another laundry question - never did it before on cruise

[drpclarke]

Hello cruisers!

 

Getting ready to pack for my cruise, (7 days Greece/Turkey on the Jade) and would like to keep things as minimal as possible..

 

so, if I was to get laundry done on the cruise, how much does it cost and how long does it take (and what's the chance of not getting the right stuff back?)

 

Trying to decide if the lesser evil is to bring more stuff or do laundry on the ship. Thanks!

 

Rachel

[Jed12345]

We usually do a bag mid-week on most cruises. They generally run a promo for whatever fits in the bag.  We usually get it back the next day, never any issue with lost items.

 

[JandC_Cruising]

8 minutes ago, drpclarke said:

Hello cruisers!

 

Getting ready to pack for my cruise, (7 days Greece/Turkey on the Jade) and would like to keep things as minimal as possible..

 

so, if I was to get laundry done on the cruise, how much does it cost and how long does it take (and what's the chance of not getting the right stuff back?)

 

Trying to decide if the lesser evil is to bring more stuff or do laundry on the ship. Thanks!

 

Rachel

The best deal happens Mid cruise. $29 for a “full bag”…as much as you can stuff in there.  It’s a  cheap paper bag, but we are always able to fit 3 days worth of shorts, Shirts, underwear etc. without any problems.  On a Sunday to Sunday cruise it will be offered on Wednesday.  Leave it for your steward in the morning and you get it back by Thursday afternoon.

We take advantage every cruise!  
I just don’t send them my Tommy Bahamas. 😁

[www3traveler]

As others have said, there will be a mid week laundry special.  I would not put anything that needs cold water or is delicate.  Each piece of your clothing is marked with a tag with a specific number, then thrown into a huge washing machine along with a whole lot of other peoples' clothes.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I'm sure that there have been lost items, but I've never read such a report here on the forum, so it is likely a very rare occurrence.  I guess a tag could come off, but then you would likely just have to describe the item and have your Steward retrieve it.  I don't own any expensive clothing, so if something didn't make it back it would be no big deal.

[cruiserbear55]

44 minutes ago, drpclarke said:

Hello cruisers!

 

Getting ready to pack for my cruise, (7 days Greece/Turkey on the Jade) and would like to keep things as minimal as possible..

 

so, if I was to get laundry done on the cruise, how much does it cost and how long does it take (and what's the chance of not getting the right stuff back?)

 

Trying to decide if the lesser evil is to bring more stuff or do laundry on the ship. Thanks!

 

Rachel

 

  As has been posted here many times, bring a small bathroom size plastic trash bag ( 3 gallon) to line the inside of the laundry bag, which as you'll see are very cheaply made. Roll all the clothes you are sending to be cleaned, and methodically place them in the bag. You'll get far more in the bag than just stuffing the clothes in. Finally, when your clothes are returned, take time to remove all the orange/yellow tags they attach  to each piece of clothing.If you don't, six months or so down the road you may be reminded of your cruise by having an itch in the strangest places!! Happy Cruising!!

[Brian V]

15 minutes ago, cruiserbear55 said:

Finally, when your clothes are returned, take time to remove all the orange/yellow tags they attach  to each piece of clothing. If you don't, six months or so down the road you may be reminded of your cruise by having an itch in the strangest places!!

Thankfully they don't tag your underwear or socks (guessing it all goes in a mesh bag?), can't imagine finding one of those tags "down there" 😮

 

If you are in a club balcony or above you get a free bag of laundry...or you did anyways, maybe that has been penny pinched away?

 

We have used the service 3 times (I think) and had no issues with lost items. 👍

[ChiefMateJRK]

53 minutes ago, Brian V said:

they don't tag your underwear

They do tag boxers!

[insidecabin]

If you lay all your stuff out on the bed and take a photo  you have something to show them should a piece not come back.

 

If you have anything with damage make a note of it to send in,  it can delay return if they check via steward.

 

Not sure if it helps but you could pack your laundry and send off the evening the special rather than following morning.

Check with steward the earliest they can send it in, the US bribe may help.

[ChiefMateJRK]

32 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

If you lay all your stuff out on the bed and take a photo  you have something to show them should a piece not come back.

 

If you have anything with damage make a note of it to send in,  it can delay return if they check via steward.

Have you actually had any problems with NCL laundry?  If so, you'll be the first.

[insidecabin]

8 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Have you actually had any problems with NCL laundry?  If so, you'll be the first.

Last cruise, bag delayed as they queried an item with damage (the correct thing for them to do).

Another on the same cruise had same query.

 

There have been the odd items that should never have been sent in, does not happen now.

[Pitzel]

17 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Have you actually had any problems with NCL laundry?  If so, you'll be the first.

Not the first. Likely not the last, either.

We have had a sock or two go missing from the laundry, but that has been the worst of it for us. Our steward usually tries to track down the missing items for us, but sometimes they just don't turn up.

That said, we never send anything that would need special handling or that might cause issues in the laundry. We never send red items, for example.

[insidecabin]

47 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Have you actually had any problems with NCL laundry?  If so, you'll be the first.

Just because no one is reporting lost laundry (or not getting drinks) does not mean it never happens.

[dexddd]

10 hours ago, Brian V said:

Thankfully they don't tag your underwear or socks (guessing it all goes in a mesh bag?), can't imagine finding one of those tags "down there" 😮

 

If you are in a club balcony or above you get a free bag of laundry...or you did anyways, maybe that has been penny pinched away?

 

We have used the service 3 times (I think) and had no issues with lost items. 👍

They absolutely tag underwear and socks.  They use the same Lektor machine for everything.  I've got some undies with several tags still on them.  They put sticker on waistband.  Socks all towards the top cuff.  Of course, ymmv, but we've done bags over the years and always had tags.

Edited June 6, 2023 by dexddd

[Asawi]

7 hours ago, Pitzel said:

 

We have had a sock or two go missing from the laundry, .

Aye no! The sock monster does cruises! Darn! 😝

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, drpclarke said:

Trying to decide if the lesser evil is to bring more stuff or do laundry on the ship. Thanks!

Bring less stuff, do no laundry!

 

That's how my husband and I cruise. We share a carry-on suitcase and we each bring a bookbag style backpack. We've cruised up to nine days with no need to do laundry...of course we re-wear clothes that were worn the day before. We find with the number of showers (two - three per day) and chillaxin' in the hot tub, we don't smell gross. 

 

We did complete one cruise with just bookbags. No carry-ons. It was a seven day cruise to Bermuda. The only reason we switched to the carry-on is that we need a place to store whatever we purchase in port/onboard. 

Edited June 6, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[DCGuy64]

8 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Just because no one is reporting lost laundry (or not getting drinks) does not mean it never happens.

Well that's an interesting take!

[DCGuy64]

13 hours ago, cruiserbear55 said:

As has been posted here many times, bring a small bathroom size plastic trash bag ( 3 gallon) to line the inside of the laundry bag, which as you'll see are very cheaply made.

This is a great suggestion, one my wife and I implemented on our last cruise. And we got our laundry free since we were in a Club Balcony cabin.

[insidecabin]

38 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Well that's an interesting take!

that's what most people thought when you used it 

 

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, insidecabin said:

that's what most people thought when you used it 

 

Yes and I was roundly criticized for it, remember? So on that thread, the lack of complaints was indicative of there being no problems apart from NCL. In this thread, the lack of complaints is meaningless. Which is it? I can't keep up! 🤣😂🤭

[cruisinmeme]

16 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm sure that there have been lost items, but I've never read such a report here on the forum, so it is likely a very rare occurrence.  I guess a tag could come off, but then you would likely just have to describe the item and have your Steward retrieve it.  I don't own any expensive clothing, so if something didn't make it back it would be no big deal.

made you kidding me the tag may come off.lol.  I can be home a year or more and those suckers are still hanging on tightly.

I do take a picture of my stack before I send it. Never ever list anything and the fold better than I do at home. 

[phillygwm]

I get a free bag on every cruise (sometimes 2 if I'm Club Balcony.)  I've personally never had laundry go missing but I'm sure it happens.  I've always found them to do a good job but I'd probably not send anything that required special handling or was especially valuable just out of an abundance of caution.  Then again, my cruise attire tends to be golf shirts and Dockers so it's never been an issue 🙂

[Sue Do-Over]

OP, note that NCL does not have facilities for you to do your own laundry - you can only send it out.

 

In our experience, passenger laundry is washed in cold water and dried without any dryer sheets.  We have not had anything shrink or discolor. Shirts may be steamed smooth, but some items are a little 'crunchy' when returned - neatly folded, of course.

 

Totally agree that a small trash bag to reinforce the paper is a great idea.  I also typically toss socks, dainties in a mesh bag.  Sometimes they dump the bag to fold items, sometimes it comes back in the same bag (with a laundry tag ironed on).

 

Finding itchy tags a week later is part of the post-cruise fun!

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Bring less stuff, do no laundry!

 

That's how my husband and I cruise. We share a carry-on suitcase and we each bring a bookbag style backpack. We've cruised up to nine days with no need to do laundry...of course we re-wear clothes that were worn the day before. We find with the number of showers (two - three per day) and chillaxin' in the hot tub, we don't smell gross. 

 

We did complete one cruise with just bookbags. No carry-ons. It was a seven day cruise to Bermuda. The only reason we switched to the carry-on is that we need a place to store whatever we purchase in port/onboard. 

I have no problem re-wearing clothes, but DW is a totally different story. 

[Brian V]

15 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

They do tag boxers!

Hmmm, maybe they look at them as walking shorts?