Can I take an extension lead on board?

[sidekick180]

I'm sure that this question has probably been answered before but I can't find any posts about it. I was just wondering if I would be allowed to take a small extension lead with us when we go on board Azura in May. I know that there are not many plug sockets in the cabins, so I was hoping to take a small 4 socket lead with me to be able to keep phones, tablets video recorder and other bits charged. Obviously I would not leave it plugged in when we are not in the room just to be on the safe side.

[smj777]

Yes, we always take 2, one for chargers etc. and one for the CPAP machine I use.

 

[daiB]

18 minutes ago, sidekick180 said:

I'm sure that this question has probably been answered before but I can't find any posts about it. I was just wondering if I would be allowed to take a small extension lead with us when we go on board Azura in May. I know that there are not many plug sockets in the cabins, so I was hoping to take a small 4 socket lead with me to be able to keep phones, tablets video recorder and other bits charged. Obviously I would not leave it plugged in when we are not in the room just to be on the safe side.

The official line now is no.

 

Unless you need it for a medical reason e.g. a CPAP machine as with smj777. However even then it must not be surge protected. It’s something to do with the electricity supply on ships. The details are to be found on the P&O website.

[majortom10]

No but to confirm what daiB said the following is from P&Os website-

 

All guests taking electrical medical or mobility equipment onboard will be required to take their own extension lead with them and are not permitted onboard unless being used with essential equipment (e.g. CPAP and nebuliser machines or aid to mobility). Extension leads will be checked for electrical safety prior to sailing.

Surge protected extension leads are not accepted in any circumstances as they interfere with the ship's electrical distribution.

[sidekick180]

Thanks for your feedback. I think I will give it a miss. I'm sure we will be able to manage with the two or three sockets in the cabin. I don't really want to cause any problems for the sake of a mobile charge up. I would rather just enjoy my cruise without any stress.

[daiB]

4 hours ago, sidekick180 said:

Thanks for your feedback. I think I will give it a miss. I'm sure we will be able to manage with the two or three sockets in the cabin. I don't really want to cause any problems for the sake of a mobile charge up. I would rather just enjoy my cruise without any stress.

Why don’t you but a multi charger for your devices. It is a plug with 2/3 USB points.

 

Like this. Charges 3 things at once.

[Balernocalling]

Hi Dai, Where did you get this multi charger?Looks handy.

Cheers

 

[daiB]

29 minutes ago, Balernocalling said:

Hi Dai, Where did you get this multi charger?Looks handy.

Cheers

 

What a good question!!! I/we suspect it was from a shop in Newcastle called Clas Ohlsen. Which closed 2/3 years ago. Best place to look would on line.

 

Dai

[majortom10]

ebay & Amazon have loads.

[eddie11]

... with US and Euro prongs too!

I guess Google Is Your Friend here

Frame your search for adaptability 

[Harry Peterson]

Difficult to see the logic here. Why would a simple extension lead carry any more safety risks than any other electrical appliance people take on board? 

 

Always found them invaluable for getting round the shortage and poor positioning of sockets. Is this actually enforced? 

[DS_Dean]

Hmm. Never heard of this rule. Have always taken extension leads on board, and surge protected for about 10 cruises!

In full view of cabin staff and no one ever said it was against the rules and no signage.

[majortom10]

I suppose many do not read P&Os website and do a lot of things that they should not really do. Surprised that if cabin stewards see these things occurring that they dont report it. Would be interested to see if anything did go wrong where would the blame game kick in and who would get the blame. I would never use an extension lead on a cruise and if I have my phone or notebook on charge I never leave it unattended and would unplug it before leaving the cabin but I would never leave anything on charge at home and leave the premises.

[DS_Dean]

I'm cruising in few weeks so will check to see if there is any documentation on this in the cabin book. If this is just on the website then that is obviously insufficient. If there is a plug and P&O want to limit what can be plugged into it, more information should be published.

 

I know others that packed them and honestly, assumed most people did! Can't be doing with limited amount of sockets in the cabin.

Edited March 9, 2019 by DS_Dean

[Denarius]

2 hours ago, docco said:

Difficult to see the logic here. Why would a simple extension lead carry any more safety risks than any other electrical appliance people take on board? 

 

Always found them invaluable for getting round the shortage and poor positioning of sockets. Is this actually enforced? 

I suspect that it is not the etension lead itself which is regarded as a potential problem, but what people may plug into it. whilst the ships electrical circuit will cope with the load of most domestic appliances which may be plugged into it, it may not cope with the load of several such appliances effectively plugged into the same socket via an extension lead.

[CCFC]

There is a long discussion about this on the Princess boards. Basically if you have a surge protected extension it can overheat as the grounding is to the ships hull rather than "earth". There have been instances of small fires starting by the surge protector overheating as the current is not going to earth. There are marine approved extension leads available but you would still be going against the rules by taking one aboard.

[Harry Peterson]

42 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I suspect that it is not the etension lead itself which is regarded as a potential problem, but what people may plug into it. whilst the ships electrical circuit will cope with the load of most domestic appliances which may be plugged into it, it may not cope with the load of several such appliances effectively plugged into the same socket via an extension lead.

I can see the logic of that. Though, apart from hairdryers, I cant think of any such appliances that would draw more than a pretty minimal load - essentially phones, iPads and maybe the odd rechargeable toothbrush. Tiny by comparison with the ship’s capacity, even if everyone used one.

 

Sounds a little like the old airline mantra of switching phones off, without a shred of evidence to support the ban.

[Thejuggler]

The typical uses for extension leads are chargers.  The current draw is very low. If you use USB cables to charge get a multi usb charger socket as shown above.

 

If not take  an extension, plug all your stuff in to charge overnight. Unplug during the day and remove the extension cable from view.

[sidekick180]

18 hours ago, daiB said:

Why don’t you but a multi charger for your devices. It is a plug with 2/3 USB points.

 

Like this. Charges 3 things at once.

Thanks for that, but i did actually buy one of those after our cruise last May. I tried it after it arrived and I think it's faulty because when you plug a couple of items in to charge they just keep flashing. maybe I should try to get a better quality one.

[majortom10]

There are many occurrences of mobile phones and similar equipment catching fire whilst on charge in domestic properties in the UK. I have seen the consequences of these incidents having being a member of the fire service for 34yrs that is why I never leave the house or go to bed and leave such items on charge.

[majortom10]

48 minutes ago, docco said:

I can see the logic of that. Though, apart from hairdryers, I cant think of any such appliances that would draw more than a pretty minimal load - essentially phones, iPads and maybe the odd rechargeable toothbrush. Tiny by comparison with the ship’s capacity, even if everyone used one.

 

Sounds a little like the old airline mantra of switching phones off, without a shred of evidence to support the ban.

 

43 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

The typical uses for extension leads are chargers.  The current draw is very low. If you use USB cables to charge get a multi usb charger socket as shown above.

 

If not take  an extension, plug all your stuff in to charge overnight. Unplug during the day and remove the extension cable from view.

 

The current doesnt have to be very high to cause heating and there is loads of evidence of mobile phones overheating and catching fire some causing serious fires and like I said I know because I have experienced these.

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

There are many occurrences of mobile phones and similar equipment catching fire whilst on charge in domestic properties in the UK. I have seen the consequences of these incidents having being a member of the fire service for 34yrs that is why I never leave the house or go to bed and leave such items on charge.

Sound advice - and I take exactly the same precautions.  Unfortunately, banning extension leads (which rarely if ever cause fires) will cause people to use non-standard imported double/treble/quadruple USB outlets, and these are frequently potentially dangerous imported items which meet no safety standards at all.  These are, I'm sure, far more dangerous, potentially, than the extension leads they replace, because the charger used in the extension lead will probably be manufacturer-supplied  and pretty safe.

[majortom10]

Problem I see is if you purchase a recognised well known company manufactured non surge protector extension lead then there shouldnt be a problem but how many people buy and use cheap non branded bought from your local pound shop or similar.

[sidekick180]

I have just re-tested a multi port USB travel plug that I bought a while ago. It has three USB ports and a lift up third pin, which I assume is designed for making the plug more compact when the third pin is pushed down.

I plugged my Sony Mobile phone in and also 2 x vape machines. Within ten minutes of being plugged in all of the items started flashing and the plug itself started getting quite hot. I will assume that the plug itself is faulty and will be going in the bin. I have just ordered another multi port USB plug from ebay, which is from a company in Nottingham. Whether the plug has actually been manufactured in the UK is unknown. One thing is for sure, I will test it thoroughly before we go on our cruise and I will definitely not be leaving anything charging when we are not in our cabin.

Basically, my advice to anyone would be that if you want to charge a number of items at the same time, whether using a multi port USB plug or an extension lead, please make sure to test it well before taking it on a cruise.

[vitrocmax]

I have used an IKEA Koppla 3 way USB charger daily at home for a couple of years, it's also been on Britannia and Oceana without any issues. It's used for an iPhone and 2 Samsung tablets all at the same time and it's never given me cause for concern. 

 

I also take a short (400mm) single extension cable in case the sockets don't allow good access to the adapter USB sockets (they are at the bottom of the adapter), I cut a longer one down so it is manageable (I don't think a 5 metre extension would be acceptable).