Doing laundry onboard

[tnshsms]

We just got off the Fantasy in May and we did laundry this time. I didn't mind it. We went in the morning(around 8) on a port day and I was the only one using a washing machine. In fact, I was the only one using any machine. It was our 5th day into a 7 day and a port day so I'm sure that helped my situation. I did leave it in the laundry room while we ate and set myself a timer on my phone. I was back before it was done(waited about 1 min) and moved it to the dryer. I went back to the room and again, set a timer. I was again back in time to watch the load end.

We learned that one DCL laundry bag stuffed full with a little extra over came out to 2 loads. And I agree, the dryers are slow and need a longer drying time because they aren't as powerful as you might have at home.

It was $2 to wash and $2 to dry. I brought my own detergent and dryer sheet so I don't remember how much that was.

My suggestion would be to either go early, late or go on a port day. I literally never saw anyone in the laundry room in my short stints and I was the only one ever using the facilities that morning.

 

[stewartm]

Purex 3-in-1 all the way! Very handy indeed.

 

[DahliaRW]

I did find that stuff didn't dry as quickly too. But, my t-shirts would get mostly dry. So after the first dry cycle (I usually had 2 loads), I'd put the hard to dry items together into one dryer and hang t-shirts, undies, etc up in the stateroom to dry for a few hours. The line in the shower really helped with this. Usually did this overnight so it wasn't in the way for the stateroom host.

 

[shanhop]

We didn't on our first cruise, but did on our recent trip to Alaska. We were in Vancouver for two days before boarding the cruise, and were unsure what weather we'd see on board. We packed 4 days of short sleeves, four days aof long sleeves, and five days of underwear.

It was warm in Vancouver, so we were almost out of warm weather stuff when we boarded. We did laundry the day we boarded since we expected it not to be busy (it wasn't). There were horrible lines on the last two days.

Washer and Dryers are each $1 each per load. We just take our own Gain pods and dryer sheets.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Purex 3-in-1 all the way! Very handy indeed.

The problem there is Purex no longer makes them. Yes, you can still find them (for a cost) on such sites as Amazon, but when they run out, they're gone.

 

[aprilchem]

Absolutely - did 5 loads on our last BTB on the dream. We are a family of 5, we were on the ship for 7 nights and I brought 3 or 4 outfits per person. I use the Tide pods; I just stuff them into a small Tupperware so they don't burst.

 

[midwestpat]

What does it cost to do laundry onboard? I know I will have to do it on our Alaskan cruise, and about how long does it take for a load? Thank you

We just got off the Wonder on Monday.
It is $1 and $1 to dry. Washer run much faster than our washer at home. Dryers are just as reliable/predictable as any laundromat dryer. I dried a full load of jeans and it dried completely in one attempt. I had another load of light weight tops and underwear, and I had to dry that load twice and it still was not as dry as the jeans load. It varies by machine.

As others have said, taking enough luggage to accommodate clothes for the entire trip would cost a lot in baggage fees. We did extra days prior to our cruise in Vancouver and extra days after our trip in Whistler (12 days total). I had to do laundry.

I did laundry on Tracy Arm day - I could load the machine, note the timer, go to our room and watch from the veranda, return in time to see the machine shut off and process laundry that way while seeing as much of Tracy Arm as I care for.

I also did laundry on our last sea day - and this one was a challenge! I tried to be respectful to those who have the cabins near the laundry room, so I intentionally waited until 7:30 a.m. to head that way. I got the last free washer (but I had 3 loads to run!!!) and all-in-all I was committed to the laundry room until 11:00 when my last load was dry. There was a LONG line of people and some were using their wave phones to call other family members in the other laundry rooms to grab open machines. Think about sea day - it works in your schedule nicely, but it works in EVERYONE'S schedule nicely too!

We took Tide pods in a GladWare dish. Worked perfect!

 

[noahdove]

Thank you for your input. Do the machines take quarters?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thank you for your input. Do the machines take quarters?

No, you use your KTTW card. It's charged to your onboard account.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Thank you for your input. Do the machines take quarters?

There is a card reader for machines and powers swipe your card Nd it charges your ship account, it's a cash free system no need for coins.

 

[abja09]

Absolutely - did 5 loads on our last BTB on the dream. We are a family of 5, we were on the ship for 7 nights and I brought 3 or 4 outfits per person. I use the Tide pods; I just stuff them into a small Tupperware so they don't burst.

Great idea to put the Tide pods in Tupperware - thanks! I know I am going to have to do laundry on my August cruise as we are doing WDW before and after the cruise.

 

[captainminnie]

We are a family of 3, and often have 1-2 other family members traveling with us. We pack 4 outfits for each person (plus a nice one and swimsuits, etc.) and end up doing 1-2 loads/day.

The washers are small, maybe 1/2 the size of what we have at home, but 2 washer loads fit in 1 dryer. Washers are fast, maybe 45-60 minutes. Each wash is $2, dry is $2, and laundry soap boxes $1, so for us it would be $7/day. All easily chargeable on your Room Key card account.

We can put it in before breakfast, and then put in the dryer after. If someone else needs to use it before we get back and have found people to be nice and transfer your laundry to the dryers, and sometimes even start it!

We find if we do 1-2 loads/day it saves us from having to do a bunch of laundry at once. We bring POWDER small laundry pods (Arm & Hammer or Oxi Clean have them) from home and put in zip lock bags. We will also be adventurous and bring dryer sheets this time. We like Tide pods at home, but don't want to risk the liquid in the pods spilling, or the pods bursting from air pressure fluctuations from traveling. We have had the Tide pods break at home in their bag, and it leaves a sticky mess, and causes the other pods to start to dissolve.

 

[dwfanatic]

When you are doing a B2B cruise, can you put your laundry in the washer before you disembark between cruises? Hoping that we can, that way we really don't have to waste any time

 

[j2tyco]

I did laundry on our 7 night cruise on DCL- Wonder-- we were only about 7 or 8 doors down from the laundry room so I put a note on it what room we were in with a mickey smiley face magnet on it stating what time I put it in and that I would be back in "such and such minutes" to switch it and free it up for another cruiser to use right away- I think being courteous that way goes a long way- I would not expect anyone to just sit in there for over an hour to wash and dry- some people don;t mind that, but I also don;t expect people to just leave it unattended for well past the time it takes to complete its cycle- there is a middle ground.

First of all there is not enough room for everyone that does laundry to sit in there anyways especially if people are ironing or anything

I think it had a timer or there was a memo posted in there that said how long each cycle ran so I just came back within a few minutes before that time and switched it over to a dryer. Otherwise I sat on my balcony-- I ran a load for my mother and father in law as well since I was already doing it for us.

 

[FloridaMomofOne]

How much is it to do your own laundry on the Magic? My mom is about to go on the transatlantic and was asking me if I knew.

Thank you!

 

[CruisingSarah]

How much is it to do your own laundry on the Magic? My mom is about to go on the transatlantic and was asking me if I knew.

Thank you!

Hi it's $2 per washer load and $2 per dryer load. They have detergent in dispensers which I think is $1, but I just bring my own.

 

[shoes99]

There are laundry rooms on decks 2, 6 & 7 on the Magic class ships. We had trouble finding space on 7, walked down to 6 and no one else was using it. You may have to check a few times or try at odd hours.

We were on the DREAM and had a laundry room on deck 2 where we had a mid-ship cabin. Problem for me was that the washers were full, and I had a lady see me standing there with my hamper, left the room, and was gone for one hour without checking her washer. As soon as her washer was done, I unloaded her clothes to an empty dryer, washed my clothes, stayed in the room, emptied my clothes into a dryer and she was still not back.
You just can't do that, you have to be responsible, especially if there are only 3 or 4 washers and you have people waiting. Do not go to eat, or to a show and leave your clothes in the washer or dryer. There are people waiting.

 

[Andrea464]

I'm torn on if we'll be doing laundry or not. We're on a 4 night but once we get off the boat we're going to AKL, so it'll either be laundry on the boat or at the resort.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm torn on if we'll be doing laundry or not. We're on a 4 night but once we get off the boat we're going to AKL, so it'll either be laundry on the boat or at the resort.

Typically, it cheaper and more convenient to do laundry at the resorts than onboard the ships.

 

[shoes99]

Typically, it cheaper and more convenient to do laundry at the resorts than onboard the ships.

Fortunately we are staying pre and post cruise at DVC, so I can do laundry before and after our back to back on the DREAM in Jan/Feb 2015.