walkie talkies

[gal40]

Is there a preferred brand to use on board that works better? Need it to keep in touch with my teen. Anyone have any recommendations.

[snowbird1]

Is there a preferred brand to use on board that works better? Need it to keep in touch with my teen. Anyone have any recommendations.

 

The newer ones out there have longer range which is good and more channels so you can select one that may not have as many people on it. Please be advised that if one of you is inside the ship (say in an inside cabin) they will not work that well. Basically keep this in mind, the radiowaves don't travel well through steel however if both parties are up top on the ship or in more open areas they work better. They also are handy while in port. There are several good brands out there and I know Midland is a pretty good product and just remember the longer the range the better but they also get more expensive as the range increases.

[gal40]

Thanks for your response.

[CLQ]

We've had good service with a pair of Cobra walkie-talkies. We are careful to not use them in places/at times when we would bother someone with them. But they can be right handy.

[Bonnie Voyager]

We've had good service with a pair of Cobra walkie-talkies. We are careful to not use them in places/at times when we would bother someone with them. But they can be right handy.

 

Will you be bringing these onboard Oasis? Can I use this system to call ahead from the zipline and place my BBC order with EBQ? ;)

[fligster]

We used a Midland brand walkie Talkie on Explorer of the Seas in May. They worked great.

[lady_cruiser]

I am thinking of using them too on my next cruise. Can't people around you hear your conversations? I would hate to be talking to my sister only to have people around me hearing her tell me she is in the bathroom getting sick! Yuk! :eek:

[fligster]

I am thinking of using them too on my next cruise. Can't people around you hear your conversations? I would hate to be talking to my sister only to have people around me hearing her tell me she is in the bathroom getting sick! Yuk! :eek:

 

We tried to be considerate if anyone was around us. We kept our conversations short, pretty much just letting each other know where we were (there were 6 of us) so we could meet up.

[ScottC4746]

My favorite brand is None. I have been on too many cruises with people on them at the buffet "Oh Blanche, you should come around to this side and see what they have." I understand the need to have them for the kids, but like someone pointed out, short sweet messages, "where are you?" "I am at _____" "Oh ok." is all that needs to go on. Fashion comparing or catching up on gosip is not the item or location to use.

[lady_cruiser]

Thanks everyone. I'll have to let my sister know that the key word for either one of us is "I'm in the cabin. Talk to you later".

[createmem]

We have the Motorola walkie talkies - they have a 14 mile range and worked on Liberty of the Seas last week. My understanding is to get a long range system with lots of channels. We were able to use channel 5 with my daughter through out the whole cruise with no issues. We only used them as a where are you kind of thing - so she could find us when she was done with an activity in the teen club.

[mohavemommy]

We used them this last cruise when we had some family members staying on the ship and some getting off the ship. They work great. :D

[CLQ]

Will you be bringing these onboard Oasis? Can I use this system to call ahead from the zipline and place my BBC order with EBQ? ;)

For you, BV, anything! When you fly by our balcony on that zipline, we ought to hear you squeal REAL loud over the walkie-talkie!

[VAHockeymom]

You may want to also consider a DEC phone. They offer them at the pursers desk. They work everywhere in the ship just like a cell phone. We have done both walkies and the DEC phone and the phones are way more reliable. Sometimes the walkies don't always work in certain areas of the ship.

[Fun@C]

we just purchased a digital brand so that the kids can text. This way, nobody over hears unwanted conversation!!

[ehfl]

The old-fashioned way, was to hold teens responsible for meeting at a certain time and place for any family activities. Have you talked to your teen about this? Do they really want to be in constant touch with you? Might they prefer some freedom to plan their own activities, subject to meeting up at an agreed upon time and place?

[Jane110]

The old-fashioned way, was to hold teens responsible for meeting at a certain time and place for any family activities. Have you talked to your teen about this? Do they really want to be in constant touch with you? Might they prefer some freedom to plan their own activities, subject to meeting up at an agreed upon time and place?

 

 

We don't have kids and DH and I enjoy the freedom of spending some time apart. We're not the "glued at the hips" type. So we like having the walkie-talkies to communicate when one of us might go to lunch or meet up with other friends. And neither one of us likes to be on a schedule where we have to decide in the morning which activity we're attending or what time we're going to have lunch.

 

We also use them in port if we're going to an outdoor market and each one of us has different things we want to see. This way, he can look at books and watches for as long as he wants while I peruse the whole place.

 

I agree with others that using it more than a couple of seconds is obnoxious, and we each make the effort to walk away from others when using them.

 

I like the idea of the phones that the ships rent and we'll look into that on our next cruise. But there's no way we're going to give up being able to communicate with one another.

[Mickg]

Hi,

One thing to note if using walkie talkies in port is if they are approved for the Country you are visiting. This may apply more to European ports as the frequencies and output power allowed is considerably different to that in the USA.

Just a thought.

 

Mick.

[Lightsluvr]

Mick's advice (above) is very good information... though there are international treaties dealing with spectrum allocation, not all countries assign their radio bands in the same manner. You wouldn't want your talkies to be transmitting on some police or emergency frequencies. That could be very problematic for you!

 

I read the original post, which asked a simple question about which walkie-talkie to select for their family's needs.

I wondered how long it would take the anti-talkies crowd to appear. I just came back and wasn't disappointed...

Same thing happens when someone asks a question about laptops, cell phones, GPS, etc., etc. ad nauseum.

For crying out loud, folks, this is CC, not Emily Post or Parenting Magazine. If you're not responding to the OP's question, just move along.

 

Now I'm going to take my own advice... and move along... :D

 

Have a great cruise gal40!

 

LL

[JandD Mom]

If you're not responding to the OP's question, just move along.

 

 

Here here!

 

I used the Motorola brand with 18 channels plus digital security codes on the Grand Princess in March. It worked great when I was on the pool deck, and our kids called from the club because they wanted to be picked up early. It did not work so great when we were in our cabin trying to call up to the kids club. I think the metal of the ship does interfere with transmission, at least on that brand.

 

Of course then there is also the issue of the kids forgetting their handset and leaving it behind in the kids club. But that's another topic all together ...:D

[MtnBikerFallDown]

Out of curiosity, how much do the Dec phones cost for a 7 day cruise?

[VAHockeymom]

Out of curiosity, how much do the Dec phones cost for a 7 day cruise?

 

I think they were $25 each for the week, so $50 for two. The other nice thing is that we were traveling with a group and others got phones too so we programmed each phone and could call eachother too.