Laundry

[New2theseas]

Now for my next question and biggest concern after wifi-

I think I read there is not self-serve laundry on the Westerdam. Does anyone know. I am on a 20 cruise with a few days on either end. Does this mean I have to send it out? Any idea the costs for this? Or has the Westerdam now got laundry? Thanks!

[duck tune]

None of the Vista Class ships have a self-service laundry so you will need to send it out. Usually there are specials offered once on board. I always travel with small packets of laundry detergent to rinse out a few things in the bathroom sink and hang on the line available over the bathtub.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Once you are at the ship you will be offered laundry packages. You can either send out your laundry -- and pay by the piece -- expensive.

Then there is laundry by the bag -- stuff as much as you want in the bag.

And each ship also offers laundry "unlimited".

The prices are determined by the length of the cruise -- you can call Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576 to inquire about the prices for your cruise.

[buelah111]

How big are the bags? For example, how many pairs of jeans could be stuffed into a bag?

[Krazy Kruizers]

I should add -- becareful what you send out to the laundry. Everything is washed in hot water and dried on hot heat.

Since everything is done in industrial size washers and dryers they are not able to do special requests.

I also always take along special travel size laundry soap to do a few things in the cabin.

[Typhoon1]

The unlimited package is the best bargain. On our February Eurodam cruise it was $49.00 oer cabin for 7 days.

[puli]

Once you are at the ship you will be offered laundry packages. You can either send out your laundry -- and pay by the piece -- expensive.

Then there is laundry by the bag -- stuff as much as you want in the bag.

And each ship also offers laundry "unlimited".

The prices are determined by the length of the cruise -- you can call Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576 to inquire about the prices for your cruise.

Which is returned quicker "laundry by the bag" or "unlimited"? and will the "unlimited" be picked up sooner in the cruise than the" laundry by the bag"? Thanks! you can tell it is my first time on a Vista Class ship!

[carribeansol]

Unlimited laundry was not offered on the Noordam this past week.

[PaulaS8071]

I am casting my vote with Krazy on this one. Be very, very careful of anything you send to be laundered. On our Westerdam cruise this past New Year's, we were in a SA cabin, so I thought I would return home with all clean clothes, why not? They ruined several of my husband's expensive shirts and one pair of my pants. Not very cost effective at the end of the day. On our next cruise I will launder underwear, socks at most.
Paula

[LorraineAZ]

The Westerdam is currently in dry dock and will acquire some sprucing and a Canaletto restaurant bfore heading to Europe on April 14th. Unfortunately, there is no self-service laundry. Like some others have said, you can use the "stuffed bag" and it will be washed in HOT water and dried in a HOT dryer, great for underwear and casual T-shirts; too risky on better pieces. They also offer laundry & dry-cleaning by the piece. Last I head it was about $20 for the bag but it holds a lot.
You didn't say if you're sailing soon or in the fall. If it's the one this month, you're welcome over on our Roll Call. There's lots of info and nice people.

[llou85]

I called yesterday and was told for an 11 day cruise, unlimited laundry was $77 per person.

[puli]

I called yesterday and was told for an 11 day cruise, unlimited laundry was $77 per person.

Yes, but our cruise is considered a 12 day cruise so they added on the usual $7/day charge. It is still a bargain.

[ed4fun]

Yes, but our cruise is considered a 12 day cruise so they added on the usual $7/day charge. It is still a bargain.
Do shirts com back ironed and on hangers?

[Typhoon1]

Do shirts com back ironed and on hangers?

If you indicate on the laundry form that is how you want them. On hangers or folded are the two choices,

[CtheW0rld]

yes

[puli]

Do shirts com back ironed and on hangers?

You can indicate starch or no starch, hanger or folded!

[Davidson Duo]

If you want to avail yourself of the laundry services, pack accordingly. Cotton khaki pants, shorts and shirts, or other durable fabrics are great to send regularly to the laundry. HAL does a magnificent job of ironing and a much better job than my husband gets at home! :)

If you figure that your everyday clothing can be durable cottons that will withstand heavy duty cleaning, it will keep your luggage down. Just plan for the fancier dress clothes as "don't clean till you get home". Then pack accordingly.

I like to pack mostly items that can endure HAL cleaning and just the suits, sport jacket and slacks, and fancy dresses as "no laundry" items. And my dresses quite often are self rinse in the bathroom sink ones.

Most people won't notice if you wear the same item 4-5 times during your trip, and a less expensive cotton shirt cleaned and ironed on the ship quite often looks much better than an expensive silk shirt that you've "saved" in your closet for 18 days to wear for the final formal night.

Make life simple for yourself, and you can avoid some disappointments and lots of extra work. Good luck - and smooth sailing. :)

[Flacruiser44]

I have some questions about the bag laundry. Do they wash everything together? If so, then I wouldn't want to send whites or light colors and jeans in the same bag, right? I have never been brave enough to use the laundry service because I haven't been able to find out exactly how they do it. Our clothes in with other peoples?

[cprofits]

I can never take advantage of the complementary laundry when staying in a suite because I cannot risk the damage to my clothes. The majority of the things I would want to wear on vacation are some of my favorite pieces that would be damaged by such harsh laundering.

On our most recent Westerdam cruise, I decided to send some pajamas, underwear, DH's khaki shorts and a couple of his lesser quality polo shirts. The wear and tear on the fibers was extremely evident. The polo shirts looked like they had been rubbed against a rock.

I know many people do it and it always makes me sad that I cannot send everything because it's 'free' but my most recent experiment cemented my feelings that cruise ship laundering will permanently change your clothing.

Bear in mind I take painstaking care with most of my laundry, turning it inside out to wash on gentle and air drying it. I'm weird that way but my clothes look almost brand new years later and, to me, it's worth it.

[puli]

I have always used the Ship's laundry service whether in a suite or not. It is worth it not having to spend time in the laundromat area or to have wet items dripping in the bathroom. I guess I have been extremely lucky in almost 20 voyages never to have had any damage. It is true that I am selective about what I send but I do send all underwear and any cotton shirts, pants etc. My husband even says the ship does a much better ironing job than I do!

[puli]

I have some questions about the bag laundry. Do they wash everything together? If so, then I wouldn't want to send whites or light colors and jeans in the same bag, right? I have never been brave enough to use the laundry service because I haven't been able to find out exactly how they do it. Our clothes in with other peoples?

You send as much as you can squeeze in a bag.... they sort, wash, iron and fold.

[tamsocal]

only one HAL cruise. In a suite. Sent laundry for the 7 day cruise to be cleaned as well as dry cleaning. We had started our vacation a few days prior to the cruise so had laundry to send off the 1st day we arrived on the ship :)
Never had any damage but did have a few items temporarily lost (missing sock, missing toddler shirt, etc). Items were found before end of cruise. Did avoid sending a few items to laundry that were more delicate but otherwise-- no damage to any garments for the 5 of us- 2 adults & 3 kids an thought it was a great service. We just recently came across a few articles of clothing that had the tiny pink laundry ID tags still on the inside of my sons pants & shirt. Brought a smile to my face remembering the cruise!

[Mary Ellen]

I have some questions about the bag laundry. Do they wash everything together? If so, then I wouldn't want to send whites or light colors and jeans in the same bag, right? I have never been brave enough to use the laundry service because I haven't been able to find out exactly how they do it. Our clothes in with other peoples?Yes, your items will be washed in load with those from other cabins.
You send as much as you can squeeze in a bag.... they sort, wash, iron and fold.The only sorting I'm aware of HAL doing is ironing on the little tags with your cabin number. The could all be washed together. Lights and darks are washed together - at least for the 'smalls' (socks and underwear). The bags containing them could be in with larger items, I don't know.

One cruise, we had an officer and crewman from the laundry come to our cabin. We were told that the 'smalls' go into bags which sometimes come open in the washer and/or dryer. Usually only one bag opens. This time the bag containing our 'smalls' had come open, as had the bags for two other cabins. We had to identify our items. There were whites and darks. At least when packing I'd thought to pack all the same brand of undies for DH, but socks???? I just selected the right number of pairs that looked like ones he owns. No way to tell if they were the ones we'd actually sent out.

We aren't fans of the ships without self-serve laundry for passengers.

[PeriB]

Do they provide a dry cleaning option?

[Mary Ellen]

Yes, dry cleaning is an option on all the HAL ships. However, it is priced by the item, no 'all you can cram' into a bag pricing. We've found the pricing reasonable and have been happy with the items returned.

[Typhoon1]

Do they provide a dry cleaning option?

Unlimited Dry cleaning on a seven day cruise was $35.00.

[Flacruiser44]

Thanks to all who have responded to my questions about the laundry service on HAL ships. I like the ideas of taking mostly the same color of things and same brand so that if things get mixed up you can identify what is yours.