nutzo

We had our tour canceled on the 25th, as it wasn't running yet.:(

Really disappointed as this was the main excursion we wanted to go on.

We where to take the bus up to the Yukon and the train back.

They rebooked us on a bus only tour that was ok, but at least it was a lot cheaper. Saved enough to almost pay the NCL service charges for the 3 of us :p

Perhaps that rude behavior you encountered on your last cruise was from people fed up with your self centered attitude? :rolleyes:

So I guess all the chair hogs around the pool, the people pushing little old ladies out of the way so they could get on the elevator first, and the drunk 20 somethings coming into the buffet and sitting by several families with young kids while loudly using 4 letter word is my fault? :rolleyes:

I've already decided to get the radios, as they will be useful for what we will be doing before and after the cruise. I'll give them a try on the ship, and if they don't work, we'll figure something else out. I decided to get the ones that vibrate, so as not to disturb any overly sensitive people. And no, I won't be yelling into them as that doesn't increase the range. :rolleyes:

After the cruise I'll come back here and let people know if they don't work, only work sometime, or if they work great. Lets just consider this a scientific experiment/field test.

FYI: You don't know me at all. In fact I’m so self centered, I got off the elevator, gave my spot to that old lady and took the stairs for the last 2 decks. :eek:

Actually one cruise line already has an "APP" and Carnival was testing something similar on one of their new ships. I'm sure this would require an upgrade to their WiFi (especially with the voice support), but this would be a great solution. I'd be happy with just being able to text someone else.

If I was worried about the kids losing an expensive phone, there are cheap 4" android tablets (<$50) that could be used.

Costa Cruises just launched “MyCosta Mobile,” a new application for smartphones and tablets that enables Costa guests to call and phone each other while cruising onboard its 14 ships with unlimited talk and text at no cost.

Free to download and register, before sailing, guests download the application from the Apple, Android or Google Play store and install it on their smartphone or tablet. Once onboard, simply connect to the ship’s Wi-Fi network, register and launch the app.

I read many such comments as well, and the trend is about 25 to 1 reporting they do not work well. Personally, I would not waste my money on a 1 in 25 chance something will work.

 

 

Yes, do ignore those comments from people bothered by them. After all, it's YOUR vacation, so who cares what they think! No reason to be considerate towards everyone else. :rolleyes:

Based on other posts I've read, it's more like 50/50 with the better radios and the correct channels, not 1 in 25.

If people are bothered by someone using a radio, for a few seconds 2-3 times a day to locate someone, then they must surely be bother by the uncountable variety of rude behavior I encountered on my last cruise. Might be better if they just stay in their room and leave us peaceful folk alone. :p

Yep, that's the solution. Sit in your chair and read the manufacturer's specs and you will know so much more than experienced cruisers who have tried them and reported that they don't work well. What the heck does someone who has actual experience know, when all they had to do was look on the interweb to find out how wrong they were with how their experience actually was. :rolleyes:

 

With so many arm chair experts like you out there, who needs actual experience!?!?!?!?

Actually I've been reading the comments of real cruisers who have actually used radios on cruise ships, and then looked up up the models they used to try and figure out what works.

The biggest problem was filtering out all the threads of people complaining about others using them :)

It's amazing the hate for Walkie Talkies here, and the total lack of reliable information. :( I've been researching this topic for the past couple weeks, so hopefully this information will help some else.

I've been looking into buying some for our upcomming cruise because we have a young teen, and my wife has limited mobility (she can't wander around the ship looking for either of us).

There are alot of different models with different power outputs (and differnt ranges), and also different settings/channels that can affect the range, so when someone says they don't work, that's like saying a car doesn't work because it doesn't seat 7.

Basic information:

1. Most consumer walkie talkies are rated by range, anywhere from 2-35 miles. This is the best case in an open area, so the actual range for most people is at most 10% of that. Based on what I've read, you need one rated at 20 to 35 miles to be useful on the ship due to the steel walls/floors that limit the signals.

2. The better consumer Radios use both FRS and GMRS. FRS stands for Family Radio Service, and is general .5 watts or less. Cheap radios ($30/pair) are generally only FRS would not be usable on a ship due to the limited range. No license is needed for FRS, which is why it is used in cheaper radios and kids toys.

3. GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) is higher power, up to 5 watts. Any radio rated at more thn 2-5 miles is basing the rating on the GMRS channels. GMRS required a license to be legally used in the US (about $80 for a family for 5 years), but no license is needed in Canada. When you are at sea, especially in international waters, there shouldn't be an issue either.

4. The better radios have more channels and privacy codes. More channels means you have a better chance of finding an unused channel. The privacy codes do not stop others from listening in on your conversations, but you will only hear calls from other radios using the same code. This filters out others who happen to be using the same channel and limits the anoying chatter people complain about.

5. Some models even come with a vibrate option, so you can turn down the volume and not disturb others.

From what I've read, the people who say they don't work either have real cheap ones, or they are using a low power FRS channels. You need to use a GMRS channel, and on some models you also need to press the high-power talk button to transmit at the higher wattage.

I'm currently trying to decide between 2 motorola models. The smaller 23 mile model, and the slightly bigger 35 mile model. I think the smaller one would fit better in a pocket, but it doesn't have the vibrate option. Our cabin is on an upper deck, so I don't think I really need the higher range. I can get a 3 pack of the 23 mile ones for $75, and the 35 mile ones for $94, so the price difference isn't much of an issue.

I'm not sure what kind of cruiser to call myself. I am definitely not the typical party-dance type of person. I enjoy the cruise for the journey, the destinations, the scenery and really couldn't care less about things like shows, dancing and casinos.

Sounds like me.

I've only been on one cruise so far, and we booked it due to the convenience and lower cost (it was cheaper/easier than multiple flights, hotels, meals, etc.)

We don’t drink or dance, and didn’t care for the shows they had. Even the couple movies they were showing where not something we would care to watch. I found myself bored on the 2 sea days. Still, it was a good cruise, mainly due to the destinations & excursions.

We’ll be on our 2nd cruise in a couple months, and we booked it because of the destination. Not too worried about the sea days this time, as there will be lots of scenery to watch. :)

I can't live at home for that price! That is about $30k/year on an annual basis for living expenses.

That's per person, so that would be $90K for a family of 3.

I don't know where you live, but even here in expensive southern California, we get buy on alot less than that per year, especially after ttaxes.

However I do have to clean my own room and cook my own food :p

I've made water on ships for 40 years, and couldn't conceive of bringing cases of water onboard, but that's just me. I'm not a water snob, but the most I would do is bring a filter type water bottle.

Then there must have been something wrong with the water system on my only previous cruise. The water in the room had a bad smell and taste, more musty than chlorine. The water in the buffet was better, but if I filled a bottle at night to take back to the room, it was just as bad by the morning.

We quickly ran out of the few bottles we brought with us, and when we couldn't take the smell/taste any more, had to buy the expensive bottled water on the ship.

As we mainly drink water (very few sodas), we are not going to take any chances this time, and will be bringing a case of water on the ship.

So if you were booked in a balcony and you could be in an aft facing penthouse for $100 more, when pieces dropped after final, you would not want to know about it and perhaps get yourself upsold? Or maybe a free upgrade from inside to OV?

 

For me, this is the whole point of keeping an eye on prices, both before and after final.

Agreed.

I'm watching the prices for my upcoming Alaska cruise, to see if I can upgrade from a OV to a balcony. Price has dropped a couple hundred, but it's still more than I'm willing to spend. Still have a couple months :)

Hi, does anyone know the rules for the Port of Miami? Thank you in advance.

How about Vancouver, Canada?

Anyone check case of water at the port?

Something to consider....the ships' water is as good or better than bottled water. Many guests just take a couple of bottles and refill them.

That's what a lot of people said, so I tried that on my 1st cruise.

The ships water was terrible. It was ok, not great but at least drinkable, when you got a fresh glass in the dining room or buffet. The water in the room was worse, tasted old/stale, worse than any tap water I've ever drank.

We tried refilling the few bottles we brought, even in the buffet (had to fill a cup and then pore it into the bottle at the table as they didn't allow filling the bottles directly). After the water sat in the bottles for a few hours, it was as bad as the room water. Ended up having to buy a couple packs of expensive bottled water from the ship. :mad:

I usually drink 2 sports bottles of water during the day, and the equivelence of at least 2 more for dinner/night. Might need to bring 2 cases to last all of us for the week.

There is ONE person at fault-- THE PARENT.

if the parents dont want to watch the kids. then the kids shouldn't go in the pool. it is that simple.

Exactly.

My kid was 9 when we went on our last cruise. She was either in the kids club or with one of us the entire time.

We used the pool twice, and one of us were actually in the pool with her both times, even though she is a good swimmer.

For me, it's the folks that'll wait 5-10 minutes in a line to have their welcome aboard picture taken in front of a photo of the ship on canvas instead of walking ahead and getting an earlier embarkation number. Along that thought, after 18 sailings, I believe that one who hasn't cruised often tends to spend the hefty amount of money for the overpriced photos the cruiseline takes. All the while, there are numerous venues to take a scenic, sentimental photo for yourself.

I've only been on one cruise so far, and we didn't buy any of the over priced photos. But then I'm a bit of a cheap skate :p

Instead we took our own. One of my favorites was a picture of us, with the front of the ship behind us to the left, and the Sydney opera house behind us to the right.

Great idea... first off though, you should review what you REALLY want to cover. Some portions of travel are better off "self insured". Say you travel a dozen times a year and pay for travel interruption every single time. Weight the cost of that vs. just covering it yourself.

It also depends on where you are going.

For example, I bought insurance when we went on a cruise in Australia, since if we had a medical problem, it could have run into serious costs to get back to the US.

However, I don't think I'll bother with the Alaska cruise I'm planning. We live in California, but we are going to be close to the port several days before the ship leaves. We could walk from the hotel to the ship in a couple hours if we really needed to :D

Since we'll be in the US most the time and don't plan on any crazy excursions (just easy ones), the likelyhood of any significant costs is limited.