CPAP and cruise ship electricity

I thought that this was discussed, but I can't find a thread on this subject (or at least not a recent one).

Its seems that cruise ship electricity is very different from land based electricity. While most appliances (such as CPAPs, phone chargers, camera chargers, electric toothbrushes, electric razors, or laptop chargers) are compatible, surge suppressors are not. In any case, you should call your cruise line before hand, and tell them you'll be bringing a CPAP machine. They will advise you whether the socket is near enough the bed. If it's not, they will provide their own extension cord or allow you to bring one that does not contain a surge protector.

Also, they generally have distilled water, as they clean the sea water to provide the water on the ship anyhow. They will be able to supply you with distilled water either for free or for a reasonable fee.

So helpful as I imagine most of us here are going to be cruising soon.

I have been on over 25 cruises and CPAP usage rules varies a lot by ship (age of ship mainly). Most cruise lines prohibit extension cords which are needed on nearly all older ships and even many new ships depending the cabin type and other isssues. All cruise lines that I have sailed have a "Special Needs" form where a passenger can request that the ship provide (and tape to the floor) an extension cord and distilled water if you want it. As just mentioned, the Special Needs form is what you need to complete a few weeks before sailing. In my experience, there is rarely a section specifcally for the CPAP supplies I mentioned, so you may have to write/type in what you need and ignore the rest of form (except obviously your name, ship, and sailing date). You should get a reply to your request in a few days saying that they will supply your requested CPAP related items. Only one line as ever replied with "bring your own", but I cannot remember which line that was.

As for the power, yes, cruise lines, as well as all ships, have different AC power than land based power (220VAC for one, and no ground for another). However, a CPAP and nearly all other AC powered devices are allowed and can work with 220VAC. The big exception is that any AC power device CANNOT have a surge protector. Any surge protector compatible with land AC power will not only be useless on a ship they can, and have, cause fires. Since it would be nearly impossbile for shoreside security to check every possible AC powered device that may or may not have a surge protector, the cruise lines have rules prohibiting a large number of AC powered devices to try to convince passengers to leave many items at home. Every cruise line has a list of items that are prohibited and you should chech your line's webpage to make sure that your are within the rules. You may find that even your own power devices (watchout for USB chargers) may have a surge protector, or may not. It can be very difficult to tell.

One other comment about extension cords and CPAP, even though prohibited I have packed a long one in my CPAP case for possible use in our precruise hotel stay. I had no plans to use it on the ship and if security grabs it at the embarkation port, fine, extension cords are cheap. Oddly, security have never mentioned seeing it (on x-ray) and I walk straight though, but leave it packed for the trip home. The past couple cruises that we have taken were on newer ships and they had AC outlets bedside. Some have mentioned under the bed, but I have never seen an outlet there, but I have never looked.

Do not worry too much about it. Cruise lines, like TSA at airports, hotels, and others, see CPAP machines every day. Even when passing through TSA Security do they even mention my CPAP. However, you should always travel with your CPAP in its standard travel case and keep it with you when boarding airplanes. In the US and most other countries, the FAA prohibits attentdents from separating medical equipment from a passenger. However, if your CPAP is buried in another carry-on type bag it may be grabbed and moved if space is needed in the cabin.

What's the deal with surge suppressors?

Conrad wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 14, 2024 6:43 am

What's the deal with surge suppressors?

Below are links to two articles from the USCG about surge protectors. Basically, ships have very different AC power systems than what we have at home, and surge protectors and, in some cases extension cords, can cause serious damage. The cruise lines are constantly changing their rules about what they allow or do not allow on their ships. Surge protectors are a big "No" across all lines. The big problem these days are that surge protectors are often hidden, or not mentioned, in nearly USB chargers. So they may start banning these especially on newer ships that have USB charger outlets built in to the walls of each cabin.

You can get many hits if you do an Internet search on this subject.

https://safety4sea.com/uscg-issues-upda ... rotectors/

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/TVNC ... evices.pdf