Problem with HAL's detergent

[3rdGenCunarder]

Has anyone had an allergy or sensitivity to HAL's detergent? We've used the laundry service on several cruises andhad no problems, but on our recent cruise on Amsterdam I developed a patchy rash. I couldn't understand it. I'd never had anything like it before.

 

I have sensitive skin, so I travel with my own soap, shampoo, condition, lotions. (PITA, but better than having unhappy dry skin) The rash was in places where clothing tends to rub, so I thought about what I'd been wearing. Nothing new, so it couldn't be the "finishing" chemicals in new fabrics. Then it struck me that I had been wearing t-shirts and underwear that had been through their laundry. So I think it was the detergent they use. Or maybe they weren't rinsing wash loads well enough.

 

It happened the last 2-3 days of the cruise, starting small and getting worse by the time we left, even though I was careful to wear only things that hadn't been in the laundry. When I got home, I went to my doctor, who agreed that it's the likely cause of my "contact dermatitis." Whether it's a true allergy or a sensitivity doesn't really matter, the skin is irritated. Cortisone cream is gradually getting rid of it.

 

Has anyone else had a reaction like this?

 

And how's this for irony--we just hit 4 stars on this cruise, and one of the perks we now get is free laundry. :eek:

[avian777]

My spouse had this same experience a few years ago. When we returned from the cruise, she went to her doctor who sent her to a dermatologist who diagnosed her as having extreme contact dermatitis, with specific allergy to virtually all types of fragrances and fragrance enhancers used in soaps, detergents, shampoos, and (of course) perfumes. She cannot even sleep in beds with linens that have been laundered in conventional detergents. To make a long story short, we now take all sorts of precautions whenever we travel, including having our TA request special laundering of bed linens and towels in non-perfumed detergents at hotels and aboard ship. We have never experienced any problems or pushback with these requests, and (most importantly) my spouse has never has an allergic reaction on (or after) any of our HAL cruises.

Bottom line: I suggest you consult a good dermatologist before traveling again.

Smooth sailing (yn) (yn) (yn)

[sail7seas]

My spouse had this same experience a few years ago. When we returned from the cruise, she went to her doctor who sent her to a dermatologist who diagnosed her as having extreme contact dermatitis, with specific allergy to virtually all types of fragrances and fragrance enhancers used in soaps, detergents, shampoos, and (of course) perfumes. She cannot even sleep in beds with linens that have been laundered in conventional detergents. To make a long story short, we now take all sorts of precautions whenever we travel, including having our TA request special laundering of bed linens and towels in non-perfumed detergents at hotels and aboard ship. We have never experienced any problems or pushback with these requests, and (most importantly) my spouse has never has an allergic reaction on (or after) any of our HAL cruises.

Bottom line: I suggest you consult a good dermatologist before traveling again.

Smooth sailing (yn) (yn) (yn)

 

 

I have sent out laundry on HAL cruises for decades on almost all HAL ships and neither my DH or I ever had a problem with any of it in terms of allergies vbut neither of us suffer allergies. Of course, that is so personal and such an individual thing.

[iflyrc5]

My DW has issues with many things causing a skin rash but she has not had any issues with the laundry on HAL.

[Krazy Kruizers]

So far we have not had any problems with rashes from clothes that were sent out to the laundry.

But DH got a bad rash when HAL switched to the Elemis products. Now I pack all our own shampoos, conditioners and hand soaps.

[StLouisCruisers]

We had table mates on the Prinsendam in May, one of whom developed a rash from the sheets, since he hadn't used their laundry facilities. He had never had rashes from detergents before, and saw the ship's doctor for medication. The ship then used sheets in his cabin not washed in the detergent that caused the rash but rather a non-fragrance type detergent.