Laundry - How Returned?

[drowelf]

Its been over 5 years since we have been on HAL and since that was pre-Covid I was wondering how laundry is returned these days? What I'm wondering about is whether it folded with shirts on hangers? We were just on Celebrity and everything came back stuffed into the bags, it was clean, but stuffing it all into a couple of bags make for a lot of creases. Now it was all clean and folded nicely and the one bag we sent out came back as 2, but still.... I seem to remember back when we last sent out laundry on HAL, we got back the non-shirt stuff folded nicely in the basket and all the shirts on hangers. Looking for recent experiences. 

 

Thanks

[SilvertoGold]

Folded in baskets, anything hangable gets a hanger.

Never stuffed into a bag!  Whose bad idea was that?? Did they run out of hangers and baskets?

[CNSJ]

HAL does a better job than the local dry cleaners.  The laundry staff is great!

Be sure to mention them in your post cruise feedback.  They will leave a note on your laundry as to who finished it for you.

 

 

[Cruising-along]

On the laundry slip you have a spot to mark if you want things folded or on hangers.  I always mark "on hangers".  Everything other than socks and underwear comes back on hangers.  Socks and underwear are folded and in a nice basket.  

[SilvertoGold]

12 minutes ago, CNSJ said:

HAL does a better job than the local dry cleaners.  The laundry staff is great!

Be sure to mention them in your post cruise feedback.  They will leave a note on your laundry as to who finished it for you.

 

 

Are they still doing the little note? Last year, yes. This year, no, at least for us, so far.

[Cruising-along]

1 minute ago, SilvertoGold said:

Are they still doing the little note? Last year, yes. This year, no, at least for us, so far.

We got notes every time on our 94-day cruise this year. (and that's a lot of notes!)  😅

[CNSJ]

1 hour ago, Cruising-along said:

On the laundry slip you have a spot to mark if you want things folded or on hangers.  I always mark "on hangers".  Everything other than socks and underwear comes back on hangers.  Socks and underwear are folded and in a nice basket.  

Yup.  Even t-shirts and pajama tops. 

[Woofbite]

I got one love note back on the 30 day Japan - Seattle cruise last month.  Other laundry came back without one.

I send a few bucks back with my thanks when I get one because I appreciate knowing there is a real person behind that great work.

 

 

Edited June 16 by Woofbite
Added info.

[Roz]

2 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

On the laundry slip you have a spot to mark if you want things folded or on hangers.  I always mark "on hangers".  Everything other than socks and underwear comes back on hangers.  Socks and underwear are folded and in a nice basket.  

 

This has been my experience as well.  Never had clothes come back shoved in a bag.  How awful!

[oakridger]

I ask for folded on everything in my last laundry of the cruise. Ready to pack!!  On my Trans Atlantic on Zuiderdam in May I didn’t get any laundry notes. Fine by me for no note.  It was nice in the beginning but I kind of got the impression that it was a bit of a not too subtle tip request after a while. 🤷‍♀️. Not a big deal either way to me. 

[Cruising-along]

2 minutes ago, Roz said:

 

This has been my experience as well.  Never had clothes come back shoved in a bag.  How awful!

We're really spoiled with HAL's laundry service.  There are a lot of things I don't like about how Celebrity does it (and the cost).  So we only take short cruises on Celebrity!

[Huskerchick]

I think HAL's laundry department does a fantastic job. On our last cruise I got a spot on a pair of white pants and sent them out with a little note. They came back perfect, on a hanger, and to be honest probably a better job then my local cleaners.  And as others have said foldable items come back neatly in a basket and hanging things on hangers. Watch out for those little tags tho 😏

[Roz]

I made 4 star right before a 31 day South American cruise.  The free laundry was a game changer as far as packing.  

[Catlover54]

On Rotterdam right now, per my suite status DH and I are entitled to free laundry and dry cleaning.  Laundry is beautifully done, and will be put on hangers or folded *per your request*. I always also request in the comments that they wash on cold, not hot, and tumble dry low, to prevent shrinkage (I had a tencel undershirt shrink last year). 

 

I usually get it back the sane day with a note (lately, "Rudi" has been thanking me.This is one department that runs very smoothly.

[Haljo1935]

4 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Are they still doing the little note? Last year, yes. This year, no, at least for us, so far.

I got a note on both my cruises this year (K'dam). It may depend on the ship.

[wandrr]

We attended a "Meet the <insert crew member> with the Cruise Director" session where the Laundry Supervisor was the crew member. He was superb, clearly an extremely knowledgeable expert on laundry and dry cleaning. He described the process, which includes a careful inspection for the care instructions and an examination of the type of fabric. It is obvious that the staff in the laundry take considerable care of your clothes. As others have mentioned, the care they take is probably better than your local cleaner and is certainly better than the care I take. 🤣 We have never had any problem with the HAL laundry, even with some very fine and expensive clothing. Someone did lose a cheapie pair of my wife's walking shorts (probably fell off the hanger and were mistaken for a rag), but HAL compensated us handsomely after a week-long search by all concerned.

 

As far as we are concerned, the HAL laundry is one of the best services on board. Makes 4* really worthwhile, even though we have paid umpteen thousands of dollars to reach 4*.

 

BTW, we never marked "folded" or "hanger" on the form. Hang-able clothes always come back hung and in a reusable cover, with everything else nicely folded and wrapped in tissue paper in a basket. It sometimes makes me feel guilty when I then dump my socks haphazardly in a drawer. Who (besides the HAL laundry) folds socks!  🙄

[CNSJ]

10 hours ago, wandrr said:

Who (besides the HAL laundry) folds socks! 

In the Navy we taught Sailors to fold socks and underwear.  On a submarine you fold or roll everything to make it fit in what most of you would consider "draconian conditions."  

[wandrr]

24 minutes ago, CNSJ said:

In the Navy we taught Sailors to fold socks and underwear.  On a submarine you fold or roll everything to make it fit in what most of you would consider "draconian conditions."  

Sure. My military days included the same training and similar conditions. Fortunately, I am well beyond that now, though I look back with lots of memories...

[POA1]

16 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Are they still doing the little note? Last year, yes. This year, no, at least for us, so far.

We got the little notes. Laundry was on hangars if appropriate, or else folded in a basket for things like socks and underwear.

 

The laundry service on the Rotterdam over Easter was phenomenal. We had a few pieces dry cleaned - at better prices and turnaround times than our local cleaners.

[tw67]

This is all great to know! Next year I will be on my first Holland American cruise. It is a 14 day transatlantic. I will definitely need laundry done. On Carnival, laundry is free for me, and I have gotten spoiled. It is nice to know that since I have to pay for it, they do a nice job!

[Cruise Suzy]

32 minutes ago, tw67 said:

This is all great to know! Next year I will be on my first Holland American cruise. It is a 14 day transatlantic. I will definitely need laundry done. On Carnival, laundry is free for me, and I have gotten spoiled. It is nice to know that since I have to pay for it, they do a nice job!

We have been spoiled with "free" laundry beginning with our first HAL cruise by using our "free" OBC for it. Our TA has given us more than that even if only on a 7-day cruise. Majority of cruises are 10-14 days and that's when the difference in how much we pack begins.

[acct1975]

This has been some really helpful info I didn't know to ask about! Thanks

 

Going to be on our 1st HAL cruise on a 7 day Alaska cruise in a few weeks & have not used the laundry service before. What's the turn around for laundry? Do they pick up in the morning and drop off the same day or is it more of a 24 hour turnaround?

 

 

[Haljo1935]

14 minutes ago, acct1975 said:

This has been some really helpful info I didn't know to ask about! Thanks

 

Going to be on our 1st HAL cruise on a 7 day Alaska cruise in a few weeks & have not used the laundry service before. What's the turn around for laundry? Do they pick up in the morning and drop off the same day or is it more of a 24 hour turnaround?

 

 

The form says 2 days unless you select express service (extra charge). But w/rare exception, what we send out before breakfast has always been returned same day. I'd plan on 2 days to be safe.

[tw67]

21 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

We have been spoiled with "free" laundry beginning with our first HAL cruise by using our "free" OBC for it. Our TA has given us more than that even if only on a 7-day cruise. Majority of cruises are 10-14 days and that's when the difference in how much we pack begins.

I will have OBC, so I will definitely earmark some of it for laundry! I am an over packer to begin with, and knowing that we will be in both cool and warm temperatures makes me want to pack even more! 

 

[Seasick Sailor]

I agree with @Haljo1935. We leave our laundry bag on the bed on our way to breakfast and normally have it back after the dinner hour, but plan on a 2 day return.