Hair appliances confiscated before boarding?

[millybess]

I’m just wondering if anyone has had any hair appliances taken away until disembarkation — flat iron, BaByliss  Miracurl, Dyson Airwrap, etc.?

 

Any input would be helpful. Thanks. 

[oskidunker]

No

[millybess]

18 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

No

Thanks. I’m hoping for more “no”s. But I do recall there were some confiscations in the past. Possibly Viking’s policies have been updated to at least include appliances that have an automatic turn-off feature. 

[miami mama]

I keep my hair appliances (flatiron and electric curlers) in my carry-on and take the bag with me as I board. No one has ever looked into my luggage as I was boarding.

[millybess]

4 minutes ago, miami mama said:

I keep my hair appliances (flatiron and electric curlers) in my carry-on and take the bag with me as I board. No one has ever looked into my luggage as I was boarding.

Thanks for that. Our carry-ons have always been searched. We once had a European multiple socket surge protector in my husband’s carry-on that was taken away and returned to our cabin the morning of disembarkation. We expected this and we had it with us because we were touring before we joined the cruise. 

[LindaS272]

I always take a curling iron and it’s an allowed item. I think there’s a list in MVJ of what’s allowed and not.

[OneSixtyToOne]

17 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

I always take a curling iron and it’s an allowed item. I think there’s a list in MVJ of what’s allowed and not.

 

From the Viking FAQ:

Prohibited Items List* for Luggage Loading
PROHIBITED ITEMS
 ø All firearms
(working, nonfiring, replicas,
imitations & air/pellet guns)
ø All forms of ammunition
ø Stun guns, Tasers or any electroshock devices
ø Cricket or archery bows & arrows; crossbows; darts; diver’s spearguns; catapults; any bats, hockey sticks, etc.
ø Axes, ice picks or cleavers
ø Knives or scissors
(if the blade is longer than 3 inches or 7.6 cm)
ø Scalpels
ø Shaving knives or blades
ø Wallpaper knives
ø Martial arts or self-defense gear (pepper spray, knuckle-dusters, rice
flails, clubs, nightsticks, batons, etc.)
ø Handcuffs
ø Illegal drugs
ø Hookahs
ø Candles or incense
ø Coffee makers
ø Flammable liquids & all explosives (lighter fluid, fireworks, flares, etc.)
ø Hazardous chemicals (bleach, paint, etc.)
ø Extension cords (USB and laptop charging cables are exempt)
ø Any electrical device that produces heat, such as:
- Clothes irons, including steam irons - Hot plates or heating kettles
- Electrical air humidifiers & refreshers - Heating pads
ø Any electrical device with a surge protector
ø Ham radios
ø Aerial drones not allowed to be operated from the ship

ALLOWABLE ITEMS
√ Cigar cutters
√ Disposable razors
√ Knitting needles
√ Crochet hooks
√ Knives or scissors
(if the blade is shorter than 3 inches or 7.6 cm)
√ Nail files & clippers
√ Tweezers
√ Syringes for medical use √ Umbrellas
√ Curling irons

 *The above list is subject to change without notice. Any such items shall be surrendered to the Ship’s Security Officer (or delegate

Edited November 28, 2022 by OneSixtyToOne

[CILCIANRQTS]

Sounds like the OP doesn’t care what the rules are, just what she can get away with…

 

[millybess]

17 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Sounds like the OP doesn’t care what the rules are, just what she can get away with…

 

Haha!  Nope. You probably misunderstood my OP. 🙄

[millybess]

In fairness to CILCIANRQTS’ it’s possible that the poster doesn’t understand that a BaByliss Miracurl is a curling iron and that the Dyson Airwrap is also a curling device — albeit, not your normal curling iron. So my question is, has anyone had these items confiscated when boarding?  

[Twitchly]

Darn … guess I’ll have to leave my hookah and wallpaper knife at home. 
 

(Trying and failing to imagine why anyone would want to bring a wallpaper knife on a cruise …)

[millybess]

18 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

Darn … guess I’ll have to leave my hookah and wallpaper knife at home. 
 

(Trying and failing to imagine why anyone would want to bring a wallpaper knife on a cruise …)

LOL. Same. Especially the hookah 🙃

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, miami mama said:

I keep my hair appliances (flatiron and electric curlers) in my carry-on and take the bag with me as I board. No one has ever looked into my luggage as I was boarding.

 

Prohibited items are rarely identified during embarkation, as they should be noted by the cabin stewards, who then submit a request for engineering to investigate.

 

The reason heat generating appliances are prohibited is the increased fire risk. Remember, on board the ship you have no 999, 000, 111 or 911 service. While the officers and crew are trained, I can provide some perspective from my first fire-fighting course in South Shields, UK. It was taught by professional firemen, who advised we learn in 4-days what they learn in about 2-years. They advised, those still alive after 4-days pass and the failure option was self explanatory. 

 

While the ships have exceptional fire containment and fixed extinguishing systems, when bringing electrical heating appliances onboard, you may wish to consider that fire is considered the greatest risk at sea for a very good reason.

[UWDawg]

During the 21/22 WC on the Star, the electrical outlet in our DV cabin bathroom allowed only plugs with 2 narrow prongs, so it would not accommodate my hair clippers which had a two prong plug with one prong wider than the other.  I’d bet that your curling iron(s) have the newer plugs with one prong wider than the other, so you wouldn’t be able to use in the cabin bathroom.  However, the outlet at the desk (with makeup mirror) did have an outlet that allowed the wide/narrow 2-prong outlet.  Just something to keep in mind.

[Peregrina651]

4 hours ago, millybess said:

We once had a European multiple socket surge protector

 

For those that don't already know, surge protectors are a major, major fire hazard when plugged into a ship's electrical system. They can explode (and most often do) and even if they don't start a fire in your cabin, they could start a fire anywhere in the electrical system. The current onboard a ship is different from that in our homes (don't ask me how because I slept through lessons) and surge protector is 100% not compatible with the ship board system.  They are so dangerous that as millybess explained theirs was confiscated for the duration of the cruise.

 

 

4 hours ago, miami mama said:

No one has ever looked into my luggage as I was boarding.

 

It was the guy on the xray machine that did the looking. Everything is x-rayed as we board the ship.

[UWDawg]

54 minutes ago, millybess said:

LOL. Same. Especially the hookah 🙃

You probably ought to tell MessyBill to leave the handcuffs at home too, even if they are fur-lined. 

[millybess]

4 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

They are so dangerous that as millybess explained theirs was confiscated for the duration of the cruise.

That is indeed correct. We never would have expected to be able to use this on the ship. 

[millybess]

5 minutes ago, UWDawg said:

You probably ought to tell MessyBill to leave the handcuffs at home too, even if they are fur-lined. 

How did you know? 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Peregrina651]

1 minute ago, UWDawg said:

During the 21/22 WC on the Star, the electrical outlet in our DV cabin bathroom allowed only plugs with 2 narrow prongs, so it would not accommodate my hair clippers which had a two prong plug with one prong wider than the other.  I’d bet that your curling iron(s) have the newer plugs with one prong wider than the other, so you wouldn’t be able to use in the cabin bathroom.  However, the outlet at the desk (with makeup mirror) did have an outlet that allowed the wide/narrow 2-prong outlet.  Just something to keep in mind.

 

The bathroom outlet is for electric shavers only. It can't handle the high wattage of curling irons and hair dryers; it will fry the outlet and possibly start a fire.

 

4 minutes ago, UWDawg said:

You probably ought to tell MessyBill to leave the handcuffs at home too, even if they are fur-lined. 

 

And the plastic toy variety, too.  Someone tried to bring them on a cruise (not Viking) as part of a costume and they were confiscated.

 

Just now, millybess said:

That is indeed correct. We never would have expected to be able to use this on the ship. 

 

True but there is always some wingnut who thinks its okay, so they confiscate them all and then they don't have to worry.

[millybess]

26 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Prohibited items are rarely identified during embarkation, as they should be noted by the cabin stewards, who then submit a request for engineering to investigate.

 

The reason heat generating appliances are prohibited is the increased fire risk. Remember, on board the ship you have no 999, 000, 111 or 911 service. While the officers and crew are trained, I can provide some perspective from my first fire-fighting course in South Shields, UK. It was taught by professional firemen, who advised we learn in 4-days what they learn in about 2-years. They advised, those still alive after 4-days pass and the failure option was self explanatory. 

 

While the ships have exceptional fire containment and fixed extinguishing systems, when bringing electrical heating appliances onboard, you may wish to consider that fire is considered the greatest risk at sea for a very good reason.

I agree with all you have said and as usual, thank you for your insight. 
 

According to the list, “curling irons” are acceptable. There are different kinds and types of curling irons. I have been in touch with Viking reps and tellus and have 6 different answers. So my question really is, has anyone had the experience of having the types of curling irons mentioned above being taken away at boarding. If that is the case, I would bring whatever is acceptable to Viking, but I can’t get a straight answer out of Viking, so I asked.the question here. 

[millybess]

30 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

True but there is always some wingnut who thinks its okay, so they confiscate them all and then they don't have to worry.

Also, to Viking’s credit, we had totally forgotten about the thing until it showed up in our cabin neatly wrapped on the morning we were (sadly) leaving the ship.

[LindaS272]

“Pepper spray, knuckle-dusters, & rice flails” are my favorites. 😹

Edited November 28, 2022 by LindaS272

[CILCIANRQTS]

9 hours ago, millybess said:

In fairness to CILCIANRQTS’ it’s possible that the poster doesn’t understand that a BaByliss Miracurl is a curling iron and that the Dyson Airwrap is also a curling device — albeit, not your normal curling iron. So my question is, has anyone had these items confiscated when boarding?  

I did not. 

To me, a flat iron is what you used to use with shirts and an ironing board.

Curl on !! 😉

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

I did not. 

To me, a flat iron is what you used to use with shirts and an ironing board.

Curl on !! 😉

And here I thought “flat iron” was a piece of steak! 🙀

Edited November 28, 2022 by LindaS272

[chengkp75]

For the OP, I will just add that, not from personal experience (balding), that there are several reports that ceramic hair straighteners, and many Dyson products (the Airwrap in particular), will not work on shipboard electrical systems.  Both problems are from the fact that these items use electronics, and those electronics are most commonly set up for a ground that is at the same potential as the neutral.

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

The bathroom outlet is for electric shavers only. It can't handle the high wattage of curling irons and hair dryers; it will fry the outlet and possibly start a fire.

No, the outlet is fuse protected, so a high wattage device will blow the fuse, to prevent a fire, but you won't be able to use the outlet until engineering comes to replace the fuse.