Norwegian Jade Returns from Dry Dock Without a Key Guest Service

Cruise guests don’t often think about household chores while on vacation, but one specific chore is popular: laundry. Doing laundry on a cruise can help minimize luggage and let guests travel home with fresh, clean clothes rather than a suitcase of dirty laundry.

Guests booked onboard Norwegian Jade, however, will have to plan for that dirty luggage for the time being. Norwegian Cruise Line has begun sending notifications that no laundry services will be available onboard the 93,600-gross-ton ship following her recent dry dock that took place from April 19 to May 4.

“Our laundry facilities are temporarily operating at limited capacity as final installation work is being completed,” the notification explained. “During this period, we must prioritize essential onboard operations, including stateroom linens, towel service, and food and beverage support across the ship.”

While this indicates that onboard operations will proceed as normal, extra laundry services will not be available for guests’ clothing.

“All guest laundry services will be unavailable throughout your sailing, including both paid laundry and any complimentary or discounted offerings,” the email confirmed.

The cruise line does indicate that this is a “short-term adjustment,” though there is no timeline provided for when guest laundry services may resume onboard Norwegian Jade.

Clearly, the commercial laundry facilities are operational onboard, but it is essential that the ship’s crew members focus on the overall guest experience and sanitation needs to provide clean bedding, fresh towels, and sanitized tablecloths and napkins for every sailing.

What cannot be accommodated are wash-and-fold laundry services as well as dry cleaning services. This includes the free and discounted bags of laundry that are part of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Latitudes loyalty program, which cannot be offered at this time.

Who Should Be Aware of No Laundry Services Onboard?

To plan for this change, guests booked on Norwegian Jade‘s upcoming sailings will want to be sure they pack appropriately for their cruise with enough clothing for the entire sailing. Another option is to plan on hand-washing select items in their stateroom, which may be a less pleasant but possibly essential chore.

This may be a challenge for guests booked on back-to-back cruises or any longer sailings coming up in Norwegian Jade‘s schedule.

The ship returned from her two-week dry dock in Canada on May 4, welcoming guests to start the Alaska season with 7-night one-way cruises from Whittier and Vancouver for the summer.

Many travelers will opt to enjoy two successive cruises, permitting them to enjoy the full north-and-south experience of a longer Alaska cruise with the convenience of embarking and debarking at the same homeport. Without laundry services onboard, however, this will mean packing extra clothing for the full getaway.

As Norwegian Jade leaves Alaska, her fall cruises that reposition her to Asia are a range of longer itineraries, beginning with a 16-night sailing from Vancouver, Canada to Yokohama, Japan that departs on September 21.

Norwegian Cruise Line has not given any indication about whether or not laundry services will be restored by September, but it is unlikely the services would be absent for that long.

It is common when a ship finishes a dry dock renovation that some issues may not be quite complete on her first few sailings. This may include extra painting work, flooring replacement, or as in the case of Norwegian Jade, the installation of what are likely to be upgraded and more efficient washers and driers.

Other updates from this most recent dry dock include the addition of a Starbucks on Deck 7 to serve the 2,402 guests onboard their favorite morning beverages, as well as adding the popular adults-only Vibe Beach Club to the shop.

Other technical updates and general refreshment of public spaces have also been completed and the ship has returned to service.