Self Laundry on Princess

[artvlay]

Going on Island Princess and never used the laundry. This time we will be on longer and would probably do it once.

What are the best times to do it that it isn't crowded?

[nomoe]

I have used laundry room on port days when most passengers were off the ship 

 

[Firefly74]

Mornings usually work. Also, if one laundry is in use, try one on another deck.

[akaCruiser]

Best days are port days and in the early morning or during meal times like lunch or dinner, that way you don't need to wait for a machine to be free. Also note that the machines in the laundry rooms tend not to like be overloaded, so for large loads you need to split them up into two washings. Similarly when using the dryer you will need to split your load as I found that the dryers are under power and tend to need more time if you put a full load.

[Martha1974]

We often use them on a port day if we don't have an excursion and can stay on the ship until mid-morning. Usually call into the laundry to start the wash on our way up to the buffet for breakfast then call on the way back to the cabin to swap everything from the washer to the dryer. Down to the IC for a coffee and that fills the time until the dryer is finished, than take everything back to the cabin and off the ship for our port day. Usually off the ship by 10am and missing the rush at the gangway.

[Callista_R]

I ran a couple of loads late evening (10 - 11 pm) on a port day and had the entire laundry room to myself 

[nasa1974]

8 hours ago, artvlay said:

Going on Island Princess and never used the laundry. This time we will be on longer and would probably do it once.

What are the best times to do it that it isn't crowded?

I was on the Crown in October and the washer and dryer were free. But you had to purchase detergent and dryer sheets. Most people pack laundry pods and dryer sheets. Also keep an eye on the time for the washer and dryer. You don't want someone to remove your clothes and leave them on top of the one shelf or the dryer still wet or not totally dry. Also, if you can try to clean the dryer filter. It helps. Enjoy your cruise.

 

@Callista_R welcome to cruise critic.

[artvlay]

Thank you for all the great advice. I will be thinking of all of you when watching the dryer go round.

[CMDE]

You can check different floors, too. On our floor on the Grand Princess there are only 2 washers/2 washers in the room, which were busy, but on the floor below the laundry room had 4 washers/4 dryers. They might differ a bit on lots of floors.

[Reina del Mar]

It’s kind and considerate to others to set an alarm on your phone to make sure you are back by the time your wash or dry has finished. Or just take a book and sit there.

 

I have seen many an angry passenger waiting for someone to empty their machine, and others removing clothes and moving them, to have access to machines.

Edited April 13 by Reina del Mar

[sfaaa]

Any day but the last sea day of the cruise. That is when many people would do their laundry before they pack up for the trip home.

[PG_traveller]

Bring a few laundry pods or those detergent sheets and dryer sheets. It cost me $9 to do one load, and while there is nothing you can do about the cost of the machines, bringing your own detergent and dryer sheets will help, especially if you are doing several loads.

[illinigal77]

I use detergent sheets and dryer sheets when I travel. The detergent sheets are lighter, take up less room, and there is no chance anything will leak when travelling. They work great! Has anyone done laundry the first full day at sea? We are doing a land/sea tour of Alaska this coming Septemeber and our first full day on the ship would be a good day to wash the clothes we wore on the land portion of our trip. That day we sail to Hubbard Glacier but are only there from 3:00-8 pm so it would be a good day for me to do our clothes.

[nasa1974]

50 minutes ago, illinigal77 said:

I use detergent sheets and dryer sheets when I travel. The detergent sheets are lighter, take up less room, and there is no chance anything will leak when travelling. They work great! Has anyone done laundry the first full day at sea? We are doing a land/sea tour of Alaska this coming Septemeber and our first full day on the ship would be a good day to wash the clothes we wore on the land portion of our trip. That day we sail to Hubbard Glacier but are only there from 3:00-8 pm so it would be a good day for me to do our clothes.

I'm just curious why you would want to wash the clothes from your land portion, unless you plan to wear some during your cruise. Every time we did Alaska we packed two bags. One for the land portion and the other for the cruise. Oh, and at least one carry-on. 🙂

[illinigal77]

8 minutes ago, nasa1974 said:

I'm just curious why you would want to wash the clothes from your land portion, unless you plan to wear some during your cruise. Every time we did Alaska we packed two bags. One for the land portion and the other for the cruise. Oh, and at least one carry-on. 🙂

I don't want to pack 2 weeks worth of clothes. The jeans/pants, casual tops, and underwear we wear on the land portion we plan to wear in other ports and on the ship during the day. We will have a "ship" suitcase with dressier clothes and items we will only use on the ship.

[nasa1974]

29 minutes ago, illinigal77 said:

I don't want to pack 2 weeks worth of clothes. The jeans/pants, casual tops, and underwear we wear on the land portion we plan to wear in other ports and on the ship during the day. We will have a "ship" suitcase with dressier clothes and items we will only use on the ship.

Makes perfect sense. Enjoy your cruise.

[Firefly74]

21 hours ago, illinigal77 said:

Has anyone done laundry the first full day at sea?

We did when we sailed out of Sydney because we had been in Australia several days early. It worked very well. Easily found an available washer and dryer.

[illinigal77]

5 hours ago, Firefly74 said:

We did when we sailed out of Sydney because we had been in Australia several days early. It worked very well. Easily found an available washer and dryer.

Thank you! I think that will be my plan.

[Callista_R]

@nasa1974 Thank you! 😊

[cruisinfamily7609]

Does anyone know how much I should plan to spend per load (just to wash/dry, I’ll bring my own detergent and softener)? Thanks!!

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, cruisinfamily7609 said:

Does anyone know how much I should plan to spend per load (just to wash/dry, I’ll bring my own detergent and softener)? Thanks!!

Sometimes the token machine was empty and they gave you tokens.  Other times $3.50 I think.  Water on board is very soft with no minerals.  It is basically desalinated water.  Used detergent sheets or pods just fine

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Sometimes the token machine was empty and they gave you tokens.  Other times $3.50 I think.  Water on board is very soft with no minerals.  It is basically desalinated water.  Used detergent sheets or pods just fine

Pro-Tip - get your tokens early if you know you are going to use them

[artvlay]

55 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Pro-Tip - get your tokens early if you know you are going to use them

Where do you get tokens other than in the laundry?

[Arizona Wildcat]

39 minutes ago, artvlay said:

Where do you get tokens other than in the laundry?

Customer service has them.  

[Aggie83]

FYI - The Island installed brand new washers and dryers in January. They were very nice. I found that the dryers ran quite hot and that the lowest heat setting was perfect for me.