Oosterdam - self-serve laundry?

[feathersandnananose]

It's been years since we sailed.  But planning for an August trip, just wondering if the ship still has a self-service laundry with ironing boards.  Because it will decide which clothes I bring.....linen?  Only if I can iron it.    Nothing shows up on the deck plans, so I'm thinking they shut it down.

I loved having access to an ironing board.....

 

Anyone know?

[CruiserBruce]

No HAL ship has a self service laundry. 

[0106]

I think paying to have laundry done by the bag ($20 or $30 depending on the ship’s location) is a great deal and cheaper than checking a suitcase.  Here is picture of what I can fit in one bag.

Edited June 28, 2023 by 0106

[POA1]

No self service laundry nor ironing boards. I've had a lot of luck with Downy Wrinkle Release (read the instructions!) or steam in the bathroom.

 

Unlimited laundry and pressing can be had at a pretty reasonable price as well.

[crystalspin]

Just to be clear, unlimited laundry OR unlimited pressing are both available. If you have things laundered, they will not need additional pressing. Here is an older laundry slip; prices may have changed but it can give you an idea. 

https://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/HAL-Laundry-Bag-Price.pdf

 

[erdufylla]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

No self service laundry nor ironing boards. I've had a lot of luck with Downy Wrinkle Release (read the instructions!) or steam in the bathroom.

 

Unlimited laundry and pressing can be had at a pretty reasonable price as well.

I agree that with a lot of fabrics, a combo of Downy Wrinkle Release and shower steam can go a long way, and it’s always been enough for anything I’ve packed. But the OP mentioned linen, and I’ve never successfully gotten linen to go smooth enough for my taste with just those two options. If I were packing something linen, I would also budget to send it away for pressing. Just my $0.02. 🙂

[Crew News]

46 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Just to be clear, unlimited laundry OR unlimited pressing are both available. If you have things laundered, they will not need additional pressing. Here is an older laundry slip; prices may have changed but it can give you an idea. 

https://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/HAL-Laundry-Bag-Price.pdf

 

Hard to believe but no change in prices on my laundry slip from last month. 

 

I will upload a new list with current date.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Crew News

[Crew News]

51 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Just to be clear, unlimited laundry OR unlimited pressing are both available. If you have things laundered, they will not need additional pressing. Here is an older laundry slip; prices may have changed but it can give you an idea. 

https://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/HAL-Laundry-Bag-Price.pdf

 

Here is an updated link:  HAL Laundry Price List 2023.  Still same prices on this list for the last seven years but unlimited prices per bag have increased.

[Haljo1935]

Aligned with others here that there is no self-ironing available. You can do pressing only if you don't want the items laundered. But if you are really looking to minimize packing, their laundry service is great.

[Alaska05]

You must be thinking of Princess ships.

[albingirl]

I am so glad that there are no more self-serve laundries onboard.  I seemed to waste alot of time doing my own, and I never did that great a job.  I can do laundry at home, and I do, but it is so nice to have my laundry delivered all done and pressed! Plus, waiting for a dryer?  Well, those days are so over!!!

[BobbiSox]

Keep in mind that your laundry will not be washed by itself; they don't use small home-style machines. Your clothing will be washed with that of other passengers. That's why they use that 'almost impossible to remove' tag on all your pieces. You can wash small items in the bathroom sink, usuing their shampoo, and hanging overnight to dry; there is a clothesline in your shower.  I hand wash whatever I can, especially on a long sail, and send them to be pressed only if they need it. Underwear is easily washed and dried in the cabin. I'm 5-star and I don't pay for the laundry services, but I still do most of my own. 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by BobbiSox
typo

[POA1]

Speaking of which... We still have some Woolite packets and one of those sink stopper rubber things we carry in our magical travel bags. (Think Mary Poppins with a drink package, or Bloody Mary Poppins, perhaps.)

 

Also in the bag are some clothes pins for hanging things. The clothes pins are also handy for keeping the curtains closed tight if we want an afternoon nap and we're on the sunny side of the ship.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Alaska05 said:

You must be thinking of Princess ships.

Who is thinking of Princess?

[BobbiSox]

The little clothes pins come in handy. They help the clothes dry faster, with the one layer, instead of clothing folded over itself when draped on the line. They are eslily found in most craft stores. 

[Crew News]

2 hours ago, POA1 said:

Speaking of which... We still have some Woolite packets and one of those sink stopper rubber things we carry in our magical travel bags. (Think Mary Poppins with a drink package, or Bloody Mary Poppins, perhaps.)

 

Also in the bag are some clothes pins for hanging things. The clothes pins are also handy for keeping the curtains closed tight if we want an afternoon nap and we're on the sunny side of the ship.

You can save some room in your luggage by leaving the clothes pins at home and using a pants hanger w/clamps for both curtains and sink-washed items.

[feathersandnananose]

12 hours ago, Alaska05 said:

You must be thinking of Princess ships.

Nope, the smaller HA ships (which the Ooosterdam is) used to have self-service laundry areas.  But it was some years ago.....

[feathersandnananose]

OK, I see that the unlimited  pressing service for my cruise(?) is $60.00 and the unlimited is maybe $129.  And the by-bag laundry is $30.?  This is for a 12 day cruse to and from European ports.    Does anyone know it these numbers are close to real?

[erdufylla]

Those numbers are consistent with what I’ve seen recently, but I think they do vary from cruise to cruise. People more in the know can correct me if that’s wrong.

 

I have two questions about the “per bag” laundry:

 

(1) If you put some items in a zippered mesh bag, either to protect them (e.g., something you don’t want stretched out, like bras) or keep smaller items together (e.g., socks), will they keep them in the bag and put that through the wash as is, or remove the items from the mesh bag?

 

(2) I hear people rave about the laundry service and how you can specify certain washing instructions (cold wash, low heat dry, air dry, etc.). I assume they’re talking about individual items sent to laundry, but can those instructions be given on a bag of laundry, too, if the whole bag is to receive the same instructions?

 

 

[Haljo1935]

1 minute ago, erdufylla said:

Those numbers are consistent with what I’ve seen recently, but I think they do vary from cruise to cruise. People more in the know can correct me if that’s wrong.

 

I have two questions about the “per bag” laundry:

 

(1) If you put some items in a zippered mesh bag, either to protect them (e.g., something you don’t want stretched out, like bras) or keep smaller items together (e.g., socks), will they keep them in the bag and put that through the wash as is, or remove the items from the mesh bag?

 

(2) I hear people rave about the laundry service and how you can specify certain washing instructions (cold wash, low heat dry, air dry, etc.). I assume they’re talking about individual items sent to laundry, but can those instructions be given on a bag of laundry, too, if the whole bag is to receive the same instructions?

 

 

Here's my experience:

1) Items put in mesh bags were returned not in the bag, so assume they were taken out to wash. However, if you put a note to leave them in the mesh bags/not remove from the mesh bags, they would likely follow your instructions. We've put small socks just in their laundry bag and they have come back stacked on top of each other and I've never lost one, so they do a good job mating everything back up.

2) We've put a note on an entire bag and sent multiples with different instructions and they come back seemingly done correctly. Ex: bag for cold only hang dry and bag for warm wash folded. You can request an extra bag if you want to sort.

 

[Crew News]

16 minutes ago, feathersandnananose said:

OK, I see that the unlimited  pressing service for my cruise(?) is $60.00 and the unlimited is maybe $129.  And the by-bag laundry is $30.?  This is for a 12 day cruse to and from European ports.    Does anyone know it these numbers are close to real?

Those prices are for North American cruises with unlimited laundry averaging $8.50/day. Others have reported that European cruises average $9.50/day.

[richwmn]

46 minutes ago, feathersandnananose said:

Nope, the smaller HA ships (which the Ooosterdam is) used to have self-service laundry areas.  But it was some years ago.....

Sorry, but the last class of HAL ships to have a self-service laundry was the Rotterdam class (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Volendam, Zaandam). The Vista class never had a self-service laundry (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Noordam, Westerdam) nor did any ship built since 2002.

[Florida_gal_50]

21 hours ago, Crew News said:

Here is an updated link:  HAL Laundry Price List 2023.  Still same prices on this list for the last seven years but unlimited prices per bag have increased.

And they learned that suit is spelled suit not suite like the last one 😛.

[Crew News]

29 minutes ago, erdufylla said:

Those numbers are consistent with what I’ve seen recently, but I think they do vary from cruise to cruise. People more in the know can correct me if that’s wrong.

 

I have two questions about the “per bag” laundry:

 

(1) If you put some items in a zippered mesh bag, either to protect them (e.g., something you don’t want stretched out, like bras) or keep smaller items together (e.g., socks), will they keep them in the bag and put that through the wash as is, or remove the items from the mesh bag?

 

(2) I hear people rave about the laundry service and how you can specify certain washing instructions (cold wash, low heat dry, air dry, etc.). I assume they’re talking about individual items sent to laundry, but can those instructions be given on a bag of laundry, too, if the whole bag is to receive the same instructions?

 

 

I cannot answer your first question but the second answer is that you can mark individual items or just draw a line from top to bottom with instructions for all items.  I do "wash cold/dry low" for everything

[Florida_gal_50]

12 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

Keep in mind that your laundry will not be washed by itself; they don't use small home-style machines. Your clothing will be washed with that of other passengers. That's why they use that 'almost impossible to remove' tag on all your pieces. You can wash small items in the bathroom sink, usuing their shampoo, and hanging overnight to dry; there is a clothesline in your shower.  I hand wash whatever I can, especially on a long sail, and send them to be pressed only if they need it. Underwear is easily washed and dried in the cabin. I'm 5-star and I don't pay for the laundry services, but I still do most of my own. 

 

 

Yup, I still hand wash a bit myself.