Powerstrips and essentials for cruise newbies

[Hawka]

i sailed princess in nov/dec and i saw their list of prohibited items included power boards with surge protectors on it i am 100% sure on that

[crochetcruise]

When we bordered in Oct they were taking power boards, I believe they were examined and if OK returned.

 

It seems surge protectors are an issue.

 

I specifically got one without surge protection. Found it at the Reject Shop-think it's the equivalent of a $2 store in the USA. Basically cheap stuff.

 

I personally found the way to tell surge-protected power boards was to look for a light AND carefully read the packaging. I also bought myself a 10' extension cord, so I should be ok.

[Hawka]

I specifically got one without surge protection. Found it at the Reject Shop-think it's the equivalent of a $2 store in the USA. Basically cheap stuff.

 

I personally found the way to tell surge-protected power boards was to look for a light AND carefully read the packaging. I also bought myself a 10' extension cord, so I should be ok.

 

Not all gave lights I have one beside my bed and it only has a button on the end where the cord goes into the power board

[pablo222]

i sailed princess in nov/dec and i saw their list of prohibited items included power boards with surge protectors on it i am 100% sure on that

 

Maybe this is australia specific? I've never seen anything

in a US port. Nor has anyone ever asked to look at a power

strip in my suitcase to determine if it has a surge protector

built in, or not.

[Colo Cruiser]

The previous poster, Ferd Berfle, is correct in his comment about the danger of surge-protected power strips. It is likely that at some stage Princess will add it to the prohibited list, as other cruiselines have done. :)

 

If your power strip/bar/board has a surge protector or a circuit breaker in it, please don't bring it on any ship I or any of my friends or loved ones may be on, unless you are very sure it is approved for Marine use (and almost none are).

 

Fire is bad, and though that trusty surge protector strip may have been with you for thousands of miles and hundreds of days at sea and has never, ever caused any problems (yet), it is still a potential fire hazard.

 

 

For sure.

[chengkp75]

I specifically got one without surge protection. Found it at the Reject Shop-think it's the equivalent of a $2 store in the USA. Basically cheap stuff.

 

I personally found the way to tell surge-protected power boards was to look for a light AND carefully read the packaging. I also bought myself a 10' extension cord, so I should be ok.

 

I just noticed the comment from Fred about power strips with circuit breakers. Here I disagree, having a circuit breaker is not hazardous, and is advantageous. Generally, if the power strip has a lighted rocker switch, this is not a surge suppressor, but a circuit breaker. If it has a small LED that says something like "protected" next to it, then it is a surge suppressor. But, yes, if you are looking at something in a brick and mortar store, read the packaging for things like I mention in post #13.

[Colo Cruiser]

I just noticed the comment from Fred about power strips with circuit breakers. Here I disagree, having a circuit breaker is not hazardous, and is advantageous. Generally, if the power strip has a lighted rocker switch, this is not a surge suppressor, but a circuit breaker. If it has a small LED that says something like "protected" next to it, then it is a surge suppressor. But, yes, if you are looking at something in a brick and mortar store, read the packaging for things like I mention in post #13.

 

Thanks for pointing that out.

[Papa Yoda]

Some lines like Carnival spell out specifically that power strips without surge suppressors are fine, and some lines will just take all power strips away, rather than take the time to determine whether they are surge suppressors or not. Usually, in that case, they will provide their own power strips.

 

As a further note on electrical safety onboard, know that our cousins from Europe and Down Under have power strips that are markedly safer to use onboard ships than we do in the US. This is because the European/UK/Oz use of 220v generally means that the power strip's circuit breaker (the little on/off switch is really a circuit breaker) will open both legs of power, while US ones will only open what is considered to be the "hot" leg in US wiring, while the neutral is not opened. With ship's wye wired power, that leg that a US power strip thinks is "neutral" can still be pouring current to whatever caused the circuit breaker to pop, and this could cause a fire.

 

Emphasis mine.

 

That's what I was concerned about and referring to. Knowing household strips only fuse the Hot and not Neutral, and not knowing if both legs are covered, I'd avoid them.

[CU64]

I bring the above and use it to go to BR at night + it is good for safety to get around hallways in case of ER + it gives light for something you might misplace in cabin/earrings/contact lens. et al + good for purse on Airplane!

Barbara

[Hawka]

Maybe this is australia specific? I've never seen anything

in a US port. Nor has anyone ever asked to look at a power

strip in my suitcase to determine if it has a surge protector

built in, or not.

 

possible

[Cruisin' Chick]

Have never brought a power strip on a cruise. Between my daughter and me, we have two cell phones that are kept turned off until the night before a port -- I'll check to see if there's another power for that day, but otherwise will add some juice. I've also found a rechargeable phone charger that works pretty well. Hubby doesn't always need to charge up his camera but if so, we'll just take turns -- no biggie (my camera takes AA batteries). We don't bother with tablets or laptaps on a cruise.

 

I do take a tiny flashlight and we often will keep the bathroom light on and the door ajar.

 

Most of the other "must brings" that I see listed on this site are suitcase-space wasters as I far as I'm concerned.

[GUT2407]

Have never brought a power strip on a cruise. Between my daughter and me' date=' we have two cell phones that are kept turned off until the night before a port -- I'll check to see if there's another power for that day, but otherwise will add some juice. I've also found a rechargeable phone charger that works pretty well. Hubby doesn't always need to charge up his camera but if so, we'll just take turns -- no biggie (my camera takes AA batteries). We don't bother with tablets or laptaps on a cruise.

 

I do take a tiny flashlight and we often will keep the bathroom light on and the door ajar.

 

Most of the other "must brings" that I see listed on this site are suitcase-space wasters as I far as I'm concerned.[/quote']

 

 

Really agree with your last sentence.

 

We bring an adapter that has four USB ports as most things chage off that anyway and a double adapter that has a US plug and two Us sockets, all done.

 

As for over door shoe holders etc etc etc. why.

 

Even with three adults in a cabin always had enough space for everyone's junk.

[chengkp75]

Emphasis mine.

 

That's what I was concerned about and referring to. Knowing household strips only fuse the Hot and not Neutral, and not knowing if both legs are covered, I'd avoid them.

 

But unless the appliance plugged into the power strip is defective and draws too much current, or goes to ground, which of course is always a possibility, but not a common one, I'm not really worried about the circuit breaker problem. However, the use of surge suppressors is a totally different animal. A surge suppressor that works "normally", and has for years, can suddenly fail due to the aging of the MOV's due to repetative low voltage spikes in shipboard power and burst into flames. This is sort of my "electrical triage". A surge suppressor presents a clear and present danger, while a single pole circuit breaker is a smaller possibility, so I don't rule against them.

[cruiselvr1]

As said above in Oct they were certainly checking.

 

 

On our November cruise we took a surge protector, without any problem. We never needed it, so it stayed in our bag. I don't know if the stewart would have said something if it was out.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[pablo222]

Some lines like Carnival spell out specifically that power strips without surge suppressors are fine, and some lines will just take all power strips away, rather than take the time to determine whether they are surge suppressors or not. Usually, in that case, they will provide their own power strips.

 

I discovered today, that Princess does prohibit surge suppressors.

If you have a booking, there is a section of pdfs that you can view

... know before you go.

 

This is a link to the 'Safety Information':

 

https://book.princess.com/html/personalizer/downloads/pdf/Safety_Information.pdf

 

It contains:

 

"The use of extension cords fitted with surge protection devices are prohibited in staterooms. "

Edited February 18, 2016 by pablo222

[dchip]

DH and I just completed our third cruise without a power strip. We used to bring the Belkin until I read about the danger of surge protectors.

 

We travel with 2 iPhones, which we use on the ship daily, 2 iPads and one camera. We have not had a problem charging any of these devices using the outlets available on the desk. One more thing, I don't have to pack. :D

 

Cheers, Denise

[Maddle]

I usually just have an ordinary extension cord with me.

 

Maddle

[west coast cruiser]

I bring a couple of the little tea light type flameless candles for night lights. Works great.

[floridalover5623]

We've still been using the Belkin strip & haven't had any problems. Until they say otherwise I'll be using it since it provides some protection against surges.

[chengkp75]

We've still been using the Belkin strip & haven't had any problems. Until they say otherwise I'll be using it since it provides some protection against surges.

 

The types of power (voltage) surges that the Belkin and other surge suppressors protect against are not found on ships. You do not get voltage spikes caused by failing power transformers, and lightning strikes that actually hit the ship are not transmitted to the electrical system by the very design features that make surge suppressors dangerous, namely that the ground wire and the hull are not wired together.

 

Repeated use of a surge suppressor in a shipboard electrical system is what causes sudden, catastrophic failure of the surge suppressor, possibly leading to fire. Due to the floating ground, and the use of SCR's for the ship's propulsion system, there will be quite a lot of low level voltage spikes, well below the "clamping" or protection voltage of the surge suppressor, frequently in the reverse direction, which the MOV's of the surge suppressor are not designed to handle, which cause the MOV's of the surge suppressor to "age" (all surge suppressors have a "life expectancy") and eventually go into "thermal runaway" leading to fire.

 

Here is a partial quote of Cavediving's post, that I think I linked earlier in the thread, but is what I'm explaining above:

 

<< MOVs have a finite life expectancy and “degrade” when exposed to a few large transients, or many smaller transients.[18][19] As a MOV degrades, its triggering voltage falls lower and lower >> … << If used in a power filtering application, eventually the MOV behaves as a part-time effective short circuit on a power line line which will cause it to heat up, starting a process called “thermal runaway.” As the MOV heats up, it may degrade further, causing a catastrophic failure that can result in a small explosion or fire >> … <<A failing MOV is a fire risk, which is a reason for the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA)[21] UL1449 in 1986 [22] and subsequent revisions in 1998 and 2009. NFPA’s primary concern is protection from fire >> … << A thermal fuse or some equivalent solution [is necessary to (my insertion)] protect from MOV generated hazards >> … << Because of their good price/performance ratio, MOVs are the most common protector component in low-cost basic AC power protectors. >> I will be glad to supply the references cited in the discussion to anyone who is interested, but I thought it would be too much information to include in this posting.

 

Long and short of it is, the more times you use a surge suppressor in a shipboard electrical system, the more likely it is to fail without warning.

[pablo222]

We've still been using the Belkin strip & haven't had any problems. Until they say otherwise I'll be using it since it provides some protection against surges.

 

When princess has on their website:

 

"The use of extension cords fitted with surge protection devices are prohibited in staterooms. "

 

...haven't they said otherwise?

 

Maybe you can just pack them between your rumrunners and candles?

[floridalover5623]

When princess has on their website:

 

"The use of extension cords fitted with surge protection devices are prohibited in staterooms. "

 

...haven't they said otherwise?

 

Maybe you can just pack them between your rumrunners and candles?

 

A Belkin surge protector isn't an extension cord but a unit that plugs into the socket directly & they have been seen by the security people many times with nothing said. I can only believe that they are approved. Try that with an iron or coffee coil & see how fast they say something.

 

RumRunners a definite yes but not candles.

[chengkp75]

A Belkin surge protector isn't an extension cord but a unit that plugs into the socket directly & they have been seen by the security people many times with nothing said. I can only believe that they are approved. Try that with an iron or coffee coil & see how fast they say something.

 

RumRunners a definite yes but not candles.

 

Regardless of whether or not they "have been seen" by untrained security personnel or not, it amazes me that people will disregard the warnings presented by the USCG and National Fire Protection Agency. No surge protector of any kind, make, manufacturer, or style should ever be used onboard a ship. As I've stated many times in the past, if they were needed, why don't the ship's systems use them for protection? Answer, they don't work, and they are a hazard.

[IECalCruiser]

When princess has on their website:

 

 

 

"The use of extension cords fitted with surge protection devices are prohibited in staterooms. "

 

 

 

...haven't they said otherwise?

 

 

 

Maybe you can just pack them between your rumrunners and candles?

Where exactly is that information found on the Princess website? It would be a nice reference to have.

[mmckm]

We've still been using the Belkin strip & haven't had any problems. Until they say otherwise I'll be using it since it provides some protection against surges.

 

People like you shouldn't cruise, you also should be denied boarding. I hope I'm never on a cruise with you or anyone like you. With 3000 people on board there will be always be some stupid people among them. You just don't get it the rules are for everyone else not you. You don't care about anything but yourself and other people don't matter.