To whomever recommended placing a bucket of ice in the chiller:

[teddie]

---it really works! Had to adjust the shelves to permit the door to close.  Placed a fresh bucket of ice uncovered daily, and this kept waterbottles and food cold!

 

Teddie

[Lorey2007]

I'll have to remember to do that.

[Wineaux007]

The chiller/refrig on Grandeur kept water and other beverages chilled.  Can't imagine fitting an ice bucket in there.  It kept beer at about 45 degrees.  I just asked for a champagne bucket of ice and used it to finish off my beer that was already chilled to the cold temp I wanted it.   I kept my opened bloody mary mix in it for 7-10 days, and it never spoiled.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Wineaux007

[teddie]

2 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

The chiller/refrig on Grandeur kept water and other beverages chilled.  Can't imagine fitting an ice bucket in there.  It kept beer at about 45 degrees.  I just asked for a champagne bucket of ice and used it to finish off my beer that was already chilled to the cold temp I wanted it.   I kept my opened bloody mary mix in it for 7-10 days, and it never spoiled.

Well, it DID fit, with plenty of room for bottles etc.  🙂

[Tlbecker1]

34 minutes ago, teddie said:

Well, it DID fit, with plenty of room for bottles etc.  🙂

We also did this on the Grandeur and it does work. 😀

[Wineaux007]

49 minutes ago, teddie said:

Well, it DID fit, with plenty of room for bottles etc.  🙂

If you say it DID fit, OK.  I just didn't find the need as it kept my beer, bloody mary mix, and wife's diet cranberry chilled.  I just needed to add my beer later to my ice bucket to keep it extra,extra chilled to my liking.

[teddie]

Just now, Wineaux007 said:

If you say it DID fit, OK.  I just didn't find the need as it kept my beer, bloody mary mix, and wife's diet cranberry chilled.  I just needed to add my beer later to my ice bucket to keep it extra,extra chilled to my liking.

Glad that worked for you 🙂

[Wineaux007]

3 minutes ago, teddie said:

Glad that worked for you 🙂

It was chilled enough that I wouldn't have to find the need or even think of putting an ice bucket inside.  Maybe some coolers on other ships didn't work as well as the one I had.  It seemed my cooler was  closer to a real refrigerator.   Maybe it was.  🙄  

[Scottdalfonso]

11 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

If you say it DID fit, OK.  I just didn't find the need as it kept my beer, bloody mary mix, and wife's diet cranberry chilled.  I just needed to add my beer later to my ice bucket to keep it extra,extra chilled to my liking.

Same...i kept reading how they didn't chill. I had 6 huge glass water bottles waiting in the room when we got on, put 3 of them in there and by  the next morning they were pretty cold. Like, condensation on the bottles and chilled water, cold. Way more than I thought it would do. I was able to keep a small milk and yogurt in there pretty much at all times, as well and they were just fine. 

[DrewFoundLander]

Thanks OP for the tip, I've had a few stateroom cooler/fridges that were about as cold as my suitcase so this is a good hack for next time I have that issue 🙂

[RobInMN]

People are going to have different experiences on different ships and different rooms, even different weather. From other threads, people have reported that newer ships may have actual refrigerators, and not just coolers. From what I understand, if you have a cooler, they can not cool beyond 'x' (35F??) degrees lower than the ambient temperature. If your cooler is in a cabinet, the heat is contained, making the ambient temperature higher. If you open the cabinet door, you can lower the ambient temperature and therefore lower the cooler's inside temperature. I think age, cleanliness of the heat transfer mechanisms could also affect your experience. Wonder if humidity has an effect?

[HappyTexan44]

Another gem to add to my cruise advice notes.  

I plan on making Sangria in my room and the flavors need to meld while chilled.   I'd planned on using ice buckets if we only got a cooler.   But this will be much better, and the ice will last longer.   

 

[Jimbo]

45 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

People are going to have different experiences on different ships and different rooms, even different weather. From other threads, people have reported that newer ships may have actual refrigerators, and not just coolers. From what I understand, if you have a cooler, they can not cool beyond 'x' (35F??) degrees lower than the ambient temperature. If your cooler is in a cabinet, the heat is contained, making the ambient temperature higher. If you open the cabinet door, you can lower the ambient temperature and therefore lower the cooler's inside temperature. I think age, cleanliness of the heat transfer mechanisms could also affect your experience. Wonder if humidity has an effect?

Also if you can when you first get into your cabin the 1st day, see if you can reach the plug in the back of the fridge and unplug it. Leave the fridge door open for a few hours and defrost the fridge. Granted you may have a damp carpet for a little bit after the ice melts off the coilers but then after plugging the fridge back in the fridge will work much better for you the rest of the week.

 

Most of the time these fridge/coolers are iced up because they run constantly closed up inside that box cabinet.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Jimbo

[allyfree]

we take ziplock bags and fill those with ice ... much more flexible than an ice bucket!

[Big_G]

10 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Also if you can when you first get into your cabin the 1st day, see if you can reach the plug in the back of the fridge and unplug it. Leave the fridge door open for a few hours and defrost the fridge. Granted you may have a damp carpet for a little bit after the ice melts off the coilers but then after plugging the fridge back in the fridge will work much better for you the rest of the week.

 

Most of the time these fridge/coolers are iced up because they run constantly closed up inside that box cabinet.

 

You may just be right. After years of sailing with nonworking refrigerators, out of the blue my wife asks the cabin attendant to call maintenance for the refrigerator on our Serenade back in November. Much to my surprise they fixed it. We were out when they came so I have no idea what the did to it.

[Wineaux007]

1 hour ago, allyfree said:

we take ziplock bags and fill those with ice ... much more flexible than an ice bucket!

Funny you should  bring that up.  On Royal they have oil cans (25oz Fosters).  I bring a foldable plastic cooler on board.  When I order a Fosters, about 1/2 way thru, it starts to warm up, so I put the Fosters between two ziplock bags filled with ice in the cooler after I open it.  Keeps it nice and cold. 

[Wineaux007]

11 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Also if you can when you first get into your cabin the 1st day, see if you can reach the plug in the back of the fridge and unplug it. Leave the fridge door open for a few hours and defrost the fridge. Granted you may have a damp carpet for a little bit after the ice melts off the coilers but then after plugging the fridge back in the fridge will work much better for you the rest of the week.

 

Most of the time these fridge/coolers are iced up because they run constantly closed up inside that box cabinet.

I'll have to check that out.

[Cruise5life]

I use a lot of ice during my cruise.    Don’t drink.  Just drink water or a crystal lite pack in water.     
And I always put my ice bucket in the cooler.   Been doing it for years.    
stays frozen longer than just leaving on the desktop. And add water bottles in the cooler keeps everything cooler.      
just did this last month on my 29 days at sea.       

[brillohead]

Some ships have the fridge/cooler door attached to the cabinet door, so the fridge opens when you open the cabinet.  I think some of those aren't properly aligned, so the door might not be closing all the way when you think it is.  I've noticed in some rooms I have to give the cabinet door a bit of a nudge to make the fridge door close completely. 

I've also had rooms where I placed a folded washcloth on the top of the cabinet door to allow the cabinet to vent the hot air.  I pointed it out to my room attendant (so he wouldn't remove the washcloth) and he remarked the next day that he was going to use that trick for his other passengers, because it made a big difference in the fridge temp.  

It just really depends on the ship, the room, the brand of cooler, and the ventilation of the cabinet.  There is no one "right answer".  Plenty of my room fridges were just barely above freezing, and I've even had at least one that did freeze items in a certain corner of the fridge.

 

[ReneeFLL]

On 2/14/2023 at 8:25 PM, teddie said:

---it really works! Had to adjust the shelves to permit the door to close.  Placed a fresh bucket of ice uncovered daily, and this kept waterbottles and food cold!

 

Teddie

I know I mentioned keeping the ice bucket in the frig, but that was so the ice would last longer. 

[CntPAcruiser]

I may not have been the only one to have mentioned this tip, but it was what we did on our last cruise, in part because the cooler wasn't cooling, but also because it made more noise than was acceptable. We just unplugged it and kept it cold with a bucket full of ice. Eventually our cabin attendant just put it inside for us even. 

 

The old method of cracking open the cabinet for more airflow hasn't worked for us in years--I think they have a completely different type of cooler now, or at least one the ships we've sailed more recently.

[keishashadow]

Can you request a ‘real’ refrigerator to keep RX meds cold or are we stuck with the one in the cabin & hoping it will work good enough?

 

Booked on Adventure, Independence & Allure this year.

[HappyTexan44]

If you tell special needs that you need a fridge, this is a photo of what was given.   This isn't my photo.   I copy/pasted this from a different thread.  

[teddie]

2 hours ago, keishashadow said:

Can you request a ‘real’ refrigerator to keep RX meds cold or are we stuck with the one in the cabin & hoping it will work good enough?

 

Booked on Adventure, Independence & Allure this year.

Yes. We emailed special needs in advance of our cruise. It’s about as big as a lunchbox as the picture above shows. Did the job for our meds. Kept it on the floor near the desk. 
 

teddie 

[John&LaLa]

On 2/14/2023 at 7:40 PM, Wineaux007 said:

The chiller/refrig on Grandeur kept water and other beverages chilled.  Can't imagine fitting an ice bucket in there.  It kept beer at about 45 degrees.  I just asked for a champagne bucket of ice and used it to finish off my beer that was already chilled to the cold temp I wanted it.   I kept my opened bloody mary mix in it for 7-10 days, and it never spoiled.

 

Where do you keep your vodka?