Walkie Talkies

[Love Boat Dream]

Now that my son is old enough to sign himself out of the kids club, a friend recommended that we get walkie talkies to keep in touch. Can anyone recommend a brand or model of walkie talkies that work well on cruise ships?

 

Thanks!

[larronry]

I used Motorola and had no problems, but I'm not sure if it is the brand that matters as much as the range. Mine had a 12 mile range so it went through all the interference in the ship very well. They are not legal to use within the U.S. and I made sure to limit there use whenever we were in a port just in case it wasn't legal. I didn't seem to have a problem with a where are you. The 2 mile ones definetly do not work through all the inference on a reliable basis.

 

Also, I would make sure there are a lot of channel options so that if you are conflicting with someone else you can change it.

[Flipflopsnfrozendrinks]

Thanks for the post.

My son will be old enough this year also. We are borrowing a pair of Radio Shack walkie talkies. Some of the channels go up to 6 miles, the rest, 3 miles.

 

I read that we would have to have some sort of licence to use the 6 mile channels, but did not realise that was only in the US. Does that mean I can use any channel I want at sea?

 

I am hoping Patrick will be making a friend his age on the ship so he can buddy up with someone while on his own. I am not sure that will be the case because we have to travel during school, and we take longer cruises, so there are only a few kids on board....about 30 on the last cruise.

 

Have a great trip, and thanks Larronry for the info.

 

Kim

[adamsmom]

Just a note: just because they are old enough to sign themselves in and out, doesn't mean that you have to allow it. You have to sign that it's OK when you register them. Even though my kids are old enough, and my 12yo son has been for a while, I still check them in and out. I wouldn't let them roam around town alone, so I don't do it on a ship either. In fact, on the cruises we've done, I have yet to see a kid in my kids' groups sign him or herself out.

 

I am planning to take along some 2-way radios this next cruise just to keep in touch with the other people in our group. What is the limit on ones that can be used in the U.S.?

[Love Boat Dream]

Thanks for the post.

My son will be old enough this year also. We are borrowing a pair of Radio Shack walkie talkies. Some of the channels go up to 6 miles, the rest, 3 miles.

 

I read that we would have to have some sort of licence to use the 6 mile channels, but did not realise that was only in the US. Does that mean I can use any channel I want at sea?

 

I am hoping Patrick will be making a friend his age on the ship so he can buddy up with someone while on his own. I am not sure that will be the case because we have to travel during school, and we take longer cruises, so there are only a few kids on board....about 30 on the last cruise.

 

Have a great trip, and thanks Larronry for the info.

 

Kim

 

Did you check your roll call. On our last 2 cruises I was able to connect with some other families with boys the same age as mine. The boys emailed in advance and looked for each other as soon as they got on board.

 

This time we are traveling with a friend and her son. I'm hoping the boys make other friends too.

[Two if by Sea]

They are not legal to use within the U.S.

 

They ARE legal, as long as you apply for an FCC license. That is easy to do and although I don't remember the cost it didn't seem prohibitive. And you even get your own call sign!