Electrical devices on Royal Princess

[dancersmate]

There is an electrical outlet on the back wall under the bed. Perfect for CPAP machines. Also, for a few dollars, purchase a converter from European plugs to American. Then you double the available outlets.

[joeyjeremiah]

Anybody know if there are any outlets near the beds on the inside cabins on the royal? I recall on the ruby having to run an extension cord from the desk across the room to use the CPAP machines having one near the bed would be really handy.

[caribill]

Anybody know if there are any outlets near the beds on the inside cabins on the royal? I recall on the ruby having to run an extension cord from the desk across the room to use the CPAP machines having one near the bed would be really handy.

 

Only at the desk.

[Woobstr112G]

I always use it. It is great for plugging in a battery charger.

 

Back in 2013, I used it as well.....:):):)

 

Bob

[pittbull1122]

I would definitely use a surge protector in the standard outlet. We sailed the Maiden TA on the Royal and we had a power surge one night that blew out the power supply to my CPAP. I gave the info. to passenger services and they said they would try to replace it before heading across the Atlantic. Luckily, I found one myself in Naples and let passenger services know so that they could stop their search. They had an electrician check out the power supply at my request, to be sure the voltage and polarity were correct. And then, credited the cost of the power supply to my onboard account. Everybody was happy. I was lucky my CPAP used a generic power supply. My newer one has a proprietary supply, so I use a surge protector to be safe. BUT, the Royal has a history of electrical problems. The cruise ahead of ours was cut short so the Royal could return to Fincantieri for electrical repairs. I believe the problems have been resolved, but a surge protector would be good for piece of mind.

The bedside lamps plug into a type F outlet. This is 220 volts, so be very careful. Most devices these days are universal, 110V to 240V. Look at the plug on your device, the information is there. If in doubt, DO NOT try this. I have a universal adapter to plug in and then a multi outlet for the lamp and my CPAP. It is a bit of a Rube Goldberg, but it works.

 

Here is the plug information.

http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/

 

Here are a lot of adapters, multi outlets, and surge protectors.

BE VERY CAREFUL. THESE ARE PLUG ADAPTERS, NOT VOLTAGE CONVERTERS. YOUR DEVICE WILL NEED TO BE RATED AT 110-240 VOLTS. (more or less)

Also, as someone previously mentioned, do not use the surge protector in 220 volt outlets, unless you find one that is rated for 220volts.

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_8_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=travel+adapter&sprefix=travel%2Caps%2C220&crid=22AJTC30YL2N4

 

 

We're from the US and are taking the British Isles cruise on the Royal Princess in May. I have a medical device and need to know if I need an adapter for the plug, and if so, which type of adapter do I need (UK/European)?

 

It probably makes sense to use a power strip for the other electrical stuff. Can we get one that has US plugs in the strip, but the strip itself has whatever type of plug the ship uses?

 

Thanks for your help!

Edited October 30, 2016 by pittbull1122

[pittbull1122]

Sorry, double post. Why can't I just delete it?

 

We're from the US and are taking the British Isles cruise on the Royal Princess in May. I have a medical device and need to know if I need an adapter for the plug, and if so, which type of adapter do I need (UK/European)?

 

It probably makes sense to use a power strip for the other electrical stuff. Can we get one that has US plugs in the strip, but the strip itself has whatever type of plug the ship uses?

 

Thanks for your help!

Edited October 30, 2016 by pittbull1122

[Astro Flyer]

I would definitely use a surge protector in the standard outlet.

 

Using a surge protected device is regularly discussed on CC and a highly educated & experienced cruise ship chief engineer (chengkp75) has explained why they are dangerous to shipboard electrical systems.

 

Also in the Princess safety information surge protected devices are prohibited (https://book.princess.com/html/personalizer/downloads/pdf/Safety_Information.pdf).

 

Here are a couple of many discussions where he has attempted to educate passengers about the potential dangers of using surge protected devices on a ship: "Surge protectors on ships are like heart disease, it is a "silent killer".". If you search for "surge protector" with his CC name (chengkp75) he explains why using them is a fire danger & should not be used.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2405708&page=2

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2409659

 

I was unaware of this fact until he educated us on the dangers of using surge protected devices. Having received both flight deck & below deck firefighting training in the Navy, it's wrong to do anything that could risk a shipboard fire which is why they're prohibited.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[pittbull1122]

Using a surge protected device is regularly discussed on CC and a highly educated & experienced cruise ship chief engineer (chengkp75) has explained why they are dangerous to shipboard electrical systems.

 

Thanks Astro Flyer. Not exactly news I wanted to hear (I have had damage done by a surge and do not want to have it happen again) but news that must be followed. I will remove the surge protector from my cruise list right away.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks Astro Flyer. Not exactly news I wanted to hear (I have had damage done by a surge and do not want to have it happen again) but news that must be followed. I will remove the surge protector from my cruise list right away.

You're welcome & I only became aware of the hazards within the past year. I can empathize with your bad experience & why you wouldn't want to risk damaging another CPAP device. But glad that like me you won't you use any type of surge protected devices.

 

If you're not aware of it, Princess will provide free distilled water for your CPAP.

 

If you need water for your CPAP machine, the following is from the Princess Website:

 

Distilled water can be provided, for use with your c-pap machine, onboard free of charge in gallon units, provided you submit a request in advance of sailing. Once onboard, simply contact your stateroom steward to request the water to be delivered to your stateroom as needed. To request distilled water for your voyage, please contact our Dietary Coordinator using the dietary request form. In the comment section of the form, please indicate the quantity required in gallons. Note that for domestic sailings, advance requests must be received no later than 35 days prior to sailing date. For international sailings, advance requests must be received no later than 65 days prior to sailing. For late requests, we cannot guarantee availability onboard.

 

Check Cruise personalizer, Dietary Requirements.

[chengkp75]

Astroflyer asked me to come and post here. I don't dispute that your CPAP suffered damage, I'm not sure that a surge protector would have prevented it. I know that the Royal has had problems with blackouts, and these continue to this year, but the kinds of power surges (high voltage) that surge protectors guard against would not be seen even when restoring power after a blackout. Typically, when restoring power, there can be large inrush currents, but these tend to pop the circuit breakers, and current is not what surge protectors guard against anyway. And if it had been a voltage spike, there would have been far more damage onboard than just your CPAP, as unlike shore side power where the voltage goes from 10k to 220 at the power pole, on ships the voltage gets dropped in steps, from 10k to 480, from 480 to 220, and from 220 to 110, so a voltage spike on the 110 volt circuit would have to have been caused by voltage spikes in all the higher voltage circuits, which would include the ship's electronics and all of the motor circuits.

 

My guess is that the power supply for your CPAP had a surge protection circuit integral to it, and a ground somewhere on the ship exposed the MOV semi-conductors in that circuit to reverse voltage, causing them to fail, and subjecting the power supply electronics to damaging voltage. Another possibility is that the frequency of the power dropped for a time, and this can cause overcurrent situations in power supplies at the transformer, and burn out the circuitry. But, again, surge protectors don't guard against this low frequency either.

 

As I always say in these surge protection discussions, there are thousands of electronics that the ship uses to operate, from the POS registers, to the internet servers, to the bridge navigation systems, to the automation systems in the engine room, and none of them are protected with surge protection devices. And in 40 years at sea, on several ships that have received direct lightning strikes, I have never experienced a failure of any electronics from even lightning strikes, or other potential high voltage sources.

[pittbull1122]

Thanks Chief, I have enough of an electrical background that I understand and appreciate your post. Ohms Law be damned, what really convinced me is your last paragraph.

Also, luckily my CPAP was not damaged, it was only the power supply. I have enough electronics understanding that I was able to find a generic power supply in Naples, Italy that worked. My lack of Italian, and the shop keeper's lack of English was no barrier. I needed the power supply, and I found it. I even had the ships electrician meter it out for me. AND, Princess reimbursed me for the cost. What could have put a crimp in my cruise turned out to be a successful adventure. Even better, the power supply is rated at 240 vac 50 hz, with a type C plug. So it works great in Europe and in the socket next to the bed on Princess ships.

 

Thanks again, Chief

 

Astroflyer asked me to come and post here. I don't dispute that your CPAP suffered damage,

 

As I always say in these surge protection discussions, there are thousands of electronics that the ship uses to operate, from the POS registers, to the internet servers, to the bridge navigation systems, to the automation systems in the engine room, and none of them are protected with surge protection devices. And in 40 years at sea, on several ships that have received direct lightning strikes, I have never experienced a failure of any electronics from even lightning strikes, or other potential high voltage sources.