Why the New Outlet Policy is Charging Up Confusion
Ah, cruising—the open seas, endless buffets, and the joy of escaping daily life while paying for the privilege of living in a floating hotel room roughly the size of your walk-in closet. It’s supposed to be all relaxation and mojitos, but leave it to Royal Caribbean to electrify passengers with one confusing new rule. As if remembering which swimsuit is dry wasn’t challenging enough, now cruisers are left scratching their heads over what kind of outlet extenders they’re allowed to bring on board. Yes, friends, Royal Caribbean’s ban on power strips has added a new level of confusion to your packing checklist.
Let’s Talk About Banned Cruise Items
First things first: cruise lines are pretty strict about what you can and cannot bring on board. No surprise, you can’t pack weapons, flammable items, irons, or small appliances (goodbye, dreams of ironing poolside). Cannabis? Forget about it, even if it’s legal in your home state. And don’t think about stashing your own liquor in your luggage either—Royal Caribbean will find it, and they’ll find it fast.
Every cruise line has its own quirks when it comes to what’s allowed. Some allow you to bring a bottle of wine per adult, others confiscate anything that looks like it might come with a cork. Don’t even get me started on water and soda—some lines allow you to pack it by the crate, others will make you buy every sip you drink. It’s like a game of “Cruise Ship Rules Bingo,” and no one ever wins.
And just when you thought you had the rules down, they change. It’s important to read your cruise line’s prohibited-items list carefully because there is no standard across the industry. And just in case you think the lines owned by the same company will have the same rules—well, bless your heart.
Royal Caribbean’s Mysterious Rule Change
Royal Caribbean decided to up the ante in the “What Am I Allowed to Bring?” game by throwing a new twist into the mix. If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you know how important it is to keep all your gadgets charged. From smartphones and tablets to smartwatches and e-readers, you’ve got a lot of tech demanding power. The older the ship, the fewer outlets you’ll find in your room, often one American outlet and one European—because apparently, your phone and hair straightener are supposed to learn to share.
To avoid a family brawl over who gets to charge their device first, cruisers have traditionally brought along a trusty multi-plug adapter. It’s common knowledge that anything with surge protection is banned, which makes sense; we wouldn’t want to burn down a billion-dollar ship to keep your iPad topped off. But multi-plug devices without surge protection have long been the savvy traveler’s lifeline. At least, they were.
Royal Caribbean’s latest rule tweak, though, has left passengers confused about which power devices are kosher and which might be walking the plank. Their new policy on “Extension Cords and Multi-Plug Outlets/Power Strips” seems straightforward—until you actually try to figure out what it means. Are we talking about just power strips with cords? Or does it include those compact adapters that plug directly into the wall? Should you risk it and hope for the best, or just resign yourself to lugging a 10,000 mAh power bank all over the ship?
Is the Rule Even Being Enforced?
To make matters worse, it seems Royal Caribbean hasn’t exactly been shouting this new rule from the mountaintop. Unlike the kind of “urgent” emails they send about onboard events you don’t care about (I mean, how many times can you be reminded about the silent disco?), this power-strip proclamation seems to have slipped through the cracks. Some passengers say they’ve had their multi-plug devices confiscated at embarkation, while others haven’t experienced any issues at all.
And if you’re thinking, “Well, maybe the rules are clearer on Celebrity Cruises,” which is owned by the same parent company, then you’re thinking too logically for the cruise world. Celebrity hasn’t adopted this policy, at least not yet, adding even more confusion to the whole affair.
In a curious twist, Royal Caribbean’s public relations team acknowledged a request for clarification from me and I am sure many others. Since then? Crickets. Not so much as an Instagram story or smoke signal to clarify whether that innocuous-looking wall plug in your luggage is contraband.
To Surge or Not to Surge: That is the Question
For those of you still trying to decode the enigma that is Royal Caribbean’s policy change, here’s where things stand: Anything with surge protection is absolutely a no-go. A simple adapter with multiple USB and USB-C ports? Those seem to be fine. But a multi-plug adapter that gives you multiple regular outlets? That’s where things get fuzzy.
Several of our “unofficial sources” (read: random people on social media) have reported bringing on the same outlet extenders they’ve always used, without any issues. Others have had their trusty gadgets confiscated and locked away like they’re harboring some state secret. And if you’re expecting a refund or compensation for having to buy an overpriced outlet adapter from the ship’s store? Let’s just say, you may as well wish on a star.
What Should You Do?
The safest course of action? Assume that anything you have that could be mistaken for a multi-plug outlet is potentially a no-go. If you’re desperate to have more power outlets, make sure you pack something that’s clearly a USB-only adapter, without any actual wall outlets. And even then, don’t be surprised if the cruise line staff eyeballs it like you’re trying to smuggle live animals on board.
So, if you’re setting sail with Royal Caribbean any time soon, consider yourself warned: Your cabin may have just one American outlet, one European outlet, and a whole lot of rules about what you can and can’t plug into them. Welcome aboard!
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