Electric tea kettle

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Never mind 
 

 

Edited February 19 by The-Inside-Cabin

[Wehwalt]

13 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Makes complaining about "dated pink tile" in the bathrooms feel a little trivial when asking all HAL ships be up to current electrical wiring demands after being in mothballs earring no money for two years. 

 

Anyone sailing HAL ships for a while can remember when people first started adding Kindle readers to their electronic cameras when plugging chargers into their cabin's two outlets, and one was 220.  Now people need at least five lithium battery plug-ins, all going at the same time?

 

This does scare a number of us. Who are equally concerned about the numbers of lithium battery plug we might forget to unplug before we leave home on the cruise - did we unplug the leaf blower charger, dear?

I guess. But on the GWV, that we got off of ten days ago, the ship gave every passenger a power bank. We were, I'm sure, not alone in bringing two with us, so this meant we had four. The Zuiderdam is something of an old ship (2002), but I guess they were not worried about lithium batteries, as they handed out a thousand or so.

[OlsSalt]

6 minutes ago, Wehwalt said:

I guess. But on the GWV, that we got off of ten days ago, the ship gave every passenger a power bank. We were, I'm sure, not alone in bringing two with us, so this meant we had four. The Zuiderdam is something of an old ship (2002), but I guess they were not worried about lithium batteries, as they handed out a thousand or so.

 

When done with the ship's permission, what is the problem? 

[cruisemom42]

7 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

When done with the ship's permission, what is the problem? 

 

The ones handed out "with the ship's permission" are no less dangerous than any brought aboard by passengers -- and based on your comments it seemed like the danger is what was concerning you.

[love4trvl]

We disembarked Nieuw Amsterdam on Saturday the 17th at 7:30 am. When we left the ship we passed a table with a lot of irons, kettles, and heating pads waiting to be picked up from their owners.  

 

[OlsSalt]

12 minutes ago, love4trvl said:

We disembarked Nieuw Amsterdam on Saturday the 17th at 7:30 am. When we left the ship we passed a table with a lot of irons, kettles, and heating pads waiting to be picked up from their owners.  

 

 

Count me among one of the scofflaws on our very first HAL cruise in 2009 - my little travel iron was confiscated. And the very kind note told me it was being held by the steward, who will be very happy to return it to me at then of the cruise.  Lesson learned, first hand.

 

Plus later hearing about the seriousness of any sort of fire on ships. If the ship has rules for the safety of all passengers, Including keeping balcony doors closed in order to maintain essential parts of a  smoke suppression ventilation systems, just do it.  (As explained by chengkp a few years back.)

 

Seemed trivial at the time on our first cruise, since in those days I never traveled anywhere without a small iron.  I also learned to choose far more packable clothes, that don't need ironing. 

[Haljo1935]

15 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

...Also, the regular coffee is bad.  I am a coffee snob.

@BobbiSox the regular coffee is bad. I am not a coffee snob.🤷‍♀️

[sunviking90]

My .02 CAD (so it’s worth less, lol): The main reason they are not readily in cabins on cruises out of the US is that it’s just easier not to have them and most of those cruisers will not want or need them. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. 
As mentioned Princess has them in room on cruises out of the UK (and some have said Australia), but they are stored away when the ships leave those itineraries. When requested they have happily provided them to us.

I was also offered a kettle by my room steward on Celebrity, when he saw me taking the RS hot water carafe back to the buffet for more hot water. (He was our best ever and knew what we wanted before we did!) This was a Mexico cruise out of LA. He said they have lots “but we put them away after repositioning”.

HAL has very little presence in the UK with most North European cruises originating in the Netherlands, so they’re just not as accommodating of the UK cruisers.

BTW, we were on one cruise that had multiple rice cookers confiscated!

[sunviking90]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Count me among one of the scofflaws on our very first HAL cruise in 2009 - my little travel iron was confiscated. And the very kind note told me it was being held by the steward, who will be very happy to return it to me at then of the cruise.  Lesson learned, first hand.

 

Plus later hearing about the seriousness of any sort of fire on ships. If the ship has rules for the safety of all passengers, Including keeping balcony doors closed in order to maintain essential parts of a  smoke suppression ventilation systems, just do it.  (As explained by chengkp a few years back.)

 

Seemed trivial at the time on our first cruise, since in those days I never traveled anywhere without a small iron.  I also learned to choose far more packable clothes, that don't need ironing. 

Hair straighteners are allowed, so we can iron our hair, but not clothes! 

[OlsSalt]

10 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

They usually unplug stuff so they can plug in their vacuum cleaner.....

 

I think smiling "Henry" might just run off the 220v plug?

[VMax1700]

20 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

HAL has very little presence in the UK with most North European cruises originating in the Netherlands, so they’re just not as accommodating of the UK cruisers.

Next year (2025) HAL has a couple of sailings from Dover.  Interesting how they will handle that.  Actually I don't care what they do........I don't want a kettle in the stateroom thankyou.

[Kristal Blade]

30 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Next year (2025) HAL has a couple of sailings from Dover.  Interesting how they will handle that.  Actually I don't care what they do........I don't want a kettle in the stateroom thankyou.

I’m tempted to book so I can report back here!

[sunviking90]

44 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Next year (2025) HAL has a couple of sailings from Dover.  Interesting how they will handle that.  Actually I don't care what they do........I don't want a kettle in the stateroom thankyou.

Yes, I remember some years ago my mother took a Baltic cruise from Dover, so they used to have some UK departures.

[YourWorldWithBill]

Has anyone ever taken a small humidifier? On our last cruise I got some weird sinus attack, and the dry air made it worse day by day. Since humidifiers use much less electricity than kettles, irons, etc., I would think they'd be okay. I might try and see what happens.

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Has anyone ever taken a small humidifier? On our last cruise I got some weird sinus attack, and the dry air made it worse day by day. Since humidifiers use much less electricity than kettles, irons, etc., I would think they'd be okay. I might try and see what happens.

 

ChengKP, the former ship's engineer who responded to technical issues in the past recommended  frequent use of nasal saline sprays, or perhaps even the glycerin type nasal coating products like Ayrs, to help ward off dry nasal passages that he associated with getting bouts of "cruise crud".

 

Drier air in these closed ventilation systems can be a problem. But probably also necessary for protection of soft goods as well -  upholstered furniture, bedding, carpeting, drapes etc. 

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Has anyone ever taken a small humidifier? On our last cruise I got some weird sinus attack, and the dry air made it worse day by day. Since humidifiers use much less electricity than kettles, irons, etc., I would think they'd be okay. I might try and see what happens.

 

My husband gave me a small travel humidifier in December.  So far I have only used it in my hotel rooms but I will be bringing it on my next cruise.  I connect it to the usb port on the night stand and it works great.  I also use a saline mist spray and that helps too.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Has anyone ever taken a small humidifier? On our last cruise I got some weird sinus attack, and the dry air made it worse day by day. Since humidifiers use much less electricity than kettles, irons, etc., I would think they'd be okay. I might try and see what happens.

 

A saline nasal spray will be more effective, as the ship's HVAC will be working to remove any moisture produced by your humidifier. The humidifier also only works in the cabin, whereas a saline nasal spray works anywhere.

[aussiedisneyfan]

12 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

Hair straighteners are allowed, so we can iron our hair, but not clothes! 

I just iron my clothes with my straightener after I've finished my hair! 😂

[chicopaige]

Thank you for all the responses.  I learned a lot.  The reason I asked about a kettle was after several Princess cruises I heard from another passenger that you could request a kettle once on board. I requested one on the chat feature  on the app and it was delivered. It was very handy for me as I like HOT coffee as soon as I wake up.  I had a can of Starbucks instant that I had from the land part of our vacation and it was so handy to have a cup in my room first thing in the morning.  I will be on Holland America ship this summer and thought someone on these boards might know if the ship had kettles available.  I wasn’t trying to smuggle one on my own, I am aware of the rules for not bringing them onboard.

A special thank you to “Inside Cabin” for your suggestion of the travel kettle.  It will come in handy for my coffee in hotel rooms (I have seen some pretty filthy coffee makers in hotel rooms).

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 2/19/2024 at 9:21 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

A saline nasal spray will be more effective, as the ship's HVAC will be working to remove any moisture produced by your humidifier. The humidifier also only works in the cabin, whereas a saline nasal spray works anywhere.

 

A humidifier in the cabin would be a blessing. I use a nasal spray to ward of nasal/sinus infections, but overnight, I'm not waking up to respray my nose. 

 

Cunard provides kettles, which I love. On my last Cunard cruise (Norway in November), the air was dry in the ship and outside. I tried boiling water and leaving the kettle open while I walked around the room to add a little moisture to the air, but it didn't help. I guess the dehumidifier in the system was working harder than the kettle.

[Kristal Blade]

I think the air conditioning removes lots of moisture from the air.

I sometimes suffer minor nose bleeds when cruising, something that never happens here in the wet southwest of England!

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

A humidifier in the cabin would be a blessing. I use a nasal spray to ward of nasal/sinus infections, but overnight, I'm not waking up to respray my nose. 

 

Cunard provides kettles, which I love. On my last Cunard cruise (Norway in November), the air was dry in the ship and outside. I tried boiling water and leaving the kettle open while I walked around the room to add a little moisture to the air, but it didn't help. I guess the dehumidifier in the system was working harder than the kettle.

 

The ship's HVAC reduces both moisture and heat from the air, so any moisture added by the kettle is being continuously removed. Extended boiling of the kettle will provide an increase in relative humidity, but it will be steadily reduced overnight.

 

In an aircon environment, removing moisture with the heat is essential, as colder air can hold less moisture than warmer air. As the air temperature cools, if the moisture content remained constant, the relative humidity would increase. As it reaches 100% the excess moisture would be condensed, with the potential for mould, etc.

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The ship's HVAC reduces both moisture and heat from the air, so any moisture added by the kettle is being continuously removed. Extended boiling of the kettle will provide an increase in relative humidity, but it will be steadily reduced overnight.

 

In an aircon environment, removing moisture with the heat is essential, as colder air can hold less moisture than warmer air. As the air temperature cools, if the moisture content remained constant, the relative humidity would increase. As it reaches 100% the excess moisture would be condensed, with the potential for mould, etc.

 

My heating system (hot air) has a humidifier on it, and I have to be careful about the setting when it's at or below freezing because I get condensation on the inside of the windows. But I'm not asking for tropical humidity on a ship, just not the Sahara!

[sciencewonk]

On 2/19/2024 at 3:01 AM, BobbiSox said:

I am sorry for offending anyone on this board. Perhaps I need to take my medication and put on my glasses. I am not new to this board; I don't post much but I read almost everyday. I'm not new to HAL; I am 5-star. I will only read now and keep my crazy opinions to myself. 😔

You did not offend me.  I agree with your remarks and the impression I got from the discussion was that people were looking for ways to get around the rules and to use their kettles onboard.  Judging from the response to your post either I completely misinterpreted the discussion or people are having a guilty reaction (or both).  Please continue to share your experience as a 5-star mariner.

[YourWorldWithBill]

9 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

A humidifier in the cabin would be a blessing. I use a nasal spray to ward of nasal/sinus infections, but overnight, I'm not waking up to respray my nose. 

 

Yes, I think I'll take a small one and see what happens. Humidifiers are very different from heating appliances such as tea kettles.