Laundry Strategy - 35 Day

[grsnovi]

We've only ever done 7 or 10 day cruises and after not going anywhere I'm really looking hard at the 35 day Z'dam out of San Diego going to Hawaii, Tahiti and the Marquesas. We have never opted for a laundry package but I would imagine that on a 35 day cruise EVERYONE is going to use the laundry. So, is there a strategy? How long is the turn around?

 

Also, I didn't take my tux on the last AK cruise we did with the kids and grandkids - what are the non-formal formal nights going to look like? 

 

I'm so ready to break out of lock down!

[cabinluvn]

Hot weather, lightweight clothing, I would imagine. You can stuff a lot of clothes in the blue laundry bag. Unless you think you would fill that every day, I personally do not think paying for laundry would be cost efficient. 

[grsnovi]

We certainly wouldn't fill it every day - is there some baseline laundry included on longer cruises?

[kazu]

We’ve done that cruise and had no problem with laundry service.  Turnaround was usually 24 hours.  Sometimes if it was on the bed in the morning it was back that night.

 

There was one day when it was a bit longer (last laundry IIRC) as everyone is of course getting as much cleaned as possible.  Same thing may happen on embarkation day if a lot of people did pre-cruise stays for a number of days and have a lot of dirty laundry.  Otherwise, there were no delays.

 

As far as the tux goes, a few wore them but it’s really not necessary unless you want to.  A suit, sports jacket is fine.

 

Smart casual nights (non formal) are just that - smart casual.  Even jeans are allowed as long as they are nice (not ripped, torn, etc).  Collared shirt, no shorts and that’s about it.  Some people will dress nicer and some not so much.

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, grsnovi said:

We certainly wouldn't fill it every day - is there some baseline laundry included on longer cruises?

 

Baseline?  Sorry not sure I understand what you are asking.   It’s the standard unlimited laundry package & price.  You don’t need to fill it every day.  Just put in what you want washed.

The other option is laundry by the bag but personally with the hot weather,  you’ll probably find you make more use of the laundry than you think.  I’d do the unlimited laundry package.

[cowmilker]

We did the South America Grand Voyage last year which was more than 70 days.

We never used the laundry service a single time.  Not once.  We washed all our clothes ourselves and hung them to dry in the shower (and everywhere else when we had to). 

I planned it pretty carefully, and because it was a circumnavigation with a huge distance from north to south, we went through every sort of weather imaginable.  That actually made it easier, since we didn't need the same clothes for the entire time.  I was able to pack away our winter stuff after we left Antarctica and southern Argentina behind, for example.

What you're suggesting, going to strictly tropical areas, would be easy.

Edited May 23, 2021 by cowmilker

[zelker]

9 minutes ago, grsnovi said:

We certainly wouldn't fill it every day - is there some baseline laundry included on longer cruises?

Laundry is only included if you're a 4 Star Mariner or above (or maybe on a world cruise?).  I just checked the price for unlimited laundry since we're on the 35 day South Pacific cruise next February (is that the one you're looking at?) - it's $210 for the entire cruise, and that's per cabin, not per person.  Personally paying $6 per day not to have to worry about it is well worth the cost but it's your vacation dollars so do whatever works for you.

[Mary229]

I have invested in travel clothing including a lot of lightweight wicking clothing.   Most wicking clothing, including undies, have bacterial control and are hand wash and quick dry.  I only pack for 10 days no matter how long the travels.  Two climates messes things up but you won't have that issue.  Bottoms and tops can usually be worn at least 4 times before needing laundering with the exception of workout clothing,  You should be able to get by with one or two laundry bags for a 35 day trip if you are willing to hand wash. 

 

Now for the big caveat, if I am only cruising and not doing any additional travel I just bring whatever I want.  I fly Southwest and am allowed two bags each and between that and my carryons that is plenty of clothing for a month.  Just make sure your luggage is not so thick that it won't fit under the bed

[highscar]

Stuff the laundry bag for $10.00.   Amazing how much you can get in it. Comes back better than home    Lol. 

[KirkNC]

Turn around is usually pretty quick.  We have actually gotten it the same day before (not often).  If you have light weight clothes likes Columbia shirts, you can take a little laundry soap and wash them in the sink.  That’s what we did prior to getting free laundry.  
 

we are booked on the Feb 22 trip you describe, no tux for us.  I will take a sports coat.

[ger_77]

17 minutes ago, highscar said:

Stuff the laundry bag for $10.00.   Amazing how much you can get in it. Comes back better than home    Lol. 

If you're doing laundry by the bag, it's $20 per bag, not $10.  Still a bargain because it's a cloth bag, not a paper that will easily tear.

 

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[atexsix]

On sea days for a 14+ sailing I had no problem getting same day service.  I have never used it on a shorter sailing so can't speak for that.  

 

It was very well done with professional presentation, I wasn't expecting anything to be folded as nice as it was.  I'm not going to hesitate to use it again and free up my back from lugging heavy bags, even on a 7 day.

[SFO Peter]

Ditch the Tux and Jackets.   Island wear such as they wear in Hawaii would be the norm except you cannot wear shorts in the dining room.  Take a sweater for air conditioning spaces.

 

Peter

[FlaMariner]

We took advantage of unlimited laundry on a 14 day TA in 2019 and we are sold.  Not free for us...yet. 

 

Well worth the daily cost, IMO

 

We were in Italy 6 days pre cruise and when we boarded, we sent in all our dirty clothes and got them back next day.  Then, every day or so, kept sending our dirty clothes and they were back in a day or less.  Port or sea day did not matter as far as turnaround time. 

 

They do a jam up job with the laundry (you get spoiled quick) and the business case for us was easily rationalized due to no airline baggage fee and the ease of maneuvering with just carry ons for a 3 week trip.  Makes self serve early dis-embarkation a walk in the park. 

 

Enjoy the cruise!

 

 

 

 

[atexsix]

44 minutes ago, SFO PETER said:

Ditch the Tux and Jackets.   Island wear such as they wear in Hawaii would be the norm except you cannot wear shorts in the dining room.  Take a sweater for air conditioning spaces.

 

Peter

Agree!  You wear that and Hawaiians will think you are headed to a wedding or a funeral, and even then it'd be a bit much, they are pretty relaxed there.

[grsnovi]

Thanks all! Wasn't planning on bringing the tux. We've never even used the stuff the laundry bag for $10 or $20 (might have been 10 when we started cruising).

 

As to whether or not we go, it will depend a lot on what happens with global COVID. I feel the need to be out on the water!!

[highscar]

It was $10.00 last March. For the laundry bag. 

[jakers]

Don't Wash, Just Wear.

[northernphoenix]

Have used this one very cruise, except when we had the luxury of the Neptune suite...service is quick and very efficient...will use it again on our 2022 cruises from Quebec City to Boston. Pack for five days, and repeat!!````

[kazu]

1 hour ago, highscar said:

It was $10.00 last March. For the laundry bag. 

 

Wow!  I haven’t seen it at that price for years.  

[Heartgrove]

When planning on using the laundry service, there is a cutoff two days before disembarkation. Sometimes extended to the morning of the day before disembarkation.

[Dismomx5]

When we did a 20-day Mediterranean cruise in October 2019, I took enough clothes for 10 days. Because we had a 5 days in Rome beforehand, one of the first things I did on the ship was send out a bag of clothes. I think I did 3 bags total that trip, with the last of time being in the last few days so that most of my clothes were clean when I got home.  This worked out well, and much cheaper than the laundry package for the duration. I'm looking forward to getting my next two cruises (2022) completed so that the laundry package will be free in 2023 for us. (counting on those Mariner points 😄 )

 

 

[grsnovi]

On 5/23/2021 at 1:02 PM, KirkNC said:

we are booked on the Feb 22 trip you describe, no tux for us.  I will take a sports coat.

Looks like we're too late for 2022 (only inside left) maybe we'll do this in 23?

 

I'll have to look around some more. Of course, there's always another run up to Alaska...

[atexsix]

14 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

When planning on using the laundry service, there is a cutoff two days before disembarkation. Sometimes extended to the morning of the day before disembarkation.

I forgot about that, good reminder.

[KirkNC]

4 hours ago, grsnovi said:

Looks like we're too late for 2022 (only inside left) maybe we'll do this in 23?

 

I'll have to look around some more. Of course, there's always another run up to Alaska...

Some rooms may become available after final payment date in the fall.  You could waitlist and see what happens.