While cruise cabins may be cozy, they are also typically pretty tiny – and what they’re often lacking is enough plugs to go around, especially for guests traveling with a big family or lots of friends.
For experienced cruisers, the best solution to this is to bring a power strip with extra plugs and/or USB outlets to make sure there are enough to go around. Most cruise lines allow extra plugs as long as they don’t have a surge protector.
But Royal Caribbean made waves earlier in September when the brand opted to prohibit multi-plug outlets as a potential flammable item. The controversial change had many worrying about how to charge all their devices on their next cruise – and if the ban would carry over to other cruise lines.
So far, none of the other mainstream cruise lines have banned the tech – and Carnival, which is arguably Royal Caribbean’s fiercest competitor in the family-friendly cruise market, won’t be the first to follow suit.
“I just read where another cruise line has added multi plugs and power strips to their prohibited items and wanted to know if Carnival plans to follow,” one cruiser asked Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald on his public Facebook page.
“One cabin, two people, multiple devices that need recharging and limited wall plugs and usb ports makes for a cruise where you spend all your time swapping out charging cables,” she continued.
Heald confirmed that this is not something Carnival guests will need to worry about anytime soon – as long as they leave power strips with surge protectors at home.
“I read about this and we have no plans to do the same. Thank you, just remember no power strips with a surge protector are allowed,” replied Heald.
Surge protectors are typically banned from cruise ships because they are more likely to increase the risk of fire – and it’s fairly easy to overload surge protectors if guests do not limit the number of devices they have plugged in.
Plugs without surge protectors come with much less risk – which is why they are normally allowed.
Why Did Royal Caribbean Ban Multi-Plug Outlets?
Royal Caribbean’s recent decision to prohibit extra plugs – whether they included surge protectors or not – has been highly controversial, especially as many cruisers now rely so heavily on staying connected through their devices.
The plug ban – which also includes extension cords and power strips – was likely made out of an abundance of caution.
Plugging multiple devices into a single outlet that may not be designed to handle that many plugs at once could lead to overheating, loss of power, potential fires, or other issues. However, cruisers who were used to relying on extra plugs were left feeling confused and frustrated.
Adding to the confusion is that Royal Caribbean is yet to release additional guidelines clarifying what their addition to the prohibited items list really means.
For example, one guest reached out to the cruise line via messenger to find out if the ban also applied to charging blocks that feature multiple USB outlets.
“The current banned charging information is a little confusing to us and I want to make sure we bring the correct thing,” the future guest said in their message, along with a photo of the charging block in question.
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The cruise line confirmed the USB charging block the guest sent was allowed – which is confusing because multi-plug options aren’t permitted but a block that can charge multiple devices via USB was deemed okay.
As the chatter online continues, Royal Caribbean will likely be forced to clarify the change further in the near future.
But in the meantime, this serves as a reminder for future guests to cross check their packing list with what their specific cruise line allows – and to plan accordingly – to avoid unpleasant surprises on embarkation day.
In this case, guests may want to opt to leave any non-essential devices at home to avoid extra stress.
