Hair dryers on NCL Epic

[daisy3774]

Hi folks,

I'm going on my first cruise in about two months and was wondering about the hair dryers on NCL Epic. Could anyone describe them?

 

Obviously this forum has been very informative if this is my most pressing question :)

 

Thanks!

Sarah

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

The best place for your research is that portion of Cruise Critic devoted to NCL, located here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

 

Most cruise lines put blow dryers in their cabins. Many people say they are under powered.

[BlueRiband]

Yes, I do tend to find the ones on my line somewhat underpowered but this is due to the nature of ship electrical systems. DO NOT BRING YOUR OWN!

 

Somebody with long experience in the industry described why not:

 

It may help a bit if you understand how ships electrical systems work.

 

Nearly all cruise ships are built in Europe, where the standard voltage is 220v.

Nearly all the tools used by the construction workers who build the ships are 220v.

Nearly all the electrical machines installed onboard are purchased in Europe, so they are 220v.

 

Cruise Lines know that around 50% or more of their passengers are from North America, where the standard voltage is 110v. They also know that many North Americans are electrically challenged and often have machines and toys that are 110v ONLY. So the cruise lines install step down transformers in accommodations areas, reducing the 220 volt power to 110 volts. That allows them to install a LIMITED number of 110 volt receptacles in passenger cabins. That word LIMITED is very important.

Step down transformers for ships are very large, very expensive, and they create quite a bit of heat. The more power they handle, the hotter they get - and the more noise they make.

They are usually installed in the void spaces between passenger cabins - not far from the pillow you sleep on at night.

Passenger cabins are pre-fabricated on land, and then slid aboard on tracks after the ship is built. Wiring and plumbing are already installed in the cabins before they arrive at the ship. Once the cabins are placed, the wiring and plumbing are connected to the ship's systems.

The cabins are grouped electrically into 3's and 4's to allow them to share the step down generators.

 

Each group of 3 or 4 cabins shares the same electrical circuits. This is a very important concept to understand.

 

Under most conditions, this sharing of the electrical system is not a problem. But occasionally the occupants of all 3 or 4 cabins decide to use their own high wattage electric hair dryers at the same time. If the hair dryers happen to be 220v machines, the system is overloaded and (hopefully) the breaker switch trips to cut the power and avoid a fire. When this breaker switch is tripped, all power to all 3 or 4 cabins goes off. An electrician must be called to re-set the breakers.

But sometimes those passengers have high wattage 110 volt machines in use at the same time. This not only overloads the wiring, but it also overloads the step down generator supplying the power. If the breaker switches do not cut the power before the generator overheats, there could be a fire starting in the space between your cabins.

 

So we have several challenges happening here.

 

1. Passengers who bring high wattage equipment onboard and potentially start fires in the cabin when they forget to turn them off.

2. Passengers who bring high wattage equipment onboard and black out their cabin - and their neighbors' cabins - when the electrical system is overloaded.

3. Passengers who bring high wattage electrical equipment onboard and inadvertently start fires by overloading the step down generators for their cabins.

 

... And that is why the cruise lines do not want you bringing high wattage heat producing machines onboard our ships.

[daisy3774]

Thank you both so much!!

[SuiteTraveler]

The Epic hair dryers are normal hair dryers, but they tend to cut off after about 5 minutes of use. I have short hair and my hair dries in about 5 minutes using my dryer at home. Just the same, the hair dryer on Epic would often cut off on me. So on the ship I began drying the front and sides of my hair first and then, if the dryer cut off, I'd let the back air dry.

[cb at sea]

Baloney....you certainly MAY bring your own! You may also bring your electric curlers, or curling irons, flat irons, crimping irons, etc....anything to do with a woman's hair may be brought onboard.

[chengkp75]

Yes, I do tend to find the ones on my line somewhat underpowered but this is due to the nature of ship electrical systems. DO NOT BRING YOUR OWN!

 

Somebody with long experience in the industry described why not:

 

While I generally agree with Bruce on many things, and nearly all of what is quoted is correct, I will take exception with some items.

 

Yes, if a hair dryer is in operation in all of the cabins in a group at the same time, you may experience a breaker tripping. The hazard from a fire from a breaker not tripping is extremely small, and not one a ship's engineer really considers a fire hazard.

 

If the hair dryer the cruise line supplies is 220v, then Bruce's arguments are moot (for equal wattage, the 220v appliance uses half the current of the 110v unit, yet both the 110v circuits and the 220v circuits usually have 20 ampere breakers. The 110v circuits and the 220v circuits are kept separate). If they are 110v, then the real reason they supply low wattage models is simply cost.

 

The real reason the cruise lines prohibit heating devices (electric blankets, clothes irons, coffee makers, etc) is that the "auto off" switches on virtually every item made will fail at some time or the other, and the device will be left on (or in some cases turn itself back on) and heat up to cause a fire. The only reason that women's hair care appliances are allowed is because the lines know what kind of storm that would raise if they were banned. From the standpoint of fire prevention and insurance, if they thought they could ban them, they would.

[BlueRiband]

Baloney....you certainly MAY bring your own! You may also bring your electric curlers, or curling irons, flat irons, crimping irons, etc....anything to do with a woman's hair may be brought onboard.

 

Please don't let the facts get in the way of your enjoyment. If my cabin goes dark I'll have somebody like you to thank.

 

 

While I generally agree with Bruce on many things, and nearly all of what is quoted is correct, I will take exception with some items.... The only reason that women's hair care appliances are allowed is because the lines know what kind of storm that would raise if they were banned. From the standpoint of fire prevention and insurance, if they thought they could ban them, they would.

 

It's true that many hair driers can be set between 110V and 220V. When in Europe there's no choice but to switch over or cook the thing. If however an American-type 110V outlet is handy most Americans will plug into that and not bother with an adapter plug or switching over voltage. And that was precisely his point - 110V high wattage machines severely tax the step down transformers.

 

I did a little research and picked a popular brand of compact hair dryer. It's rated 1875 watts by the maker. At 220V it draws 8.5 amps of current - high but not too bad unless others on the circuit are doing the same thing. But at 110V the draw is over 17 amps. (In many older homes a breaker would trip at 15 amps.) Now add the other women who also brings her own dryer, the person trying to charge their scooter, and the next person charging their gadgets - you get the picture.

[DevilDogsWifey215]

And yet there hasn't been any major issues in all the years of cruising due to a hair dryer....:/

[CruiserBruce]

And yet there hasn't been any major issues in all the years of cruising due to a hair dryer....:/

 

However, in the last 20-25 years in the US, there are many documented issues with fires being caused by blow dryers. They are major power hogs. Power hog = ignition source. 35+ years in the fire service, including investigating fires...

Edited January 24, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[daisy3774]

Just to clarify, I do not want to bring one with me. I have curly hair and was going to bring a diffuser. Wanted to see if the diffuser would attach to the on-board hair dryers or if I needed to bring duct tape to attach it.

 

Thanks, all!

 

Sarah

[DevilDogsWifey215]

I'd brig the tape. The ends of the dryers don't always have the same edge for it to snap in.

[DevilDogsWifey215]

I have 2 blow dryers and my diffuser fits one but doesn't snap into the other.

[Shazze]

Hi

Did you enjoy your curise? I also have curly hair and would like to take my diffuser with me, can I just ask if the hairdryer in the cabin is one with a long end or short end, as want to take a diffuser as well but will only go on the long end hairdryers.

 

Thanks really appreciate any info