Coin Operated Laundry

[djw545]

Does the Nieuw Amsterdam have a self-service coin operated laundry room?  All of the other Holland-America ships that I have been on have had them, but I cannot locate a laundry on any of the deck plans.  Thanks in advance!

[Navybikermom]

Unfortunately, none of the current ships have self-serve laundry any more 😔. 

[FlaMariner]

Fortunately, all of the current ships have a very reasonable laundry service that does not require you to haul your undies down the hall like in the dorm.

[Banditswife]

I believe the last HAL cruise we were on offered laundry service @ $20 per bag.  You can stuff that bag pretty full.  I have seen posts where laundry was $30 per bag, so price might have gone up, but still a good deal & they do a decent job.  Had an issue 1x with a bra- 1 hook was bent out of shape making it unusable.  So I just don't send bras any more.  Maybe hooking it before sending it would eliminate any issues.

[FlaMariner]

Also, unlimited laundry is like $7/$9 a day for the cabin....Higher in Europe (fancier water, I guess LOL). 

 

Send it out everyday...Comes back nice and folded or on hangers.

[Gunther1]

We use the all-you-can-fit-in-a-bag option....as you can see, if you don't just stuff clothes (the secret it to roll the clothes after carefully stacked), you can fit a LOT in their bag.

 

This picture doesn't include the six t shirts and 5 dress shirts....the attendant had to deliver them later.

Edited October 27, 2022 by Gunther1

[Gunther1]

I found the picture we took with the full amount of clothes :). 

[crystalspin]

14 hours ago, Banditswife said:

 $20 per bag.  You can stuff that bag pretty full.  I have seen posts where laundry was $30 per bag, so price might have gone up, but still a good deal & they do a decent job.

$20 = $30 if either end of the cruise is in Europe. Here is my list (didn't think to take a photo like @Gunther1. I thought I did pretty good stuffing the bag but looks like Gunther did even better!

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by crystalspin

[SusieKIslandGirl]

It's funny-I was sad when the coin-op laundry facilities were no longer available but now we've booked a Princess cruise and realized I'll have to do my own laundry. HAL's laundry prices are so worth it!!

[FlaMariner]

1 hour ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

It's funny-I was sad when the coin-op laundry facilities were no longer available but now we've booked a Princess cruise and realized I'll have to do my own laundry. HAL's laundry prices are so worth it!!

 

Advice based on my Princess experience last March.....

 

Before you shlep your undies down the hallway and put them in an empty washing machine, buy your tokens first.....We had quite an experience using the (epic fail) Medallion and it would not sell us tokens and we had to make a trip to the front desk.

 

I agree......HAL laundry is the best deal at sea!

 

(We are "one and done" with Princess, not because of laundry but a laundry list of other things)

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Banditswife]

we did the unlimited laundry on our 1st HAL cruise.  It was great, but found I could get by with doing it by the bag.  I think on our 21 day we sent it out 3-4 times.  3 bags X $20= $60  vs $7 X 21 days = $147.  Not sure we stuffed as much in the bag as above.  We did roll ea piece allowing more to be stuffed in the bag.  I love the way they send it back to you w/ tissue paper & a gold seal. 

 

I wondered how to tip on this service.  Would cabin steward deserve a tip due to picking it up & bringing it back &/or should the person actually doing it get the tip?  How do you go about tipping for this great service? And what would be the customary tip for this service?  Or is it covered under "crew appreciation?"

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Banditswife

[FlaMariner]

12 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

I wondered how to tip on this service. 

 

Good question....Along with always leaving the tips in place on the onboard account (and sometimes adding more):

 

What I've done.....and I am sure others have their own opinions and thoughts....and hoping I do not get judged or flamed or you never know on here...but here goes:

 

• we always tip the 2 room stewards at the end of the cruise with a few dollars per day as "extra" (20 bucks for a week cruise, perhaps)
• I toss a couple of dollars (2 or 3 bucks) in the laundry bag w/the folded up laundry sheet (we send it out daily and use the "unlimited" option)

[Banditswife]

3 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Good question....Along with always leaving the tips in place on the onboard account (and sometimes adding more):

 

What I've done.....and I am sure others have their own opinions and thoughts....and hoping I do not get judged or flamed or you never know on here...but here goes:

 

• we always tip the 2 room stewards at the end of the cruise with a few dollars per day as "extra" (20 bucks for a week cruise, perhaps)
• I toss a couple of dollars (2 or 3 bucks) in the laundry bag w/the folded up laundry sheet (we send it out daily and use the "unlimited" option)

Thank you, I had never thought of putting it in the bag with the laundry list.  Great idea.  We've never taken off or even reduced the amount for "crew appreciation."   If a waiter or cabin steward goes above & beyond, we tip extra at the end as you suggested.

[BetsyS.]

6 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Good question....Along with always leaving the tips in place on the onboard account (and sometimes adding more):

 

What I've done.....and I am sure others have their own opinions and thoughts....and hoping I do not get judged or flamed or you never know on here...but here goes:

 

• we always tip the 2 room stewards at the end of the cruise with a few dollars per day as "extra" (20 bucks for a week cruise, perhaps)
• I toss a couple of dollars (2 or 3 bucks) in the laundry bag w/the folded up laundry sheet (we send it out daily and use the "unlimited" option)

My stepfather and I were on the Niew Statendam in August. When the laundry came back, there was a note signed by the person who did the laundry thanking us for using the laundry service. The next time we sent out laundry we put cash in an envelope with the person's name on it and thank you.  We did that every time.

         We also gave our room steward cash at the end of the cruise and kept the

tips on our onboard accounts. The crew work long hours and they do a great job.

[Banditswife]

1 hour ago, BetsyS. said:

My stepfather and I were on the Niew Statendam in August. When the laundry came back, there was a note signed by the person who did the laundry thanking us for using the laundry service. The next time we sent out laundry we put cash in an envelope with the person's name on it and thank you.  We did that every time.

         We also gave our room steward cash at the end of the cruise and kept the

tips on our onboard accounts. The crew work long hours and they do a great job.

Another great suggestion.  I am guessing with the signed note- crew member's name, I could also take a tip to guest services & have them deliver it to the laundry staff.

[AFNavigator]

22 hours ago, Banditswife said:

I believe the last HAL cruise we were on offered laundry service @ $20 per bag.  You can stuff that bag pretty full.  I have seen posts where laundry was $30 per bag, so price might have gone up, but still a good deal & they do a decent job.  Had an issue 1x with a bra- 1 hook was bent out of shape making it unusable.  So I just don't send bras any more.  Maybe hooking it before sending it would eliminate any issues.

Domestic US cruises are normally $20/bag.  Europe, and apparently Canada origination, cruises are $30/bag.  Unlimited is $7/day for length of cruise US, $9/day elsewhere.  As others have said, HAL service is very nice and courteous and they do a good job overall. 

 

HAL's laundry service is far cry better than when I was in the military deployed overseas.  They had a contracted laundry service that would glue those little numbered tags to your socks and shirts.  I would sometimes find those things days/weeks/months later when I next wore that piece of clothing.  I would find the sticker because it would be chewing at my ankles or neck when I forgot to peel off the tag.  Those tags were about as abrasive as coarse sandpaper.  No worries about that on HAL.

[leerathje]

4 hours ago, Banditswife said:

Another great suggestion.  I am guessing with the signed note- crew member's name, I could also take a tip to guest services & have them deliver it to the laundry staff.

The advantage with having their name is that you can also mention them in your comment card or on the Navigator app.  I understand that is highly appreciated too.

 

L.

 

[Crew News]

7 hours ago, Banditswife said:

I wondered how to tip on this service.  Would cabin steward deserve a tip due to picking it up & bringing it back &/or should the person actually doing it get the tip?  How do you go about tipping for this great service? And what would be the customary tip for this service?  Or is it covered under "crew appreciation?"

 

I was told by a Hotel Manager.  The crew appreciation is divided into three pieces:  30% Room Steward, 30% waiters, and the other 60% goes to the rest of the crew members behind the scenes (not supervisor, management, or contractors).

 

In addition to tips given to individual crew members who provide exceptional support, it is even more important to recognize them by name via the Navigator app and end-of-cruise surveys.  This recognition brings promotion credits, bonuses, next contract priority, recognition by all ships staff, and prestige among their peers.

 

Crew members "apply" for future ship contracts and customer kudos help the better crew  members get priority choices.  The crew for new ships are chosen based on their records with the company, so by-name kudos may be more valuable than a tip. 

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

HAL's laundry service is far cry better than when I was in the military deployed overseas.  They had a contracted laundry service that would glue those little numbered tags to your socks and shirts.  I would sometimes find those things days/weeks/months later when I next wore that piece of clothing.  I would find the sticker because it would be chewing at my ankles or neck when I forgot to peel off the tag.  Those tags were about as abrasive as coarse sandpaper.  No worries about that on HAL.

Now that brings back memories for me!!!!  "Breaking starch" and those pesky, randomly placed tags, were a weekly event in the Army of yesterday.

 

If you note where the HAL laundry tags are found on your first laundry return, you will find them in the same location on every subsequent return. 

[VMax1700]

36 minutes ago, Crew News said:

The crew appreciation is divided into three pieces:  30% Room Steward, 30% waiters, and the other 60% goes to the rest

HA HA!  Great start to the Friday Morning Maths Test!

Hit that EDIT button now!

[FlaMariner]

13 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

we put cash in an envelope with the person's name on it

 

I like that. 

 

And Guest Services can give you tip envelopes

[Banditswife]

Those tags!  We always laugh when years later we find one of those tags in our clothing.  

[BetsyS.]

1 minute ago, Banditswife said:

Those tags!  We always laugh when years later we find one of those tags in our clothing.  

I never remove the tags. They remind me of happy cruises.

[RuthC]

7 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

If you note where the HAL laundry tags are found on your first laundry return, you will find them in the same location on every subsequent return. 

Not always. 

[FlaMariner]

7 hours ago, Crew News said:

If you note where the HAL laundry tags are found on your first laundry return, you will find them in the same location on every subsequent return. 

 

I've got a shirt that has three of those tags right next to each other......Hoping to go for 4 tags soon!