Doing your own laundry

Hi! Is this an easy process to do your own laundry when you're on a longish cruise? Going to Alaska for 11 days and this would sure make my bags lighter.

Is it a very easy process but it can get crazy busy in the laundry rooms (and if you aren't watching, someone could take your laundry out and put theirs in the second the load is finished). IMO, doing laundry at "off" times is best (or, take a glass of wine and a good book and wait for your laundry to be done. Most of us figure that we are spending so much $$$ on a cruise that we just have Regent do our laundry and consider it part of the cot go the cruise!

We just got off the Explorer, and the laundry rooms were very convenient. I realize the OP is going to Alaska and will be on another ship. When we did the Alaska trip on the Navigator, we were able to do laundry. It was busy, but we were able to get some done.

Here is what I thought about the Explorer. It seemed that 80% of the time I went in to see if the washers were empty, they were. We were on an 11 day trip, but with days before the trip and extending our stay afterwards, my family of four definitely needed to get some laundry done (we were gone for over 16 days).

I always set my phone (only for the timer) to let me know when to come back to check on the wash. I would always set the timer to allow myself time to get back to the laundry rooms. No one moved anything and the timers on the washers were true to the actual time needed to complete the cycle. I found that most people were very considerate of not leaving clothes in the washer or dryer longer that the expected time. I'm sure if that were the case, there were laundry baskets provided to put someone's dry clothes into if you needed the dryer.

Detergent is provided. If you want dryer sheets, you will need to supply those on your own. The Explorer has 3 washers/dryers in each laundry room and also has two laundry rooms on most floors with cabins. I was worried about trying to get clean clothes before we disembarked, but I had many opportunities to get my laundry done during our trip.

:)

Thank you!!

RE: laundry room etiquette

Why would it be a problem to move either wet or dry clothes from the machines if th cycle is complete and the owner is not there to do the task him or herself?

RE: laundry room etiquette

 

Why would it be a problem to move either wet or dry clothes from the machines if th cycle is complete and the owner is not there to do the task him or herself?

None that I know of. If you aren't monitoring your wash, expect that others will move it out. They won't/shouldn't sit around watching an idle machine because you weren't paying attention. As previously noted, the rooms can be crazy busy (especially on sea days), so being considerate by monitoring your laundry should be the expectation.

Fortunately, on Explorer at least, there are more laundry rooks per capita than on the other ships so this (as an earlier poster noted) shouldn't be a problem. The Explorer laundry rooms also have much more space with a defined waiting area complete with comfortable chairs and a TV. I would imagine they'll carry this over to Explorer II.

None that I know of. If you aren't monitoring your wash, expect that others will move it out. They won't/shouldn't sit around watching an idle machine because you weren't paying attention. As previously noted, the rooms can be crazy busy (especially on sea days), so being considerate by monitoring your laundry should be the expectation.

 

Fortunately, on Explorer at least, there are more laundry rooks per capita than on the other ships so this (as an earlier poster noted) shouldn't be a problem. The Explorer laundry rooms also have much more space with a defined waiting area complete with comfortable chairs and a TV. I would imagine they'll carry this over to Explorer II.

Agree.

Some people get twitchy at the idea of someone else touching their clothing.

The solution to that is personal responsibility - be back before the cycle ends to 'control your own narrative'.

I must say that having cruised mainstream on Disney in the past, in regard to self serve laundry the RSSC clientele (and even the RSCC CC board) is positively delightful and courteous.

It is a cut throat topic on any DSC message board and there are not infrequent reports of altercations on the ships over laundry issues (usually verbal).

And as far as dedicating a bit more space for waiting that is nice. The Navigator laundry rooms were hot and small. Not a great place to wait for more than a couple minutes (even with a beverage) for my tolerance. So I just did as a PP and set an alarm for myself to return before the cycle completed.

Greetings, Everyone, from sunny South Beach. We have taken many cruises with self serve laundry facilities for passengers. Personally, I have never had a negative experience in any of them. Yet, once on Oceania's Insignia, two women came to blows over something or other, and the Captain put one of them off at the next port,

I used the facilities on Explorer because we had an extended stay in Barcelona with only our carryons. The machines worked very well, and the people I met in the laundry were very pleasant.

I used the detergent provided by Regent. Maybe what I noticed in an adjoining machine was caused by something else, but a woman who used her own Tide seemed to have a huge amount of suds in the washer. I wasn't there when her machine ended its cycle. However, at the start, it appeared that rinsing might be an issue.

There are phones in the laundry rooms if a problem arises, I like Travelcat2's suggestion of a nice glass of wine and a book. I wonder if a phone call would beget a laundry friendly treat to go with it.

Mary

As the designated laundry and iron lackey, the Explorer has the best facilities in the fleet. The Mariner and Navigator machines are so SLOW when it comes to drying clothes. The key to getting all your laundry washed, dried, and ironed in less than two hours is to be at the laundry as soon as they open, never press the "extra rinse" button, get breakfast, come back and put clothes in dryer, grab a Bloody Mary, and iron as the clothes dry. Some of these machines take so long to dry that they have almost broken my will to live.

Z and TB

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When you have spent a fortune to sail with Regent why would you dedicate even one minute to doing your own laundry? I used to choose my cabin based on being fairly close to the self laundry... crazy right? Learned finally how stupid it was to pay $16,000 for a cruise and then spend 2hrs or more hours trying to save $200. Makes no sense. Send it out they do a great job! Don't look at the prices it will drive you nuts, just remember you could afford an expensive cruise so you certainly can afford laundry. Not much else to actually pay for on a Regent Cruise :)

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we get a bag of laundry a week but I can't bring myself to send out our undies.....

we get a bag of laundry a week but I can't bring myself to send out our undies.....

Agree with you too. Even prior the having th benefit of the included bag of laundry per 7'days, we used the ships laundry and paid happily. Time on th cruise is too precious and when you are directly back to work when you get home it's lovely to know that a good percentage of the laundry has been taken care of. Jean.

we get a bag of laundry a week but I can't bring myself to send out our undies.....

It's easy, swallow hard, fold them neatly and put those undies in between the other clothes. The Undies come back folded pretty and wrapped in tissue paper! Sure wish I could have my laundry done and so beautifully presented at home :)

It's easy, swallow hard, fold them neatly and put those undies in between the other clothes. The Undies come back folded pretty and wrapped in tissue paper! Sure wish I could have my laundry done and so beautifully presented at home :)

Absolutely, positvely, 100% correct.

We send everything to be laundered by Regent because we have included laundry. Prior to that we did some of our own laundry and sent out the rest. The biggest problem we have with Regent doing it is that the machines (or perhaps the detergent?) is a bit harsh. I have sent in a new polo shirt only to have it come back looking like it was 5 years old and had been washed over and over. They are especially hard on dress shirts.

We have seen near fights in laundry rooms when people take clothes that are not quite dry and dump them in a basket. Clothing gets lost or mixed in with other people's. While most experiences in the laundry room will be fine, I don't want to be in that environment. Plus, if you take your cruise fare and divide it by the numbers of hours you will be on your cruise, you may be wasting money by doing your own laundry.

we get a bag of laundry a week but I can't bring myself to send out our undies.....

You can stuff a LOT of laundry into that bag. We actually use it mostly for underwear and socks which can drive up the bill on a piece count basis, but is very compact in the one free bag. If we exceed our quota, the shirts go out ala carte.

I just don't understand why anyone would want to do spend time during laundry when on vacation. It really isn't that costly to send it out from time to time. Also if you do want to do it, that's good however you do need to stay and take care of it. If someone takes your laundry out because you were in your suite or at a bar-that's to bad, it's just like the people that leave their stuff on the lounge's around the pool. Just thinking of them self's and don't really care about others.

I just don't understand why anyone would want to do spend time during laundry when on vacation. It really isn't that costly to send it out from time to time. Also if you do want to do it, that's good however you do need to stay and take care of it. If someone takes your laundry out because you were in your suite or at a bar-that's to bad, it's just like the people that leave their stuff on the lounge's around the pool. Just thinking of them self's and don't really care about others.

Until we made Platinum, we ALWAYS did our laundry, we never sent it out. Down time whether taking a nap in your cabin or on your balcony or in the laundry room is not that different. I spend good money for my cruises. Do you know how many cans along the side of the rode you need to collect in order to afford Regent. I stretch those dollars as much as i can. Of course, now it is a moot issue for us on Regent.

I am sailing on Silversea in six weeks; I will be doing laundry again. :)

Marc

You can stuff a LOT of laundry into that bag. We actually use it mostly for underwear and socks which can drive up the bill on a piece count basis, but is very compact in the one free bag. If we exceed our quota, the shirts go out ala carte.

That was our plan. And it worked great!

When you have spent a fortune to sail with Regent why would you dedicate even one minute to doing your own laundry? I used to choose my cabin based on being fairly close to the self laundry... crazy right? Learned finally how stupid it was to pay $16,000 for a cruise and then spend 2hrs or more hours trying to save $200. Makes no sense. Send it out they do a great job! Don't look at the prices it will drive you nuts, just remember you could afford an expensive cruise so you certainly can afford laundry. Not much else to actually pay for on a Regent Cruise :)

 

 

I am Titanium so all my laundry and dry cleaning is free.

I'll tell you why we still so some of own laundry.

Regent on-board laundry is not state side quality. They are hard on your clothes. Regent laundry/dry cleaning has wrecked more that one of my silk shirts. So I will not sent them out any more. Sure they paid me for them, but that is not the point. And after a longer voyage even t shirts and cotton pant get so beat up that many time I just leave them.

J

41/602

I am Titanium so all my laundry and dry cleaning is free.

 

I'll tell you why we still so some of own laundry.

 

Regent on-board laundry is not state side quality. They are hard on your clothes. Regent laundry/dry cleaning has wrecked more that one of my silk shirts. So I will not sent them out any more. Sure they paid me for them, but that is not the point. And after a longer voyage even t shirts and cotton pant get so beat up that many time I just leave them.

 

J

41/602

Well I guess every one has a different experience. Of course I have much less experience with Regent (something close to 50 days) but have not had anything but beautiful results. But sadly even my laundry at home has a disaster or 3. I guess I've been lucky with my results and will continue to send mine out rather than sit one minute in the laundry room!

Safe journey :)

Regent does not offer a pre-paid, somewhat discounted "laundry package" which other lines (such as Paul Gauguin) offer, and Regent should. Our last two Regent cruises were on the Mariner. The laundry rooms were large, and would hold many more machines than those provided. Thus, more machines should be added.

But we always seem able to get shipboard credits from several sources (TA, AMEX Platinum, etc). And there really isn't anything on which to spend these credits on Regent, so we just send laundry out. As we don't like cruises over 14 nights, the credits are always more than sufficient to cover laundry.

I used to do all our laundry, but now, with the one free bag, I send it out--use the bag for small stuff and the rest a la carte. I haven't had any issues with things coming back damaged or beat up, but I would not send out one of my expensive dresses. I just wait till I am home to do those. I guess if I ever am lucky enough to do a world cruise, I will have to rethink that, but it works for me for now.