Laundry on Sirena?

[basor]

8 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

It depends on the length of cruise. Laundry by the piece is always available. Super long cruises (e.g. ATW and I maybe others) include laundry. If you are on a not-short cruise, a discounted by the bag special price will likely be offered (e.g., 13 night cruise with ~3 days of laundry special mid-cruise for $25/bag). I think a bag held 20 items (2 socks = 1 item), so just over $1 per item which is a bargain. I don't think I kept an order sheet for the special, but I remember there didn't seem to be a way to add special instructions like cold water and low heat, so I used the self-serve; if someone can chime in on special instructions that would make me more comfortable letting go of my inner control freak. Here's the per item price list from June:

 

I just write in BOLD letters cross the top - COLD WASH, LOW HEAT DRY, and then circle and put stars around,  I have had no problem with my delicates this way.   I also put in the "special instruction" space on the form,

[upgrayders]

16 hours ago, basor said:

I just write in BOLD letters cross the top - COLD WASH, LOW HEAT DRY, and then circle and put stars around,  I have had no problem with my delicates this way.   I also put in the "special instruction" space on the form,

Thank you for the information 

[willoL]

@AMHuntFerry Posting the price list here was super helpful.

 

We’re spending a few days before our cruise in a new-to-us city hotel. I wanted to compare the hotel laundry prices prior to our first voyage with O, and it looks like I’m better off (financially) bringing any pre-cruise dirty laundry with me to have it done on the ship.

 

Even better is knowing there is a good chance of a laundry bag special at some mid-point of our 28-day voyage. I’ll hope we have one of those, but be prepared to make do with by-the-piece pricing.

 

I hand wash many of the small items (and all my expensive delicates), but I am so much happier sending out larger items and t-shirts that will tolerate the dryer. I hang almost everything to dry at home where I have plenty of space, but it irritates me in a small stateroom to be surrounded by damp stuff.

 

Laundry is my least-hated household chore. I don’t mind using a shared laundry room on a ship, but it would spoil my day if it was very hectic and hard to get the chore done. I don’t even like sharing “my” machines (at home) with my spouse who prefers to wash his own laundry. 😄

 

I do travel with SensiClean (unscented, irritant-free, aka Sport Wash) detergent due to my sensitivity to fragrance and my teen’s severe eczema. I use it for hand washing in the sink and in my HE machine at home, but it is good to hear that at least some sensitive types do fine with the standard process on board Oceania ships.

 

In some cases, I can’t even sleep on fresh hotel sheets. The residue of bleach (or something) makes me itchy and lingering scent can give me headaches. We travel with personal pillow cases and “sleep sacks” (sheets styled like a sleeping bag, that kids use at hostels), lining our hotel beds with our own silk (or silk/cotton blend) layer and that usually keeps us safe enough.

 

I will send out something of ours right away to make sure neither of us reacts poorly to O’s ocean friendly detergent.

[MEFIowa]

18 hours ago, willoL said:

... Laundry is my least-hated household chore. I don’t mind using a shared laundry room on a ship, but it would spoil my day if it was very hectic and hard to get the chore done.... 

We spent 20 nights on Riviera in 10-11/2023 with 3 nights in Venice ahead of the cruise and 3 nights in Barcelona after the cruise. So, we did self-service laundry 4 times during the cruise.

 

Do NOT do your laundry on the day before disembarkation, when seemingly everyone else is. Sea days late in the cruise very popular, too. We did our first load on the 3rd day in, when few were doing their laundry. And our last load on the 2nd to last day before disembarkation.

 

I found that getting there at the start of the day worked well. And pay attention to the TIMERS on the machines. Don't wait a long time after your unit has shut off to come back. Others will take your items out and put them in an available laundry hamper or anywhere else they can put it to free up the unit.

 

One day we had to do so much laundry to do that I spent a couple hours there and promoted myself to "Deputy Assistant Vice President of Laundry Operations (Deck 7)". Got to know a lot of passengers and helped them use the machines and keep things going and flowing smoothly. It works surprisingly well as long as people come back BEFORE their timer goes to zero, esp. for the dryers. If you are present when it goes to zero, you can check to see if dry and add more time if not.

[ORV]

I found if you happen to have an early dinner and are done by 7:30 or so that is great time to do laundry, especially on the R ships that only have one. 

[alcpa1]

Also, if you are like me, short on the stature scale, you may need assistance removing items from the top mounted dryers. Not all of the laundry rooms have stools on the O ships we have been on. Some of us appreciate all the help we can get.

[babysteps]

21 hours ago, alcpa1 said:

Also, if you are like me, short on the stature scale, you may need assistance removing items from the top mounted dryers. Not all of the laundry rooms have stools on the O ships we have been on. Some of us appreciate all the help we can get.

Many laundry rooms have a short foot stool. I'm 5-5" and even on tip toe can't always see if there's a sock hiding at the very front of the upper dryers without the step stool. Anything bigger than a sock is too big to be 100% hidden.