Free "Wash & Fold" Laundry with Platinum Level

[flem1064]

Has anyone used this "free" wash & fold laundry service? What are the rules involved? Perhaps a certain day of the cruise that you can send your laundry out for cleaning? Any limits on the number of garments? Could I gather all the dirty laundry from my surrounding cabins and get it washed for free? :rolleyes:

[funship freddy]

Simple and painless. Bagged the items to be laundered and sent them via the room Steward. You can send items every day if you wish. No limit in my experience. Good perk.

[CruzVinnieCruz]

We used the wash and fold service on our last cruise and in my opinion is the best part of being Platinum. We used the laundry bag provided in the cabin and left it on the table in the morning and our laundry was returned that evening. We used the service three or four times during the cruise. I am pretty sure if you had four bags of laundry for two people on each day of the cruise that might be a bit much but as far as I know there are no established limits.

[flem1064]

Simple and painless. Bagged the items to be laundered and sent them via the room Steward. You can send items every day if you wish. No limit in my experience. Good perk.

 

VERY nice perk. In fact, so nice, it's a major reason why we're working on reaching our 10th cruise by next year or so. The priority embark and debark are nice also.

[funship freddy]

VERY nice perk. In fact, so nice, it's a major reason why we're working on reaching our 10th cruise by next year or so. The priority embark and debark are nice also.

 

Priority embark..... IMHO......the regular lane is faster..... didn't mean to burst your bubble.

[tha sista]

This is THE best perk of platinum status. I sent a bag every day on my last cruise. I went home with only about 4 dirty clothing items!!!

[letscruisegd]

Has anyone used this "free" wash & fold laundry service? :rolleyes:

I think this is one of the best perks. It's great going home with fewer dirty clothes.

 

Priority embark..... IMHO......the regular lane is faster..... didn't mean to burst your bubble.

I used priorty boarding in San Juan, Miami and Long Beach and each time it was wonderful. I was on the ship in no time at all. Guess I've been lucky:)

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Priority embark..... IMHO......the regular lane is faster..... didn't mean to burst your bubble.

 

I have to disagree with this one. The line when we arrived at Port Everglades was out the building and about 100 yards down the sidewalk. We walked right up front went through a separate security line and were on board in within fifteen minutes after arriving. I think it is ship and arrival time dependent.

[KatSt]

Priority embark..... IMHO......the regular lane is faster..... didn't mean to burst your bubble.

We've always had good luck with the VIP boarding and disembarking.

[funship freddy]

I must admit...... I am never in a hurry to leave the ship. Embark.... I normally arrive early and things go quickly.

[Buster27]

Just make certain you mark the bag.....PLATINUM.......there won't be any hassles. We used it at least 4 times during our trip.

 

But beware....they wash everything in hot water and dry hot also.

Don't send anything you are worried about shrinkage.

 

I only sent underwear, socks, sports type clothes....nothing fragile.

[gsb]

Especially nice on longer cruises-10-14 nights.

[Sailfish]

Here is my experience concerning this perk. First of all, the laundry service is ideal for whites and everyday wash and wear. I have sent laundry to be done on a couple of ships since this service became free for Platinum members, and I can tell you that if you send off more delicate items, those that might require cold water, for example, it may not be returned in the same shape you sent it! The detergent they use is heavy duty stuff, and fine for things like cotton tee shirts, mens underwear, gym clothes, jeans, etc. But for things like nice shorts and tops, bras and bathing suits, or permanent press pants and shirts, trust me when I tell you that they may come back bleached out, shrunken, old and used, etc.

 

I appreciate the service very much, but now I know to be more careful with things like my nightgown or my good pair of shorts; I only send off dirty clothes that I know will withstand hot water, heavy duty detergents, and large industrial dryers. I accidentally sent off a new bathing suit that came back somewhat bleached out, and pilled all over. And my husband accidentally put in a couple of my bras that came back all mangled and deformed!

 

Bottom line is anything that can be washed in hot water and dried on high is going to come out looking great; anything else should be taken home! The service is limited to wash and fold only. They do not press or iron anything and although the service is fairly fast, leaving it for your room steward in the morning instead of at night, will be best.

[PINEVIEW01]

As the OP was asking about the wash and fold..........

 

I have heard including, my gf on the Triumph-your sailing;) , that you can only send one bag per day. She had to explain to her steward that she and her DH are BOTH platinum. They took two a day from her.

 

She booked a NCL cruise first and went streight to the Triumph. Whe had all thier cloths washed from the first cruise for the second. Than she had it all wash before going home

 

As sailfish pointed out, delicates will strink. I've lost one blouse but, it was my fault for sending it.

[merrymaker]

I love this perk, used it many times. I have learned from past experiences that I wash all darks one day and light color clothes the next day. My husband did not like his new blue socks. :D

[Sailfish]

I forgot to mention that we each sent off one bag per person, for a total of two bags per stateroom order. The bags don't seem all that big, but you can actually fit quite a bit into each. The only drawback is that they were paper, so if you stuffed them to the hilt, they would tear. That said, between the two of us, as long as we sent off two bags every other day, we managed to get all our laundry done!

 

Another recommendation is like one poster said, to send off your colors one day, your whites the next. Or do what we did - have one bag for colors and one for whites! The by far worked the best for us. I also wrote on each hot or cold depending on the type of clothes, though it appeared they probably all were washed in hot!!

 

Good luck!!

[cruising forever]

That's what we did; lights one day and darks on a different day.........on our last one, the last load we did (day 5 of 7) didn't come back until after we had already packed to put the suitcases out the last night (luckily, we hadn't yet put them out!). I was disappointed they came back so late (we had forgotten about them) but moreso disappointed that they didn't smell fresh as a daisy; we figured they didn't put any detergent in that load :eek:

For the most part, it is a great perk, tho!

[Wennfred]

Has anyone used this "free" wash & fold laundry service? What are the rules involved?

 

Ok this is the deal, I used it on Freedom 3 times and onboard Paradise once.

 

The Bag has to be ready for pick up before 10am if you want it back by 6pm that same day.

 

If the bag is picked up after 10am then you will get it the next morning after the cabin is made up.

 

Make sure to take a Black Sharpie pen and mark on the Valet bag "Platinum Guest" so they know not to charge you. I do not fill out the laundry card either, you don't have too.

 

Because of the Free wash and fold, I now do not bring half the clothing items I used too.

 

 

Fred

[Muumuu]

Here is my experience concerning this perk. First of all, the laundry service is ideal for whites and everyday wash and wear. I have sent laundry to be done on a couple of ships since this service became free for Platinum members, and I can tell you that if you send off more delicate items, those that might require cold water, for example, it may not be returned in the same shape you sent it! The detergent they use is heavy duty stuff, and fine for things like cotton tee shirts, mens underwear, gym clothes, jeans, etc. But for things like nice shorts and tops, bras and bathing suits, or permanent press pants and shirts, trust me when I tell you that they may come back bleached out, shrunken, old and used, etc.

 

I appreciate the service very much, but now I know to be more careful with things like my nightgown or my good pair of shorts; I only send off dirty clothes that I know will withstand hot water, heavy duty detergents, and large industrial dryers. I accidentally sent off a new bathing suit that came back somewhat bleached out, and pilled all over. And my husband accidentally put in a couple of my bras that came back all mangled and deformed!

 

Bottom line is anything that can be washed in hot water and dried on high is going to come out looking great; anything else should be taken home! The service is limited to wash and fold only. They do not press or iron anything and although the service is fairly fast, leaving it for your room steward in the morning instead of at night, will be best.

 

Thank you so very much for clearing this up. I have posted it a few times with no responses as clear as yours. Thank you again!

[victory2020]

I love this perk, used it many times. I have learned from past experiences that I wash all darks one day and light color clothes the next day. My husband did not like his new blue socks. :D

Yes, I have learned this lesson also. One of my white cotton knits came back with a small hole in it so they are NOT gentle with anything they wash.

[Cruzin 1025]

Here is my experience concerning this perk. First of all, the laundry service is ideal for whites and everyday wash and wear. I have sent laundry to be done on a couple of ships since this service became free for Platinum members, and I can tell you that if you send off more delicate items, those that might require cold water, for example, it may not be returned in the same shape you sent it! The detergent they use is heavy duty stuff, and fine for things like cotton tee shirts, mens underwear, gym clothes, jeans, etc. But for things like nice shorts and tops, bras and bathing suits, or permanent press pants and shirts, trust me when I tell you that they may come back bleached out, shrunken, old and used, etc.

 

I appreciate the service very much, but now I know to be more careful with things like my nightgown or my good pair of shorts; I only send off dirty clothes that I know will withstand hot water, heavy duty detergents, and large industrial dryers. I accidentally sent off a new bathing suit that came back somewhat bleached out, and pilled all over. And my husband accidentally put in a couple of my bras that came back all mangled and deformed!

 

Bottom line is anything that can be washed in hot water and dried on high is going to come out looking great; anything else should be taken home! The service is limited to wash and fold only. They do not press or iron anything and although the service is fairly fast, leaving it for your room steward in the morning instead of at night, will be best.

 

So it sounds like this won't really save me any packing. I wash everything in cold and dry on low. I don't think I own anything that doesn't say "tumble dry low" on the label!

[Muumuu]

Sounds like we will need to do our own laundry as many of our things are on the more delicate side and would probably be ruined with harsh detergent, hot water and hot dryer.

[Sailfish]

So it sounds like this won't really save me any packing. I wash everything in cold and dry on low. I don't think I own anything that doesn't say "tumble dry low" on the label!

 

I basically pack three types of clothes when I cruise on Carnival. I pack some really nice things I know I can re-wear - stuff I wear in the evenings - that I take home to clean. I pack fast drying clothes (like tops and shorts, bathing suits, etc.) that I wash by hand and know will dry very quickly. And I pack stuff I can send off to the laundry - mostly underwear, tee shirts, etc.

 

Although hand washing clothes in the sink sounds like a lot of trouble, it isn't for me as I do so while I shower, after working out first thing in the morning. I bring small packets of liquid Tide with me; I dissolve one in cold water and soak my hand washables in th sink while I work out in the morning. When I get back, while I am still in the shower, I rinse everything and roll the wet clothes in a towel.

 

After I have dried my hair, I take the damp clothes, and hang them in the bathroom. By lunch time, everything is usually dry! My hand washables include my workout gear and shorts, my bras, a few tops and my bathing suits.

 

Because I travel with my scuba gear, I have to be careful with how much I pack. Thanks to free laundry, I can usually get by with one suitcase!

[Sailfish]

Sounds like we will need to do our own laundry as many of our things are on the more delicate side and would probably be ruined with harsh detergent, hot water and hot dryer.

 

I personally find it very inconvenient to do laundry on the ship myself. There always seems to be someone waiting on a machine a head of me. People will not hesitate to remove your wet clothes from the washer and dump it somewhere, so you must be there when the wash cycle is done. And to make matters worse, the washers and dryers are just as hard on your clothes as the ones the ship's use to complete your laundry order. The low setting on the public dryers are all a lot higher than what I am used to. Long story short: I find I waste more time doing laundry on my own while on a cruise.

 

It really sounds like a great idea, I know. But it takes up way too much time!

[popsec]

We used the wash & fold service 4 days on the last B2B cruises and it was great....I only had 1 small bag of dirty clothes to come home with. I send everything in one bag and have never had any problems with shrinking or color bleeding. It's a great perk!