Laundry Options

[Tyffni]

Hello.  We’re about to take our first cruise where we have to fly to it, so laundry is a thought (luggage weight and minimizing packing).  The problem is that I’m picky about my clothes.

1. I did see one picture from someone where their clothes were destroyed.  Has that happened to many?

2. Do you have any control? For example, I would prefer they hang dry my jeans, is that an option?

Thanks!

[smokeybandit]

Laundry is putting all your selected stuff into a mesh bag and washing it on hot.

So anything you have any specific preferences for, I wouldn't put them out for ship laundry.

[ChessE4]

For 7 to 9 nights I don't need laundry except whites, perhaps, which I can wash in the cabin. Getting suitcase wrinkles out is the main challenge on a cruise, but a little bath steam usually works.

[TXCoastPatriot]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

So anything you have any specific preferences for, I wouldn't put them out for ship laundry

Ditto that.  “Wash and fold” comes back unwearable…socks and underwear only.  “Wash & Press” is usually decent (men’s slacks & shirts) but not for gentle laundry cloths.  “Press only” is always nice for linens.

[CanHardlyWait]

2 hours ago, Tyffni said:

Hello.  We’re about to take our first cruise where we have to fly to it, so laundry is a thought (luggage weight and minimizing packing).  The problem is that I’m picky about my clothes.

1. I did see one picture from someone where their clothes were destroyed.  Has that happened to many?

2. Do you have any control? For example, I would prefer they hang dry my jeans, is that an option?

Thanks!

It's been nicknamed Boil and Bake. I think that says it all. As far as cost goes. You pay to have Royal Caribbean do that to your clothing. You can just as easily pay for an additional checked bags on a airplane. 

[Fastfaller]

23 minutes ago, CanHardlyWait said:

It's been nicknamed Boil and Bake. I think that says it all. As far as cost goes. You pay to have Royal Caribbean do that to your clothing. You can just as easily pay for an additional checked bags on a airplane. 

And your clothes in your extra checked bag probably won't get destroyed like they might in the wash.

[Ampurp85]

Truthfully the washing on the ship isn't too great. I don't think clothes in general get damaged, but I don't believe actual care is taken. I still believe that if you are star class, they wash your clothes better. If you are in gen pop and don't care about smells or lack of care, then it is for you.

If you send clothes together, they don't seem separate them, so whites and such will be washed with colors. I know this because my brother's white linen items were ruined on Wonder this past Jan. I am sensitive to smells and whatever they use to wash the clothes is really industrial and because they dry them at a high, high heat once you start to wear the clothes, they heat up and smell worse. 

YMMV

[CrimsonCruiser]

14 hours ago, Tyffni said:

Hello.  We’re about to take our first cruise where we have to fly to it, so laundry is a thought (luggage weight and minimizing packing).  The problem is that I’m picky about my clothes.

1. I did see one picture from someone where their clothes were destroyed.  Has that happened to many?

2. Do you have any control? For example, I would prefer they hang dry my jeans, is that an option?

Thanks!

I can't comment too much on the laundry as we've not yet had any issues but we don't really send anything too fragile out either.

BUT I can comment on being picky about clothes, flying, and having to pack wisely. Being from Chicago where the weather can 100% give me all 4 seasons in a single day AND hating to be cold I always like to have options with whatever I wear, so I generally try to pack light layers and dresses over things that require multiple components to make an outfit. That said, I do still pack some separates as well and try to have a bottom that can go with at least 2 of the tops I'm packing. And second is packing cubes. While they don't magically make things weigh less, they do help a lot in getting the best use of space in your luggage. I've attached a photo of one of my last piles in their packing cubes. Rolled and tightly nestled and for a 7-nighter lol

[Pattycruise]

That’s it, I’m looking for laundromats for my Hawaii to Vancouver, 4 day break then B2B Alaska. 

[CanHardlyWait]

Again, I just as soon pack an extra bag and pay the airline fee. 

[barjpoe]

38 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

That’s it, I’m looking for laundromats for my Hawaii to Vancouver, 4 day break then B2B Alaska. 

Is the hotel you're staying in; have self/guest laundry facilities?

[Pattycruise]

3 hours ago, barjpoe said:

Is the hotel you're staying in; have self/guest laundry facilities?

Thank you for the reminder to look into that.  Found my reservation and looked it up!  Yes, laundry-coin operated.  I'll have to look for my Canadian $ to bring along.
 

[WAYNO]

I used the ships laundry service for the first time on Wonder, week of March 24th this year.  I placed underwear, t-shirts, and socks, all cotton,  cotton/polyester, or other synthetic blends, in the bag, and they all came back the next day, as perfect as I packed them when we left home. 

Contrary to other folks' experiences, I will now use the laundry every chance I get. 

But my Wifes much more fragile clothing, even I would not include them in the ships laundry.

[WAAAYTOOO]

On 4/9/2024 at 11:34 PM, WAYNO said:

I used the ships laundry service for the first time on Wonder, week of March 24th this year.  I placed underwear, t-shirts, and socks in the bag, and they all came back the next day, as perfect as I packed them when we left home. 

Contrary to other folks' experiences, I will now use the laundry every chance I get. 

This has been my experience, too, Wayne.  I read a comment from @smokeybandit that he had some experiences with clothes that smelled odd...probably from the laundry detergent ?  ....so I was extra interested in checking to see if my laundry also had a icky smell.  I had a couple of bags come back yesterday (EX) and I smelled nothing at all.  Now....I will admit that I do NOT have a particularly acute sense of smell (probably from being a former smoker) but honestly, they had no scent at all to ME.

[smokeybandit]

I assume they use a no scent detergent (which makes sense). Combined with the desalinized water that they probably don't re-mineralize since it's just for laundry, that's probably what I'm smelling. Again not a bad smell, just not a fresh smell.

[I_Love_RCI]

We've used the "wash and fold" bag service many times. In general, yes, everything is done in high heat so anything that may shrink or is sensitive to high temps (think a logo on a sports shirt) may not do well. Just be aware of what you put in the bag and how it may fare. 

On a related note, we've also had 3 separate occasions where an item was lost, so also keep that in mind in determining what you want them to wash. 

[smokeybandit]

6 minutes ago, I_Love_RCI said:

we've also had 3 separate occasions where an item was lost

A good note here to make a copy of what you itemized on the Wash and Fold sheet so you remember how much of what you sent in.