Having laundry done on cruise?

[travellingnana]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

I really don’t feel like going 6 decks down and to midship from my aft suite and laundry room just to save $3. I bring my own soap sheets and just pay for drying. We only do a few things once a week so $6 over a 14 day cruise. Most things like underwear, socks T shirts and jeans get sent out to ship laundry. Yes being Elite/Suite guests is great

You don’t have to go down to guest services. Just buy the tokens yourself, then call the crew chat line and ask them to credit your account. I’ve done this on several different ships, and never had a problem. 

[paradiselivin1]

2 minutes ago, judithzuz said:

Strange, I haven't had that problem. But you may be right, different ships.

We haven't either. Got them on the Sky in June and last February on the Majestic. Not sure if we had asked on earlier cruises but don't remember being refused.

[Luv to teach]

I have been Elite for several years and have never received free tokens.  However, on our last three cruises the machines were not taking tokens so we were able to do laundry for free. 

 

[rheathslc]

6 hours ago, JWMid1 said:

My concern with having laundry done on the cruise is that the clothes may be run on a heat drying cycle which would cause them to shrink. It may be a little unusual, but I air dry my clothes at home.

I have VERY specific preferences for my laundry. I hang most things to air dry or use super low heat for only a few minutes for the few items that I use the tumble dryer for. When we sailed in a suite for my 40th I gave clear instructions on the laundry list and they did an amazing job. I was nervous at first but everything came back perfectly. I'm finally Elite now and am scaling back my packing list for my upcoming 16 day B2B cruise knowing I can and will use the free laundry. 🙂

 

[Luv to teach]

Keep in mind that if there are a lot of Elites on board it can take 4 to 5 days to get your laundry back.

[Thrak]

I've had my silk Tommy Bahama shirts come back stiff as a board. They were unwearable until we rewashed them ourselves in the passenger laundry. I specifically specified NO STARCH the second time I sent them out and they still came back stiff as heck. I'll send out jeans, shorts, tee shirts, underwear, and socks. I lay it all out on the bed and take a picture as we had an issue with my wife's clothing one time and it took days to get it sorted out.

 

I figure if I can afford to cruise I can afford a few bucks in the laundry. The lack of free tokens isn't a big deal. I just find it odd that others have gotten them while we haven't. We even had a cruise where the token machines were broken on multiple decks and the customer service desk said they would have someone look at them but then nothing was ever done. I finally found one deck where the token machines worked. Customer service said, "No" when I asked about tokens. So that actually makes 3 ships where we have been denied.

[Teechur]

34 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I've had my silk Tommy Bahama shirts come back stiff as a board. They were unwearable until we rewashed them ourselves in the passenger laundry. I specifically specified NO STARCH the second time I sent them out and they still came back stiff as heck. 

Most of my Tommy Bahama shirts require dry cleaning. Do they offer that service onboard?

[J13C85]

6 hours ago, ldubs said:

In my experience, once clothes have bee through a few wash/air dry cycles, they won't be subject to much shrinking from the dryer.  I won't give a money back guarantee, but this is what I experience.   

 

 

This has been our experience as well. We are fortunate enough to sail in full suites and we take full advantage of the free laundry (we typically arrive embarkation port a couple days early and turn in our first laundry bag on embarkation day)

 

[JWMid1]

9 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We bring magnetic hooks to dry items in the cabin.  Things don't seem to dry very well in the bathroom.  🤷‍♂️

 

 

 

I've seen these magnetic hooks recommended several times in other places. Have you been able to fly with these in your checked luggage? I can't see why not but I'll be flying to the port city and don't want to have any issues. 

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, Teechur said:

Most of my Tommy Bahama shirts require dry cleaning. Do they offer that service onboard?

We wash my silk Tommy Bahama shirts in our own laundry and they come out fine. They don't require any special handling. When we launder them in the passenger laundry they come out fine. It's only when we send them out for the ship to wash that they come out horrible.

[CHIARA62]

14 hours ago, JWMid1 said:

I'll be on a 10 day cruise later this year and I'm curious how the experience is with having laundry done? Not having laundry done means I'll need to pack way more clothes than I'd prefer to (or that I even own at the moment)

My concern with having laundry done on the cruise is that the clothes may be run on a heat drying cycle which would cause them to shrink. It may be a little unusual, but I air dry my clothes at home.

Does anyone have any experience using the laundry services while on a Princess cruise? Should I buy/pack more clothes or go with a little less and use the laundry services?

We've achieved status on HAL that provides free unlimited laundry years ago ( literally, one of the best perks).  Trust me, if shrinkage occurs it's because of the food and not the laundry.  

[skynight]

9 hours ago, Luv to teach said:

Keep in mind that if there are a lot of Elites on board it can take 4 to 5 days to get your laundry back.

I have experienced 3 days, never 4 to 5.

[LACruiser88]

7 hours ago, JWMid1 said:

I've seen these magnetic hooks recommended several times in other places. Have you been able to fly with these in your checked luggage? I can't see why not but I'll be flying to the port city and don't want to have any issues. 

We have flown all over the world with the magnets in our checked luggage with no issues.

[Mombear Mpls]

Here is a current price list from Princess Sapphire. I’m on the boat now. I brought laundry soap sheets and dryer sheets. The launderette has 8 washer and dryer combos, and there are also a bunch of ironing boards and irons. You can get tokens to buy soap, softener, and dryer sheets by touching your Medallion to the token dispenser, and the cost will appear on your bill. 

[Treasure Hunter]

We get our laundry back next day perfectly done but perhaps there is a different time lag between suites and Elite. 

[9tee2Sea]

I guess being a guy makes laundry/packing easy.  I usually take only 3 pairs of slacks and about 9 shirts ( thats for a 15 day cruise). All of those are lightweight, nylon material, made for traveling. So if need be, I can wash them in the sink, hang dry in bathroom, or on a coat hook in the cabin.  Of course, I take 2 pairs of socks for each day on board.  Rarely do I need to do laundry. I really dont care if folks see me wear the same thing twice.  Sometimes I see some folks in the same t-shirt for the entire duration of a cruise.

[rheathslc]

9 hours ago, JWMid1 said:

I've seen these magnetic hooks recommended several times in other places. Have you been able to fly with these in your checked luggage? I can't see why not but I'll be flying to the port city and don't want to have any issues. 

I wondered that too when I ordered my first set. They were delivered in a box that said not to ship them by air. But I fly with them for every cruise since I got them without any issues. They are fantastic! I'll be buying more for my upcoming 16-Day B2B because I'll be in an inside cabin for that one and want to keep the desk and other surfaces as uncluttered as possible. 😀 

[rheathslc]

34 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I guess being a guy makes laundry/packing easy.  I usually take only 3 pairs of slacks and about 9 shirts ( thats for a 15 day cruise). All of those are lightweight, nylon material, made for traveling. So if need be, I can wash them in the sink, hang dry in bathroom, or on a coat hook in the cabin.  Of course, I take 2 pairs of socks for each day on board.  Rarely do I need to do laundry. I really dont care if folks see me wear the same thing twice.  Sometimes I see some folks in the same t-shirt for the entire duration of a cruise.

You must not be prone to getting food on yourself. I'm envious. 😀

 

I wear the same rotation of 5 lightweight washable dresses for work and usually only take 2 or 3 on a cruise (also couldn't care less of someone happens to notice my repeating outfits) but I am forever getting food on my clothes no matter how careful I try to be. I could wash them in the sink but since I have the laundry perk now I'm looking forward to using it. 

[LACruiser88]

9 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

I wondered that too when I ordered my first set. They were delivered in a box that said not to ship them by air. But I fly with them for every cruise since I got them without any issues. They are fantastic! I'll be buying more for my upcoming 16-Day B2B because I'll be in an inside cabin for that one and want to keep the desk and other surfaces as uncluttered as possible. 😀 

Many uses for the hooks and magnetic clips...

 

 

 

 

[memoak]

2 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We get our laundry back next day perfectly done but perhaps there is a different time lag between suites and Elite. 

Yes full suites get priority over elite laundry we usually get it back in 1day

[Treasure Hunter]

I have been on Princess cruises that have over half Elites. Especially long cruises where people may have travel before the cruise ( Europe) and come on board with full cases of dirty clothes. Our friends have waited three days for their free laundry. So you can’t count on it being one day turn around. 

[Catchum]

10 days isn't a terribly long time to go without doing laundry. On a 28 day cruise I did use the self service laundry once but otherwise just wear things multiple times (underwear excepted!). DH is prone to food and wine spills but a quick scrub with a wet flannel solves most problems. I keep threatening to do a carry on only cruise. Not sure why two weeks on land means I take a carry on and small back pack but a week on a cruise and pack the kitchen sink.

[memoak]

41 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

I have been on Princess cruises that have over half Elites. Especially long cruises where people may have travel before the cruise ( Europe) and come on board with full cases of dirty clothes. Our friends have waited three days for their free laundry. So you can’t count on it being one day turn around. 

If you are in a full suite it does not matter how many elites are on board dine they get priority over elites. In non suites I have waited 2-3 days often on our long cruises. However we always pack for 7 days so I can put out laundry on day 2 and usually have it back well before I run out of clothes

[rheathslc]

Does anyone know if you are Elite in a non-suite cabin on a B2B, will they take your laundry the last night or two of the first leg? I realize this means you might not get it back until after the start of the 2nd leg. Do they even allow that? Or is there a cut off prior to your 2nd leg?

[LACruiser88]

11 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

Does anyone know if you are Elite in a non-suite cabin on a B2B, will they take your laundry the last night or two of the first leg? I realize this means you might not get it back until after the start of the 2nd leg. Do they even allow that? Or is there a cut off prior to your 2nd leg?

We have been on many b2b's and have never tried sending laundry out between cruises. I would be nervous that they would mess it up? 🤷‍♂️