Hairdryers on Norwegian Spirit

[slycruiser61]

So it doesn't sound like I can use my dryer (since it's so many volts), but it only has 2 prongs, so this converter, I take it, is 3 prongs. Right?

I think if you bring your own hair dryer and a proper adapter you should be fine. That's what I'm planning to do. I may call NCL directly and just ask...you can get the adapters at Walmart and possibly Radio Shack or order them online. Just make sure your hair dryer has a 220V/110V switch and make sure it's switched to 220V when you use it. They are fairly inexpensive at Walmart and Target.

 

There is a picture of what the hair dryers on the Spirit look like; if you go to NCL's site and click on the virtual tour of the ship, then on the deluxe penthouse master bedroom suite, pan around, look at the object that is on the wall to the right of the sink vanity mirror in the bathroom - a square, off white box with a hose - THAT is the hair dryer.

[QueenofEverything]

you need an adaptor that fits into that big round outlet with 3 prongs (that look like a star)

 

Wait - I thought the 220 plug was the one to the far left in your picture and takes the two round plug adapter. Are these just two different 220 plugs?

[cod]

glorialagos, you are not alone. I really liked the Spirit hair dryer...all three cruises. My hair is short (which may make a difference) and I thought it worked well and quickly and was easy to work with. JMHO

[VideoTech]

Wait - I thought the 220 plug was the one to the far left in your picture and takes the two round plug adapter. Are these just two different 220 plugs?

 

Yes, the two plugs on the left in the picture are both 220v plugs. Two different types of plug.

[Toyz711]

Wait - I thought the 220 plug was the one to the far left in your picture and takes the two round plug adapter. Are these just two different 220 plugs?

 

i don't know which one works best for the hairdryers..as said, i did the short, short hair cut for that cruise. between the humidity and seabreeze, a hairdryer would have been more work then it was worth. 2 days were spend in the sun touring mayan sites...one had a major boat trip in an open boat.

get a set of adaptors...i have a set that has over 8 differnt adaptors. then you are ready for anything. i laugh thinking about trying to keep a hairstyle on that cruise...for us it was an adventure cruise, not a relaxing, dress-up, look good cruise. we were so tired, by cozumel, we didn't even shop.

[avidreader13]

Check out this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1453433 for a picture of what the hairdryers look like.

 

Glad I read this posting as I had no idea I needed an adapter. I too have long hair and it takes forever to dry!

[mitsugirly]

Check out this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1453433 for a picture of what the hairdryers look like.

 

Glad I read this posting as I had no idea I needed an adapter. I too have long hair and it takes forever to dry!

 

Oh my gosh...I remember those type of hair dryers from the 80's and 90's cruises. They are still around. :eek:

 

My hair dryer doesn't have a switch, that I'm aware of. I guess I'm not going to be able to use it.:( 2 hours of drying time it looks like for me. LOL No way am I cutting my hair. My hair doesn't grow to begin with and it would take me another 5 years or longer to get it this length.

[jennbill]

Jennifer bought a dual wattage dryer prior to our Spirit cruise in January. First morning, to quote Pat Travers, "boom, boom, boom, out go the lights".

 

She wasn't very happy and loves her hair dryer.

 

Jenn actually was able to get by the rest of the week on the dryer in the bathroom.

[slycruiser61]

Jennifer bought a dual wattage dryer prior to our Spirit cruise in January. First morning, to quote Pat Travers, "boom, boom, boom, out go the lights".

 

She wasn't very happy and loves her hair dryer.

 

Jenn actually was able to get by the rest of the week on the dryer in the bathroom.

Odd how the adapter with the dual voltage works for some with no problem and others are not so lucky...maybe that is the operative word, LUCK:) Hope luck will be with me.

[VideoTech]

Odd how the adapter with the dual voltage works for some with no problem and others are not so lucky...maybe that is the operative word, LUCK:) Hope luck will be with me.

 

I think the issue here is the wattage of the hair dryers. The people who have had success may be using lower wattage hair dryers (800w to 1000w). Some of the ships may have higher wattage circuits than others, too.

 

The descriptions of some of the failures sound like a high wattage hair dryer tripping the breaker, either on that circuit and plug, or for the whole cabin.

 

Best bet is to avoid the problem all together. Use the on-board hair dryer.

[LeynaBananas]

Can flat irons and curling irons be used in the 110v outlet just fine? Us girls and our hair!! This is pretty important info!

[glorialagos]

Can flat irons and curling irons be used in the 110v outlet just fine? Us girls and our hair!! This is pretty important info!

 

 

Mine did not work in the bathroom outlet (the one that says shavers only - yeah, had to try, thought they'd be equivalent). It did work in the one in the room by the mirror.

[mitsugirly]

Mine did not work in the bathroom outlet (the one that says shavers only - yeah, had to try, thought they'd be equivalent). It did work in the one in the room by the mirror.

 

Do you need an adapter for the flat irons too?

[VideoTech]

Do you need an adapter for the flat irons too?

 

My DW uses a flat iron as well. On the Spirit (at least in our cabin), there was no 110V outlet at the vanity, just the round, two prong 220v outlet. If your flat iron is cable of handling both 110v and 240v, and draws less than 500w, then it will probably work on those outlets with just an adapter plug.

 

In our cabin (a penthouse suite on deck 10) there was a large white electrical transformer located under the sinks. You could pull this out, plug it into the 220V outlet at the vanity, and there were two U.S. style 110v plugs on the transformer. DW used her flat iron, plugged into this transformer, without any problems.

 

If these transformers are not available in all the cabins, you might be able to ask your cabin steward for one.

 

If your cabin has a U.S. style outlet, and (as in the picture posted earlier) it is labeled "500w," then that means you could use any appliance that draws up to, but not more than 500 watts. You can find this information on the flat iron. DW's flat iron draws 165w, so it would have worked on an outlet labeled 500w. However, we had no adapter plugs with us, and just to be safe, I plugged it into the transformer.

[udamom]

My blow dryer is 1875w so obviously that is not going to work. Do those that have used the Spirit hairdryers feel like they are really weak...like hardly blow any air? Sounds like I'd have to go get a 800-1000w travel dryer with an adapter and hope for he best. That wattage blow dryer is already half of the output I'm use to...are the Spirits worse than that?

I do need to blow dry at least the front of my hair as it will look terrible otherwise.

 

I'd think they would have more problems with this. Seems to me thousands of people go on the Spirit and never read CC. Also a large percentage will plug their hairdryer in anyway not know/understanding/caring the voltage issues. Are there blackouts on every Spirit cruise? :confused:

 

Trish

[mitsugirly]

While I'm still trying to figure this out...

 

Looking at my hair dryer, it says 1875 Vidal Sassoon on it. It has a switch at the top that says ION on and off. I'm assuming that doesn't have anything to do with the wattage and switching it back and forth as everyone is talking about right? (I have no clue what that switch is for and it has always been on)

 

As for my flat iron, I know I bought a really "good" one from the beauty supply store last year when I did the Brazilian hair straightening system and it goes up to 450 degrees. It does say 120 V a.c on it. The wattage is rubbed off from the control on the inside. :confused: So I have no idea if I can use it or not. :(

[Slark]

While I'm still trying to figure this out...

 

Looking at my hair dryer, it says 1875 Vidal Sassoon on it. It has a switch at the top that says ION on and off. I'm assuming that doesn't have anything to do with the wattage and switching it back and forth as everyone is talking about right? (I have no clue what that switch is for and it has always been on)

 

As for my flat iron, I know I bought a really "good" one from the beauty supply store last year when I did the Brazilian hair straightening system and it goes up to 450 degrees. It does say 120 V a.c on it. The wattage is rubbed off from the control on the inside. :confused: So I have no idea if I can use it or not. :(

 

If you know you have 120v appliances, then the only thing that matters is the amount of wattage. Your hairdryer, at 1875, is probably way too much for the circuits to handle. My guess is that your flat iron will draw too much wattage as well.

 

The best strategy, yet unfortunately costly, is to get some 240v devices that you can use forever outside of North America...

[glorialagos]

My blow dryer is 1875w so obviously that is not going to work. Do those that have used the Spirit hairdryers feel like they are really weak...like hardly blow any air? Sounds like I'd have to go get a 800-1000w travel dryer with an adapter and hope for he best. That wattage blow dryer is already half of the output I'm use to...are the Spirits worse than that?

I do need to blow dry at least the front of my hair as it will look terrible otherwise.

 

I'd think they would have more problems with this. Seems to me thousands of people go on the Spirit and never read CC. Also a large percentage will plug their hairdryer in anyway not know/understanding/caring the voltage issues. Are there blackouts on every Spirit cruise? :confused:

 

Trish

 

I think people realize once onboard that the blow dryer provided works fine. I loved it. It was not "weak" and did a great job of drying my hair (and clearing the fog from the mirror).

 

When I tried my flat iron in the plug marked "shavers only", it worked at first, the light was on, and when I went to use it, it had "blown", no longer was the light on. I switched to another plug and it was fine. So chances are, using or attempting to use the plugs does not blow the entire circuit, just doesn't work for the dryers.

 

Also, I was getting help from customer service when a lady came down searching for an adapter which they told her was NOT available. She was not happy - claimed it stated on their website that adapters were available. So, I am not sure if a room steward would be able to find an adapter for the "common folk" (maybe the suite/penthouse people).

 

Seriously, the blow dryers were fine. Don't worry, be happy!!!

[chill6x6]

It's GREAT being a man!:D;)

[slycruiser61]

It's GREAT being a man!:D;)

LOL:) you are so right chill6x6! My DH thinks I am nuts worrying about a hairdryer! But hey, we all have different priorities:)

[VideoTech]

My blow dryer is 1875w so obviously that is not going to work. Do those that have used the Spirit hairdryers feel like they are really weak...like hardly blow any air? Sounds like I'd have to go get a 800-1000w travel dryer with an adapter and hope for he best. That wattage blow dryer is already half of the output I'm use to...are the Spirits worse than that?

I do need to blow dry at least the front of my hair as it will look terrible otherwise.

 

I'd think they would have more problems with this. Seems to me thousands of people go on the Spirit and never read CC. Also a large percentage will plug their hairdryer in anyway not know/understanding/caring the voltage issues. Are there blackouts on every Spirit cruise? :confused:

 

Trish

 

The result wouldn't be a blackout. Just that circuit, and perhaps a few other things in the cabin, would simply stop working when the circuit breaker popped.

 

This would probably result in a complaint to the cabin steward, who would call a ship's electrician, who would reset the breaker and tell the cabin occupants not to use whatever it was they were using.

[VideoTech]

If you know you have 120v appliances, then the only thing that matters is the amount of wattage. Your hairdryer, at 1875, is probably way too much for the circuits to handle. My guess is that your flat iron will draw too much wattage as well.

 

The best strategy, yet unfortunately costly, is to get some 240v devices that you can use forever outside of North America...

 

Slark: small correction, that should read: "if you know you have 220v appliances.." I'm sure it was just a typo.

[VideoTech]

While I'm still trying to figure this out...

 

Looking at my hair dryer, it says 1875 Vidal Sassoon on it. It has a switch at the top that says ION on and off. I'm assuming that doesn't have anything to do with the wattage and switching it back and forth as everyone is talking about right? (I have no clue what that switch is for and it has always been on)

 

As for my flat iron, I know I bought a really "good" one from the beauty supply store last year when I did the Brazilian hair straightening system and it goes up to 450 degrees. It does say 120 V a.c on it. The wattage is rubbed off from the control on the inside. :confused: So I have no idea if I can use it or not. :(

 

Mitsugirly: You're right, the ION switch has nothing to do with the wattage or voltage. The "1875" in the name of the dryer most likely means it's 1875 watts on the hottest setting. If you don't see a switch that specifically switches between 120v and 240v (or 220v), then don't use it on the European plugs with just an adapter.

 

If you find that you have one of those transformers (see my previous post) in your room, you could plug your hair dryer into that and it will probably work fine...but please note that I said probably. It might still pop the circuit breaker.

 

Same with the Flat Iron, as it ONLY says 120v. Do not plug it directly into the European outlets, use the transformer.

[Slark]

Slark: small correction, that should read: "if you know you have 220v appliances.." I'm sure it was just a typo.

 

Indeed! Thanks!

[mypleasure]

I was just looking at the picture someone posted of the electrical sockets. I remembered that the Spirit was built for the asian market. My travels in Asia have always delighted me by offering 220V UK 3 pin sockets and lo and behold the middle one of the 3 is a 3 pin British/Asian style socket.

 

Anyone looking for an adaptor for that socket needs to look for one that is suitable for the UK. The UK system is NOT the same as Europe.