Can I Bring My Power Strip on the Cruise Line?

What is the best way to enjoy travel while heading towards your destination? Cruise could be a good choice if you are not in a hurry. Enjoying sunshine and winds on the deck during the daytime and entertaining yourself in the pub or casino at night, you can do whatever you do on the land. Sounds good? But beware when you are packing your luggage for a cruise, especially with the power strip. Owing to the different wiring on the cruise ship, power strips, particularly those surge-protected ones, are prohibited onboard since they may lead to possible hazards. But the power strip is a must for many people who have a lot of devices with them like hair drier, laptop, iPad, etc. This demand would even increase when you are traveling with your friends or family as in most cases, the room on the ship is built with insufficient outlets for multiple devices for cost efficiency and safety reasons. So here comes our topic: can I bring my power strip or an extension cord onboard a cruise line?

For years cruise ships weren't particularly worried about whether or not you have extension cords or power strips with you as long as it didn't have a surge protector built in. That might sound kind of weird because at home the surge protector is what protects you from surging electrical currents. That is because the ship is wired a little bit differently. On the ship, the surge protector could be faulty if there's a wiring issue and it may not protect you the way it's designed to and trigger fire hazards, therefore it's become a really big concern in the cruise industry. That’s why the ships always say: no surge protectors. Lately, power strips are getting confiscated as people get on ships and that leaves people with no way of charging any of their electronics like phones, pads, cameras, and laptops. Below we will go through all the major cruise lines and tell you which ones prohibited power strips these days and which ones you can still bring them on.

Royal Caribbean. Although in the past Royal Caribbean did allow bringing powers strip onboard, they are no longer allowed now. So if you take a power strip or an extension cord in your luggage it will most likely get confiscated. Lately it stated in their policies of prohibited items that you are not allowed to bring them on board. With or without surge protection, power strips are definitely out of your packing list if you are going to onboard Royal Caribbean. Instead of going through the hassles of getting them back at the end of your cruise, it is better to leave them at home and you will be safe next.

Celebrity. Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean and they kind of follow that same policy of prohibited items as well. Although celebrity does state that if you need an extension cord for anything like that, especially if you need it for any kind of medical device like a CPAP or something, they will provide that for you. All you have to do is ask either prior to your cruise or you can go to guest services once on board and enquire there. Since celebrity is owned by Royal, I'm sure on Royal you can do a similar thing. You can request one especially for a medical device.

Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL). NCL seems to be following suit with Royal Caribbean they're basically banning bringing any kind of power ship or extension cord onboard their ship. It falls under rule number 21 about the prohibited items on the ship. You can't bring in anything that will plug-in and create heat or heat up. There are people that are reporting, probably with any cruise line, that they have been able to sneak something on board by putting it in your luggage or tucking it away your carry-on. But don't be surprised if you lose it on your way out to the ship.

Another cruise line where power strips and extension cords are prohibited is Disney Cruise Lines. They don't allow them either. If they find that in your carry-on or even your check luggage, they will take that away so save yourself the hassle and just leave those things at home.

Carnival Cruise Lines. Now Carnival is yet to begin confiscating them as you get on the ship. They are still allowing you to bring extension cords or power strips on the ground that they do not have surge detectors and in good condition. It is recommended to bring it in in your carry-on so that it can be inspected at the time you get on if someone wants to take a look at it. Remember if they see it in your check luggage they may pull your luggage aside, open it up and inspect it, which is just kind of a drag having somebody come in and shovel all your luggage when you're waiting for it to arrive at your room. So Carnival it's okay as long as no surge protector. But Just put it in your carry-on bag.

Princess Cruises. Princess does still allow power strips and multi-plug adapters and extension cords on board as long as they are in a good safe condition and are used properly, also, no surge protector on them.

Another Cruise Line that is still allowing these things is Holland America.Holland America still allow them as well as long as they are safe to use. Once again we do suggest you put them in your carry-on for bringing them onto the ship.

There are a couple of different cruise lines that have some different ideas on what's going to be safe or not. It is highly recommended that when you go on your cruise, double-check the information offered by the officials as it changes pretty quickly in the cruise industry and you never know when someone's going to decide to allow or not allow something going forward on their cruise ships. Once again if you have any kind of medical need where you need an extra power outlet extension cord, please contact the special department on the cruise line prior to your cruise or if not, going to guest services once you are on board. They will provide you with that extension cord you need for your device.

So how can I make sure I stay plugged in when I'm at sea? We have phones that need to keep charged, and iPads for the kids and their little video games, cameras, lights, microphones... so many different things you need to plug in. A perfect solution that you should be able to use on any cruise line, as opposed to getting an extension cord or power ship to plug your device into, is just a USB adapter that comes with multiple USB ports. These USB ports should be okay to use by any cruise line and they're easy to use. You can plug in multiple items at a time and make sure that everything is charged. Also as I mentioned above, if you can get your hands on a converter or adapter plug, that will maximize the number of outlets in your cabin.

Now finding a place to plug in on some of the newer or brand-new cruise ships out there may not be as much as an issue unless if you're going on a ship that's a few years old. A lot of the newer ones have multiple plug-in areas, such as USB docks and things like that. But when you get onto a little older ship there's usually like one main plug. A converter adapter or an outlet extender can offer more access, which is also a great help for you.

Hope this blog can be a help for you before you get on your cruise. If you have any questions related to our products, just feel free to contact our helpful customer service and we are always ready to help.