Disney Cruise – family vacation design

One of the best things about going on a Disney cruise is not having to do household chores like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Laundry is especially something to think about if you’re taking a longer cruise. In my experience, dirty clothes seem to appear out of thin air no matter how many I pack for my kids. Can you do laundry on a Disney cruise? Yes, you absolutely can. The Walt Disney Company is all about making life easier for guests. Each of the Disney cruise ships has a full-service laundry and dry cleaning facilities. There are also 24-hour self-service laundry facilities scattered throughout the ships. In the self-service laundry rooms, you will find washers, dryers, irons and ironing boards, and vending machines to purchase detergent and fabric softener. If you’re going on your first cruise with Disney and are wondering about the laundry situation, keep reading. I’ve got answers to all your questions about doing laundry on a Disney cruise, including how much it costs, where the laundry rooms are located, and some tips using the self-service laundry facilities. How Much Does It Cost To Wash Dirty Clothes On Disney Cruise Ships? One load of laundry on Disney cruise ships costs $6 ($3 to wash and $3 to dry). In addition to this, you need to buy detergent, unless you brought your own detergent pods. Detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets are $1 each and can be purchased from a vending machine in the laundry room. You don’t need to bring a roll of quarters to use the 24-hour self-service guest laundry facilities. It’s a completely cashless system and you can pay using your Key to the World card. For safety reasons, Disney does not allow the use of irons in the staterooms. In fact, personal irons are prohibited and you cannot bring one aboard a Disney cruise ship. However, the use of the iron and ironing board in the laundry room is complimentary. How Much Does The Laundry Service Cost On A Disney Cruise? For an additional fee, you can use the full-service laundry or dry cleaning services onboard. Someone will pick up your dirty clothes and deliver clean, ironed clothes to your stateroom. The charges will be added to your stateroom account. All you have to do is call Guest Services to arrange the pickup. The damage? Dry cleaning for a 3-piece suit will set you back by $11, an evening dress by $10, a coat by $7. Prices for the laundry service on a Disney cruise are not cheap. To give you an idea, a blouse is $4, a sports shirt $3.50, a pair of pants $3.50, a t-shirt $2.50, an undershirt or bra $2, and socks $1.50. It’s way cheaper to do a load of laundry yourself! These additional services are also available: Regular service (your laundry will be returned to you by 5:30 pm the next day) - no extra chargeSame-day service (pickup by 9 am and return by 5:30 pm the same day) - 50% surcharge on top of the regular dry cleaning feeExpress service (3-hour turnaround - great if you need something in a hurry for a formal night!) - 100% dry cleaning surcharge. Ironing only - 50% of dry cleaning rate per item of clothing One last thing… If you wish to take the Disney Cruise Line garment bag home with you, it costs $10. I think it makes a nice souvenir! Where Are The Laundry Rooms Located On The Disney Cruise Line Ships? The 24-hour self-service laundry rooms are equipped with washers, dryers, iron and ironing board, and a vending machine that dispenses detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets. You can see the location on the deck plan. Here’s a quick overview. Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy Deck 10 opposite stateroom 10572Deck 9 opposite stateroom 9500Deck 8 opposite stateroom 8150Deck 7 opposite stateroom 7014Deck 6 opposite stateroom 6508Deck 5 opposite stateroom 5192Deck 2 opposite stateroom 2002 Disney Magic and Disney Wonder Deck 7 near stateroom 7590Deck 6 near stateroom 6588Deck 2 near stateroom 2096 How To Use The Laundry On A Disney Cruise? It’s pretty straightforward. There’s a touch panel to pay for the laundry service. It shows you the availability of washers and dryers at the different laundry locations on the ship. However, by the time you make your way to a location, an empty one could be occupied! Make sure to note several locations to make sure you’ll have one available. Here’s how to use the self-service laundry machine on a Disney Cruise: Swipe your Key to the World card to purchase e-tokens from the central panel. You can also view your purchased tokens and return unused laundry e-tokens. This means you can share your e-tokens with other guests in your party. There’s a soap center that dispenses detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets for $1.00 each. You can buy these using the e-tokens you purchased from the touch panel kiosk. Once you’ve paid, there are detailed instructions on how to use the washers and dryers. There’s a chart showing the various cycles: For casual vacation wear, I find the normal cycle works best. The dryers similarly have various cycles such as iron dry, normal dry, dry, and extra dry, low or normal temperature, with a cycle duration of 45 minutes. Use of the irons in the laundry room is free. They are fixed to an outlet with an auto shut-off switch that has a timer. To heat up the iron, just rotate the dial. The water spray on the irons can be iffy. Check to see if there’s a spray bottle around if it’s not working. Laundry Notification Alerts So, you put a load of laundry in and head up to the pool deck. You’re having so much fun that your laundry is soon forgotten. Blocking up washers and dryers and keeping other passengers waiting is not a nice thing to do. But this doesn’t mean you have to sit and watch your laundry swirl around in a washing machine while you’re on a Disney cruise. You’re on vacation after all! The Disney Cruise Lines Navigator app and Wave Phones to the rescue! You’ll get a notification alert in the app and a text message on your Wave Phone when your cycle is finished. Makes life easier and ensures more washers and dryers are free. Is It Worth Using The Laundry Room On A Disney Cruise? It really comes down to how much your family needs to do laundry. On a week-long cruise, many people can go without needing to wash clothes. On longer trips, maybe not. If the dry cleaning or full-service laundry services are within your budget, there’s nothing like it. Using the laundry room is a chore for sure, but the notification system has positively affected how many washers are available, because fewer guests forget to empty them out. Tips for Doing Laundry on a Disney Cruise A pop-up laundry hamper doesn’t take up too much room in your luggage and is a great way to collect a complete load of dirty laundry in your stateroom.I like to bring 3-in-1 detergent pods from home. They are less likely to spill in my luggage and are lightweight.Plan ahead if you want to do laundry on a Disney cruise. Sea days are the busiest, especially the afternoons and evenings. You will find it hard to find an available washer unless you pick a really odd time like the middle of the night.Check the machine before you put your clothes in - someone’s forgotten sock that bleeds color could ruin your whites. Also, make sure the dryer lint traps are clean. Happy Sailing! Tell me how doing your laundry on vacation went! Did you find it convenient to do laundry on a Disney cruise ship?