Cunard washed my husband's Armani Tux

We had decided to splurge and get DH the fanciest tux we could find, so we bought him a beautiful Armani, thinking it would last him the rest of his life. On our recent cruise, it had a few wrinkles in the back and, although I told him I would be happy to press it for him, he decided to send it to the laundry to be pressed on the Queen Victoria.

When it came back, it looked for all the world as though it had been washed. All of the pants pockets were wrinkled up like jeans are when you take them out of the dryer. It was an absolute mess. We sent it back four times and, even though the laundry master himself did everything he could possibly think of, it is hopelessly ruined. :( :(

They did loan him a tux to wear on the cruise (of course it wasn't an Armani) and we have filed a claim form. It will be interesting to see how it is resolved.

Has anyone had a similar situation? How did they handle it?

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. We have not yet cruised on the Victoria, but I've never had a problem with tux dry cleaning or pressing on either the QM2 or the QE. Hopefully, this was a one time event and the persons responsible have been reprimanded and instructed on how to properly handle a tuxedo.

Bob

We had decided to splurge and get DH the fanciest tux we could find, so we bought him a beautiful Armani, thinking it would last him the rest of his life. On our recent cruise, it had a few wrinkles in the back and, although I told him I would be happy to press it for him, he decided to send it to the laundry to be pressed on the Queen Victoria.

 

When it came back, it looked for all the world as though it had been washed. All of the pants pockets were wrinkled up like jeans are when you take them out of the dryer. It was an absolute mess. We sent it back four times and, even though the laundry master himself did everything he could possibly think of, it is hopelessly ruined. :( :(

 

They did loan him a tux to wear on the cruise (of course it wasn't an Armani) and we have filed a claim form. It will be interesting to see how it is resolved.

 

Has anyone had a similar situation? How did they handle it?

That isn't the one that you loaned to Jeffrey Archer by any chance?

Cunard-style karmic justice for all that laundry on the balcony.

Another reason to do away with tuxes.

another reason to do away with tuxes.

Ha ha ha ha ha

That isn't the one that you loaned to Jeffrey Archer by any chance?

No, that was just a sports jacket, which would have been much easier to replace. Damaging his glorious tux is making me cry. I don't know if we will ever find another like it. It was very lightweight and excellent for dancing.

The hotel director said it was "very unusual" for the laundry to do so much damage. I certainly hope so.

It was so hot on this cruise that hand washing was an absolute necessity. DH sometimes worked out 4 times a day and usually had to change clothes after each exercise session. Fortunately everything dried very quickly in the hot tropic sun.

The South Pacific is a nice place to visit but I would die in that heat all year long.

No, that was just a sports jacket, which would have been much easier to replace. Damaging his glorious tux is making me cry. I don't know if we will ever find another like it. It was very lightweight and excellent for dancing.

 

The hotel director said it was "very unusual" for the laundry to do so much damage. I certainly hope so.

sorry for the unhelpful replays you are getting from a certain "element" but damn, owning an Armani Tux myself I know how you must be feeling.

Unfortunately the only bad experience I had on board was a couple of years ago and was sent a whole set of about 5 different coloured Polo shirts all of which were new and purchased just before the cruise and every one came back damaged with either some sort of bleach mark or scorch mark on them.

Housekeeping was very apologetic but they only offered a letter accepting liability to pass onto my insurance company which of course didn't cover the $250 excess.

In the end I just moved on because it was a fight not worth having.

With the value of the tuxedo, they will probably offer the same, however I would suggest you tell them you want the value of your excess credited to your onboard account and accept nothing less.

In hindsight thats what I would have done.

Apart from that its just another excuse for a cruise to Italy and picking another one up there....and you'll have a story to tell.

best regards....roscoe

Thanks, Roscoe. I appreciate your sympathy. We unpacked it again this morning in our hotel room to see if was really as bad as we remembered and, sadly, it was even worse. It pained me to see the look on DH's face when he looked at it.

The $250 is a little scary as it will cost us at least ten times that to replace it if we can even find one like it. We will have to fight that battle when we get back to the States. He is a perfect Armani 43L and they are sometimes difficult to find.

We would rather have cash than OC as we already have a hard time spending all of our OBC--we are both ex-military and stockholders. With that, plus FCC and whatever our travel agent kicks in we usually start out with over $1,500.00 and we don't do ship tours or gamble.

I will keep you posted on our progress with Cunard.

Hi PunkiC. I would be devastated as well. I've heard nothing but praise about the ships services on these boards but I've never felt that I would trust them with the clothes I highly value. I find it odd that there would be anyone at all working in the Laundry that isn't familiar with the proper cleaning of a tux. Frankly, I would have had a hard time listening to their excuses. Bad things happen, but this is beyond excusable.

I hope you at least get proper compensation from Cunard. Is it possible that the Armani could be restored by a first rate establishment in your area?

Thanks, Roscoe. I appreciate your sympathy. We unpacked it again this morning in our hotel room to see if was really as bad as we remembered and, sadly, it was even worse. It pained me to see the look on DH's face when he looked at it.

 

The $250 is a little scary as it will cost us at least ten times that to replace it if we can even find one like it. We will have to fight that battle when we get back to the States. He is a perfect Armani 43L and they are sometimes difficult to find.

 

We would rather have cash than OC as we already have a hard time spending all of our OBC--we are both ex-military and stockholders. With that, plus FCC and whatever our travel agent kicks in we usually start out with over $1,500.00 and we don't do ship tours or gamble.

 

I will keep you posted on our progress with Cunard.

Did they give you a letter admitting liability? that will go a long way with your insurance company....a bit late now unfortunately as you are off the ship. Good luck, I think we will all be interested to see how it pans out.

regards

PunkiC, sorry that happened.

I'm wondering what's going on with the dry cleaning...Alibabacruises (Barbara) reported live from QE a month ago that "...An interesting note in the DP is about the dry cleaning service. Summarizing,

it says that they will no longer accept delicate items such as silk and sequined

items for dry cleaning on board. In key ports, they will arrange for the dry

cleaning of those delicates to be done ashore. You will be charged the ship's

rates and it will be charged to your onboard account. There must have been an accident with regards to the above. I noticed that there seems to be a lot of women, including myself, wearing sequins this time around, so maybe too many sequins cause problems..."

Quoted from http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45554763&highlight=dry+cleaning#post45554763

Sorry to read of problems/changes. I've had nothing but good experiences with the drycleaning/laundry service on QM2. On another cruise line a few years, several items sent for dry cleaning were ruined, which I didn't realize until I arrived home so I didn't make a complaint. BTW, I took the tour of that ship and the laundry room supervisor was proud of the new "eco-friendly" dry cleaning system. It looked like a giant washing machine with garments swirling around in a considerable amount of some kind of chemical free liquid (kind of like soap and water - hardly dry cleaning)!

I hope restitution is made for your husband's tuxedo. -S.

Salacia....I had read Barbara's report as well. Sending the laundry out in port would give me even less confidence. If there were a problem with a garment...after sailing away from that port, which would be the case, Cunards only response could be that it is out of their control.

Thankfully, I'm a very tidy diner.....so some mixes and matches can be worn twice even on the longer trips. I'm not sure how I would handle a world cruise, although my husband assures me that I wont be having that particular problem. :D

Salacia....I had read Barbara's report as well. Sending the laundry out in port would give me even less confidence. If there were a problem with a garment...after sailing away from that port, which would be the case, Cunards only response could be that it is out of their control.

 

Thankfully, I'm a very tidy diner.....so some mixes and matches can be worn twice even on the longer trips. I'm not sure how I would handle a world cruise, although my husband assures me that I wont be having that particular problem. :D

Brigitte I'm LOL:D (Good one, Tom!)

Did they give you a letter admitting liability? that will go a long way with your insurance company....a bit late now unfortunately as you are off the ship. Good luck, I think we will all be interested to see how it pans out.

 

regards

Yes, I did get letter signed by the hotel manager. If they hadn't given me that, I would still be on the ship waiting for it. :p

I do not like dry cleaning. Years ago a friend training to be a lawyer said that a wardrobe consultant spoke to them all. She said, in effect: You will be buying expensive suits for your work. If you keep on dry cleaning them they will not last. Wait for a windy day and hang them out on the washing line to air.

This is what I do now with my evening dresses if they cannot be washed. Dry cleaning is a last resort.

However, that doesn't help with your current sense of devastation at the wreck of what might be an irreplaceable item.

Hopefully if you contact Armani direct they will be able to tell you if the tux is available anywhere. Please let us know if you manage to replace it.

I do not like dry cleaning. Years ago a friend training to be a lawyer said that a wardrobe consultant spoke to them all. She said, in effect: You will be buying expensive suits for your work. If you keep on dry cleaning them they will not last. Wait for a windy day and hang them out on the washing line to air.

 

This is what I do now with my evening dresses if they cannot be washed. Dry cleaning is a last resort.

 

However, that doesn't help with your current sense of devastation at the wreck of what might be an irreplaceable item.

 

Hopefully if you contact Armani direct they will be able to tell you if the tux is available anywhere. Please let us know if you manage to replace it.

We didn't want it dry cleaned. He just wanted it pressed. :(

Sorry about the damage :eek:

If it came back with pockets out as you say then it was washed and not dry cleaned unless it was requested, norm for most ships.

Sometimes just hanging after a shower overnight helps or one of those portable steamers.

Pressing by oneself is probably the best option in the DIY room, least you know the only damage might be oneself..

It certainly puts a damper on ones experience of a ships laundry ,,, which you do not want to test again.

It is rather worrying that someone would even think it is OK to actually wash a tux.

I hope you find another one and also manage to squeeze more out of Cunard.

Cunard now use Green Dry Cleaning, This I found in Wiki it explains why some items should not be used in this process as it ruins the Garment.

D5 solvent properties

The International Fabricare Institute (a trade association for garment care and dry cleaning) conducted an independent, comprehensive study of the GreenEarth Cleaning system in 2002 to assess its effectiveness compared to tetrachloroethene (a dry cleaning solvent commonly known as PERC). The study found PERC and GreenEarth “virtually identical in terms of the ability to remove stains completely,” except for ballpoint pen and shoe polish stains.

The IFI also tested common materials that pose problems for regular drycleaners, such as leather, sequined and beaded garments. Specialty fabrics and decorative trims withstood the GreenEarth process much better than the PERC process—which can remove paint on sequins and dissolve some plastic beads, so that such items must be tested before cleaning.

A separate evaluation of alternative solvents by the IFI in 2007 using the same criteria rated GreenEarth as "good" in the areas of capital costs and health, and “excellent” in the categories of cleaning, environmental safety, ability to handle fabrics and trims and labor/operating efficiency. PERC received a “poor” rating in the areas of health and environmental safety and excellent in all other areas.[1]

Sorry about the damage :eek:

If it came back with pockets out as you say then it was washed and not dry cleaned unless it was requested, norm for most ships.

Sometimes just hanging after a shower overnight helps or one of those portable steamers.

Pressing by oneself is probably the best option in the DIY room, least you know the only damage might be oneself..

 

It certainly puts a damper on ones experience of a ships laundry ,,, which you do not want to test again.

Believe me, I tried to talk DH out of sending it in to be pressed, assuring him that I could do it far more quickly myself. It's not like I don't know what I am doing as for years I make his three-piece suits and dress shirts so, without bragging, I can safely say I am a pretty good tailor. I even made every stich of clothing that everybody (even he men) wore in our wedding.

He, however, had it I his head that Cunard would do an excellent job of pressing out the barely visible wrinkles on the back.

We have only been married for 44 years so he hasn't quite yet learned that it is always better to listen to your wife. :p

File a small claims in the UK for the full price of the item

Cheers.

We live just up the hiss from Cunard offices in Seattle. We will see what transpires.

I don't know if this is relevant to Cunard ?? - but I was recently on Sea Princess and was told that they no longer do "dry cleaning" for environmental reasons. Everything is washed.

Barry