Power Strips on a Cruise What's Banned and What's Allowed

Can you bring a power strip on a cruise? It depends entirely on the strip and the cruise line. Surge protectors are banned on every major line, no exceptions. Plain non-surge power strips are allowed on most lines — but Royal Caribbean banned all of them in 2024, full stop. This guide covers exactly what cruise security confiscates, what's permitted, why the rules exist, and what to pack instead so you're not fighting your cabin mates for the one usable outlet.

Start with the one rule that applies on every ship: no surge protectors. A surge protector — the kind with a "protected" indicator light and usually a joule rating printed on it — contains metal-oxide varistor circuitry designed for a building's grounded electrical system. On a ship's isolated electrical ground, that circuitry can fail in a way the vessel's ground-fault detection reads as a fault, which cruise lines treat as a fire risk. So security will pull a surge protector from your bag at embarkation, tag it, hold it, and hand it back on disembarkation. This is enforced on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Princess, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, Costa, Cunard, P&O and Virgin alike.

What cruise security will confiscate.

• •A surge protector is confiscated on every cruise line. Look for an indicator light, a joule rating, or the word "surge" — any of those and security pulls it at embarkation, tags it, and returns it at disembarkation.
• •Royal Caribbean (since 2024) confiscates ALL power strips, multi-plug AC adapters and extension cords — surge protection makes no difference. A strip that sails fine on Carnival will not get past Royal Caribbean pier security.
• •On Royal Caribbean, anything that adds AC outlets is the trigger. A USB-only charging cube that plugs into one wall outlet is fine; a "cube" that adds AC sockets is not.
• •Pack power strips, multi-plug adapters and extension cords in your carry-on, never checked baggage — pier security sometimes pulls them out of checked bags during screening.
• •The cabin bathroom outlet is a shaver socket on most ships — low amperage, won't charge a phone. It doesn't count as a usable outlet.
• •Need an extension cord for a CPAP or other medical device? Royal Caribbean (and other lines) will supply a compliant one if you request it before sailing — arrange it in advance rather than bringing your own.

In 2024, Royal Caribbean went further than anyone else. It now bans any device that increases the number of AC outlets — power strips of any kind, surge or not, multi-plug "cube" adapters, and extension cords. The policy is enforced at the pier: a non-surge strip that would sail fine on a Carnival ship gets confiscated boarding a Royal Caribbean one. What Royal Caribbean still allows is a charger that plugs into a single wall outlet and provides USB ports — a USB charging cube, in other words — as long as it carries a recognized US or European safety certification and doesn't add AC outlets. If you need a CPAP or other medical device that requires an extension cord, Royal Caribbean will supply a compliant one if you request it before you sail.

So here's what "banned" actually means. Banned on every cruise line: surge protectors, anything with an indicator light, anything labeled "surge protection." Additionally banned on Royal Caribbean: non-surge power strips, multi-plug AC adapters and cubes, extension cords. If you're not sure whether the strip in your closet has surge protection, look for the word "surge," a joule rating, or a glowing "protected" or "grounded" LED — any one of those and it stays home (or rides to the bottom of a confiscation bin at embarkation).

A non-surge power strip — often sold as "cruise-approved" — is just a passive bar of outlets with no surge circuitry and no light. There's nothing in it to interfere with the ship's electrical system, which is why Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, MSC and the European and British lines all permit them. They're the practical fix for a standard cabin that has only one or two usable outlets and a family with five devices to charge overnight. Just be aware that "cruise-approved" on an Amazon listing is marketing, not certification — what matters is that it has no surge protection and no indicator light, and that it's allowed on your specific line (not Royal Caribbean).

Even where strips are legal, the smarter pack is a compact USB charging hub: one wall plug, three to six USB ports — ideally a mix of USB-C and USB-A — and it fits any cabin layout. On Royal Caribbean it's the only outlet-multiplier you can bring. On every other line it does the same job as a strip without the bulk, and it charges phones, tablets, watches and e-readers without tying up an AC socket. If you also need a second AC outlet — a CPAP, a camera battery charger, a curling iron — then add a non-surge strip on the lines that allow it. But the USB hub goes in the bag regardless of which ship you're on.

Don't try to route around a crowded cabin by using the bathroom outlet. On almost every ship it's a low-amperage shaver socket — it won't run a phone charger, let alone a laptop or a hair dryer. It exists for electric razors and nothing else, and it doesn't count when you're tallying "usable outlets."

Whatever you bring, pack it in your carry-on, not checked baggage. Pier security sometimes pulls power devices out of checked bags during screening, and a strip you can't find on day one is a strip you'll be hunting for at Guest Services instead of unpacking. Carry-on keeps it under your control through the whole embarkation line.

One thing the cabin strip doesn't solve is charging during a shore excursion. Your cabin outlets stay the same in every port, but the café in Naples uses European round pins, the pub in Southampton uses UK three-pin sockets, and the beach bar in Cozumel uses US flat blades. Pack a small universal travel adapter for port days — see PlugHopper's country pages for which plug type each destination actually uses.

Bottom line: a USB charging hub goes on every cruise. A non-surge power strip goes on every cruise except Royal Caribbean. A surge protector goes on no cruise, ever. And for how many outlets you'll actually find in your specific cabin — and which ships have USB-C — see our cruise-line outlet guide.