Card to keep light/AC on??

[zealandsmom]

WOAH.....ya'll are holding back secrets?! I thought we were friends!
What is this about?

What other secrets do I need to know?

 

[kcashner]

On the new ships (only) as in many European hotels, there is a card holder inside the door. A card must be inserted to keep the lights on. Any card with a magnetic stripe will work--an old KTTW card if you are a previous cruiser, a credit card (I wouldn't leave one of these!) a library card, etc. In the concierge suites, a card is provided just for this purpose.

The idea is to save energy--since you logically take your key with you when leaving the room, this forces you to turn off the lights....

If cruising with a young child, you could use their KTTW card for the lights--they won't need the card except when getting off the ship.

 

[NAB]

WOAH.....ya'll are holding back secrets?! I thought we were friends!
What is this about?

What other secrets do I need to know?

This is only on the Dream.

And be careful which card you leave in there. Our room steward kept taking ours. We had to chase him down to get it back It was the room key from POR with hubby's name on it so he wanted it back. He had a whole stack of ohters that people must have used.

 

[kcashner]

And be careful which card you leave in there. Our room steward kept taking ours. We had to chase him down to get it back It was the room key from POR with hubby's name on it so he wanted it back. He had a whole stack of ohters that people must have used.

WHAT??? Your room steward essentially stole your personal property out of your room???? Sorry, but that card is your property. I don't get why your room steward kept lifting it! I can understand if he was instructed to pull it out of the slot and place it on the desk/bed/or whatever...but TAKING it?????

 

[zealandsmom]

Thanks...

I hadn't read this before in a pack list either! But this is good info to have!

(I'm on the Magic though!)

 

[BeeTeacher]

The card controls the lights only--not the AC or the outlets. If you are charging a laptop, it will still charge, and the room will stay cool.

We used a CVS card because we had our KTTW cards in our lanyard case. When we left we took it out and placed it on the closet shelf. Then it was handy when we came back.

 

[RedSox68]

Yes, we had to leave notes to our Room Steward to LEAVE OUR CARD IN PLACE because we were charging things, etc. Normally we would turn off all the lights anyway, but he has no right at all to remove your card and take it from the room!

 

[Mom323]

Yes, we had to leave notes to our Room Steward to LEAVE OUR CARD IN PLACE because we were charging things, etc. Normally we would turn off all the lights anyway, but he has no right at all to remove your card and take it from the room!

It only affects the lights, not the plugs. You can charge things without the card in the slot.

 

[Ikaikalani]

WHAT??? Your room steward essentially stole your personal property out of your room???? Sorry, but that card is your property. I don't get why your room steward kept lifting it! I can understand if he was instructed to pull it out of the slot and place it on the desk/bed/or whatever...but TAKING it?????

I guess technically you could say that, but the truth is the stewards carry a stack of old KTTW cards in their pockets as they're in/out of the cabins all the time, so need them repeatedly. Stewards tend to collect old cards and carry them about for use whenever needed. Our last steward showed us his stack and they were mostly KTTW cards left behind after debarkation of previous cruisers. I can easily see how the card you leave behind can get mixed up with the stack they carry in their pockets. Im sure it's not intentional, but an easy/common mistake. Lesson to be learned: I just ask our steward for an old unneeded card that we can use, this way if he mistakenly pockets it later on, it's no worries as it was his to begin with.

 

[mimmi]

This maybe a stupid question but I've been wondering for some time now: why do you leave a card in the slot when you're not in the room? What do you need the lights for?
I can understand the need for aircondition or electricity to charge something, but lights??

By the way: it's not only common in Europe but also in Asia, and I've even been to hotels in Africa where they had these slots, I looks like it's becoming standard everywhere.
I remember when I first encountered this system, it took me quite a while to figure it out, including ahone call to the concierge (I still feel ashamed when I think of that call) and now it's basically everywhere I go, except for America.

 

[shburks]

This maybe a stupid question but I've been wondering for some time now: why do you leave a card in the slot when you're not in the room? What do you need the lights for?
I can understand the need for aircondition or electricity to charge something, but lights??

I'm glad you asked this because I've actually wondered this, too!

 

[wfbnancy]

I believe that it is to avoid leaving your key in the room when you leave by accident.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

This maybe a stupid question but I've been wondering for some time now: why do you leave a card in the slot when you're not in the room? What do you need the lights for?
I can understand the need for aircondition or electricity to charge something, but lights??
.........

I too would like to know. If the switch is right inside the door when you enter (99.5% of the time they are), why leave the light on?

 

[NAB]

We do not leave the lights on. They are switched off. It is when you want to use the bathroom at anytime durning the day. The switches only work if there is a card in the slot.

Our key is usually in the lanyard. Love on the Dream you don't have to take it out to open the door and just tap it to get off the ship.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Doesn't have to be a card with a magstrip either...my DL worked fine.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

ANY credit card size piece of plastic will work, or even slightly smaller as there is no part of the slot that register's anything, just a microswitch connected to a contactor that connect's the power to the lights.
There is no right way up or right side round when you put the card in.

I think some people find it hard to remember and I have locked myself out of a hotel room before when I have forgotten the room key card.

I just take along a old hotel key card/used gift card/old point's card etc and use that, then remove it enough that the light's go off/ or hear the click. Or as someone else posted below, ask your Stateroom Host for a old one to use.

It's not really a big thing to do at the end of the day!

Ex Techie

 

[Namsupak]

You don't even need to remove it out of the slot completely, we just pull it up until the switch is released and the lights go off. Then when you come back push it down the inch or so again and the lights come back on.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

You don't even need to remove it out of the slot completely, we just pull it up until the switch is released and the lights go off. Then when you come back push it down the inch or so again and the lights come back on.

No big deal!

Ex Techie

 

[NAB]

You don't even need to remove it out of the slot completely, we just pull it up until the switch is released and the lights go off. Then when you come back push it down the inch or so again and the lights come back on.

You don't even have to do that. Just leave it in and turn off the light switch like you would do at home. I don't leave the bathroom lights on if no one is in there while we are in the room.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

You don't even have to do that. Just leave it in and turn off the light switch like you would do at home. I don't leave the bathroom lights on if no one is in there while we are in the room.

!

You wouldn't do it at home, but unfortunately so many people do it on a cruise or vacation.
Not having to pay for the electricity I guess.
DCL wouldn't have spent the extra money to install the system over a $0.50c light switch if it wouldn't cut down on unnecessary electricity usage.

Ex Techie