Lack of self-serve laundry facilities...

[Funky Face Painter, UK]

On the UK P&O ships they have laundries. What I do is take a tube of travel wash and just wash the odd thing as and when during the holiday in the bathroom sink. Then if you wring it out and wrap in a towel and stand on it, does the trick. Quick dry on the balcony if you can or in the bathroom on a hanger.

[dzcruisers]

Can't see where this is a subject that would bring such remarks that I have read here. When it comes to doing laundry on a ship, I say "to each his own". Some want to, some don't. If it's so important to some, I suggest they only cruise on lines that offer it. And, if you decide to sail on the cruiseline that does not offer it, don't complain - since you knew up-front what you were getting.:confused:

 

IMHO these are the most sensible comments on the subject! I agree whole heartedly. We enjoy the challenge of seeing how tightly we can roll our clothes and how much we can get in our free Elite bag. The laundry is much better than I expected. Our clothes have come back magically folded or on hangars. I don't count what I put in the all that will fit bag, or at least I don't send my count. So far we have been very pleased even when we were paying for our bag of laundry.

[junglejane]

Can't see where this is a subject that would bring such remarks that I have read here. When it comes to doing laundry on a ship, I say "to each his own". Some want to, some don't. If it's so important to some, I suggest they only cruise on lines that offer it. And, if you decide to sail on the cruiseline that does not offer it, don't complain - since you knew up-front what you were getting.:confused:

 

It's sort of funny that these self service laundry threads tend to get a bit testy. I've seen it many times. I wish Celebrity had them, but it's not important enough to me to affect my choice of cruise.

 

Perhaps the more interesting question is: from Celebrity's viewpoint, why design a ship without them? Presumably they have their reasons. I'm not sure how long ago the Solstice class ships were designed, but probably after we saw the trend toward airlines imposing greater baggage restrictions and fees? I don't think Celebrity decided to omit self service laundries in order to save us from ourselves. Presumably they have business reasons for making that choice. Maybe the self service laundries take up a lot of room and are expensive to maintain, so it is a better business decision for Celebrity to make us use the ship's laundry service and charge us for that? Maybe they divert passengers from more profitable activities, like visiting the spa, bar or casino? Just my guesses.

[A Sixth?]

Is anyone else annoyed that there are no self-serve facilities on the Equinox?

 

What with the smaller amounts allowed on flights AND the extra charges for luggage, I wonder why Celebrity has little or no laundramats on board? Princess had laundry on every deck!

 

Really, who wants to send their underwear out for cleaning? I know "I'm on vacation", but I would really rather just do it myself.

 

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

 

I'm with you. More choice is better and the option for those who want to do a rince-a-roo onboard, especially these days when air allotments are so small, would be another "X" plus.

 

To those who "would never do laundry while on vacation, so what. You don't have to. It's not mandatory to use the laundry facilities if you choose not to is it? :)

[dkjretired]

This is just simply a business decision, they make more money in their opinion by not having the laundry rooms than they do by having them....We can give all the reasons either way but it is the business's decision to do this for the benefit of their stockholders..

[cruisestitch]

Will self quote here and add some other comments:

 

"there are many problems with self-service laundry. I have been on lines that had those machines, and seen the improper loading causing water to run down the halls, witnessed one person trying to dye clothes in the washer, which made the next person's laundry a weird purple color, heard the alarms when dryers started smoking."

 

One one cruise where the self-serve laundry facility was constantly out of order, the hue and cry was loud and furious. "I planned to do laundry and now I can't and I have to pay to have mine done!?!"." This way, you know from the start that there aren't any self-serve machines.

[Gracie115]

I'm with you. More choice is better and the option for those who want to do a rince-a-roo onboard, especially these days when air allotments are so small, would be another "X" plus.

 

To those who "would never do laundry while on vacation, so what. You don't have to. It's not mandatory to use the laundry facilities if you choose not to is it? :)

 

Well you're right...but the OP DID ask how others felt...I told her....what's the problem in that??....I personally don't care what anybody else does on their vacation...but I'm not doing laundry...

[trvlrs]

Is anyone else annoyed that there are no self-serve facilities on the Equinox?

 

What with the smaller amounts allowed on flights AND the extra charges for luggage, I wonder why Celebrity has little or no laundramats on board? Princess had laundry on every deck!

 

Really, who wants to send their underwear out for cleaning? I know "I'm on vacation", but I would really rather just do it myself.

 

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

I am with you...I think it would have been a nice touch to have a laundromat on board. I don't like sending our stuff to be washed and I know we will have to wash on a regular basis our workout clothes. I am not happy but it is the only solution. I take care of my clothes and I am not sure how careful the laundry service is on board. I've had a couple of items ruined (not quite but they've never looked the same) after sending them for laundry in upscale hotels...Back to the sink for both of us:(

[A Sixth?]

Well you're right...but the OP DID ask how others felt...I told her....what's the problem in that??....I personally don't care what anybody else does on their vacation...but I'm not doing laundry...

 

Here we go again.....:rolleyes:

[Gracie115]

Here we go again.....:rolleyes:

 

Geez....sorry my opinion offends you.....

[02143]

Which Princess ships have laundry rooms? Anything built recently? Every cruise line I'm familiar with (see sig) either doesn't have self-service laundry or phased it out because they can use the space for revenue as a cabin. It's an industry-wide trend, like airlines cutting meals.

[madelinerose]

oops

[madelinerose]

Guess I'll just have to do my "dainties" in the sink. I've got this packing thing down to a science...

 

 

OK, I'll ask. Why not pack enough undergarments, which take up no room, for 2 weeks? :confused:

[tom_uk]

Which Princess ships have laundry rooms? Anything built recently? Every cruise line I'm familiar with (see sig) either doesn't have self-service laundry or phased it out because they can use the space for revenue as a cabin. It's an industry-wide trend, like airlines cutting meals.

 

All the Grand class have them, both with Princess and P&O. P&O generally have (what we call) launderettes on almost of their ships, and I imagine that's why Princess have them: Grand Princess was designed & built when Princess was owned by P&O. There's at least one launderette on all the main passenger decks, and they generally have multiple washers & driers in each.

 

We use the launderette when we're on a P&O cruise and don't bother when we're on Celebrity. The fact that P&O tend to have longer cruises is a factor here, and also more formal nights: on a 14-night P&O cruise there will be 4 formal nights. I only have two formal shirts. P&O also have a number of quite long cruises: 17 nights, 20 nights or longer aren't uncommon.

 

For me it's easy to pop the clothes in before breakfast; they'll be washed afterwards. Then into the drier for 30 minutes, and it's done: clean undies & shirts. It just suits to do it that way rather than send everything off for dry-cleaning.

[tom_uk]

OK, I'll ask. Why not pack enough undergarments, which take up no room, for 2 weeks? :confused:

 

Because I probably don't have enough. 14 days x 2 (one pair for daytime, one pair for the evening) = 28 pairs of (what we call) underpants. At home we're washing every three days, so the required stock level is a lot lower than 28! My wife certainly doesn't have 28 bras.

[02143]

All the Grand class have them, both with Princess and P&O.

 

Interesting, looks like I was wrong. Thanks.

[madelinerose]

Because I probably don't have enough. 14 days x 2 (one pair for daytime, one pair for the evening) = 28 pairs of (what we call) underpants. At home we're washing every three days, so the required stock level is a lot lower than 28! My wife certainly doesn't have 28 bras.

 

 

Hi Tom. My quote was for the OP, unless she's your wife. :confused:

 

If she is, then maybe I have too many undergarments! :D

[lel5344]

We still pack too much!

 

Actually, we have our packing down pretty well and we can each take enough for a 10day cruise in 2 26" rollabouts that weigh about 38-42 lbs each. But if a self-service laundry is available, we might utilize it on a port day when we've returned to the ship early or when we decide to get off the ship a little later. The self-service laundry is usually a pretty quiet place to read (based on our Princess experiences).

 

But since Celebrity doesn't have self-service laundries, we tend to pack more underwear and fewer shirts, pants, etc. Might mean we'll wear a smart casual outfit a 2nd or third time, but since that's only in the evening for 4 or 5 hours, that's ok with us.

 

We adapt to the situation...

[smtcan]

I can never understand why people get so upset about the idea of self serve laundries. If I was traveling with small children, as I'm sure many of us have done, I would be glad to be able to launder their clothes rather than pay fees for their multiple daily outfits. I'm not sure if I would use one now, but we carried a clothesline on our Solstice B2B and washed quick drying items in the sink and sent others to the laundry.

Sheila

[joncos]

Don't need laundry service on 7day, but hate wrinkled clothes wish we could bring a steamer or iron on board. It seem to me most cruise lines are getting farther and farther away from customer service.

[safein]

I guess I have to weigh in here with my 2 to 3 cents here. As having sailed on Princess and Celebrity, I do miss having the ability to do my own laundry, especially on the last day, being able to pack clean clothes and immediately put them away when I got home.

 

However, from the Celebrity standpoint, I also understand what they were thinking. The decision (and this is pre-RCI) not include self-serve laundries on the ships was not from an economic standpoint, nor a manpower one. The reason WHY there are no self laundries on any of the Celebrity ships is they want people to have a fabulous time and not have to worry about doing the everyday things (like laundry.) I did question TPTB as to why none were included when the Century class was being built and that was the reason given. And my company did have a major say so and that philosophy has carried through ever since.

 

Anita - former OSG employee (former 49% shareholder of Celebrity)

[mferranti]

I can never understand why people get so upset about the idea of self serve laundries. If I was traveling with small children, as I'm sure many of us have done, I would be glad to be able to launder their clothes rather than pay fees for their multiple daily outfits. I'm not sure if I would use one now, but we carried a clothesline on our Solstice B2B and washed quick drying items in the sink and sent others to the laundry.

Sheila

So, no laundries may lead to fewer small children on the ship? Win-win! :D

[CathyCruises]

They had one on the Tahitian Princess (Old R Ship) and it happened to be right across the hall from our cabin. It was great when we came back dripping wet from the beach and snorkeling to throw the wet and sandy suits, shorts, and tees right in the washer. On that type of vacation, it is great to have.

 

But on our Europe cruises, which are so port intensive, I don't think I had the energy to bother with washing and happily sent out whatever I needed clean. Obviously no wet sandy clothes though on that type of cruise. . .but I can see both points of view.

 

I admit that I love taking home clean clothes rather than a suitcase of dirty ones. . .

[hajekfam]

We have cruised Celebrity since 1992 and have never needed to have a self-service laundry - even on our 28 day cruise (two 14 night back to back) with a precruise and post cruise stay making our total time away from home 6 weeks.

We did send things out - pants, shirts, shorts, tops. But I did bring enough undergarments and socks - they weigh very little and don't take up very much room.

I do like the fact that Celebrity does not have a self-serve laundry - if they did, I probably would spend some of my vacation time doing laundry (as I did when we did longer land vacations). What a waste of precious vacation time! On Celebrity - I send it out and go up to pool and relax with a nice tropical drink!!!! :)

[Solstice23]

Is anyone else annoyed that there are no self-serve facilities on the Equinox?

 

What with the smaller amounts allowed on flights AND the extra charges for luggage, I wonder why Celebrity has little or no laundramats on board? Princess had laundry on every deck!

 

Really, who wants to send their underwear out for cleaning? I know "I'm on vacation", but I would really rather just do it myself.

 

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

Nope, we perfer then not on the ship, just use the laundry service. We use the dry cleaning for my suit instead of at home it's same cost and comes back pressed! We find we like it without them better