laundry and ironing?

[smj]

I am planning on packing very lightly so I will need to be doing several loads of laundry. Can I count on the laundry being in working order? Will there be long waiting times and are there irons and ironing boards?
Thanks,
Steve

[ClaudiaF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by smj:
I am planning on packing very lightly so I will need to be doing several loads of laundry. Can I count on the laundry being in working order? Will there be long waiting times and are there irons and ironing boards?
Thanks,
Steve<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe..
There are ironing boards and irons . There are washers and dryers ( maybe 2 of each)..
Wether there will be problems with them goes to be seen.. when we took inaugural cruise they were in need of replacement- and later were ( that was the Regatta).. hopefully Insignia got new ones....working new ones..

Barcelona to Venice on Oceania - "Insignia"
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Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"
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[Mura]

Actually, there are four washers and four dryers, and I think two irons/ironing boards.

The laundry room can be very crowded, though, at times. I found by going in around dinner time that it was easy to get a machine. Also, if it's a port day and you choose to stay onboard, it's not so hard.

[goeurope]

>>The laundry room can be very crowded, though, at times. I found by going in around dinner time that it was easy to get a machine.<<

Does room service deliver to the laundromat? And can you toss a salad with the dryer on Air Fluff? :-)

--
Durant Imboden
Europeforvisitors.com

[ClaudiaF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mura:
Actually, there are four washers and four dryers, and I think two irons/ironing boards.

The laundry room can be very crowded, though, at times. I found by going in around dinner time that it was easy to get a machine. Also, if it's a port day and you choose to stay onboard, it's not so hard.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Stay aboard to do laundry? Surely you jest.. better to go shopping for new stuff and wash when you get home..

Barcelona to Venice on Oceania - "Insignia"
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Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"
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[ClaudiaF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by goeurope:
>>The laundry room can be very crowded, though, at times. I found by going in around dinner time that it was easy to get a machine.<<

Does room service deliver to the laundromat? And can you toss a salad with the dryer on Air Fluff? :-)


--
Durant Imboden
Europeforvisitors.com<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

and a nice shaken martini

Barcelona to Venice on Oceania - "Insignia"
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Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"
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[jazzsea]

Are there retractable clothes lines in the bathrooms on Insignia? We plan to send our laundry out but would like to hand wash the "dainty things". The new rule (two years old) is that I cannot bring more luggage than I can carry. So.... doing laundry or sending it out will be a necessity. Carol

Insignia - June 14, 2004
Rotterdam - January 5, 2005

Carol

[Jancruz]

Hi Carol,
Yes there are retractable lines..I cant wait to see you..not too long now!!

Jan
*************

[hripsimee]

I have learned (from another message board) that 2 of the 4 sets of laundry machines on Insignia were not yet functioning as of early May. I wonder if Mr. DelRio is aware of this? (I believe he sometimes monitors this board, and is a stickler for quality service on the ships.)

I am sure this must be an oversight; however, laundry machines and/or bulk laundry service are a necessity! There should be more of the former, and easy availability of the latter for the most fundamental of reasons - especially on a 2-week cruise.

We are eagerly anticipating our June cruise on the Insignia - and I hope it won't be necessary to carry an extra suitcase full of underwear!

[Merriem]

I highly recommend taking a steamer. They are excellent for pressing clothes and are a lot less work than an iron.

They did have washers and dryers, and one or two were not working. I believe it was $1.50 for a load and you had to get tokens at the front desk.

[hripsimee]

I am concerned about the basic washing and drying. I do not like to think I'll spend vacation time doing hand washing, or schlepping with laundry over and over in the hope of catching an available machine. Two machines for 675 people is too few.

We would glady use a bulk laundry service (especially for underwear & tees) if one were available for a fee. I know there is laundry service by the piece - but we do not need these items starched and ironed. Just clean.

[Merriem]

You can send your items out to be washed for a reasonable fee.

[hripsimee]

Thank you, Merriem. That should do us. It was hard to believe that one would have to hand wash, or play washer-roulette!

[Merriem]

Actually my husband did the laundry, and if you went at the off times, it wasn't bad. I know we sent some things to the laundry service, and it was about the same as any ship. It sure beats dragging a bunch of clothes around. Another suggestion, take some plastic clothes pins, for those unmentionables that you want to hang on the line in your bathroom. They are so handy!

[drwong]

We were on the Insignia's inaugural cruise (April 3-13) and two of the washer-dryer pairs were out of commission (they're the over-under units you see in many modern apartments). The engineering staff said they were waiting for parts from Marseilles, but the last trip report I read stated that the two machines are still out of service, six weeks later!

I recall on an earlier Regatta cruise, the machines were broken and the concierge offered bulk laundry service to compensate those passengers who didn't think to bring 14 pairs of undergarments in their luggage. (the Chinese laundry concession aboard the Insignia didn't provide a bulk rate, instead charging by the piece).

If the machines still haven't been fixed by the time of your cruise, I'd raise the bulk laundry proposal to the front desk. I tried suggesting it on my cruise, but because the other passengers weren't at the point of a mutiny, they didn't accept my idea.

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;4;3;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0000
From the Insignia's Inaugural sailing (4/3/2004)

[hripsimee]

Yoo Hoo, Mr. Del Rio, are you listening??? Perhaps your laundry concessionaire could be "persuaded" to offer a bulk laundry service for a modest fee??? It would certainly eliminate a source of aggravation for Oceania cruisers, and I believe there would be enough volume to warrant this service.

I hear the broken machines are awaiting missing parts ordered two months ago! Too long! If these are the same machines installed when the ship was built, it would probably be more practical to replace them. Also, install more of them if no convenience laundry service will be offered.

[ClaudiaF]

Just back from May 3 cruise and out of 4 washers and dryers.. only 2 working ( 2 had out of order signs on them).. and that was the first week.. second week the signs had been moved from the out of order machines to the machines that had been working ..and the previously out of order machines were then working ..
These seem to all be new machines.. so go figure..

Barcelona to Venice on Oceania - "Insignia"
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[twine]

I wonder why a company that can keep ships running 24hrs a day can't keep all the washers and dryers going? Problems in the old laundry room have been a hot topic on this board since Oceanias first cruise. The cost to keep these things running is very small. If they to replaced them every cruise it would be a small cost compared to someone not sailing with them on future cruises for this reason.
I personaly love to go on vacation to wash clothes. I even take a couple of extra bags of dirty laundry with me just so I don't run out of things to do while on my vacation. Nothing better than a late night washing extravaganza. OH YES...Just kidding.
Oceania need to fix this problem once and for all. Keep em running or get rid of them and turn the laundry into another room. IMHO
Tom

[ClaudiaF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by twine:
I wonder why a company that can keep ships running 24hrs a day can't keep all the washers and dryers going? Problems in the old laundry room have been a hot topic on this board since Oceanias first cruise. The cost to keep these things running is very small. If they to replaced them every cruise it would be a small cost compared to someone not sailing with them on future cruises for this reason.
I personaly love to go on vacation to wash clothes. I even take a couple of extra bags of dirty laundry with me just so I don't run out of things to do while on my vacation. Nothing better than a late night washing extravaganza. OH YES...Just kidding.
Oceania need to fix this problem once and for all. Keep em running or get rid of them and turn the laundry into another room. IMHO
Tom<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL!
Maybe make it part of the casino..
Laundry room warning!
If you are Not Paying Attention ( or not used to doing your laundry aboard ships ) or don't read before you hit start- since these are stacked machines with one money slot and lots of buttons to push .. and you put those coins in @ $1.50 a pop
you think will turn on your washer , but are really adding time to someones dryer.. it can be just like being in the casino ..

Barcelona to Venice on Oceania - "Insignia"
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Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"
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[marilynfaye]

Dear Twine:

Let me know when you're sailing again. I'll send you a few extra t-shirts.

Thanks for the laugh.

You right, tho'. The laundry room is a buzz of activity when all the machines are working. It's an impossible situation when any of them are down.

Marilyn

[eknightley]

Hi all,

Given the popularity of the laundry room as a hang-out and even dining venue for air-fluffing the salad greens and chowing down on room service 'cause it's necessary to skip dinner in order to get machines http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif, it must attract a constant stream of traffic. So we would like to know where on deck 7 the (in)famous laundry room is located? It seems to be such a happening place that I am now concerned that our cabin might be near it! Thanks to Raoul's many photos we can now see the room in all its glory, but knowing location would be helpful too!

[Jancruz]

The laundry room is on the port side deck 7 about at Cat A cabin 7072, personally,,I love staying in that cabin as it is so convenient and there really is no noise from the laundry room into the cabins..

Jan
*************

[twine]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Marilyn Faye:
Dear Twine:

Let me know when you're sailing again. I'll send you a few extra t-shirts.

Marilyn!! Thanks so much for the offer but "no thanks". My wife was pretty mad at me last time because of the extra luggage costs on the plane, I could blame it on the formal wear in the past but kinda tricky to get her to buy that story on Oceania :<O . Geez I guess this is really a sickness....LOL
Just praying for working washers on future cruises. ROTF laughing with tears in my eyes...
Tom


Thanks for the laugh.

You right, tho'. The laundry room is a buzz of activity when all the machines are working. It's an impossible situation when any of them are down.

Marilyn<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[cruzemaven]

A bulk rate charge is an excellent idea. When we sailed on Holland America's Prinsendam they had a package rate for laundry that was really a bargain-a hundred dollars for a hundred pieces... Those pieces really add up when your on a two week cruise.

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8/17Insignia Barcelona to Venice

[smeyer418]

Many lines have bulk rate special one night especially on a two week cruise. Since we have been traveling we carry some extra wash and wear underwear that we get from www.campmor.com (http://www.campmor.com). Its in NJ and a great place to buy light weight travel stuff. they have great panchos that breathe--not the plastic ones that you sweat with but really nice inexpensive ones when it rains, which I hope it doesn't but it usually does at least one day.

Proud charter member of the PPS-Passport Pusher Society
Oceania Insignia(Athens to Venice)-something new!
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smeyer418@yahoo.com
Celebrity, NCL, Overnight Ferry, hydrofoil between countries, car ferries and river cruise and of course the Staten Island Ferry

[roothy123]

Don't know if you're on Regatta or Insignia. I just came back from the Regatta. There were (I think) 5 washers and 5 dryers, although a couple of what I thought were washers actually turned out to be dryers!! Anyway, one machine was out of service. There are two irons and boards. I did wash about 3 days into the cruise around 6 or 7 at night and there was no wait. However, someone came right after me and had to wait a bit. I suspect that if you went at less common times, you'd find things a little less busy.

[drwong]

Jan's right - those machines ARE quiet! People were doing laundry after the posted hours and you couldn't hear anything through that door. You're not supposed to do laundry after 10 pm in order to avoid bothering the guests in the adjacent cabins (#7068 and #7071), but I checked with the front desk and they said nobody had complained about the late night launderers. Thank heavens for heavy sleepers!

Also, the washing machines aren't entirely automated. You need to manually push the detergent dispenser button after inserting your coins. Otherwise, your clothes will come out smelling like wet laundry.

Richard

P.S. Roothy - I like your taste in icons!!!

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;4;3;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0000
From the Insignia's Inaugural sailing (4/3/2004)

[smj]

I just got back last week from the Insignia. There were long lines and 2 machines were working and 2 were not.
Steve

[hripsimee]

Today I emailed Ms Diane Salazar (DSalazar@ OceaniaCruises.com) at Customer Services at Oceania and asked if the laundry machines on Insignia will be repaired before we leave for our June 26 cruise. Within hours, I received her welcome and efficient response. Here is her reply, which she has given me
permission to quote here:

"I received your e-mail regarding the washers and dryers on the Insignia ship and I forwarded your message to our Senior Vice
President of Passenger Services. He looked into this issue immediately and was confirmed by our Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations that the Insignia has four washers and four dryers that are fully operational.

Thank you, for bringing this to my attention."

I, for one, am happy I won't have to pack an extra suitcaseful of underwear, sox, etc. At least, I hope they stay fixed for a few more weeks.

And, I did appreciate such prompt customer service!

Jeannette

[gene624]

I refuse to do my own laundry on vacation. I do it at home. I just send it to the ship's laundry service. Not too expensive and no sweating while waiting.
Gene in Birmingham