Royal Caribbean banned an important cruise item (DON'T bring it onboard!)

You can't bring certain travel items on a Royal Caribbean cruise anymore. Here's what changed and what you should bring instead!

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[msgeen]

I think older Royal Caribbean ships should have an office or booth on board where guests can borrow approved USB extenders for free. Guests could return them by bringing them back to the office or leaving them in their cabins. If they keep them, they would be charged for them since their SeaPass card is linked to the USB extender they borrowed.

[jeffreyfritz]

Dear Royal Caribbean. Either update your older ships with more outlets. Or let us bring safe outlet extenders on board. Your guests need the consideration.

[JavaJunkieRN]

I recently cruised with a friend on Liberty of the Seas. Between the 2 of us we had 3 medical devices with only 2 outlets in the room. Before starting to pack, I reviewed the no-no list and saw nothing about multi plug adapters. We brought multi plug adapters and a multiplug extension cord (all without surge protectors) all of them were confiscated from our luggage. We spent the first night playing switch-a-roo with plugs to the different medical devices. Needless to say we were unable to charge any electronics because there were no USB ports in our cabin. Fortunately, after complaining they returned our adapters and extension cords saving us from 8 nights of outlet swapping. Royal needs to keep in mind some passengers have more than 2 pieces of medical equipment needing electricity.

[mattconstance]

Matt there has been clarification that an Adaptor that has a single power outlet plus a USB port is ok. Whats not ok is Multiple 120/240 power outlets.

[Peter-pix]

We just sailed this week on Allure of the Seas. We had ZERO issues with bringing multi port outlets!

[AllenSmith]

There is literally no reason for this ban, as an marine electrician I can confirm there is no directive banning these items, this is Royal Caribbean and I don’t understand why or what the justification for it is

[damitman]

We travel with a CPAP machine, which RCI gives us the extension chord, we also travel with diabetic supplies, which RCI gives us a mini fridge for. (2) Mobility scooters in our cabin. We registered with RCI the special needs forms. Seems to me that (2) outlets in the cabin for (4) needed items is not good math. I spoke with an RCI representative today. He advised I could still use the foreign converter that has (1) outlet, as long as it is an approved safety rating. We leave in about a month. I hope this does not turn into a fiasco, that shuts down my allegiance to RCI.

[HR-wdcw]

The issue with these devices is not the device itself, but that people plug in too much stuff into them and dont read the instructions, thus probably overloading the socket (and the adapter) and creating a fire hazard. So I don't think the fact it has 2 ports versus 1 port matters much, other than they may view that as a way of preventing people from overloading the sockets in the room, which may be the issue, but then they should state that, or say explicitly that the outlets in the room can only handle, say 500W per outlet. Most properly wired outlets (on a board or in a building) should have breakers that pop once the max rated current is reached. If that's not happening, then perhaps they need to look into the wiring of the ship and update it if necessary (I'm not sure if maritime regulations are different than regular building codes since ships tend to generate their own power onboard versus getting it from a landlined source but I doubt the fact that it has 2 plus versus 1 greatly reduces the risk. You can still plug in a high-wattage appliance into a single out and create a fire hazard).

[davee]

I bet that the electrical distribution breaker panel on an older ship had issues due to extra current draw that the ship was not designed to handle because of power strips

[beautywearsboots]

I charge my power bank during the day so I can use it to charge my phone on the nightstand at night. No cord running across the cabin or having to get out of bed to snooze the alarm

[madlorraine]

My only frustration with this is when you take an adaptor for land traveling in Europe and now it is illegal to bring that adaptor on the ship. Just a pain.

[bigguy]

I'm guessing if you want more outlets, you have to book a suite now or book the new bigger ships.

[HairandLifeGrenada]

"Great video! Thanks for the heads-up on what items are banned on Royal Caribbean cruises—super helpful for travelers. We run a channel here in Grenada where we showcase the beauty of our island, and it's great to learn more about cruise regulations for when visitors come through. Your content always keeps us informed and inspired. Looking forward to your next upload!"

[ondeckadventures]

It's weird that there has been no official communication from Royal on this other than if someone decides to go to the website and specifically search for this topic. Seems to me that an email to anyone that has a booked reservation would receive an email advising of the change so as not to create a negative customer experience at the start of a vacation.

[austintexas]

I think Cruise company should providing enough in cabin outlets for customers to use! I really dont care ship is 10-15yo. We (as consumers) dont pay 10-15yo price for our cruise trip. It is necessary to make convenience for us. most gentlemen use for charging phones, cameras, electric beard/mustache shaver and the ladies need for their hair drier, flat iron, etc. It is NOT like charging power supplies for power generators. if cruise company know that is the need and why make it avail instead so many regulations. We have been cruising for 30yrs and each year i can see RCi scale down everything but the price keep going up. I am gonna loose my interest pretty soon. Hope Cruise companies will hear me on this one.

oh BTW, Royal Caribbean Blog is one of my favorite for many years..Thx !

[DazDaz]

It makes zero sense to ban 1 to 1 plug adaptors because they don't add any additional sockets to the room. On my cruise on Icon a few weeks ago my US to UK (single plug) adapter was not questioned but I know of someone 2 weeks ago who was told they could not use a similar device.

As is common with Royal - they make policy changes and then don't communicate them properly - so each staff member from head office right to room attendants has a different view on what the rules actually are.

[EricIsTraveling]

Thanks for the heads up and the usb port suggestion.

[joecichlid]

We often cruise on The Radiance in Alaska and my mom may be using a cpap machine the next time. We always book an accessible cabin, 2023 on the Radiance, and the closest outlets to the bed are across the room. Because the room is wheelchair and scooter friendly, that puts the outlets about 20' or more from the bedside table. Will RCL have something available to work in this case?

[RussLuvsCruise]

Hey Matt, you showed in the video a EU adapter that had one US outlet as well as one USB A and one USB C giving the impression that it is banned. Since it only has one US outlet and is not a multiplug, wouldn't it then be ok? Plus the EU adapter is what we use when cruising out of Europe with either a pre or post cruise stay at an accomodation. Without that EU adapter we can't charge our devices. This is quite confusing.

[michaeledwards]

12/6/2024 - Royal Caribbean bans - Satellite dishes, routers, and other networking equipment.