Extension cords and extra credit type card

[BruceMuzz]

Most cruise lines are confiscating extension cords and power strips these days.

There have been too many mal-functions / blackouts / fires caused by cheap and defective cords and strips brought onboard.

 

You may get lucky and get them through the x-ray inspections, but why take the chance?

Every ship I have managed had plenty proper cords and power strips for loan (at no charge) to guests.

 

Leave that stuff at home and use the luggage space for your formal wear.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We have never taken an extension cord or power strip on a cruise. On our last cruise, we just took turns plugging in whatever (hubby's electric razor charger, hubby's camera battery charger, my two cell phones -- but only bothered the night before some of the ports as I wasn't going to use them except in port to call taxi's, check my email, etc.). My and my daughter's cameras worked on nonchargeable batteries, but even if not, I would have taken a turn with those too.

[FedoraDi]

Its recommended to fully deplete (or to 5% or less) any rechargable battery before charging it back up. Yes, I realize with some items like shavers you would have to run them fully down/dead as they normally dont have battery charge icons.

 

The reasoning is that its better for the battery & this includes Li-ion, Nick-cads & the other type I cant remember.

 

Got to watch out for them Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries though, nasty buggers & quite a few cellphones are using them. I used to have a Motorola Droid X2 that when I was using a hotspot app on it & it was plugged in the back case would get quite hot, almost hot enough to start melting the heavy plastic type case it was in.

I eventually got it replaced for other issues with a Samsung Galaxy S3, that one seems fine with its griffin enclosed case, doesnt appear to overheat.

 

LiPo battery fire from overcharging.

[MrsPete]

We've not found any need for an extension cord:

 

- Our point-and-shoot camera takes AA batteries. As a photography teacher, I find that the smaller cameras with rechargeable batteries are inferior to the slightly larger models, and you can always have a couple AAs with you (or buy them anywhere), whereas you can't always plug your camera into the wall for a couple hours.

 

- Electronics don't need to be recharged constantly. My Kindle lasts a good three weeks between charges -- and that's with heavy use. My daughters are typical teens who use their ipods constantly, yet I only see them in our charging area once a week at most.

 

- Things that need recharging don't all run out of juice at the same time, so it's very easy to recharge them without overcrowding . . . if you really need to charge frequently, charge the ipod during dinner, the hand-held game during the night, the ipad the next morning while you're at breakfast. This is much safer than overloading the outlet with an extension cord or doubler of any type.

 

- Do note that the in-room hair dryer doesn't require a plug. It's hardwired into a drawer, which is kind of odd . . . but it means you can plug in a curling iron while you're using the hair dryer.

 

As for the credit cad thing, I've not encountered that.

[MrsPete]

Most cruise lines are confiscating extension cords and power strips these days.

There have been too many mal-functions / blackouts / fires caused by cheap and defective cords and strips brought onboard.

When the fire inspector comes around the school to inspect, the #1 thing he's looking for is extension cords. Every year we are lectured, lectured, lectured on NO EXTENSION CORDS in the classrooms. If they're that bad on land, I can only imagine why the ship doesn't want them.

[NMLady]

No, not always the case. ;)

Arriving at one hotel I even saw an empty cig packet wedged in there. Staff had done it to keep the aircon going during a very hot spell.

 

But hotel or cruise ship, I'm happy to slot in the plastic key/seapass.

Saves me hunting for the damned thing when going out. :rolleyes: :D

 

JB :)

 

I have stayed in hotels where I use a casino slot card instead of my room key.

I have done that because I too often forgot to take my key out of the slot.

[reedl]

I love when people project their own experiences on others and are convinced that what they experience is what everyone else is also going to experience.

 

I have the following items which I bring with me on a ship.

2 iPhones

iPad

Digital Camera charger

Laptop

 

Each one of these devices is used on the cruise every day for various reasons. The phones are left on so they need charging at night. The iPad is also used to lookup stuff, and listen to music. The Camera battery is charged each night since I take a LOT of pictures. The laptop is also used every night for video.

 

So I need to charge a lot of stuff every night. I understand that a Kindle has a long battery life. But that is not my experience with other devices.

 

I bring two of the Belkin USB chargers with me which takes care of everything I need.

[navybankerteacher]

You really use TWO phones, an iPad AND a laptop "...on the cruise EVERY day..."? Why bother being on a ship?

[MrsPete]

You really use TWO phones, an iPad AND a laptop "...on the cruise EVERY day..."? Why bother being on a ship?

We were all thinking it.

[CallyCruzer]

We have always taken a Power strip with the Surge Protector - (18 cruises) a namebrand that was not cheap to make sure we had a good one. Never again! Three weeks ago we were on our cruise - cord plugged in and I was charging my Camera Battery, we had been in the room about 30 minutes - cut the lights off to sleep - when we both jumped up because we could smell something "burning". I quickly opened the door of our cabin thinking the ship was on fire - nothing in the hallway. My husband started searching our room and when he picked up our cord he almost burnt his hand it was so hot. We both felt extremely lucky that we were in the room - if we had been at a show, dinner, etc. we may have had a big fire on the ship! We had to open our veranda door to air out our cabin. Still surprised someone didn't report the smell from the hallway. We learned a valuable lesson and now understand why some cruise lines do not allow. However I then worried about all the ones I had left in my home with electrical things plugged in!