The $36 laundry bag. Is it worth it?

[YlangYlangF9PB3E]

I pack a small dish pan and small bottle of laundry detergent, both available at Dollar Tree. Wash my own tees, underwear, pjs, etc. and hang to dry on the clothes line supplied in the shower.

[island lady]

25 minutes ago, YlangYlangF9PB3E said:

I pack a small dish pan and small bottle of laundry detergent, both available at Dollar Tree. Wash my own tees, underwear, pjs, etc. and hang to dry on the clothes line supplied in the shower.

 

Agree!  And do similar.  Usually a "sea day" laundry day for me.  

 

I use a collapsible rubber tub, and also bring my own laundry detergent.  Wash in tub, rinse in sink, then roll in towels to absorb excess water.  Hang from hangers on magnet hooks on ceiling.  Works for me.  😉 

 

 

[brownc424]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I only do B2B plus cruises.  Boil and Fry (aka wash and fold), hand washing, and on really long trips, dry cleaning is our option versus overpacking.  

 

Just how many suitcases would I need for the World Cruise if I didn't do that?   😉 

I packed the same amount for my two week cruise as I generally do for my one week... I'm a travel hoarder! 

[waitingtogo]

if you need clean clothes it is......

[island lady]

2 hours ago, brownc424 said:

I packed the same amount for my two week cruise as I generally do for my one week... I'm a travel hoarder! 

 

Currently on 3 week, and same as you.  Pack for a week, recycle.  😉  Same as our four week in Oct. on Wonder.  

[dltaeg]

On 2/9/2023 at 1:10 PM, time4u2go said:

Be aware that your clothes are washed with other people's clothes, each in their own mesh bags, in case that matters to you.

Oh yeah, no thanks 😕

I might them a scrub in the shower and hope it dries on the balcony lol. 

[time4u2go]

3 minutes ago, dltaeg said:

Oh yeah, no thanks 😕

I might them a scrub in the shower and hope it dries on the balcony lol. 

After you wash them roll them in towels before hanging them up. It gets a lot of the water out.

[dltaeg]

2 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

After you wash them roll them in towels before hanging them up. It gets a lot of the water out.

 

Thanks for the tip 🙂 . 

 

Our kids are a little older now so shouldn't be going through as many clothes as they did when they were young so I'm hoping packing for a week, doing a "wash" halfway through will be enough. 

[SbbquilterUT]

Travel carry on so have happily used the laundry service for unders, pajamas, handkerchiefs and sport clothes.  Have not experienced any issues with damaged clothes, perhaps just lucky.  

[goldfish65]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:10 AM, time4u2go said:

Be aware that your clothes are washed with other people's clothes, each in their own mesh bags, in case that matters to you.

I just try not to think about that...or about towels and bed linens all being washed with other people's. 😀

[goldfish65]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:56 AM, BirdTravels said:

The biggest consideration is the restriction on the types of clothes that qualify for the fluff and fold special. It is far more restrictive than other cruise lines. 

"Pants" are not on the laundry list, I put a pair of sturdy pants in my bag and listed them as Pajamas, no issue. YMMV!

[Morecruisesplz]

On 2/9/2023 at 4:10 AM, cruisegirl1 said:

If you are speaking of the wash and fold bag, it is about 12x18  sometimes plastic, sometimes paper.  You will be surprised how much fits in the bag.  Best to roll the items. The offer is for certain listed items- underwear, socks, t shirts, pj’s, shorts, swimsuits ( men’s swim trunks). The clothing is washed in hot water and dried on high so  the offer is not suitable for delicate clothing or anything that can’t be hot washed and dried. 
 

Simply ask  the cabin attendant for the bag and form. It takes 24-48 hours to get the clothing back.  We find it useful but are careful of the items we send. 
m

No. I wouldn't use it except we get it free. Used it 3x on our recent b3b. The last time tshirts came back w an odd smell that was bad. I put them in a plastic bag to seal and take home to wash properly. They don’t really wash. They steam them.

[Mum2Mercury]

Packing light isn't hard -- go to Pinterest and search for 5-4-3-2-1 packing.  You'll find a bunch of examples.  

This eliminates the need for 3 big suitcases and laundry.

[D4]

We like to go on B2Bs so we always send out one bag.  We only send out socks, underwear, and my husband's tshirts and shorts.  I don't send out my shirts because I don't want them fully dried. 

 

Roll everything tightly so you can fit more in the bag.  Also, if you have some tape, you can really fill the bag and tape the top closed.

[Merion_Mom]

No need to pack laundry detergent.  The stuff in the shower dispenser is actually EXCELLENT for doing laundry in the sink.  After soaking and rinsing, squeeze out all excess water by hand, then lay flat on a towel, roll up the towel, and walk on the rolled up towel.  Unroll and hang up the clothes to dry.  It's a good method, perfected over many cruises.

 

HOWEVER, I participated in a "discussion" on fb recently where a few people insisted that they write on their laundry bag things like:  "cold water wash, warm dry" and their clothes are treated accordingly.

 

Believe it or don't believe it.  It was more than one person.  I haven't tried it.

[island lady]

7 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Believe it or don't believe it.  It was more than one person.  I haven't tried it.

 

LOL..pretty much could write anything you want.....it's still "boil and fry".  😄 

[CruiserLucas]

I have used the laundry service but I don't remember it being $36 😱 As a couple, we fit a surprising amount in. For 5 people, I'm sure you could do it towards the later end of the cruise to replenish your clothes supply for a few days, each person putting a few things in the bag if things get unexpectedly dirty, sweaty, etc. The bag does hold a lot.

 

On 2/9/2023 at 9:12 AM, island lady said:

And whites will come back gray.

This I have to disagree with in my experience. I don't know what Royal did to my old white undershirts, but deodorant stains, sweat stains, etc. were GONE and they were BRIGHT white. So unless they went out and bought me new shirts, they did miracles my washer at home doesn't do... 

[island lady]

26 minutes ago, CruiserLucas said:

I have used the laundry service but I don't remember it being $36 😱 As a couple, we fit a surprising amount in. For 5 people, I'm sure you could do it towards the later end of the cruise to replenish your clothes supply for a few days, each person putting a few things in the bag if things get unexpectedly dirty, sweaty, etc. The bag does hold a lot.

 

This I have to disagree with in my experience. I don't know what Royal did to my old white undershirts, but deodorant stains, sweat stains, etc. were GONE and they were BRIGHT white. So unless they went out and bought me new shirts, they did miracles my washer at home doesn't do... 

 

White cotton undies, several times, have come back gray.   And even a bunch of bleach in the washer back home would not bring them back.  I no longer send out anything white.  

[island lady]

Another wash item I think RCI sends out for steam cleaning with no actual detergent.  The cloth napkins in the WJ.   Experiment:   Pick one up fresh from the pile of them...sniff it.  Tell me what you smell?🤢

 

[phoenixx]

On 2/12/2023 at 1:18 AM, island lady said:

 

Agree!  And do similar.  Usually a "sea day" laundry day for me.  

 

I use a collapsible rubber tub, and also bring my own laundry detergent.  Wash in tub, rinse in sink, then roll in towels to absorb excess water.  Hang from hangers on magnet hooks on ceiling.  Works for me.  😉 

 

 

Do you have a link to buy your collapsible tub please, and does it fit in the sink? Thank you

[island lady]

7 hours ago, phoenixx said:

Do you have a link to buy your collapsible tub please, and does it fit in the sink? Thank you

 

I put it in the tub/shower, fill with water add detergent and mix in a few pieces of clothes...let is soak for a few minutes.  Then I rinse in the sink.  I got it on Amazon.  Search for collapsible tub.  Mine looks like this:

 

 

[JamesEM]

My wife and I usually do a b-2-b or a b-3-b, she does her own laundry and I send my stuff out. 

[mspink98]

On 2/11/2023 at 7:18 AM, island lady said:

 

Agree!  And do similar.  Usually a "sea day" laundry day for me.  

 

I use a collapsible rubber tub, and also bring my own laundry detergent.  Wash in tub, rinse in sink, then roll in towels to absorb excess water.  Hang from hangers on magnet hooks on ceiling.  Works for me.  😉 

 

 

Well that sure looks familiar! I always bring tide packets and do "sink laundry". Roll it up in a towel, use my magnet hooks to hang from the ceiling to dry, and just hope I remember that I hung clothes and we do not have ghosts when I wake up in the middle of the night. 😜

 

In May, I'm trying another method. I'm bringing a dedicated roll top dry bag. Will fill with water and tide in the shower, add clothes, shakeshakeshake, and repeat with fresh water to rinse.

[IanFaith]

I've just bought one of these to try on my next cruise:-

 

https://thescrubba.com

 

Not cheap, but cheaper than the laundry bag and should pay for itself over the long-run.

 

(Interested to hear if anybody has experience of using one, too!)

[TubbyMrT]

I have them do a bag of laundry each day. It enables me to travel light. And it helps keep my room smelling fresh.  However, I always plan that they can, and have, lost my laundry and returned to me someone else's laundry. It only happened once on 20 cruises. So, I don't risk it and travel too light.  Also, my whites are always some other shade when returned. I have learned to expect and accept it as the best they can do. I go home with a suitcase full of clean laundry.