Newbie Question: Power Strips

[Nashto]

I am fairly certain that surge protectors are forbidden, but can you bring a simple power strip? I was trying to find the answer in the HAL FAQ, but was unsuccessful so I came here because I know that you all would know. 🙂 If you have a power strip you recommend, I'm all ears!

 

Thanks!

[iflyrc5]

13 minutes ago, Nashto said:

I am fairly certain that surge protectors are forbidden, but can you bring a simple power strip? I was trying to find the answer in the HAL FAQ, but was unsuccessful so I came here because I know that you all would know. 🙂 If you have a power strip you recommend, I'm all ears!

 

Thanks!

Yes you can bring a power strip as long as it does NOT have a surge protection feature.  However - you don't need to pack one.  Have you travel agent of Hal Cruise consultant request one and it should be in your cabin when you board.  If it is not there just ask the cabin steward and they will get you one.   If you are on the Koningsdam or the Nieuw Statendam you won't need one since there a lots of outlets and USB ports in the cabins.

[Nashto]

9 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

Yes you can bring a power strip as long as it does NOT have a surge protection feature.  However - you don't need to pack one.  Have you travel agent of Hal Cruise consultant request one and it should be in your cabin when you board.  If it is not there just ask the cabin steward and they will get you one.   If you are on the Koningsdam or the Nieuw Statendam you won't need one since there a lots of outlets and USB ports in the cabins.

Thank you very much! We're on the Nieuw Amsterdam, so I'll go make that, request later today. That's very helpful.

 

[Cruise4food]

11 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

Have you travel agent of Hal Cruise consultant request one and it should be in your cabin when you board.  If it is not there just ask the cabin steward and they will get you one. 

The outlet extender should look like this one on the Maasdam, HAL logo included. This one is permanently in the stateroom with the orange cord powering the mini-fridge.

[sevenseasnomad]

If you request it, ask that an email be sent confirming your request.  Take the confirmation with you.  If the power strip isn't in your cabin at embarkation, go to the Front Desk, with your confirmation, and ask for it.  Very simple.  We've never had a problem getting one; however, it isn't always in the cabin when we board.

[pmjnh]

Tessan makes a neat little block with three plug outlets and 3 USB ports. Bought it from Amazon for $15 USD

[DougandEric]

If you just need extra power outlets to charge portable devices (phone, iPads, etc), I agree with the USB hub.  We have an 8 port hub and handles all of our devices.  We no longer need to carry a power strip.  I have a quart sized zip lock bag that has all the cables needed for all devices and the USB hub labeled 'Travel' and I just drop it in my carry-on and we're good to go.

[Ichiban Nekko]

Requesting via HAL is probably the best way to go. Bringing your own can have consequences for several cabins around you. An example, -

 

On the Koningsdam in April, we had no electrical issues whatsoever on the Transatlantic leg. However, after new passengers boarded in Civitavecchia, every day we experienced 'dead' outlets. Every day we called or visited Guest Relations. And a switch would be thrown and all was good until the next day. Finally, with the assistance of the cabin stewards in our area, a personal extension cord was found in an adjacent cabin and confiscated. End of power issues.

 

These same occupants also left room service dishes in the hallway. When we saw them, we pointed out that this is a safety issue and dishes should be left in the room; call the number on the card. We assumed they could read the card since they were American.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Ichiban Nekko
typo

[Cruise4food]

2 minutes ago, Ichiban Nekko said:

And a switch would be drown

If the switch is "drowning", visit the lifeboats, not Guest Relations. Sorry, couldn't resist. I know it is just a typo.  😂

[Ichiban Nekko]

2 minutes ago, Cruise4food said:

If the switch is "drowning", visit the lifeboats, not Guest Relations. Sorry, couldn't resist. I know it is just a typo.  😂

 

😆Hahahaha!! Thank you Cruise4food! I enjoyed the giggle and have updated/edited accordingly.

[knittinggirl]

7 hours ago, Nashto said:

Thank you very much! We're on the Nieuw Amsterdam, so I'll go make that, request later today. That's very helpful.

 

 We stayed in a Neptune Suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam last year, and they had a lot of  outlets and USBs.   Also on the Zuiderdam (Signature Suite).  

 

I bought an international adapter set for both my iPad and Kindle, and we utilize all outlets!

[Homosassa]

5 hours ago, Ichiban Nekko said:

 

On the Koningsdam in April, we had no electrical issues whatsoever on the Transatlantic leg. However, after new passengers boarded in Civitavecchia, every day we experienced 'dead' outlets. Every day we called or visited Guest Relations. And a switch would be thrown and all was good until the next day. Finally, with the assistance of the cabin stewards in our area, a personal extension cord was found in an adjacent cabin and confiscated. End of power issues.

 

 

We had the same problem on a cruise on the Rotterdam except it was more than dead outlets. We would lose the power in a section of the cabin.

 

We finally figured it out that it was the cabin next door. We spoke to our steward and the Guest Services. Security made a search of the cabin and found several extension cords with multiple plugs hidden away in the cabin.

 

The cords were confiscated and there were no more power outages in our cabin.

 

 

[chengkp75]

15 hours ago, Ichiban Nekko said:

Requesting via HAL is probably the best way to go. Bringing your own can have consequences for several cabins around you. An example, -

 

On the Koningsdam in April, we had no electrical issues whatsoever on the Transatlantic leg. However, after new passengers boarded in Civitavecchia, every day we experienced 'dead' outlets. Every day we called or visited Guest Relations. And a switch would be thrown and all was good until the next day. Finally, with the assistance of the cabin stewards in our area, a personal extension cord was found in an adjacent cabin and confiscated. End of power issues.

 

These same occupants also left room service dishes in the hallway. When we saw them, we pointed out that this is a safety issue and dishes should be left in the room; call the number on the card. We assumed they could read the card since they were American.

Trust me, there is no difference between whether a "personal" extension cord or a HAL power strip is used as to whether or not the circuit gets overloaded.

10 hours ago, Homosassa said:

We had the same problem on a cruise on the Rotterdam except it was more than dead outlets. We would lose the power in a section of the cabin.

 

We finally figured it out that it was the cabin next door. We spoke to our steward and the Guest Services. Security made a search of the cabin and found several extension cords with multiple plugs hidden away in the cabin.

 

The cords were confiscated and there were no more power outages in our cabin.

 

 

This is pretty funny, since the extension cord, even a multiple plug one, is not the culprit, but the appliances that are plugged into the cord that would cause the overload.  Those appliances had to be high wattage, which means typically a heating appliance, so those are what should have been confiscated.

[terrydtx]

19 hours ago, pmjnh said:

Tessan makes a neat little block with three plug outlets and 3 USB ports. Bought it from Amazon for $15 USD

We use something very similar like this with no problems. Thanks Amazon, LOL

[jb008]

If you just need more plugs, they sell wall splitters at most hardware stores for like $3... takes 1 plug and splits to 3. No surge protector to worry about either. 

 

The 2 prong (no ground) version <$2: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-15-Amp-3-Outlet-Cube-Wall-Tap-LA-20/306625670

Edited October 3, 2019 by jb008

[Crew News]

From someone who has been to the "naughty" room a few times and had several power cords confiscated by Port Security, if a power strip looks like a banned power strip, it could be confiscated.  I surrendered even a long extension cord to Port Security so that I could just board the ship.  Appealing to the Front Desk was to no avail.

 

If you want to bring a power strip that does not have a surge protector, it is best to choose one that does not look like a power strip and is two-piece with each piece carried in a different piece of luggage to increase your odds of getting it past Port Security scrutiny.

 

Bring US-to-European adapters with multiple US outlets to take advantage of the ability of cell phones, tablets, and laptops ability to use 220V European voltage.  It must be noted that the newer HAL ships and those completing recent drydocks will have at least USB ports on each side of the bed and some will also have bedside AC outlets. 

 

 

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Some ships make you sign out one from the front service desk.

[TAD2005]

To get more outlets, just bring a couple of European round prong to US blade type adapters and you can use all the outlets at the desk.  Just about every electronic device in the last 20 years will work on any voltage from 100 v to 240 volts.   The exceptions are heating devices like hair dryers,  coffee cup immersion heaters, heating pads, etc.  But you shouldn't be using those onboard anyway.

[jb008]

2 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

To get more outlets, just bring a couple of European round prong to US blade type adapters and you can use all the outlets at the desk.  Just about every electronic device in the last 20 years will work on any voltage from 100 v to 240 volts.   The exceptions are heating devices like hair dryers,  coffee cup immersion heaters, heating pads, etc.  But you shouldn't be using those onboard anyway.

 

One of my digital camera battery chargers was not rated for 220V - do us all a favor and please read the fine print on the device before you plug into a European outlet!