Elite Laundry Service

[CSkier71]

Does anyone know about the quality of the Elite [free] Laundry Services onboard the ships? Do the clothes shrink or anything and do they do a good job? If anyone has had it done on the Crown, I'd love the feedback.

 

Thanks,

Chris:D

[Toto2Kansas]

Not on the Crown but other ships we gave had Elite laundry/dry cleaning. The laundry/dry cleaning is the same as if you sent them in and paid the price. Will things shrink? That depends on the fabric and if it has been laudered before. I make sure not to send anything NEW in until it has been laundered or dry cleaned before, just for safety sake.

We had no problems at all with our clothing being sent to the ships laundry.

[CSkier71]

Thanks so much. I just wanted to make sure they didn't mess it all up on you.

 

-Chris

[Toto2Kansas]

Nope, everything came back perfectly. And don't forget, you can get next day service with Elite and there is no extra charge for things you are in a hurry to get back.

Enjoy! It is one of the best perks of being Elite!

[CSkier71]

Thanks for your feedback. I can't wait to take advantage of that. :D

 

-Chris

[Logie]

Hi

 

I too use the service and almost everything is clean when I go home. Great service and perk of Elite.

 

There was one problem. Last June when I was in the Blatics I had a pair of Ann Taylor black pants that had some lycra in them-great pants. I had them dry cleaned and ready to wear for the long flight back to Vegas. Disembarcation morning I put them on and they had shrunk several inches!! When I retrieved my luggage I had to change. There was no way I was walking around like that. Must of washed versus dry cleaned.

 

Be sure you keep the clothes for dry cleaning in a separate bag from those that you could launder.

[CSkier71]

Thanks for the tip, will do ;)

 

-Chris

[Toto2Kansas]

This didn't happen on Princess, but it sure gave me a heads up about ships laundry for the future and what to really watch for.

Check all of your zippers and buttons as on RCI I sent in a pair of pants, several actually, and when it was time to leave the ship I took out one of them I had not packed to find out the zipper was broken. Got to my luggage and tried to take out another pair of clean pants for the trip from Singapore to home to find out that every zipper in every pair of pants I had laundered was broken. Now, this is one of those times when the safety pins forgot to jump into the suitcase. Bet you can guess what I did the moment we got to the airport in Singapore? You guessed it, had to pin myself up for 35 hours of travel time between Singapore and home. Not a nice experience.

So now, I check all buttons and zippers when I get the clothes back.

It's funny now to think back on it, but it sure wasn't at the time.

[CSkier71]

Thanks for the advice. Im sure that was done on purpose, maybe because you had them done later on in the cruise with less chance of them getting caught. I'll check all that we send away :D.

 

Thanks,

-Chris

[luvnorway]

I sent a Tommy Bahama silk shirt to be drycleaned on Sea Princess last summer and it came back having been laundered and STARCHED!!.

I had been very careful to fill out the drycleaning side of the invoice and it was sent separately from any laundry. Didn't send it back to be redone in case they made it worse - took it to our regular cleaner at home and had it drycleaned, but it has never quite been the same since its encounter with SP laundry. Needless to say, they didn't get another shot at it this year - I did, however send lots of socks, underwear and t-shirts and didn't experience any shrinking.

[OuiOnboard]

Disembarcation morning I put them on and they had shrunk several inches!! When I retrieved my luggage I had to change. There was no way I was walking around like that. Must of washed versus dry cleaned.

LOLOL :) ...That was unfortunate, but must be a little funny now....I know most people aren't fooled into thinking you have long legs by those "high-waters" . :D

[Fuzzyape]

I don't have the benefits of the Elite (free) treatment, someday sigh..., but I have used the laundry services on both cruises. My first cruise I was very excited, ironed my shirts, and ironed my pants. Put them all in the suitcase and unpacked wrinkly shirts and pants.

 

Saw that they had the service, threw all the laundry into a bag and asked the steward if they'd get back in time for dinner the next day. He said no problem, and he was right!

 

Everything was great! Needless to say I didn't do any ironing for the next cruise, just threw it all in the suitcase, and when I unpacked gave almost all of it to the steward.

 

I will take note to check for buttons and zippers though next time :)

[Toto2Kansas]

Fuzzytape, just a hint to save you some $$$$ until you get that free stuff. If you take plastic, either that found on drycleaning bags or purchase some garment bags, hang your clothes inside and fold gently when packing, you will be surprised on how few wrinkles you will have.

I did this for years until we got to the Elite point. Now, I don't press anything, just make sure they are all clean and send everything out to be pressed the first day. Now, if I was paying for this service, I would still be using the plastic method. ;)

[Logie]

Now that I think about it, what the heck am I doing ironing anything before I go. I am going to do that too, specifically with shorts and t shirts that I might not normally dry clean.

 

The zipper story is a good one too!! :confused: I wonder how the heck that happened. Not good! Also I can only imagine the TB shirt after laundered. :eek:

[critterchick]

I wouldn't send anything delicate to be cleaned because it all goes into the dryer, and I have a lot of clothes that I hang to dry. Most of them stay home so I won't be bothered, but if I bring them along, I just wash them out in the sink - it only takes a few minutes.

 

The regular laundry & drycleaning have worked well for us - we're not Elite, but have been lucky enough to cruise in a couple of suites, which also have the privilege. You can get same day service without incurring the extra charge if you have the laundry to your cabin steward by 9:00 or so.

[Lynda90]

I have had excellent luck with the laundry/dry cleaning. But, I haven't sent anything really fragile out other than velvet which has come back beautifully done. I do the same thing as Toto as far as sending most things out on the first day to be pressed. Also nice if I've done anything pre-cruise when I send things out to the laundry on the first day as well. A wonderful perk for Elite passengers.

[septrack]

Just wondeing!

[CSkier71]

Just wondeing!

 

Thats a good question, they must have to give you some type of onboard credit to compensate you if they totally ruin your expensive clothes!

[annmarz]

I would be very careful about the "dry cleaning." Aboard the Royal Princess two years ago, they laundered my son's formal suit instead of the requested dry cleaning. It came back shrunken and dyed pink inside! When I complained they told me I must have given it to them like that! (as if my teenage son would wear pink!) Spent a miserable last night and morning of the cruise before disembarkation trying to file an official claim. Finally got a partial reimbursement 10 months later!

 

A white blazer my mom sent for dry cleaning was also laundered - came back just as dirty but now with the addition of water stains!

[annmarz]

Forgot to add, the 24-hour turnaround was actually 3 days! And I had a H*** of a time trying to get the clothes back the final day of the cruise.

[CSkier71]

Annmarz, thank you for letting me now your bad experiences. I'll be more cautious about the drycleaning. When I get my suit drycleaned right when I get onboard, I will make sure I specifically let them know its NOT to be laundered. Hopefully it will makeout alright. :D

[pamwinn]

We haven't had good luck with the ship laundry either. The clothes are very poorly ironed. Slacks aren't always ironed and sometimes, even though there is no way they can't see the creases, they iron the legs flat. My husband draws lttle pictures to show the crease down the front and back center to no avail. They melted my silk long johns I took along to Alaska.

[Sea Day Cruiser]

Does Princess "make good" if the laundry ruins clothes

 

Just wondeing!

 

I've used the laundry on both the Sea Princess and the Star since becoming Elite. The Sea Princess laundry sent clothes back wrinkled. I don't think they ironed anything. They also broke a zipper on a jacket. I took it to the pursur's desk and they gave me a form to fill out. I had to bring it home, get the zipper fixed, and then send the receipt to Princess to be reimbursed for the repair. I was allowed to scan the receipt and email it in. Several weeks later I received a check.

 

The laundry on the Star was 100% better than on Sea Princess. Everything was pressed and came back looking great. No problems at all, so I guess it just depends on the ship.

[Druke I]

Just like on shore, the quality of the job done can vary greatly from ship to ship.

 

Our last trip on Regal Princess, 3-06 'round the Horn, the ship's laundry managed to "double crease" most of my trousers!

[Princess Patches]

Since reaching Elite I have used the drycleaning and laundry service on multiple occasions on several ships and have not encountered a single problem. They even press my blue jeans and put them over a hanger!! I am thrilled with the service.