Doing your own laundry on Sea Princess, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.

Was on the June 11 cruise to Alaska on Sea Princess, brought 7 days worth of clothes for 10 day cruise so we wouldnt overpack. Was never told until we got into Alaska waters that the public laundries would be closed, period for about 5 days. They just put signs up 1/2 hour before they closed the laundrys about this little minor detail. The ship has a total of 6 laundry rooms with two washers and driers per room. That is 12 washers and 12 driers for 2,300 guests. When we got out of Alaska waters, you would have thought they were giving away gold because people were ready to fight to wash clothes, It would have been nice if this was told to us, before I had to go to dinner in shorts.

There are extremely strong environmental rules that the cruise ships must follow in Alaska. Among other things, they need to use a lot less water. Laundry machines use a lot of water, so closing the passenger laundry is a good way to save considerably on water. That's also why they ask you to reuse your towels, if possible, among other things.

Quite frankly, I'm not sure I understand why people have to (or even want to) do laundry on a 10 day cruise. I certainly have no desire to do laundry on vacation, and now I won't even have to consider it :D. With proper packing, people should easily be able to bring 10 days worth of clothes, even with the 50 pound airline rule. Several years ago, we went to Europe for 16 days with 1 suitcase each (each under 50 pounds), and we didn't do laundry (and we didn't stink, either). Of course if you really needed some laundry done, you could have had it done on the ship. Yes, it cost some extra money, but it would have solved your problem until the laundries opened.

Hi All

A small price to pay to see Alaska wear the same socks for two days.

yours Shogun

Laundry is not something I would ever consider doing on a cruise. Just turn you underwear inside out :)>

Thanks for the info. I'm starting to pack lighter now for trips and would like to know this.

Was on the June 11 cruise to Alaska on Sea Princess, brought 7 days worth of clothes for 10 day cruise so we wouldnt overpack. Was never told until we got into Alaska waters that the public laundries would be closed, period for about 5 days. They just put signs up 1/2 hour before they closed the laundrys about this little minor detail. The ship has a total of 6 laundry rooms with two washers and driers per room. That is 12 washers and 12 driers for 2,300 guests. When we got out of Alaska waters, you would have thought they were giving away gold because people were ready to fight to wash clothes, It would have been nice if this was told to us, before I had to go to dinner in shorts.

From this post and your other posts, it is obvious that Princess is not for you. I hope you find another cruise line or vacation type that is suitable for you.

Was the sink & the shower also closed? Thats where I wash my socks.

The laundry was open every day on the Coral southbound(Whittier-Vancouver) 6/19-6/26.

Not every comment is a complaint.

Hoenstly...this seems like a "win win" for the cruiseline. Shut down the self laundry (due to local laws) and force more people to use the laundry service.

Is this factoid listed in the FAQs, cruise documents, emails, etc. before the cruise? Just curious.

Note...I'm not complaining...whining...etc.

Some people mentioned they would never do laundry on a cruise...but then they ask "why not hand wash them?". It takes a lot more energy/time to hand wash than to hurl clothes into a large white (or otherwise colored) container with buttons/switches.

I'm asking a question. It's allowed I think. :D

I didn't get something back from the laundry (next day service) and when I asked my steward, he said the laundry can not do laundry while in ports - no grey water is allowed in ports. So I imagine, since you have five ports, that's what she meant by "closed five days". She checked while in ports and probably didn't notice that they were open in the evenings or maybe there are some waters that it isn't allowed at all.

I always wear slacks more than once. On one cruise, I forgot to pack my third pair. I ended up doing the whole cruise in one pair of khakis and my tuxedo pants. It was a 10-night cruise. Fortunately, the khakis stayed clean.

The one thing I always make sure to pack is a clean pair of underwear for every day.

Hi Geoherb

Packing tip,

wear a kilt, no need to pack any underwear.

yours Shogun

But honestly, what's wrong with the op wanting to do some laundry on vacation? Sending clothes out for cleaning is an expensive and sometimes inconvenient option, and not everyone enjoys having wet underwear hanging all over the cabin. DW and I find it easier to pop over to the laundry room for a few quick visits, and this is one of the reasons we choose princess. We have done laundry on every Alaskan cruise so far

I can't see why one would need a laundry on a ten day cruise. I did a two week one, took clothes for seven days then the outfit I wore the first Monday, I wore the Monday after and so on. I took four cocktail dresses and alternated them, [it's very seldom you see the same passengers and would they truly recall what you wore the night before?] I took enough underwear for each day.

I'm not sure what is going on with this post, but does anyone know for sure whether or not we will be able to do laundry on an Alaska sea day on the Island Princess? Our cruise follows a 5 day land tour and I was planning on maybe one load of darks - DH and I have engineered our packig list for this. Our baggage/carry-ons already include nice clothes for dinner, jeans, hiking shoes, coats, camera, etc...I was hoping to wash jeans and shirts half way through. I'm already planning on wearing dinner clothes 2 or 3 times and bringing plenty of underwear and socks.

I can't see why one would need a laundry on a ten day cruise. I did a two week one, took clothes for seven days then the outfit I wore the first Monday, I wore the Monday after and so on. I took four cocktail dresses and alternated them, [it's very seldom you see the same passengers and would they truly recall what you wore the night before?] I took enough underwear for each day.

Here are two reasons:

Sometimes people will have done other touring before a cruise and thus will start the cruise with a bunch of clothes needing washing.

Sometimes people will do touring after the cruise and need clean clothes when then disemebark.

By the way, if you take the Baltic cruise, the laundry is definitely not available for several days due to local regulations. Information about this will be in the Patter.

Was the sink & the shower also closed? Thats where I wash my socks.

Me too. I use the ship's shampoo and do my underwear & socks in the sink. I buy underwear that dries in 2 hours.

Use the hot steam shower to freshen up and get wrinkles out of outer clothing. Be creative.

"Packing tip,

wear a kilt, no need to pack any underwear. yours Shogun"

You got it right, Sho. Hahahahah.

I can't see why one would need a laundry on a ten day cruise. I did a two week one, took clothes for seven days then the outfit I wore the first Monday, I wore the Monday after and so on. I took four cocktail dresses and alternated them, [it's very seldom you see the same passengers and would they truly recall what you wore the night before?] I took enough underwear for each day.

We are a family of four sharing a cabin and I try not to overpack. It is helpful to have the option of doing a load or two of laundry at least once during a cruise of ten or more days. We were on a two week Alaska cruise with Princess last year and it was very convenient to be able to do a couple of loads of laundry mid-cruise. If you traveled with an active 6'6" 16 year old boy, it would probably be eaier to understand why we like to freshen up the clothes by laundering after a week!

We haven't cruised Princess (yet) but have cruised several RCI ships and other cruise lines.

We send most of our things we want laundered out to the service. On a 7 night cruise, the cost has always come in at around $20-25 for the week, this includes my husbands underwear (so we don't have to take 15 pair) perhaps two of his nice shirts, a couple pair of socks, one or two pair of slacks plus a few of my things. I do hand wash my underwear and bras, I'd never send them out to a laundry facility...too expensive to replace.

When we cruises the Med, a total of a 19 night trip, our laundry costs came under $100, some of it due to mistakenly sending things out for the "laundry special", then the additional cost of pressing those items, oh well.

My point is that we're willing to spend that extra $16-21 (deducting the cost of using machines and laundry products) instead of doing chores while on vacation. Instead of coming back and complaining, the OP did have another option.

The savings would be even more substantial if a person has to go out and purchase the extra slacks/shirts/dresses/tops etc... for the cruise if they don't have enough clothing for the week. That would be mostly people who state they have "cruise clothes" because their normal every day clothing isn't suitable for a cruise.

I wonder if the Sea Princess being an smaller/older ship does not have the holding tank capacity or grey water treatment capacity to meet Alaska's rigorous environmental regulations and therefore laundries are closed while in Alaskan waters???

I wonder if the Sea Princess being an smaller/older ship does not have the holding tank capacity or grey water treatment capacity to meet Alaska's rigorous environmental regulations and therefore laundries are closed while in Alaskan waters???

Now this would make sense. We are going to be in San Francisco for a few days before our departure, so I think just to be safe we will do a load or two of laundry before we hit Alaska waters, maybe on our day in Victoria. That should hold us over until the end of the cruise. At least as I understand it the self service laundry on the Sea Princess is free! So that's a plus.

Was on the June 11 cruise to Alaska on Sea Princess, brought 7 days worth of clothes for 10 day cruise so we wouldnt overpack. Was never told until we got into Alaska waters that the public laundries would be closed, period for about 5 days. They just put signs up 1/2 hour before they closed the laundrys about this little minor detail. The ship has a total of 6 laundry rooms with two washers and driers per room. That is 12 washers and 12 driers for 2,300 guests. When we got out of Alaska waters, you would have thought they were giving away gold because people were ready to fight to wash clothes, It would have been nice if this was told to us, before I had to go to dinner in shorts.

Thanks for the info. I was not aware of this and always use the self-serve laundries ever since the airline weight restriction went into effect

Doing laundry under the best circumstances is challenging on a cruise, I didn't realize that the much of the laundry was closed down during Alaskan cruises.

Before we hit elite, we would try to throw our laundry in before dinner, this seems like the least crowded time, then run up at dessert and throw it in the dryer and by the end of dinner, the laundry is finished.

If the cruise exceeds seven days, I usually wash a load of clothes. Not always necessary, but nice to have the clothes clean in case they are needed. Doing laundry is a shared chore with my husband while on board. One of us is always in the laundry room. People can become rather nasty when they want a washer or dryer and clothes are left in them. I once saw a passenger take the wet clothes out of the washer and place them on a table because she wanted the washer. Very interesting when the owner of the clothes returned to place them in the dryer!

Doing laundry only takes about an hour and serves as a reminder that I am nothing special. We will be Elite in September, so I welcome the benefit of sending out the laundry.

Now this would make sense. We are going to be in San Francisco for a few days before our departure, so I think just to be safe we will do a load or two of laundry before we hit Alaska waters, maybe on our day in Victoria.

Oh ya, pump your dirty laundry water into British Columbia waters!;)