MSC Cruises has introduced a stringent new laundry policy for its crew members, significantly limiting their ability to wash personal items on board. Under the new guidelines, crew members are restricted to washing a maximum of ten personal items twice per week, with all laundry to be monitored and managed by designated crew laundry personnel.

According to the newly implemented policy, crew members are no longer permitted to wash their clothes independently in the crew laundry. Instead, they must submit them to a crew laundry monitor during specific operational hours, from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM. 

Some of the guidelines include:

• A limit of two laundry drop-offs per week, with a maximum of ten items per submission.

• Mandatory use of company-approved laundry bags, available for purchase at €3.00 each.

• Prohibitions on washing personal bed linen, shoes, uniforms, and MSC linens, which are handled by the main laundry service.

• The introduction of washing nets for smaller items, with a minimum requirement of six pieces for laundry submission.

• An ironing station available for crew use, accommodating up to two persons at a time.

The policy also outlines that privileged cabins will be exempt from these guidelines, raising concerns about equity among crew members.

A crew member aboard the MSC Fantasia has expressed significant concerns regarding the new laundry restrictions, highlighting the additional difficulties they present. The crew member, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared photos of the guidelines and voiced frustrations over the "nonsense procedures" and the limited allowance for washing personal clothing.

Among the concerns raised were issues related to health and personal hygiene, including allergies to certain laundry products and the need for frequent washing due to sweating problems. 

“I would like to bring to public that the crew in MSC Fantasia will not be allowed to use crew laundry anymore. We can not wash our personal clothing by ourselves. We need to follow a lot of nonsense procedures to have a small amount of clothing washed per week. This news was implemented within short notice. 

This involves a lot of things, some people have allergies to certain products, some people have sweating issues and need to wash clothing regularly and with specific products, some people just want to make sure that their personal clothing are properly washed and smelling good. Life onboard of MSC is already a challenge, we keep coming because we need money but everyday is becoming harder to think of coming back. That's not surprising the amount of first contracts that we have onboard, cause a lot of people are not coming back,” the crew member said.