One of the first things many cruise passengers do when they reach their stateroom on embarkation day is to crank the air conditioning as low as it will go, and the thermostat will stay at that level throughout their sailing.
On some ships, however, a keycard slot near the door that controls the lighting may seem to prevent passengers from keeping the air conditioning on if they’re not in the cabin. Leaving an alternate type of card in the slot can bypass this problem, and has become a popular hack for keeping one’s room as cool as possible.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, has debunked this tactic, however, confirming what the keycard slot is for and what actually isn’t connected to it.
“Some of the ships have the key slot thing where you place your key when you enter which allows you to turn on the lights (it does not affect the air conditioning) and when you take the key out when you leave it will turn the lights out, thus saving electricity,” Heald noted.
The key here is that the key card slot “does not affect the air conditioning” – a misconception many cruise travelers (including myself!) have had.
“We are aware that some of you bring a plastic key card from your [hotel] stay to use in the slot and thus the lights stay on,” Heald continued. “So please, even if you do this and on all ships, please do your best to turn the lights out before you leave the cabin and help us save energy.”
Cruise ship cabins have a variety of lights, from the larger overhead lights to the bathroom light, bedside reading lights, and even balcony lights. If every cabin on the ship left just one light running when no one is in the stateroom, that could mean thousands of lights left on without anyone using them.
This can add up to tremendous energy usage by the ship, burning more fuel and increasing emissions.
The key card slot is located immediately inside the stateroom door and is easy for guests to find even if the room is dark, as light from the open door will easily provide enough illumination to find the slot. Once a card is inserted, all stateroom lights will function as expected.
In response to Heald’s explanation, some travelers note that their cabin attendants leave cards in the slot. For other travelers, using an extra card is easier than removing their Sail & Sign cards from their lanyard cases in order to turn on the stateroom lights.
Some guests also note that after a stateroom is cleaned (if they have chosen evening cleaning service), the cabin attendant may leave multiple lights on. Therefore, asking guests to keep the lights off may be a bit of a mixed message.
Finally, some passengers use the card hack not to keep the stateroom lights on, but to be sure different outlets are functioning so their cell phones, camera batteries, or other devices can recharge while they are out of the stateroom.
How Else to Keep Your Stateroom Cool
For passengers who still believe that a key card is necessary to ensure maximum air conditioning, it is useful to note that there are plenty of other easy ways to keep a cruise ship cabin cool.
The most important step is to keep window or balcony draperies fully closed (in staterooms that have them, of course), so the sun does not quickly heat up a room.
Read Also: Which Staterooms to Book on a Carnival Cruise
Bringing along a small travel fan can help circulate air and make a stateroom feel much cooler as well. Be sure the fan is of an appropriate size so it is not on Carnival Cruise Line’s prohibited items list, however.
Keeping the bathroom door fully closed can also help keep the rest of the room cooler, as the air conditioner does not have a bathroom vent and will therefore have less space to chill if that space is closed off. The same goes for all closet doors and drawers – every bit of space helps.
Furthermore, simply turning the lights off can actually help keep the room cooler, as the bulbs will not be generating any further heat in the space. While this isn’t too significant with LED bulbs, older bulbs can actually heat up quite a bit – and every degree can matter to keeping cool and comfortable on a cruise vacation.
