Help! A question about another cruise line

[stmom2]

Hey all!

We have only cruised beloved Disney for our past several cruises with another
Dis cruise planned for next year.

We are leaving Monday on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Mexico with 40 family members. While I have been a bit nervous and apprehensive that there is no way it will live up to my and my DH expections when comparing with the Magic/Wonder, I have decided to keep an open mind and realize it will be different. Maybe not worse but different.

This was my line of thinking until I found out that unlike the Disney ships with irons in their laundry rooms, they have no iron available to passengers. NONE!

AAAAHHHHHH....we do not go anywhere without ironing. I iron my kids clothes every day and my husband is fanatical about his clothes and wrinkles.
I am unsure what to do. I have thought about ironing everything before pacikng but this will take hours and in the past, the clothes get wrinkled anyway. Can we take a steamer?

What does everyone else do? Any suggestions?

Thanks
Trish

 

[msmayor]

Royal Caribbean does not provide self-serve laundry facilities on board any of their ships, but you can send items out to be cleaned and/or pressed. My understanding from researching this at another popular forum is that RC will press any clothing item for half the price of cleaning.

As to whether you can bring a steamer, I'd suggest calling the cruiseline directly for a definitive answer.

 

[julielouhoo]

Hi Trish~
You are going to have a great time! I have cruised with Disney once before (a 2nd time this August) and I have cruised with Royal Caribbean 3 times (my 4th in March 2008). Royal Caribbean is great! The main differences, (in my opinion), are the shows. Royals are fine, but Disney's are awesome!!; No free soda, you have to purchase a soda card or pay by the drink and the other difference is the look of the ship. RC ships have a lot of mirrors, glass and fancy decor, while Disney has all that beautiful woodwork and a more classic look. Aside from the Mickey pool, I prefer RC pools. They are larger and the layout seems nicer. Service on both lines was great. Unless something has changed, you can have a steamer for your clothes. Not only are there no irons for passengers, there's no self service laundry on the ships I've been on so far. I have been to both of RC's private islands. I liked Labadee better than Coco Cay, but they were both nice. You do get really spoiled visiting Disney's Castaway Cay. Hope this helps. Have a great time! Terri

 

[AnnOminous]

I have a small steamer from QVC. I used it on the cruise.

 

[GreatDaneMom]

We send our wrinkled items out to be pressed on our RCCL cruises. The cost is minimal compared to the time I would spend ironing and then packing extra carefully before leaving home. It's actually kind of a treat to have an excuse not to iron on those cruises. I do enough laundry and ironing at home!

Cheryl

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Iron your clothes before you leave and hang each peice in a dry cleaners' bag. It will arrive virtually wrinkle free!

 

[stmom2]

Thanks everyone for all of your replies. I may stop at Target today to see if I can find a hand held steamer.

If I send them out to be pressed on the ship (and this sounds wonderful!) do we send them all out together at the beginning or do we send them out each morning?

Thanks
Trish

 

[lvstitch]

I have read that RC will remove any irons and steamers from your luggage before they deliver it to your room and you will be able to pick them up after your cruise. Don't know how true that is but just keep in mind that your steamer may no make it to your room.

 

[GreatDaneMom]

Thanks everyone for all of your replies. I may stop at Target today to see if I can find a hand held steamer.

If I send them out to be pressed on the ship (and this sounds wonderful!) do we send them all out together at the beginning or do we send them out each morning?

Thanks
Trish

Trish, you can send them out however it's most convenient for you. You'll find a stack of laundry order forms in your cabin and you can fill one out for each batch you want to have done, as often as you like. We leave the order form filled out on top of the items on the bed when we leave the cabin in the morning and they are returned to us all nice and washed and/or pressed the next day. Enjoy!

Cheryl

 

[stmom2]

Thanks so much for all your replies. I feel a bit better now.

Cheryl, Are they always returned the next day and it is early enough to wear the next day or do they deliever while the room is being cleaned?

I had no idea the cruise line went through suitcases. Is this standard procedure?

Julie-thanks for your RC input. I am feeling better about the whole trip now.
We will have a great time.

~Trish

 

[GreatDaneMom]

Trish, our things were always returned the next day during the time we were out of the cabin in the morning. We generally leave the cabin around 8-9 am to eat breakfast, etc. When we came back the previous day's pile was always returned. I just love having magic fairies like that!

I hope you enjoy RCCL. They aren't Disney and you may find you miss the mouse. But the RCCL ships are well maintained and clean, we've found their service to be excellent, the crews are hard working and proficient, there are plenty of activities for all ages, etc. We just sailed on their oldest and smallest ship to Bermuda and had a wonderful time. Of course we still book Disney for other cruises!

Go and enjoy your family and don't focus on the differences. The people I see who come back disappointed after a cruise are often people who went into it expecting an inferior product. We can nit pick anything into an awful time if we want. It's a vacation. It has to be better than being at home, right?

Have a great time!
Cheryl