Walkie talkies

[Ret MP]

26 minutes ago, davekathy said:

10-28. 

10-24

[STIguy]

Bringing mine next week. They work fine, as do the the Walkie-Talkies the crew uses. Not interested in exorbitant wifi fees onboard for 4 people.  Great to have in an emergency. 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, STIguy said:

Bringing mine next week. They work fine, as do the the Walkie-Talkies the crew uses. Not interested in exorbitant wifi fees onboard for 4 people.  Great to have in an emergency. 

And the reason the crew's radios work, is that they are typically 5 watts, about twice the power of a consumer radio, are using higher frequencies than consumer radios, and are tied into a net of repeater antenna throughout the ship. Radios of 5 watts and higher are supposed to be listed on the ship's radiotelephone certificate, so even if you bring a high powered one onboard, it shouldn't be used.  While some have had "good results" with consumer radios on ships, that is going to be a situation by situation, day by day, or hour by hour case.  I would not expect any usable signal from a consumer radio more than half a ship length apart, more than 2 decks apart, and definitely poor when trying inside to inside.

 

Looking at Germany, you are limited to PMR446 radios, which are limited to 1/2 watt maximum power.

Edited November 9, 2022 by chengkp75

[not-enough-cruising]

6 hours ago, STIguy said:

Bringing mine next week. They work fine, as do the the Walkie-Talkies the crew uses. Not interested in exorbitant wifi fees onboard for 4 people.  Great to have in an emergency. 

They may work fine at home, but won't work for squat on the ship.

[biomedbob]

I'll open a can of worms.  I always carry a type accepted marine handheld with me on cruises.  (104 so far)  Completely legal because I'm at sea.  Fun to listen to port coms with Pilot boat and shore personel.

[iuki]

On 11/5/2022 at 8:49 AM, gmerick said:

OK, lets go with a cheaper option.  Use those same old unused cell phones with no cell plan, load the Royal Caribbean App, and purchase messaging for each device for just $2.00 each per day.  That would be just $88 for the cruise I'm on.  That's probably cheaper than buying Walkie Talkies.  Another advantage -- Text only, no annoying fellow cruisers by talking through the app.

I was under the impression that ot all ships offer the texting on the Royall App for $2 each per day.  Is this true?

[SG65CB]

5 hours ago, biomedbob said:

I'll open a can of worms.  I always carry a type accepted marine handheld with me on cruises.  (104 so far)  Completely legal because I'm at sea.  Fun to listen to port coms with Pilot boat and shore personel.

 

Interesting idea. I have a handheld marine radio. What channel do they use for pilot boat and shore communications?

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, iuki said:

I was under the impression that all ships offer the texting in the Royall App for $2 each per day.  Is this true?

Yes, the option should be available in the app on all ships.

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Yes, the option should be available in the app on all ships.

It was on Independence last week!  But, I/we were totally incognito, no Internet/phone/text/nothing other than face to face verbal communications with each other and others or written official documents paced in our cabin.  If you weren't on the ship with us, you didn't hear from us.  It was great.

 

Full disclosure:  It was only a 4 night cruise, no biggie at all.  7 to 14+ night cruises are different and of course situations back at home, too.

[iuki]

On 11/10/2022 at 3:48 AM, Biker19 said:

Yes, the option should be available in the app on all ships.

How do you sign up for that?  When you open the app, is there an icon to purchase the texting service?  Would the Diamond Lounge concierge or Guest Services be able to help me sign up for that, or can that be purchased in advance of the cruise? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[mac66]

23 minutes ago, iuki said:

How do you sign up for that?  When you open the app, is there an icon to purchase the texting service?  Would the Diamond Lounge concierge or Guest Services be able to help me sign up for that, or can that be purchased in advance of the cruise? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Just download the free app. You don't need internet or to buy a package to use the texting free on board the ship.

[iuki]

28 minutes ago, mac66 said:

Just download the free app. You don't need internet or to buy a package to use the texting free on board the ship.

The only thing I find in the app is VOOM.  Sorry to be such a pain.  Is there more than one app?  

[Biker19]

26 minutes ago, iuki said:

 Is there more than one app?  

The texting option is available via the three dots in the upper right of the main screen in the app. 

[iuki]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

The texting option is available via the three dots in the upper right of the main screen in the app. 

Ok.  Duh.  I had clicked on it, but I didn’t realize that’s what it was.  Thank you so much.  I guess once on board, when I select “Okay”, that’s when I purchase that service.  Many thanks to you and mac66.  Mahalo.

[MommaBear55]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:59 PM, jackadapt said:

I was trying to brain storm solutions for our 10 year old if we were to get seperated on the ship.  Didn't want to get her a cell phone solely for this trip.  

With our kids, we always had a planned meeting point and time. If we were out and about, and someone got separated from the group, we always had an agreement where would meet, usually by a pool or a specific point on the Promenade. It's the first thing we organized when we got on board. We also used white boards for communication. 

[PolicromaSol]

On 11/9/2022 at 3:34 PM, biomedbob said:

I'll open a can of worms.  I always carry a type accepted marine handheld with me on cruises.  (104 so far)  Completely legal because I'm at sea.  Fun to listen to port coms with Pilot boat and shore personel.

Any interesting conversations?

[Caribbean Allan]

Even on the largest of ships, such as tje Oasis class ships, we never really have a problem finding each of our family members.  This is because we know them so very well.  I know where to look for each of them because I know what they like to do,   Even so,  i have to admit that to play it safe, we do all agree to meet about 45 minutes before dinner, just to make sure we do hook up.  But as it turned out, it rarely turned out to be necessary.  

[poocher]

10 hours ago, MommaBear55 said:

With our kids, we always had a planned meeting point and time. If we were out and about, and someone got separated from the group, we always had an agreement where would meet, usually by a pool or a specific point on the Promenade. It's the first thing we organized when we got on board. We also used white boards for communication. 

Just a question that puzzles me, what would you do if one of your offspring didn’t show up at the designated place/time?  

[MommaBear55]

2 hours ago, poocher said:

Just a question that puzzles me, what would you do if one of your offspring didn’t show up at the designated place/time?  

Never happened at 10,  because they knew that their ability to roam was a privilege and could be revoked. Now, at 17 that was a different story... 

[mjkacmom]

3 hours ago, poocher said:

Just a question that puzzles me, what would you do if one of your offspring didn’t show up at the designated place/time?  

I’d assume the same thing as at home if a curfew was missed, there would be consequences. Our kids knew the importance of showing up when and where they were expected.

[poocher]

I guess I was thinking more along the lines that there was a problem not that they just ignored it.

[davekathy]

7 hours ago, poocher said:

Just a question that puzzles me, what would you do if one of your offspring didn’t show up at the designated place/time?  

Just like everyone did pre cell phones and walkie talkies. 

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, poocher said:

I guess I was thinking more along the lines that there was a problem not that they just ignored it.

I thought the same thing.  Our kids were either in the kids club and we picked them up or they were with us when they were under 12.  After that they had cell phones but they usually were with us anyway.  Last cruise we were on with them in August, I had 28, 22, 21 and 20 and we texted where we were going or doing.  Turned out to be good in the end as they were out a little late in Bermuda and celebrating a little too much so husband got a text to go "help".  Sometimes it's just nice to have a phone that's on.  😉 Thankfully we kept ours on.  All was well in the end.

[mjkacmom]

2 hours ago, poocher said:

I guess I was thinking more along the lines that there was a problem not that they just ignored it.

We’ve lost a couple of kids on cruises, but found them, one was in the cabin, another on the pool deck (they weren’t supposed to be away from us, just got turned around). There really is a finite number of places they can be.

[poocher]

Yes, but overprotective as I am, some of those places are a little scary/creepy to me.  I know I’m being silly but still.  I agree with a PP, at LEAST until you are 12 (or maybe 25!) just stay in sight!!