Spirit hairdryer Question

[gallivanter]

My girlfriend would like to know if the hairdryers are strong enough for a women with long hair... Or did anyone bring their own? She has a dual voltage one.. what are the 220v recepticals like?

 

Thanks! Jon 3 days and counting :cool:

[MikeandAmy]

The hair dryers on the Spirit are not that great. It has a vacumm style head on it with very little heat and air that blows out. I wish I had brought my own with me but I forgot it. I would recommend bringing your own but they say the voltage is 110V :confused: .

 

 

Hope that helps!

[gallivanter]

Thanks! Was there a limit on the wattage???

[Liner]

Don't even bother bringing your own. There is a 500 watt max on the 110 outlet in the cabin. They stress over and over again on the TV and in the dailies NOT to use your hairdryers over 500 watts. The hairdryers in the cabins are attached to the wall and are 900 watts. My hair takes FOREVER to dry so I would air dry until ready to blow! Good luck!!!

[Lib0007]

Also a past cruiser mentioned there were better hairdryers in the ladies restroom in the spa - apparently they are much more powerful than the ones located in the cabins. Maybe I'll take a quick trip upstairs for a blowdry!

 

Since my personal hairdryer has 1875 watts, I'm definitely not taking the chance!!

['Lene]

Past cruiser is correct - the dryers in the cabins (Spirit cruiser, Oct. 22/04) are pitiful. So I would dash up the stairs to the women's spa and go in and use one of two nice blow dryers in their changing room (shhhh, don't let the secret get out so EVERYONE does that!) ;-)

[KLynnG]

You can use your own hairdryer if you bring a voltage converter for the 220 socket. These are the same converters that you would take on a trip to europe.

[Stevie17]

Actually, you would not be able to use a converter that you used for European travel. You would need converters for the Asian market....China, etc. You would need a device called a "step down" converter and you may also need additional plugs.

[KLynnG]

Interesting. I didn't realize the converters were different for the asian market. I will have to check my converters & talk to my TA to see if I have the correct ones before I go on the Spirit in June. I need several outlets for all the devices I take with. (no, I don't take a crock pot)

[Stevie17]

We traveled to China a year ago, and I used Magellen (online) to order a "converter package." It wasn't too expensive ($50 or so) and it came with a step-down converter as well as several different plugs for the many different types of outlets that one will find in Asian countries.

[1kycat]

I've been to both China and Japan and have never used anything different than the converter that we use in Europe...just different adapters. Infact in Japan, the current is not much different than here in the US...and we use nothing to convert or adapt. Maybe we got lucky...I don't know. I certainly don't profess to be an expert. But I've never seen any kind of special converter only for the Asia market.

[1kycat]

I should clarify...In Japan you can run small apliances normally...but if you packed....say a fridge...well then you would need "step-down".

[howardla]

The hairdryer is somewhat weak but we found it adequate. Just takes a little longer. The 110v is only 500 watts and you'll blow it out with your own hairdryer. For about $20 you can buy a converter kit with multiple plugs including one for the Asian market and it will work fine on the ship. They sell them at CompUsa and several other stores. For shavers and cameras the 110v is fine.

 

Many cruises, many cruise lines.

[cmdchiefthom]

The step-down power converter is the ticket. Being career military, I've lived all over the world and have used transformers, a larger version of the travel converters for most of my large appliances.

 

Most of the civilized world uses 220 volts at 50 cycles. Here in the states, we use 110 volts at 60 cycles. The travel sized power converters step the 220 volts down to 110 volts so you can safely use something like an American made hairdryer while traveling. The converters do not, however, change the cycles. Therefore, the blower, or any other electric motor for that matter, will turn at a slower speed when using the converter, but will generate the same amount of heat.

 

What we don't know, and maybe someone who has cruised the Spirit can tell us, is what the 220 outlet looks like in the room. Basically there are four different types of plugs porvided with travel converters. There is a large three pronged plug which is typical of what's used in England, a two round pronged plug used in Europe, and a two flat pronged plug with the prongs at 45 degrees to vertical which is the one I suspect is the type on the Spirit.

 

Perhaps a Cruise Critic member might remember what the 220 outlet looked like and post it here.

 

Anyway, you can go to a site like familyonboard and search for international electric power converter kits which should be available for around $30.00 and usually come with four adapters of which one of them is bound to work.

 

Hope this helps :)

[Mary Ellen1]

Can you use a power strip on the Spirit, to charge things like cameras, DVD players, FRS radios, a hand-held GPS unit, etc.? My husband travels with a whole bag of gadgets like these, and it's not clear if we'll be able to plug them in. Does anyone know?

 

Thanks,

Mary Ellen

[Stevie17]

Thom --

 

That's the best explanation that I've seen yet! Thanks for clarifying things. I'm going to bring the entire "kit" that I bought for our China trip, and I think we should be okay. It came with a bunch of different plugs...one of them is bound to work.

[cruisin-Trish]

Mary Ellen

You can plug in a power strip at the desk area to use a curling iron, camera batteries, cell phone batteries,electric razor, etc. Hope this helps!

Trish

[Mary Ellen1]

That's exactly what I needed to know. And Thom, that was great info.

 

Thanks,

Mary Ellen

[cmdchiefthom]

Mary Ellen,

 

I'm glad my post cleared things up. ;) One clarification: the step-down converter can be used to charge things like cameras, cell phones etc. The main thing to remember is that because of the cycles, 50 vs 60, nothing with a motor will operate as designed.

 

I usually bring two surge protector power strips to charge my underwater video equipment, and I will use the more powerfull 220 outlet as my power source. You also should check your converter to see if it accepts three pronged plugs which are typical on power strips. You may need an adapter that allowe you to plug the three pronged plug into a standard two pronged socket. These adapters are available at any hardware store.

 

Now I think you're all set to cruise under power. :D

[MSUcruisers]

Radio Shack sells a 1600-Watt Foreign Travel AC Converter for $25.99. Will this work with my 600 watt clothes steamer on the NCL Spirit?

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...t%5Fid=273-1413

[Nessi]

I bought a 220 to 110 step down converter (1600 watts) for 11.99 on Amazon.com.