Tipping and laundry...just a couple questions

The countdown is on...we leave 2 weeks from today! Still trying to get all my ducks in a row. I've got a couple of questions.

1. We are on a back2back2back. When is the best time to tip? After each voyage ends? After our entire 25 days at sea? I suppose it also depends on our room attendant. Will it be the same person each cruise?

2. We have the WS laundry which we have never had. I've read all the threads about laundry but I'm still a bit clueless. How does it really work? You put your clothes in one bag? Separate bags by how you would like the clothes washed? Will they wash in cold, hang to dry, and press as needed?

Any other tips on how to manage 25 days at sea? What was I thinking?!

You can ask cabin attendants if they will be on for the 3 sailings. We usually wait until the end and we make sure we have usable currency. If we're in Europe we tip in Euro's; Alaska, Caribbean US dollars. Never small country currency.

Laundry is something we all have our own opinions about. I don't give them anything that I would get upset over if not done the way I would do it! My husband's trousers always come back with new creases and by the end of the trip multiples. We now take his pants that we fondly call "Windstarred" and put them away for the next sailing. You might try one bag marked hang up wet and one regular. I actually do my bras by hand, send cotton undies to them along with blue Jean's and t shirts. Evening clothes I do not send ever. Nothing that needs to be handled with care. It is, after all, a commercial laundry.

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WOW 25 days heaven. We crossed the Pacific and did the first Tahiti that was 26 days heaven, have a great time. Sb44 right on about tipping, that is exactly what we do for the room stewart. For the others that are gracious to us we tip at the end.

I travel extremely light and a holiday is not one if I have to wash anything. All my clothes can be washed and I use a separate bag with written instructions cold wash, line dry. The rest of the laundry is in another bag which is regular. Great service.

25 days when we did the 26 we were careful with the eating in that I watched what I ate because weight gain is troublesome and I am on the plus side. There are so many choices that was not difficult for me plus I did not have to cook!

Keep a journal of places, events, special rememberences etc because for that long I felt I would forget the whens and wheres, I wanted to remember everything. If you take puctures the journal can help you remember.

Enjoy, 25 days in Europe splendid.

You can ask cabin attendants if they will be on for the 3 sailings. We usually wait until the end and we make sure we have usable currency. If we're in Europe we tip in Euro's; Alaska, Caribbean US dollars. Never small country currency.

 

Laundry is something we all have our own opinions about. I don't give them anything that I would get upset over if not done the way I would do it! My husband's trousers always come back with new creases and by the end of the trip multiples. We now take his pants that we fondly call "Windstarred" and put them away for the next sailing. You might try one bag marked hang up wet and one regular. I actually do my bras by hand, send cotton undies to them along with blue Jean's and t shirts. Evening clothes I do not send ever. Nothing that needs to be handled with care. It is, after all, a commercial laundry.

 

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Thank you! I laughed at the "Windstarred" pants! I have some new clothes that I really want to take with me but they definitely need to be washed in cold and hung to dry. I spent half the afternoon trying on clothes and sorting them out. Still have too many if you ask me but I've still got 2 weeks to figure it out.

WOW 25 days heaven. We crossed the Pacific and did the first Tahiti that was 26 days heaven, have a great time. Sb44 right on about tipping, that is exactly what we do for the room stewart. For the others that are gracious to us we tip at the end.

I travel extremely light and a holiday is not one if I have to wash anything. All my clothes can be washed and I use a separate bag with written instructions cold wash, line dry. The rest of the laundry is in another bag which is regular. Great service.

25 days when we did the 26 we were careful with the eating in that I watched what I ate because weight gain is troublesome and I am on the plus side. There are so many choices that was not difficult for me plus I did not have to cook!

Keep a journal of places, events, special rememberences etc because for that long I felt I would forget the whens and wheres, I wanted to remember everything. If you take puctures the journal can help you remember.

Enjoy, 25 days in Europe splendid.

Thanks so much for your help with all these days! I spent part of today sorting through my wardrobe but still have too many clothes. I'm trying to pack for one cruise and then use the laundry service to make it go for all three. Plus I really don't like overpacking!

I like the idea of a journal in addition to our pictures. I always make a scrapbook when we return from a big trip and if I wait too long to start it, I find myself forgetting certain aspects of our adventures.

I love to cook but can't say I'll mind letting someone else take care of that for the cruise. But you are so right about watching what we eat. All that walking I know we will be doing really does need to balance out all that deliciousness!

What I have found is that less is better. Have cut down each trip and still wind up wearing the same comfy things daily. It's such a non-judgmental group and I find that if something just feels good, it goes on much more than the things that require patience to wear, launder, or pack. Most of the people on board are dressed comfortably but not trying to be fashion plates plus you will have new people on b2b2b. As I look at years of photos I see that I wind up wearing the same things that only change by climate. Can't wear Caribbean clothes in Scotland! Enjoy. 3 weeks is glorious!

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Ski mom, Glad you asked about the cold water and hang dry; I was thinking about this the other day for our upcoming cruise which isnt nearly as long as yours (jelly!)

Sounds like its possible to get your clothes back from the laundry service damp and hang them up. I usually bring a few extra hangers for this purpose. Or will they actually line/hang dry for you?

Ski mom, Glad you asked about the cold water and hang dry; I was thinking about this the other day for our upcoming cruise which isnt nearly as long as yours (jelly!)

 

 

 

Sounds like its possible to get your clothes back from the laundry service damp and hang them up. I usually bring a few extra hangers for this purpose. Or will they actually line/hang dry for you?

They will hand dry the items for you.

I always ask for most of my clothers is cold wash, line dry, no problem. My clothes have always come back what I think is nicely. Happy sailing.

I hand washed my bras - they are easy to do and don't take long to dry (plus they are such a pain to replace so I don't like to trust them to laundry services). Everything else, I sent in to Windstar Laundry. I don't take anything that requires cold water wash. Sometimes the laundry comes back the next day so take that into account in deciding when to send it in.

My room stewards didn't change on the back-to-back (28-days). I expect that generally the room steward will remain the same unless they are at the end of their contract and rotate off the ship.

I had some moments of doubts before the cruise as my longest prior cruise was 8 days and my longest land vacation was about 21 days. Plus my b2b included an ocean crossing with 9 sea days in a row - more than my longest prior cruise! I loved it.

I was a bit careful about what I ate but still had dessert most nights. Mostly I kept breakfasts and lunches to healthy choices and reasonable amounts and counted on walking ashore and the gym plus some deck walking for the sea days to balance the rest. I didn't gain weight.

They will hand dry the items for you.

I always ask for most of my clothers is cold wash, line dry, no problem. My clothes have always come back what I think is nicely. Happy sailing.

That is great to hear, thanks!

Most cruises 14 days or longer get free laundry. It is fantastic. Clothes are washed, ironed, and returned quickly. We put out a bag in the morning and clothes were returned on hangers in the late afternoon same day. Best part was the laundry service goes through the last day of your cruise. I packed mostly clean clothes ti return home. When I got home, I didn't have to spend hours doing laundry. Just unpack your clean clothes.

As for tipping, your cabin will add automatic tips to your account daily. At the end of each cruise segment, you will get a cruise bill. Each segment is separate. Be sure to ask about on board credit. On a b2b cruise, we ran into a misunderstanding about when we could use our credit. At first, the guest staff said we had to use it all on the first cruise. It would not carry over. We spoke to the purser who refunded unused credit at the end of the first cruise. It went back to Seatle. It was posted on the credit card that we paid for the cruise. It was not the credit card we used on the cruise. Next cruise was billed without any credit. It was confusing. Also, you cannot use On board credit from Windstar to pay your tips. Credit from your TA can be used for tips. We tip extra when any crew person does anything special for us at the end of the cruise. Crew members that are departing usually tell you.

Thanks Redtravel for your insight. We do have some onboard credit from Windstar to use. I sure hope they don't expect us to use it all up in the first 7 of 25 days! I will put it on my list of the things to do. Boy, is that list growing!!

Thanks Redtravel for your insight. We do have some onboard credit from Windstar to use. I sure hope they don't expect us to use it all up in the first 7 of 25 days! I will put it on my list of the things to do. Boy, is that list growing!!

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Each ship seems to be different you have On Board Credit. On the Star legend, we had the problem with when we could use the credit. We attempted to get clarification at the start of the first cruise. We got several responses that didn't agree. The staff at guest relations told us that we had to use it all on the first cruise. We got a different story from the purser. When we got the statement at the end of the first cruise, it was hard to understand. The purser assured us that the left over credit would rollover to the next cruise. That didn't happen. When we got the preliminary statement on the next cruise, the supposed left over credit vanished. The purser told us that it would be credited to our credit card. What she didn't tell us was that the credit would be posted 2 months later onto the credit card that we used to pay for the cruise. We used a different card on the ship. It took several phone calls to Seattle to figure this out. Frustrating? YES!!! It all worked out eventually. Fast forward 6 months later to another b2b. The next time we did a b2b on the Windsurf, we had no problem. At the start of the cruise, we were told that the OBC could be used on either cruise. We were also told that it couldn't be used for tips. We used it up and then some. Not a problem. What they didn't tell us is that OBC from a TA can be used for tips or anything. You can even cash it out. Only the OBC from Windstar has the restricted use.