walkie talkies

[dancersp119]

We are travelling with a small group and we were wondering if anyone has had any luck using walkie talkies to keep in touch. It sure would be beat running around the ship looking for people. I have seen people when I have cruised before using them. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[Clarea]

We've had very poor luck with walkie talkies. Once we are separated by a few decks, communication was bad to impossible.

[fred30]

Depending on your cell carrier there are different calling/texting packages available. Also if are you planning on getting an internet package there are other packages.

 

List your ship and your plans for phone and internet and you will get help with various options.

[Thetrail]

We are travelling with a small group and we were wondering if anyone has had any luck using walkie talkies to keep in touch. It sure would be beat running around the ship looking for people. I have seen people when I have cruised before using them. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Don't waste your time.

[stl82]

We are going to try Zello, a free walkie talkie ap for our phones. Works fine at home, we'll know in a couple of days if it works on the ship.

[Clarea]

We are going to try Zello, a free walkie talkie ap for our phones. Works fine at home, we'll know in a couple of days if it works on the ship.

That will require you to purchase the ship's WiFi package, in which case the OP could use any internet based messaging app.

[stl82]

That will require you to purchase the ship's WiFi package, in which case the OP could use any internet based messaging app.

Good point. I didn't think about that. Oh well, at Zello was free.

[MiniChunks]

We had an aft facing cabin on Freedom, and if you went much past the central/aft elevator bank you'd lose signal. Moving to a different deck was out of the question if the walkie was in the cabin.

[Tommy3putts]

Fortunately we haven’t seen any of these annoying noise makers during our past two cruises. With improved WI-FI, smartphone messaging apps are a far better and more considerate solution.

[gerif]

Meet for breakfast. Go over everyone's plans for the day. Make plans to maybe meet for lunch (e.g., I'll be eating in the MDR at 12:30 if anyone wants to join me, be at the entrance then). If plans change, you can leave a message on the cabin phones. No need to be in constant touch all day.

[Tommy3putts]

Meet for breakfast. Go over everyone's plans for the day. Make plans to maybe meet for lunch (e.g., I'll be eating in the MDR at 12:30 if anyone wants to join me, be at the entrance then). If plans change, you can leave a message on the cabin phones. No need to be in constant touch all day.

 

 

 

That’s great advice. Once you know each other’s routine it is really very simple and people over think this stuff. Walkie-Talkies, Post it’s, Ship phone numbers, Chalk boards. Geeze too much to worry about on a vacation.

 

On our last TA my wife and I decided to share our WI-FI plan. We agreed to set times that we used it. We would leave each other messages before we logged off. But in reality there were few if any messages ever left. Worked like a charm

[Cruise a holic]

We have used walkie talkies when on board with grandchildren and they work perfectly. They were Panasonic- not sure of the model number- but I wouldn't cheap out. As the better one's will work better.

[plum24]

We used ours on Oasis & Liberty; worked great!

 

 

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[domm1e]

We used Motorola T80’s on Oasis. No problems with them ( they have a 16-20km range so can handle distances on the ship) . I would also recommend headphones ( there’s a headphone jack) so no one will be disturbed by incoming “calls”

 

 

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[time4u2go]

We've used them with pretty good success. Just don't get cheap ones.

[Katy_Tbird]

We are traveling with a small group and we were wondering if anyone has had any luck using walkie talkies to keep in touch. It sure would be beat running around the ship looking for people. I have seen people when I have cruised before using them. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

We had really good results with the Midland LXT-560 radios on every ship we've been on including Allure. We were able to communicate from all over the ship. We use them sparingly when around others and just like a private phone call, would walk away from others and speak quietly. Always off at dinner and the shows, just like our phones. If you are courteous to others, as anyone should be, use them and don't worry about the flamers.

[Hogbay]

You nee minimum 3 watt real ones not the toy 0.05 watt . If the package has no power rating its a toy one . Had them for security in ports through Europe / Middle East ,wife could shop ,shop and shop and i could stay out side eat street food watch crowed ,look next door . and restroom . on ship you can also use house phone , have a meet up place ,leave note in room :cool:

[time4u2go]

You nee minimum 3 watt real ones not the toy 0.05 watt . If the package has no power rating its a toy one . Had them for security in ports through Europe / Middle East ,wife could shop ,shop and shop and i could stay out side eat street food watch crowed ,look next door . and restroom . on ship you can also use house phone , have a meet up place ,leave note in room :cool:

You need to be careful about using them in ports. Some of the high-powered ones are illegal in some countries.

[knon24]

We are going to try Zello, a free walkie talkie ap for our phones. Works fine at home, we'll know in a couple of days if it works on the ship.

 

Let us know how that goes please!

[Paulette3028]

We've used them with pretty good success. Just don't get cheap ones.

 

We also have had good success with walkie talkies......and it did not matter what ship....we used them on Allure as well as smaller ships.

[Kite99]

they have a 16-20km range so can handle distances on the ship .

That distance would be across water. The issue on ships is not the distance - it's the layers of metal the signal has to penetrate on board a ship.

 

I will also point out that RCL does have an official policy , limiting the power:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/walkie-talkie-onboard-policy

 

They say 10 mile coverage, 5 watts max. Though I expect this policy is widely ignored...

 

And YES to using walkie-talkies with headsets!

 

Having said all that, iMessage on ios devices (for free) works great (no, you DO NOT need to sign up for wifi plan - just hop onto the ship's wifi. Has worked for us on any RCL ship we've been on so far, but I can't vouch for older ships).

[taylortime05]

We also have had good success with walkie talkies......and it did not matter what ship....we used them on Allure as well as smaller ships.

 

What type of walkie talkies did you use?

[cruiseguy1016]

I'll offer another option to Walkie-Talkies. DW and I travel with friends quite often. On day one we find a spot near the pool deck, usually the deck above the pool because that is less crowded. That becomes "our spot". If we're looking to just "hang out", we go to "our spot". If we're trying to find someone, we go to "our spot", chances are they'll be there or someone else will know where they are. It works out great to have a place to meet up during the day.

[njkruzer]

We have Motorola ones and they work well. Never tried them in port, nor would we. Just need to keep track of dh who wanders with his camera!

[Paulette3028]

What type of walkie talkies did you use?

 

Uniden