Reserving a washing machine??

This has to be a first!!! We are on board the lovely *** ( name blocked to protect the guilty) right now. We gathered up our laundry and headed to our deck 3 launderette . No luck so up we go to deck 4. We walk in and it's full of people so we ask if there's a washing machine available and immediately this woman sitting on the couch says in a very assertive manner "I have one reserved for my friend!!!" Whoa! This is a new one for us.

Luckily for her there were 2 machines open. Had there been only one, I'd have looked into the corridor and, if I had seen this friend of hers, I'd have deferred. No friend? I'd have considered that a no-show and used the machine. First come, first serve.

Other than this quirky little incident we've been enjoying ourselves more than ant human has a right to. [emoji7]

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The assertive woman was probably an expat from mass market cruise lines and also "reserves" poolside loungers and sunbeds, seats in the theater, chairs in the buffet, seats on excursion buses, and she probably buts in line pretending she doesn't see the other 50 people waiting.

In fewer words - low class and shows it at every opportunity.

I have seen occasions where one woman assumed the role of the laundry traffic cop - keeping track of who was "next in line" for a washer or dryer. But also helping folks know which was available and assisting others with the operation of the machines. When her stuff was done I admit I picked up her mantle and continued til I was done with my stuff. Folks didn't resent It; instead they appreciated it. But I never saw anybody or was part of serving as proxy for somebody else except in the spirit of helpfulness. This person you encountered was out of line for sure.

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And we've encountered hotel and cruise ship (Princess) washing machines with a load of wet clothes that have finished and nobody in sight. We remove them and place them somewhere clean, if possible, and proceed with our wash and dry. More often than not, we'll finish our laundry and those wet clothes are still sitting there.

Wasn't it Charles Shultz that said "I love mankind, it's people I can't stand"?

I found the best times to do laundry was early morning, or evening. Torward the end of cruise, it got crowded.

I walk into the laundry rm to retrieve my clothes from dryer. A woman was standing there with my nightgown in her hands. I said "That is my nightgown." She said something like" oh, these are yours? I was just going to fold your clothes. "I took my clothes and as I left I heard another say to her," you handled that well!" I was about two mintues late by my watch.:eek:

Another time a young man came into laundry. I told him my wash would be done in five mintues, the other machines a lot longer,. He said great . " I am not looing forward to going home to snow." I asked him where he was from .

He said MN. I said so am I! He lives in St. Paul about a mile from my house.

Headline:Neighbors meet in the fifth floor laundry on the Viking Sea. :cool:

Six degrees of separation is alive and well.:)

" an expat from mass market cruise lines", love the phrase, Sargasso Pirate.

The laundry room "etiquette" sounds like what goes on in the laundry rooms in the residence halls at college :) (I say this from years of experience working in Residence Life at a certain state university- haha).

Beware the home-made "Out Of Order, Do Not Use" notices brought on board by some guests! These should be taken to Reception for disposal (if unofficial) and not left lying for re-use!

Beware the home-made "Out Of Order, Do Not Use" notices brought on board by some guests! These should be taken to Reception for disposal (if unofficial) and not left lying for re-use!

Oooo no!!![emoji79] People actually do that? Never saw that on the Star in 2016 or the Sky last January. Except for one I know was legitmate placed there by a crew member, after i'd called in the malfunction.

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I was relating this story to some cruise friends over the weekend and the question of etiquette and reserving washing machines on cruise ships could not be settled. The group was pretty well evenly divided, except for one creative individual who added a bit of flair.

Part of the group thought that to reserve a washing machine, one needed to place a rumpled pool towel, an old paperback, and a flip flop on TOP of the lid of the machine that you want to hold until you return from your excursion.:mad:

Another part of the group thought you should place your rumpled pool towel, paperback, and flip flop INSIDE the machine to reserve it until you are good and ready.:eek:

The creative thinker added that you should place the rumpled towel inside the machine, leave the lid open, drape one end of the towel over the open lid, and secure it with a couple of big plastic clips, THEN add your paperback and flip flop inside the machine.:evilsmile:

A new question arose. How many of the big plastic clips per person are needed for a cruise in order to reserve your poolside lounger, a sunbed, a washing machine, and a theater seat? We'll discuss this one next time.:')

SargassoPirate, you're very funny but your imagination is running away with you! Refer to your post #2 And I think you have the gist of my "It's reserved" lady. After 2 weeks in Sky, the incident was never repeated and trust me, due to exceptionally warm weather, we did a lot of wash!

What is worthy of reflection is the question of whether it's beyond the pale to take someone's wash out of the machine if they're not there to claim it after a reasonable time. After all, washers are at a premium and it's clearly stated what the wash time is.... Personally speaking I wouldn't handle anyone else's wash but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't be irritated if a machine with finished wash was sitting there for over 10 minutes. I think being that late collecting your clothes is inconsiderate. Luckily the overwhelming number of Viking passengers are contentious and we've never faced that scenario. [emoji4]

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The assertive woman was probably an expat from mass market cruise lines and also "reserves" poolside loungers and sunbeds, seats in the theater, chairs in the buffet, seats on excursion buses, and she probably buts in line pretending she doesn't see the other 50 people waiting.

 

 

 

In fewer words - low class and shows it at every opportunity.

I think she may have been on our Russian river cruise last year! [emoji6][emoji23]

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Oh dear. I meant to say most Viking passengers are "conscientious" and considerate in their laundry use....

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True story. Male passenger emptied an underwear wash from an untended washing machine, folding the "smalls" neatly into one of the free laundry baskets. After a while, the owner of the "smalls" arrived and threw a hissy fit when she found that a man had been handling her smalls, now neatly folded. She escalated matters by walloping the man around the head.

Next morning, the owner of the smalls and her husband (who was not a happy chappy) were seen on the dockside with their baggage, having been red-carded by the Captain. Now comes the good bit. The dockside was on one of the smaller islands in the South Seas which had only two or three (smallish) flights to New Zealand per week and these were fully booked, months in advance.

There is a moral to this story: If you are of a feisty temperament, return in good time for your washing!

This was the talk of the laundry for days. Everybody sided with the man.

We always returned 10 minutes prior to our laundry supposedly being done. And everyone in the laundry room had a system...those waiting in line had their bags in line, and we all knew which ones were in what order. We were very civilized! (But if someone had taken mine out of the dryer because I wasn't there and had folded it.....I would have been very happy!!:):))

We always returned 10 minutes prior to our laundry supposedly being done. And everyone in the laundry room had a system...those waiting in line had their bags in line, and we all knew which ones were in what order. We were very civilized! (But if someone had taken mine out of the dryer because I wasn't there and had folded it.....I would have been very happy!!:):))

Hahaha...me too!