If you like to keep your clothes wrinkle-free on your cruise vacation, you may wonder if cruise ships have irons in the staterooms, and if not, where can you access the iron and ironing board?
Through our many years of cruising, you may also be interested in some of the alternative options we picked up many tips for keeping clothes free of wrinkles and our hacks to straighten any wrinkles out if you do have them.
Whether it’s for a formal night or just because you like to look smart and presentable at all times, we have tips for you.
But first, let’s get to the point.
Do Cruise Ships Have Irons?
Clothing irons are not allowed on cruise ships because they are a fire hazard. Irons are not provided in the cabins. Instead, some cruise lines offer self-service laundry facilities that have irons and ironing boards available for use.
Are There Irons on Carnival Cruise Ships?
No clothing irons are available in Carnival Cruise rooms, and you’re not allowed to bring them onboard.
You will typically find an iron and iron board set up in the self-service laundrettes, which are typically located on the Stateroom deck.
On the Carnival Cruise Prohibited Items list they state the following:
All Carnival ships provide facilities with ironing boards and irons; fleet-wide valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee
Carnival Cruise
Are There Irons on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships?
Royal Caribbean does not offer self-service laundry, so no irons are available onboard.
However, they do offer paid-for dry cleaning and pressing services if required.
Do Celebrity Cruise Ships have Irons?
Celebrity cruise ships do not have a self-service laundromats with irons.
They only offer laundry and pressing services for a fee.
Do Norwegian Cruises Have Irons?
Norwegian cruises are a rare cruise line that provides irons to guests that they can use in their cabin.
Norwegian cruises do not provide them in every room, instead, you can request to borrow one for a set amount of time from Guest Services and take it back to your room to use.
Norwegian Cruise Line carries a limited number of irons and ironing boards which can be loaned to guests for a few hours at a time. They can be requested through housekeeping or Guest Services Desk
You can see this on the NCL website here if you click on the “What not to bring onboard” link.
Can You Bring a Travel Iron on a Cruise?
Travel irons are prohibited and not allowed to be brought on board any cruise ships due to being a potential fire hazard. If a member of security spots them during the luggage scan, they will be confiscated until you disembark.
Clothes steamers are treated in much the same way and are, therefore, not a viable alternative.
One known exception to the above is Marella Cruises which TUI operates. They allow passengers to take a travel iron onboard, subject to inspection first. They will confiscate it until your last day if it is deemed a hazard. You can find more info here.
Although you typically can’t bring irons onboard, the vast majority of cruise lines do not provide them in cabins there are still several ways to keep your clothes wrinkle-free and tips on how to get the wrinkles out if you need to.
How to Pack for Wrinkle-Free Clothes
When it comes to cruising with wrinkle-free clothes, prevention saves finding a cure. How you pack your clothes can make all the difference in preventing wrinkles in the first place.
Wear Wrinkle-Resistant Fabrics
On purchasing your clothing for your cruise ship vacation, one thing that can give you a good start is choosing clothing made from more wrinkle-resistant fabrics.
These are typically synthetic fabrics such as acrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, and others.
These fabrics are often used for travel clothing as they don’t require much care and can be easily washed and air-dried with little or no ironing required. Ideal for when you are on vacation.
Other fabrics, such as cotton, linen, and silk clothing items, would be much more susceptible to wrinkling.
Generally, these wrinkle-resistant fabrics work from a dryer machine rather than being air-dried, but they should still end up out reasonably wrinkle-free compared to other fabrics.
Iron Your Clothes Before You Pack
If you want any chance of unpacking wrinkle-free clothes, you must ensure they’re wrinkle-free when you pack them.
Give all items that need it quickly, going over them with the iron or steamer before packing them.
What’s important is to make sure your items are 100% dry before packing. Otherwise, this can increase the likelihood of them wrinkling.
Dry Clean In Advance
If you have any outfits which are typically dry cleaned, one thing you can do is have them dry cleaned before you leave.
Let the dry cleaners know you will be packing the items to go away and ask that they can be more heavily starched.
When it comes to packing, it’s best to roll them up to give me the best chance of arriving wrinkle-free.
Use Tissue Paper
For clothing items more susceptible to wrinkling, you can pack them using tissue paper and plastic bags to reduce friction and wrinkling within the luggage.
With your formal more items, you can use tissue paper in the bodice and shoulders areas to help them maintain their correct shape.
Heavy Items At the Bottom
Pack your heavier items on the bottom of your suitcase to help keep them from creasing items beneath them. You don’t want to be packing heavy items, squashing them down onto, and wrinkling the clothes beneath.
The final tip is to pack some wrinkle-release spray (which we cover below). Pack it carefully and in a waterproof plastic bag so there is no risk of it leaking in transit.
Suitcase
If you have the option or are yet to purchase one, a hard-shell suitcase is better for keeping your clothes wrinkle-free. Softer suitcases get squashed and end up creasing your clothes.
Also, choose the right size of the suitcase. In one that’s too large, your clothes will move around, and one that’s too small will be too tightly packed.
Unpacking
Hopefully, your clothes have made the journey wrinkle-free. However, it’s essential to keep them that way.
Hang Clothes Up
Upon arriving at your stateroom, you should unpack your clothing and get your garments on hangers as soon as possible.
Usually, there aren’t enough hangers, so prioritize what you hang accordingly. If you need more hangers, these can usually be requested and are readily provided by one of the cabin stewards.
Some people prefer to pack a few of their own lightweight wire hangers so they have enough to hang pants, slacks, and dresses as soon as they arrive.
Avoid folding and placing in drawers as much as possible, as this will only lead to more wrinkles.
How to Remove Wrinkles from your Clothes
If your clothes become wrinkled any time on your vacation, there are ways you can try to get rid of them.
Use Self Service Iron and Ironing Board
You can typically find iron and ironing boards onboard a cruise ship is in the self-service laundry rooms. These are usually set up and ready for you to use for free.
Typically the ironing boards are attached to the laundry room walls with a wall-mounted iron that works on a timer so as not to be a fire hazard.
Tip: If you intend to use the self-service laundry to iron any clothes, try to avoid doing so on formal evenings as we have found these to be one of the busiest times as the one evening most people want to look their wrinkle-free best on the clothes front.
Use Dry Clean / Pressing Service
Many of the most well-known cruise lines offer some form of onboard laundry, which typically includes a pressing service for a small fee between £2 to $10, depending on the item.
The disadvantage is that you may have to wait a few days for your clothes to be returned. If you know you need to use the service, try to get your clothes in as soon as possible, especially if formal nights are within the first couple of days of your cruise.
Wrinkle Release Spray
A wrinkle-release spray is an excellent way to get rid of wrinkles quickly and, for us, a cruise essential. There are many on the market, but we typically use Downy Release, which we found very effective.
This method is straightforward. All you need to do is spray the garment evenly until slightly damp and then smooth out the wrinkles with your hands.
There is a range of wrinkle-release sprays to choose from. Some refresh your fabrics, and others are scented (so make sure you like the smell before purchasing.
We have found wrinkle-release sprays to work well on cotton, linen, and silk items.
Hairdryer
Using a hairdryer is another option that should be readily available to most people. As well as being able to take hairdryers on a cruise ship, they are usually available in cabins.
All you need to do is dampen and flatten the wrinkle with a cloth and blow it dry with a hairdryer on the coolest setting.
Shower Steam
Steam helps unwrinkle clothes, so you can hang your clothes on a hanger in the bathroom while you are having a shower and let the steam do its work unwrinkling your clothes simultaneously.
If this hasn’t worked well enough, after you’ve finished your shower, you can turn it up to the hottest setting and close the door for a few minutes to let the steam get to work.
Sometimes cruise ships don’t have removable hangers from the wardrobes, so you may need to use a couple of your own.
Hair Straightener Hack to Iron Clothes
One type of iron you can take on a cruise ship is flat irons / hair straighteners.
Depending on the location of the wrinkles on the clothing and actual fabric, it is possible to actively use hair straighteners to flatten out some of the unwanted wrinkles.
This is a potentially ideal hack for easy-to-reach wrinkles or prominent areas such as sure collars, cuffs, and dress hems.
Just be mindful of the heat of the flat irons. You don’t need them to become too hot and potentially damage, melt or burn the fabric.
You just need them hot enough to flatten the wrinkles. Periodically switch the flat irons off and continue to use them while they are hot enough. As they cool and become less effective, turn them on again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Cruise Ship Rooms Have Irons?
No, most cruise ships do not have irons in the guest rooms or cabins because they are considered a fire hazard. You may find some available in the self-service laundry.
Can You Bring a Travel Iron on a Cruise Ship?
Travel irons are prohibited and not allowed onboard any cruise ships because of the fire hazard risk they present. It only takes one passenger to leave an iron on and unattended in their room for a potential fire to start.
What Happens if You Try to Take an Iron on a Cruise Ship?
If you try to take a travel iron on board a cruise ship, it will be confiscated if spotted by security when they scan the luggage. You can then expect it to be confiscated until you disembark.
