QM2 - Princess Suite Question About Electrical Outlets

[NancyDrew1953]

Having traveled in the past on the QM2 (in Britannia Club), I have loved most everything except that to plug in my CPAP machine I have to run an electrical cord across the floor of the cabin. I have tripped over the cord in the past.  

For my next crossing, I am considering booking a Princess Grill cabin,  but was wondering if there were any electrical outlets closer to the bed?

 

I haven’t been able to get a definitive answer from Cunard although my TA has contacted them twice.

 

Thank you for any information.

[sfred]

Hi @NancyDrew1953.  The QM2 PG desk, and its electrical power points, is at the side of the bed.  A screen shot from the Cunard website is below.

 

 

This location can sometimes be a bit cramped when sitting at the desk, but is probably much more convenient for a CPAP machine cord.  The desk has two UK power points, and four US.

 

[BklynBoy8]

 

We sailed last September for 14 days on the QM2 in Princess Grill Grade cabin which is known as a Suite and was totally happy with the amount of outlets and where they were positioned for use during the trip.

 

We are dedicated chargers of a number of electronic gadgets we take along like everyone else these days. 

 

One thing you have to be careful is, if there is an unexpected spike in the system which you do not want to damage you device(s). 

 

 

[chengkp75]

9 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

One thing you have to be careful is, if there is an unexpected spike in the system which you do not want to damage you device(s).

Have you experienced this?  Because voltage spikes on ships are extremely rare (almost never), due to the design of the power system.  Which is why surge protectors, in addition to being dangerous on ships, are not needed, and none of the ship's electronics are protected by them.

Edited March 31, 2023 by chengkp75

[NE John]

From Cunard’s site of What not to bring:

We also ask that you don’t bring extension cords with you, unless they are accompanying essential medical equipment, such as CPAP and nebulizer machines. These will be checked for electrical safety along with your medical equipment prior to sailing. Surge-protected extension cords are not accepted in any circumstances, as they interfere with the ship’s electrical distribution.
 

This post will make @Victoria2 happy as a source has been provided. 

[BklynBoy8]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Have you experienced this?  Because voltage spikes on ships are extremely rare (almost never), due to the design of the power system.  Which is why surge protectors, in addition to being dangerous on ships, are not needed, and none of the ship's electronics are protected by them.

 

QM2 does not encourage electronic adapters, extensions without ok by Engineering. I personally know someone that lost their smart watch being charged.

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

QM2 does not encourage electronic adapters, extensions without ok by Engineering. I personally know someone that lost their smart watch being charged.

What do you mean by "electronic adapters"?  I would be very surprised that a smart watch charger let something through that would damage the watch, unless it was the charger itself that failed, and that would not necessarily be a fault of the ship's electrical supply.  And, yes, they want to inspect extension cords or power strips for wear and tear and surge protectors, but even when a surge protector fails, it does not damage the "downstream" electronics.

Edited March 31, 2023 by chengkp75

[BklynBoy8]

We have as of the Last Voyage purchased surge free adapters and had no problems. 

[chengkp75]

Just now, BklynBoy8 said:

 

QM2 does not encourage electronic adapters, extensions without ok by Engineering. I personally know someone that lost their smart watch being charged.

What do you mean by "electronic adapters"?  If the watch was damaged, that would be a fault in the charger, which is designed to stop high voltage from being sent to the watch, and unless you are talking about thousands of volts coming from the outlet, a properly functioning charger will not allow enough through to damage the watch.

 

Yes, the want to inspect extensions/power strips for wear and tear, and for surge protection, but even if a surge protector fails, it won't send a high voltage to the electronics plugged into it, again unless it is thousands of volts.  You do not see the voltage spikes of thousands of volts (caused by lightning or failed transformers) that happen on land, on a ship.  It just physically cannot happen.

3 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

We have as of the Last Voyage purchased surge free adapters and had no problems.

Are you saying that the smart watch was damaged by being plugged into a surge protector?

[NE John]

I don’t want to start a new thread for a quick question about Grills facilities on QM2 (and apologies to OP for tagging in on your post but)…

is there a bar/snack shop available in the outside Grill’s Terrace on QM2?
If not, is there waiter services? That area seems to be underwhelming, per reviews and comments. 

[sfred]

Yes, there is waiter service at the outside Grills terrace on QM2 (at the aft end of Deck 11).  It isn't staffed all the time, and when open the Cunard person assigned often looks a little lonely.  From memory, the "bar" operates as an ice cooler/trolley stocked with higher potential items, and I imagine the waiter goes off to fetch other items.  I don't recall there being food or snacks, only drinks, but I might have overlooked something. 

 

And yes, it is unfortunately underwhelming in comparison to the better Grills Deck 12 on QE and QV.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, sfred said:

Yes, there is waiter service at the outside Grills terrace on QM2 (at the aft end of Deck 11).  It isn't staffed all the time, and when open the Cunard person assigned often looks a little lonely.  From memory, the "bar" operates as an ice cooler/trolley stocked with higher potential items, and I imagine the waiter goes off to fetch other items.  I don't recall there being food or snacks, only drinks, but I might have overlooked something. 

 

And yes, it is unfortunately underwhelming in comparison to the better Grills Deck 12 on QE and QV.

I think ice cream arrived about 3pm on at least one voyage. But yes, pretty underwhelming. It looks as though the terrace on QA may be very nice.

[sfred]

@exlondoner, do you know if there are regular assigned staffing times for QM2's grills terrace?  My impression was that it was rather random, depending on weather, wind, moon phase, heads/tails flip of a staffing coin, etc.,  As a result we rarely go there when in grills on QM2.  I didn't know QM2 did ice cream like QV/QE does, for example.  Good to know for a future voyage if wandering in the vicinity around 3ish.

 

To bring this back to the OP's original question, I haven't seen any electric power points available on the QM2 grills terrace.  In my experience, the WiFi is pretty good there, and with a charged battery on your phone or tablet it can be a pleasant place to sign in on a warmer day if QM2 has a bow wind and the grills area is protected.

Edited April 2, 2023 by sfred

[exlondoner]

4 minutes ago, sfred said:

@exlondoner, do you know if there are regular assigned staffing times for QM2's grills terrace?  My impression was that it was rather random, depending on weather, wind, moon phase, heads/tails flip of a staffing coin, etc.,  As a result we rarely go there when in grills on QM2.  I didn't know QM2 did ice cream like QV/QE does, for example.  Good to know for a future voyage if wandering in the vicinity around 3ish.

No, I don’t. I am in much the same position as you. I think the ice cream encounter was in 2019. I don’t know whether it has been reinstated. On our trip last year, I think we avoided the place entirely, as you did.

[rakkor]

The Grills Ice Cream fairy was in evidence on QE last summer, and fruit kebabs were distributed about 11am. 

 

[NE John]

4 hours ago, rakkor said:

The Grills Ice Cream fairy was in evidence on QE last summer, and fruit kebabs were distributed about 11am. 

 

It seems that QM2’s Terrace misses out on the fun…

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, NE John said:

It seems that QM2’s Terrace misses out on the fun…

I’ve never been there at 11am to see.