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Will Walkie Talkies work?


ntengwall

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We have tried two different kinds and always seem to have troubles. There not ‘high’ dollar ones, so that might be an issue. I’ve seen other threads that have said they have had no troubles with the lesser priced ones and others say only buy the expensive ones.

I’m finding I really don’t need them for the girls anymore, but am thinking of giving one to DH:rolleyes: Ha!!!

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Before you buy them, if you don't already have them, are the kids going to want to carry them around all the time?

 

It's really easier than you might think to keep track of your "party"...make some tentative plans, so that everyone will have an idea of where to find everyone else...and a note in the cabin works wonders!

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Please remember walkie-talkies can be disruptive and annoying to others at times..("Can You Hear Me Now")..You should be able to have an idea of where & when their going to be... It's a cruise ship and a vacation for everyone.....Arrange for an occasional meet up..Trust can go a long way when you have raised them well..From a Mom of 5 kids that have grown up to be great adults...Relax and hope everyone enjoys their cruise..:)

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Please remember walkie-talkies can be disruptive and annoying to others at times..("Can You Hear Me Now")..You should be able to have an idea of where & when their going to be... It's a cruise ship and a vacation for everyone.....Arrange for an occasional meet up..Trust can go a long way when you have raised them well..From a Mom of 5 kids that have grown up to be great adults...Relax and hope everyone enjoys their cruise..:)

 

This is SO true. I was next to a family on pool deck one year that was using them. It was random stuff, not have to know stuff. The parents were being just downright rude and disruptive. It was SO annoying. I finally asked them to turn it off and go meet the kids. If you are going to use them, just make sure you don't disrespect or intrude on others. They will thank you.

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W used them on one cruise. Discovered 1) they tend to break up inside so you can't always connect reliably, 2) there are a bazillion parents and kids all on the same frequencies, and 3) our kids were constantly calling up to see if we knew where the other kids were or just to talk on the new toy! I don't know how old your kids are (old enough to read and write?), but on all subsequent cruises we have had each stateroom equipped with a pad of paper and pens and we leave notes (ie "going to play trivia at 3pm at XXX lounge" or "we're going out by the pool - 11am" - that sort of thing). We have had far fewer problems keeping up with one another this way, and we are all pretty well trained to let others know where we expect to be.

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We used them when our 2 boys were younger (16 and 14 years at the time) and we were all happy we did. We didn't use them unless someone REALLY needed to talk to the other group (parents had 1 and the boys had the other) but it was comforting to know that we had them if we needed to find each other. I would recommend them and we had "middle of the road" price range ones and they worked just fine.

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I agree whole-heartedly that using them to connect onboard annoys the heck out of fellow passengers! Notes, pre-arrangements, etc.. are the only way to go. Have traveled with my son on cruises since he was 3 and never had a problem (he is now 23).

 

We have brought them and used them to connect with family members who went onshore at the ports to avoid ridiculous cell phone charges, but using them onboard can be really rude if you are not careful.

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I purchased a set of $69.00 Midland walkie talkies for our cruise. They were supposed to have a range of 20-something miles. (21?)

 

As it turns out, they only worked on the top deck of the ship, and through the length of the promendae. Notice that these are areas of no metal ship obstructions. From the 13th deck, which is the top and outside by the railing, I was barely able to talk with someone on the shore 3 miles away. Maybe I had cheap radios, but I wouldn't recommend them.

 

Even though we were on the second largest cruise ship in the world, we could easily find the kids whenever we wanted to. They had found certain activies and venues that they liked, and could always be found there. Kids will always hang out with other kids at the kid-friendly places. No need to look for them in the old-people's hangouts. Once you realize this you will find that any ship is not that big.

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I bought a pair of the expensive ones, TriSquare, and didn't have too much success with them. I think they would work best if you're on the same deck. Once going inside, they don't seem to work as well. My precious DH didn't want to bother using it and was very unwilling to give it a try much. I didn't have any kids to keep up with. I'll take them with me again though and hopefully get the darling DH to cooperate more, but really it was easy enough for the two of us to make plans and get around without them. If I had kids, though, that would make it different.

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I was barely able to talk with someone on the shore 3 miles away.
Talk to someone on shore ????? Really ??? Please note earlier comments about disruptions for other guests. :) :D

 

I guess I'm glad you went on to suggest that they NOT be used. Good Call !

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Perhaps to further discourage you, keep in mind that many radio devices are licensed for use within the U.S. only, simply because the division of frequencies is on a per country basis. On a cruise ship at sea, you're not likely to get into trouble, but in a foreign country if you are found to be interfering, say, with local police frequencies, you could be.

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For those of you taking these ashore. Never mind the fact that it's illegal to use these radios even in the States without a license, nothing like going ashore in a foreign country with an unlicensed telecommunication device and possibly disrupting local emergency service frequencies.

 

It is perfectly legal to use the radios without a license on the ship, that's okay because RCL says you can, but you're supposed to buy a license to use them in the U. S. and they are not legal in other countries unless you find ahead of time and meet the legal requirements.

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The OP did not say what ship they were on.....it can make quite a bit of difference.....if you're on the Majesty versus them being used on the Oasis....so without knowing that, can't say fgor sure if they'll work....

I've had good luck with them as a rule because of buying "powerful" GMRS radio with alot of sub channels....with these subchannels you can almost be assured you won't have anybody on the same channel....

They work great in port where there isn't all the steel on the ship to contend with......as for not having a license.....I've used mine in a ton of ports and never heard anything but a very occasional passenger....if the local police/fire are using those same frequencies....I'd be very suprised since those frequencies aren't too good for long range transmissions that police/fire would need....they'd be on different frequencies. The chance you and "them" would be on the same frequency would be very slim as far as far as I am concerned

as mentioned,be aware of your fellow passengers when using them...

make sure they have Ni-Cad batteries....if not, you'll be burning up AA batteries left and right.....

 

Have a great cruise

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Someone pointed it out, but please remember while FRS radios require no licensing in the USA, (GMRS actually requires one, but noone bothers), the rules are different in every country in the world. For example in the UK, the frequencies used by USA FRS radios, are instead used by firefighters.

 

Operating an American FRS/GMRS in the UK could get you slapped with a big fine.

 

I'll also 2nd that listening to other people's walkie-talkies on board is a tad annoying. Why don't you just leave postit notes in your room, or if you dont' want to go back to your room, your cabin phone has voice mail, accessible from any other phone on the ship.

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