Will walkie talkies work aboard ship?

[dotcruiser]

Just wondering if walkie talkies will work aboard ship? Sometimes cell phones don't get the good signals. Anyone tried these?

[triplelutz]

We used them on the Pride and they worked great!

[HOSKI]

They do work great but if lots of kids are onboard you may need to find an uncrowded channel.

[TheTravelista]

Definitely. My parents and I used them on all of our cruises when I was younger and they worked great. It was great for me to not have to hunt them down every night just to tell them I was okay!

[wallygator]

They work fine in most areas. But not in all spots of the ship. We use them. Be sure to use those with sub channels. Have a great cruise

[LSUtraveler]

They work great on the ships. One word of caution. They become a big annoyance when folks holler in them and kids play with them around others. Some folks have become very angry so suggest to teach the kids not to play with them unnecessarily.

 

We use them off ship also to keep in touch with adults when everyone is going different directions.

[woodman]

What type of unit were you using? Are some better then others? Where did you get them? Can they be rented onboard? I will be cruising with my 9yr old Grandson early next year and intended to try to use a walkie talkie to keep in touch.

[TheTravelista]

We bought ours.They can be rented but I think its about the same price to buy them as they are to rent them. We bought 2 mile Motorolas and I forget how many channels there were, but there were quite a few. We purchased them at Best Buy for about $50.

[LSUtraveler]

I think Camp Carnival will supply some for certain ages. Don't know for sure but we have always borught along our own. We just use the ones with a 2 mile range but there are others with ranges up to 8 miles or higher. Dont' know if they work any better. Ours work great. Target, Wal Mart and many others carry them.

[ken_nyc]

I just bought Motorola's 5 mile 2-way radios. I got the FCC license that is required to use all of the channels. I believe that there are 38 channels, I hope there will be no problem finding a channel.

[herb]

as long as it has enough channels and subchannels it should be fine.

[JerseyJim2]

I agree that renting the radios from Carnival would be a mistake. They are probably charging the same as buying your own and they may run out of them anyway. Best to have them in hand when you board. It also gives the family a chance to practice using them.

 

Most of the license free radios are FRS (Family Radio Service) which is a low power, 14 channel UHF service. Radios are inexpensive, some as low as $10 each, and the range is about a half a mile or so. The problem will be the number of groups using them. On a cruise with 2000+ people, a fair percentage will be relying on these radios. I would recommend getting a model that has sub-codes, CTCSS, "Interference Eliminator Codes" or whatever each manufacturer chooses to call this feature. Basically this feature uses a filter circuit to block transmissions from other radios not set to the same code (a sub audible tone). Most models with this feature have 38 codes to choose from. Advanced models have as many as 99 codes.

 

This feature does not eliminate all the traffic that shares 14 channels. Occasionally you will not be able to get through when others are transmitting on the same channel. What is does do is prevent strangers triggering your speaker every time they transmit. That might be every few minutes! By choosing a channel and sub-code combination for your group, the odds of being interrupted by others will be greatly reduced. When your friend/family calls using the correct, previously set code, only their voice will come through.

 

Another type of radio is the GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service). GMRS is a higher powered UHF service that shares the 14 FRS channels and has 8 channels of its own. Range is greater (up to 5 miles) when using the GMRS channels. Altogether there are 22 channels in a radio that is both FRS & GMRS. The downside is that an FCC license is required (no test, just $75 to Uncle Sam) if you use the GMRS channels and/or higher power. Also, these radios are a bit more expensive ($30 and up) and will eat batteries faster if you always use the higher power setting. The model chosen should also have the CTCSS/sub-codes feature.

 

If you plan on using these radios everyday of the cruise you should consider getting rechargeable batteries (NiMH type with a charger). Most radios require four AAA type batteries and can burn through a set of alkaline batteries each day. On a 7 day cruise you might need over 50 fresh batteries to keep 2 radios going.

 

Other features that are worth considering are: Vibrating call alert (good in noisy places), memory scan (nice if you need to monitor more than one channel) and weatherproof cases (if they might get wet).

 

Jim

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Just curious... if your radio is GMRS capable... is there something which prevents one from using those channels without the proper license? (especially when out in INTERNATIONAL waters?)

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

JerseyJim: License needed?

 

Tom

[JerseyJim2]

Tom,

 

GMRS is not technically allowed outside the U.S.A. FRS frequencies at low power (half a watt) are OK in most places but few other countries have allocated the GMRS frequencies for personal use.

 

On the ship in international waters, you are subject to the telecommunications laws of the country of registry (Panama for most Carnival ships). I don’t know what Panama requires for FRS or GMRS licensing. In practice, FRS and GMRS use is tolerated by the ship's master/captain as long as you do not interfere with the ship's own systems (navigation, communications, control and operations). High-powered transmissions (greater than half a watt) might be noticed. The frequencies used (in the 462 and 467 MHz bands) are very close to bands used for meteorological satellite data and fixed/mobile business radio. Any interference from passenger 2-way radio might result in confiscation of the offending radio sets.

 

My advice is to stick to low power for all channels when on the ship or in a foreign port. If you don't have a GMRS license, don't use the GMRS channels (15 to 22) at all when in or near the U.S.A. GMRS channels or power require a callsign I.D. at the end of each conversation and unidentified transmissions might attract the unwanted attention of FCC field monitoring stations.

 

The good news is that a GMRS license is a "family system license" and can be used by all members of your immediate family including in-laws. That applies to relatives living anywhere in the U.S.A. Therefore, only a single license is required for a whole family. The license is valid for 5 years.

 

For more information on GMRS licensing, check out:

 

FCC GMRS Information Site

 

Jim

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Jim - thanks for the detailed response ... you sound like a knowledgeable source of information!

 

Tom

[HelenK]

They work fine in most areas. But not in all spots of the ship. We use them. Be sure to use those with sub channels. Have a great cruise

Hi Wallygator,

 

This is HelenK from Chicago. I was on the Mediterranean cruise in May with you and Terry. How are the two of you????

 

My mom and I are leaving for Montreal in two weeks. We'll be staying there for a week first and then we'll be going on a Holland America cruise from Montreal to Boston.

 

I'm wondering... what kind of walkie talkie did you get? Are there any that you especially recommend? My mom has had spinal surgery a few years ago and has some physical limitations, so having them would sure make it easier for us to keep in touch without having to be at each other's side and she can reach me instantly if she needs my help. It would sure give us more freedom. We also hope to be able to use it for the week in Montreal as well as back home from time to time after the trip.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!!!

 

Take care,

 

Helen

[marcyjane]

We didn't have kids to worry about, but we took ours and after the first day of carrying them around, we decided to go with the post it notes where we went in and out of the cabin.

[MelBCroozer]

We used them aboard the Conquest last year and they worked okay. The ones with the sub-channels have less interruptions from others radios. One thing I did do was to bring lots of extra batteries. If they are left on for a long time, the batteries get weak quickly. I bought a bunch at the local dollar stores and had plenty of extras.