Elite free laundry

[Gimer]

During the Ultimate Ships Tour in the Laundry area, we were told all Princess Ships now use the Aquatex Wash System. It's a water base cleaning system, environmentally efficient. They still do spot cleaning where needed. All the ship's laundry goes through the Aquatex Wash System. My guess is the ship's uniforms do not have any silk in them. Cleaned items do require more steam pressing.

[shellbeachjim]

Limited only by your ability to put stuff in their laundry bag.

 

 

The best way to get more in the laundry bag is to roll like items together. It's much better than trying to just stuff the bag full.

[TucsonRick]

How long would you expect to wait for the items to be returned? On one of my cruises I left the laundry bag for the steward and when i returned at lunchtime he was hanging the washed and pressed shirts in the wardrobe - wow :D

Was this a Princess cruise?

 

That's some service!

 

I generally never see ours back before the next evening before dinner. I'd like to think my shirts are having a festive vacation without me - a nice hot soak, maybe a massage, some time in the sauna, a little Pilates. I wouldn't want to rush them.

What about dry cleaning? How long does that take?

[VibeGuy]

What about dry cleaning? How long does that take?

 

Cleaning and Pressing comes back in the same interval. I sent out a silk/cashmere/linen blazer and it was back before dinner the next night.

 

As noted, the process onboard is wet cleaning, but I put my jackets through it on the regular, as sheep are meant to get wet rather than be washed in hydrocarbon solvent. I use an eco-cleaner here at home, so I'm used to what it does well and where it lacks (greasy spots sometimes need a second pass if they didn't catch them the first time - I usually put a safety pin on non-obvious ones.

[Astro Flyer]

During the Ultimate Ships Tour in the Laundry area, we were told all Princess Ships now use the Aquatex Wash System. It's a water base cleaning system, environmentally efficient. They still do spot cleaning where needed. All the ship's laundry goes through the Aquatex Wash System. My guess is the ship's uniforms do not have any silk in them. Cleaned items do require more steam pressing.

 

What about dry cleaning? How long does that take?

True dry cleaning is not available on the ship & only this process which apparently is okay & I've used it with my inexpensive wool suit.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[DrivesLikeMario]

No limit however we are very careful on what we send out.

It can be pretty harsh on some clothing. :(

 

I agree with that. Sent out a pair of dark blue jeans. They came back really light blue. :eek: Couldn't believe it.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

I agree with that. Sent out a pair of dark blue jeans. They came back really light blue. :eek: Couldn't believe it.

Next time only send jeans in the the "cleaning"- NEVER "washing".

[compozer]

I rarely send any of my clothes out. My dh wears mainly Tommy Bahama silk shirts everyday and I wash them myself and just send them down to be pressed but may start doing it myself since they don't look as nice as they use to. The iron base in the laundry room usually look pretty bad so I will bring a press cloth and use it so I don't get that junk all over the clothes.

I only put things in the dryer for a short time at home so there is no way I want them to use those hot dryers on things other than dh's underwear and socks.

I do love the way they press dress shirts - dh loves them starched. We use to wear blue jeans on the plane (during the winter months) and they use to press a crease down the middle. Dh loved those and I would press them like that for about a month after we returned. I can't get them to do that anymore - I put a note on the laundry slip but they still press them flat and not the best job - we really miss that. Even his tux shirt hasn't come back looking as nice as years ago.

I sometimes wonder if it is because there are so many elites these days and are told to get things out faster.

[geoherb]

I have sent shorts, T-shirts, underwear, socks, and polo shirts. Everything has come back fine. I haven't been on a cruise that was long enough that I needed to send out dress shirts or pants and jackets that can't be washed.

[OCruisers]

Next time only send jeans in the the "cleaning"- NEVER "washing".

 

Except for his undies, we always send things out to be CLEANED.

Never had a problem. :)

 

LuLu

[PescadoAmarillo]

Except for his undies, we always send things out to be CLEANED.

Never had a problem. :)

 

LuLu

I received this same advice when I was getting back so many items with holes in them on the Emerald Princess. I finally sent a nice T-shirt to Cleaning instead of laundry. It came back four sizes larger. I have no idea what they did with it to make that happen.

 

The safest advice I can give about the Elite Laundry is only use it on items you are fully prepared to have ruined. Ten times the laundry charge (or whatever they give as reparations these days) often does not cover the cost of the item and is small solace when you're cruising for long periods of time and were counting on wearing that article of clothing.

 

However, we had much better luck this past winter than in past winters with the things I did send out for laundry (my shorts and t-shirts). One laundry fail in 125 days of cruising is not bad (compared to one every few days on the Emerald Princess). Still, set the expectation that it's always a gamble and you'll be happier in the end.

[Colo Cruiser]

I received this same advice when I was getting back so many items with holes in them on the Emerald Princess. I finally sent a nice T-shirt to Cleaning instead of laundry. It came back four sizes larger. I have no idea what they did with it to make that happen.

 

 

Did you check please stretch by mistake?

[VibeGuy]

Stretching is actually a step in wet cleaning. Really. A super-conscientious wet cleaner will record dry measurements and then block garments back to them. Others will look for places that won't move (like shoulder seams on a jacket) and stretch everything else to fall into place.

 

It's great for sweaters - the cashmere nerds will tell you that wet cleaning is MUCH better for cashmere than dry cleaning, and my understanding is that beaded and sequined garments handle wet cleaning better, but yes, cotton garments can be overstretched. They should revert after the next wash/dry cycle.

 

Frankly, they can market this as a service. Who among us couldn't use slightly larger clothes after a cruise?

[RetiredNTraveling]

During the Ultimate Ships Tour in the Laundry area, we were told all Princess Ships now use the Aquatex Wash System. It's a water base cleaning system, environmentally efficient. They still do spot cleaning where needed. All the ship's laundry goes through the Aquatex Wash System. My guess is the ship's uniforms do not have any silk in them. Cleaned items do require more steam pressing.

 

Never had any issues sending out clothes to be cleaned & pressed! ;) As for laundry everything but DW's unmentionables:o are just fine.

http://kununurralaundry.com.au/aquatex-system

[AliceS]

Wouldn't it be better to take a photo of the porter, so if the suitcases were lost you could provide a picture of who you handed them to.

 

 

You win...this is one of my favorite CC posts ever! Love it. Alice:D

[Pierlesscruisers]

[quote name='billco']Wouldn't it be better to take a photo of the porter, so if the suitcases were lost you could provide a picture of who you handed them to.[/quote]
The porters take the bags to be scanned and drop them off there and go back after more bags. After being scanned, the bags are put into containers and moved by forklift to the pierside where they're loaded on the ship. I doubt very seriously if a porter would be able to stash a bag anywhere and be able to retrieve it later. They're more concerned with getting back to where the passengers are and collecting more tips. Besides, knowing which porter took your bags would be of no use, I wouldn't think, as other people are going to handle those bags (at least 4 more that I can think of after the person who originally picked up your bag: the porter putting the bag onto the conveyor into the security scanner, the one taking the bag off the conveyor and into the container to be taken to the ship, the one unloading it out of the container on the ship and the one taking it to your room!)

Tom

[shredie]

[quote name='Pierlesscruisers']The porters take the bags to be scanned and drop them off there and go back after more bags. After being scanned, the bags are put into containers and moved by forklift to the pierside where they're loaded on the ship. I doubt very seriously if a porter would be able to stash a bag anywhere and be able to retrieve it later. They're more concerned with getting back to where the passengers are and collecting more tips. Besides,[COLOR="Red"] knowing which porter took your bags [/COLOR]would be of no use, I wouldn't think, as other people are going to handle those bags (at least 4 more that I can think of after the person who originally picked up your bag: the porter putting the bag onto the conveyor into the security scanner, the one taking the bag off the conveyor and into the container to be taken to the ship, the one unloading it out of the container on the ship and the one taking it to your room!)
[/QUOTE]
I think he was making a joke. Haha and all that.

[Colo Cruiser]

[quote name='shredie']I think he was making a joke. Haha and all that.[/quote]

Where is BM the creator of all when you need em? :rolleyes:

[shredie]

[quote name='Colo Cruiser']Where is BM the creator of all when you need em? :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Seriously, I'm sure he invented MUTS, too. :D;)

[Pierlesscruisers]

[quote name='shredie']I think he was making a joke. Haha and all that.[/quote]

Whoosh!! That was the sound of his joke going right over my head. :rolleyes: Arghh!! Sorry 'bout that.

Tom

[magicnelly]

I love the Princess laundry service! I don't send out anything that's not easily washed and love when my dress blouses come back all nice and ironed :) I wear a lot of cotton and linens and it works out well for us. I send laundry out once a day to keep it easy.

But DH is Platinum and I am Elite, and his account gets charged for the items on a regular basis, even though I mark everything ELITE and put my name on it all - and the laundry is all mine....the customer service desk is used to me showing up and are always happy to take care of the charges - I just have to watch the charges.

Kudos to the laundry service!

[jimchi]

We have a frequent problem with our local cleaner and my wife's jeans, capri's etc. They put a crease in them, even though we mark "no creases". Even when they notice that request, they press them seam to seam so they come out with very wide legs. Have any of you had the same problem with Princess' laundry/cleaning, or men with their jeans coming back with creases?

[PescadoAmarillo]

[quote name='magicnelly']I love the Princess laundry service! I don't send out anything that's not easily washed and love when my dress blouses come back all nice and ironed :) I wear a lot of cotton and linens and it works out well for us. I send laundry out once a day to keep it easy.

But DH is Platinum and I am Elite, and his account gets charged for the items on a regular basis, even though I mark everything ELITE and put my name on it all - and the laundry is all mine....the customer service desk is used to me showing up and are always happy to take care of the charges - I just have to watch the charges.

Kudos to the laundry service![/QUOTE]

Have your name first on the booking and it resolves that issue.

[GeeDunk]

[quote name='jimchi'] Have any of you had the same problem with Princess' laundry/cleaning, or men with their jeans coming back with creases?[/QUOTE]

Have never had a pair of jeans returned, from the Princess laundry, with creases.

[shredie]

[quote name='jimchi']We have a frequent problem with our local cleaner and my wife's jeans, capri's etc. They put a crease in them, even though we mark "no creases". Even when they notice that request, they press them seam to seam so they come out with very wide legs. Have any of you had the same problem with Princess' laundry/cleaning, or men with their jeans coming back with creases?[/QUOTE]

I never sent jeans to the cleaners myself, but I wonder how many ways there are to press them? With creases or flat. Seems like there aren't more options. Don't the legs become less wide when someone puts a human leg in them?