Microwaves Machines for guest use on HAL

[sunviking90]

51 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Not true anymore.  Plenty of Marriott’s now have microwaves and fridges.  As a former road warrior I would search for that option in my hotel search and stayed in quite a few Marriott’s with micros.  

I agree plenty of the 30+ Marriott brands have microwaves. We always stay in Marriott brands to try and maintain our perks, and have stayed in these outside of the larger cities, but I haven’t seen one recently in a full service Marriott hotel (not a Fairfield, Residence inn, etc) that has restaurants and room service. It sounds like you’ve found some. They even seem to be taking out some of the desk areas with the new renovations. As long as they leave the coffee makers alone I’m happy! I don’t need popcorn, but I do need coffee.

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

I agree plenty of the 30+ Marriott brands have microwaves. We always stay in Marriott brands to try and maintain our perks, and have stayed in these outside of the larger cities, but I haven’t seen one recently in a full service Marriott hotel (not a Fairfield, Residence inn, etc) that has restaurants and room service. It sounds like you’ve found some. They even seem to be taking out some of the desk areas with the new renovations. As long as they leave the coffee makers alone I’m happy! I don’t need popcorn, but I do need coffee.

This is way off topic but here goes - I spent so many nights in hotel rooms that I would search pictures on the internet to see what kind of specific coffee maker and brand of coffee was in a hotel room.  It was one of the reasons that I had over 30000 followers on the old TripAdvisor - just the facts, ma’am, 1. Coffee 2. Parking lot security😉

[hrhdhd]

11 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

That's no guarantee that they all have one. 

Not sure anyone said they all have one. I stated personal experience and then went to the Hilton website, where a King bed room in Memphis gets a microwave. That contradicts your "evidence." I don't have time to look at the amenities of every HGI room in every HGI hotel.

 

Suffice it to say that there are hotel rooms with microwaves. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, Torquer said:

We almost exclusively stay in the Pinnacle Suite on HAL.  When we order something from room service, there is usually something that is not as hot as we would like.  We just pop it into the microwave ourselves (there is a microwave in all PS), rather than waiting a half-hour for room service to deliver another item.  I think they are very useful and should be in more cabins.

We seem to have some contradictions here.  Microwaves are not safe on ships, but HAL has them in Pinnacle Suites.  Microwaves are only in cheap hotel rooms, so does that make HAL Pinnacle Suites a Motel 6 experience?  There seems to be a lot more evidence than some theories can accommodate!

 

BTW electric tea kettles are a fire hazard and banned on most ships – except when said ships sail out of UK ports when magically tea kettles appear in every cabin!

[Mary229]

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

BTW electric tea kettles are a fire hazard and banned on most ships – except when said ships sail out of UK ports when magically tea kettles appear in every cabin!

They once were but about 30 years ago they invented the kettle which shuts itself off, maybe in another 20 years HAL will discover those along with true streaming tv, a website that works and other new fangled inventions. 😁

 

 

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We seem to have some contradictions here.  Microwaves are not safe on ships, but HAL has them in Pinnacle Suites.  Microwaves are only in cheap hotel rooms, so does that make HAL Pinnacle Suites a Motel 6 experience?  There seems to be a lot more evidence than some theories can accommodate!

 

BTW electric tea kettles are a fire hazard and banned on most ships – except when said ships sail out of UK ports when magically tea kettles appear in every cabin!

 

I'll accept an electric kettle is an additional risk, but I consider it in the same category of risk as electric hair dryers. From a risk analysis perspective, every electrical device is a potential risk. I'll suggest lithium batteries have more frequency of causing fires than electric kettles, but they aren't banned.

 

The risk of using electric kettles is mitigated by providing models with automatic shut-offs. I doubt if you can purchase a kettle these days without an auto-shut off. Yes, the auto shut-off could potentially fail, but having used a kettle multiple times daily for about 60 years, I have never experienced a failure.

 

Another difference between a microwave and kettle is that some products heated in a microwave can actually ignite. A kettle heats water, creating steam, which is actually an effective fire extinguishing medium. This is why the Hi-Fog type fire extinguishing systems are so effective, very small water droplets transform to steam at a ratio of about 1:1,700, with the huge volume of steam extinguishing the fire by cooling.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, Mary229 said:

maybe in another 20 years HAL will discover those along with true streaming tv, a website that works and other new fangled inventions. 😁

 

No!!!!!  HAL pax do not like new-fangled inventions. 

 

Perhaps we should go back to no TVs in cabins and communicating with HAL customer service via written correspondence, preferably typed on a typewriter.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

20 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

preferably typed on a typewriter

Oh Please!!!  Handwritten.  Cursive only.  

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Oh Please!!!  Handwritten.  Cursive only.  

And none of those devilish ball point pens.

[Host Jazzbeau]

57 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

And none of those devilish ball point pens.

[chengkp75]

7 hours ago, Mary229 said:

They once were but about 30 years ago they invented the kettle which shuts itself off, maybe in another 20 years HAL will discover those along with true streaming tv, a website that works and other new fangled inventions. 😁

 

 

The most frequently failed item on a coffee maker, tea kettle, or steamer (anything with a water tank and heater) is the "auto-off" switch.  Mr. Coffee almost went out of business a few decades ago because of lawsuits over fires caused by their defective auto-off switches.  The kettles and coffee makers that cruise lines allow in cabins are taken out of service every six months for inspection and testing, which is a whole lot of man hours, which is why most lines restrict the numbers onboard.  I remember one coffee maker on NCL that went up in flames while it was plugged in the electrician's shop for testing.

 

As for microwaves, you can put non-microwavable glass products in the microwave, and have them explode, or metal of certain configurations can cause sparking and cause the magnetron to fail, possibly causing a fire.  Also, how many times have people put food in a microwave, not knowing its wattage, and burned food (especially popcorn), which would then trigger the fire alarm, and cause the crew to respond to the alarm.  

 

As Andy says, it is risk analysis, done by the cruise lines' insurance clubs, that determine whether they allow kettles in all cabins or not.  Lines that allow kettles in UK cruises likely have policies that carry a higher premium than those that don't.

 

Hair care appliances are accepted by the insurance underwriters as acceptable simply because of the detriment to the cruise lines' business if they didn't allow them.

 

As for a "true streaming TV", I would hate to see what the cruise fare would be to cover the bandwidth for a thousand TV's on satellite internet.

Edited October 27, 2023 by chengkp75

[OlsSalt]

HAL hair dryers do require a positive action on-switch to keep them operating,  and therefore cannot not run unattended. Passenger curling irons - another matter. 

 

I once blew out an electric hair curler set plugged into the wall,  when I inadvertently let my curling iron rest on the hair  plastic curler wireing and it melted down to the bare wires. Ouch!

[Mary229]

36 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The most frequently failed item on a coffee maker, tea kettle, or steamer (anything with a water tank and heater) is the "auto-off" switch.  Mr. Coffee almost went out of business a few decades ago because of lawsuits over fires caused by their defective auto-off switches.  The kettles and coffee makers that cruise lines allow in cabins are taken out of service every six months for inspection and testing, which is a whole lot of man hours, which is why most lines restrict the numbers onboard.  I remember one coffee maker on NCL that went up in flames while it was plugged in the electrician's shop for testing.

 

As for microwaves, you can put non-microwavable glass products in the microwave, and have them explode, or metal of certain configurations can cause sparking and cause the magnetron to fail, possibly causing a fire.  Also, how many times have people put food in a microwave, not knowing its wattage, and burned food (especially popcorn), which would then trigger the fire alarm, and cause the crew to respond to the alarm.  

 

As Andy says, it is risk analysis, done by the cruise lines' insurance clubs, that determine whether they allow kettles in all cabins or not.  Lines that allow kettles in UK cruises likely have policies that carry a higher premium than those that don't.

 

Hair care appliances are accepted by the insurance underwriters as acceptable simply because of the detriment to the cruise lines' business if they didn't allow them.

 

As for a "true streaming TV", I would hate to see what the cruise fare would be to cover the bandwidth for a thousand TV's on satellite internet.

One method is as RCCL does, as I mentioned earlier, is the rental method.  That pays for any man hours and any inspections 

[AmazedByCruising]

17 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

As for a "true streaming TV", I would hate to see what the cruise fare would be to cover the bandwidth for a thousand TV's on satellite internet.

 

Hi Chief, 

I think there's a solution for that, by setting up a Content Delivery Server on board the ship. Most people will watch more or less the same content, so the on shore server can redirect the TV or browser to the ship's server.

[Mary229]

9 minutes ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

Hi Chief, 

I think there's a solution for that, by setting up a Content Delivery Server on board the ship. Most people will watch more or less the same content, so the on shore server can redirect the TV or browser to the ship's server.

Streaming simply is done through apps.  It is done worldwide in hotels and I doubt the bandwidth used is more than a blip than it is now.  With new satellites and new services internet is not as valuable as once was.  The only reason it is costly anywhere is it is an unregulated utility.  

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Streaming simply is done through apps.  It is done worldwide in hotels and I doubt the bandwidth used is more than a blip than it is now.  With new satellites and new services internet is not as valuable as once was.  The only reason it is costly anywhere is it is an unregulated utility.  

Streaming at hotels is done via land line wired/fiber service, not satellite.  And there is a vast difference between satellite internet to your home as opposed to a moving ship at sea.  While I agree that internet has gone down in cost over the years, and even to a degree the same at sea, it is still very costly and technically difficult to provide a vast amount of bandwidth to a moving (and not just moving but rolling or pitching) antenna at sea.  Even with the new constellations of satellites over the oceans, you still have limited bandwidth.

[Blackduck59]

I may be making an unpopular observation here , but if you really need streaming TV 24/7 then maybe don't cruise? I would prefer to see resources spent on improving the live entertainment on board. I can watch TV at home.

[wdw1972]

8 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I may be making an unpopular observation here , but if you really need streaming TV 24/7 then maybe don't cruise? I would prefer to see resources spent on improving the live entertainment on board. I can watch TV at home.

One reason I usually don't cruise with my husband is he'd want to lay on the bed and watch tv most of the cruise.  I don't want the damn tv on at all.  If your priority is watching tv, then I agree - stay the heck home. I don't want to see it - I don't want to hear it.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

One reason I usually don't cruise with my husband is he'd want to lay on the bed and watch tv most of the cruise.  I don't want the damn tv on at all.  If your priority is watching tv, then I agree - stay the heck home. I don't want to see it - I don't want to hear it.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Sorry but I won’t stay home.  Sorry to burst your bubble.   

[wdw1972]

4 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Sorry but I won’t stay home.  Sorry to burst your bubble.   

You don't have to stay home - you're not in my stateroom 😉  In fact, if you're in your stateroom watching tv all cruise, you won't be taking up a seat in any of the public venues, so that's a good thing too.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[ronrythm]

13 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Streaming simply is done through apps.  It is done worldwide in hotels and I doubt the bandwidth used is more than a blip than it is now.  With new satellites and new services internet is not as valuable as once was.  The only reason it is costly anywhere is it is an unregulated utility.  

Sorry, but you are totally incorrect about the bandwidth requirements for streaming. It is quite simply huge compared to all other network usages. There’s a reason streaming is the first thing throttled on congested networks. The attached image shows streaming compared to other media uses. Remember 1 Megabit/sec = 1000 kilobits/sec. On a ship you are in quite a different situation than at home. I doubt at home you are sharing one connection with several thousand other people. 

[Mary229]

4 hours ago, ronrythm said:

Sorry, but you are totally incorrect about the bandwidth requirements for streaming. It is quite simply huge compared to all other network usages. There’s a reason streaming is the first thing throttled on congested networks. The attached image shows streaming compared to other media uses. Remember 1 Megabit/sec = 1000 kilobits/sec. On a ship you are in quite a different situation than at home. I doubt at home you are sharing one connection with several thousand other people. 

Tv streaming is comparable to zoom and that is not a huge number.  The ships now have the ability to throttle and could (and do) do so when needed.  Like coffee pots they certainly are happy to make it available if you are willing to pay  and do so NOW.  I don’t mind paying I just would like the ability and I would like that ability on their TV.  Let’s be clear we can (and I do) stream on my iPad now while on ship, I just want it on TV via app - the app is safe for the network as it does not require compromising the network safety.  They install the app, I sign in with my account.  Hotels worldwide use this system 

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mary229

[Don Kehote]

On 10/29/2023 at 1:54 AM, Mary229 said:

Tv streaming is comparable to zoom and that is not a huge number.  

I'd like ANY sort of source on that claim.  Even a bad one.  

[Heidi13]

On 10/28/2023 at 10:54 PM, Mary229 said:

Tv streaming is comparable to zoom and that is not a huge number.  

 

The bandwidth required when streaming content on a TV is entirely dependent on the broadcast resolution of the source content. When I stream 4K live football matches, that requires way more bandwidth than Zoom.

[Mary229]

You gentlemen are missing the fact that we already stream video content. The TV limitations control resolution and also can be controlled by app setting. The apps settings are controlled when the app is installed on the TV and that would be done by the ship not by the passengers.   This is managed worldwide by hotels already , HAL would not be reinventing the wheel. 
 

as to zoom vs video. https://www.reviews.org/internet-service/how-much-data-does-zoom-use/