HAL $20 Laundry Bags - how big

[Wayfairers]

I am going to take a 45 day cruise late this fall to Europe and I'm working on the number of clothes to take. I called HAL and got the laundry costs today and I would have to send out the $20 bag 14 times to pay the equivalent of unlimited laundry.

 

The question becomes.... how much can you stuff into those $20 bags? Gotta remember this won't be shorts and flimsy tops since we aren't in the Caribbean - this will be sweatshirts/sweaters, short sleeve shirts, pants, jeans, undies, socks. I know I could check it out on board before making a final decision but I would pack differently if I have unlimited laundry. Anyone with experience with the bags care to guess at how much will fit in a bag?

[CowPrincess]

We've only used the laundry bags a couple of times. We usually use the laundromat a few times.

 

Thinking back, I'm going to guess we got 1 pair jeans, 2 pair pants, 4 shirts, a couple of pairs of socks, and a bunch o' undies into the bag. That's more or less what I remember of the day we arrived onboard with our washable travel clothes in need of washing. I still prefer using the laundromat, actually :)

 

I think there are many on this board who can fit a LOT more into one of those bags than I can.

[woodeagle]

I was able to get two dress shirts, a weeks worth of undershorts and tee shirts plus socks and handkerchieves in my bag by carefully rolling and stuffing the items very compactly. The next week I sent two pairs of Dockers and some short sleeve sport shirts with room left over!

 

I own only all-wool sweaters, so I just hang up to air and get many wearings from each. Polo type shirts pack nicely, so that's a large part of my cruise shirts.

Hope this helps,

Woodeagle

[Wayfairers]

My DH is leaning toward the ship laundromat, but I have met so many rude, obnoxious people in there that I just don't want to deal with that on this trip. He is saying he may do laundry for us instead of using the $20 bag. We will see what people say about the amount of clothes that fit in the bag.

 

CowPrincess: Sounds like you basically got 2 days worth of clothes for each of you in the bag.

 

Woodeagle: Sounds like you got a little more in the bag. I am good at stuffing clothes in a bag... that rolling trick really does work.

[dchurn]

Since HAL uses cloth bags, you can really stuff a lot in them. Just roll your stuff up and pack it in. On our Alaska trip in June we had sweatshirts, jeans and other heavy clothes. No problems, as long as we did it every day. The unlimited laundry save lots of packing.

[CowPrincess]

My DH is leaning toward the ship laundromat, but I have met so many rude, obnoxious people in there that I just don't want to deal with that on this trip. He is saying he may do laundry for us instead of using the $20 bag. We will see what people say about the amount of clothes that fit in the bag.

 

CowPrincess: Sounds like you basically got 2 days worth of clothes for each of you in the bag.

 

Woodeagle: Sounds like you got a little more in the bag. I am good at stuffing clothes in a bag... that rolling trick really does work.

 

Maybe you could agree to do some laundromat, some bags? Yes , I've met some of those people too :) One woman actually growled at me before yelling "there's no room in here, go find another washer, these are all taken". :rolleyes: She was self-appointed guardian of the door, too.

 

I've found that if one of the laundry rooms is completely full, there's usually another one somewhere that is pretty close to vacant. No explanation for that, but it has been my experience.

 

For my upcoming cruise, there's no laundromat, so I'm planning on doing the bag once, with probably about 4 days' worth of clothing. So yes, it seems that for ME, 1 person for 4 days or 2 people for 2 days is about how it works out.

 

I love getting the laundry back :) all nice and folded. That is better than the laundromat :D

[Wayfairers]

When in Mexico on land trips we always use the local laundromats and for about $15 we get two carry-on size rolling bags (2 weeks of laundry for us) wash and folded - they are ready in about 24 hours. I LOVE that. If HAL's prices were the equivalent there wouldn't be a question, we would use unlimited laundry. But, $6 a day or $20 for 2 days worth of our laundry seems a bit high.

[CowPrincess]

When in Mexico on land trips we always use the local laundromats and for about $15 we get two carry-on size rolling bags (2 weeks of laundry for us) wash and folded - they are ready in about 24 hours. I LOVE that. If HAL's prices were the equivalent there wouldn't be a question, we would use unlimited laundry. But, $6 a day or $20 for 2 days worth of our laundry seems a bit high.

 

Don't base your decision on what I got in the bag, please :) I know there are others here who do MUCH better on what they can get in there -- hopefully they will chime in.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

About 24"X 6" X 14"

[Sophiebaby]

I've spent too much time in laundromats in my youth to want to spend time in one aboard. I did when I first started sailing with HAL over 30 years ago. Now I give up other "perks" to be able to stuff a bag and hand it to my steward. It's amazing what you can fit in the bag by rolling. And everything comes back ironed, even bras and panties. Blouses and slacks are on hangers. It's wonderful. I'll be a 4-star Mariner after my October trip on the Maasdam, so it means I will have free laundry service on cruises after that one:D. Yippee!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

My DH is leaning toward the ship laundromat, but I have met so many rude, obnoxious people in there that I just don't want to deal with that on this trip. He is saying he may do laundry for us instead of using the $20 bag. We will see what people say about the amount of clothes that fit in the bag.

 

CowPrincess: Sounds like you basically got 2 days worth of clothes for each of you in the bag.

 

Woodeagle: Sounds like you got a little more in the bag. I am good at stuffing clothes in a bag... that rolling trick really does work.

 

Know what you mean.

We were on the OLD Nieuw Amsterdam doing a South American cruise.

The laundry room was located next to the doors leading out onto the promenade deck. One lady removed another lady's partially dried clothes to dry her own clothes -- fight broke out and security was called.

After that the laundry room had very limited hours with security on duty for the rest of the cruise.

[judynorth]

About 24"X 6" X 14"

 

I think you are being very generous. The bag is flat and about 12x18. However, if you roll things tightly and stuff the bag you can get quite a lot in one. Of course, the smaller that you are the more you can get in the bag. :)

 

On our last cruise I sent a bag every other day and usually it was pretty well stuffed. I had unlimited laundry then. On an earlier cruise to Alaska I sent 3 bags in 14 days at $14/bag.

[debsjc]

The laundry bags have gone up to $26 now, from $20.

[airlink diva]

The laundry bags have gone up to $26 now, from $20.

 

$26 :eek::eek:! They really went up!

I know in the coupon book,there was a coupon for a discount on laundry. I want to say it was either 25% or 50% off. I used it both times on my cruise.

I will admit that I can stuff alot on those bags. You just roll it tight and stuff it. Those little tags that have your cabin number are strong and I still have t-shirts and shorts with them.

I hate to wash after a cruise (I still have two bags of cruise items packed from last week) and if I can return with clean items, I normally turn to the bag.

But if the price is this high, I got have a coupon book with a discount to use it. Otherwise, the stuff going home dirty!

[Wayfairers]

The laundry bags have gone up to $26 now, from $20.

 

I called HAL yesterday and they told me it was $20 a bag.... where did you get $26 from?

[Globaliser]

It was $26 for us on the Nieuw Amsterdam in late August.

[chelseababy]

We just got back from Noordam and I thought it was $30 per bag. Didn't measure the bag but my reaction ws that it was TINY!

[Wayfairers]

Thinking I need to confirm with HAL - people answering questions for a company have been known to be wrong..... Is it also possible that there are different rates on different ships or cruises??

[Globaliser]

IME, call centres often operate with out-of-date information, unfortunately.

[ceeceecruiser]

I called HAL yesterday and they told me it was $20 a bag.... where did you get $26 from?

 

We just returned last weekend from the Eurodam and it was $26./bag.

[debsjc]

It was $26 on the Eurodam a couple of weeks ago. If you roll the itmes up tight you can fit a lot in, maybe 5 t-shirts and 5 pairs of trousers/pants.

 

We had problems with our laundry, as it came back with plastic tags through it, not just the usual sticky labels, and the tags made holes in our clothes. However, HAL were really good about paying compensation for the damaged items. They said they would resolve the problem with the tags from then on, but I didn't send any more laundry just in case.

[RuthC]

Thinking I need to confirm with HAL - people answering questions for a company have been known to be wrong.....

Seattle is notorious for giving incorrect answers. Cruise Critic has a much better track record there.

[catl331]

I called HAL yesterday and they told me it was $20 a bag.... where did you get $26 from?

 

Is it also possible that there are different rates on different ships or cruises??

Yes, it varies by itinerary. We paid $26 on a 12-day on the Nieuw A last Oct.

[sargemrs]

We only did the $20.00 bag once, but it came back VERY nice, soft and no damage or shrinkage! Loved it~!

[Typhoon1]

Roll clothes very tightly and stuff the bag full.

 

The better alternative is the unlimited package.