Hair Dryers on NCL Spirit

[poofersgrl]

Hi All,

 

We are leaving on the Spirit this weekend, and are bringing our own hair dryer. Do we need to get an adapter for it to use in the outlets? We are also bringing a surge protector. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

 

Kelly

[VideoTech]

Hi All,

 

We are leaving on the Spirit this weekend, and are bringing our own hair dryer. Do we need to get an adapter for it to use in the outlets? We are also bringing a surge protector. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

 

Kelly

 

Here we go again. There's at least one extremely long thread in the archives about this, but I'll try to summarize:

 

Fastest answer: Don't bother bringing your own hairdryer. There are only two U.S. style outlets in most of the cabins, and neither one is rated to handle a high-wattage hair dryer. What will most likely happen (although it depends on the wattage of the dryer you bring) is that you will blow the circuit breaker for your room and possibly others, and be asked not to use the hair dryer again.

 

If you do bring it, and want to use it at the vanity, you will need an adapter to the two round prong, European style of plug. To do this, though, you must be sure that your hair dryer is the "travel" kind that can be switched to run on 220 volts, which is what is supplied at these outlets. You may still blow out the circuit breaker protecting your room.

 

Finally, if you're still determined to bring the dryer, you could also ask the cabin attendant for a transformer that's specifically designed for this. It plugs into the European, 220v outlet, and transforms the voltage to 110 volts on a U.S. style outlet. I'm not sure how available these are, or what wattage they will support. We found one in our cabin on the Spirit, under the sink, but this was a penthouse suite, and I don't know if they are available to other cabins.

 

All in all, the bottom line is that it's potentially a lot of trouble, and dangerous (you can easily set your hair dryer on fire). Don't do it. Yes, I know the hair dryers in the cabins are weak by U.S. standards. But they work, and it's one less thing you need to worry about...you're on vacation!

[VideoTech]

Hi All,

 

We are leaving on the Spirit this weekend, and are bringing our own hair dryer. Do we need to get an adapter for it to use in the outlets? We are also bringing a surge protector. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

 

Kelly

 

Also, the surge protector will not help you with the hair dryer. It is not designed to transform the 220 volts to 110 volts, and it will not adapt the style of plug.

 

Surge protectors were primarily designed to protect sensitive electronics from erratic voltage. In most cases they are no longer required - many modern electronics have this protection built in. You might want one if you are traveling in a country where the power supplies are still less dependable, but you will not be likely to need one on a ship, where the power is well regulated and dependable.

[Isabella Benjamin]

I really had hoped they'd get rid of those ugly old things when they went into dry dock recently. Tragic.

[poofersgrl]

I just went out and bought a travel hair dryer 1200 watts that is dual converter, for traveling,as well as a converter with adapter with plugs that will convert the plug to what I might need. Is this a waste of time? Thanks again for your help.

 

Kelly

[Don Haynes]

I just went out and bought a travel hair dryer 1200 watts that is dual converter, for traveling,as well as a converter with adapter with plugs that will convert the plug to what I might need. Is this a waste of time? Thanks again for your help.

 

Kelly

 

The simple solution is to buy a dual voltage hair dryer and use the unlimited 220/240 circuit. Use an American to European adapter and if necessary flip the switch of the dryer to 220/240 volts. There is no wattage limit to the 220/240 volt circuit. The Spirit has European outlets.

 

Otherwise use the hair dryer installed in the cabin.

[VideoTech]

I just went out and bought a travel hair dryer 1200 watts that is dual converter, for traveling,as well as a converter with adapter with plugs that will convert the plug to what I might need. Is this a waste of time? Thanks again for your help.

 

Kelly

 

No, you've done what is needed to use your own hair dryer on the Spirit: gotten a lower wattage hair dryer that will work on 220 volts and plug in to the provided outlets. You'll be able to use it in the European outlet at the vanity. But you may find that it's no stronger than the hair dryer that is already provided.

[VideoTech]

The simple solution is to buy a dual voltage hair dryer and use the unlimited 220/240 circuit. Use an American to European adapter and if necessary flip the switch of the dryer to 220/240 volts. There is no wattage limit to the 220/240 volt circuit. The Spirit has European outlets.

 

Otherwise use the hair dryer installed in the cabin.

 

Your solution is the correct one, and it's what the OP has done, so she stands a good chance of having it all work.

 

I suspect that there is a wattage limit on every outlet in the cabin, U.S. or European. No end-user electrical system that I know of provides unlimited wattage at any outlet; there is always a circuit protection device of some kind that will trip if you exceed the limit set, otherwise you risk major damage to the electrical systems through something like a direct short or other overload.

 

However, it is probably true that the 220v, European outlet circuits have a higher protection limit than the 110v U.S. style outlet circuits.

[poofersgrl]

Thank you everyone for your input. I will definitely bring the converter and adapter plugs with me as well as switch the dryer. What about a surge protector? will that be ok?

[VideoTech]

Thank you everyone for your input. I will definitely bring the converter and adapter plugs with me as well as switch the dryer. What about a surge protector? will that be ok?

 

It may not handle the load of the hair dryer anyway, if that's what you were intending to use it on.

 

If you were intending to use it to protect your electronics while charging, and it makes you more comfortable to have it on the line, then by all means bring it.

 

But I do not think you really need it. The voltage on the ship is very well regulated. I have charged cell phones, laptops, and cameras with no problems on all my cruises, and never used a surge protector while doing it.

[poofersgrl]

we have several things to plug in, cell phones, ipad, alarm clock etc, hence the surge protector. lol Can I use that on the 110V plug? or will I need an adapter for that too?

[VideoTech]

we have several things to plug in, cell phones, ipad, alarm clock etc, hence the surge protector. lol Can I use that on the 110V plug? or will I need an adapter for that too?

 

It sounds like you're bringing an outlet strip with a built in surge protector. If it has a U.S. style plug on it, then yes, you can use it on the 110v plug.

[Don Haynes]

we have several things to plug in, cell phones, ipad, alarm clock etc, hence the surge protector. lol Can I use that on the 110V plug? or will I need an adapter for that too?

 

The Spirit's American 110/120 volt circuit is limited to 500 watts. Most hair dryers, the only household appliance you really have to worry about, are over 1000 watts, many as high as 1800 watts.

 

You are good to go with the 110/120 volt circuit with the American outlet for everything except a high wattage hair dryer. The Spirit was built for the Asian market and was wired with narrow gauge wiring, etc., suitable for 220/240.

 

Ohms Law applies, voltage equals current times resistance. E=IxR... Since resistance is the same with either circuit, the more voltage runs less wattage (current), or in other words less voltage runs more wattage (current)...

[Don Haynes]

The Spirit's American 110/120 volt circuit is limited to 500 watts. Most hair dryers, the only household appliance you really have to worry about, are over 1000 watts, many as high as 1800 watts.

 

You are good to go with the 110/120 volt circuit with the American outlet for everything except a high wattage hair dryer. The Spirit was built for the Asian market and was wired with narrow gauge wiring, etc., suitable for 220/240.

 

Ohms Law applies, voltage equals current times resistance. E=IxR... Since resistance is the same with either circuit, the more voltage runs less wattage (current), or in other words less voltage runs more wattage (current)...

 

The same Ohms Law revealed in another way:

E+I/R.... Voltage plus current divided by resistance. More voltage... less current. Less voltage... more current.

[VideoTech]

The same Ohms Law revealed in another way:

E+I/R.... Voltage plus current divided by resistance. More voltage... less current. Less voltage... more current.

 

*LOL* Thanks Don...I didn't want to muddy the waters with Mr. Ohm. But this is always a confusing and much discussed subject on the boards.

 

I had no idea the Spirit's 110v outlets were limited to 500w, but I knew they were not up to a large hair dryer.