Royal Caribbean's recent policy change has a lot of people with an upcoming cruise confused if they can bring their favorite cabin hack with them.
The cruise line updated its list of things you cannot bring on a cruise last week, and the fallout has been a lot of confusion about what is and what isn't allowed.
The change was simple enough, they added "multi-plug outlets" to the list, but it did not specify what exactly that means. Specifically, which outlets, plugs, or devices are no longer permissible to bring.
Royal Caribbean has long banned surge protectors and power strips, but multi-plug outlets is not only new, but vague.
There are a myriad of devices you can purchase to add more charging options to an existing outlet, but it's not clear which of these will be allowed.
Some have a combination of USB ports and traditional power outlets, while others are just USB ports.
The result has been a lot of room for interpretation.
It can be argued this change closed a loophole that allowed for multi-outlet adapters without cords to be technically "legal." Under this change, those would be prohibited.
Royal Caribbean did not specifically say why it made this change, but since the multi-plug outlet addition was in conjunction with power strips, it's likely about mitigating fire risk.
Fire is the top concern for cruise ships, because fires can spread quickly on a ship. Power strips and outlet extenders have the potential to overload an outlet and cause a fire.
"Creating chaos"
In addition to posting on social media, some cruisers asked Royal Caribbean via social media for clarification.
One person asked Royal Caribbean's X/Twitter team if an European to 110V converter block that has USB ports built in is allowed given that it doesn’t add more plugs and isn’t corded.
Zack from Royal Caribbean's social media team replied, "We do allow blocks that have multiple USB plugs, however, as it has an additional power outlet it wouldn't be permitted."
That answer seems to back up the idea that only devices that add additional USB ports but no additional power outlets is what this change is all about.
@NiceCarFather felt the reply didn't go far enough, "Is there a plan to post a list of acceptable and unacceptable chargers on the website? This is creating chaos among your customer base and we’re trying to be compliant by being informed."
The person added, "saying charging blocks are permitted doesn’t tell someone whose charging block their USB-C and 110V outlet combo isn’t ok."
In another reply, Leah from the social team wrote, "Electrical Extension Cords - including power strips/surge protected strips and multi-plug outlets are NOT allowed. We do allow the multi-plug blocks on which the outputs are for USB cables."
Based on Royal Caribbean's social team replies, it appears a USB hub that lacks any electrical outlets would be allowed, such as this Anker 6 Port USB Charging Station (contains affiliate link that costs you nothing extra, but Royal Caribbean Blog will make a small commission if you purchase the item through the link).
It takes up one electrical outlet in your cabin, while providing six new USB outlets.
A single EU to American power adaptor could also be allowed, since it does not add any new outlets.
Why outlet extenders are so important
Given how many devices people bring with them on vacation these days, having enough power outlets in a cabin has been a long-standing struggle.
Cruise ships built more than 10-15 years ago have very few outlets in the cabin. Many of Royal Caribbean's ships built before 2010 have just two outlets in total in the cabin.
For years, cruisers have relied on cruise packing hacks to bring their own outlet extender plug to provide a safe and effective way to add more outlets.
These outlet extenders mean less contention over which device can charge first, such as phones, watches, laptops, or tablets.
Carnival will not follow Royal Caribbean's ban
If you're keeping score at home, it appears Carnival Cruise Line will not add the same ban as Royal Caribbean.
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald wrote on Facebook, "I read about this and we have no plans to do the same. Thank you, just remember no power strips with a surge protector are allowed."
