Self Serve Laundry Tips

[Coffeeluvr05]

We won’t be in a full suite on our upcoming sailing 😭 so we will have to do our own laundry 😮

 

Do you all bring your own detergent pods? How do you pack them? When is the best time to go? Do you hang laundry to dry in your room? I don’t dry most of my clothes. 

 

Tips welcome! 

[sciteach11]

Search Amazon for laundry soap sheets and you get soap in flat sheets that you can throw in a ziplock and not worry about spilling. I like them too because you can tear off small pieces for hand washing in the sink as well. Traveling with a baby so we do a lot of laundry!

[c-boy]

P T A ... purchase tokens ahead.  

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Do you hang laundry to dry in your room? I don’t dry most of my clothes. 

 

We tend to watch a movie in the cabin while doing laundry. We put in the wash, set a timer on the phone, go back to the cabin and watch the movie. Same for the dryer. Never a problem. We don't leave the clothes sitting in the laundry room between cycles. We stay on top of the cycles.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Thrak

[Reina del Mar]

Take Purex 3 in 1 sheets...keep suitcase smelling sweet or store in Ziploc bag. Can even take detergent in Ziploc bag! 

 

Never use drier at home but sometimes make exception on ship.

 

Wash takes approx 30 mins and dryer slightly longer...laundrettes quiet on port days. Irons available. Some inconsiderate folk do not always empty machines promptly!  Have seen some people remove others' laundry to be able to use machine.....not sure my thoughts on that !

 

Can dry clothes on balcony but this is generally frowned upon. Take clothes pegs/ pins if planning to do so.

 

Small clothes' line across shower but only enough room for underwear/ swimsuit.

 

Take wire hangers if planning to dry clothes in wardrobe area as ships' varnished ones will stain damp clothes..Consider round plastic hanging rail with 12-18 inch diameter available from shops like Dollartree for smaller items.

 

Having said all that..is it really worth it ?

 

 

[jlp20]

Just off the Ruby. MUST use cruise card to purchase tokens. $3 wash $3 dry. Dry cycle is 30-35 minutes long. Set on high for a medium sized load. No where close to dry. Ended up using packed line for this purpose. HINT don't use the screen to make purchase. The reader is the black disc UNDER the screen

[fluffybunny22]

3 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Take Purex 3 in 1 sheets...keep suitcase smelling sweet or store in Ziploc bag. Can even take detergent in Ziploc bag! 

 

Never use drier at home but sometimes make exception on ship.

 

Wash takes approx 30 mins and dryer slightly longer...laundrettes quiet on port days. Irons available. Some inconsiderate folk do not always empty machines promptly!  Have seen some people remove others' laundry to be able to use machine.....not sure my thoughts on that !

 

Can dry clothes on balcony but this is generally frowned upon. Take clothes pegs/ pins if planning to do so.

 

Small clothes' line across shower but only enough room for underwear/ swimsuit.

 

Take wire hangers if planning to dry clothes in wardrobe area as ships' varnished ones will stain damp clothes..Consider round plastic hanging rail with 12-18 inch diameter available from shops like Dollartree for smaller items.

 

Having said all that..is it really worth it ?

 

 

Where do you find the purex sheets? All the grocery stores near me discontinued them years ago and I bought a box that I'm slowly doling out and will soon be out of. I also take all of the little boxes of soap Disney stocks my villa with when we stay there and use those before I will use a purex sheet.

[GUT2407]

We pack pods in a screw top jar, (jam jar type thing) just enough to get through the cruise and toss the jar when we are done.

[pompeii]

We've taken Tide pods in a ziplock freezer bag and have never had them break.  But we usually take Arm & Hammer pods because they are dry powder instead of liquid.  So if they should break it wouldn't be a mess.  Throw in a few softener sheets and we're good to go.

 

We also are very conscious of cycle time and try to return about 5 minutes before the load should be done, either wash or dry.  Some dryers are much hotter than others and will dry your load in one cycle, but many won't.  I've gone to the front desk to "report" inefficient dryers when the clothes aren't dry after two cycles.  They'll send maintenance up to repair and also refund one of the cycles. 

 

Be sure to check around the front of the washer when removing clothes for socks or other small items that get stuck there.  If you are missing something check back, because there will usually be a basket or pile of orphaned items.

 

However, starting with our next cruise we'll get free elite laundry, so hopefully we won't be visiting the laundromat!

[Reina del Mar]

Fluffybunny 2

 

Bought large box of Purex 3 in 1 years ago when in USA (Have never seen them at home) and only use for cruises...slowly running out myself..but have read on here that they are available on Amazon.

[Loverofdogs]

I take arm and hammer pods, put them in ziplock bag. Have never had a problem with them in suitcase.  I always get my laundry tokens the day of embarkation, for the week. The machine runs out of tokens usually midway through the cruise. I always do laundry in the morning and never had a problem getting a machine. 

[voljeep]

purchase tokens early during the cruise if you know you will be doing laundry - don't wan to show up with your clothes and then the token machine be 'out of order' ...

[Blue and Green]

Like others, I pack Arm and Hammer pods in double Ziploc baggies and pack Mrs Meyer dryer sheets in the suitcases among the clothes--suitcases and clothes smell great. I dry some things in the dryer, but hang quite a bit in the stateroom to "line dry." I've done laundry twice during 10/12 day cruises (early in the cruise and late in the cruise) and never experienced running out of tokens. I suppose it could happen?

[Marvie227]

I bought WashEZE 3-in-1 on Amazon. I liked the unscented plus takes up no space in the suitcase.

[skynight]

Very little space to dry clothing in the cabin. If you bring along spring clothes pins you can attach some small items to the back of the balcony chairs, if you have a balcony.

The best time is is port days.

A bag of standard laundry, underwear, socks, PJ's, T shirts and tops, shorts, stuff like that will probably cost around $50 to have it done. If you are on a short cruise consider your time vs. the cost of having someone else take care of it.

[mevs904]

We’ve taken Tide Pods in a really small Rubbermaid container and it’s worked really well so far.  Appreciate the tip to buy tokens ahead of time as we will be sailing on the Regal Baltic Cruise this summer and will certainly need to do laundry.  

[mevs904]

Concerning the onboard laundry service I’ve read several posts on here from passengers whose clothes have been shrunk or damaged by the commercial large scale laundry  on the ship.  That, more than the cost, makes me reluctant to  use their service.

     We have also had good luck using the self-service laundry later at night when it’s usually pretty quiet.

[Alaskanb]

Plan on only using one washer and dryer. Take clothes that you can wash together. In addition to using Purex 3 in 1 sheets I add a color-catcher sheet.

I take about 4 thin-plastic hangars for clothes that cannot be put in a drier. We stay in a mini suite so have a clothes line above the bath tub -- I take spring clips to stop hangers sliding together . 

 

[coo359a2]

I purchased  2 packages of magnetic hooks from Amazon (6 to pack) to hang things from either ceiling or walls.  Worked great  for hanging damp clothes from the dryer  - never totally dry clothes in the dryer.   

[JF - retired RRT]

Another laundry room tip...one of my visits I pushed the start button on the dryer BEFORE I'd put in the tokens. It started and ran for a full cycle!! I think it was malfunctioning.

Push the start button first, you might get a free spin.

[neverbeenhere]

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times...

 

Laundry Procedure:

1) Put dirty laundry in washing machine, deposit token and detergent

2) Go to nearest bar and enjoy One and only One drink

3) Return to laundry room

4) Place washed clothing into dryer, deposit token

5) Go to nearest bar and enjoy One and Only One more drink

6) Return to Laundry room for clean and dry clothing. 

[Mary loves to travel]

I pack pods in a zip loc bag & put that inside a ziplock plastic tub.    Bring your own dryer sheets. 

 

Bring a couple of plastic tic hangers to hang wet things in your room.  Bring at least one pants hanger , same reason.   

 

Yes, set a timer so you’re back before your machine stops.   I found that about half my darks and half my lights needed more dryer time.   I combined those clothes for the last bit drying time 

[diane.in.ny]

 

I also don't use the dryer. We have a minisuite and I often use the balcony to dry our items. I use clips, only do it while in port, and on a non-windy day. 

 

I bring an elastic clothesline that I have lengthened by tying a shoelace to it ... I tie the lace end, then stretch tight the elastic to tie the other end ... makes for a non-saggy line. Most of the line is below the balcony rail and the clothes dry just fine on a warm sunny day.

 

I have also found lots of places around the cabin to hang things. I'll place items on the horizontal piece of a hanger and hang it from the shelf railing. If I have to, I'll fold the item, and then reverse the fold a couple of hours later.  I've also hung hangers from  the edges of dropped ceilings  lol   

[Alaskanb]

A pop-up laundry basket from the dollar store works great in the closet. 

[GUT2407]

1 hour ago, Alaskanb said:

A pop-up laundry basket from the dollar store works great in the closet. 

We just use a suitcase, open slipped under the bed like a drawer, pull it out drop dirties in, then use it to transfer to laundry or home.