Why No Laundry Rooms on Carnival’s Largest Cruise Ships?
Let’s talk dirty – dirty clothes, that is. Some cruisers don’t mind bringing home a bag full of dirty clothes at the end of their cruise vacation. Others prefer to wash their clothes onboard the ship and travel home without needing to do chores immediately.
Cruise lines typically offer laundry services for a fee, though some ships do have self-service laundry rooms for guests to use themselves.
Larger ships, however, are more likely to be missing those self-service facilities. At the same time, those larger ships are also more likely to offer longer sailings, just when guests need to pack more attire and a laundry room might be most welcome to cut down on luggage.
But why the disparity? Larger ships, fewer laundry rooms? One guest contacted Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, for an answer.
“Why did Carnival decide not to put laundry rooms on the excel class ships? On 7-day cruises I like to do laundry instead of packing a lot of extra clothes,” the guest asked.
While I personally wouldn’t relish the idea of taking even just an hour or two for laundry on a cruise, the guest does make a good point about luggage space. But it is exactly space – more specifically, the ship’s capacity – as to why Carnival does not offer self-service laundry rooms on its largest cruise ships.
“We did not put these self service laundry on the ships simply because of the amount of people who were there,” explained Heald.
Carnival’s three Excel-class ships – Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee – can each welcome 5,282 guests at double occupancy, or up to 6,500 passengers when fully booked.
If just one out of every 100 guests wanted to do a single load of laundry, this would mean 520-650 guests using self-serve laundry facilities on every sailing.
Onboard laundry rooms are typically smaller, offering no more than a dozen washers and dryers (six of each) in each facility – and often far fewer.
If there were five such laundry rooms onboard, this would mean no more than 30 washers and 30 dryers, each of which would need to be used at least 17 times per sailing for all interested guests to do their laundry.
Now, factor in timing. Most guests won’t want to do laundry in the middle of the night, or during a time when they would be in port exploring a new destination.
Carnival Cruise Line has already had controversies with laundry rooms and unattended clothes, which can cause tension between passengers or result in lost items, guest services complaints, or even uncomfortable confrontations.
One solution might be larger or more numerous laundry rooms, but that would usurp space that would otherwise be used for additional staterooms. Carnival Cruise Line is a business, after all, and makes more revenue from selling a stateroom than from a few loads of laundry.
Why Not Pay for Laundry Service?
Guests do always have the option of using the wash-and-fold service offered by the cruise line. Bags are provided in every stateroom or are available upon request from cabin attendants.
Travelers simply put their dirty clothes in the bag (all items must fit), fill in the appropriate instructions if necessary, and it will be carefully laundered and returned the next day.
Read Also: Cruise Ship Laundry – What You Need to Know
The same traveler also noted to Heald that the service might not always be the best, however, depending on how much laundry a guest wants to have washed.
“The laundry bags you provide are small for $15,” they said.
It’s true that $15 for a relatively small bag that can only hold a few items may seem pricey. And if you want to wash a pair of jeans, that might be all that could fit into the bag! Guests can always use multiple bags for all their laundry needs.
Heald insists that the cost is an “exceptional value” and of course many guests do take advantage of it.
Given that the Excel class ships do not feature laundry rooms due to the overall ship size and generous capacity, it is a fair bet that the upcoming even larger Project Ace ships will also lack the self-service feature.
Carnival cruise guests will want to pack accordingly! Just don’t try to bring along your own washing machine (yes, it has already been tried!).