Cruise ship electrical outlets amperage limitations?

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scotteng

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Professional Engineer
Electrical engineer here with a curious observation on a recent cruise. The wife had a 3-barrel curling iron that would not work when plugged into any of the cabin electrical outlets. Everything else worked just fine in those same outlets immediately before and after, just not the curling iron. I suspect they must be using some type of current limiting tech that disables the circuit temporarily. After returning home, we plugged in the curling iron and confirmed it works. Does anyone know what technology cruise ships might be using that detects higher currents and cuts off the circuit if above a certain threshold, but restores the circuit it when that high-amperage device is removed?
 
I am amazed you were able to bring a curling iron onto a ship in the first place. Usually heating devices are caught when boarding or later by a cabin steward.

But, I have never heard of a device that can limit the current you can draw other than the standard OCPDs.
Was this using a North American receptacle or an IEC one?
 
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I agree with the shaver theory, were the 'normal' receptacles shukos and just the bothroom one a NEMA 15A two prong?
 
jim dungar said:
I am amazed you were able to bring a curling iron onto a ship in the first place. Usually heating devices are caught when boarding or later by a cabin steward.

But, I have never heard of a device that can limit the current you can draw other than the standard OCPDs.
Was this using a North American receptacle or an IEC one?
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How long has it been since you took a cruise?
Curling irons and hair dryers haven't been a problem for quite a while. We went on one on 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2023. All on Carnival.
 
qcroanoke said:
How long has it been since you took a cruise?
Curling irons and hair dryers haven't been a problem for quite a while. We went on one on 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2023. All on Carnival.
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Jan 14, 2026 on Princess Cruise lines out of Fort Lauderdale, we watched 3 people pulled out of the line. They were brought to hand inspection at a table covered with confiscated items, including heating devices and fans.
 
jim dungar said:
Jan 14, 2026 on Princess Cruise lines out of Fort Lauderdale, we watched 3 people pulled out of the line. They were brought to hand inspection at a table covered with confiscated items, including heating devices and fans.
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Wow. I had no idea that was still a thing.
Carnival didn't have anything like that. Just made us put our carry ons down and run the drug dogs by them. Lol
 
qcroanoke said:
Wow. I had no idea that was still a thing.
Carnival didn't have anything like that. Just made us put our carry ons down and run the drug dogs by them. Lol
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We cruise multiple times per year. First time on Princess and first time seeing this blatant removal. On other lines, like Norwegian, we have walked past the room storing items confiscated by stewards.
I know hair is being done all the time. Ask your cruise line about their restrictions and allowances.

The point, for the OP, is other than the shaver outlet, I have never heard of current limiting being done on cruise ships.
 
jim dungar said:
We cruise multiple times per year. First time on Princess and first time seeing this blatant removal. On other lines, like Norwegian, we have walked past the room storing items confiscated by stewards.
I know hair is being done all the time. Ask your cruise line about their restrictions and allowances.

The point, for the OP, is other than the shaver outlet, I have never heard of current limiting being done on cruise ships.
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I know on Carnival there was a lot of discussion on forums about what curling irons and hair dryers would and wouldn't work.
 
From the last documentation we received from Carnival as far as "allowable items"

  • Personal grooming devices such as hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, shavers, and other electrical devices, such as fans (no larger than 12" in diameter), power strips, multi plug box outlets/adaptors, and extension cords (without surge protectors) are allowed when used with proper caution. However, if such devices are determined to pose a hazard, they will be removed and returned on debarkation morning. Handheld clack (or clap) fans are not permitted in the nightclub or on any indoor dance floor.
 
What voltage / frequency do cruse ships typically use?
I know back when my Dad took a few cruses in Europe the ships were 230V 50hz, and and the first one he blew a circuit plugging in a US power strip, he had shuko - NEMA 5-15 passive adapter ---> US power strip --> all his 100-230V various devices and chargers.
The MOV's in the 120V powerstrip are probably what blew on on board breaker. Then he got wiser and bought a Shuko power strip and got more shuko - 5-15 adapters and that worked.
 
tortuga said:
What voltage / frequency do cruse ships typically use?
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In the past year, I have been on Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian. They all had both Shuko (240V) and NEMA (120V)receptacles. Of course these ships sail primarily in the North American waters.
20 years ago they were all Shuko. It appears during retrofits they are upgrading to NEMA even for the hallway receptacle used by the housekeeping crew.

We travel in the Americas and Europe, I make sure all of our devices are rated up to 240V 50/60Hz. I don't trust voltage convertors, but I do carry a universal receptacle adapter.
 
jim dungar said:
In the past year, I have been on Princess, Holland America, and Norwegian. They all had both Shuko (240V) and NEMA (120V)receptacles. Of course these ships sail primarily in the North American waters.
20 years ago they were all Shuko. It appears during retrofits they are upgrading to NEMA even for the hallway receptacle used by the housekeeping crew.

We travel in the Americas and Europe, I make sure all of our devices are rated up to 240V 50/60Hz. I don't trust voltage convertors, but I do carry a universal receptacle adapter.
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I agree. Carnival had both available also.
 
OP has not checked in again but they are US based, so if they plugged in a 120V device to a 230V outlet, it would have fried, not just ceased working.

The cost to implement a current sensing relay to disable each individual outlet in every room of a cruise ship would be astronomical! So although it would not be impossible, it is highly improbable.

Much more likely is the simplest possibility: the blades on your wife’s curling iron plug were too short to reach one or both of the contacts in the outlet. I’ve seen it before, especially on off-brand Amazon purchased devices made in China and not subjected to testing to UL or CSA standards.
 
I wonder if people are seeing BS 4573 sockets? Contrary to popular belief in the UK they do (or did) use 115V 50hz for (some) shavers, or at least they standardized a special isolated receptacle intended just for shavers, often seen used for charging electric toothbrushes and other bathroom items.
The low voltage is Intended for use in damp locations but not GFCI (RCD) protected that I am aware, the protection is just the current limited transformer. Its smaller than a doorbell transformer, 230 : 115/230.
If you draw more than a few hundred mA the voltage just drops to 0, thats the protection.
You also find them incorporated into fixtures such as over the mirror lights or wall mounts
BS 4573 sockets are often confused with EU sockets but they are not the same,
https://plugsocketmuseum.nl/British5.html.
As you can see the 115v receptacle (vertical orientation) on the right will accept a NEMA 1-15 but your shaver will sound different at 50hz;
1774480218927.png1774481843515.png
 
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tortuga said:
wonder if people are seeing BS 4573 sockets?
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Tortuga nailed it.

It makes perfect sense for marine vessels catering to international travelers, not governed by the NEC, to provide 120/230v options for all occupant cabins.

Tortuga gave us the current-limiting mechanism as a bonus. Bravo for his brilliant find.
 
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