Laundry machines now free!

[LHT28]

Just now, Redtravel said:

 

 If Oceania were truly luxury, they would close the laundry rooms.  

Well thank goodness  they are not Luxury  then

[edgee]

10 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Just because using the laundry rooms is free will not increase the use of it. Nobody wants to waste time doing more laundry than is necessary just because it is free. It just makes it more convenient for guests. It may also cut down on work for the crew. They don’t have to load the token machines or field off problems that occur when the token machines brake.  I really prefer that cruise lines do not have guest laundry rooms.  If Oceania were truly luxury, they would close the laundry rooms.  

Agree that eliminating tokens is mostly a good thing. However the marketplace disagrees that removing self serve laundries would make for a more luxurious cruise. Indeed all of the major luxury lines(Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, Silverseas) have free self service laundries on most, if not all, of their ships.

Edited March 11, 2019 by edgee

[Mura]

+1, Lyn.  There are some things that I prefer to do myself.  The QE2 had 12 washers and dryers in their free laundry room many years ago and I think there are some who would have called that ship "luxury".

[Rob the Cruiser]

11 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Me

I prefer to do my own

it is done my way in less than 2 hrs 👍

Me, too. 

We had a Concierge cabin on the last two cruises but didn't use the "free" laundry service.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[Redtravel]

Ok. Self serve laundry rooms are there if you want to use them. It is your choice. I prefer sending out my laundry.  I hate doing laundry.  At home, I do it when needed. I don’t mind paying to get it done on vacation. When you are spending $$$ for a vacation, another $ for laundry isn’t a big deal.  I enjoy my vacation more when I don’t have access to laundry machines. I travel often. I have taken many trips without stopping to do a wash. I don’t think that there will be more people using the laundry facilities now that they are free.  At $2/wash or dry, nobody would think twice if they needed to wash.  Perhaps, Oceania is extending free laundry to match their close competitor, Azamara.  This thread is only guesses as to why Oceania made the laundry free. 

[LHT28]

I do my own  not to save money but to save my clothes

I have in the past  sent things to the laundry 

they do not look at the instructions on the sheet or the garment

I asked for cold water wash ..

spoiled  2 of my sweaters

If I do send anything out it is DH heavyweight cargo pants

If  you do not do laundry  then why worry if it is free or not

& if others choose to do their own

JMO

[LHT28]

13 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

 I enjoy my vacation more when I don’t have access to laundry machines. I travel often. I have taken many trips without stopping to do a wash.

Can only imagine  what people around you think  if you are wearing unwashed clothes on a  trip

[Redtravel]

 I do not wear dirty clothing. I am clean. My clothes are clean. I wash, bring clothes that wash and dry quickly. Bring clothing that can stand commercial washers without shrinking. Llbean makes great shirts that do not shrink.  If pressed, I can wash them out and dry them overnight. I send my laundry out. Decent hotels do laundry. Most cruise lines will do laundry. I just do not waste my time doing it. I would prefer using my vacation time to do other things. 

[CintiPam]

Looks like we have exhausted any productive discussion of this topic.

 

I have not participated on this board for about a year, only following it when I have an upcoming “O” cruise, and now I remember why!

 

JMO; I know that this board is open to ALL discussion.

[1985rz1]

 

17 hours ago, Redtravel said:

I really prefer that cruise lines do not have guest laundry rooms.  If Oceania were truly luxury, they would close the laundry rooms.  

 

17 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Well thank goodness  they are not Luxury  then

 

Self Service Laundries on Regent exist and are free.

 

[WFHFLOYD]

redtravel, why on earth would you have such a preference?  of what impact could the presence of a laundry room have on your daily cruise enjoyment???  I can understand your view of luxury for yourself, personally, but to object to the mere presence of laundry rooms?  Oh boy!  

[Redtravel]

I don’t care if there is a laundry room for guests.  If you want to do your own laundry, do it.   Getting back to the original thread topic....making the laundry room free will not increase the number of people using it.  Some people like doing laundry.  Not me. 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

making the laundry room free will not increase the number of people using it.

I can just see it now - people normally  doing their own laundry thinking to themselves:

“I usually do my laundry but now that it’s free, I don’t think I will” 

[WFHFLOYD]

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

I don’t care if there is a laundry room for guests.   

But two days ago, Redtravel, you stated that  'I really prefer that cruise lines do not have guest laundry rooms."  which is why I piped up that I wondered why on earth you would bother to have a preference about such an issue.  But now that it seems you really don't care, as you pointed out, we can return to the original topic.....  after of course you told us all about your personal and wardrobe cleanliness, your catalog shopping preferences, your opinions on tokens vs coins, your travel and hotel patterns and how you prefer to spend your vacation time.   I for one will not say any more about washing machines - it's late and I have to put my stuff in the dryer.   Happy cruising!   You're probably a really nice guy,  just a bit reved up on this laundry stuff!   Get some sleep!

[susiesan]

I have been on over 50 cruises and have never once done laundry on any ship. Even with it now free I will still not be doing laundry on my next Oceania cruise. I always just pack enough clothes to last 2-3 weeks and wash underwear in the sink if necessary.

[mybagsarepacked]

On ‎3‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 10:22 AM, Rob the Cruiser said:

There may be a few people who decide to use the laundry machines now that they are "free" but there won't be many, IMHO. It was only $4.00 to wash and dry a single load. Those who don't want to do laundry, as @floridatravelersforlifementioned, won't be motivated by saving $4.00 per load. (I hope.)

I agree!  I can't fathom that people would spend precious time in the laundry room washing a teensy load. The last thing I want to do when cruising is laundry, though it is a necessary evil. I think a load a week or maybe 2 would be more than enough. I certainly would not wash 2 items of clothing and take up a whole washer, not to mention my time, free or not.  I do love having the option to wash a quick load of things mid-cruise, though, whether free or not. I am fairly particular about how things are washed and dried, and like one poster mentioned, I can get it done in an hour rather than waiting a day or to get it back from the ship.

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by mybagsarepacked

[sailfar]

I am currently on Marina and the free laundry room is working just fine.  No more wait than normal.  This in addition to the 20 item per bag free laundry service in upper cabins is a welcome amenity.  We use our 3 free bags and supplement it with a load in laundry room each week for the excess.  Less laundry to do means more time to spend on excursions, onboard activities including ones that cost much more than approximately $4 per hour laundry activity.  This is a win-win for both passengers and Oceania!

[UDSpud]

Is no one considering the downside? 

 

 A problem with self-serve laundry is that the dryer takes more time than the washer.  If someone uses the last dryer just a bit before I start my wash cycle, I may have to take my damp wash one a trip to other floors laundries. 

 

If dryer are free, I may find a few clothes in a dryer with a lot of minutes to go when I, or someone else, needs a dryer for a full, finished load of wash.  I do not plan to bring enough clean clothes for a 26 day cruise to avoid laundry.

 

Like wasted, over-ordered food, free, or all ready paid for, has a downside.

 

 

 

 

[edgee]

7 minutes ago, UDSpud said:

Is no one considering the downside? 

 

 A problem with self-serve laundry is that the dryer takes more time than the washer.  If someone uses the last dryer just a bit before I start my wash cycle, I may have to take my damp wash one a trip to other floors laundries. 

 

If dryer are free, I may find a few clothes in a dryer with a lot of minutes to go when I, or someone else, needs a dryer for a full, finished load of wash.  I do not plan to bring enough clean clothes for a 26 day cruise to avoid laundry.

 

Like wasted, over-ordered food, free, or all ready paid for, has a downside.

 

 

 

 

Several posters on this thread HAVE considered downside, as your concerns has been mentioned more than once. Oceania staff told me that they have had a lot of complaints about the fees to use self service laundries, thus the decision to end them. Also, it has been discussed on this thread that many other cruise lines do not charge to use machines and the posters do not see any difference in usage/availability. We just disembarked the Riviera and laundry machines were available each time we wanted to use them...zero waiting. Perhaps on the R class ships which have far too few machines compared to numbers of passengers, as some have speculated, it could make a difference. Time will tell.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, edgee said:

Perhaps on the R class ships which have far too few machines compared to numbers of passengers, as some have speculated, it could make a difference. 

Bingo!

Let’s remember that O class ships have laundry on each deck (almost) - not the case for R ships.

[Nachosdelux]

just got off Riviera.  self-serve laundry was always available and very convenient.  It is a nice amenity for those that choose to use it. 

 

Even though we got 3 bags of free laundry, we did most of it in the self-serve because it took 3 days to get back the one bag we sent out.  

[UDSpud]

My bad, my bad, I apologize.

 

Many of you are right, especially after a re-read the first page.  I am sorry, the downside was discussed quite a bit

 

When a dance, I sweat.  When I work out, I sweat,  When I walk around ports ( and it is warm),  I sweat .  Now that you get the picture, (sorry about the truth), I use the self-serve laundry a lot (my better half does not).  It reached the point that I was giving "how to use the laundry machines instructions" to passengers new to Oceania. Three other points, minor, and I can wash my hands of this topic.:

 

1)  Oceania used to open the doors to the self-service laundry (O ships) at 6:00 am if I remember right, and now I  believe it is 7:00 or 7:30 am.

 

2) On my last Marina cruise, I had to go to a third different floor to get a dryer when the wash cycle finished.

 

3)  I now need another way to use small amounts of OBC credits  (Oceania does not have $2.00 and $4.00 shore excursions.)

 

I will now put a (clean) sock in it.