Laundry service

[HubbieO]

Sailing Connie in January. Our first cruise on Celebrity, and my wife is concerned about the laundry service. I'm trying to minimize luggage by convincing her to use the laundry service instead of packing 16 days worth of clothes, but she is very dubious. Has anyone experienced shrinkage/fading/color bleeding with laundry items? Do they use coldwater to wash colors?

[sptrout]

I have no idea how they wash clothes, but they have always done a fine job for us for what we believe to be a fair price. I agree, no reason to pack 16 days of clothes (really 32 if you consider different day and night clothes).

[Bet & Peg]

We sailed on the Connie for a 12-day Baltic Cruise last July and had no problems with the laundry. On about day 10 they had a "special" - stuff a bag for $29 (I think) and all was washed and returned in perfect condition - I did note to please "wash in cold water" but that was just my request for colors and shrinking. We've also used a similar bag on the Summit and had no problems.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!!

[SusieV]

I have had an item ruined in X's laundry- I requested that it not be put in the dryer and noted it in capital letters on the special requests section of the form.

 

Somehow the notation was missed and the item was returned completely out of shape and I had to discard it. I immediately went to Guest Relations and filed a claim. Fortunately the item was brand new and I still had my original receipt at home so after several weeks of phone calls, I did receive reimbursement for the item. It was rather a pain to follow up about it though.

 

We still use the dry cleaning services now but I'll never send an item through the laundry that needs special instructions again.

 

Honestly- I like packing lots of clothes and having choices and being able to wear different things in the day and at night. I know if I wear the same thing twice even if no one else does. It's just more fun for me this way, IMO. I know not a lot of people agree with me in this day of baggage charges but I'd rather pay $25 and bring what I want (six pairs of shoes for my upcoming 11 night cruise!).

[C&F]

Am I correct in assuming Celebrity has no self serve laundromats?

[SusieV]

Am I correct in assuming Celebrity has no self serve laundromats?

 

Yes, you are.

[Seenie]

Lack of self-service laundry annoyed me at first. Then I decided that it provided me with the perfect excuse to be lazy and enjoy my holiday! :D

 

They do a good job, at a very reasonable price. My travel wardrobe is mostly darks, and there's nothing that needs special care. I've never had a problem.

 

Oh ya, I was hung up about sending my undies out. I got over it.

[monkeyinhat]

I am planning on using the Elite perks and get a free wash for some undies, pj's , socks etc.

 

anyone know how long it takes to get this wash and fold service returned? is it next day service?

[cruisestitch]

Next day service costs extra, but I usually send my "free" bag out one night and get it back the morning of the second day after. A couple of times it has come back on the next day, so I think it depends to some extent on how busy the laundry people are.

[dkjretired]

I am planning on using the Elite perks and get a free wash for some undies, pj's , socks etc.

 

anyone know how long it takes to get this wash and fold service returned? is it next day service?

 

I got mine back the next day but sent it out early in the morning and it was returned later the next day. Also, make sure you read you Elite coupon as they require the free wash to be done I believe three days before the end of the cruise...

[greeneg]

We used the Elite Coupons twice on our recent TA and it was two day service on both. At least that's what we got.

[monkeyinhat]

Thank you for your helpful answers

[dzcruisers]

We've used laundry on several ships and the only one that did not do a good job was the Equinox TA this fall. Hopefully that problem got cleared up after many complaints from different passengers.

 

On the Infinity and Summit the service was great! They had magic folding that looked better than some of my ironing. I did not send anything delicate. We've used the dry cleaning and it was great also.

[Route6A]

I am planning on using the Elite perks and get a free wash for some undies, pj's , socks etc.

 

anyone know how long it takes to get this wash and fold service returned? is it next day service?

 

Just did this on the Equinox, and they put the darks with the whites, even though I noted to wash whites with whites only. All the whites came back grey. Everything came back rather a mess. Socks not mated. Some things inside out. From then on, I paid for the laundry and sent out whites alone, with instructions to wash only with whites. Darks sent alone, too. The laundry was really not done very well at all. Shirts needing ironing were not ironed well. I am always concerned with ship's laundry and do not send out good clothing. And, we were in a Royal Suite on this trip. No special service at all. So, beware...I have had the same problem on Holland America.

[HubbieO]

Thanks to everyone for their input. Unfortunately, the responses have been mixed, and the wife remains dubious. I guess I'm condemned to hauling around lots of luggage. :(

[Project_gal]

Having now sailed on Constellation twice - our first cruise in 2006 and this November - as well as Infinity [last year] and Millennium [in 2007], IMHO Constellation has the worst laundry of the three ships. On Infinity, it was perfect and the "wash and fold" service came back perfectly pressed. On Constellation it was OKish. The "wash and fold" was definitely just washed and folded. Items such as shirts and trousers needed pressing before wearing. Obviously, I cannot really complain because they did what it said on the tin but some of the whites came back rather off-white [slightly grey or slightly yellow] as if washed with other colours. Otherwise it was fine and the dry cleaning was perfect. It was not bad enough to stop me using it.

 

Sue

[cruisinnannie]

Sailing Connie in January. Our first cruise on Celebrity, and my wife is concerned about the laundry service. I'm trying to minimize luggage by convincing her to use the laundry service instead of packing 16 days worth of clothes, but she is very dubious. Has anyone experienced shrinkage/fading/color bleeding with laundry items? Do they use coldwater to wash colors?

 

We spent three weeks on the Connie from late October into November. We sent several bags of laundry (wash/fold) and they came back folded but very wrinkled and they appeared to be overdried. We sent back items to be pressed and his tuxedo shirt was not starched (as requested) and was very wrinkled. The Connie does not do a great job with laundry compared to the Summit.

[HubbieO]

I'm puzzled by the several negative comments about Connie's laundry. I would think the machines on all the M class ship are the same. Which means that the poor laundry service is due to improper procedures or lack of care by the crew member doing the laundry. But, since the crew does rotate every 3-6 monhts, how can it be consistently bad?

[Project_gal]

I'm puzzled by the several negative comments about Connie's laundry. I would think the machines on all the M class ship are the same. Which means that the poor laundry service is due to improper procedures or lack of care by the crew member doing the laundry. But, since the crew does rotate every 3-6 monhts, how can it be consistently bad?

 

I am not sure but the different M-class ships seem to have different "personalities" and, I assume, this is due to different policies in place which our survive the personnel on board. I have raised the issue of the laundry on Constellation in my feedback to Celebrity and so would be interested to see [via these boards] if there is any improvement in the future.

 

Sue

[bovs]

Just did this on the Equinox, and they put the darks with the whites, even though I noted to wash whites with whites only. All the whites came back grey. Everything came back rather a mess. Socks not mated. Some things inside out. From then on, I paid for the laundry and sent out whites alone, with instructions to wash only with whites. Darks sent alone, too. The laundry was really not done very well at all. Shirts needing ironing were not ironed well. I am always concerned with ship's laundry and do not send out good clothing. And, we were in a Royal Suite on this trip. No special service at all. So, beware...I have had the same problem on Holland America.

-----------------------------------

Sure hope you complained to the cabin steward or went done to the purser's desk and showed it to them. That will help future cruisers on the ship. Simply ask them, "Would you like your laundry returned like this? Is this Celebrity quality, in your eyes?"

It's the squeeky wheel that gets the grease!;)

[Lsimon]

We've always had great service from the ship's laundry on all the Celebrity cruises we've taken. No issues with clolors fading or whites not coming back looking perfect. Pressing has always looked great. Wash and fold items have sometimes looked like they were pressed before they were folded.

 

We don't hesitate to use the laundry a lot when needed.

 

 

I am planning on using the Elite perks and get a free wash for some undies, pj's , socks etc.

anyone know how long it takes to get this wash and fold service returned? is it next day service?

 

They have "next day" standard service and "same day" express service.

Standard service returns the items before 5PM the next day for items sent in during the morning. Express service costs 50% extra for same day service - send in the morning and you'll have by 5PM that day. Times on the forms are listed as "in before 9AM" but the stewards seldom take the items until they make up the room mid morning even if I mention to them before 9AM that I have laundry to be sent in.