Free Laundry for Longer Voyages

[mnocket]

I recall that when I took my first Windstar cruise aboard the Pride last September, free laundry was included due to the length of the cruise despite my not having any Yacht Club status.  Does anyone know what the cruise length needs to be for this perk?  I've just booked a 17-day cruise on the Wind Spirit.  It's really a B2B, but offered and booked as a single cruise.  Thanks.

[Nearpost345]

14+ days so you’re good

[mnocket]

12 minutes ago, Nearpost345 said:

14+ days so you’re good

Thanks!

[new_cruiser]

On 3/10/2024 at 12:13 PM, mnocket said:

I recall that when I took my first Windstar cruise aboard the Pride last September, free laundry was included due to the length of the cruise despite my not having any Yacht Club status.  Does anyone know what the cruise length needs to be for this perk?  I've just booked a 17-day cruise on the Wind Spirit.  It's really a B2B, but offered and booked as a single cruise.  Thanks.

Actually, the Cruise Collectors (Windstar name for B2B cruises that are sold under a single fare) always include free laundry. Almost all of them are 14 days or longer anyway, but even if one was under 14 days, they have free laundry. 

[Redtravel]

13+

[Strenz]

Best laundry anywhere. Reason we only do carry on. Happy Sailing.

[MandL]

So do you trust Windstar with your delicates?  They don't offer dry cleaning.

[new_cruiser]

11 minutes ago, MandL said:

So do you trust Windstar with your delicates?  They don't offer dry cleaning.

They did fine with my silk masks when cruises resumed after COVID and my bras have come out fine. Those are the most delicate things I travel with. I did send the masks in in a separate bag with a note on the laundry tag that they were silk.

Edited March 16 by new_cruiser

[MandL]

Thanks for the quick reply. This will be our first experience with Windstar. We have be loyal cruisers with Celebrity. It was time to try something new. 

[wrk2cruise]

11 hours ago, MandL said:

Thanks for the quick reply. This will be our first experience with Windstar. We have be loyal cruisers with Celebrity. It was time to try something new. 

 

We have also been loyal Celebrity (Zenith) and did our first Windstar in January.   We used the laundry service quite a bit.  I'd say it was maybe a bit better than the Celebrity standard wash/press/hanger service.  Off on our second one next week.

[MandL]

Fantastic! Have a great time. 

[6rugrats]

I have had many loads of laundry done during Windstar cruises.  Most of it comes back just fine, and you request that items be line dried if you wish.  Are they kept out of the dryer?  Who knows?  I did have one cruise where dark items came back noticeably faded and one dress had spotted areas.  I never send out anything that I value.

Edited March 16 by 6rugrats

[MandL]

Thanks for the detail. I always bring my Woolite along with us for our swim suits and my under garments, or anything else special.  But, the cruise is 22 days and I typically will have Celebrity dry clean my husbands good shirts and polos. Not really loving the idea of them being laundered unless I do it (haha).  Will have to plan accordingly. People say Windstar is casual. Is this really true?  We’ll be cruising Barcelona to Amsterdam, not Tahiti or Caribbean (although Tahiti is on my list).

[new_cruiser]

3 hours ago, MandL said:

People say Windstar is casual. Is this really true?

There is a range for dinner. No t-shirts and no shorts. Nice jeans are allowed (not ripped ones). After more than 30 years in the tech industry, we are pretty casual - mostly polos and slacks for dinner for both of us; sometimes nice jeans on a cooler weather cruise. But plenty of people dress up more than that (perhaps more women than men). So if you would be more comfortable being around the average dressiness of others, you might go a step up from that.

 

Depending on season and location, you might want to bring something warmer for dining on deck (BBQ, Candles and, for the Star ships, the Grill).

[MandL]

15 minutes ago, new_cruiser said:

There is a range for dinner. No t-shirts and no shorts. Nice jeans are allowed (not ripped ones). After more than 30 years in the tech industry, we are pretty casual - mostly polos and slacks for dinner for both of us; sometimes nice jeans on a cooler weather cruise. But plenty of people dress up more than that (perhaps more women than men). So if you would be more comfortable being around the average dressiness of others, you might go a step up from that.

 

Depending on season and location, you might want to bring something warmer for dining on deck (BBQ, Candles and, for the Star ships, the Grill).

Perfect! We can handle that.  Thank you for the great detail.

[Nearpost345]

just back from wind surf, laundry done very nicely.

[Nearpost345]

On 3/16/2024 at 5:41 PM, new_cruiser said:

There is a range for dinner. No t-shirts and no shorts. Nice jeans are allowed (not ripped ones). After more than 30 years in the tech industry, we are pretty casual - mostly polos and slacks for dinner for both of us; sometimes nice jeans on a cooler weather cruise. But plenty of people dress up more than that (perhaps more women than men). So if you would be more comfortable being around the average dressiness of others, you might go a step up from that.

 

Depending on season and location, you might want to bring something warmer for dining on deck (BBQ, Candles and, for the Star ships, the Grill).

just back from the windsurf. People do nearly always respect the dress code. Unfortunately the exceptions stick out like sore thumbs. Candles the other night had a diner in swim shorts, another fella with his cowboy hat on, and a third diner, big guy, in a singlet. I wasn’t impressed.

[new_cruiser]

12 hours ago, Nearpost345 said:

just back from the windsurf. People do nearly always respect the dress code. Unfortunately the exceptions stick out like sore thumbs. Candles the other night had a diner in swim shorts, another fella with his cowboy hat on, and a third diner, big guy, in a singlet. I wasn’t impressed.

That's unusual in my experience. Perhaps it helps that our most recent cruises have been cool weather ones: an unseasonably cool summer New Zealand/Australia and a fall Venice to Rome. Someone in a singlet or shorts would have been pretty cold. 

[Redtravel]

I love WS laundry.  I always send clothes to the laundry. However, I am careful not to send very delicate items. Now I also don’t send out clothing that I would miss if it were damaged.  On my last WS cruise on the Breeze, a shirt was missing.  We were visited by the laundry person who showed us that they had sliced the shirt.  They took responsibility and gave us $60.  That didn’t cover the cost of replacing the shirt. Their formula is 10 times their price to launder the item.  Keep that in mind.  

[ridethetide]

30 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

I love WS laundry.  I always send clothes to the laundry. However, I am careful not to send very delicate items. Now I also don’t send out clothing that I would miss if it were damaged.  On my last WS cruise on the Breeze, a shirt was missing.  We were visited by the laundry person who showed us that they had sliced the shirt.  They took responsibility and gave us $60.  That didn’t cover the cost of replacing the shirt. Their formula is 10 times their price to launder the item.  Keep that in mind.  

About 10 years ago, the laundry ripped one of my husband's LLBean dress shirts. They ordered its replacement directly from the LL Bean catalog and had it shipped to our home. It cost them more than $60 to replace.

[Strenz]

1 hour ago, ridethetide said:

About 10 years ago, the laundry ripped one of my husband's LLBean dress shirts. They ordered its replacement directly from the LL Bean catalog and had it shipped to our home. It cost them more than $60 to replace.

 

1 hour ago, ridethetide said:

About 10 years ago, the laundry ripped one of my husband's LLBean dress shirts. They ordered its replacement directly from the LL Bean catalog and had it shipped to our home. It cost them more than $60 to replace.

I have used the laundry on 28 cruises, everything always comes back great but I bring very washable items. The laundry is critical for my goal to never check my luggage. Love it. Happy Sailing. 

[ridethetide]

2 hours ago, Strenz said:

 

I have used the laundry on 28 cruises, everything always comes back great but I bring very washable items. The laundry is critical for my goal to never check my luggage. Love it. Happy Sailing. 

LL Bean shirts are "washable items". Accidents do happen occasionally, but WS handled it well.