walkie talkie

[love2travel41]

Are walkie talkies useful on board or is there too much interference?

 

Thanksfor any answers

[room010]

There are countless threads about this with countless arguments for and against. Search "walkie talkie" :)

[Elkpad]

Are walkie talkies useful on board or is there too much interference?

 

Thanksfor any answers

 

In our experience, too much interference, too many other folks using them, and too noisy for others. I brought mine on our last cruise and after the first hour we shut them off as we were picking up too many other folks on every channel we tried.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

[roger001]

I agree with the above that this is a super good topic to use "search" for. I just did a quick look and the discussions are in the many dozens.

[camz]

We used them back several years ago when my son was younger to keep in touch with him on the Majesty. We had little problems, however, the Majesty was a much smaller ship with not as sophisticated equipment as some of the newer ships of the fleet.

[DMLyons]

We used them back several years ago when my son was younger to keep in touch with him on the Majesty. We had little problems, however, the Majesty was a much smaller ship with not as sophisticated equipment as some of the newer ships of the fleet.

 

This would have been roughly my answer. A high-powered W-T on a smaller ship works well. A cheap W-T or a large ship makes it spotty.

 

DML

[luddite]

They do not work well.

They do annoy well.

The ship isn't all that big. Finding people isn't real hard.

[camz]

They do not work well.

They do annoy well.

The ship isn't all that big. Finding people isn't real hard.

 

Sorry but have to disagree with this one! :( Apparently, you never had to look for a teen late at night. :eek: Finding people can prove problematic. However, I agree that the walkie talkie idea may not be a great way of communicating on NCL's biggest and newest in the fleet. :D

[MrsNancyG]

We spent a small fortune before one cruise buying our kids the walkies. The ship we were on was not all that huge and we had so many issues that by day 2 they were in the safe with everything else that needed safekeeping. Sorry, but my opinion is not to bother with the walkies.

[sweetride]

i used a pair with a "7 mile range" on the dawn and it worked as long as we were within a couple decks and half the ship, unless we were outside. inside they wouldnt go end to end or a few floors. i now have "30 mile range" ones but havent tried them yet.

[bjlaac]

They work great and have talked from inside a cabin to other decks. Its sometimes hit or miss depending on where you are but they do work most of the time

[jjikids]

They work to at least inform the other person where you are. We didn't use them for long conversations. Never had a problem with interference.

[bob brown]

I think they are just a gimmick for novice cruiser's...once you are experienced, you will find they are just a bother, and something you learn very well to do without. The ship's are not that big, you can leave messages on the cabin telephones, and you develop a routine where the family meets every day at particular times and places.

 

If you are determined to use them...as a courtesy, please use them with an earphone.

 

And if using them ashore, be sure that the ones you use are legal in whatever locale you are at....

[luddite]

I think they are just a gimmick for novice cruiser's...once you are experienced, you will find they are just a bother, and something you learn very well to do without. The ship's are not that big, you can leave messages on the cabin telephones, and you develop a routine where the family meets every day at particular times and places.

 

If you are determined to use them...as a courtesy, please use them with an earphone.

 

And if using them ashore, be sure that the ones you use are legal in whatever locale you are at....

 

Well, it's a result of the cel-phone culture that thinks answering a phone is necessary.

[love2travel41]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I will gladly leave my walkie talkies at home.

[DMLyons]

They work to at least inform the other person where you are. We didn't use them for long conversations. Never had a problem with interference.

 

Ditto. The usual conversation goes something like...

 

Me: [kid nickname], where are you?

Child: [names a place]

Me: Wrap it up and meet us at [name a place] within 15 minutes. Dinner time.

Child: On my way.

 

Done.

 

And honestly, since we've been told the NCL suites come with a roving cell phone that we can use to reach the concierge or butler while we're out and about, I can't see how the walkie would be any MORE annoying than those...or than people who pay for the cell service aboard ship to keep their cell phones with them and running on board.

 

DML

[DMLyons]

Well, it's a result of the cel-phone culture that thinks answering a phone is necessary.

 

I'd disagree with that. My entire family has cell phones, and my husband is the only one who uses his daily (mainly because it's the only way to reach him at work, so everyone from equipment suppliers to family use it to reach him). The rest of us have them for emergencies only and typically have them on vibrate only. We don't talk on phones in the car, unless it's one of the parents with hands-free Bluetooth in the car. We never answer them in restaurants, unless we see it's the school calling or something similar, and then we leave the area to answer it. Looking at the bill, you'd be wondering if they are worth it to us, because we hardly ever touch them, but they are emergency devices...much as the walkie-talkie is. It's more that we aren't out of touch when someone does need us in an emergency than it is a need to be on the phone.

 

And people that don't think this is a necessary thing don't have kids, I have to believe. Have a child who's high functioning autistic and you'll find that making plans to meet at a certain time don't work so well, because the child may not remember to check the time consistently. So a nudge at the right time helps.

 

Ironically, two of my kids attend Tech schools that have expansive grounds. One of them is on a campus with 160 ACRES of land. While they are required to have cell phones turned off in class, it's highly suggested that they carry cell phones on campus, because they've had kids get lost on trips into the woods on campus. Having a cell phone means they can triangulate your position and find you in a timely manner.

 

DML

[rvsullivan]

I'd disagree with that. My entire family has cell phones, and my husband is the only one who uses his daily (mainly because it's the only way to reach him at work, so everyone from equipment suppliers to family use it to reach him). The rest of us have them for emergencies only and typically have them on vibrate only. We don't talk on phones in the car, unless it's one of the parents with hands-free Bluetooth in the car. We never answer them in restaurants, unless we see it's the school calling or something similar, and then we leave the area to answer it. Looking at the bill, you'd be wondering if they are worth it to us, because we hardly ever touch them, but they are emergency devices...much as the walkie-talkie is. It's more that we aren't out of touch when someone does need us in an emergency than it is a need to be on the phone.

 

And people that don't think this is a necessary thing don't have kids, I have to believe. Have a child who's high functioning autistic and you'll find that making plans to meet at a certain time don't work so well, because the child may not remember to check the time consistently. So a nudge at the right time helps.

 

Ironically, two of my kids attend Tech schools that have expansive grounds. One of them is on a campus with 160 ACRES of land. While they are required to have cell phones turned off in class, it's highly suggested that they carry cell phones on campus, because they've had kids get lost on trips into the woods on campus. Having a cell phone means they can triangulate your position and find you in a timely manner.

 

DML

 

I know your pulling our legs!! 160 acres is a square that is a quarter of a mile to a side, that's 1320 feet, the length of my block. I can see end to end and have never noticed anyone getting lost and needing triangulation to be rescued. Who in the world would suggest they need to have a cell phone turned on to be found??

 

Walkie talkies are not emergency devices, or at least I hope not since on the ship it is doubtful that they would work if you had to count on them. The reason the ship gives suite holders a portable phone is because they work, it would be much cheaper for them to give out $30 hand held radios if they worked, they don't.

[DMLyons]

I know your pulling our legs!! 160 acres is a square that is a quarter of a mile to a side, that's 1320 feet, the length of my block. I can see end to end and have never noticed anyone getting lost and needing triangulation to be rescued. Who in the world would suggest they need to have a cell phone turned on to be found??

 

Walkie talkies are not emergency devices, or at least I hope not since on the ship it is doubtful that they would work if you had to count on them. The reason the ship gives suite holders a portable phone is because they work, it would be much cheaper for them to give out $30 hand held radios if they worked, they don't.

 

Your math is off, apparently... 166 Acres (the actual size of the open land on campus) = 7230960 Sq Feet or 267800 Sq Yards or more than a quarter of a square mile. A quarter of a mile per side would not BE a quarter of a square mile, but rather half of that amount. A quarter of a square mile would be half a mile per side for a square, which the campus is not, or whatever combination of size equates to that space in an irregular area. If you have no sense of direction and orientation, you could well be walking toward the furthest side or walking in circles. Worse, since the entire campus is not encircled by fences, you could accidentally walk off one side of campus and into other woods not connected to the school and not realize it.

 

NOTE: over irregular ground, the average walking speed of a child walking in straight line (which is unusual) is about 2-3 mph. Best case scenario, they walk off the close side of campus and call the teacher to let him/her know where they are. Worst case, they walk off campus and get lost in larger woods, so the school TEACHES them to try and find a landmark, stay still, and call in.

 

That is NOT grazing or farming land either and certainly not a city block where you can see the next block in good weather. It's forest, lakes, and substantial hills. You cannot see one side from the other. So yes...it's not unusual for children to go missing for several hours, and a child that can call back in from wherever he or she is can be found more quickly...not to mention they can triangulate an injured child. They don't necessarily resort to triangulation to find a child. That's for injured children without any idea where they are, lost children who can't see anything they can use as a landmark, or kids who aren't answering but there's a cell signal to follow.

 

In my daughter's Freshman year, two of her classmates realized they had no clue where they were. When they saw a bench, they realized it was somewhere they could be found, called in, and stayed there until the teacher circled the places that had benches to locate them and bring them back to center. None of the kids in her year have gotten lost since about halfway through Sophomore year, but there is a new batch of Freshmen every year that don't know the woods.

 

WTs are emergency devices if you use them as such, and much as you would like to ignore that several people have said they've done so with no problems, that is a fact. It all depends on the size of the ship and the power of the device. It's not a $30 radio that's going to work, in my experience. Those are usually crap.

 

DML