Celebrity Laundry Questions

My husband and I are fairly new to cruising and are taking our first 10day Mediterranean cruise this year. The total travel time is 14 days. There is no way to pack that much clothing so I wondered how other folks do it. This is especially an issue given that in Italy we have to wear more pants and skirts- not just beach wear.

Do most folks just budget laundry services on Celebrity? I am a little concerned they might damage white linen pants etc. Clothes that require pressing will obviously have to be sent to laundry services.

If I hand wash and hang undergarments in the shower will my room steward snicker?

Is there a drying line in the shower or should I pack a cord and clothespins?

Is it poor form to hang clothes on chairs on balcony? I can pin them so they don't blow away. I just don't want to be a tacky American.

I am used to being self sufficient when traveling and paying someone 3 dollars to wash my underwear sounds crazy and embarrassing. I really hate to waste a port day hanging out in a laundry mat although it could be a cool way to meet locals.

Stewards don't snicker...have no fear of that.

M class ships have clothes lines, s class ships do no

Don't leave anything else n the balcony unattended, laundry or not. If you put it out while you are in the stateroom, ok, but bring it in before you leave. It's not just the issue of it blowing away, but also that it is flammable.

No drying lines in Solstice class

Yes on M class

We just did our 1st 14-night on eclipse

Yes, I wash out bras and bathing suits in the sink and a couple of hand/wash tops and heard no snickering LOL. I will confess also I used the shampoo having forgotten my woo lite. I used a hanger which I hung in the shower until partially dry on the 2 little silver hooks. Then I would transfer them to the hooks outside the bathroom to fully dry (usually put undies under a hat or something [emoji4])

I wouldn't hang anything on the balcony -- not only do you have unexpected weather to contend with, but they also wash the windows and balcony and water sprays everywhere. I sacrificed a pair of sneakers last year this way.

We are lucky that a bag for each of us was included for our loyalty group but there are often discounts on bag of laundry (20) items. One bag each was enough to get us through the 2 weeks. I dry cleaned one pair of slacks and one top. And of course I brought some laundry home.

You should be able to get away without a big expense.

Have a lovely trip

Febreeze will be your best friend

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I am so glad to know this!!! True45, thank you for detailed reply!

Ellen

I wash my undies/bras & some tops in the bathroom sink...roll them in a towel then hang to dry at bedtime. We take 2 heavy duty magnet hooks & put them on the wall & hang our clothes line between them .This works great for us.

We usually go on 12-14 night cruises with 1 day pre & 2-3 days post cruise & we only take enough clothes for 7 days. We mix & match or just wear the same clothes 1-2 other times. I use limited color combos ...black or navy ...with multiple tops .

We do use the laundry for shirts, slacks, pressing & occ dry cleaning.

Thanks for the great responses. It will be very helpful to know how to prepare.

We did a 16-night TA with 2 nights in London and a night in Boston. I brought enough underwear for the trip but planned to wear many things several times, e.g. black pants at dinner (4 nights). We took 2 small duffle bags (carry-on) and one large duffle bag (checked)- which we could easily carry along with our backpacks (carry-on).

In contrast, we did a 14-night Alaska cruise and took about 1/2 the necessary everyday clothes and went to a laundromat. This worked out fairly well- put the stuff in the wash, did a little window shopping, put the stuff in the dryer, did a little more window shopping....

If you have a port that you can spare some time in and you know for certain that there is a laundromat open (we almost missed it in Alaska because it was mother's day and the woman who ran the place closed early that day), it is pretty easy. Many of the places in Europe though take your laundry and do it for you and it might not be as quick as you would like (we did this on our honeymoon in Ireland).

Long cruises often have a $20/25 all you can pack in a bag special, which if you only need to do t-shirts and underwear could probably work.

Cheers,

A suction cup and cord provide a clotheline for S class ships. Thing dry in a day. Heavy clothes in two. Undies and t shirts work just fine along with wrinkle release. Amazing if you sort of start drip dry in shower and final dry in closet what one can do. We also take a couple large sort of potato chip bag clip and clip clothiers to chairs during the day. works great.

That and a bit of Celebrity laundry and all is good. PS ever try to find a laundromat in most of Europe?

First, don't bring a completely different outfit for every day. Wear some black slacks 4 to 6 times for dinner. If you get something like the Travelers type items for staples (Chico's) you won't have to worry about wrinkles. I wear a pair of black Travelers slacks and a black skirt and mix and match tops. Sometimes a little tank or tee for during the day does double duty under a jacket or sweater the next night at dinner.

I do hand wash some things and roll them in towels until they are not dripping. I have some clips on a hanger that I DO put on the back of the chair on the balcony, and I secure the hanger with another clip that ensures it's totally secure. I put the chair completely in the corner and the item is away from view, even really from inside. It stays there only when we're in port. I then hang it to finish drying, if it isn't already, in the closet or on the door hooks.

I use the shower gel or shampoo to wash, I don't bring anything special.

We do get up to 4 bags of laundry washed free with our elite+ status but before we had free laundry we just budgeted in some laundry.

I typically bring about 6 pairs of undies so need to wash on every trip.

My biggest dilemma is trimming down the shoes I bring. It's hard, but I manage to take only 5, maybe 6 pair which is good for me. I could easily wear 4 or 5 different ones in a single day if I let myself. I bring a pair of sandals for all purpose everything, a pair of non-athletic sneakers (Skechers), a black ballet flat, a pair of flip flops and a dressier dinner shoe. On some cruises I'll bring a low hiking shoe.

Scarves and jewelry change up my tops for dinner, and honestly no one cares if on a 14 day cruise you wear things twice or three times. We mostly sail 14 nighters and I pack for 7 days.

FYI the dry cleaning service is great on board. So is the laundry, but i wouldn't send your white linen slacks through the laundry. Just have them dry clean and press them. They do a better job than my local people!

We invested in silk undies (for him and her). After washing and rinsing (travel wash or shampoo), squeeze in towel - I find sandwiching them and standing on top works best, they dry over night.

If we are on some ships, the narrow space above the fridge gets really warm and can be useful for final drying. No one laughs. We all need to make savings where we can. I certainly would not waste a day of my precious holiday in a laundromat. If need be I would send stuff to the ship's laundry.

I travel often usually 2-3 weeks. On ocean cruise ships, I use the laundry for some items. I get some free laundry coupons from Captains Club. Wash some items in the cabin sink. I use the shampoo in the cabin. Although it isn't good for my hair, it works great for washing clothes. I bring clips to use the line on the M class ships. I bring a woven cord that I can hook up to dry more items. I also bring a few plastic hangers. If laundry is unavailable ( land tours) or is too expensive, wash your own clothes. I only bring clothing items that I know will dry quickly. If in doubt, before I pack I do a test dry at home. I never bring anything that takes long to dry. In colder weather, you can wear clothes more than once before needing to wash. Jeans are wearable for many days. In warmer climates, tops worn during the day usually need a washing after one day. Shorts can be worn more than once. My spouse and I only bring comfortable clothing that we know we will enjoy wearing many times. Pack using a basic color for most items. Black or a dark color works best. Solids work best. No wild prints. Although I like darker colors best, bring a few bright or light colored tops. You don't want to be dressed all in black. 3 changes of clothing packed plus what you are wearing provides enough for a long trip. For warmer trips, pack a bathing suit. For colder places, pack a polatec hoodie, scarf, and a goretex jacket with a hood. Umbrellas often are provided in hotels and on ships. No more formal night helps lighten the packing too. In your carry on, pack at least one change of clothes. Whatever you do, don't stress. Most people don't pay attention to what you are wearing unless it is a loud wild print. I seldom can remember what I wore a few days ago. I certainly can't remember what anyone else was wearing. ON one escorted trip, a guide said wearing anything that's clean. Good luck packing. If in doubt, leave it home. Do not bring something that you only need "just in case." I have some nice souvenirs from places that I needed a scarf, gloves, or sweatshirt. Enjoy!

The dry cleaning charges were actually less than at home. May want to consider that for linen pants.

Some people spend part of their evenings doing laundry in their bathroom sink and hoping things dry overnight while lying around their cabin.

Others just budget to do laundry on the ship and don't worry about it. I'm in this later group. The only thing we regularly do in the sink is rinsing salt water out of bathing suits when in the Caribbean.

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The more we cruise the more we look for suitable clothes for cruising...Really light weight shorts, smart black trousers and skirts which you will get lots of wears out of and can sponge if necessary. T shirts in light olive, light blue, beige (can put in ships laundry without them looking faded on return). Soft fabric shirts that drip dry really quickly and don't need ironing. Even my 'posh frocks' are made of a fabric that doesn't crease!

Haven't taken anything white on a cruise in years! We use ships laundry for undies, T shirts, shorts. Will dry clean trousers if we need to (longer cruises), rinse through and dry the odd other items....

We have never had a problem with ships laundry but never send in white items or delicates...read to much on CC!

If you are going to self launder the art is only to do one or two items at a time, they dry quicker and you don't feel like you are living in a laundry!

I've sailed Celebrity often and have used their laundry service. Everything comes back clean and fresh, including "unmentionables". Having done a Med cruise in the heat of the summer I would suggest packing a few more pairs of undergarments than you think you may need. It get HOT in the Med and I found that damp underclothes were a given if you wore them all day long. You might find it worth your while to purchase a few pairs of undergarments with the new drifit technology. I've washed these out in the sink and they are dry the next day. Baby powder was invaluable in the Med. I stashed a travel-size in my backpack and freshened up during the day as needed. I washed out things daily in the cabin and never got any strange looks from the cabin stews. They are awesome. Treat yourself to a bag of laundry service to get stuff extra clean. It's worth the price. Have a wonderful trip!!

No clothesline?? That's ridiculous. If a person is travelling for two weeks and wants to wash their own unmentionables they should be able to do so in their cabin and hang them on a line. Perhaps because I'm older I resent the fact that Celebrity expects us to use their laundry service for those things.

When you use the ship's laundry service, can you specify things like "dry on low" or "line dry"? At home I always line dry all my undies and knit tops that may shrink in the dryer, and dry other things on low heat. We get the Captain's club coupon for a free bag of laundry but I've never used it because I'm afraid my items will shrink.

I think if you're concerned about clothing items you should hand wash them in your room. I certainly wouldn't take the chance of having something ruined by the laundry.

When you use the ship's laundry service, can you specify things like "dry on low" or "line dry"? ...

Yes. There is a special instruction section on the form where you can specify such things. I'm not sure if anyone believes that they'll actually follow such instructions but there is definitely a place to write them in.

I've never been to the ship's laundry but even so I seriously doubt that they do loads individually. Rather I suspect that they do huge loads of many passenger's items together in giant washing machines and dryers. I also doubt that they have much room to line dry items down in the low sub levels of the ship where the laundry is located.

I don't recall ever having items ruined by the ship's laundry but we tend to send safe items. If we have something delicate or which needs special treatment we'll generally send it in for dry cleaning rather than laundry as they offer both services.

re: "unmentionables"

...Perhaps because I'm older I resent the fact that Celebrity expects us to use their laundry service for those things.

Why?

Do you really think that the laundry staff have any special feelings about your underwear? It's just clothing and they're doing tons of clothing all day long for hundreds of customers including lots and lots of underwear. They don't care about yours and there is nothing to be embarrassed about by sending them to the laundry.

I'd be careful about what clothes you send to the laundry. Only things that aren't expensive and won't shrink. I've had things that shrunk and so have others we've travelled with. My husband is happy to have his shirts and underwear done but these are a generous cut and only Old Navy polos; they really can't be ruined. I have sent linen blouses out just to be pressed and that freshened it up...but I don't travel with linen anymore, just not practical. I definitely do my undies myself. Take an unpadded bra so it will dry quicker. In case I forgot and left the undies hanging up in the shower for the steward to see (as if he'd care....lol) I used this as an excuse to buy new stuff!

Have been on 20+ X cruises, mostly of 14 nights or more. I would never send my 'delicates' to the ships laundry and always hand wash them, using ships hair shampoo and a small towel to part dry items on. Anything we send I write on list "Please wash at 30 degrees". We have never had anything damaged in any way.

On S class ships we take 2 strong magnets attached to string and some pegs. Works fine.

I did ask for "no hot water please" in special instructions and nothing was ruined or shrunk

In washing

The dry cleaned pants were a little smaller and shorter. If just smaller I would have blamed the desserts but that wouldn't cause shortening [emoji57]

So don't send your very favorites. Luckily the pants were a little big to start.