Planning for Europe – Electronics

Everyone knows how much we love our electronics (okay, so maybe me more than Stu). When we cruise we usually both have iPads, iPhone, Apple watches, AirPods, and Kindle e-readers, plus Stu’s hearing aids and my laptop. That means a lot of things to plug in and charge.

When we head out in September for Europe, we will have all the above as well as Stu’s Go Pro and my Panasonic Lumix camera.

Over the years we’ve fine-tuned (and upgraded) what we need to carry with us to keep things fired up. Traveling internationally means we need adapters that will fit the plugs in those countries. The good news is we don’t need a voltage converter, just an adapter. We settled on this one because it’s an all in one and will work in the UK, Spain, and Italy. We now have two of them and will each carry one. One might have done us, but this gives us a backup, just in case.

Click images to see the product page

Please note, an international adapter will NOT run run items like hair dryers, steams, electric kettles, curling irons, etc. unless they are dual-voltage products. Most current day phones, tablets, and computers are rated for 110-220v and are okay to charge. Always check the rating on your devices before plugging them into an adapter. If in doubt, purchase a converter like this one: BESTEK Universal Travel Adapter 100-220V to 110V Voltage Converter

This is the power strip we both carry and it has worked out very well. The nice thing is we can piggyback one off the other if necessary due to limited outlets (like the cruise ship). It provides2 fast-charging USB-C ports, 2 AC outlets, and a USB-A port. And, at 65W, it does a great job of quick charging when needed.

The one complication arose when I decided to buy an old 2015 11″ MacBook Air to bring to Europe, leaving my much newer (and bigger ) MacBook air at home. It’s working out well (and I will have a test run in June when I take it to the Writer’s Police Academy in Wisconsin) but I soon realized I wouldn’t be able to utilize the power banks that I normally use on cruises with my normal MacBook.

Why? Because the older MacBooks use a different plug configuration and have to plug into an A/C outlet, not into a USB plug on a power bank. And why is this an issue? Well, we have a LOT of sea days on the two transatlantic cruises and I like to write. And I normally write (& browse/research/email) for 4-6 hours. The laptop battery won’t last. So I needed to find some type of power bank that also had an A/C plug.

I ended up with two (one has been returned since it was so big), both worked quite well. This was the first one, and it gave me 4.5 hours of time on the laptop. I really liked it, all but the size and it was a bit heavier than I would have liked (important since we have weight restrictions when flying).

This is what I ended up with, a little less power, but lighter and smaller. AND, I got over 5 hours battery time on the laptop. Yup, happy camper!

More to come….

1. Planning for Europe…
2. Planning for Europe – Electronics
3. Planning for Europe – Comfort & Safety
4. Planning for Europe – Packing
5. Planning for Europe – Electronics Take 2
6. Planning for Europe – Laundry
7. Planning for Europe – Personal

Ciao for now!

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