has anyone used a USB charger in this way?

[gatour]

7 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I just purchased this off Amazon and used it on Serenade.  It was great.  It simultaneously charge two phones, two iPads, an apple watch, a usb power charger and a Gopro battery charger all at once.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093GBM9KF?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

 

Well I can't attest the use of this device on a cruise ship, just be aware if you use it at home, you can trip a circuit breaker.

 

Several years ago my wife bought a similar device to charge her devices.  Every few days the circuit breaker would trip.  Took me a couple of weeks to figure out what was going on.  She would plug in her phone, tablet and one other thing into the usb ports.  Her laptop was plugged into normal outlet on the same circuit.  Then every few days she would use her hair dryer.  This would trip the circuit breaker.  Simple to reset, but I had to instruct her not to have all these devices plugged in at one time. 

 

Now back to the original question.  I put my phone in airplane mode and it will more than last the night.  Between the two US electrical outlets, and the Euro outlet (I bring an Euro to US adapter)  I can balance recharging my wife's devices, my devices, plus the battery pack.  I also know where to look for the European outlets in the public areas so carry along my adapter if I think it may be needed.

[Plum Happy]

10 hours ago, gatour said:

Well I can't attest the use of this device on a cruise ship, just be aware if you use it at home, you can trip a circuit breaker.

 

 

No this device will not trip a circuit breaker at home or cause any issues on the ship.  I have taken mine on several cruises for years, cuts down on arguments about who gets to charge their phones and iPads charged at the same tine.   One device along with your cords.

[pcur]

23 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I just purchased this off Amazon and used it on Serenade.  It was great.  It simultaneously charge two phones, two iPads, an apple watch, a usb power charger and a Gopro battery charger all at once.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093GBM9KF?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

 

That looks amazing!  I can't take it traveling with me, since I have committed myself to being a minimalist with carry-ons while flying.  I even replaced my trusty Bose NC headphones with Beats.  

 

I do have a flat one in my travel accessories somewhere that has one plug in the back,  3 electrical in the front, and 2 or 3 USB.  But, that's for charging on the cabin desk, while my power banks are for charging my phone near the bed.

 

I have a new adjustable bed at home that has USB ports on both sides of the frame, and THAT'S wonderful for my phone at night!!

Edited September 19, 2021 by pcur

[SRF]

5 hours ago, Heymarco said:

It’s funny because have seen more fires started from after market phone accessories than I ever have extension cords. Royal should really re-think their policy.

 

It is not extension cords that are the issue.  It is power strips with surge suppressors.

 

But instead of trying to figure out if a given device does or does not have a surge suppressor (and sometimes the ads are wrong), they just say no extension cords/power strips at all.

[SRF]

15 hours ago, gatour said:

Several years ago my wife bought a similar device to charge her devices.  Every few days the circuit breaker would trip.  Took me a couple of weeks to figure out what was going on.  She would plug in her phone, tablet and one other thing into the usb ports.  Her laptop was plugged into normal outlet on the same circuit.  Then every few days she would use her hair dryer.  This would trip the circuit breaker.  Simple to reset, but I had to instruct her not to have all these devices plugged in at one time. 

 

It was NOT that device.  It was the combination of all of the things, but mainly the hair dryer. 

 

It a whopping 60 watts maximum.  For a 110 volt circuit, that is 0.545 amps.  In the US, the smallest load circuits are 15 amp capacity.  

 

If you wife has a 1200 watt or higher hair dryer, that is 11 amps or more.

 

So blaming the charger of popping the breaker is crazy.

 

A laptop brick is about 1.2 - 1.7 amps.

[Rogueperson]

I would say it depends on the charger.  My charger is great.  Its got enough juice to charge up my Iphone 11, 5 times (theoretically) before i need to recharge it.

 

The only issue is that for safety, it has an automatic shutoff when the device its charging hits 100%.  So once your phone is charged, it will shut down and your phone will start to drain like normal.  But in airplane mode, energy usage should be minimal.

[pcur]

13 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

But in airplane mode, energy usage should be minimal.

I have one of those older model iphones that have crappy batteries.  If I fly Southwest, even in airplane mode I have a long time with my phone unplugged from a power socket.  Plus, I HATE turning it off at the end of the last flight, so I have enough power to use my Uber app, or make a  pick-up phone call/texts.  Plus, plus I like the movies I can stream on my phone on Southwest.  So, a power bank with me solves the problem for my geriatric phone battery!  😁

[knittinggirl]

We have an international charging set, so we can also utilize the european plugs.

[Psycho and Barb]

On 9/18/2021 at 4:08 AM, molly361 said:

Do they make usb chargers long enough to reach to the bed from where the electric outlets are?

We have 10 foot USB cords for our devices and have a couple of 10 foot USB extension cords.  We can reach just about any where in the cabin with 20 feet.

[Rogueperson]

3 minutes ago, pcur said:

I have one of those older model iphones that have crappy batteries.  If I fly Southwest, even in airplane mode I have a long time with my phone unplugged from a power socket.  Plus, I HATE turning it off at the end of the last flight, so I have enough power to use my Uber app, or make a  pick-up phone call/texts.  Plus, plus I like the movies I can stream on my phone on Southwest.  So, a power bank with me solves the problem for my geriatric phone battery!  😁

You probably don't have a crappy battery as opposed to an old battery.  I was running an SE into the ground.  My clumsy self dropped my phone badly where the screen shattered :(.  At this point, my SE was maybe 2 years old, but the battery life indicator had it at 80%, which is when they say you need to replace the battery.  I fell under the cheap battery replacement period after apple was caught slowing down their phones intentionally to force you to buy a new one and inadvertently damaged batteries for that effort.  So i got the battery replaced and my screen fixed and the battery was wonderful for another 2 - 3 years.

If you are really attached to the phone and don't mind paying for the battery, you can replace it and it will feel like new and probably serve you well for a couple years.  I hated getting rid of my old SE which was the my last phone to have an actual phone jack.  This non-phone jack phone is for the birds...

[molly361]

37 minutes ago, Psycho and Barb said:

We have 10 foot USB cords for our devices and have a couple of 10 foot USB extension cords.  We can reach just about any where in the cabin with 20 feet.

I never heard of a USB extension cord are they allowed onboard?  I have a 16 foot USB charging cord coming so that should make it from the vanity over to the bed 

[pcur]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

You probably don't have a crappy battery as opposed to an old battery.  I was running an SE into the ground.  My clumsy self dropped my phone badly where the screen shattered :(.  At this point, my SE was maybe 2 years old, but the battery life indicator had it at 80%, which is when they say you need to replace the battery.  I fell under the cheap battery replacement period after apple was caught slowing down their phones intentionally to force you to buy a new one and inadvertently damaged batteries for that effort.  So i got the battery replaced and my screen fixed and the battery was wonderful for another 2 - 3 years.

If you are really attached to the phone and don't mind paying for the battery, you can replace it and it will feel like new and probably serve you well for a couple years.  I hated getting rid of my old SE which was the my last phone to have an actual phone jack.  This non-phone jack phone is for the birds...

Thanks for the reminder!  Yes, it's down to 75%, and I will have the battery replaced.

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, molly361 said:

I never heard of a USB extension cord are they allowed onboard? 

Yes, they just have a female USB at the end where you'd normally have the mobile device connector. The port folks would not notice that it's an extension (vs regular cable) and there should be no issue bringing it on board.

[brillohead]

5 hours ago, molly361 said:

I never heard of a USB extension cord are they allowed onboard?  I have a 16 foot USB charging cord coming so that should make it from the vanity over to the bed 

Here's one -- https://www.amazon.com/Extension-WestCowboy-SuperSpeed-Extender-Paystation/dp/B076J9BP5T/

Nice thing is that since they're just a generic USB plug, you can use them for anything with a USB connection.... desk fan, Apple product, Android product, MP3 player, etc.

[Psycho and Barb]

On 9/20/2021 at 10:50 AM, molly361 said:

I never heard of a USB extension cord are they allowed onboard?  

Maybe extension cord wasn't the best description...It's called a USB extension cable and yes they are allowed onboard.  Here is a picture of one and you can find them on Amazon but we get ours from a local store called Five and Below...Best place to get all of our devices charging cables without breaking the bank.

 

 

  

[SRF]

On 9/20/2021 at 11:05 AM, pcur said:

I have one of those older model iphones that have crappy batteries.  If I fly Southwest, even in airplane mode I have a long time with my phone unplugged from a power socket.  Plus, I HATE turning it off at the end of the last flight, so I have enough power to use my Uber app, or make a  pick-up phone call/texts.  Plus, plus I like the movies I can stream on my phone on Southwest.  So, a power bank with me solves the problem for my geriatric phone battery!  😁

 

There are many shops that can change your battery while you wait.

 

And there are higher capacity batteries for many models.

 

Batteries are wear items.  

[pcur]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

There are many shops that can change your battery while you wait.

 

And there are higher capacity batteries for many models.

 

Batteries are wear items.  

Yes, I found one locally!  They even have online appointment scheduling to keep the traffic flow inside their shop controlled.  I appreciate that.

[luckyinpa]

if you leave a spare card in the key slot so your charger can charge all day while you are out, will the steward A. take that out. or B. even confiscate your charging brick?

[BirdTravels]

8 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

if you leave a spare card in the key slot so your charger can charge all day while you are out, will the steward A. take that out. or B. even confiscate your charging brick?

I have never had any issues with Royal.

 

NCL is more strict and stewards are told to unplug anything they find left plugged in (which is what Royal should really do). 

[brillohead]

43 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

if you leave a spare card in the key slot so your charger can charge all day while you are out, will the steward A. take that out. or B. even confiscate your charging brick?

I have never had that happen. (either option)

[fstuff1]

On 9/17/2021 at 2:07 PM, luckyinpa said:

as we are aware most cabins dont have outlets next to the bed because the people designing ships dont have cell phones that they use as clocks and want fully charged in the morning. i know extension cords arent allowed on board  so even running a phone brick to a distant outlet is not going to work

 

but i figured if i have a fully charged portable USB charger, and have it hooked up to the phone every nite, the phone should stay at 100% all night shouldn't it? yup i'm one of those folks that wakes up and HAS to know what time it is, even on vacation. 

 

edit to add i'm in CLS

 

I'm like you about time because of ship events.

 

I have a fitbit clone called Mi Band.  (costs ~$30)

v4 claims battery life of 21 days. (i have it and can verify a full charge lasts at least 18 days and can probably do 21.)

It's up to v6 now.

avoid v5 because it has battery life issues.

 

Edited October 3, 2021 by fstuff1