Talkie Walkies

[BlacThorn1]

Question for everyone. We are going on our December cruise with 3 different familes. We are on 3 different levels and like doing 3 different things typically. However, we would like to have a way to get ahold of each other to meet up and do stuff. We were thinking of buying cheap walkie talkies but you can't find 3 of them for cheap. Do the ships offer them to rent? Does anyone have advice?

 

thanks

[T&J]

My advice is to leave them home please!...very anoying to your fellow passengers and thank god they don't rent them onboard! You can esily keep in touch on the ship by meal times or activity times as a reference.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[losuds63]

Ok I guess I will leave mine at home LOL

[T&J]

Ok I guess I will leave mine at home LOL

 

...YES those as well!:D

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[Mary Jane 711]

You can use the phones in the room to communicate. ANd I think walkie talkies are a great idea. Just keep them on vibrate or down really low as to not offend anyone.

[losuds63]

You can use the phones in the room to communicate. ANd I think walkie talkies are a great idea. Just keep them on vibrate or down really low as to not offend anyone.

-------------------And use them the right way they can be very handy !!

[emdia43]

What I found with 'cheap' walkie talkies is that there is SO much static,other people in on your conversation,hard to find a channel that works, that if you want to use W-T's then just splurge and buy some decent ones. Then use sparingly. It seems a lot of people get really upset at the mention of them,I kinda do if people are yakking away on their cellphones here when I really don't want to listen to their conversation- but all it takes is some common courtesy. On Mariner last summer they rented the ship phones for $25 for a week and they were great- not as loud and intrusive- but I don't know if Princess has them.....

[kingtns]

We always bring out walkie talkies, a VERY much needed device, especially when traveling with a group! Check with the ship your sailing on, I know plenty of people rent them!! But be careful of "cheap" if they don't work their not worth anything!!!

[Iamthesea]

We use sticky notes, the ships' phones (they are all over the place) and the old fashion communication of talking in person and making plans ahead of time. Set a time to meet up with your friends and use your watches.

 

I once sat next to a lady around the pool who used her walkie talkie like a cell phone. She carried on a conversation with her friend who was sunning on another part of the ship. The conversation went on for several minutes. Just chit chat! :mad:

 

I have seen kids playing "Cops and Robbers", "Spy", etc. with those devices. If they are not used properly, they can be a real annoyance to other passengers. Like with a cell phone, use common courtesy, please. ;)

[bstrauss3]

I'm going to bop back to the OP's original questions - not chip into yet another walkie talkie rant thread...

 

We were thinking of buying cheap walkie talkies but you can't find 3 of them for cheap.

 

Beg to differ - Amazon has, for example, a Moto 2 pack w/ recharger for US$40 (today, who knows what the price is tomorrow)... search for T5500R. That's about as cheap as I've seen them.

 

Do the ships offer them to rent?

 

Some do, some don't. If you want them, it's probably better to call the line and find out if you can pre-reserve them.

 

Does anyone have advice?

 

Within the US, there are 2 bands, FRS (no license required) and GMRS (which legally requires one person have a US$75, 5yr license). Most sold today are dual band.

 

In Europe there is a similar license free service (PMR446), but this is NOT compatible with FRS/GMRS. In fact, some of the FRS/GMRS frequences are used by various gov't agencies in Europe who may not have a sense of humor about illegal usage.

 

FRS is legal in Canada.

 

FRS is also legal in Mexico, although technically the gear must have the Mexican approval stamp which most don't have.

 

The carribean islands are a grab bag, some are FRS, some PMR446, some neither).

 

You will see FRS/GMRS advertised as 2 mile, 5mi even 8mi - to get over 2 mi requires GMRS. Actual range can be quite a bit less - those are ideal ranges in open space.

 

Metal (i.e. hull of a ship) is NOT friendly to the devices - you will find ranges vary. I've had it work aft -> bow on the same deck, yet not bow -> bow between decks.

 

Oh, yes, and once you are outside the 3 mile limit, well anything goes...

 

-----Burton

[sharilyn55]

Don't know about the rest of you, but I like loosing my husband and kid's onboard (21 and 24). I would hate it if they could find me all the time, lol

[bstrauss3]

I like loosing my husband and kid's onboard

 

You meant losing, right? Although loosing has a certain delight in it's definition within your context...

 

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

 

Loose \Loose\, v. n. [imp. & p. p. Loosed; p. pr. & vb. n.

Loosing.] [From Loose, a.]

1. To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove

the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.

 

Canst thou . . . loose the bands of Orion ? --Job.

xxxviii. 31.

 

Ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her;

loose them, and bring them unto me. --Matt. xxi.

2.

 

2. To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to

disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.

 

Art thou loosed from a wife ? seek not a wife. --1

Cor. vii. 27.

 

Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed

in heaven. --Matt. xvi.

19.

 

3. To relax; to loosen; to make less strict.

 

The joints of his loins were loosed. --Dan. v. 6.

 

4. To solve; to interpret. [Obs.] --Spenser.

 

 

I would hate it if they could find me all the time, lol

 

That, dear friend is why the blasted things have OFF switches!

 

-----Burton

[Chip AZ]

It never cease to amaze me that when ever this subject comes up that you get the "leave them at home" attitude. These people should start their own cruise line. Follow the rules of the cruise line, these passengers are not allowed to make up the rules.

 

These radios are great for keeping people together in a port, they might even save the day if someone gets lost. The poster that listed legality in different countries is correct.

[Iamthesea]

Question for everyone. We are going on our December cruise with 3 different familes. We are on 3 different levels and like doing 3 different things typically. However, we would like to have a way to get ahold of each other to meet up and do stuff. We were thinking of buying cheap walkie talkies but you can't find 3 of them for cheap. Do the ships offer them to rent? Does anyone have advice?

I was answering the OP's question. ;) I have nothing against the radios as long as they are used properly.

 

Incidentally, we had a family reunion on board with 14 people. My brother bought some very expensive radios (3) to use on board for our families/children. They tried them once and decided they were too much trouble. As I said before we used the communication services that I mentioned above and never lost anyone. :)

[denneym1]

I don't know about using them on the ship, as I doubt they would work well at all inside with all the metal walls anyway, but they can be very handy on shore if you and someone else in your party tend to split up. Sometimes my wife and I go different directions while shopping etc. and while normally we can reconnect via cell phone, I take a pair of FRS radios to use if we are where there is no cell phone service. They are very small, and very handy for that purpose.

[ElsieToo]

It probably won't help you too much since you're sailing to the Caribbean (out of the country), but you might be able to use your cell phones onboard the ships. We used our cells to make quick "where are you and where can we meet up" calls while sailing around Hawaii a couple of years ago, and it worked very well for us. Since so many plans nowadays have worldwide service with no roaming charges it might be a good option for you as well.

[Iamthesea]

Our cell phones worked in Key West and St. Thomas, plus all Hawaiian Islands.

[Larry502]

I take a pair with us on every cruise and we love them. It takes all the stress out of wondering where our son is. Got the Motorola units. The cost is higher but they work. Don't listen to the members who say to leave them at home. This is your cruise as much as it is there cruise. Maybe you whould tell them that they should leave there dress at home because you do not like it.

 

Have a great cruise.

[ElsieToo]

Our cell phones worked in Key West and St. Thomas, plus all Hawaiian Islands.

 

Good to know. Thanks!

[cruiserjanet]

I think this is a great idea if they are used in a manner that shows courtesy to other passengers (i.e., no loud talking). My husband and I are going on a cruise with my best friend and her husband and I would like to use walkie talkies so we can find each other on the ship, especially since it will be on the Caribbean Princess. While our cell phones would work in port, we would run the chance of incurring international charges.

[Iamthesea]

We have Sprint and it covers all U.S. states and U.S. Virgin Islands.

[k9cop]

We have found them to be very useful. I have the GMRS models and have never had any problems onboard the ship. Might get a little static trying to talk from lower deck to upper deck, but for the most part they work well. Obviously they work even better while at port. You get a few miles of range. Usually pleanty to keep track of others while shopping, etc... As with cell phones, just be considerate when around others. The only real problem I've seen with them is when parents give them to their kids to go out and play. They tend to like to "talk" with each other when they are only about 10 feet away...

[SLOduck]

We have used the Motorola WT's with GREAT success … and then not. They ARE great for quick 'hey check out the hunk up at the pool' and also 'check out the cool sunset' for the folks in an inside cabin. Sometimes you have to change channels to keep your channel separate from others doing the same thing (the NOT part), but if you have two or more people they are INVALUABLE!!! BUT I DO AGREE--use them with consideration, and keep the volume as low as possible :-)

[PescadoAmarillo]

They were available for rent for $4 per unit per day on the Diamond Princess April 14, 2006 Sydney to San Francisco cruise.

[Buddy604]

I brought a pair of the original Motorola FRS Talkabout radios on my cruise last year, and found that the metal inside the ship (Sun Princess) made them useless, although people on the Grand class ships said they work well.

 

For my last cruise I brought a pair of 5 watt GMRS radios and they worked very well indeed, even though I was again on a sun class ship (Dawn Princess). They support FRS and GMRS, and have a Weather band too.

 

I didn't use them that often, but they are good for keeping track of my travelling companion for things like "Where are you?" and "Do you want to meet for lunch?" I chose to set mine to vibrate mode, kept the volume low, and turned off the beep after each transmission. I did have the headset if I wanted to make a lengthy transmission, but only used it once or twice.

 

The set I bought was made by Midland and was around $50 for two and included the radios, rechargable battery packs, recharger and headsets. I think Amazon carries them.

 

Like anything aboard, including alcohol, cigarettes and perfume, they can be used to excess by inconsiderate people and annoy others, but they are certainly allowed on board, and, in fact, princess rents sets onboard some cruises for $4 day per handset. I noticed someone's princess patter had a notice about renting VHF radios too. Unless that's the same thing?

 

The GMRS licence is required for use only within US waters. In Canada, no licence is required, but the maximum allowed trasmission power is two watts, so for the five watt sets you should turn the transmission power down to the mid-range level while you are in Canadian waters. I think outside the 12 mile limit you are on your own as a pirate station so slap on the eye-patch and "Arrrr" to your heart's content. :D

 

For those who are opinionated enough to tell others to leave their radios at home, might I suggest, once again, that you learn to differentiate between the tool and the abuser. I have far more complaints about inconsiderate drunks than you will ever have about walkie talkie users, but I don't think that justifies having Princess discontinue alcohol service now does it? :rolleyes:

 

Just my $0.02.