Laundry Services on a River Cruise

Can anyone tell me what it costs to have laundry services on a river cruise. I'm not asking about dry cleaning. Just trying to get some basic idea of the costs for doing some shirts, pants and underwear.

Can anyone tell me what it costs to have laundry services on a river cruise. I'm not asking about dry cleaning. Just trying to get some basic idea of the costs for doing some shirts, pants and underwear.

As we're travelling with Tauck on their 6th September Amsterdam-Budapest run I asked this question in the Tauck forum but it's fair to say not many Tauck travellers use that medium and I've yet to receive an answer. Now perhaps some past Tauck river cruise travellers could inform me as well as Don as to just the basic costs as Don has outlined. I'm sure someone can give us a rough idea.

Rod

We are going on Scenic & they have a list of the prices on the bottom of the page

http://scenictours.com/destination/european-river-cruises/ships-suites/

Not sure if other cruise lines would be the same

I read some have self serve laundry onboard

Lyn

There is a laundry room on the River Queen... High end machines - free for use. You just need to purchase laundry detergent at the front desk.

We are on Vantage Russian River in August and will have to do some laundry. I expect prices are not cheap.

Most Viking ships offer basic laundry service, but it isn't cheap. You can find a price list for their Europe cruises HERE.

Cheers,

Almost all Uniworld European ships (I'm not sure about Russia or China) offer free self-serve laundry for which you just pay for detergent.

Does anybody know about Avalon? Are their laundry prices competitive with those on Viking (posted above)? Do they offer a self-serve laundry? We're on Avalon for our first river cruise in October.

We had some laundry done on Avalon last December and found it quite reasonable. And they were fast and did a great job.

I'm on the same cruise as Don and have read the comments on the Tauck forum...gave up trying to post :) I've decided to take the 2 gallon plastic bags with me...they work fine for small items like underwear and socks and shirts that don't wrinkle too badly. And no need to take detergent...shampoo works very well. We might have the bite the bullet and send out a couple of pair of slacks/jeans since we have several additional days at both ends of the river cruise. The countdown is on and we're getting sooooo excited. Trying to pack light and believe what folks say about casual dress.... :)

I really don't understand people getting real upset about laundry prices, trying to find a way to wash clothes in their sinks, etc. There's always lots of comments about laundry prices on the various CC forums and roll calls for both big and small ships. People on cruises are already spending thousands of dollars for the cruise, air fare, pre- and post- arrangements, etc. So what's another $40 to $50 for laundry? I was on one cruise where I met a couple who had to pay another $75 to the airline for an extra bag to carry enough clothes so they wouldn't have to pay the "exorbitant laundry prices" (their words). They could have had their undies washed every day for that price! My view is -- I'm on vacation -- let's lighten up and pay a couple bucks to have clean clothes.

I hear your point of view. Where I differ is that I want to be charged fairly. Just because we're a captive audience doesn't give someone the right to charge that much for laundry services. I more than can afford the cost of the laundry service. It's the principal of the thing. Personally I don't do "laundry". We'll buy underwear if necessary. The cost would be the same.

I really don't understand people getting real upset about laundry prices, trying to find a way to wash clothes in their sinks, etc. There's always lots of comments about laundry prices on the various CC forums and roll calls for both big and small ships. People on cruises are already spending thousands of dollars for the cruise, air fare, pre- and post- arrangements, etc. So what's another $40 to $50 for laundry? I was on one cruise where I met a couple who had to pay another $75 to the airline for an extra bag to carry enough clothes so they wouldn't have to pay the "exorbitant laundry prices" (their words). They could have had their undies washed every day for that price! My view is -- I'm on vacation -- let's lighten up and pay a couple bucks to have clean clothes.

Our last river cruise was on Uniworld boat (Budapest to Amsterdam). We had already been traveling over a week in London and Paris and we'd be traveling after we left Amsterdam, so I kind of needed to get some washing done.

I don't know if it was just the machines on the River Princess, but the dryers were awful. They did not get the clothes dry even after two or three cycles. That left me with stuff hanging in my stateroom which did make me happy.

I'm glad that the next river cruise on AMA does not offer washing machines. There will be no inclination to be frugal and do laundry myself. I'll just send out what needs to be sent out and enjoy my vacation, guilt-free.

BTW, some of the dollar stores have these little packages of sheets that have laundry soap and fabric softener embedded in them. They weigh next to nothing and are very packable. You throw one in with the wash. I'd give you the brand but the package is in my motorhome.

People using the washers and especially the dryers forget to clean the lint filters when they are done. Amazing how much faster the clothes dry. Pat

I agree with you, Don. It's the unfair pricing that disturbs me. I certainly don't get upset about paying for laundry - I do it regularly on ocean cruises, but the prices quoted seem more than unfair to me. I'm aware that they have limited space to process laundry and would be more understanding if they just said that space limits make providing laundry services impossible. Certainly not a big enough deal to quell my enthusiasm for our upcoming trip...I'll just pack differently.

People using the washers and especially the dryers forget to clean the lint filters when they are done. Amazing how much faster the clothes dry. Pat

I cleaned the filters. The problem was just that the dryers were slow. One of the crew members remarked that the vents were probably clogged.

I agree with you, Don. It's the unfair pricing that disturbs me. I certainly don't get upset about paying for laundry - I do it regularly on ocean cruises, but the prices quoted seem more than unfair to me. I'm aware that they have limited space to process laundry and would be more understanding if they just said that space limits make providing laundry services impossible. Certainly not a big enough deal to quell my enthusiasm for our upcoming trip...I'll just pack differently.

Both DH and I have micro-fiber undies. They will dry overnight hanging in the shower. I always pack a little Woolite detergent and a few plastic clothes hangers. In a worst case scenario, you can use the cabin hair dryer to finish drying the undies.

If one is traveling in a place where the highest daily temps don't cause one to perspire, undies and socks are the garments most needed to be laundered.

I have found undies or us both that dry quickly and launder well.

Here's a little laundry hint: after washing and rinsing a garment. place it in a towel and roll it up. You will be amazed at how much moisture has been removed.

Sheila,

Our departure date is soon to be upon us. We have a day and a half layover in Paris and will arrive in Budapest on Wednesday, the 11th of May in the late afternoon/early evening. My e-mail address is don4135@aol.com. We can communicate via that address or through this site. We're looking forward to meeting you and your husband next week.

Don P.

I agree with you, Don. It's the unfair pricing that disturbs me. I certainly don't get upset about paying for laundry - I do it regularly on ocean cruises, but the prices quoted seem more than unfair to me. I'm aware that they have limited space to process laundry and would be more understanding if they just said that space limits make providing laundry services impossible. Certainly not a big enough deal to quell my enthusiasm for our upcoming trip...I'll just pack differently.

I wash the underwear in the sink, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. We just got back from the Viking Rhine trip, we did some laundry. DH sent out shirts & a few jeans, I sent out one pair of pants. It was well worth the price for some fresh clothes to wear. We only traveled with carry on baggage, & spent time pre & post cruise on our own. Jeans & shirts are too big for the sink. Relax & enjoy, It was also nice to get them back pressed ( ironed)

I'm going to try to post this picture. It is the current laundry price list for AMA. Click on the picture.

Well, that didn't come out very well. Like others have said, laundry onboard is expensive; but, you're on vacation. In the long run, it's worth it. Just include it in your budget and go from there. :D