Does New Laundry Bag Challenge Make Sense?

[grandsix]

While we always have a great time on Celebrity we are wondering about what seems to be a misguided Corporate Policy regarding the Laundry Bag Challenge.

 

A number of months ago someone in Corporate dreamed up this idea that you can pack as much laundry in a Paper Celebrity Laundry Bag only and have it cleaned for $29.00. Wonderful, except it DOES NOT INCLUDE PRESSING.

Trying to understand why anyone would do laundry on a cruise without pressing and would love to confront the executive at headquarters who dreamed this up. There is also a special ELITE laundry coupon at a set price of $15.00, but you have to READ THE SMALL PRINT on the back to see there is NO pressing. WE DID NOT GO ON A CRUISE TO READ THE SMALL PRINT ON THE BACK. Perhaps our Cruise Critic neighbors can give some input regarding this policy.

[Desertbelle]

When I have done this in the past many of my items came back pressed. The items not pressed were folded very neatly.

 

I love taking advantage of the Bag of Laundry special at the end of a cruise. It means that we come home with clean underwear, socks, t-shirts and shorts. Makes my first few days home from a cruise a little easier.

 

Several years ago, when I first saw this special, on a NCL ship, I figured out the method of rolling items before putting them in the bag and I was able to get something like 23 (I don't remember the exact amount but it was in the 20's)items in the bag. :eek:

[grandsix]

When I have done this in the past many of my items came back pressed. The items not pressed were folded very neatly.

 

I love taking advantage of the Bag of Laundry special at the end of a cruise. It means that we come home with clean underwear, socks, t-shirts and shorts. Makes my first few days home from a cruise a little easier.

 

Several years ago, when I first saw this special, on a NCL ship, I figured out the method of rolling items before putting them in the bag and I was able to get something like 23 (I don't remember the exact amount but it was in the 20's)items in the bag. :eek:

 

 

You were right about the past, but not any more. Items like blouses, shirts, washable pants etc. are NOT PRESSED.

[Iggipolka]

When I cruised on the Zuiderdam and the Spirit and both of them had the same laundry deal. I thought it was great and a wonderful deal. I sent out things that didn't need pressing (undies, PJ's, shorts, jeans, cotton/poly blend shirts) and they all came back neatly folded that evening!

It was so nice not to have to come home with a whole bunch of dirty clothes!

 

I'm looking forward to using X's laundry service on our 14 night Alaska cruise. Woohoo! Two whole weeks of not doing any laundry!

[nps001]

No one is obliged to use this service, especially if you don't think there is a value in doing so. I personally feel that it is a great value as many of the items I send out only need to be folded. The alternative to someone not 'dreaming up this promo' is the regular price of laundry services. Just my .02 cents.

[hajekfam]

The bag special for $29 does not include pressing.

However, on our past cruise (Nov-Dec), we used our Captains Club coupons on both legs of our back to back. We were gone for 28 days plus a prestay so it definitely came in handy. Using our captains club coupon, as long as we sent the bag out days before the $29 special was offered, our items came back pressed and hung. When we sent the bag out the same day the $29 special was offered even using the captains club coupon, the items came back just laundered and folded. The $29 special is to bring home clean clothes - that must be why they only come back folded and not pressed.

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

We recently returned from 3btob on Mercury. Ensenada to Sydney and without the laundry service we would have needed lots more baggage for the 42 days we were on board. We did have the $20 vouchers on each leg as CC members. I can assure you that what needed pressing ie., tops dress shirts, pants came back pressed and on hangars, all small items underwear T shirts socks etc., came neatly folded in bags even though it did stipulate pressing is not included. By the way it is suprising what you can fit rolled up into the bag provided. We did a price check as if paying per item and it came out at $53 for what we had done for $20 good value and next day return, excellent service.

 

Royboy :) :)

[Lsimon]

We recently returned from 3btob on Mercury. Ensenada to Sydney and without the laundry service we would have needed lots more baggage for the 42 days we were on board. We did have the $20 vouchers on each leg as CC members. I can assure you that what needed pressing ie., tops dress shirts, pants came back pressed and on hangars, all small items underwear T shirts socks etc., came neatly folded in bags even though it did stipulate pressing is not included. By the way it is suprising what you can fit rolled up into the bag provided. We did a price check as if paying per item and it came out at $53 for what we had done for $20 good value and next day return, excellent service.

 

Royboy :) :)

 

We had the exact same experience last September on the Millennium - dress shirts and slacks were pressed and other items neatly folded.

 

Didn't notice anything one way or the other on pressing - but did notice this did not include dry cleaning (silk shirts, etc) only laundry items.

[atb]

In October we were on Summitt - and used the Elite coupons - and managed to really stuff the bags - but there was no pressing - and there were no hangers. Everything returned in bags - folded neatly - but no pressing - and DH was upset because his pants weren't folded for a crease - but folded like "ladies pants" seam to seam. :eek:

And I agree with the OP - what's the point of offering a special coupon - if you don't offer the service - full price you get laundry done with pressing and hangers - but the special price - you only get clean and folded. :( Not much of a special coupon IMHO.

[spearmint]

While we always have a great time on Celebrity we are wondering about what seems to be a misguided Corporate Policy regarding the Laundry Bag Challenge.

 

A number of months ago someone in Corporate dreamed up this idea that you can pack as much laundry in a Paper Celebrity Laundry Bag only and have it cleaned for $29.00. Wonderful, except it DOES NOT INCLUDE PRESSING.

Trying to understand why anyone would do laundry on a cruise without pressing and would love to confront the executive at headquarters who dreamed this up. There is also a special ELITE laundry coupon at a set price of $15.00, but you have to READ THE SMALL PRINT on the back to see there is NO pressing. WE DID NOT GO ON A CRUISE TO READ THE SMALL PRINT ON THE BACK. Perhaps our Cruise Critic neighbors can give some input regarding this policy.

 

So that's what happened! Last year, we sent our laundry out for the first time, and all my shirts came back pressed and on hangers. I was so impressed. :)This year, we were offered the (Select Member) option of the laundry-bag special and everything came back crammed into the same-sized laundry bag; my shirts were more wrinkled than when I unpacked them after 2 days of travelling to the ship! :eek:I was not happy and plan to mention this when I write to the company re: the cruise as a whole. I would certainly have rather just paid the extra $50-$20 that it would have cost without the coupon.

[DiamondDiva]

We have not been on Celebrity in quite a few years and are going on a 12 day European in late May. After several trips on Princess and HAL, we had forgotten that there were no laundry facilities on X ships and were unhappy to be reminded of that recently. We have gotten used to the laundries on other lines!

 

My questions:

 

Are these "Laundry bag specials" offered on most cruises? Are they only at the very end of the cruise?

What is the normal rate for laundry? Is it posted anywhere?

Is there anywhere to press a garment?

What are the CC coupons referred to in several of these messages? Are they for Concierge Class cabins (we have one) or something else?

Thanks for all your help.

Diamond Diva

[negc]

We have not been on Celebrity in quite a few years and are going on a 12 day European in late May. After several trips on Princess and HAL, we had forgotten that there were no laundry facilities on X ships and were unhappy to be reminded of that recently. We have gotten used to the laundries on other lines!

 

My questions:

 

Are these "Laundry bag specials" offered on most cruises? Are they only at the very end of the cruise?

What is the normal rate for laundry? Is it posted anywhere?

Is there anywhere to press a garment?

What are the CC coupons referred to in several of these messages? Are they for Concierge Class cabins (we have one) or something else?

Thanks for all your help.

Diamond Diva

On our Connie TA there was a coupon in our Captain's Club booklet that allowed us to send out a paper laundry bag filled with as much as it could hold to be laundered for $15. It was good for anytime during the cruise. We were not in a CC cabin so it was our Captain's Club status not our cabin category which determined the value of the coupon (I believe that Select members could get the same deal but the cost was $20). I didn't see the $29 offer but if they had offered it, we might have used that as well near the end of the cruise. Being upset because the offer didn't include pressing didn't even enter our minds. If it had bothered us, we simply wouldn't have taken them up on the offer, but we certainly had more than enough laundry items that required washing but not pressing to make the offer a real bargain.

If you want to have items pressed you can do so, and the laundry forms in your room will list the prices for the various items.

[DiamondDiva]

Thanks for the quick info. As Captain's Club members we will hope for a similar coupon. Makes sense to us to use it if we can.

[kehlx2]

Last January was our first time on an X ship--we sent out laundry & my DH shirts came back pressed better than I did at home..now in Alaska we only sent our undies (his) & socks (both) they were fine--now I still have a coupon for the Select $20 from the Summit--it has no ship name so will try to use it on the Mercury this month..if not will just use the 2 we should get....trying to talk DH into another cruise so we can move up to next level next time..:D Like Greece summer of 2009...

Oh & someone mentioned something about the $29..I think that is delivered to yoru door about 2-3 days before the cruise ends...so I try to get ours done before they come out.

[Oceans&Rivers]

In October we were on Summitt - and used the Elite coupons - and managed to really stuff the bags - but there was no pressing - and there were no hangers. Everything returned in bags - folded neatly - but no pressing - and DH was upset because his pants weren't folded for a crease - but folded like "ladies pants" seam to seam. :eek:

And I agree with the OP - what's the point of offering a special coupon - if you don't offer the service - full price you get laundry done with pressing and hangers - but the special price - you only get clean and folded. :( Not much of a special coupon IMHO.

 

I agree. Although I have not used the coupons before, I would use them on a longer cruise and would have expected pressing to be included in the service.

 

Cleaning clothes is the easy (and inexpensive) part. Ironing them is a PITA.

[SheilaNC]

don't know when this policy changed. In March we sent laundry of all kinds several times (on a B2B) and everything was pressed, most came back on hangers, other things folded neatly and looked pressed. We are Elite.

 

If the policy has changed, we'll send everything to be laundered and then resend pants, blouses, shirts to just be pressed. Still a deal if you want to pack lighter given the new weight restrictions, IMHO.

[Host Anne]

This is actually a pretty sore subject with me. On our Constellation cruise in March, I used the coupon in our Capt Club booklet. I think it was $15 for the bag of laundry. I didn't notice anywhere on the coupon that it said "pressing not included." We didn't really "need" to use the coupon (could have made it home without it) but we thought it was a nice service and would be great to go home with less laundry so we used it about half way through the cruise (including my husband's dress shirt for his tux).

 

Imagine my surprise when everything came back pretty much thrown back in the bag. It was even pretty tough to tell things had been cleaned. There was no "neatly folded" involved in this batch. There was no way that anything returned could have been worn (I'm really not exaggerating...and I seldom need to iron anything at home).

 

I pulled out the regular laundry/dry cleaning order sheet that can be found in the closet. No where on the sheet did it say that laundry service didn't include pressing (I've used laundry service before on ships and things always came back pressed). Never having used the laundry coupon before and not seeing anything on the coupon that said pressing wasn't included, I called the Guest Services manager and had a very long chat with him. He told me that passengers regularly complain about the coupon and how misleading passengers feel the service is. He suggested (and I complied) that I discuss the situation with the land-based customer service manager where these decisions are made. Will it change anything, not likely. But it did reinforce how little value Celebrity's coupon book truly is.

 

It also seems like the service varies from ship to ship....like so many other policies. For those who appreciate the service....that's great. For us, it was misleading and certainly not worth the money and frustration.

[Lsimon]

I agree this truly would be a waste if pressing is not included. It would basically be worthless except for underwear and t-shirts, at best.

 

I also find it hard to believe that they are inconsistent between ships and the good experience we had with this service on our Millennium cruise was turned around so badly for cruisers on other ships.

 

Laundry service on the ship has always included pressing. It is crazy to have a special price on laundry services and not provide the whole service.

 

I guess the option left is to ask about pressing before using the coupon or special, but it is a shame that they would treat passengers so badly on some ships.

[marvin]

Princess gives there "Elite" equivalent loyal cruises free laundry . The perks given to Elite cruisers are a joke, I have mentioned this on the comment cards filled out at the end of every cruise.

[Andy]

This is actually a pretty sore subject with me. On our Constellation cruise in March, I used the coupon in our Capt Club booklet. I think it was $15 for the bag of laundry. I didn't notice anywhere on the coupon that it said "pressing not included." We didn't really "need" to use the coupon (could have made it home without it) but we thought it was a nice service and would be great to go home with less laundry so we used it about half way through the cruise (including my husband's dress shirt for his tux).

 

Imagine my surprise when everything came back pretty much thrown back in the bag. It was even pretty tough to tell things had been cleaned. There was no "neatly folded" involved in this batch. There was no way that anything returned could have been worn (I'm really not exaggerating...and I seldom need to iron anything at home).

 

I pulled out the regular laundry/dry cleaning order sheet that can be found in the closet. No where on the sheet did it say that laundry service didn't include pressing (I've used laundry service before on ships and things always came back pressed). Never having used the laundry coupon before and not seeing anything on the coupon that said pressing wasn't included, I called the Guest Services manager and had a very long chat with him. He told me that passengers regularly complain about the coupon and how misleading passengers feel the service is. He suggested (and I complied) that I discuss the situation with the land-based customer service manager where these decisions are made. Will it change anything, not likely. But it did reinforce how little value Celebrity's coupon book truly is.

 

It also seems like the service varies from ship to ship....like so many other policies. For those who appreciate the service....that's great. For us, it was misleading and certainly not worth the money and frustration.

 

Hi Anne !

 

I agree that what you get, seems to vary from ship to ship. My Parents used the 15.00 special on Constellation. They have used the service in the past, and generally been happy. Last cruise, not so much. The clothes did come back folded, but not pressed (they were ok with that). What they werent ok with.... the batch of clothes must have gotten mixed up, as about 2/3 of the items returned werent their clothes. As most of the items were socks, and underwear, it wasnt the end of the world. Due to the mix-up, I can report they werent happy with the service.

[grandsix]

Since the perks on Celebrity are not that good, why can't they at least include in their coupon special, wash and press for Elite?? Don't make us read the small print on the back of their coupons.

[richsea]

We used the laundry bag coupon twice on our recent Galaxy TA & both times the clothes came back neatly folded with the pants on hangars. Couldn't find a wrinkle if you tried!

[spearmint]

T

 

 

It also seems like the service varies from ship to ship....like so many other policies. For those who appreciate the service....that's great. For us, it was misleading and certainly not worth the money and frustration.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. By the way, in my previous post, I neglected to mention that the differences in the laundry :mad:service occurred on the same ship, Constellation, just one year apart.:confused:

[Oceans&Rivers]

Could there be a difference between C-class ships and M-class ships with regards to how the laundry is returned to passengers?

 

Two people posted their items were pressed, but they were on the Galaxy and Mercury.

 

I want my clothes pressed when they are laundered, with the exception of T-shirts and other underwear, but then I still want them neatly folded as soon as they emerge from the dryer.

 

Anything less is not what I would expect from Celebrity.

[Lsimon]

Could there be a difference between C-class ships and M-class ships with regards to how the laundry is returned to passengers?...

 

We had appropriate items pressed and returned on hangers on our Millennium cruise in Sept. 2007.