How does HAL laundry handle cotton knits and delicates?

[islandwoman]

I've avoided long HAL cruises because of the lack of a self-service laundry.  But now I've found a 75 day cruise I want to do that no other cruise line offers.  Most of my clothes are cotton knits, and of course like everyone else I will have underwear to be washed.  What will become of my cotton knits and delicates if I send them to HAL's laundry? 

[boulders]

My last HAL cruise was 8 years ago. I am still finding the little stickies on some of my favorite tops. They handle cotton knits extremely well. I sent out a velvet dress one time and it came back pristine. 

[ger_77]

In the past I've sent out my underwear in mesh wash bags and they come back to me the same way.  I just leave a note on the laundry sheet that says "leave contents in mesh bag" and it's worked for me.

[Tampa Girl]

I always have my cotton knits sent to the laundry, and they always come back beautifully folded or on hangers, with no problems.  I usually hand wash my underwear.  I might try the "mesh bag" idea, however, on our next cruise.

[steve4031]

I would suspect that HAL has experience and has perfected their handling of these items.  However, if you have that one outfit or piece of clothing that you would be upset if it was damaged or lost, I would not pack that outfit.  I would stick to things that you could replace if they were damaged or lost.  

[RuthC]

I just toss everything, including all my underwear, in the blue bag and leave it on the bed. Everything comes back fine. My knit tops may have other fabrics than just cotton in them, but they do come back fine, too. 

[WisRiver]

We are 4* Mariners and have been using HAL's laundry services for our lengthly cruises.  Whatever we are going to take we first wash in our home machine and use the dryer.  If the clothes survive, then they get packed.  We have noticed little or no shrinkage.  I take a blue blazer that I send out for pressing after we board the ship.  We have had no problems with the ship's laundry services.

[bennybear]

You can also specify hang to dry,   We’ve been very happy with the laundry!

[islandwoman]

3 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

I always have my cotton knits sent to the laundry, and they always come back beautifully folded or on hangers, with no problems.  I usually hand wash my underwear.  I might try the "mesh bag" idea, however, on our next cruise.

Do they shrink? or stretch? or fade?

[islandwoman]

3 hours ago, steve4031 said:

  I would stick to things that you could replace if they were damaged or lost.  

Yes, good idea.  But to replace items after, say a week of a 73 day cruise, might be a bit of a challenge 🤔 . DH's formal socks were lost in the laundry of another cruise line.  For the rest of the cruise, he had to make do with a pair of very unacceptable socks that the ship gave him in exchange.

[cruzn single]

I have used HAL laundry service successfully on several cruises.  I am only 3* so I pay for my laundry.  It always come back in very nice shape and folded or on hangers, if warranted.  

 

The only "shrinkage" I have noticed is the extra poundage caused by the MDR, Pinnacle, Cannaletto, or Lido.  Thank goodness I don't have to blame Dive-In for any of that.  

[islandwoman]

53 minutes ago, bennybear said:

You can also specify hang to dry,   We’ve been very happy with the laundry!

Oh really!  I had no idea they would do that 😀 That's it.! Now we can go. 

I thought we could wash in the sink and hang in the shower, but without a spin-dry, clothes would take way too long to dry.

[GeezerCouple]

28 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Oh really!  I had no idea they would do that 😀 That's it.! Now we can go. 

I thought we could wash in the sink and hang in the shower, but without a spin-dry, clothes would take way too long to dry.

To help items dry faster, spread a dry towel out, and lay the wet items on it, and then roll the towel up.  Then, perhaps do a Lucy-stomping-the-grapes routine just a bit, to squeeze out much of the moisture.  Don't twist the roll!

And if you have anything with "wires" in them, then just keep track and make sure that is a wider section that is more folded than rolled, and keep flipping the fold, and do the same.

Most of the moisture is gone, and they dry much faster.

 

I do this at home with the hand-washables.

(If they are really delicate, I might just fold the towel once and press down gently.  Actually, if it's something *really* delicate, it probably goes to the dry cleaner anyway...)

 

GC

[albingirl]

My clothing isn't that precious, so I jam everything I can into that blue bag.  Everything comes back much better than if I'd done the laundry myself.  All ironed!  Feels like a miracle every single time.

[islandwoman]

46 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

To help items dry faster, spread a dry towel out, and lay the wet items on it, and then roll the towel up.  Then, perhaps do a Lucy-stomping-the-grapes routine just a bit, to squeeze out much of the moisture.  Don't twist the roll!

And if you have anything with "wires" in them, then just keep track and make sure that is a wider section that is more folded than rolled, and keep flipping the fold, and do the same.

Most of the moisture is gone, and they dry much faster.

GC

Sounds like a lot of work.

[steve4031]

1 hour ago, islandwoman said:

Yes, good idea.  But to replace items after, say a week of a 73 day cruise, might be a bit of a challenge 🤔 . DH's formal socks were lost in the laundry of another cruise line.  For the rest of the cruise, he had to make do with a pair of very unacceptable socks that the ship gave him in exchange.

Ooops.  I forgot that you were on a 73 day cruise.  Though if I was doing a cruise that long I would probably pack a weeks worth of clothing and rotate through them in different combinations of shirts and pants.  I would have several pairs of socks, and extra underwear.  

 

Disclaimer:  I have only dreamed about a 73 day cruise so I have no actual experience.  Plus it is different for women.  

[GeezerCouple]

16 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Sounds like a lot of work.

 

"A lot of work" is subjective.

It takes about 2-3 minutes, if that, maximum once the regular washing/rinsing is done, which is going to happen no matter how the items are dried.  And I put a whole bunch of things in at once, lining them across the towel, and then each time I roll, add a few items, IF there are that many in the first place.  For one or two items, it shouldn't take more than a minute.  Open towel, place items on towel, roll towel, apply pressure.  Done.

 

I've even read about a more dramatic "save money on laundry" routine, which is taking some heavy items, like jeans, and put it on the shower/tub floor while showering or even washing hair, being very careful to imitate Lucy 😉 .  However, I'd think rinsing something heavy like that might take forever... and ever...  😱

But the towel roll... I'd just do it a second time with another dry towel.  That would still take some time to dry, but much faster than just letting it drip, no matter what the item is!

We do this to get swimsuits to dry faster, too.

We always ask for "lots of extra towels and wash cloths" anyway when traveling.   

 

But as they say, "You do you", etc.

 

GC

[SusieKIslandGirl]

You can also request a cool/warm water wash.

[FlaMariner]

Stuff the clothes in the bag and do not worry about it.  Holland America Line has the laundry service down....Never an issue.  Game changer as far as packing.  Fast service.  Also, reasonably priced if you are not 4 stars. 

 

(We just got back from our first (and last) Princess cruise and the expense for their similar laundry service seemed close to what I paid for the clothes....no unlimited laundry price..But Princess has a college dorm like Laundromat with us shlepping our dirty clothes down the hallway and buying tokens for wash and dry and detergent. oh my)

 

 

[OlsSalt]

I sent in a knit cotton  top once that had some pin-holes in the knit structure  near  the neck, that  I had not even noticed.

 

They sent the top back to me unwashed because they were concerned those holes might get bigger if it was washed.  I still have the top and it goes through home washing, but HAL took that much care for each item upfront to not  risk it. 

 

We never had anything ruined at all and agree, use a mesh bag if you are particularly concerned about anything thrashing about. Wonderful care for everything has been our experience too have 600 HAL days. 

[erewhon]

5 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

To help items dry faster, spread a dry towel out, and lay the wet items on it, and then roll the towel up.  Then, perhaps do a Lucy-stomping-the-grapes routine just a bit, to squeeze out much of the moisture.  Don't twist the roll!

And if you have anything with "wires" in them, then just keep track and make sure that is a wider section that is more folded than rolled, and keep flipping the fold, and do the same.

Most of the moisture is gone, and they dry much faster.

 

I do this at home with the hand-washables.

(If they are really delicate, I might just fold the towel once and press down gently.  Actually, if it's something *really* delicate, it probably goes to the dry cleaner anyway...)

 

GC

 

When I plan to hand wash items, I ask the room steward  to leave  an extra bath towel, 

[jeh10641]

On our 11-night Rotterdam in December 2021, I prepurchased the laundry package for $77. Packed clothing for four or five days. Sent out every other day. NO PROBLEMS with shrinkage or lost items. Very efficient.

[12cruise2]

6 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

To help items dry faster, spread a dry towel out, and lay the wet items on it, and then roll the towel up.  Then, perhaps do a Lucy-stomping-the-grapes routine just a bit, to squeeze out much of the moisture.  Don't twist the roll!

And if you have anything with "wires" in them, then just keep track and make sure that is a wider section that is more folded than rolled, and keep flipping the fold, and do the same.

Most of the moisture is gone, and they dry much faster.

 

I do this at home with the hand-washables.

(If they are really delicate, I might just fold the towel once and press down gently.  Actually, if it's something *really* delicate, it probably goes to the dry cleaner anyway...)

 

GC

Add to the above, once in the towel, stand/walk along on the towel; it works great to wring out the clothes and because you are standing on them only 10-15 seconds, the wrinkles caused by the standing shake right out.  Then hang to dry; I get extra hangers (wire) from the room steward on the first day and use those with clothes pins to hold the hanger in place on the clothesline over the tub; we shower in the evening before dinner, so all is dry by morning.   I do NOT take knits--take only cotton tops that dry easily--knits are just too hard to dry.  Buy a few tops that are cruise-only.  I have a travel wardrobe of simple, easy-to-care for items that I wear only on cruises.  Once you get that wardrobe, it's pretty easy to maintain and can be accumulated over a period of time.

Edited April 6, 2022 by 12cruise2

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, erewhon said:

 

When I plan to hand wash items, I ask the room steward  to leave  an extra bath towel, 

 

Packing a thin, lightweight microfiber towel offers the best water absorption, when using your tried and true "stomping on the towel" method. The microfiber towel dries out pretty quickly to get used again.

 

My surprise travel fabric for wash and wear ease is linen - dries amazingly fast - smooth out the wrinkles when wet on the hanger (and get wrinkled all over again when you wear it again, I know - but it does get a nice soft patina over time). A set of silk long underwear used  for PJ's, is another quick dry item.

[albingirl]

55 minutes ago, 12cruise2 said:

Add to the above, once in the towel, stand/walk along on the towel; it works great to wring out the clothes and because you are standing on them only 10-15 seconds, the wrinkles caused by the standing shake right out.  Then hang to dry; I get extra hangers (wire) from the room steward on the first day and use those with clothes pins to hold the hanger in place on the clothesline over the tub; we shower in the evening before dinner, so all is dry by morning.   I do NOT take knits--take only cotton tops that dry easily--knits are just too hard to dry.  Buy a few tops that are cruise-only.  I have a travel wardrobe of simple, easy-to-care for items that I wear only on cruises.  Once you get that wardrobe, it's pretty easy to maintain and can be accumulated over a period of time.

You guys have remarkable energy and I mean it when I say I admire your enthusiasm for your laundry.  I am sorry to say that I have very little energy when it comes to laundry and I am all for the lazy method of throwing my cares to the wind and packing the bag.