Having no self serve laundry on RCI sucks!

[Stags14]

You may be surprised with what you could stuff in those little bags!

[C Cruise Dude]

I love cruising with RCI but there is one thing that really annoys me- why oh why do they not have any self serve laundries on board the ships? When you are a family of 5 you NEED a laundry. Paying $20 for a tiny paper bag full of washing does not suffice.

Both Carnival and Princess had laundries on them. I really wish RCI had them. Do any of their ships have them?

 

You know what, you're right. My laundry bill was competitive with my bar bill (not really but it was way too high). That is so sad. Hopefully, it kept someone employed.

[griffy116]

Just me, but I don't want self-service laundry anymore than a cabin with a kitchette. If it was there, I'm sure I'd be tempted to use it or feel guilty because of sending it to be done. I've washed a swimsuit out in the sink and dried it on the back of a chair on the balcony, but for everything else, I LOVE having the laundry done. It's the one time I get to have someone else schlep nasty laundry into a machine and do it for me. I consider it part of my vacation. Before cruising, we would rent a nice condo and of course, I always did laundry. We don't spend a huge amount on a cruise, hate taking loads of luggage, but I have to say, I'd rather spend the money to have the laundry done onboard than to spend time doing self-service laundry. I just add it to the usual list of expenses associated with the cruise.

[cruisenfever]

We were on Radiance last September 27 until November 18, a total of 52 days or 7 weeks and 3 days and our total laundry bill was under $100 which averaged to $7.00 a week.:)

 

We used the Wash & Fold Special bag which was free because of our D+ coupon (and we used 2 coupons each cruise), and for things that needed ironing we used the regular laundry.

 

Other items of clothing that we took were those that could be washed out and hung to dry in the bathroom.

 

A great way to use up our OBC.

[luvscruising2007]

Even if they had self-service laundry rooms, I wouldn't use them. I plan my wardrobe so that I can wear things more than once. We use the laundry special and I do lots of laundry when I get home.:D

[CruisinGerman]

Especially for those of us from Europe, the laundry and dry-cleaning charges on RCCL ships, especially with the coupons and offers, are quite reasonable.

 

We did a 12 night Cunard cruise in the Mediterranean a few years ago, and the same women spent every day -- all day long -- in the self-service laundry room on our deck -- they didn't seem to enjoy their cruise ever.

 

We took a tour of the laundry facilities once on an RCCL ship. They are amazing. Seeing their facilities and the care the employees put into cleaning your clothes makes the prices seem even more reasonable.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Chelsea1]

We just returned from 16 nights on Princess in Asia (Diamond Princess) and the self service laundry rooms were great. I used them twice on sea days for shirts, t-shirts, blouses, underwear etc. and it really cut down on flight baggage (we managed with 1 suitcase each). It's the first ship I have been on and used the laundry, but on this cruise it was invaluable.

[KathyPet]

Even the "luxury" cruise lines where the passengers are assumed to have a endless supply of money on hand have self service laundries (at least Seabourn and Regent do).

 

It's a shame that a line like RCCL that touts itself as so family friendly chooses to gouge its passengers this way. Don't want to use it then don't but give customers the choice.

[chef_christoph]

I think having self-serve laundry facilities onboard RCI ships would be great. I might never use them, but having the option to do so would be nice. I think of it like I do all the added-fee dining venues...I can choose to make use of those options - or not - but having options is a good thing.

[Janet524]

I could care less if Royal or HAL or Princess or whomever has self service laundry. Call me crazy, but I'm on vacation. I can do all the laundry I want when I get home.

[Ashland]

I could care less if Royal or HAL or Princess or whomever has self service laundry. Call me crazy, but I'm on vacation. I can do all the laundry I want when I get home.

But wouldn't it be nice to to be able to press something ?..The row of hot professional looking irons and ironing boards were impressive and would come in handy for many ;)

[teddie]

For us, laundry and vacation don't go together.

 

With five kids, you would expect to pay for laundry in way way or another. We plan carefully to permit re-wearing of clothes before they get soiled (eg, everyone changes back into "play clothes" after dinner), wear mostly swimsuits/tee shirts/coverups for daytime sea days, and then rely on the ship's laundry for underwear, socks, and tee shirts. We rinse swimsuits directly after using, with a dab of shampoo added to the sink; press out excess water by rolling in a bathroom towel. If you have a balcony, bring some clothespins to hang wet suits on the backs of your balcony chairs.

 

I know it's a challenge, but with five kids at home, do you REALLY want to sit in a laundry facility on your cruise?

 

Happy cruising!

 

Teddie

[KathyPet]

Or you can do as one poster on a thread (not this one) said she did. Bring laundry detergent, Wash and rise your clothes in the tub and then bring bungee cords and string them across your balcony and dry them there. One can only hope that her balcony was not on the dock side of the ports they visited!

[dz9yvr]

There are two reasons that RCCL doesn't have any luandries: Money and Fire. RCCL will put rooms in any place they can to maximize income. But the second reson is more concern to me. Dyrers are a common source of fire in laundries and I suspect that RCCL just doesn't want the risk. Laudries also invite irons, which are not permitted. I'm glad they don't have laundries.

[KansasK]

We spend about $30.00 on RCI ships on laundry for two people on a 7 day cruise. On Carnival on an 8 day cruise, we used the self serve laundry and this was a nice convenience, but it was $2.00 for each load of laundry or a dryer run. The washing machines were not big, but the driers ran a long time. We left the laundry room and timed ourselves to come back before the loads of clothes stopped washing or drying.

 

A cruise is expensive in itself and we don't mind the approximate $30.00 spend on laundry on RCI ships.

[Janet524]

But wouldn't it be nice to to be able to press something ?..The row of hot professional looking irons and ironing boards were impressive and would come in handy for many ;)

 

I-R-O-N is a four-letter word!;)

[Hondu]

Customer service should be the key. They are people who refuse to do laundry on a cruise but others would love to pack lightly and use a self-serve launderette. Choice matters.

[Hondu]

if you really need to you can do laundry in your sink the old fashioned way

 

I don't hand wash at home and would not even consider it on a cruise. What was that commercial with Madge years ago? :)

[Gilgo Surfer]

For those who have used a laundromat on a cruise ship I just have to ask... Don't they get overcrowded with so many passengers on board?

[matj2000]

Just because you are on RC does not mean you are " too good" to do laundry.

It's not like you are out & about, busy or relaxing 24/7 that you can't take 1 hour from the entire week to wash a load.

Clean clothes are an essential part of many peoples lives.

RC should get with the program..

[3dog]

Though sometimes it would be nice to have self-service laundry, I have had no problem sending it out. It isn't that expensive, and leaves me to continue to enjoy my vacation.

[Gilgo Surfer]

Just because you are on RC does not mean you are " too good" to do laundry.

It's not like you are out & about, busy or relaxing 24/7 that you can't take 1 hour from the entire week to wash a load.

Clean clothes are an essential part of many peoples lives.

RC should get with the program..

 

I doubt RCI will be getting with that program at any time soon.

[Ksma23]

I agree, it would be nice if RCI had the self serve laundry option. I hate coming home from vacation with a suitcase filled with dirty clothes. I wouldn't mind spending a couple hours on our last "at sea" day doing laundry so I could just unpack once I got home. When you return home to work, carpools, kids homework, etc., playing catch up with the laundry is the last thing I want to do.

[Ashland]

I-R-O-N is a four-letter word!;)

Using a four-letter word vs the "wrinkled" look some might find appealing, since so many are concerned with how they and other's look and how it can affect their cruise :)

[Pushka]

most of us can find better ways to spend our vacation time than doing laundry while on the ship. NCL actually removed their self-serve laundries in order to add more revenue generating staterooms.......

With proper planning, you can survive and if you include laundry costs in your cruise budget you shouldn't have a serious problem.

I can think of better things to do than laundry on a vacation too, but people travelling across the world to go on a cruise do have to do laundry at some stage of their journey. And the length of time in travelling rather excludes the ability to plan properly. If NcL removed their laundries then it is all about costs and not about customer requirements.

Using a four-letter word vs the "wrinkled" look some might find appealing, since so many are concerned with how they and other's look and how it can affect their cruise :)

I have picked a lot of my clothes based on the fact they are designed to be wrinkly and you screw them up to dry them.

Or you can do as one poster on a thread (not this one) said she did. Bring laundry detergent, Wash and rise your clothes in the tub and then bring bungee cords and string them across your balcony and dry them there. One can only hope that her balcony was not on the dock side of the ports they visited!

That is a pretty awful thought - everyone's smalls on display in each of the balconies. Might make them build a laundry after all.