Non-surge protected power boards

[KatyaM]

We are sailing on Crown Princess and Island Princess out of Southampton in August/September 2020. We have only sailed on 2 Princess Cruises before, both out of Sydney, Australia. Both times, our non-surge protected power board was confiscated, notwithstanding that the FAQ suggests that power boards are ok, provided that they are non-surge protected. Is there a practice applied in the UK concerning non-surge protected power boards? If so, is there a particular type (which accepts Australian plugs) which is acceptable and therefore not liable to be confiscated?

[Buckeye10640]

Cant speak to sailing out of UK or Australia as we have sailed from US only.  We pack our non-surge protector power strip in a carry-on that we keep with  us. We bave never been questioned  Princess (or NCL or Carnival).  But....my daughter packed one of our same power strips in her large bag that was checked in with Carnival and it was confiscated.  Made me wonder if we are better keeping it in the carryon with us. 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Buckeye10640

[KatyaM]

Thanks Buckeye10640. Unfortunately we had it in our carry-on, in the misguided belief that we could start plugging things in before our checked bags arrived! My next plan was to pack it in the checked bags, but from your post that looks like it's a no go too! I wonder if it's an Aussie thing? Interesting if the UK is different and it's also a British Commonwealth thing?

[Colo Cruiser]

In ports where security is conducted by local private personnel in the terminal then you are at their mercy.

If it looks anything like it is or could be a surge protected device it can be taken.

 

 

[KatyaM]

Thanks for that!

[Ken the cruiser]

So if we bring a 1-2 foot cord with a 2 plug adapter on the end of it, without even a hint of it being a surge protector, that would be OK? Here's a picture of one.

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[fredflint]

if you get a 2 prong power strip it cannot be surge protected or cause an issue as there is not ground I bring 3 of the basic strips with 3-4 outlets on the end

 

https://www.amazon.com/Cordinate-Designer-3-Outlet-Extension-Braided/dp/B07PQXDML6/ref=pd_sbs_23_t_0/147-3044092-7320318?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07FF6J952&pd_rd_r=0ea4a872-b1be-46d4-8a55-d684a41eca83&pd_rd_w=d11IS&pd_rd_wg=HhN2y&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=MQ90P75PAMARRX4MG2TF&refRID=MQ90P75PAMARRX4MG2TF&th=1

 

Can only really speak for  US outlets but I assume they make similar for other countries.  I run one from where the outlet is to my side of the bed then another under the bed to the other side and plug all of our stuff in.  Have cruised with them in my carryon on Celebrity, Norwegian and RCCL, in 2021 will be adding Princess to the list.

 

 

Like this 

[fredflint]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So if we bring a 1-2 foot cord with a 2 plug adapter on the end of it, without even a hint of it being a surge protector, that would be OK? Here's a picture of one.

 

I would only bring 2 prong cords pretty much everything I am charging is USB based and they are all 2 prong.

[Ken the cruiser]

My DW is on top of it. She just showed me what she recently bought to take on the cruises to plug our USB-enabled devices into. I believe this should be sufficient as it has 3 USB inlets and a 2 prong plug. Do you all agree?

Edited December 14, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[Haboob]

Two simple facts:

• Not all surge protected power strips are marked as "surge protected", and at least one brand that was marked as "cruise ship safe - Underwriters' Laboratories Marine 1449" did have surge protection. 

• You cannot tell if a power strip is surge protected without opening it up and looking to see if it has any MOVs or not -- not that the average cruise ship employee would recognize a MOV.

 

If it looks like a power strip, don't be surprised if a cruise line "errs on the side of caution".  Get an extension cord that looks like one.  Or a power cube like Ken's.

 

PS: Princess mounts it's 110v outlets very close together.  Plugging in that power cube will block the adjacent 110v outlet.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Haboob

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So if we bring a 1-2 foot cord with a 2 plug adapter on the end of it, without even a hint of it being a surge protector, that would be OK? Here's a picture of one.

 

Yes. I should have added to my post to just bring a cord similar to this. Plugs only.

[Coffeeluvr05]

We just brought one of these on the Sky and had no issues:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OQ19QYA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

[brisalta]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

My DW is on top of it. She just showed me what she recently bought to take on the cruises to plug our USB-enabled devices into. I believe this should be sufficient as it has 3 USB inlets and a 2 prong plug. Do you all agree?

 

Not sure which ship you are going to be on but Princess has been retrofitting the ships with USB outlets. They ate in the base of the lamps in the state rooms.

[Gwendy]

Boarded Sea Princess at Southampton back to Australia, had power board with 3 points and 4 USB ports, purchased at Aldi in Australia, no problems at all.  

Few years ago boarded an RCI ship in Singapore with standard power board, confiscated.

Depends on day and who is checking, both times boards were in my carry on.

Edit Sea Princess boarded in Dover.  In October boarded Queen Elizabeth in Southampton, same board no problems again.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Gwendy

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, KatyaM said:

We are sailing on Crown Princess and Island Princess out of Southampton in August/September 2020. We have only sailed on 2 Princess Cruises before, both out of Sydney, Australia. Both times, our non-surge protected power board was confiscated, notwithstanding that the FAQ suggests that power boards are ok, provided that they are non-surge protected. Is there a practice applied in the UK concerning non-surge protected power boards? If so, is there a particular type (which accepts Australian plugs) which is acceptable and therefore not liable to be confiscated?

We've done several Princess (and other cruise line) cruises using the Aldi Bauhn Adaptor Kit which is a mini powerboard with two Australian sockets and four USB ports. It is only rated for 3.1 amps so don't load it up with too many devices. We've never had it confiscated and we always take it on in our carry-ons. It's only available when Aldi has it's travel specials, and is $19.95. I keep the "manual" in the supplied carrycase just in case they try to claim it's a power board. 😋 

[KatyaM]

Thanks for all the responses - they have been very helpful! Especially pleased to hear the Aldi Bauhn Adaptor Kit has passed muster with Princess in the past - that is the one that we have used in the past, but ditched it for the last couple of cruises because we were taking an extra electrical appliance. Will dig it out again for 2020!

Also, to clarify, I have just re-checked the power board confiscated by Princess in Sydney last year and was surprised to find it was actually a surge protected one - therefore despite my surprise at the time, the security guys in Sydney were acting consistently with the information provided by Princess on their website. My bad!

K

[thinfool]

I have followed the various discussions about surge suppressors over the years.  It is a serious matter.  Following up a previous post this morning I found this....

 

There is no official Underwriters Laboratory standard for Marine Surge Protective Devices despite numerous retailers advertising “UL Marine 1449"

 

Found on this site US Coast Guard site... https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/TVNCOE/Documents/SafetyAlerts/SurgeProtectiveDevices.pdf?ver=2017-08-11-142750-690

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Not sure which ship you are going to be on but Princess has been retrofitting the ships with USB outlets. They ate in the base of the lamps in the state rooms.

That's good to know. We'll be on the Island Princess next month. If nothing else, it doesn't take up much space in the carry-on bag just in case.

[azbirdmom]

14 hours ago, KatyaM said:

We are sailing on Crown Princess and Island Princess out of Southampton in August/September 2020. We have only sailed on 2 Princess Cruises before, both out of Sydney, Australia. Both times, our non-surge protected power board was confiscated, notwithstanding that the FAQ suggests that power boards are ok, provided that they are non-surge protected. Is there a practice applied in the UK concerning non-surge protected power boards? If so, is there a particular type (which accepts Australian plugs) which is acceptable and therefore not liable to be confiscated?

 

I boarded the Majestic in Sydney in October and had no problem with this  one:  https://www.amazon.com/NTONPOWER-Portable-Protector-Outlets-Charging/dp/B01LZERKKX/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1510946464&sr=8-3&keywords=power+strip+%2Bcruise

 

I don't know if you can find something like this with Australian plugs but if you can it definitely passes easily through security there.

[Ken the cruiser]

As a side note, we were on the Maasdam last month on a 40 day cruise and a very upset lady was in her doorway talking with another lady in the hall how she had no power in her cabin. We later talked with our cabin steward and he said her cabin was in a group of cabins whose power got knocked out by a pax that overloaded the circuit.

 

I guess there is reason for worry when someone brings on a 4/5 plug power strip and plugs a bunch of stuff into it. Did I mention those cabins only have one single slot plug-in. Luckily we had a HAL approved power strip they had in place which they had an extention cord plugged into for the frig. 

[fredflint]

I wonder what they were using a hair dryer and curling iron and kettle?  

I pretty much just charge stuff so it is tablets and phones along with a small laptop probably 200 watts or less total.

[hm9912]

This one has always worked for me

IMG_3761 by

 

Howard

[mellon1]

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

My DW is on top of it. She just showed me what she recently bought to take on the cruises to plug our USB-enabled devices into. I believe this should be sufficient as it has 3 USB inlets and a 2 prong plug. Do you all agree?

I have that exact same one!  No problem, but I did have it in my carryon.  I now bought one that is a little longer and it includes 3 sockets for my hair dryer/curling iron.  

[Haboob]

Understand, there are two issues here.

 

A minor one: Will the cruiseline (rightly or wrongly) confiscate the item?

 

A major one: Will this be the voyage my surge protected device catches fire?

[Ken the cruiser]

23 minutes ago, fredflint said:

I wonder what they were using a hair dryer and curling iron and kettle?  

I pretty much just charge stuff so it is tablets and phones along with a small laptop probably 200 watts or less total.

Whatever it was, I’m sure they made it disappear into a suitcase as soon as they realized they blew the circuit. And when maintenance came, they innocently said, “what happened? The power just all of the sudden went out.”