Laundry on Back to Back HAL cruises

We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?



Hi Rosalie:

I can't answer the laundry problem, but Don and I book B to B's all the time
on Princess and when we book we ask for the same cabin for both cruises that
way we don't have to pack or move. We just settle in and enjoy our cruise.

Lynn

The Maasdam does have passenger laundries on board. They also supply the
detergent. You can get quarters at the front desk or in the Casino. I
think its about $2.00 per wash and the dry is free.

The 4 new Vista class ships are the only ones that don't have passenger
laundries.

Joyce

Rosalie B. wrote:

We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?



--
"We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are." - The Talmud
"People demand the freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of
thought which
they avoid" - Kierkegaard
"Software without support is hardware" - JR/1999

Yes, there are a few coin laundry machines & dryers on the Maasdam
You (or your TA should call HAL and see if the same cabin is available for
the back-to-back cruises. If not, maybe they can change your 1st booking
cabin to one that is available for both cruises. If you can book the same
cabin for both, there's no need to move out and back in.
If you do have to change cabins, ask the front desk to assign HAL staff to
assist you.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?

Duncan Craig wrote:
Yes, there are a few coin laundry machines & dryers on the Maasdam
You (or your TA should call HAL and see if the same cabin is available for
the back-to-back cruises. If not, maybe they can change your 1st booking
cabin to one that is available for both cruises. If you can book the same
cabin for both, there's no need to move out and back in.
If you do have to change cabins, ask the front desk to assign HAL staff to
assist you.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...

We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?


Arranging the cabin details is one of the services that your travel
agent should be able to take care of quite easily. Of course if you
didn't use a travel agent you will get to deal with HAL directly,
which usually is a very straight forward activity.
The washers and dryers on HAL ships are reasonably priced (~$1 - $2)
and include detergent in the price. Dryers are also reasonably priced.
You can get change from the casino or the guest services desk. Laundry
prices are another matter. Cheaper to buy new than get them washed in
some cases!
Have a great cruise.
John in LALALand (On the Left Coast)

J Carnaghie wrote:

Duncan Craig wrote:
Yes, there are a few coin laundry machines & dryers on the Maasdam
You (or your TA should call HAL and see if the same cabin is available for
the back-to-back cruises. If not, maybe they can change your 1st booking
cabin to one that is available for both cruises. If you can book the same
cabin for both, there's no need to move out and back in.
If you do have to change cabins, ask the front desk to assign HAL staff to
assist you.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...

We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?


Arranging the cabin details is one of the services that your travel
agent should be able to take care of quite easily. Of course if you
didn't use a travel agent you will get to deal with HAL directly,
which usually is a very straight forward activity.
The washers and dryers on HAL ships are reasonably priced (~$1 - $2)
and include detergent in the price. Dryers are also reasonably priced.
You can get change from the casino or the guest services desk. Laundry
prices are another matter. Cheaper to buy new than get them washed in
some cases!
Have a great cruise.
John in LALALand (On the Left Coast)

Thanks to everyone. Especially the information about the laundry.
Bob didn't want to go if he couldn't do the laundry.

I had booked the first cruse (Dec 11th) in March, and had been given a
booking number and cabin number. I called two of the travel agencies
I had used previously to see what they could do, and neither of them
responded, so I asked for quotes on a website, and got an immediate
response, including one from the travel agent that I booked the first
cruise with. Their site says they are available 7 days a week but I
could not get them to answer the phone, and it turns out that the
agent I dealt with was on vacation.

So I emailed the first agent who responded. I phoned her last night
and this morning she looked up the question of whether I could stay on
the ship, and which cabins were available. It turned out that the
cabin I had for the first cruise was not available for the 2nd cruise/
There was only one cabin in the class available for both cruises.
Even though this agent's quote wasn't the cheapest, it was less than
$50.00 more, and I felt that she was giving service which was worth at
least that.

So I had to go and ding on the first cruise agent again anyway.
Someone at the agency (not the original agent) has changed the room
number so I think everything will be OK, and we won't have to get off
between cruises. The second cruise is NOT more expensive now than it
was in March - it is actually cheaper.

While I was doing this, I looked at our boarding passes that I had
printed out from the first cruise, and saw that our names are not the
same as on our passports, and I can't change it on line and HAL can't
change it either (or say they can't). So I'm going to have to go back
to that agent again and get him to change it.

Incidentally - each time I ask for a quote (both now and in March) I
get this response

Agent: ANY Cruise Agent, Cruises-N-More. Agency Information and Ratings
Contact: , 1-800-839-9384
Special offer: The sailing date you have requested is not available. If you are interested in changing the sailing date or the ship, please feel free to call us. Thank You.

And that can't be true because I am getting quotes from other agents.
What is going on?

On 7/26/2006 6:01 PM Rosalie B. wrote:
J Carnaghie wrote:


Duncan Craig wrote:

Yes, there are a few coin laundry machines & dryers on the Maasdam
You (or your TA should call HAL and see if the same cabin is available for
the back-to-back cruises. If not, maybe they can change your 1st booking
cabin to one that is available for both cruises. If you can book the same
cabin for both, there's no need to move out and back in.
If you do have to change cabins, ask the front desk to assign HAL staff to
assist you.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...


We've booked a HAL cruise on Dec 11th out of Norfolk on the Maasdam.
I'd like to do the BTB leaving Norfolk on the 22nd and going to Ft.
Lauderdale. My husband wants to know where we can wash clothes so
that we don't have to carry so much. I can't find any answer to that.
Does anyone know whether the Maasdam has washers or if the cost of
doing laundry is prohibitive?

We have an inside cabin - How could we keep the cabin and would we
have to move out and then move back in again?


Arranging the cabin details is one of the services that your travel
agent should be able to take care of quite easily. Of course if you
didn't use a travel agent you will get to deal with HAL directly,
which usually is a very straight forward activity.
The washers and dryers on HAL ships are reasonably priced (~$1 - $2)
and include detergent in the price. Dryers are also reasonably priced.
You can get change from the casino or the guest services desk. Laundry
prices are another matter. Cheaper to buy new than get them washed in
some cases!
Have a great cruise.
John in LALALand (On the Left Coast)


Thanks to everyone. Especially the information about the laundry.
Bob didn't want to go if he couldn't do the laundry.

I had booked the first cruse (Dec 11th) in March, and had been given a
booking number and cabin number. I called two of the travel agencies
I had used previously to see what they could do, and neither of them
responded, so I asked for quotes on a website, and got an immediate
response, including one from the travel agent that I booked the first
cruise with. Their site says they are available 7 days a week but I
could not get them to answer the phone, and it turns out that the
agent I dealt with was on vacation.

So I emailed the first agent who responded. I phoned her last night
and this morning she looked up the question of whether I could stay on
the ship, and which cabins were available. It turned out that the
cabin I had for the first cruise was not available for the 2nd cruise/
There was only one cabin in the class available for both cruises.
Even though this agent's quote wasn't the cheapest, it was less than
$50.00 more, and I felt that she was giving service which was worth at
least that.

So I had to go and ding on the first cruise agent again anyway.
Someone at the agency (not the original agent) has changed the room
number so I think everything will be OK, and we won't have to get off
between cruises. The second cruise is NOT more expensive now than it
was in March - it is actually cheaper.

While I was doing this, I looked at our boarding passes that I had
printed out from the first cruise, and saw that our names are not the
same as on our passports, and I can't change it on line and HAL can't
change it either (or say they can't). So I'm going to have to go back
to that agent again and get him to change it.

Incidentally - each time I ask for a quote (both now and in March) I
get this response


Agent: ANY Cruise Agent, Cruises-N-More. Agency Information and Ratings
Contact: , 1-800-839-9384
Special offer: The sailing date you have requested is not available. If you are interested in changing the sailing date or the ship, please feel free to call us. Thank You.


And that can't be true because I am getting quotes from other agents.
What is going on?



This is a first for me. I'm gay and even I won't do laundry on a trip
if I can avoid it. You're telling me this guy Bob is straight? And, he
won't go on the cruise unless he can do laundry...what's up with that? :-D

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Brian K wrote:

On 7/26/2006 6:01 PM Rosalie B. wrote:

Thanks to everyone. Especially the information about the laundry.
Bob didn't want to go if he couldn't do the laundry.
snip
This is a first for me. I'm gay and even I won't do laundry on a trip
if I can avoid it. You're telling me this guy Bob is straight? And, he
won't go on the cruise unless he can do laundry...what's up with that? :-D

Bob and I were married in 1959 after dating on and off for 8 years.
We have 4 children and 11 grandchildren. He is most certainly
straight.

Before we were married we discussed housework, and he said that if I
did the housework and took care of the kids for the first 20 years, he
would do the second 20. His last couple of years in the Navy he was
stationed in Crystal City and we decided not to move from Southern MD.
So he lived up there on the weekdays and came home on weekends. Not
really too different from having him gone on the ship.

Sometime after our 20th anniversary, I got a job in Baltimore which
was 100 miles from our house, and I basically was coming home only on
weekends. At that point we had 2 kids in HS and he was retired and
was the house husband. I was very careful never to complain about his
cooking or laundry. Now he doesn't want me to do it because I don't do
it 'right'.

When we are traveling, he takes the clothes to the laundromat and does
them. He does them when we are home too. It has nothing to do with
being gay or straight. There are straight men who cook. In addition
to which I have a lot of back pain from arthritis and can't stand for
more than about 5 minutes which isn't long enough to cook much.

Rosalie B. wrote:

Brian K wrote:


On 7/26/2006 6:01 PM Rosalie B. wrote:


Thanks to everyone. Especially the information about the laundry.
Bob didn't want to go if he couldn't do the laundry.

snip
This is a first for me. I'm gay and even I won't do laundry on a trip
if I can avoid it. You're telling me this guy Bob is straight? And, he
won't go on the cruise unless he can do laundry...what's up with that? :-D


Bob and I were married in 1959 after dating on and off for 8 years.
We have 4 children and 11 grandchildren. He is most certainly
straight.

Before we were married we discussed housework, and he said that if I
did the housework and took care of the kids for the first 20 years, he
would do the second 20. His last couple of years in the Navy he was
stationed in Crystal City and we decided not to move from Southern MD.
So he lived up there on the weekdays and came home on weekends. Not
really too different from having him gone on the ship.

Sometime after our 20th anniversary, I got a job in Baltimore which
was 100 miles from our house, and I basically was coming home only on
weekends. At that point we had 2 kids in HS and he was retired and
was the house husband. I was very careful never to complain about his
cooking or laundry. Now he doesn't want me to do it because I don't do
it 'right'.

When we are traveling, he takes the clothes to the laundromat and does
them. He does them when we are home too. It has nothing to do with
being gay or straight. There are straight men who cook. In addition
to which I have a lot of back pain from arthritis and can't stand for
more than about 5 minutes which isn't long enough to cook much.



Bill doesn't cook much any more, but he still is in charge of dishes
(dishwasher helps) and laundry. He's now 82 and sometimes doesn't put
the clothes away where they should be, but like Rosalie, far be it from
me to ever complain.

Ermalee ---does all the driving and then some :-)

Rosalie B. wrote:
It has nothing to do with being gay or straight.

Relax. Brian was just kidding around...

Warren -- also refuses to do laundry on vacation.