Laundry?

[deep1]

GF asked about  doing laundry aboard and I didn't have a answer.Do they have something akin to a laundromat or laundry service aboard? Next trip is on Indy only five days but with kids. Then we're eyeballing some of the trans Atlantics and other 12+ night trips...

[CruiseGus]

there are no do it your self machines on board RCCL ships, (I do know Carnival has machines that you can pay for and use)  That said RCCL does have a laundry service either by piece or maybe even a bag full for a charge, but i never have used it so unsure, i also think it may only be on 7 day or longer cruises.  I also have read that it is like sending your laundry to a commercial type service and you need to watch what you send if you care about the item.

Hope someone that has used this service has better info for you

[JLMoran]

On most 7-night or longer sailings, you'll get a pair of small plastic bags in your room around day 4 that you can stuff things like t-shirts, shorts, undies, socks, etc. into and pay a flat $30 ($35?) per bag to get it all washed. Just make sure it's nothing delicate and nothing you're super-attached to, in case any random accident happens during washing. You can maybe 3 days of items like I listed crammed into one of those bags without tearing it and still be able to close it up.

They also have regular laundry service priced on a per-item basis, where you can do larger loads of laundry (more useful on longer trips where your luggage was limited). You can also get things like suits and dresses dry-cleaned (and pressed if needed). Not cheap, but good to have if you need it.

I believe the regular laundry service is actually complimentary if you have booked a Star Class suite, but not 100% sure. @WAAAYTOOO, would you be able to confirm that?

[CGTLH]

23 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I believe the regular laundry service is actually complimentary if you have booked a Star Class suite, but not 100% sure. @WAAAYTOOO, would you be able to confirm that?

Correct, complimentary laundry services when sailing Star class.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Yes, Star Class can have laundry done daily if you want that.  The attendants bring back cloth bags to you for this purpose.  Unfortunately, even Star Class still get those itchy labels.  Ugh

If you are D+ Or Pinnie you will get 1 free bag of laundry on cruises 5 days or longer. Since Dan and I are both D+, we each get a free bag of laundry so we pretty much go home with clean (albeit itchy !) clothes.

[KenCP]

I was just on a 12 night cruise this past September and was waiting for the laundry special, it never happened.  I asked and they had a few issues with the laundry so they did not want to be overwhelmed with laundry,so they did not offer the special.  Just regular pricing unfortunately.

[VillainsGin]

I've noticed no one mentioned the quality of the laundry.

Anyone know how it is washed, detergent, softener if any?

I'm scared it will come out really rough, wrinkly, or weird smell.

[WAAAYTOOO]

4 hours ago, KenCP said:

I was just on a 12 night cruise this past September and was waiting for the laundry special, it never happened.  I asked and they had a few issues with the laundry so they did not want to be overwhelmed with laundry,so they did not offer the special.  Just regular pricing unfortunately.

Did you bring this up with the Loyalty Ambassador ?  The D+ perk is not a special that is offered or not offered.  It just “is”.  If you are D+ or Pinnie you rate a free bag of laundry.  Period.  No special needed.

[ChessE4]

20 hours ago, deep1 said:

GF asked about  doing laundry aboard and I didn't have a answer.Do they have something akin to a laundromat or laundry service aboard? Next trip is on Indy only five days but with kids. Then we're eyeballing some of the trans Atlantics and other 12+ night trips...

My technique is to wash a few white items in my state room as needed, but we did use the laundry service on a 14 night cruise, mostly because the airline lost our luggage.  We had only a few items to wear and therefore, needed laundry service.  There was no damage to our clothes, which were casual wash and wear blends. (RCI knew about our luggage problem and gave us each one free bag of wash & dry laundry.)    Basically, my advice is to pack for about 8 or 9 nights, see what is still clean, and then use the laundry service.  I have found I can wear walking shorts multiple times, T-shirts can be purchased almost anywhere, so only my "dinner out" clothes require some thought and careful packing.  I seem to have at least one shirt or pair of slacks that is clean when I return (7-8 night trips).   Have a great cruise!

[VillainsGin]

4 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

My technique is to wash a few white items in my state room as needed, but we did use the laundry service on a 14 night cruise, mostly because the airline lost our luggage.  We had only a few items to wear and therefore, needed laundry service.  There was no damage to our clothes, which were casual wash and wear blends. (RCI knew about our luggage problem and gave us each one free bag of wash & dry laundry.)    Basically, my advice is to pack for about 8 or 9 nights, see what is still clean, and then use the laundry service.  I have found I can wear walking shorts multiple times, T-shirts can be purchased almost anywhere, so only my "dinner out" clothes require some thought and careful packing.  I seem to have at least one shirt or pair of slacks that is clean when I return (7-8 night trips).   Have a great cruise!

I'm more concerned about the lost luggage!

How does that whole process work? Who reimburses you and where would you find clothes, shoes, accessories, etc before embarkation?

I'm sure the clothes you had to buy to recover did not fit or was not ideal to what you had already put so much time in packing? (off-brands or desperate to get clothes in general so it wasn't a favorite brand or fitting)

How does one prevent this nightmare from happening?

I'm sailing for the first time early Jan, 2020 and this has been the bane of my planning so far since it's always out of your control, or is it?

 

[ChessE4]

1 minute ago, TJ! said:

I'm more concerned about the lost luggage!

How does that whole process work? Who reimburses you and where would you find clothes, shoes, accessories, etc before embarkation?

I'm sure the clothes you had to buy to recover did not fit or was not ideal to what you had already put so much time in packing? (off-brands or desperate to get clothes in general so it wasn't a favorite brand or fitting)

How does one prevent this nightmare from happening?

I'm sailing for the first time early Jan, 2020 and this has been the bane of my planning so far since it's always out of your control, or is it?

 

For the trip in question American Airlines messed up our flight arrangements and delayed our luggage.  We eventually got it day 4.  We filed our airline claim at the airport (Auckland, NZ), and they actually have an allowance for personal items, about $75 per person.  We then notified RCI which has a team that manages lost/delayed luggage.  They provide a little toiletry kit and a white T-shirt.  They also allowed us a free laundry bag.  They followed up regularly on our delayed luggage and when it showed up in Auckland, the Royal team had it forwarded to an upcoming port. We used our NZ funds to purchase a few items in Auckland, but my wife and son had trouble finding their sizes.  So the first formal night we were informally dressed, but no worries as we had informed our wait staff of the problem.  We had travel insurance, so upon our return home we sent Allianz a detailed breakout of our expenses for the 4 days we didn't have luggage.  They reimbursed the full amount.  Allianz did everything online.

On a different trip, Royal lost my wife's suitcase getting off the ship in Southampton.  We prevent that now by carrying everything off.  We miss breakfast (we grab a snack on the promenade), but we get off the ship quickly and on our way.

The only way to avoid airline problems is to have good luck and assure ample time in between legs of your flight.  On short cruises, use only carry-on luggage.  Then you don't have checked bags (though you may be asked to check your bag curbside). 

Always get trip insurance.  It's cheap when your are young.  Some credit cards have travel coverage, especially for luggage. 

Royal doesn't give you much if they lose your luggage.  If you don't have their (Arch) travel insurance, you're lucky to get $300.   We pressed the point and got another $200 on board credit from an executive whose name we obtained from another blog.   They want receipts for everything.  Who keeps clothing receipts unless the clothes are brand new?   So take pictures of your suitcase and contents (for identification purposes), always keep a few spare items in carry on, have some type of trip insurance, and play the odds.  Most luggage isn't lost.

[KJones]

16 minutes ago, TJ! said:

How does one prevent this nightmare from happening?

You can't ever fully prevent an airline from losing luggage. It helps to not check your bags in too close to departure time - runs the risk of the bags not having enough time to make it onto the plane. And making sure there is plenty of time in between connecting flights. I've had luggage not make it on the 2nd flight because the turnaround of it getting off one plane and on to the other was too short (1st flight was delayed, so ended up being only 25min to change terminals at LAX).

It is also beneficial to arrive at port the day before cruise departure (or even earlier). It allows for extra time for the airline to find your luggage and get it to you before you become unavailable/ unreachable at sea. Not sure if they would hold the luggage until  you're back on land and can pick up at the airport, or if they would ship it to your home while you're away.

In my LAX case, the airline reimbursed me for up to $ X amount/day I was without luggage ( I don't recall what the amount was), provided I submitted receipts for toiletries/ clothes/ etc. Since it wasn't permanently "lost, there wasn't a flat reimbursement fee. The airline was responsible for delivering it to where I was staying.

Travel insurance policies will also offer options on lost baggage coverage.

[VillainsGin]

4 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

For the trip in question American Airlines messed up our flight arrangements and delayed our luggage.  We eventually got it day 4.  We filed our airline claim at the airport (Auckland, NZ), and they actually have an allowance for personal items, about $75 per person.  We then notified RCI which has a team that manages lost/delayed luggage.  They provide a little toiletry kit and a white T-shirt.  They also allowed us a free laundry bag.  They followed up regularly on our delayed luggage and when it showed up in Auckland, the Royal team had it forwarded to an upcoming port. We used our NZ funds to purchase a few items in Auckland, but my wife and son had trouble finding their sizes.  So the first formal night we were informally dressed, but no worries as we had informed our wait staff of the problem.  We had travel insurance, so upon our return home we sent Allianz a detailed breakout of our expenses for the 4 days we didn't have luggage.  They reimbursed the full amount.  Allianz did everything online.

On a different trip, Royal lost my wife's suitcase getting off the ship in Southampton.  We prevent that now by carrying everything off.  We miss breakfast (we grab a snack on the promenade), but we get off the ship quickly and on our way.

The only way to avoid airline problems is to have good luck and assure ample time in between legs of your flight.  On short cruises, use only carry-on luggage.  Then you don't have checked bags (though you may be asked to check your bag curbside). 

Always get trip insurance.  It's cheap when your are young.  Some credit cards have travel coverage, especially for luggage. 

Royal doesn't give you much if they lose your luggage.  If you don't have their (Arch) travel insurance, you're lucky to get $300.   We pressed the point and got another $200 on board credit from an executive whose name we obtained from another blog.   They want receipts for everything.  Who keeps clothing receipts unless the clothes are brand new?   So take pictures of your suitcase and contents (for identification purposes), always keep a few spare items in carry on, have some type of trip insurance, and play the odds.  Most luggage isn't lost.

This was amazing information thank you!

I don't have receipts for anything in my luggage and it's extremely hard to prove the value. For example I love watches and put a few in my suit case along with some favorite brands that fit me well. I can't imagine going on a cruise happy without all my personal belongings.

 

Especially when you mentioned most clothes did not fit for your family and you basically have to settle for looking like a gift shop.

 

I will definitely take pictures of everything and I know I purchases travel insurance with my TA at MEI Travels along with my credit card travel insurance.

[VillainsGin]

7 minutes ago, KJones said:

You can't ever fully prevent an airline from losing luggage. It helps to not check your bags in too close to departure time - runs the risk of the bags not having enough time to make it onto the plane. And making sure there is plenty of time in between connecting flights. I've had luggage not make it on the 2nd flight because the turnaround of it getting off one plane and on to the other was too short (1st flight was delayed, so ended up being only 25min to change terminals at LAX).

It is also beneficial to arrive at port the day before cruise departure (or even earlier). It allows for extra time for the airline to find your luggage and get it to you before you become unavailable/ unreachable at sea. Not sure if they would hold the luggage until  you're back on land and can pick up at the airport, or if they would ship it to your home while you're away.

In my LAX case, the airline reimbursed me for up to $ X amount/day I was without luggage ( I don't recall what the amount was), provided I submitted receipts for toiletries/ clothes/ etc. Since it wasn't permanently "lost, there wasn't a flat reimbursement fee. The airline was responsible for delivering it to where I was staying.

Travel insurance policies will also offer options on lost baggage coverage.

This is great information as well, thank you!

Knowing my luck I better make sure I play the odds and cover everything I can on my end.

[AshleyDillo]

14 hours ago, TJ! said:

I'm sure the clothes you had to buy to recover did not fit or was not ideal to what you had already put so much time in packing? (off-brands or desperate to get clothes in general so it wasn't a favorite brand or fitting)

How does one prevent this nightmare from happening?

If you are taking multiple pieces of luggage, I suggest crosspacking.  Make sure each person in your party has a couple complete outfits in each piece of luggage.  That way if one goes missing, no one goes completely without.

[ChessE4]

4 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

If you are taking multiple pieces of luggage, I suggest crosspacking.  Make sure each person in your party has a couple complete outfits in each piece of luggage.  That way if one goes missing, no one goes completely without.

Yes, I forgot to mention cross-packing as a strategy. Thanks!

[FloridaCruiseGirl1210]

Yes cross pack, I also recommend bringing a change of clothes (at least socks and undies) in your carry on. 

If you are looking for a solution for in room washing, there is a product called Sink Suds that I have seen on a vlog channel so you can do a bit of laundry in the sink in your room. 

[Flacruiser99]

3 hours ago, FloridaCruiseGirl1210 said:

Yes cross pack, I also recommend bringing a change of clothes (at least socks and undies) in your carry on. 

If you are looking for a solution for in room washing, there is a product called Sink Suds that I have seen on a vlog channel so you can do a bit of laundry in the sink in your room. 

Fels-Naptha works great. soap