Can You Bring a Clothes Steamer on a Cruise? (Cruise Line Guide and Alternatives)

If you are taking a cruise, you may wonder if you can bring a clothes steamer on board the ship.

Clothes steamers are used to remove the creases from clothes before you wear them and are an alternative to traditional ironing methods.

Most cruise lines prohibit irons from being brought on board because of safety risks.

Some ships do have self-service laundries where irons can be used free of charge. But many people wonder if a clothes steamer is an acceptable replacement.

Can You Bring a Clothes Steamer on a Cruise Ship?

The majority of mainstream cruise lines do not allow guests to bring onboard clothes steamers.

Clothes steamers are banned from cruise ships due to safety concerns, and if bought onboard, they will usually be confiscated.

Confiscated clothes steamers will be returned at the end of the cruise.

Irons and clothes steamers are prohibited items and should not be brought with you on your vacation.

Royal Caribbean International

	Can You Bring a Clothes Streamer Onboard?
Royal Caribbean	No (Source)
Norwegian Cruise Line	No (Source)
Virgin Voyages	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
Disney Cruise Line	No (Source)
Carnival Cruise Line	No (Source)
Princess Cruises	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
Celebrity Cruises	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
Holland America	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
P&O Cruises	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
Marella Cruises	Yes (Source)
Saga Cruises	Possible
Fred Olsen	No (Source)
MSC	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
Costa	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No
AIDA	Not Explicitly Mentioned, Assumed to be No

Clothes Steamer Alternatives – Cruise Ship Laundry Services

The easiest but most expensive way to remove creases from clothes on a cruise ship is to pay for the cruise ship’s laundry service.

Every mainstream cruise line offers a pressing service and items will usually be charged individually.

Many cruise lines do have laundry promotions such as ‘fill the bag’ promotions, which allow guests to have a bag of laundry washed and pressed for a certain price.

It is possible to have clothes pressed without them first being washed. There is usually a separate price list for this.

Royal Caribbean’s laundry pricelist details can be found here:

Royal Caribbean Laundry – Price List, Services, and Packages

When paying for a cruise line laundry service, the clothes are collected from your cabin and returned to you when finished.

Most cruise lines offer fast turnaround services but the majority take 24-48 hours.

This is a brilliant option for washing and pressing clothes mid-cruise, but if you have just embarked the cruise ship and are looking to have your clothes pressed so that you can wear them, the following options may be a better choice:

Clothes Steamer Alternatives – Cruise Ship Self-Service Laundry

Many cruise lines have self-service laundries, which means that guests can use the washing machines and dryers.

On most cruise lines, guests only need to pay for the washing detergent and other products.

The photo below is an example of the self-service laundry found on a Disney cruise. Cruise lines with self-service laundries usually have multiple across many decks.

In cruise lines with self-service laundries, it is free of charge to use the irons. Many cruise lines don’t have these laundries, so you have to use their laundry services instead.

The self-service laundry doesn’t have to be booked, so when you find a few items you’d like to iron, simply walk with them to your nearest self-service laundry.

I have used the self-service irons on multiple cruises and it works very well.

I have always found the irons to be of good quality. They are regularly maintained and tested.

If the cruise line that you are cruising with doesn’t have self-service laundries, the below options are useful:

Clothes Steamer Alternatives

Wrinkle Release Spray or The Bathroom Method

The easiest way to remove creases from clothes is to use what I call “The bathroom method”.

Kevin describes it well below:

This is my favourite way to remove creases and it works quite well and requires very little effort.

To use the bathroom method, simply hang your clothes in the bathroom after running the shower for a few minutes.

This could either be after having a shower, or you could just run the shower for a few minutes to gain the same effect.

As the bathroom becomes humid and damp, hang your clothes in the bathroom.

Due to the way that the clothes are hanging, the majority of creases will drop out of the clothes.

If something is particularly creased, this method may not be enough on it’s own – but it’s a good, easy and free way to start. It definitely won’t make anything worse!

Give The Bathroom Method a Boost

To improve the effectiveness of the bathroom method, spray on some wrinkle-release spray as you hang your clothes in the bathroom.

Wrinkle-release sprays are sometimes called crease releasers.

Some wrinkle-release sprays also come with the benefit of additional scents.

My favourite wrinkle-release spray can be found on Amazon here:

Clothes Steamer Alternatives – Hair Straighteners

Even though the majority of cruise lines don’t allow irons to be brought onboard, hair straighteners are usually fine.

Most cruise lines will add hair straighteners to their exceptions list when talking about not allowing items with a heating element to be bought onboard.

Hair straighteners can be used as if they are mini irons to iron the creases out of clothes.

It can be difficult to iron large items to the small reach of most hair straighteners, but it does work very well.

How to Prevent Creases in Clothes When Packing

• Roll, don’t fold. – Rolling reduces the creases, don’t ask me how, but it works!
  
• Use packing cubes. – Packing cubes compress and hold the clothes in place, meaning that they get fewer creases. I never travel without my packing cubes.
• They make unpacking much faster, and reduced creases are a benefit.

I tested range of packing cubes to see which were the best. Watch that here:

The winning packing cubes were from the brand Mia Tui. I take these on every cruise I go on and you can find them here:

Mia Tui. Use code EMMACRUISES for 15% off!

My Personal Recommendations For Removing Creases on a Cruise Ship:

• Even if a cruise line is vague about if they allow travel steamers onboard, I would err on the side of caution and not pack one.
• Cruise lines scan every item of luggage before it comes onto the ship, and it is very common for items to be confiscated.

Find out what are the most regularly confiscated items are on cruise ships here:

These Are The 5 Items Most Regularly Confiscated by Cruise Lines

Some small steamers may not get spotted. I personally wouldn’t take the risk. If the steamer is confiscated, you’ve wasted precious space in your luggage:

I usually avoid using the cruise line’s laundry services if I can due to the high cost.

If a cruise line has a self-service laundry, I usually use the irons to iron a few items of clothing for free.

If the cruise line I’m cruising with doesn’t have a self-service laundry, I will usually hang my clothes in the bathroom after taking a shower to drop out most of the creases.

After doing this, I may use a hair straightener to iron any extra areas that are still creased.

Before You Go

Find out about the six cruise rules you should never break here:

6 Cruise Rules You Should Never Ever Break!

Find out the five ways that a cruise benefits your body and brain here:

5 Ways Taking a Cruise Benefits Your Body and Brain!