Walkie Talkies on Board?

[tadbconn]

Can anyone tell me if walkie talkies will work on the Explorer of the Seas? Is it worth me packing them?

Thanks.

Also....any suggestions as to where to store my empty luggage in the room?

I will be in a superior ocean view room. Trying to figure how many bags I need at this point.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed!

[Tyler80]

I was on Explorer of the Seas in February 2005 and two of my family members purchased walkie talkie's in the gift shop on board and they worked great. We stored employ luggage under the bed.

[timbo89]

Actually, bullhorns work a little better than walkie-talkies, because then you can be sure that MORE PEOPLE around you can be made FULLY aware of such essential information as:

 

1. The time

2. What you want to eat

3. Where you want to eat

4. Where someone else is

5. Where you are

6. How you are feeling

7. If you have enough suntan lotion

8. If you are getting sunburned

9. What the menu is tonight

10. What kind of pizza they are serving

 

etc, etc, etc.

[Iamthesea]

Well said! :D

 

We used sticky notes on doors, watches and check-in times. Works like a charm!

[maryevelyn]

We took our walkie talkies on a cruise we took with family members and they came in very handy. We don't take them when it's just the two of us cruising. We will be taking them next week because our son will be coming along.

I never noticed anyone else using walkie talkies, but I know they do. I don't think they are nearly as annoying as cell phones. Walkie talkies are not designed for long winded conversations, so if people nearby were using them they must have been considerate.

Mary

[tadbconn]

To timbo89 -- thanks for that information! All I wanted to know is if walkie talkies would work on board. I guess you answered my question!

[MadCnty]

Tabconn... Don't let it get to ya... I'm not sure the range and such, as I have never used them, but someone posted on another thread that you can get some other peoples conversations if they don't have "secure" channels... Just do a search on this board... As far as empty luggage... Under the bed ;) Have a great cruise...:cool:

[BallFour4]

You bet the walkie-talkies work aboard, but you are going on a big ship, and don't count on them to work bow to stern.

 

Make sure you get the ones that are FMRS capable, and require a permit. Send the FCC the money and I think it's good for 5 years. Ours is filed away.

 

We have two sets of Motorola's, and both came with lithium ion batteries and a drop in charger. We keep one charger in our room and one in the kids rooms.

 

I also suggest you wait a little while to determine a favorite channel aboard. You will find that others will have the same combination as you do.

 

Purchase them before the cruise, and learn how to put the alert mode to vibrate. That works best, and we've found it helpful while we enjoyed the after dinner show and our teen enjoyed the activites the cruise lines had for her age group in the evening.

 

We also use them to find each other on the deck after our morning run and shower. I drop out early and shower and head up to get a chair for me and my spouse. All she has to do is call me and I can tell her exactly where I have picked out a good spot. She's a marathoner, I am a fat guy jogger...

 

Depending where you are in port we've used them to communicate with our group that stayed aboard for dinner while in port and turned the walkie-talkie on after they left the dining room and were able to find us at the shops around the pier.

 

Now, some people will flame like and foam like Michael Jackson at the playground about the merits of walkie-talkies, so be ready.

 

With over 2 thousand people together on a ship someone doesn't like what others do. I guess the daily blaring over the loudspeaker about bingo, art auctions and constantly being sold the daily drink specials is less offensive than a walkie-talkie chirp now and then.

 

:rolleyes: Don't get me wrong, people do play with them aboard, but putting all of us that use them while cruising in one bucket is a shallow gene pool response.

 

Remember, boards for cruising and whatever else are just opinions, and none are wrong.

 

Most of all enjoy the vacation, wear what you want, drink some good wine with dinner and stay up late for the fun. I've learned in the health care profession that life's far too short to worry about a chirp, a kid screaming or someone not dressing up on formal nights.

 

Take Care,

 

Lee in Houston

 

Some past trips and ports:

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/blusry

[tupper]

I am still debating this issue (walkies or onboard phone rentals) myself and probably will until the day we leave...we were thinking of renting 2 phones onboard the Mariner for $25 per week, so our 12 yr old can call us at any time, if he wants to make any change of plans. It would make for a more private conversation without disrupting "others", but I am wondering if I want/ if it's worth the extra $50 expense.

[mamax4]

I was on the Explorer with 6 kids and used walkie-talkies. I will say that it was very hard to hear them. I don't know if it was the environment or the brand (Motorola) but I'm sure that they never disturbed anyone else because we could hardly hear them.

 

As for static and interference...we never experienced any of that. BUT>> many many times we were out of range based on where we were on the ship. It was kind of a problem because I wanted to talk/know where my kids were at that moment and we couldn't reach them.

 

IMO, it was nice to have them, but we could have lived without them.

P.S. the kids used them more between each other!

[powelweb]

Hi,

 

We used the upper end walkie-talkies on the explorer back in 2/01 when we had 4 couples traveling together, and again in 9/02 with 2 couples sailing. Worked great to keep in touch- range extended in Grand Cayman so that we were walking around the pier and could talk with traveling friends back on board (to report how rough the tender ride was).

 

With the higher end models (5 mile range), we also didn't notice nearly as much other chatter as on the 2 mile range version we had used before.

 

As with any device, just remember to be considerate of those around you.

 

Happy sailing,

Wendy

[stoney10]

We took walkie talkies on our very first cruise with the kids, At first it all worked well, but as more people boarded the ship, found that alot of others used them too and would often get cross signals, we often knew what all the other kids were doing except our own (LOL). Hard to know which kid is yours when they all say.......... mom........dad...... In house phones work well. leaving room messages works well for us.

[rjg41]

If you did a search you would find that this is a hot topic. Be prepared flaming and lots of negative posts.

 

Yes, they work fine but you must get at least the 5 mile type and ones with lots of sub-codes to avoid listiening to others. There may be a few dead spots especially communicating from the bow to the stern. For groups they are very valuable. We uesed them on Navigator for a Family Reunion. Could not have done without them.

 

Some suggestions to minimuze annoying others.

 

1) Get the vibrate type and use on vibrate only.

2) Turn off the chirp.

3) Remember you do not need to yell into them and make sure all in your party understands that.

4) Do not use them in the restaurants or shows.

5) Remind ALL they are not toys and are to be used at a minimum. VERY short conversations only.

 

Despite all this you will still get those that see RED when walkie-talkies are even mentioned. They are a very very very limited minority so with these rules use them without worry.

[Rena921]

Wow, I was going to post a message asking the same thing, but now i'm scared to. :eek: We have been discussing getting walkie-talkies to take with us in May since we are travelling with our six kids (4 of them are teens) and I would really love to be able know where they at and what they are doing. I think it's kind of ironic though that some out there are complaining that parents don't know what there kids are doing on the cruises, letting them run wild and some are complaining about the ones who check up on their kids. Go figure!

Oh well, I guess complaining is this seasons black.:p

[wrp96]

If you did a search you would find that this is a hot topic. Be prepared flaming and lots of negative posts.

 

Yes, they work fine but you must get at least the 5 mile type and ones with lots of sub-codes to avoid listiening to others. There may be a few dead spots especially communicating from the bow to the stern. For groups they are very valuable. We uesed them on Navigator for a Family Reunion. Could not have done without them.

 

Some suggestions to minimuze annoying others.

 

1) Get the vibrate type and use on vibrate only.

2) Turn off the chirp.

3) Remember you do not need to yell into them and make sure all in your party understands that.

4) Do not use them in the restaurants or shows.

5) Remind ALL they are not toys and are to be used at a minimum. VERY short conversations only.

 

Despite all this you will still get those that see RED when walkie-talkies are even mentioned. They are a very very very limited minority so with these rules use them without worry.

 

I don't mind the walkie-talkie users that are polite and follow your suggestions. But there is always that one that does the exact opposite of every one of your suggestions. And they usually find a way to sit near me at least once during every cruise.

 

To Rena921, if using walkie-talkies would help you with your group then go ahead and use them. But educate everyone in your group on how and when to politely use them before you get on the ship. If you decide not to use them or even if you do, other ways to stay in touch include: setting up specific meeting times and places where everybody must check in, using post it notes or dry erase boards to leave messages for each other, leaving messages on the house phones.

[larkwind]

I saw an ad this past week (sorry, can't remember store name--maybe a sporting goods store) about walkie talkies that have text messaging. Now that would be the ticket to communicating w/o bothering everyone.

[Rena921]

Wrona,

Thanks for the advice. I had planned on using other methods also, but sometimes with teenagers sneak atacks work best.;) And I will make sure that they know not to play around with them. Since they ALL have a cell phone they know the where's and when's of talking on them. I will do my best to keep my contribution to the noise pollution down to a minimum.

 

IMHO I would think that the drunk guy (or gal) yelling loudly by the pool is usually more annoying and disruptive than a parent checking up on their kids would be...

[Rena921]

I saw an ad this past week (sorry, can't remember store name--maybe a sporting goods store) about walkie talkies that have text messaging. Now that would be the ticket to communicating w/o bothering everyone.

 

wow that would be awesome...I bet they would be pricey though! :rolleyes:

Maybe the cruise lines could give a bonus to the people that use them...that would be a great incintive! Kinda like a good driver discount for auto insurance. :p

 

Seriously though, if you remember where you saw them at post it so I can look into them.

 

Thanks!

[atlcple2]

Has anyone used their own walkie talkies on a cruise with their kids? If so, what brand did you get? or what is a good brand to use? We are thinking of getting them for the kids for Christmas as they would use them here at home as well as on the cruise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[wrp96]

Wrona,

Thanks for the advice. I had planned on using other methods also, but sometimes with teenagers sneak atacks work best.;) And I will make sure that they know not to play around with them. Since they ALL have a cell phone they know the where's and when's of talking on them. I will do my best to keep my contribution to the noise pollution down to a minimum.

 

I was thinking the same thing about teenagers. Sometimes you need to do the sneak attacks and sometimes you need the face to face contact just to pull them back into line.

 

IMHO I would think that the drunk guy (or gal) yelling loudly by the pool is usually more annoying and disruptive than a parent checking up on their kids would be...

 

And that's a whole other annoyance that we won't get into on this thread.

[EBFURR]

Motorola is a good brand. Like others have said, get at least the 5 mile range ones. Either get the rechargeable ones or bring plenty of extra batteries. The batteries don't last long and they are no good if one of them is trurned off or dead. They will not work everywhere, but will work most places on the ship.

 

We agree with the others that being polite and considerate in the use of these devices is of prime importance. But then, that pretty much applies to everything. We find that if a guy (or gal) is a jerk, taking away the walkie talkie will not make him or her less of a jerk. He/she will just find another way to express their rudeness.

 

Have a great trip and don't sweat the small stuff.

[Iamthesea]

Double Post!

[Iamthesea]

I saw an ad this past week (sorry, can't remember store name--maybe a sporting goods store) about walkie talkies that have text messaging. Now that would be the ticket to communicating w/o bothering everyone.

These would be great! I wouldn't have an objection to that kind. What irks me is when I see the kids playing with the things. Parents, they are not using them to check in with you. They are using them to play games. I once heard the crackling of a WT, urgent whispering and running footsteps along the open front deck of the Promenade. I then came face to face with a kid (all alone) who was having a conversation with his WT buddy about being a terrorist and planting a bomb. Of course, the kids were just playing like we did as kids, with a twist. My point is, if you are going to use them, there must be rules and just because your child has one, doesn't mean you know where or what they are doing at all times.