Power strips....no go...solutions?

[karena1]

I just ordered this one - them I will be cruise ship compliant! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHVKPC3/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[karena1]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

Cabin stewards are not electricians, and are hospitality workers, so they will do whatever keeps the customer happy.  Please, I can't stress that no matter how many times you've used one of these on a ship (and the more times the surge protector is subjected to "reverse voltage", which it can only on ship's wiring), the simple fact is that something as simple as a deck light on the bow of the ship filling with water can cause your "no issues" surge protector in your cabin at the stern to melt and catch fire.  

 

Please, people, there is no need for a surge protector on a ship.  I have been on ships that have been struck by lightning many times, and have never had any electronics, whether my laptop, tv, or any navigation or engineering electronics damaged in any way even with hundreds of thousands of volts pouring through the steel hull.

I just bought a new one, see my last post!

 

[ONECRUISER]

9 hours ago, jean87510 said:

use a portable charger for phones during day if walking around with them.  Charge these at night.  Charge whatever you aren't using during day.  Shutdown all devices when not using especially at night.  We have done this with same equipment plus our Garmin watches.  

Have 2 these myself, always traveling nice backup when no access to plugs

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, karena1 said:

I just ordered this one - them I will be cruise ship compliant! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHVKPC3/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Oops.  I have my doubts about this particular item.  When it first came out, a poster asked about it, and I looked at their advertising copy on Amazon.  It claimed to be non-surge protected then.  It showed the back of the unit, and that clearly showed a "VPR" (voltage protection rating), which is a measure of how well a surge protector works.  "Cruise On" does not make this, another manufacturer (NTON) does, and theirs has surge protection.  I can't say whether or not they have changed over the last couple of years, but I do see that they no longer include a photo of the back of the unit in their advertising, so the sceptic in me is suspicious.  Another CC poster said that one of these purchased later did not have the VPR listed on the back, so who knows.

 

There is a lot of blah, blah on the webpage about being "cruise line approved", which is total nonsense.  They mention the "Intertek 5002850" testing and approval.  The problem is that Intertek does not write their own standards for electrical devices, they merely test things to the standards set by others, like UL.  The specific Intertek approval they quote relates to two UL standards, UL 1363 (for portable or "relocatable" power taps) and UL 1449, which is the standard for a surge protector.

 

Best advice is to check the specifications on the back of the actual unit when it arrives, and be prepared to return it.

[Oxo]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Not sure what the question is, but the presence of the third prong, ground or earth, does not by itself mean the appliance is surge protected, but not having a ground pin means it can't be surge protected.  Yes, European "Schuko" outlets that ships typically have, will have a ground in the two "springs" around the perimeter of the recessed outlet.

Yes, you answered my question. Now is the European outlets that ships typically have, why do they allow ground if that may cause a fire? Not challenging you or your responses. Just asking why not disallow a ground type plug to ensure complete safety. 

What about some of the other types of appliances such as Hair Dryers, Hair Curlers, etc. that have a 3 prong plug. Do they have a surge protection?

 

[Oxo]

What items are prohibited onboard a Royal Caribbean Cuise Ship?

A

 

 

Weapons, illegal drugs, and other items that could interfere with the safe operation of the ship or the safe and secure environment of our guests and crew are prohibited. The following are examples of items that guests are not allowed to bring onboard. These and other similar items will be confiscated upon being found. Alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, flammable liquids, explosives, and dangerous chemicals will not be returned.

Prohibited items:

• Firearms & Ammunition, including realistic replicas.
• Sharp Objects, including all knives and scissors. (Note: Personal grooming items such as safety razors are allowed. Scissors with blade length less than 4 inches are allowed.)
• Illegal Drugs & Substances
• CBD Oil / CBD Products
• Candles, Incense, Coffee Makers, Clothes Irons, Travel Steamers & Hot Plates. (Items that generate heat or produce an open flame. This includes heating pads, clothing irons, hotplates, candles, incense and any other item that may create a fire hazard. NOTE: The only exception to this policy are curling irons and hair straighteners. Matches and normal lighteners are allowed onboard. However ""torch lighters"" and novelty lighters that look like guns are not allowed onboard. Torch lighters emit a powerful concentrated flame, and therefore are prohibited.
• Hoverboards
• Martial Arts, Self Defense, and Sports Gear, including handcuffs, pepper spray, night sticks.
• Flammable Liquids and Explosives, including lighter fluid and fireworks.
• Hookahs & Water Hookah Pipes.
• HAM Radios
• Baby Monitors
• Electrical Extension Cords
• Dangerous Chemicals, including bleach and paint.
• Perishable Food & Meat Products
• Alcoholic Beverages (Note: On boarding day, each stateroom may bring up to two 750 ml bottles of wine or champagne. Guests who purchase alcohol bottles onboard, in a port-of-call, or bring more than the two permitted bottles on boarding day, will have their items safely stored by the ship. These bottles will be returned on the last day onboard for enjoyment once home. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned.)

Exceptions can be made for the following sporting goods; however, the item must be stored in the guest’s stateroom and cannot be used onboard.

• Baseball Bats, Hockey Sticks, Cricket Bats, and Golf clubs
• Skateboards, Surfboards, and Bicycles

Prohibited items at the US Virgin Islands

• For itineraries visiting the US Virgin islands, please note that sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octocrylene and octinoxate are banned from use in port, as they are known to cause damage to reef systems. Sunscreen that meets these requirements is available onboard for purchase.

[WindinmySails]

Thanks all, I guess I'll leave my hookah and hover board at home as well.  I like the tower idea that I can just plug USB stuff into, I liked a couple on the recommendations!

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

Yes, you answered my question. Now is the European outlets that ships typically have, why do they allow ground if that may cause a fire? Not challenging you or your responses. Just asking why not disallow a ground type plug to ensure complete safety. 

What about some of the other types of appliances such as Hair Dryers, Hair Curlers, etc. that have a 3 prong plug. Do they have a surge protection?

 

Again, having a third prong does not mean the item is surge protected, just that it provides protection against electrocution from insulation failure.  A ground does not cause a fire, it is the design of a surge protector that does.  What I said was, having a third prong does not mean the item is surge protected, but not having a third prong means it can't be surge protected.  A ground connection in an outlet, whether a US plug or a European plug only provides this protection against an accidental ground (bare wire, etc) that you may come in contact with, it has nothing to do with causing a fire.  And, no, things like hair dryers, etc, are not surge protected.  Surge protection is mainly for electronics, like phones and computers, that actually only use 5 volts for power, instead of the 110 volts of a hair dryer (that's what the little block on your phone charger, or the "brick" on your laptop cord do is convert the voltage to the lower voltage for the electronics).

 

If you look at the thread I linked to, it has a somewhat technical discussion about what a surge protector does, and how it works differently on a ship.  Let me try to make it short and sweet.  A surge protector places a semi-conductor between the power wires and the ground.  These semi-conductors will not allow current to flow from the power lines to ground under normal conditions.  When the voltage between the power lines and ground exceeds the design VPR of the semi-conductor (like when your house is hit by lightning, and gets 100,000 volts), it "opens the valve", and the voltage is dumped from the power wires to ground, so the 100,000 volts does not go to your laptop.  The problem is that these semi-conductors are only "one way", conducting from power to ground wire.  If it sees higher voltage in the ground wire than the power wire, it can fail.  Without going into a technical discussion of ship's wiring systems, a ship can experience a higher voltage on the ground wire than the power wires, so subjecting the semi-conductors to the destructive "reverse voltage".

Edited September 24, 2021 by chengkp75

[Oxo]

FYI - Based on this thread and all the info provided by Chengkp75 I just purchased a new item. 

Thank you ChengKP75!

If others want to buy one here is where I just bought mine. Cheapest price and free shipping. 

Stay Safe! 

[brillohead]

1 minute ago, Oxo said:

FYI - Based on this thread and all the info provided by Chengkp75 I just purchased a new item. 

Thank you ChengKP75!

If others want to buy one here is where I just bought mine. Cheapest price and free shipping. 

Stay Safe! 

If you bothered to read all the responses, you'd know that this is not necessarily "cruise approved" -- check the back of the unit when you get it and see if it really is surge-protected after all.

 

[Oxo]

21 minutes ago, brillohead said:

If you bothered to read all the responses, you'd know that this is not necessarily "cruise approved" -- check the back of the unit when you get it and see if it really is surge-protected after all.

 

When I get it I will take a picture of it for you,  either way. 

I guess you can't win anymore.  

Danged if you do and Dammed if you don't. LOL

WHAT'S YOUR SUGGESTION? 

[brillohead]

9 minutes ago, Oxo said:

When I get it I will take a picture of it for you,  either way. 

I guess you can't win anymore.  

Danged if you do and Dammed if you don't. LOL

WHAT'S YOUR SUGGESTION? 

 

A plain old splitter/triple tap and a simple USB hub (a bunch of options already posted in this thread) will give you plenty of outlets and charging options. 

 

[livingonthebeach]

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

FYI - Based on this thread and all the info provided by Chengkp75 I just purchased a new item. 

Thank you ChengKP75!

If others want to buy one here is where I just bought mine. Cheapest price and free shipping. 

Stay Safe! 

 

I have this exact same one and have been using it on on RCI and X with no problem. 

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

I have this exact same one and have been using it on on RCI and X with no problem. 

Have you checked on the back side to see if it has a VPR listed on it?

If it does have one, then you shouldn't be using it on any ship.  Just because you've gotten away with it doesn't mean it's safe.  

[Oxo]

Ok, you all gave your opinions. Lets move on. We are all perfect and are always right. LOL

[adolfo2]

You can probably eliminate 50% of your chargers with a "Bulk/Gang" unit similar to this  https://us.anker.com/collections/chargers/products/a2123

[vjmatty]

23 hours ago, WindinmySails said:

Typically there are two outlets, yes?  one in the bedroom area and one in the bathroom, am I correct? Thanks in advance.

There is also one behind the TV, some cabins have as many as 4 plugs back there and the TV only uses one.  As for the one in the bathroom, I have found it only works for charging razors and electric toothbrushes.  Nothing electronic like a phone.

[SRF]

23 hours ago, Oxo said:

Using this one for years.  Works great! 

 

Until it doesn't.  And causes a fire in your cabin

[livingonthebeach]

13 hours ago, brillohead said:

Have you checked on the back side to see if it has a VPR listed on it?

If it does have one, then you shouldn't be using it on any ship.  Just because you've gotten away with it doesn't mean it's safe.  

Yes I checked and there is no VPR listed on the back.

 

Glad to see the VPR-Extension-Cord-Power-Strip-Smoky-Bear Police is alive and well. Keeps us all in check and prevents cabin fires. 😇

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

Yes I checked and there is no VPR listed on the back.

 

Glad to see the VPR-Extension-Cord-Power-Strip-Smoky-Bear Police is alive and well. Keeps us all in check and prevents cabin fires. 😇

When you've fought a shipboard fire and dragged folks out of smoke filled cabins, come back and we can all make light of it.

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

When you've fought a shipboard fire and dragged folks out of smoke filled cabins, come back and we can all make light of it.

 

While there have been a few on commercial / container ships, I've never heard of cruise line fires being caused by SPDs.  Correct me if I am wrong. 

[chengkp75]

8 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

While there have been a few on commercial / container ships, I've never heard of cruise line fires being caused by SPDs.  Correct me if I am wrong. 

And so there is something magically different about cruise ship wiring?  Not hardly.  I know of one poster here on CC (don't recall their handle), that had their Belkin mini (the real popular one) go up in smoke.

[Oxo]

Received my new charger.

Is it the correct one that I can use safely on the ship? 

[Oxo]

1 minute ago, Oxo said:

Received my new charger.

Is it the correct one that I can use safely on the ship? 

The box it came in. 

[Oxo]

On 9/23/2021 at 9:46 PM, brillohead said:

If you bothered to read all the responses, you'd know that this is not necessarily "cruise approved" -- check the back of the unit when you get it and see if it really is surge-protected after all.

 

Did you see the pics i posted of the charger I bought? I posted pics specifically for your edification. 

Am I safe to use it?