Safe to use Thinkpad Laptop on shipboard? I have read that they are
adapted internally to be used with the proper plug but without an
external current converter. The ship would be the Clipper Adventurer.

Hello and thank you for your question.

As noted in the comment below, your laptop will surely accept 220 volt
service (and as the comment states you can easily verify this by
reading the power supply).

There is one further thing to note, and equally important.  The
shipboard power is of course supplied by a shipboard generator, and
there's always a risk of surges.  Also, there's probably not more than
one outlet in your cabin.  A surge protector will maintain the voltage
at a level 220, and it will double as a multiple outlet for other
uses.

http://www.cruisereviews.com/CarnivalCruiseLines/CarnivalConquest14.htm

Search terms used:
cruise ship "surge protector"

Thanks again for bringing us your question.
Enjoy your trip!
Sincerely,
Google Answers Researcher
Richard-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 12 Aug 2003 08:18 PDT

An afterthought--
just make sure the surge protector itself is 220 Volt rated.
http://www.zones.com/cgi-bin/zones/site/product/index.html?id=000125662&zone=zbs

Sure it works on 220 volts.  Convince yourself by reading the UL
information written on the block-part of the power supply.  It'll say
"Input 100-240V" or something to that effect.

Switching power supplies used in computers are inherently easy to
adapt to different voltages.  Every 100 microseconds or so they
intelligently switch on/off to "let just enough voltage through." 
That's how they maintain the exact 12-20-volts DC output sent to the
laptop.