In Sink Laundry detergent/sheets

[lakegirl16]

Taking a B2B for the first time and after reading the horror stories about the ships laundry, I'm thinking I need to wash a few things in the sink.  Anyone have any recommendations for the best laundry sheets/packets for use in the sink?  (I'm on Celebrity, no self service laundry) Thanks.

Edited October 5, 2022 by lakegirl16

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, lakegirl16 said:

Taking a B2B for the first time and after reading the horror stories about the ships laundry, I'm thinking I need to wash a few things in the sink.  Anyone have any recommendations for the best laundry sheets/packets for use in the sink?  Thanks.

Depending on your ship, there may be free self-serve laundry rooms available. Our preferred line has them and even provides the all-important ocean-safe detergent. 
Check with your cruise line regarding its recommendations/requirements.

[lakegirl16]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Depending on your ship, there may be free self-serve laundry rooms available. Our preferred line has them and even provides the all-important ocean-safe detergent. 
Check with your cruise line regarding its recommendations/requirements.

Sorry should have said I'm on Celebrity, no laundry rooms.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, lakegirl16 said:

Sorry should have said I'm on Celebrity, no laundry rooms.

That’s unfortunate for anyone who does multisegment cruises. For future reference, if you decide you like cruises exceeding 7-10 days, you may find yourself moving up to premium lines -some of which have a special focus on longer cruises of 3-7+ weeks. 
FWIW: We do those longer cruises and pack for a basic 10 day laundry cycle and will do self-serve laundry on well positioned sea days. 

[lakegirl16]

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

That’s unfortunate for anyone who does multisegment cruises. For future reference, if you decide you like cruises exceeding 7-10 days, you may find yourself moving up to premium lines -some of which have a special focus on longer cruises of 3-7+ weeks. 
FWIW: We do those longer cruises and pack for a basic 10 day laundry cycle and will do self-serve laundry on well positioned sea days. 

Appreciate the thoughts.  Just looking for advice on an in sink product to use for this cruise.

[crystalspin]

@lakegirl16I have used Wash EZE from Amazon. Cut one sheet in fourths for a sink full. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by crystalspin

[mom says]

Amazon seems to have quite a few choices and they all have similar ratings. I got mine several years ago at a MEC store (since discontinued), and I still haven't used up the whole package. The sheets work great. But I've also just used shampoo, as long as it isn't a shampoo/conditioner combo.

 

Before doing your laundry, ask your steward for a few extra bath towels. Roll the laundered, wet clothes in a towel, then press out the excess water (walking on the towel is the easy way), before hanging to dry.

[Hlitner]

For in-sink many friends like to use Woolite.   That being said, for cruises and trips less than 3 weeks in length, we simply pack enough to avoid needing to do laundry.  Many are proud of their ability to travel light but we prefer not to spend trip/cruise time needing to do any laundry.  We can easily pack 3 weeks of "stuff" into two suitcases.

 

Hank

[evandbob]

An alternative is to not listen to those horror stories re ship's laundry service.  We have used ship's laundry across all the mass lines and have never had an issue with sox, briefs, tees, shorts, etc (the basics).

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

An alternative is to not listen to those horror stories re ship's laundry service.  We have used ship's laundry across all the mass lines and have never had an issue with sox, briefs, tees, shorts, etc (the basics).

Same here- and because I like to change my underwear every day, there is no way I can bring three or four weeks worth and have anything else to wear.  I would not want to risk fine clothes - but am inclined to think that posts on these sites about how destructive ships’ laundries are written by the uninformed.

[Essiesmom]

49 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Same here- and because I like to change my underwear every day, there is no way I can bring three or four weeks worth and have anything else to wear.  I would not want to risk fine clothes - but am inclined to think that posts on these sites about how destructive ships’ laundries are written by the uninformed.

Or written by those who only travel with delicate fabrics that don’t handle hot water well…EM

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, lakegirl16 said:

Taking a B2B for the first time and after reading the horror stories about the ships laundry, I'm thinking I need to wash a few things in the sink.  Anyone have any recommendations for the best laundry sheets/packets for use in the sink?  (I'm on Celebrity, no self service laundry) Thanks.

 

These days, the ship's laundry most likely uses environmentally safe detergents and while they may not be as easy on clothes as what you use at home, it is unlikely clothes will get damaged with 1 or 2 washes.

 

I worked on ships for 4 months, sending at least 2 white shirts per day to the ship's laundry, for cleaning and starch on the collars, cuffs and pockets. All shirts were sent at least once per week and they always survived at least 2 contracts.

 

Rather than fretting about washing stuff in the cabin, or taking excessive baggage, I would consider using the ship's laundry. Yes, we have all heard the horror stories, but you also need to consider how much volume the ship's laundries complete. I'll suggest a very small percentage of pax items are damaged.

[sparks1093]

I figure we do enough laundry at home, we can splurge to have the cruise line do it for us. Some lines also have self-serve laundry facilities on some of their ships, but I've never been tempted to use one of those, either. We've done at least a bag of laundry on each cruise and in all that time- one lost set of skivvies. (And as noted we don't put anything in the laundry that is super delicate.)

[LHT28]

I use  ones like this 

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6003-733/trek%26-travel-pocket-laundry-soap?colour=NO_COLOUR

Get them in the camping section of the local Canadian Tire store

but you should find them in a camping store  or online

[LHT28]

14 hours ago, lakegirl16 said:

Sorry should have said I'm on Celebrity, no laundry rooms.

You did

But some  here  cannot  or do not read   they have their own agenda  for the preferred line

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

- but am inclined to think that posts on these sites about how destructive ships’ laundries are written by the uninformed.

Or maybe by people who have actually had their clothing ruined by the ships laundry service 🙄

[lakegirl16]

18 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I use  ones like this 

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6003-733/trek%26-travel-pocket-laundry-soap?colour=NO_COLOUR

Get them in the camping section of the local Canadian Tire store

but you should find them in a camping store  or online

Thank you. I just looked at those online last night.  

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, lakegirl16 said:

Thank you. I just looked at those online last night.  

We used  similar ones for years on road trips  & then on cruises  where no self serve laundry was available

They work fine 

 

even washed DH Tilley zip offs in the sink with them

 

[crystalspin]

6 minutes ago, lakegirl16 said:

Thank you. I just looked at those online last night.  

The backpackers soap leafs are JUST SOAP, they dissolve away. They are also hydroscopic and will dissolve on a wet fingertip and will stick to the leafs below them in the container! But they are the smallest stuff available.

 

The Wash EZE are blue "fabric" that the soap washes out of (turning them white) leaving a small piece to be thrown away. They have fabric softener in the mix, and are meant for a machine-load, hence cutting them into quarters for hand wash. They are less delicate as far as handling them.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Or written by those who only travel with delicate fabrics that don’t handle hot water well…EM

I suppose there are some -who travel with  just lace lingerie, silk chemises, etc.

 

- my cotton tee shirts, oxford cloth boxers and dress shirts, knit polos and chino shorts seem to hold up fairly well.  

[navybankerteacher]

28 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Or maybe by people who have actually had their clothing ruined by the ships laundry service 🙄

Perhaps they are among the creative writers who also win every time they enter a ship’s casino.

[Mum2Mercury]

Random thoughts: 

 

- We cruise Royal Caribbean, and they offer an all-you-can-stuff-in-this-bag mid-week.  I want to say it costs $35 to wash everything in the bag.  We did it once, and the quality of the washing was good, but it took a day longer than promised to receive our things back.  

- I wouldn't worry about sending out shorts, tees, or my husband's boxers; but I'd rather hand-wash my own undies or my blouse-y tops -- these thin, delicate things also dry pretty quickly.  

- I'd use the cruise line's shampoo to hand-wash a couple things in the sink.  I bring my own shampoo for my hair, so I might as well get some use out of the ship's offerings.  

- Before you commit to washing, put some effort into making the most of what you bring; for example, for a one-week cruise (or a little longer), I could get by with 2-3 pair of shorts.  I'm fine with wearing shorts three times before they get washed -- as long as we're talking about wearing them to breakfast, to watch a show, to attend an indoor event.  So I'd purposefully wear one pair around the ship -- then I'd wear them ashore for their "last wear".  On shore I'm likely to get them sweaty, and it'll be time for them to go into the dirty-clothes suitcase -- so don't wear a fresh pair ashore.  Wear a pair that was already about to "be retired".  Similarly, I might wear a tee-shirt dress to dinner one night, then wear it around the ship in the afternoon (after having been at the pool all morning); that's not really even a whole day's "wear", so I'd hang it up to air it out.  

 

 

[mom says]

20 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Perhaps they are among the creative writers who also win every time they enter a ship’s casino.

So you are, in effect, calling them liars. Nice. 

 

And I do travel with delicate lingerie (that's all I have) as well as other clothing that wont tolerate hot water and high heat driers. So I dont have a problem with doing sink laundry when necessary. Your cotton boxers and t shirts can handle the abuse, but not every one wants to dress that way.

 

 

[LHT28]

36 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I suppose there are some -who travel with  just lace lingerie, silk chemises, etc.

 

- my cotton tee shirts, oxford cloth boxers and dress shirts, knit polos and chino shorts seem to hold up fairly well.  

Not all females wear  those types of clothing

YMMV

[jocap]

I use the tablet of soap provided in the shower room. I remember my mum and grandma rubbing away with great blocks of soap when I was little, and everything came out spotless... it's the rubbing rather than the soap input.. 😃