You can't bring a multi-plug on a Royal Caribbean cruise.
The cruise line made a change to its list of prohibited items on its website, which specifically restricts passengers from bringing "Extension Cords and Multi-Plug Outlets/ Power Strips," Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
The old policy prohibited: "Electrical Extension Cords, including power strips/surge protected strips".
The updated verbiage is: "Extension Cords and Multi-Plug Outlets/ Power Strips".
The change is not allowing multi-plug outlets, as power strips and surge protectors have never been allowed.
The updated policy has resulted in an outcry of concern among cruisers who worry it will have a dramatic impact on their experience given how few power outlets a typical cruise ship cabin has.
On older cruise ships, there might be only one or two power outlets in the cabin. Moreover, the outlets that do exist are usually near the vanity and not near the bed.
Only with newer cruise ships built in the last 5-10 years have cruise lines started adding more power outlets and USB outlets to cruise ship cabins.
With the proliferation of mobile devices, smart watches, and other electronics, having enough power outlets is an issue.
Up until now, the solution has been to purchase a multi-plug outlet to extend vacationers' ability to charge multiple devices at once in their stateroom.
Cruise fans shared their dismay with the new policy.
"As a long time (now retired) career electronics technician, I find this to be completely unnecessary, even stupid, safely overkill," wrote SimGuy on a Royal Caribbean message board. "The previous banned list already included any high current items that would overload a circuit."
"So, now, you can’t charge two cell phones on the same outlet at the same time even though they are very low current devices."
Gilley worried an upcoming cruise on one of Royal Caribbean's oldest ships would be problematic now, "On older ships like the Vision class outlets are vey limited. I would like to be able to charge my phone, tablets, and portable chargers and they all use different types of cords. "
Concern over the policy change has resonated across the internet among cruisers who feel the policy change is troubling and unnecessary.
Not clear what is allowed
Since Royal Caribbean announced the new policy, it's not clear what is permissible under the new rules.
The cruise line has changed the prohibited items list, but did not specify exactly what constitutes a multi-plug outlet. Nor did it list what sort of items are allowed or not.
That's lead cruisers to question what they're allowed to bring, such as a USB hubs that have no pronged power outlets but many USB outlets. Or European to US power adaptors, which could extend outlet use in a cabin.
CPAP machine cruisers don't need to worry
If you need a CPAP machine during your cruise, this policy change does not affect you.
Even before the change, Royal Caribbean provided an outlet for guests with CPAP machines by filling out the Special Needs form prior to the cruise beginning. An extension cord will be provided that is at least 20 feet in length.
Moreover, the cruise line will provided distilled water too and at no additional charge.
Pro tip: Look for hidden outlets
Besides the power outlets you can easily spot, sometimes there are additional outlets that aren't as easily found.
On some Royal Caribbean ships ,there is a USB outlet hidden on the bedside phone. There could be an outlet behind the stateroom television or behind the headboard of the bed.
Royal Caribbean has also been adding more USB outlets to public venues on new ships, such as around its bars.
Matt Hochberg
Matt loves to cruise, and started Cruise.Blog as a place to share different cruise experiences, advice, and what to know before going on a cruise.
He lives in Florida with his wife and two daughters, where he can be found on any given day trying to convince his wife they "need" to book another cruise.
