How the heck do you handle the laundry situation???

[ckrobyn]

We did a B2B cruise on the AOS this February, so we were on the ship for 14 nights. To pack enough for 2 full weeks would have meant a serious overpacking issue and an extra baggage charge from the airline :o

 

We used the laundry service onboard and thought it was very reasonably priced and our clothes were laundered perfectly (better than I do it!). We simply left the clothes in the bag provided with the form filled out and our cabin attendant took it away with him in the morning and brought it back the next morning. Worked just fine for us and my DH didn't kill himself trying to drag a very overweight suitcase!

[bplazo]

I saw in a travel catalog the other day that they have disposable underwear.

 

I also buy t shirts at ports to wear with shorts.

[Hondu]

With 22 cruises under the belt, I can say we have never washed anything by "hand." Not my cup of tea. Also, have never sent anything out on a ship.

 

We generally sail on ships with self-serve laundries and enjoy the convenience of washing socks, undies and tees.

Never the evening wear. Dinner clothes are only worn for a few hours and we don't go into the casino or smoking lounges that would stink up the clothes.

 

We did the Celebrity Galaxy out of Galveston for 12 days and we just overpacked for 4 (2 tweens and 2 adults). But we drove to the port so there was no airline weight problem. Everything worked out just fine but had a huge laundry when we got back home.

[Don Haynes]

I like to buy two shirts on a cruise planning to use them. A sink wash and dry overnight consumes four days. So I pack two shirts, one dressed shirt, two shorts, one swimsuit, one dressed slacks, one slack, one sport short, one dresssed sock, two socks, two boxers, one light raincoat, plus my tolteries. Added to what I am wearing, I only have to wash once in a week. If I am prepared to wash twice, I can do without one shirt, one short, and one sock.

 

Plan on using the laundry or using the sink. Buy some shirts and or shorts along the cruise as souvenirs.

[alexkrn46]

I do combination of hand wash and send out, my last cruise my husband came from a business trip and didn't have enought time to turn around the laundry, we used Royal Carribean laundry which work out well

[Steamboatin]

We simply bring our OLD clothing and throw them away after we use them.

 

Makes for a very light suit case coming home.:D :D

[DC2OC]

I saw in a travel catalog the other day that they have disposable underwear.

 

I also buy t shirts at ports to wear with shorts.

 

 

You can buy cheap underwear at places like Marshalls sometimes for less than a buck a pair ,also you can pack your nearly worn out underwear and toss them

[Swabb3]

One thing I have found is mixing and matching for dinner. Like everyone has said you really don't wear the clothes for that long. Also I pack one really nice pair of heels, sneakers and flip flops. Plus I usually buy some new undies and leave them in the package. Much better for packing. And don't forget that you can always toss that empty tube of toothpaste or deodorant at the end of the cruise. My cabin steward must hate me since most of my toiletries wind up in the trash at the end. But it saves room. Also I use my garment bag as a laundry bag so half the packing is already done for me.

My biggest hint: Downy wrinkler releaser spray. Not only takes out wrinles but freshens up those pants that you wore three days ago.

[willysgrandma]

In all honesty, we are going to sail Princess for a 10 day itinerary because they have the self service laundries. We took half the clothes we needed on our Crown cruise because I did wash mid-week. It was a pleasure to pack half the stuff I usually take.

[nosmothj]

If you have a balcony room. Bring a mess bag and a coil of rope. At night put drity things in bag, tie one end of rope to bag the other end to rail. Then drop over the side!

 

Next mornign things are clean but a little salty!

[sgttami]

I'm sort of in the same boat as you. We're leaving out of Bayonne, NJ in late October and returning early November (going to Caribbean). So we'll need clothes for both warm and cool weather.

 

I'm fretting right along with you ;)

 

 

cs...we did the 9 night from Bayonne last October as well. I see you are from NJ also so I'm guessing that you are driving to the port!!

 

We actually came back with some of our clothes never worn. We took one large suitcase each and one carry on and that included two formal nights with a tux for DH. Our cabin steward couldn't believe that was all we had as far as luggage.

 

I use the 2 gallon ziplock bags for underwear, swimsuits and tee's. You have no idea how much stuff fits in one of those bags. When you press out the air it lays "flat".. and I pack it in between the other clothes. Nothing wrinkles, at least not for me.

 

I've never run out of clothes and have never had laundry service.

 

October/November is still pretty warm but we did keep a jacket in our car when we parked at the pier in case it was colder.

 

You are allowed something like 100 pounds of luggage per person for the ship, so you still can "pack away" if you'd like.

[ocsuzie]

I was wondering if the RCI ships run laundry specials during the cruise? Both NCL and HAL had "fill the bag" with laundry for a price of $12 - $15. It wasn't a big bag, but it helped on our 11 day cruise.

[teajak]

I was wondering if the RCI ships run laundry specials during the cruise? Both NCL and HAL had "fill the bag" with laundry for a price of $12 - $15. It wasn't a big bag, but it helped on our 11 day cruise.

No they do not, I asked the head of housekeeping, he did think it was a good idea, LOL.

[madforcruising]

Okay, I'm booked on a 9 night/10 day cruise. I know that RCCL does not have self service laundry. I'm not sure how to pack - considering:

 

I will need 10 days worth of casual clothes.

I will need 9 nights worth of formal/semi-formal clothes.

I will need 9 nights worth of sleep clothes.

And a couple of bathing suits too.

 

 

Help - what do you do????

 

Sleep NEKKID, eliminates already 9 nights worth of sleep clothes;)

You don´t need 9 nights worth of formal/semi formal. There won´t be more than 2 or three formal nights and you can wear things twice.

Same for the casual stuff.

 

 

I usually be somewhere between 14 and 20 days on vacation. Always traing to have some pre and/or post cruise stay. Next cruise will be a 16-nighter plus 2 night prior and 1 night post. Besides some formal stuff I never sent anything to the laundry.

[55J5-5]

If you have a balcony room. Bring a mess bag and a coil of rope. At night put drity things in bag, tie one end of rope to bag the other end to rail. Then drop over the side!

 

Next mornign things are clean but a little salty!

 

OMG!!! you gave away my secret! :D

[RevSmith]

Move to Florida, then you can drive to your cruise ship.

[Reijo]

I was in the Middle East/Greece/Switzerland for almost a month and obviously had to do laundry to some degree almost daily. I read on several websites that rather than packing laundry detergents to use shampoo. I tried it ahead of time and it worked great, just don't use too much. One other "tidbit" of info.............I just heard that baby wipes are WONDERFUL for spots. They remove just about anything and are much less expense than the Shout Out wipes. I don't think I would get any with aloe in them. Just buy a travel pack of them, rRub them on any spot. Once they dry out you can even rewet them and use them again.

 

As mentioned interchange your clothes ESPECIALLY for dinner. You only wear them for a couple of hours (assuming you change clothes before going to the entertainment). It is perfectly fine to wear a nice pair of dressy slacks (such as crepe) and wear a couple of different nice tops with them. If you wear your swimsuit most of the day then you won't need as many daytime clothes.

[lawsoncd3]

If you're flying, the airlines limit the weight to each suitcase to 50 pounds... so you're limited there... also to two bags per person... pack carefully.

 

What we do is this...

 

Mix and match.. bring clothes for casual dinner that work well with shorts... what I mean is a nice shirt with the shorts that works well with slacks for dinner... now you've gotten a full day's wardrobe (i.e. short, shirt and pants (capri's even) -

 

Shoes - pack shoes that you can use for multiple outfits...

 

Formal wear... rent a tux.. you won't have to pack it... for the formal dress, you can rent that too, or you can pack it in a garmet bag (there's plenty of room in the side pockets for little things to fill in space like undies, ect)...

 

Utilize the ship's laundry service

 

I typically stayed in my swimsuit (with a cover up) during the day while we were at sea. I either through my shorts on for the WJ or ordered room service and ate on the balcony!

 

Here's a big hint if you're flying - when you check your bags in... check the heavier bags first... if you're over the weight limit, take the bag back, and remove some items and put in the other bags that are smaller and under weight.. you probably won't be stuck with the fee for overweight item.

 

And the best advice, pack less and bring more money!!

 

Have a great time!!!

 

Dona :)

[rsscaptain]

When we fly and need to pack under 50 pounds a suitcase, I just step on the scale, get my current weight, and repeat holding the suitcase. Works like a charm.

 

I'm a heavy packer and don't plan to change, especially for a 12 day cruise. I enjoy keeping our clothes clean, and pressed. I don't do it for people who may or may not notice us, but because I notice us and that's how I like it.

 

I'm extremely disappointed that there are no laundry services, but Tide packets or Woolite, and a steamer will have to do. It's not work to me, I enjoy it. :confused: It's just part of my grooming ritual.

[Kykitty]

Lands End supplex shorts. I have 4 pair, and they are the only shorts that went with me on our last 7-day cruise in March. Two of them match bathing suits (very convenient) and I wash them out in the sink each time I wear them. They are dry in an hour or less. They also roll up into a miniscule size for packing. I might also mention that I forgot my small travel-sized bottle of Woolite on our last cruise and used the shampoo provided in the shower dispensers. Worked very well. I usually rinse the soap out of the shorts/bathing suits/whatever under the shower head (removable), as that seems to expedite the process. Just my two cents!:)

[Hlitner]

This laundry thing can be a real problem and also, for us, a deal breaker. We routinely take trips of 30 -60 days and laundry does become an issue. When we do transatlantics after which we usually spend a few weeks in Europe, we will often avoid RCI in favor of lines such as HA and Princess where they have convenient laudramats. Princess has even sweetened the pot by giving Elite passengers (15 cruises or 150 days) free unlimited laundry service. On the other hand, RCi does give Diamond repeaters lots of free booze! I understand that RCI designed their ships for the shorter 7 day (or less) market and did not see the need for laundramats. But now that they are routinely doing longer cruises on some of their ships, it would be nice to see modifications to bring them up to the standards of the competition. As to how we pack for these long trip, we will often take about 150 pounds of luggage. This is not a big problem for us because in Europe we tend to rent our own car which can easily hold all the luggage (often in the back seat). As to shopping in Europe, the bottom line is that with the weak dollar and VAT taxes of around 20% most European goods are cheaper in the USA.....which is why many Europeans now come to the state to do their Christmas shopping.

 

Hank

[NJGRANNY]

Our steamer was taken away from us on a Royal Caribbean ship.

[Merion_Mom]

Sleep NEKKID, eliminates already 9 nights worth of sleep clothes;)

GMTA,Gunnar!

 

(uh-oh, was that TMI??? ;) :D)

[rsscaptain]

Our steamer was taken away from us on a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Common now really? Is this the shape of things to come?

[kircaldy007]

What about ironing on Royal Carribean cruises.

I'll be on rhapsody of the sea.

are there ironing boards in the rooms.

someone told me I can request to have an iron brought to my room-

but they won't leave it there for any extended period of time.

I was thinking about bringing my own iron -

I just bought one on sale for $10.

figured I could just leave it there if I need room in my suitcase coming home.

 

I really don't mind ironing - I like to look pressed - and I'm too cheap for laundrey service. but this IS my first cruise-- so I;d appreciate any

comments / suggestions.

 

thanks is advance