Laundry questions - first time Celebrity cruiser

[Cruising-along]

Tinkmom I know how you feel! We took our first Celebrity cruise in 2011 on the Silhouette (loved it!) but I was shocked when we were told onboard that they had no laundry package to offer us, only the by-the-piece laundry. It cost a small fortune, it was a 15-day cruise. There was no stuff a bag deal on that cruise.

 

We will be on a 10-day cruise next summer, and plan to just use some of our OBC to do laundry. :(

[vincent15]

We sent a pair of khaki slacks each through the laundry service, each with a couple of spots marked for stain removal before laundering, and they came back wit the stains permanently in place due to the dryer.

Good for regular washing, but not if there are any stains on the clothing...

[shoelover536]

Can anyone else weigh in on the likelihood of the "stuff the bag" offer?

 

We are not elite (only select) and the cruise is 13 nights. Will this be offered at any point? Reading thru it seems hit or miss.

 

Even if its at the near end it would be helpful as we are doing 4 days in Barcelona on the back end.

 

I would love this option, especially for hard to ruin (and space consuming) items like DH socks, Ts and boxers, and I would not be thrilled to pay per item for these little things either. We will be gone for 3 weeks, so that's a lot of undies, lol!

 

TIA.

Edited May 20, 2014 by shoelover536

[WestLakeGirl]

It IS hit or miss. It depends on how busy the laundry is and you won't be able to know ahead of time.

[Redtravel]

I have not seen any stuff the bag prices in a long time. I used to love the laundry service . However, it has become terrible. On my last 3 cruises, they have used permanent markers on the collars of my knit shirts. They write on the shirt directly on light colored items. On dark items, they write on the tag. The ink looks awful especially when it bleeds through the fabric. I was especially shocked when my clothes came back thrown in a large plastic bag. It was poorly folded and looked like a bag of trash. Even my husband's no iron shirts came back with wrinkles. I will never use Celebrity laundry service again even though I get free laundry. For me, it will be wash and dry in the cabin.

[Christine Frances]

None of my cruise clothes need ironing. Everything I buy has to pass that test lol. Before we were Elite we could do a 14nt cruise and still take home clothes that we had not worn. I take a LOT of light tops, 3-4 casual/dress pants and wear everything more than once. Undies in the sink and good to go. DH on the other hand usually has some Tee's and shirts to be done but that's his choice. I am not doing laundry on my cruise lol

 

 

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[Redtravel]

Laundry last week on the Summit hit new lows. My previous Summit cruise 2 years ago had good laundry service. The change in service started getting bad in 2013. Prior to 2013, the laundry was very good. After you have had the laundry ruin some of your clothing, you will opt out.

[Wastegirl]

I have only cruised HAL in the past and got spoilt by their unlimited laundry offer, now my next two are on Celebrity and I am going to pack more drip dry clothes and do my washing in the sink. My question is - what sort of clothes line do you have on the Solstice class ships, we are away 18 nights in hot weather and I know I will want to do some washing. On HAL you have a line that stretches across the length of the bathtub but verandah rooms only have showers on the Solstice so I was wondering where to you put your clothes to dry?

[wwcruisers]

I have only cruised HAL in the past and got spoilt by their unlimited laundry offer, now my next two are on Celebrity and I am going to pack more drip dry clothes and do my washing in the sink. My question is - what sort of clothes line do you have on the Solstice class ships, we are away 18 nights in hot weather and I know I will want to do some washing. On HAL you have a line that stretches across the length of the bathtub but verandah rooms only have showers on the Solstice so I was wondering where to you put your clothes to dry?

 

A very good question -- but, you're not going to like the answer: zip, nada, nothing! :( All other X ships have retractable clothesline in the tubs (suites) and the shower (better than nothing) in the other cabins.

 

My solution was to buy a travel clothesline. If you have an REI near you (or online, if you don't) they have a very good stretchy clothesline. It has suctions cups and velcro loops on each end -- and does not require clothespins. :cool:

[Wastegirl]

Thanks wwcruisers, obviously they want us to use their laundry service and pay. I will look into getting a portable clothes line.

 

Goodness, if you are on a longer trip you don't want to haul 18 days worth of knickers with you, you would expect at least a little line to dry your bits and bobs. And what about swim suits, on our recent South Pacific trip we always had swimsuits, cover ups, snorkel gear etc etc drying in the bathroom, they wouldn't dry well without hanging up.

 

Maybe I should look at the Nudist cruises, that would solve all my problems :D

[Christine Frances]

Thanks wwcruisers, obviously they want us to use their laundry service and pay. I will look into getting a portable clothes line.

 

Goodness, if you are on a longer trip you don't want to haul 18 days worth of knickers with you, you would expect at least a little line to dry your bits and bobs. And what about swim suits, on our recent South Pacific trip we always had swimsuits, cover ups, snorkel gear etc etc drying in the bathroom, they wouldn't dry well without hanging up.

 

Maybe I should look at the Nudist cruises, that would solve all my problems :D

 

The M Class have retractable clothes lines and I am pretty sure on the S Class there are hooks in the shower for your line. Just bring some pins:D

[Redtravel]

I have only cruised HAL in the past and got spoilt by their unlimited laundry offer, now my next two are on Celebrity and I am going to pack more drip dry clothes and do my washing in the sink. My question is - what sort of clothes line do you have on the Solstice class ships, we are away 18 nights in hot weather and I know I will want to do some washing. On HAL you have a line that stretches across the length of the bathtub but verandah rooms only have showers on the Solstice so I was wondering where to you put your clothes to dry?

 

Unfortunately, Solstice type ships do not have a clothesline in the bathroom. I bring a flexoline. I have used it on many land trips too. I also bring a few plastic hangers. I found out the hard way that many wooden hangers when wet discolor shirts. I also do a test wash before a trip to see how long it takes for an item to dry. If you get stuck in a situation where there is too much humidity for clothes to dry, use the hairdryer.

[drarill]

Hi,

 

Have cruised several other lines, but our 10-day summer cruise on Infinity will be the first time sailing on Celebrity. (We have no sort of "status" so please don't confuse me with elite, concierge, captain's club, etc. perks. :D )

 

I found a recent laundry price list, but really want to know about the cost, size and availability of this "stuff the bag" one-price laundry. Are there discount coupons for first-timers? I am fine with wash and fold and nothing I anticipate shoving in this bag would be too delicate. The lack of self-service laundry is really stressing me, and I am trying to get my head around how much extra to allocate for laundry.

 

Thank you!:)

 

Last year on the Eclipse it was not offered. My friends, first time cruisers with Celebrity, were really disappointed.:(

[papadave]

Thanks to all for the information. While this was not the answer I was hoping for, it is better to know the situation advance rather than learn on board when it is too late to plan.

 

We have been pampered by HAL's laundry package and find it a top reason to cruise HAL.

 

If I begin to run out of clothing, my wardrobe will be heavy on new shirts with the word "Alaska" on each.

 

Everyone -- have a great cruise. Don't let little things ruin a great vacation.

[PTMary]

We have been pampered by HAL's laundry package and find it a top reason to cruise HAL.

 

Sorry, but I find this statement odd. I would never let laundry be a deciding factor in choosing a vacation of any kind, especially not making it a "top reason" for my decisions. I do the laundry at home and certainly don't want to do more of it while I am on vacation, so I always send it out, no matter what the cost. For shorter vacations I can easily bring enough clothing to make it through without having to deal with laundry issues. For longer vacations and cruises, I simply budget an extra $100 to have everything sent out. My husband and I prefer cruises in the 10 to 16 night range, and always do another week on our own on top of that. We are typically gone for three weeks. I have never spend more than $100 for both of us.

 

After spending upwards to $15,000 for these extended vacations, including travel, hotel stays, excursions, specialty restaurants, drinks, etc., that extra $100 to have our laundry done is less than 1% of the budget. Hardly worth fretting about.

Edited July 9, 2014 by PTMary

[Christine Frances]

Sorry, but I find this statement odd. I would never let laundry be a deciding factor in choosing a vacation of any kind, especially not making it a "top reason" for my decisions. I do the laundry at home and certainly don't want to do more of it while I am on vacation, so I always send it out, no matter what the cost. For shorter vacations I can easily bring enough clothing to make it through without having to deal with laundry issues. For longer vacations and cruises, I simply budget an extra $100 to have everything sent out. My husband and I prefer cruises in the 10 to 16 night range, and always do another week on our own on top of that. We are typically gone for three weeks. I have never spend more than $100 for both of us.

 

After spending upwards to $15,000 for these extended vacations, including travel, hotel stays, excursions, specialty restaurants, drinks, etc., that extra $100 to have our laundry done is less than 1% of the budget. Hardly worth fretting about.

 

Totally agree!!!!

 

BTW I am pretty sure S Class have hooks in the shower and I usually bring a travel clothes line for my undies as I don't send them out:D

[tinkmom]

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

 

For us $100 would not pay for cleaning several days worth of laundry for our family. And we pay much less than $15,000 for our cruise vacations, so I it is a signicantly larger percentage of our vacation budget which feel a bit unnecessary. So I totally understand being somehwat disappointed at the prospect of paying a premium rate for someone to launder our clothes when I would really prefer, both from a financial aspect and a personal privacy angle, to wash my own clothes.

 

Barring that, having unlimited, free laundry would be a second choice far ahead of paying per item . . .

[Go-Bucks!]

15 night Century (Jan 20- Feb 4, 2014) offered the 'stuff the bag' option one day only, in the second week. One bag per stateroom; $45.

 

 

That price is crazy! For $50 I can bring another suitcase full of clean clothes. :rolleyes:

 

That's one thing I love about Princess ships - self serve laundries on most all passenger decks. Great for long cruises. And if you're Elite or in a suite on Princess you get free unlimited laundry done by the ship!

 

I'm concerned about 2, 14 day Celebrity cruises we have coming up. I like to pack light and it's difficult to wash outer clothing in sinks.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Go-Bucks!

[boogs]

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

 

For us $100 would not pay for cleaning several days worth of laundry for our family. And we pay much less than $15,000 for our cruise vacations, so I it is a signicantly larger percentage of our vacation budget which feel a bit unnecessary. So I totally understand being somehwat disappointed at the prospect of paying a premium rate for someone to launder our clothes when I would really prefer, both from a financial aspect and a personal privacy angle, to wash my own clothes.

 

Barring that, having unlimited, free laundry would be a second choice far ahead of paying per item . . .

 

It's not a matter of opinions, but of priorities. For my wife and I, we value our vacation time MUCH more than the few $$$ it costs to send our laundry out. We go on vacations to get away from the mundane chores we have to do at home. That is why when we are on our vacations, we don't make our own beds, cook our own meals, clean our own rooms, put away our own dishes, or do our own laundry. It's all a matter of what is more important - saving a few $$$$ or enjoying our vacation with the minimum of non-vacation interruptions.

 

Like I said, it's a matter of priorities, not opinions.

Edited July 10, 2014 by boogs

[wwcruisers]

It's not a matter of opinions, but of priorities. For my wife and I, we value our vacation time MUCH more than the few $$$ it costs to send our laundry out. We go on vacations to get away from the mundane chores we have to do at home. That is why when we are on our vacations, we don't make our own beds, cook our own meals, clean our own rooms, put away our own dishes, or do our own laundry. It's all a matter of what is more important - saving a few $$$$ or enjoying our vacation with the minimum of non-vacation interruptions.

 

Amen, Brother! :cool:

[tinkmom]

LOL. It IS my personal opinion that not having a self-service laundry facility is a "con" for Celebrity.

 

Ir is further my opinion that spending a couple of hundred dollars to have someone else wash our clothes when we could throw in a couple of loads and handle our own dainties is an unwelcome expenditure when I am establishing our budgetary priorities.

 

WE would enjoy our vacation better if we had the cash to spend elsewhere, as well as our personal preference for handling our own clothing. You may feel otheriwse, as you are free to form your own opinions, of course.

[KonaJo]

I carry both the travel clothes line and a great little plastic hanger with a dozen clothes pins attached I found at Storables in the Laundry Department. It hangs anywhere and our undies are taken care of. I also have small packets of Woolite. I don't mind sending out the rest of the laundry. One other thing, we're on the B2B for 29 days this fall, and I'd like to pick up some extra hangers in Rome to add to our closet on board. Do any of you repeat cruisers out of Rome know of any Target type stores that I can pick up necessities that I don't want to stuff in my suitcase? Mahalo

[WestLakeGirl]

Ask your room steward for extra hangers and you'll get all you need

[PTMary]

LOL. It IS my personal opinion that not having a self-service laundry facility is a "con" for Celebrity.

 

Ir is further my opinion that spending a couple of hundred dollars to have someone else wash our clothes when we could throw in a couple of loads and handle our own dainties is an unwelcome expenditure when I am establishing our budgetary priorities.

 

WE would enjoy our vacation better if we had the cash to spend elsewhere, as well as our personal preference for handling our own clothing. You may feel otheriwse, as you are free to form your own opinions, of course.

 

If you feel so strongly about this, why are you cruising on Celebrity? Sounds like they aren't the cruise line for you at all.

 

It amazes me that people will purchase a product, then complain about it. It was your decision to book a cruise on a cruise line so unworthy that they don't have something so precious to you. Why do that to yourself?

 

Me, I don't spend my money on a product that I won't be satisfied with. It's a technique called "spending money wisely".

 

Also, I enjoy my vacations much better when I don't go into them already complaining about something.

 

As someone else said in an earlier post, this isn't about opinions. It's about priorities.

Edited July 10, 2014 by PTMary

[cookie_monster]

On previous cruises we have taken advantage of the elite bag of laundry to wash our clothes we fly home in....And without fail when we get the clothes back, I say to my husband, "Does this have a weird smell to you?" At which point he reminds me that I say that everytime we have used the laundry service. So, just be warned the clothes usually come back with a metallic smell..:eek: