No Laundry? Oh my! Really?

[The Fun Researcher]

35 minutes ago, doghog said:

We only use the W n F laundry perk (both RC and Celebrity) for underwear and socks. And even at that we really don't need to as we both over pack on those items. To be honest, we over pack on all clothes items. 

I've been working on that every cruise... to pack just enough for what I need.  I've ALWAYS had extra items.  It used to be a lot.... shorts, shirts, underwear..., but this last cruise was down to only one pair of socks that weren't needed.  I'm getting there...  LOL

[deltahog]

8 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

I don’t get it?  People spend thousands on a cruise but have a problem paying for a piece of luggage?

It's not just paying for an airline checked bag.  The more important part is that I have a disjointed connection flying to Europe (into LaGuardia and out of JFK) and me and the wife have to make our way from LGA to JFK.  I'd rather do that without a large piece of luggage, so that public transportation becomes an option rather than just cab or Uber.  Also, if no checked bag, then we can walk straight out of LGA and go as quickly as possible to make sure we are at JFK in time.  With a checked bag, we have to wait for the carousel of death.

 

So I had the bright idea solution, "hey we can just use the one rollaboard and one 'personal item' and do laundry on the ship!"  My bright idea quashed by safety concerns due to lint buildup.

 

Now that "no laundry" is on the other side of the scale (along with the pre-existing "travel size liquids only"), I might have to reassess.

[doghog]

We also cruise with Princess and have yet to step foot in one of their laundromats. Most recent Enchanted 27 March - 6 April Caribbean cruise. For us better things to do with our time than doing laundry. 

Edited May 1 by doghog

[deltahog]

12 minutes ago, doghog said:

We also cruise with Princess and have yet to step foot in one of their laundromats. Most recent Enchanted 27 March - 6 April Caribbean cruise. For us better things to do with our time than doing laundry. 

It worked out perfectly for us on Princess, when my wife wanted to take one of her many vacation naps, and I just wanted to read my book, I wheeled the dirty laundry down the hall to the washroom and we were both happy.

 

"I don't do that" is no more meaningful than "some people like the buffet" and "some people hate the buffet."  Yes, of course.

[aubreyc1988]

21 hours ago, deltahog said:

2 days in Athens, 8 days Athens-Barcelona on Voyager, 2 days Barcelona.

 

The entire plan of "no checked bags" revolves around doing laundry on the ship.  We just did this last year on Princess, our Alaska cruise, on which laundry rooms were on most cabin floors.  

 

Couldn't find a laundry room on the Voyager deck plan.  Huh?

 

Googled.

 

"Q.  What laundry services are available onboard all Royal Caribbean cruise ships?

A.  For safety concerns self-service laundry facilities are not provided onboard our ships, but we do offer washing, pressing and dry cleaning services."

 

Huh?  "Safety concerns?"  Can anyone detail what "safety concerns"?  The reasonably equivalent Princess ships have laundry and I must have missed all the ships going down due to the self-serve.

 

Just an FYI, all of your clothes when sending off laundry bag with Royal will be washed HOT. For some things, that is ok, just make sure you don't put anything in there you don't want shrunk. I had a friend who had a some dress clothes that shrunk a lot in size. 

 

 

[Tree_skier]

9 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

I don’t get it?  People spend thousands on a cruise but have a problem paying for a piece of luggage?  Also, we have tracking devices in our luggage.  If misplaced at airport or pier we can track. Of course we carry on a change of clothes and a swimsuit, etc. for emergencies 

This has always perplexed me as well.  I understand that there is a slight convenience and a slight savings by traveling with a carryon only but the inconvenience of hand washing clothes or having to wear clothing over and over again seems to me to be far worse.  

 

On a seven day cruise DW and I take a 26" suitcase and a carryon.  Plus I carry a back pack for electronics, passports and meds.  The four day shorter cruises we still take a 26" case each along with my back pack.

 

For the sake of $30 all the fuss seems really counter productive.  Even if Royal had an affordable laundry room on each deck I doubt it would change my behavior.  Why do laundry on vacation.

 

 

 

[Tree_skier]

6 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

Sure, but my understanding from the post by @Kellie in Texas is that the stuff-the-bag special for a flat rate is only offered at select times during the cruise.  Otherwise, items sent out in the bag are washed at the per-item price, correct?  

That is incorrect.  They usually provide the bag with out you asking for it later in the cruise however, you can ask for a bag from the steward any day of the cruise.  

[time4u2go]

24 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Why do laundry on vacation.

Because sometimes the cruise is but a small part of a much longer vacation where it is impractical to carry enough clean clothes for the whole time.

[Cruising89143]

5 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

No laundry rooms on ncl.

And Carnival has removed them from their new Excel class ships as well.

[SUgwoz]

42 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Because sometimes the cruise is but a small part of a much longer vacation where it is impractical to carry enough clean clothes for the whole time.

Then do laundry during the other part of the vacation?  I have done a few extensive vacations, and for one of the legs book an airbnb or resort that has laundry services/facilities. 

 

While I can understand for some laundry self services is a valued amenity and should probably choose their cruise line accordingly, I am guessing for vast majority it's not.

[time4u2go]

1 hour ago, SUgwoz said:

Then do laundry during the other part of the vacation?

While that is no doubt good advice when possible, it's not always possible or desirable.  Sometimes the other parts of the vacation are other cruises, with perhaps only one or two nights between them, which makes it a challenge to wash and dry clothes.  It's much easier to do so during a cruise because there are typically more consecutive nights on a cruise, and because it's a lot easier to put a load of clothes in the machine, grab something to eat or drink, come back to the machine, etc.  As far as using Airbnb's, I'm also somewhat hesitant to use those in other countries.  I prefer to use hotels. 

 

Note that I'm not trying to say that everyone should wash clothes during a cruise.  Of course not.  I'm just trying to explain to those that say basically, "don't wash clothes, you're on vacation" that there are a lot of factors to consider.

 

Edited May 1 by time4u2go

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Cruising89143 said:

And Carnival has removed them from their new Excel class ships as well.

I posted this early on, from mardi gras forward no more self laundries. Same thing. Imo no one uses them. I never did. A large percentage on carnival get free laundry. Why would I wash my own if I get it free. Same as i posted. When discussing lerks on carnival they say ...but i get free laundry. Now we have someone bemoaning they cant do it on royal either. 

Edited May 1 by firefly333

[doghog]

5 hours ago, deltahog said:

It worked out perfectly for us on Princess, when my wife wanted to take one of her many vacation naps, and I just wanted to read my book, I wheeled the dirty laundry down the hall to the washroom and we were both happy.

 

"I don't do that" is no more meaningful than "some people like the buffet" and "some people hate the buffet."  Yes, of course.

We don't take naps or read on our cruises either. 😂

[SUgwoz]

16 hours ago, time4u2go said:

While that is no doubt good advice when possible, it's not always possible or desirable.  Sometimes the other parts of the vacation are other cruises, with perhaps only one or two nights between them, which makes it a challenge to wash and dry clothes.  It's much easier to do so during a cruise because there are typically more consecutive nights on a cruise, and because it's a lot easier to put a load of clothes in the machine, grab something to eat or drink, come back to the machine, etc.  As far as using Airbnb's, I'm also somewhat hesitant to use those in other countries.  I prefer to use hotels. 

 

Note that I'm not trying to say that everyone should wash clothes during a cruise.  Of course not.  I'm just trying to explain to those that say basically, "don't wash clothes, you're on vacation" that there are a lot of factors to consider.

 

I can understand, in my experience I did use two separate Airbnbs in addition to a hotel for a trip in Japan.  Airbnbs exceeded my expectations, an Airbnb in Kyoto had free laundry services.  They washed our clothes, and then hung them up in our bathroom shower that had heat/dry settings. 

[pcur]

23 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Last 3 Royal Ships I was on they had us use the regular paper laundry bag. Holds twice as much and doesn't rip like the old wash/fold bags. Hope this is permanent change

I was going to mention that, but didn't really know if was a "thing" yet.

[pcur]

On 5/1/2024 at 7:23 AM, Joanne G. said:

Sure, but my understanding from the post by @Kellie in Texas is that the stuff-the-bag special for a flat rate is only offered at select times during the cruise.  Otherwise, items sent out in the bag are washed at the per-item price, correct?  

You label the bag "Wash and Fold Special". Ask your cabin stewardfirst.

[firefly333]

21 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

This has always perplexed me as well.  I understand that there is a slight convenience and a slight savings by traveling with a carryon only but the inconvenience of hand washing clothes or having to wear clothing over and over again seems to me to be far worse.  

 

On a seven day cruise DW and I take a 26" suitcase and a carryon.  Plus I carry a back pack for electronics, passports and meds.  The four day shorter cruises we still take a 26" case each along with my back pack.

 

For the sake of $30 all the fuss seems really counter productive.  Even if Royal had an affordable laundry room on each deck I doubt it would change my behavior.  Why do laundry on vacation.

 

 

 

My guess is if you wanted something pressed or cleaned you would pay for it. Not be washing laundry in your bathroom sink. Cant cost that much to send it out, though I get free laundry so dont know the cost. If I ran out of tee shirts, I go into the next port and treat myself to a new tee shirt to wear, done that before. There are stores in the ports. 

 

Seems much ado over nothing to me. I also plan to do mardi gras on carnival where they also dont have laundry rooms any more. Things change. People pay for laundry or I buy a new tee shirt. Have I ever washed out something with a stain yes, but I dont do all my laundry in my cabin. I dont know what level you need for a free laundry bag so maybe I'm just not seeing the issue because I get it free.

[Tree_skier]

8 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

My guess is if you wanted something pressed or cleaned you would pay for it. Not be washing laundry in your bathroom sink. Cant cost that much to send it out, though I get free laundry so dont know the cost. If I ran out of tee shirts, I go into the next port and treat myself to a new tee shirt to wear, done that before. There are stores in the ports. 

 

Seems much ado over nothing to me. I also plan to do mardi gras on carnival where they also dont have laundry rooms any more. Things change. People pay for laundry or I buy a new tee shirt. Have I ever washed out something with a stain yes, but I dont do all my laundry in my cabin. I dont know what level you need for a free laundry bag so maybe I'm just not seeing the issue because I get it free.

DW is so thrifty she would wash stuff in the sink.  I finally convinced her that we can afford a bag of laundry over the course of a week long cruise.   As diamond I think I get $10 off now but after our end of the year cruises I turn D+ so I'll enjoy the free bag every week.  

 

I don't usually have to get anything pressed.  

 

Pre-cruise I always have my suit and shirts that need to be hung up in to the dry cleaners.  When I get them back I leave them in the plastic wrap and that seems to prevent any serious wrinkling.  On top of that I'll bring a can wrinkle release and I'm usually good for the week.  It's just underwear, socks and t-shirts that go to the laundry.  

 

The "leave it in the dry-cleaning plastic" is a trick I learned here on CC.  It's amazing how good things still look after flying across the country folded in half in my suitcase.

[frank808]

22 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Just an FYI, all of your clothes when sending off laundry bag with Royal will be washed HOT. For some things, that is ok, just make sure you don't put anything in there you don't want shrunk. I had a friend who had a some dress clothes that shrunk a lot in size. 

 

 

A hint that I learned on here is to write on bag with my black sharpie "COLD WATeR ONLY".  Has worked so far for the past 5 years.

 

I also bring along a camping washing bag called "the scrubba" available on amazon. This has worked for us for many years. We use it when we do at least 14 night cruises.

[wolfcathorse]

I was going to get one of those collapsible washing tubs (as seen on FB or Temu) but I thought someone recently complained they were called to the naughty room for the washing tub they had in their suitcase. Not quite clear on if it was confiscated or not.

[cruiselvr04]

I believe you’re referring to the cruiser who took a portable washing machine on board that was confiscated. It was large and is something you plug in.  

6 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

I was going to get one of those collapsible washing tubs (as seen on FB or Temu) but I thought someone recently complained they were called to the naughty room for the washing tub they had in their suitcase. Not quite clear on if it was confiscated or not.

They don’t care about a collapsible wash basin.

[steveru621]

RCI can't stop the chair hogs.  How will they stop passengers from leaving their laundry in machines all day?

[bucfan2]

31 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

RCI can't stop the chair hogs.  How will they stop passengers from leaving their laundry in machines all day?

They don't have to...the next person in line would be more efficient than any employee could dream of being. 

[Cruising89143]

We always plan on sending a few items down for dry cleaning/laundry on longer cruises. I don’t want to spend my time doing laundry. To each their own I guess.  

[steveru621]

According to USFA, every year, clothes dryer fires account for over $100 million (USD) in property losses. A majority of dryer fires occur as a result of highly combustible lint getting caught in the dryer's vent and becoming heated to the point of ignition. The lint is combustible due to synthetics used in clothes.