Mothers and Lauderettes....QE2 query.

[Kindlychap]

My mother is coming with us to Norway. I've told her that laundry is cheap and easy, and their ironing is superb, but she has some strange idea that she wants to do her own washing.

 

Mad as a March hare if you ask me, but there you are.

 

I gather from the deck plans that if one ventures down to deck 3 - towards the stern if I recall - that there is a launderette.

 

Does it have washing powder supplied?

 

What hours is it open?

 

How many ironing boards are there?

 

How good are the irons?

 

And (probably most crucial) how busy is it on embarkation day? We should be on as early as anyone.

 

Please note - this is a QE2 query.

 

Many thanks. I'm afraid this has stumped me.

[pepperrn]

Hi

 

There used to be 8 ironing boards in the laundrette deck 3 starboard (aft as far as you could go), if I remember (god, what a geek).

 

Let me think some more for the other questions.

[sandikin]

Yes, the laundrette does have washing powder and the irons are good. There are about six or eight irons and boards and they don't tend to get as busy as the machines. I would guess it will be quiet on embarkation day. The hours are about 7 am to 7 pm. After 7 pm if you are in there you can stay, but the door is locked so only people with a door code can come in. On long cruises it gets very busy and on the World Cruise there were actually a number of nasty incidents where blood was shed. It was the most dangerous place on the ship.....Yes. Truly. However if you manage to avoid the busy periods it is fine. The only problem is that it takes two dryers for one full machine load and therefore the dryers are often busy. If you do not empty your machine and dryer when they finish and other people are waiting, they will remove your laundry and hence the nasty atmosphere which can ensue. If you are in a cabin relatively near it is easy enough to leave your washing and return. Otherwise people tend to take a book, but it can get rather hot.

[Kindlychap]

Thank you both. I'll tell her to pack her broadsword!

 

I think it's the ironing that is her main concern, because she has even been muttering about handwashing!

 

I'll pass this on to her to do with what she will.

[berry22192]

...there were actually a number of nasty incidents where blood was shed. It was the most dangerous place on the ship.....Yes. Truly.

 

It would be so easy for Cunard to fix what can be one of the worst experiences on board their ships. Why not have longer hours in the do-it-yourself laundry? Why not make them 24-hour operations? Why not post some signs to say what to do if the dryer contains someone else's abandoned clothes? The laundries are appreciated, but as operated, they are a breeding ground for multi-cultural mayhem, an incitement to riot, and a target for hyperbole.

 

Chris

[pnhmrk]

My mother is coming with us to Norway. I've told her that laundry is cheap and easy, and their ironing is superb, but she has some strange idea that she wants to do her own washing.

 

Mad as a March hare if you ask me, but there you are.

 

Not quite as mad as all that (although still slightly mad on a 14 night cruise:) ) - We're thinking about Christmas 2007 - three weeks to the Caribbean and back. Dress shirts and other hard to iron items can go to the ship's laundry, but for things like underwear, casual shirts, etc I'd want to wash some myself.

 

That makes me ask when is the self service laundry the quietest (the machines not the irons)? What is the best time to visit? What is the best day? Port of sea?

[Norfolk Brit]

It would be so easy for Cunard to fix what can be one of the worst experiences on board their ships. Why not have longer hours in the do-it-yourself laundry? Why not make them 24-hour operations? Why not post some signs to say what to do if the dryer contains someone else's abandoned clothes? The laundries are appreciated, but as operated, they are a breeding ground for multi-cultural mayhem, an incitement to riot, and a target for hyperbole.

 

Chris

 

My guess on this, having read previous posts suggesting people avoid cabins near the laundries, is to avoid subjecting the neighbours to 24 hour a day noise.

 

Looking forward to a jolly good skirmish, Mary.

[Kindlychap]

Dress shirts and other hard to iron items can go to the ship's laundry, but for things like underwear, casual shirts, etc I'd want to wash some myself.

 

I thought this was supposed to be a holiday? ;)

[pnhmrk]

I thought this was supposed to be a holiday? ;)

 

It is - that's part of the holiday - the "good skirmish":p Besides the ship charges a small fortune if you send everything to the laundry.

[jbailey]

I never had any problem at all at the launderette on QE2. On embarkation you tend to get a lot of people who have been traveling and are ready to do laundry, but certainly never met anyone who was rude or angry. In fact, it is known as the place to hear ship's gossip!

 

I would pack some dryer softener sheets because they do not provide those.

 

The only thing that would make people angry is if you left your laundry in a washer or dryer and didn't make it back it time before it shut off.

 

And just don't overload anything, and the machines will work fine. I did a week's worth of dirty clothes for one person in two machines and it all came out fine.

[Captaintandem]

...but certainly never met anyone who was rude or angry. In fact, it is known as the place to hear ship's gossip!

I concur that the Launderette is one of the best public spaces for meeting fellow passengers and exchanging gossip.

 

One mid-Atlantic evening, Eastbound in 2003 on QE2, while leaving our restaurant I was called over to a large table by a beautifully-gowned lady (it was a formal night), who asked loudly over the animated conversation at her table, "Oh there you are, did you find your underwear?" "Yes thank you they were with my socks" I replied simply, and moved on, explaining softly to my wife that this was one of my laundrette friends.

 

I have never had a laundrette skirmish, but I was severely rebuked once in the ironing room (while touching up my cuffs and collar) by a most gentle-appearing Mennonite lady who was part of a pilgrimage group. I had unthinkingly reached for a hanger that apparently belonged to her.

[Kindlychap]

Well, as Mum has indicated that she will "put herself about" on the cruise then perhaps this is, after all, the place for her!

 

Whilst on the subject of ironing will the laundry get a shirt or blouse ironed in time for dinner on the first night if you are NOT in the penthouse?

[pnhmrk]

Whilst on the subject of ironing will the laundry get a shirt or blouse ironed in time for dinner on the first night if you are NOT in the penthouse?

 

I strongly doubt that the Laundry will - they're working flat out to get through all the sheets and towels from the earlier disembarkation. If you think about it your bathrobe always turns up the next morning when they've had some time to catch up.

 

Your best chance would be to ask your cabin steward to do it. In that case be prepared to tip heavily. The obvious solution is to iron it before you leave home and pack it carefully; the cheapest is to buy a travel iron and the easiest is to buy a new shirt once aboard (I've been looking through past programmes to see if it says if or when the shops open - it doesn't - so if you're doing that I'd check with Cunard).

[tumeroll]

Yes, the laundrette does have washing powder and the irons are good. There are about six or eight irons and boards and they don't tend to get as busy as the machines. I would guess it will be quiet on embarkation day. The hours are about 7 am to 7 pm. After 7 pm if you are in there you can stay, but the door is locked so only people with a door code can come in. On long cruises it gets very busy and on the World Cruise there were actually a number of nasty incidents where blood was shed. It was the most dangerous place on the ship.....Yes. Truly. However if you manage to avoid the busy periods it is fine. The only problem is that it takes two dryers for one full machine load and therefore the dryers are often busy. If you do not empty your machine and dryer when they finish and other people are waiting, they will remove your laundry and hence the nasty atmosphere which can ensue. If you are in a cabin relatively near it is easy enough to leave your washing and return. Otherwise people tend to take a book, but it can get rather hot.

 

Well said. I was on the first segment of the USportion of the World Cruise last January and the laundry room was the only place on the ship where civility took a back seat. Getting ones laudry done could be a blood sport.

[Kindlychap]

I strongly doubt that the Laundry will - they're working flat out to get through all the sheets and towels from the earlier disembarkation. If you think about it your bathrobe always turns up the next morning when they've had some time to catch up.

 

Your best chance would be to ask your cabin steward to do it. In that case be prepared to tip heavily. The obvious solution is to iron it before you leave home and pack it carefully; the cheapest is to buy a travel iron and the easiest is to buy a new shirt once aboard (I've been looking through past programmes to see if it says if or when the shops open - it doesn't - so if you're doing that I'd check with Cunard).

 

It isn't a problem upstairs......

 

I get my shirt done for the evening (I'm talking pressing only - not laundering) so if Mum is both desperate and wants to avoid ironing herself, I'll put it through our cabin!

 

The shape I am, buying shirts is a bit of a no-no! (Anyway, even brand new shirts need pressing!)

[merryecho]

One more option- there is a clothes line in the shower, great for underwear.

[Kindlychap]

One more option- there is a clothes line in the shower, great for underwear.

 

I'll pass that on.

 

I had no idea that washing clothes was such a ritual. I just thought that you put them in the bag and left them outside!

[merryecho]

Kindlychap- that's nothing, my DH thinks clean clothes magically appear in his dresser drawers.

[blacksmithcrm]

Wait a tic,,,, are you saying that there is no such thing as the "Laundry Fairy"? :eek:

 

Cheers!

[Norfolk Brit]

Wait a tic,,,, are you saying that there is no such thing as the "Laundry Fairy"? :eek:

 

Cheers!

 

There certainly is in this house, and sadly it's moi. The same fairy also does the cooking, cleaning, shopping, organising, ferrying around and gardening. I could go on, but will spare you all the details of my life of domestic servitude.

 

Woe is me, Mary

[sfo-john]

Well said. I was on the first segment of the USportion of the World Cruise last January and the laundry room was the only place on the ship where civility took a back seat. Getting ones laudry done could be a blood sport.

 

 

Same here. My experience was fine in the laundry on the two crossings that I took except on the one day between NY and Florida this past January. It was crowded all day and into the evening and people were quite rude. It was strange, as I had used it a number of times on that crossing and the previous crossing as well and it was a breeze.

[SSNORWAY]

My mother is coming with us to Norway. I've told her that laundry is cheap and easy, and their ironing is superb, but she has some strange idea that she wants to do her own washing.

 

Mad as a March hare if you ask me, but there you are.

 

I gather from the deck plans that if one ventures down to deck 3 - towards the stern if I recall - that there is a launderette.

 

Does it have washing powder supplied?

 

What hours is it open?

 

How many ironing boards are there?

 

How good are the irons?

 

And (probably most crucial) how busy is it on embarkation day? We should be on as early as anyone.

 

Please note - this is a QE2 query.

 

Many thanks. I'm afraid this has stumped me.

I love this subject!!!

 

Sorry but when I was on the QE2 the launderette was quiet which was a good job cos it was the only one and not particularly big, however it really amazes me on the QM2 there are 13 decks and on each one there is a laundry room with four washers, four dryers and two irons. whenever I have been in there its like world war three, people ranting about how its not like this on P&O! I've never been on P&O but could anyone tell me if there is a P&O ship with more than 52 washers and dryers!!! how do they stay afloat?

 

I've made quite a few aquaintances in the laundry, i'm a very slow ironer and everything has to be perfect, some people do two loads while i'm there, I think they think i'm there for something else!!

 

Helpful note: In each one there is a boring looking iron and one of those posh ones with the big water tank base which makes lots of whooshing steamy noises! go for the boring one, the other one looks and sounds like a Ferrari but they gush out water just as you think you have finished, usually mild mustard colour if its your favourite white shirt or if you were due for dinner ten minutes ago, thats not just so I get a better chance of getting the posh one in future by the way!!

[Kindlychap]

Well, I went with my mother to the launderette to iron a single shirt.

 

Horrified. Noisy, hot and dreadful irons.

 

Never again!

[pepperrn]

Well, I went with my mother to the launderette to iron a single shirt.

 

Horrified. Noisy, hot and dreadful irons.

 

Never again!

 

Hi

 

Sorry to hear the irons were noisy and dreadful, glad to hear they were hot.:)

[Kindlychap]

Hi

 

Sorry to hear the irons were noisy and dreadful, glad to hear they were hot.:)

 

It's tempting to edit that earlier post!

 

What I meant of course was that the launderette was noisy and dreadful and that in addition the irons provided were dreadful.

 

I accept that isn't what I said though!:D