The truth about laundry

Can anyone tell me if HAL laundry service destroys their clothes? We are booked for a 22 day Mediterranean cruise in summer 2015 and plan to use the laundry service as there is no self serve laundry on the Zuiderdam.

Just curious about the experiences of others with these services as we have never used it before. I have heard they use very hot water and can ruin your clothes. Any input would be appreciated.

I have had an article of clothing ruined by the ship's laundry. It was a jet black knit top that came back charcoal gray and several inches shorter. Others haven't had any problems. We still send out laundry, but I'm more selective now in what we pack and what we'll send out. Good luck.

I have used HAL's laundry service for over 80 cruises and I can't remember them destroying anything.

That being said, I used some common sense.

I sent out all DH's t-shirts, shorts, jerseys, underwear etc for laundering.

I sent dockers, dress pants, shirts and better Polo shirts for dry cleaning.

I sent my casual slacks, tops, capri pants, jerseys for dry cleaning but hand washed any 'dainties'. I never sent out my lingerie but rather washed and hung to dry in the bathroom overnight. I wouldn't send out a delicate, lacy dress or item that needs special care. I bring that home to my usual dry cleaner.

HAL does a fine job with laundry and sends it back pressed and folded or hung as per your preference.

We used the laundry service on the Zaandam and everything was returned in good shape. Nothing we sent out however was delicate - mostly it was t shirts, jeans, shorts, underwear, socks.

On our last trip on the Zuiderdam, I had to send a sport coat back twice. It was an issue with the way it was pressed (or lack thereof). The collar looked horrible, and had completely lost it's shape. I really thought it had been permanently ruined. However, on the third try, it came back looking OK. My experience with the dry cleaning on ships is that items just don't seem to come back with that same "crisp" look as they would from a land-based dry cleaner.

For laundered items, we've done OK. I seem to recall reading somewhere on CC (can't recall whether it was HAL or Princess or NCL) that all of your laundry items are placed in a big mesh bag for washing. This is what someone reported, so I can't confirm as I have not seen the laundry operation for myself. HAL seems to do the best job on pressed laundered shirts on hangars.

We are a family of 4 and use the blue bag for $20 and we cram it full of everything we use...and I mean everything for the 4 of us. Not formal wear but the clothes we wear everyday as I only pack for 3 or 4 days so we have to get the laundry done and I have enough of doing that at home.

Never have had a problem with any of it from underwear and bras through to polo shirts and shorts.

Everything I pack though has been washed and dried at home many times.

We use our benefits to the max and use the laundry onboard almost every other day. So far we have had no major problems. Once a dress sent out for pressing came back with a broken zipper and they fixed it with no problem. Other than that no worries.

I love how unmentionables are returned in the basket wrapped in tissue paper and sealed with the HAL sticker. Cute.

Can anyone tell me if HAL laundry service destroys their clothes? We are booked for a 22 day Mediterranean cruise in summer 2015 and plan to use the laundry service as there is no self serve laundry on the Zuiderdam.

Just curious about the experiences of others with these services as we have never used it before. I have heard they use very hot water and can ruin your clothes. Any input would be appreciated.

We have used the laundry service a number of times. We have been happy with the results, though other people on CC have reported some problems.

We have used the dry cleaning service a few times and have been delighted with the results. Again, other posters have reported occasional problems and I have no reason to doubt their experiences.

We have used the laundry and dry cleaning service on about 16 HAL cruises and nothing has ever been ruined or discolored. We have most of our clothes dry cleaned and they've always done a wonderful job. Only underwear and socks get laundered.

We sent out several loads of laundry on the Noordam and it all came back clean and perfectly ironed.

I suggest the chances of having your laundry done not to your satisfaction or damaged is about the same shipboard as using a land-based commercial laundry/dry cleaner. I use HAL's laundry/dry cleaning regularly for many years, always very nicely done - never an issue.

I routinely send out laundry---never dry cleaning---, and have not had a problem.

But I am also careful about what I send. I only send daytime clothes and undies for laundry. No clothes I wear in the evening are ever sent as I won't take a chance on something going wrong with them.

I would agree with the others and use some discretion in what you send out.

We had an incident on our last cruise (Noordam) where DH had both his tux vest and sport coat ruined. HAL made good on the replacement of both items and as one poster stated it could have happened at our land based cleaners. We will continue to use the laundry/dry cleaning on board but will be much more selective about what goes out.

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Ditto.... and the service could not have been better.

We have not had any problems except for a broken button. But again, we have used discretion as to what we send to the laundry.

Overall, we have been very satisfied with the service.

Terri

I had to send out my formal black dress once on the Oosterdam. It came back in perfect condition. Otherwise, just like the others, I've had no problems or issues.

Every now and then my land-based laundry service sends me an article with a button that was cracked during the ironing process. There have also been a few times when they've ironed a second crease in my pants. They're usually pretty good -- but the odds are something is going to happen every now and then.

Once on HAL, we received some white that were a nice yellowish-green. We sent the stuff back and the "whites" were white again in a matter of hours!

"Stuff" is going to happen every now and then, but that's no different than my local service.

Every now and then my land-based laundry service sends me an article with a button that was cracked during the ironing process. There have also been a few times when they've ironed a second crease in my pants. They're usually pretty good -- but the odds are something is going to happen every now and then.

 

Once on HAL, we received some white that were a nice yellowish-green. We sent the stuff back and the "whites" were white again in a matter of hours!

 

"Stuff" is going to happen every now and then, but that's no different than my local service.

I had the same experience once. White turned to an ugly grey. Looked like they had scrubbed the floor with it.

Since then we send out lights one day, darks the next, just to be safe.

DaveOKC

We used to send out DH's Golf shirts and Polo (Name Brand) shirts.

But on our Westerdam cruise in 2013 one of DH's shirts came back with a few pulls on it. On the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise in fall of 2013 -- 2 of DH's brand new shirts came back with a couple of hundred pulled threads on them-- totally ruined. Even the concierges agreed that there was no way they could be repaired.

These shirts are polyester and people who send items with Velcro on them ruin other peoples clothes.

Once years ago we sent out 6 shirts and only 5 came back. When we sawed the concierges the sheet indicating 5 shirts, I was asked to describe the missing shirt. I couldn't. After a couple of days DH did get his shirt back. After that I took pictures of everything that was sent out to the laundry.

We will no longer send out DH's shirts to the laundry. I will hand wash them in the sink.

I always write in "Cold Wash, Please" on the form - I don't know if they do it, but it's there. We haven't had any problems, but I don't send anything that I would normally hang to dry at home. I just wash it in the sink (using their shampoo, as recommended here on CC), roll everything up in one of the bath towels and step on it, and then hang to dry on the line in the bathtub. Usually everything is dry by morning, and I can put it all away, and nobody knows what I've been up to!:)

We have taken several extended cruises and used the laundry service at least twice a week. We have learned a few things over the years.

Laundry comes back with better 'colors' when we send similar colors together: darks then lights or whites.

We tend to pack clothes that are a cotton or cotton blend, anticipating using the laundry service.

We only send clothing which has had at least a few washings at home prior to being packed.

We do hand washing of the 'nicities' as my father used to call them and the more delicate evening clothes.

We ALWAYS make a list of what was sent on the back of the pink copy and check this against the returns as we have lost a few items over the years. HAL reimbursed on our account us as we could provide a detailed description. Do appreciate the immense job the laundry does and we have received a few pieces of other people's laundry now and again. Any and all issues were handled with excellent service.

Velcro is awful to clothes being sent to the laundry! so if you have this on any clothes, please make sure the flaps are completely closed. My DH has a few shorts with Velcro flaps and we have never had a problem as he ensures they are completely closed before being stuff into the bag.

Rolling the clothes allows for way more clothes in the bag - a great boon when we paid by the bag.

Rolling the clothes allows for way more clothes in the bag - a great boon when we paid by the bag.

That is the truth! With a little stacking and rolling, you can get quite a bit into those bags.

We always send out ALL laundry including "delicates and unmentionables" with no pre sorting of any type. One time a white dress shirt came back with a rust stain; it was replaced by HAL the same day at no charge to us. Two times snaps on shirts have come back slightly flattened but still holding.

We usually send out 1 or 2 bags of laundry every 3 days. HAL has never lost any of our garments.

We consider tux., mens suits and ladies sparkly blouses as dry cleanables and have not used the dry cleaning service.

We too have never had a problem with the laundry service on any HAL ship but like others have said, I am very selective of what is sent. Most everything sent is cotton -Dh's underwear. pjs, shorts, shirts, pants, etc. I hand wash my underwear but sent out my shirts, shorts, and nightgowns. Never send out formal attire and never have anything pressed. If wrinkles from packing, I normally run a hot shower and hang the clothes in the bathroom and the wrinkles either come out or are tolerable. Since I don't notice or care if others' clothes are wrinkled, I assume the same for us.

We too have never had a problem with the laundry service on any HAL ship but like others have said, I am very selective of what is sent. Most everything sent is cotton -Dh's underwear. pjs, shorts, shirts, pants, etc. I hand wash my underwear but sent out my shirts, shorts, and nightgowns. Never send out formal attire and never have anything pressed. If wrinkles from packing, I normally run a hot shower and hang the clothes in the bathroom and the wrinkles either come out or are tolerable. Since I don't notice or care if others' clothes are wrinkled, I assume the same for us.

The veendam offered a tour of the laundry and food storage areas this summer. Was very enlightening to see all that goes in to cleaning everyone's clothes as well as all the ship's linens. If offered take it.