11 Ways to Cope with Laundry on a Long Royal Caribbean Cruise

A down side with a long Royal Caribbean cruise is the pricing of the laundry service. There is no self-serve laundromat on any of their vessels, hence cruisers on long cruises might find themselves in the predicament of paying the hotel pricing for laundry service on board.  The current price list as on May 2015 is here.

Here are some creative ways to cope with the issue of laundry.

1. Use a basic hand wash kit.

Pegless Clothes Line

You will need to bring some laundry detergent, a wash line and pegs.  Most of us with a washing machine would rarely hand wash these days. If you need tips on how to hand wash check out WikiHow.

The most convenient way of hanging out your laundry would be using a laundry line which does not require pegs. You should be able to hang your laundry in your bathroom or balcony. You can use your chairs in the balcony hide the laundry from view. Chairs are also handy as support ends for your clothes line, however you might need to put some weight on the chair if your laundry is heavy. One great thing about hanging out laundry on the balcony as with the constant wind generated by the ship's movement, enabling your clothes to dry fairly quickly.

2. Use a Scrubba bag

The Scrubba is a wash bag which claims to clean as well as a washing machine. At USD$55, this would be a considerably more expensive option. However, if you are a frequent traveler, this might be a great option on the long run. It has an in-built wash board. It's air travel friendly with it only weighing 145g (5oz). Its easy to use design makes hand washing a whole lot easier. All you need is some laundry detergent and a clothes line.

3. Use a Wonder Wash

This option is definitely not for everyone. 

This option for:

·      Families with many small children and require a lot of change in clothes.

·      Those who are sailing off from your home city, or have lots of airplane baggage allowance.

·      Sailing continuously for more than 2 weeks.

The Wonder Wash is fairly large and bulky but has the capacity of washing 10 t-shirts in one go making it the most efficient hand wash option. For families with many small children, having one of these would make it much easier to wash out all those stains kids generate before they set in. All you need is some laundry detergent and a clothes line.

4. When selecting a laundry detergent, bring one that has a softener in its formulation.

Hand washing alone takes quite a bit of work. If you chose a laundry detergent with softener, it would eliminate the need of having to soak your clothes in softener. 

5. Do your laundry when you are port.

Do some research before you go on your cruise. Find out which ports has same-day laundry service or self-serve laundromat near to the port. Just be careful that you aren't travelling significant distances that your stop to your laundromat is eating into your time spent on shore excursions. Also in some ports, the cost of travelling to the nearest laundromat and back could be more expensive than doing laundry on the ship itself, so do your research before your cruise!

6. Buy a memento piece of clothing at each port.

You'll probably go through lots of t-shirts while on your cruise and on shore. Why not buy a memento t-shirt of the place you've visited or even a Royal Caribbean t-shirt? That way you would have to pack a lot fewer t-shirts.

7. Use disposable underwear.

Disposable underwear is super light and cheap, which allows you to bring many more along than non-disposable underwear. Alternatively, you can bring old underwear along which you plan to dispose off. That way you can buy more at each port.

8. For the ladies, bring your hair straightener.

Irons are banned from the ship, and there's no way to iron your clothes. Your hair straightener would come in very handy to iron out the small pieces of clothing or parts of the clothes which crumple easily like collars, shirt ends and sleeves.

9. Bring as many wrinkle-free clothes as possible.

With hand washing, you will need to iron your clothes. You can always flick your clothes to straighten them as much as possible before you hang dry, but very often, clothes dry wrinkled. So if you have the choice, pack more wrinkle-free clothes as possible.

10. Bring a wrinkle removing spray.

This might not be available in every country. But if you can get your hands on a wrinkle remover/ release spray, this would be helpful. You will have to spray and flatten your clothes and the wrinkles will go away. The product would contain a deodorizer to remove all the pesky smells. The product works best on lighter fabrics, heavier fabrics would need more product. Just make sure when you use it on silk or rayon that you do a small test spot first as it may stain. You can also make this product at home with various home recipes online for a more cost effective product.

11. Make full us of free pressing when offered.

Free pressing is sometimes offered as as bonus offer from time to time. Previous cruisers have reported free pressing when:

·       On first formal night for suite guests.

·       On first formal night for back-to-back cruisers.

These bonuses may change from time to time. But make full use of it when offered.

Related Posts

Top 20 Tips for Cruising with Royal Caribbean
15 Weirdest Complaints about Cruising on Royal Caribbean

References

Royal Caribbean

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