With cruises offering longer and longer journeys, something as simple as doing your laundry can impact your holiday, especially if you’d rather pack light instead of taking a change of clothes for every day.

 While some of us are happy to outsource the task, it can come with a hefty price tag. So, a ship that offers laundry facilities can be offering a hidden perk.

Take the humble shirt. It can cost a few cents at the laundrette. Or $8 on a luxury ship for the laundry service.

We’ve dug deep to ensure the cruise lines come clean what they’re charging you for their services.

AmaWaterways

AmaWaterways has wash and press services available for passengers onboard, however, there are no options for dry cleaning or self-service laundry. A shirt costs $2.90 for washing only or $5.20 for washing and pressing.

American Cruise Lines

All of American Cruise Lines’ new ships (and most of the fleet) have self-service laundry rooms, including detergent, for complimentary use. There is no send-out wash and press service or dry cleaning available.

Avalon Waterways

Avalon Waterways provides wash and press service; there is no onboard self-service or dry cleaning available. The cost to launder and press a shirt is $5.70.

Azamara

Azamara has wash and press service available on all ships, as well as self-serve launderettes with detergent furnished. They also offer dry cleaning. Send-out pricing is $3 to wash a shirt, $4 for wash and press, and $4–5 for dry cleaning. Same-day service carries a 50 percent surcharge. The self-serve launderettes, including detergent, are complimentary.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Cruise Line offers wash and press services onboard all ships, and select ships have dry-cleaning services. Carnival ships also have self-serve launderettes, but washing machines are closed in port due to local environmental regulations. Dryers and ironing equipment are available, too.

Laundering a single shirt is $4. The regular service picks up before 9 a.m. for delivery by 5 p.m. the next day; the express service will deliver by 5 p.m. the same day with a 50 percent surcharge. One bag of laundry, same-day service washed and folded, is $15; five bags, same-day service, are $50. Self-service runs $3 per washer or dryer load, and $1.50 per box of detergent or softener. Ironing boards and steam irons are available in the launderettes without charge.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Cruises offers laundry service by the piece; there is no self-service option. A shirt costs $6–7 for wash and press, $6.50–7.50 for dry cleaning and $4–$5.75 for press only. Same-day service carries a 50 percent surcharge. Passengers in Royal Suite staterooms and categories above have unlimited complimentary laundry services.

Costa Cruises

Costa Cruises offers send-out laundry service and dry cleaning; there is no self-service launderette onboard.

Costa charges $2.50 to dry clean a shirt, $3 to wash one and $2 for press only; same-day service carries a 50 percent surcharge. Costa also has a Magic Bag option that can be booked in advance of sailing, laundering 25 pieces for $23 (19.99 euros).

Crystal Cruises

Crystal’s two luxury cruise ships, Crystal Symphony and Serenity, provide complimentary self-serve laundry, including detergent, and send-out wash and press and dry cleaning services.

For washing and pressing a shirt, you shell out $5–$6, while dry cleaning costs $7–$8. Same-day service charges 50 per cent more. Crystal Penthouse with Veranda category passengers receive complimentary laundry, dry cleaning and pressing. Passengers in the Penthouse with Veranda and Penthouse Suite with Veranda categories are offered free pressing. In addition, Crystal Symphony’s Seabreeze Penthouse Suites have in-suite washers and dryers.

Crystal River Cruises

Wash and press services are available the next day or with a 50 percent surcharge for same-day delivery on Crystal River Cruises. Dry cleaning can be arranged shoreside, and the onboard self-service launderette, including detergent, is complimentary.

The price for send-out wash and press per shirt runs $7–$7.50, and every suite is entitled to complimentary pressing services upon request.

Cunard Line

Cunard Line’s three ships provide send-out washing and pressing; there is no onboard dry cleaning service. They do offer specialist cleaning, which uses a wet cleaning machine and is not suitable for clothing that can only be dry-cleaned. Self-service washing and drying are available, as well.

Send-out washing and pressing for a shirt runs $5.25, press only is $3.75. Self-service laundering, including detergent and ironing equipment, is complimentary.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line has laundry and dry cleaning service onboard, along with self-service launderettes. Once you’ve loaded laundry into a self-service machine, you will be informed on the Disney app or Wave Phone when the cycle is completed. From any launderette, you can see on the kiosk where and how many washers and dryers are available.

Pricing for a shirt is $3 for wash and press; dry cleaning is $3.50. There is also a same-day service and express service (less than three hours). The self-service launderette is $3 for washing or drying a load, and detergent costs $1.

Holland America Line

Holland America Line offers send-out laundry and eco-friendly dry cleaning. The line also has self-service launderettes aboard Maasdam, Veendam and Amsterdam.

Laundering a shirt runs $3–5, and a self-service washing load, with complimentary detergent, is $2. A dryer load is $1. Laundry by the bag costs $20 ($30 in Europe).

On cruises up to 30 days, unlimited laundry is $7 a day ($9 in Europe); unlimited pressing only is $4 per day ($5 in Europe). On cruises longer than 30 days, unlimited laundry is $6 per day and unlimited pressing, $3 per day. Passengers in Neptune and Pinnacle suites receive complimentary laundry and pressing.

Lindblad Expeditions

Personal laundry and pressing are available aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Explorer, Orion, Endeavour ll and National Geographic Islander, but not available on National Geographic Sea Bird, Sea Lion, National Geographic Venture and National Geographic Quest. The line does not offer dry cleaning or self-serve laundry.

Sending a shirt out to be washed and pressed costs $4.

MSC Cruises

All MSC Cruises ships have laundry, pressing and dry cleaning services, but no self-service launderettes. Sample pricing for a shirt is $5.70 for dry cleaning, $7.50 for wash and press and $4.60 press only.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line provides wash and press service and dry cleaning on all ships; there are no self-service laundries.

Washing and pressing a shirt runs $5.95, dry cleaning for $7.95 and pressing for $3.95. Prices are slightly higher in Hawaii.

Oceania Cruises

On all ships, Oceania Cruises has self-service washers and dryers, and laundry and dry cleaning services.

The self-serve washer and dryer each run $2 per load, and detergent is complimentary. Wash and press service for a shirt is $6.75 and $3 for press only. Concierge-level and suite passengers receive three free bags of laundry (no more than 20 items per bag) per cruise. This service does not include dry-cleaning.

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Paul Gauguin Cruises provides send-out wash and press services; there is no dry cleaning or self-service laundry available.

A laundry package for a seven-night cruise, which must be purchased before sailing, runs $129 per cabin. Solo travelers pay half-price.

Princess Cruises

Wash and press services are available on all ships, with same-day service carrying a 50 percent surcharge. Princess Cruises also provides dry cleaning and self-service launderettes.

Self-service laundry is $2 per load for washing and for drying, and detergent is $1.25; ironing equipment is available without charge. Captain’s Circle Elite members receive complimentary laundry and professional cleaning services (regular, not express service).

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Regent Seven Seas offers send-out wash and press, and dry cleaning services on all its ships. The line also provides self-service laundry facilities.

Self-service laundry, including detergent, is complimentary. Send-out laundry for a shirt wash and press is $4.50–$5, $3.50–$4 for press only and $6.50–$8 to dry-clean. Prices are double for same-day service.

Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean has send-out wash and press, and dry cleaning available on all ships but no self-service launderettes. Wash and press for a shirt is $3.50–$4, press only is $1.75–$2 and dry cleaning is $4–4.50.

Seabourn Cruise Line

All ships offer next-day laundry service or same-day service for a 50 percent surcharge. Seabourn also offers dry cleaning and self-service laundry.

Passengers can have a bag of laundry washed and pressed for $50. It costs $5.75–6.50 to wash and press a single shirt, $5.75 to dry clean and $4.50 to press. Self-service laundry, including detergent, is complimentary.

SeaDream Yacht Club

SeaDream provides laundry, pressing and dry-cleaning services. Same-day service is standard when requested before 10 a.m. There is no self-service laundry onboard. Sending out a single shirt runs $4.50–$6.

Silversea

Silversea has send-out washing and dry cleaning available, and self-service launderettes are available on all ships, free of charge.

A shirt costs $8 to dry clean, $5 to launder and $4.50 for press only. Passengers in top-category suites receive complimentary laundry service.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection

Uniworld offers send-out laundry service on its European cruises. In addition, there is complimentary self-service laundry available on River Countess, River Duchess, River Empress, River Princess, River Queen, S.S. Antoinette, S.S. Beatrice, S.S Catherine, S.S. Joie de Vivre and S.S. Maria Theresa.

Sending out a shirt to be laundered costs $5.30.

Viking Ocean Cruises

On Viking’s oceangoing ships, there are self-service launderettes including irons and ironing boards, along with send-out laundry services and dry cleaning.

Self-service laundry, including detergent, is free of charge. For a shirt (laundering only), the send-out cost is $2.50–$4.

Viking River Cruises

Viking’s river vessels have laundry and press services; there are no self-service launderettes.

Pricing on the European river cruises for a shirt runs $8 (laundry and press) or $4.80 (press only).

Windstar Cruises

Windstar has send-out laundry service; there is no dry cleaning and self-service launderette onboard.

Laundry service for a shirt is $4.75 and $1.75 for press only. The cruise line offers laundry packages for two passengers in the same accommodation for $16 per day; for single occupants, it’s $8 per day. The package must be added by the first day of the cruise and will be totalled by the number of cruise days.

When passengers book any Star Collector (back-to-back) cruise, the laundry package for the stateroom is complimentary.

The sample prices listed below are for a basic men’s dress shirt or women’s blouse. Prices are listed in $AU and have been converted from foreign currencies based on exchange rates as of 18/9/19