Royal Caribbean abruptly bans essential travel item from cruises leaving customers fuming

Countless holiday-makers have been left scrambling after a major cruise line quietly banned an essential item from its ships.

Royal Caribbean is now banning multi-plug outlets from its cruises.

According to the New York Post, the cruise line quietly added the gadget to the list of banned items on its website, which now reads “Extension Cords and Multi-Plug Outlets/ Power Strips”.

While it has always prohibited extension cords and power strips due to the fact they could start electrical fires, multi-plug outlets were not previously forbidden, The Street reported.

Multi-plug outlets are valuable to holiday-makers charging multiple devices in cruise ship staterooms, which often do not have many power outlets.

Cruise lovers expressed disappointment with the new policy.

“They’ve never been banned before … I will simply go elsewhere for my cruises,” disgruntled customer Kristina Lambert wrote on X, explaining that between several phones, tablets and two CPAP machines, they need more outlets than are available in a typical stateroom.

CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines use mild air pressure to keep breathing airways open while a person sleeps, and is commonly used to treat sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnoea.

“Either provide a reasonable amount of charging ports in rooms or take back this ban,” the US businesswoman wrote in an exchange with the cruise line.

Royal Caribbean has banned multi-plug outlets from its cruises.

“You’ll lose at least our business if you make this stupid ban.”

“The biggest problem with this is for people like my husband who use a CPAP machine, with so many ships without outlets near the beds,” echoed Corey Graft, the YouTuber behind the account MidshipsCruise.

“We had tried asking for one on the ship to provide, but they never have one available, so we, of course, bring our own. This is a medical device that these people need to use.”

Others agreed Royal Caribbean should be providing the devices to guests.

“If I can’t bring it, then they should supply it,” one of Midships’s followers argued.

“If they would simply provide enough outlets or USB ports in the room, this wouldn’t even be a subject of conversation,” another replied.

However, some said they understood the reason for the policy.

“The ban could be because people are plugging in too many items and overloading the circuits,” one said.

“Better than stranded in the middle of the ocean on a burning ship,” another added.

The Post reached out to Royal Caribbean for an explanation about the ban but the cruise line did not immediately respond.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission