on this cruise.  My husband was just asking me about laundry for a 35 day cruise.  I am disappointed they don't have self-serve.  I only wash clothes in cold water and low dryer temp!  Well. If clothes shrink I guess bathing suits and cover ups will have to do.  It will have nothing to do with the food or wine consumption!😎😎

Hi Mary-Jo! The roll call is here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2832921-february-17-2024-hawaii-and-tahiti/

 

I can remember when the smaller HAL ships had self-laundry. They were small and often a problem to find a machine! They would be locked down during Noro outbreaks (just when needed) leaving one to disembark with a suitcase of dirty laundry looking for a laundromat if continuing the journey. 

 

But, I was convinced that the cruiseline would ruin our clothes! After a 28-day transAtlantic doing all of our laundry in the sink, I finally listened to Jacqui @kazu and others telling me that HAL really did follow directions on low temperature, etc. I just recently learned they even have a room with circulating air for drip-dry!

 

Subsequently we joined the pack-smart and use-the-by-the-bag option. Unlike RCI (where they only let you but items smaller than a t-shirt in the bag), HAL takes any and all plain-wash items in the bag. Here is a list we fit:

 

 

[fellswoop]

On Kdam last month it was fill the laundry bag up for $20. We rolled each item tightly and fit A LOT in their laundry bag!

[lissie]

1 hour ago, fellswoop said:

On Kdam last month it was fill the laundry bag up for $20. We rolled each item tightly and fit A LOT in their laundry bag!

If the daily laundry has just gone from $7 to $8.50 I think the $20 bag will be going up to at least $25 

[fellswoop]

10 minutes ago, lissie said:

If the daily laundry has just gone from $7 to $8.50 I think the $20 bag will be going up to at least $25 

Some ships are already at $30!

[BigBee51]

Is the price per cabin or does everyone in the same cabin have to purchase the laundry package?

[Sea42]

13 hours ago, fellswoop said:

Some ships are already at $30!

Those sailing in Europe have been at $30 for quite some time. Years maybe?

3 minutes ago, BigBee51 said:

Is the price per cabin or does everyone in the same cabin have to purchase the laundry package?

Price is per cabin

[BigBee51]

Thanks.

It is weird though, when you select the laundry package it shows both guests and you must select one person. Holland doesn't say per cabin like they do for the booze package. It's a mystery how they would know whose clothes belonged to whom. 

[cruising sister]

Do they separate the light from darks before washing?

[Sea42]

3 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

Do they separate the light from darks before washing?

Not sure how it works for by the bag but with the unlimited laundry we used separate bags for light and dark items.

[kazu]

25 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

Do they separate the light from darks before washing?

 

Yes they do.  I just put all the laundry in one bag with instructions.
 

I request cold water wash for the bulk of mine and low heat for a number of things. Not a problem

[LarsenPNP]

We are recently back from the Koningdam's 18 day circle Hawaii cruise.  We paid for the unlimited laundry/dry cleaning and sent a stuffed bag 3-4 times. It was AWESOME. Cabin steward will pick it up before 9AM, and most times the clothes came back that same evening, even though we did not request express service.  Shirts, blouses and pants came back on hangers, and things like lingerie or socks were folded and covered by tissue paper in a basket that was delivered and placed in the cabin by the steward.  I had no problem with any of the clothing -- we sent socks, undies, chinos, silk blouses, linen tops, you name it.  All done beautifully. In fact, if this were my local cleaners, I would be thrilled.

 

Today I am sitting in my house doing my own laundry (boo-hoo) and procrastinating the cleaning I ought to be doing.  I miss life on board....

Edited March 4, 2023 by LarsenPNP
clarification

[Kamfish642]

Laundry package is definitely worth it for a cruise greater than 7 days.  Allows us to pack a smaller suitcase.

 

[Banditswife]

We've done "unlimited" & "by the bag."  Both come back very nicely folded or on hangers.  I have only had a problem 1x, my bra hook was bent out of shape, making it unwearable.  So now I either hook my bras or don't send them.  They want you to list everything they are putting in the bag- so I lay everything out in piles (tshirts, shorts, undies, etc)  then count the number of each type item before placing them in the bag.  This helps them make sure you get everything back.  They place little tags w/cabin # on your clothing items too.  Even when you do "unlimited" they have you fill out a form listing what is in the bag.  You can request folded or on hangers, cold or warm water- I even think there was a space for special instructions.  

 

And YES, price is per cabin not per person.

[trinilopez]

Best deal onboard is the laundry service. We did the unlimited service on a 15 day Spanish Farewell cross Atlantic last year (including 4 pre-cruise days in Barcelona). Wife and I took 1 small suitcase each with about 5 days worth of clothes, and had laundry done almost every day. Even with the price hike, it's worth it. Less packing, less hassling with luggage during travel, carry on and carry off ship!  Loved getting the packages of folded, clean laundry every night.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Darn it, buying the laundry package was on my list of things to do this weekend and now it has gone up.  Knew I should have done it earlier. 😂

Edited March 5, 2023 by aussiedisneyfan

[AnnieHawk]

On 3/4/2023 at 7:38 PM, trinilopez said:

Best deal onboard is the laundry service. We did the unlimited service on a 15 day Spanish Farewell cross Atlantic last year (including 4 pre-cruise days in Barcelona). Wife and I took 1 small suitcase each with about 5 days worth of clothes, and had laundry done almost every day. Even with the price hike, it's worth it. Less packing, less hassling with luggage during travel, carry on and carry off ship!  Loved getting the packages of folded, clean laundry every night.

Absolutely best money ever spent on a longer HAL cruise. Washed and returned with a high level of attention to detail every day, if needed. The unlimited laundry bag looks small, but holds so much if you pack it wisely- rolling clothes as opposed to stuffing.