How do I prove my power strip is compliant?

[New2NSeaL]

Howdy all!  I am departing on my first NCL cruise on the Sky next month.  I bought a power strip without a surge protector, which was described as compliant with cruise ship requirements.  How do I prove it's compliant?  Bring along a print out of the Amazon listing?  Assume the check in folks will know what they're looking at?  Here's a link to the one I bought:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X3ZCZLV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.  Thanks for any insight you can lend on this.

[julig22]

If a power strip doesn't have a reset switch or surge indicator it probably doesn't have a surge protector.  I have something similar and have never had an issue.

 

The room stewards are supposed to unplug any charging devices when they make up your room, so mine is usually not in use and usually stashed away when I'm not "home" so they wouldn't see it anyway.  However, if you leave it out and it looks as if there is a surge protector, it would probably be confiscated.

 

You should be fine.

Edited February 20, 2020 by julig22

[Homosassa]

I hope the chief comes and weighs in .

 

I am not sure if the verbiage about the capacitor protecting from changes in power is not surge protection.

[Sauer-kraut]

Did you get one of these?? 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

The room stewards are supposed to unplug any charging devices when they make up your room, so mine is usually not in use and usually stashed away when I'm not "home" so they wouldn't see it anyway.  However, if you leave it out and it looks as if there is a surge protector, it would probably be confiscated.

 

The first hurdle is whether what the OP has even makes it onto the ship (or out of the naughty room if in checked luggage).   

[zqvol]

According to the link OP posted that device protects against current  surges, so it is probably not coming on board.

[julig22]

This is what I have used for the past 2 years.  It's normally in my carry-on, mostly because it's packed along with batteries and other electronics that can't be checked - so I don't have to worry about having to  retrieve my luggage from the naughty room in the event there is an issue.

 

[hallux]

If you need it just to consolidate devices that connect to USB for charging, I suggest Anker to ANYONE.  They are absolutely compliant for cruising, I haven't had an issue with any of the 5 charging devices or myriad cables I have from them over several years of use.

 

http://anker.com is their site, any purchase links take you to Amazon as that's the distribution channel for them.  I currently (haha) have 3 older versions of this charger as I have USB-C devices to charge - https://www.anker.com/products/variant/powerport-speed-pd-5/A2056111

[AliceIn]

I second the Anker products.  They are high quality and good for the ship.  I have used them on multiple lines with no issue.

Edited February 21, 2020 by AliceIn
Stupid autocorrect

[bsammon]

This is the first time I'm hearing about a power strip policy.  Just did a quick browse of NCL's webpage, and found a few pages about prohibited items, none of which mention restrictions on the type of power strips.

 

Google was not turning up any quick useful results either.

 

Anyone got links to official(-ish) documentation of this?

 

[mking8288]

For cruising and travel, this is my faithful 4-ports Anker dual voltage turbo/fast charger, 3A max ... pack a 5' or 6' and 10' USB 2.0 braided extension cords to run along the wall to use bedside. 

 

Plus, a short 6" power tap/extension for a laptop or other electronics or CPAP, etc.

 

These are always in my carry-on, in case port security is interested in looking, and they usually don't ... focused on other contraband items.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, bsammon said:

This is the first time I'm hearing about a power strip policy.  Just did a quick browse of NCL's webpage, and found a few pages about prohibited items, none of which mention restrictions on the type of power strips.

 

Google was not turning up any quick useful results either.

 

Anyone got links to official(-ish) documentation of this?

You are 100% correct. There is NO restriction on brining a surge protected power strip onboard. 
 

There are marine best practices to avoid such items to minimize the potential of fire. And a surge protected power strip may/may not work correctly with the ship’s wiring. 

 

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Plus, a short 6" power tap/extension for a laptop or other electronics or CPAP, etc.

I travel with something similar in my carry on (because some camera battery charger blocks don’t fit some recessed wall sockets).  Never had a problem (including on Celebrity and NCL) until last summer at Cape Liberty, when a port security guard told me I could not bring it on board the Celebrity Summit. I had him get a supervisor, who, after some discussion about what it was, allowed me to bring it on. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Turtles06

[megansdad1]

5 hours ago, bsammon said:

This is the first time I'm hearing about a power strip policy.  Just did a quick browse of NCL's webpage, and found a few pages about prohibited items, none of which mention restrictions on the type of power strips.

 

Google was not turning up any quick useful results either.

 

Anyone got links to official(-ish) documentation of this?

 

Actually you have a point.  I checked my Edocs and they post a linked to the NCL webpage that lists the prohibited items.  In the past I have seen the power strip on there.  Currently it is not listed.  I wonder if they have changed that? 

[chengkp75]

The OP's device appears to be compliant.  It appears that more and more manufacturers are making the claim of "cruise compliant", yet it is still hard to drill down and determine if this claim is correct or not.  The wording about a capacitor protecting the circuitry is not surge protection, as the voltage in a lightning strike will burn out any capacitor capable of being fitted into the device, and whether that would protect the electronics is questionable.  Surge protection provides a direct, short circuit between the hot leads and ground, it does not store energy like a capacitor.

 

Surge protection has nothing to do with "current surges", it is all about voltage.

 

One sure way to know if the device is surge protected is to check the fine print on the back of the device.  If it mentions a "VPR" number (this is Voltage Protection Rating), it is a measure of the effectiveness of the surge protector.  If it does not have a VPR, then it is not surge protected.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

There are marine best practices to avoid such items to minimize the potential of fire. And a surge protected power strip may/may not work correctly with the ship’s wiring. 

 

A surge protected power strip will work perfectly fine, just as designed on a marine electrical system.  The problem is that using a surge protector in a marine electrical system is similar to having coronary artery disease; it is a potential "silent killer".  What do I mean by this?  Your surge protector can be working perfectly, just as designed, when a light fixture on deck at the other end of the ship goes to ground due to water getting into the fixture.  This ground, hundreds of feet away, and totally out of your control, can send "reverse voltage" to your surge protector, and the semi-conductors which provide the surge protection are not designed to accept this "voltage in the wrong direction" (the ground voltage is higher than the line voltage, which is impossible on land), and the semi-conductors fail in what is known as "thermal runaway", where even at very low currents (and high current is what typically causes heat and fire in electrical systems) the semi-conductor will get hot enough to melt the surge protector case and start a fire.  Even if the semi-conductors don't fail the first time they are subjected to reverse voltage, each time they are, they degrade a little more, hastening the time when they do fail.

[bsammon]

9 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

fixture on deck at the other end of the ship goes to ground due to water getting into the fixture.  This ground, hundreds of feet away, and totally out of your control, can send "reverse voltage" to your surge protector, and the semi-conductors which provide the surge protection are not designed to accept this "voltage in the wrong direction" (the ground voltage is higher than the line voltage, which is impossible on land), and the semi-conductors fail in what is known as "thermal

 

I saw this "reverse voltage" explanation when I searched the forum for info about power strips, and I must say, I'm quite confused by it.

If we're talking about alternating current (AC) electricity, doesn't the voltage reverse 60 times per second, just like it does at home?  I think "reversing voltage" is exactly what these surge protectors are designed for.

 

I expect/believe there is some kernel of truth in this explanation, but it's been simplified down to the point of muddled-ness.

 

Now, the "voltage too high" argument, that makes sense to me.

 

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You are 100% correct. There is NO restriction on brining a surge protected power strip onboard. 
 

 

9 hours ago, megansdad1 said:

Actually you have a point.  I checked my Edocs and they post a linked to the NCL webpage that lists the prohibited items. 

 

Heehee... "correct", "have a point".  My previous post was 100% question. 

If I were going to make a point, I would say that I don't necessarily expect NCL's webpage documents to correctly match the actual policy.

 

[chengkp75]

Yes, AC power reverses 60 times a second. The reverse voltage I am talking about means that the voltage in the ground wire is higher than in the hot leads. This can happen on a ship because the ground and neutral are not the same voltage, like they are on land.  So, if a 220 volt light fixture on the ship goes to ground, then the ground voltage would be higher than either of the legs of a 110 volt outlet, and the semi-conductors in the surge protector, which connect the power leads to ground would see a voltage higher in the ground, rather than higher in the power leads.

[PelicanBill]

In the end, they may or may not confiscate the extension cord, and if confiscated, you can ask to have the ship's engineering staff inspect it and have it released to you if safe.