And they also understand how to get out of people’s way. They know their income is dependent upon not pissing off the passengers.
Can you imagine all the other passengers understanding that? Forget it. You’d have half the ship telling the other half, “I paid thousands for this cruise, so I’ll block the hallway for as long as I like!!!” There wouldn’t be a cruise in the world that ever left port without at least a half a dozen brawls in the hallways.
I’ve only ever been on one proper cruise but I have been on a few over-night ferries and everyone dragged their luggage to their rooms. The ferries were pretty big too. Not cruise ship big but still…not small. It all seemed to work out.
The ferries were ferries though. Not a luxury thing. The point was getting from A → B and not about the trip itself. Not a lot of amenities.
this is the big difference.
A single big stack of 10 suitcases being pushed from behind quickly down the corridor by one staff person using a wheeled cart.
Versus the other option:
Five passengers, each s-l-o-w-ly carrying 2 suitcases , side by side, waddling like ducks, with the luggage gouging lines in the paint on the walls of both sides of the corridor. And at each corner, the passengers scrape skin off their fingers trying to force both suitcases through at the same time.
Not only not a lot of amenities, but for an entirely different purpose and a different sort of passenger. I’m not sure where the overnight ferries you are talking about were- but I’m guessing no one was bringing enough luggage for 14 or 21 days onto the ferry. And probably no one was bringing appropriate clothing for everything from theme party nights ( like the 70s or 80s) to swimming to possibly actual formal wear and clothing/equipment for activities at the ports. Not to mention I bring more regular clothing with me on a ten day cruise than I would bring on a ten day land vacation because I don’t have access to a laundry on a cruise.
IOW, no one on the ferry was carrying 2 suitcases, a carry-on , a purse or backpack and one or two medical devices such as a CPAP while lots of people on cruises have that much.
I’ve only been on one proper cruise (Cunard) but they did have laundry passengers could use. Free too. Detergent and ironing boards free. They were busy places though. They had multiple machines but even trying to get in early I had to wait for some to be available. Still…they were there. Other ships are different it seems.
Not on Norwegian - I can send laundry to the ship laundry and if you have a certain loyalty status you can send one bag for free but otherwise it’s $35/bag and you have to send it say Wed morning to get it back sometime Thursday.
I use a Sea to Summit camp “sink” that folds down to nothing and is easy to wash clothes in in the shower. It does require being able to kneel or squat, which I can do. At the point where I can’t, I’ll handwash the dainties in the cabin sink and send the rest to ship’s laundry.
https://www.rei.com/product/204420/sea-to-summit-camp-kitchen-clean-up-kit
(I just have the sink, not the kit sold here).
ETA: Princess has coin op laundry.
That was true when I went on the QE2 45 years ago, but none of the cruises I’ve taken since then had laundry rooms. It was all a by the piece charge, with discounts on some days.
This - much narrower than hotel hallways - and there are fewer elevators which are much smaller than hotel elevators. It would be a disaster.
FWIW on the Queen Mary 2 (Cunard and about one year ago):
Laundry facilities, including irons, washing machines, and clothes dryers, are available for your use on most accommodation decks. We also offer a full dry-cleaning service if you prefer your clothes to be laundered and pressed for you. - SOURCE
The self-service machines were free (including free detergent which was in each laundry room).
That’s what they had on the QE2. We were disappointed at our next cruise that we had to pay.
Do they still have classes and assigned seating. We got to sit at lunch and dinner with the Chief Engineer and Deputy Chief Engineer, which was awesome, and we got invited to a cocktail party in their quarters, which was double awesome.
Yes to classes. No to assigned seating. And the QM2 class distinction didn’t seem worth the upcharge. Special dining room and a small, exclusive deck seemed most of it. Not worth the money IMO. YMMV
ETA: A 24/7 butler too.
That’s the key. I’ve been on one ship that had a laundry available for passengers, out of maybe 10 cruises I’ve taken so far.
You can send stuff out to be laundered, but you pay a premium for that, and it isn’t cheap. On some cruises they’ll have a special on such laundry, which makes it more affordable for one day, but it’s still more than you’d pay at a laundromat.
Even on the cruises with laundry facilities, they are generally few versus the headcount trying to use them. As such, they’re busy. By the nature of cruising, everyone has the same free time, net of who is an early bird or a night owl.
Babysitting a laundromat is not what I’m paying $[whatver] per day to be doing.
Lotsa other folks think that way.
I agree. I stood in the Cunard laundromat too long to be happy about it. But, it was an option and I could have asked my steward to collect my laundry and I’d pay for the service.
Nice to have options.
Eh, a lot of people stay up late the night before an at-sea day, so morning is a good time to launder. I’d be reading or drinking coffee whether I’m watching my laundry or in my cabin.
More like 8-12. It’s not just older people but rather getting to the boat is a 3 dimensional chess game and most people would be inefficient getting their USS Missouri-sized bag to their stateroom.
You have flown s few times? No Imagine sitting at the back of the plane as you wait for 2000 people to get off. That would be close if all passengers had to bring their luggage on board.
Now as to the 100 yards. I open the back hatch of the car delivering us to the port. There is a porter there to unload the the suitcases and deliver them to the ship. I am no longer a Midshipman so I want to enjoy the fact that I do not have to work to have a fun time.
Just an old snipe enjoying his kick bacck time.
Viking ships have free laundries for passengers (they even provide free detergent) and although @LSLGuy didn’t care to do laundry himself, I packed six days’ of clothes for 14 days away, knowing that I’d be able to wash them on the at-sea days. It all worked out fine, even though our itinerary changed. I did a load twice during the trip with no hassles. Other users of the machines were consistently considerate, either waiting with their clothes (not me) or getting back within minutes of the machines’ cycles ending.
If you’re in one of the higher-priced cabins (we weren’t this time, but were last time), Viking will do your laundry for free, but that isn’t as great as it sounds, because the turnaround is two or three days. 
I tried it out on our 2023 Mediterranean cruise, and they did a fine job, but the timing isn’t very convenient.
ETA: It helped that our laundry room was just a few steps from our cabin.
One advantage to a cruise in cooler climes is that your outer clothing layers stay pretty clean unless you’re a messy eater. It’s the underwear layer(s) that get grungy after awhile. And underwear, even long underwear, is pretty compact.
Conversely, on a tropical cruise all your morning clothes are pitted by noon.
Not river cruises. Or if they have it, they keep it a deep dark secret.