?? about walkie talkies or??? to keep in touch

[motherchic]

This will be our first cruise that we are taking with our two daughters, 16 & 18.

I was interested in how others have kept in touch with their children. I know they will at times do their own thing but I also know that it would be nice to say" Hey, come and join us for an ice cream or lets go do this".... I DO NOT plan on chatting on a walkie talkie, just want a quick confirmation.

Does anyone have any suggestions. Too bad texting doesnt work. I would even learn how

( LOL)

Thank you much

Mc

[aquanavis]

I have son 13 and have brought walkie talkies on a couple of previous cruises. I would say it was useful to have them and they worked as a communication mechanism at least some of the time. Still the good old fashioned "why dont you check in a 4PM at this location" still works too.

 

There were a few times where they seemingly didn't work (ie from one end of the ship to someone who was in a cabin). So they aren't as reliable or universal as using cell or text on land. But your kids are older and some of the issues my son had may have been pilot error due to age :).

[TSC]

On a recent cruise to the Bahamas, my son and I used our cell phones, which worked great - but it is pretty costly. We kept the conversations to a minimum, but it was about $5 per call to access the RCCL lines.

But - most of those calls were worth it. We had two grandkids and were always in a different place at a different time from the grown single 20 something son.:p

 

I've used the walkie talkies at Disney with moderate success - and have seen others use them on cruises. On my last two cruises, there were several groups using them, and they seemed to work out, but the more people using them, the more problems arise. If there are two many groups - then it becomes difficult to find a clear channel. One time at Disney, we just turned them off because every channel had constant traffic.

[cb at sea]

Do you REALLY want to have to lug those things around with you? (And, which one of the girls is going to carry theirs??)

Leave a post-it note in your cabin, if plans change. Pre-arrange meeting spots, if you have to. Chances are, with girls that age, they're going to be by the pool, checking out the guys, and being "checked out"! That's what older teens do. You'll find them!

[CruisinManiac]

Do you REALLY want to have to lug those things around with you? (And, which one of the girls is going to carry theirs??)

Leave a post-it note in your cabin, if plans change. Pre-arrange meeting spots, if you have to. Chances are, with girls that age, they're going to be by the pool, checking out the guys, and being "checked out"! That's what older teens do. You'll find them!

 

This is what we would do.

 

For sea days, my DH and I would get up in the morning and have our breakfast. We told the kids that we expected them up at a certain hour, and to come find us at the pool. Once they found us, they would have their breakfast and then find places around the pool. We pre-arranged a time to meet for lunch, and then check in once more before headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. The kids would meet us at the table for dinner, and were never late. After dinner, they had free reign, but needed to check in with us at least once, and then again when they were in their stateroom for the night.

 

On port days, the kids had to go with us. ;)

[CruisinManiac]

This is what we would do.

 

For sea days, my DH and I would get up in the morning and have our breakfast. We told the kids that we expected them up at a certain hour, and to come find us at the pool. Once they found us, they would have their breakfast and then find places around the pool. We pre-arranged a time to meet for lunch, and then check in once more before headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. The kids would meet us at the table for dinner, and were never late. After dinner, they had free reign, but needed to check in with us at least once, and then again when they were in their stateroom for the night.

 

On port days, the kids had to go with us. ;)

 

We also used post-it notes, and the ships phone (for public areas to stateroom phoning) if needed.

[Rancher Dave]

A few things to consider;

 

1. The radios are over used and often are congested with too many folks chatting.

 

2. If you choose to carry one, be sure you don't disturb others by having them on at shows, in the DR, ect... I've had to listen to folks communications because people feel that their need to remain in touch is more important than the need for other folks to get away from those kinds of things. For me cruising is time away from the rest of civilization, ie. almost no cell phone use, etc...

 

They do have their use, but there are also other ways such as leaving notes. Besides the ship isn't so big that its unreasonable to stop back by the cabin to check for messages. (I understand some are mobility impared and give them a break when it comes to getting around the ship.)

[Copna2d]

We used the walkie-talkie's when girls we're younger, but now that they are young adults (their description) I go out and by them nice, water-proof watches (syncronize times with my watch) and take a pack of post-it's with us. We set times and locations to meet/check-in and the post-it's are great for relaying info if we miss each other.

[CHOPPERTESTER]

Get into a habit of leaving voicemail on the room phone.

 

No lost post-it notes. No need to go to the room to leave a post-it note.

 

No annoying fellow cruisers with Bleep "I'm in the Schooner Bar. Where are you?" Bleep Bleep "I'm in the Casino" Bleep Bleep "Ok, walk towards me." Bleep Bleep "Oh, I can see you" Bleep Bleep "I can't see you. Where are you?" Bleep

 

Sounds of a woman screaming and then a "splash" is heard by all. LOL

[rcacace]

They're more aggravation than they're worth. Communication is unreliable even a few decks away from one end of the ship to the other. The ships are so large lately that trying to communicate through all the steel is almost impossible.

[391hpa]

We used walkie talkies on our recent cruise and they worked well for us. Ours have a silent mode (they vibrate) and we turned off the sound they make when you push the button to talk because I know some people are sensitive to that noise. They cost us about $50-60 at Best Buy. It was definitely worth it and much cheaper than our cellphones and more convenient than leaving notes or stateroom phone messages.

[hoop4321]

what about the dect (?) phones? Last year we bought a very expensive set of walkie talkies that would not really work. We also had the numerous other kids chattering away on them...very annoying. I was also slightly amazed/alarmed at how many kids sound like each other on the devices. We have a 13 yr old that wants a bit of freedom, but I also think he is too young for free reign. Heard about the dect phones and wonder if they are worth the rental.

[Clarea]

what about the dect (?) phones?

I have never used the dect phones personally, but have read here that they are very useful. However, they have a very limited number, so you probably need to go to guest relations as soon as you board to have any chance or getting one. There may be a cost involved also.

[ERTHDOG]

we rented the dect phones on mariner, and they worked perfectly:)

 

i suggest that if you want dect phones,make it your first priority upon boarding the ship,they DO run out of them early;)

 

dave

[ken_nyc]

We used them on our last cruise on Carnival along with another couple that brought theirs. They had taken their kids along and wanted to keep in touch with them, they are the independent types. They worked fine all of the time. they have a vibrate mode with many channels to select, never had a problem with others interfering with our conversations.

[Clarea]

we rented the dect phones on mariner, and they worked perfectly:)

 

i suggest that if you want dect phones,make it your first priority upon boarding the ship,they DO run out of them early;)

 

dave

Do you remember what the cost was? Also, they way I understand the dect phones, they are part of the ship's phone system, right? You could call stateroom phones from the dect phones and vice-versa?

[norcalal]

Just bought a pair of walkie talkies that have a text function, vibrate and make no noise what so ever. I am one who was annoyed by the use of other kinds. Just do a search on walkie talkie/ text.

[CruisinManiac]

Get into a habit of leaving voicemail on the room phone.

 

No lost post-it notes. No need to go to the room to leave a post-it note.

 

No annoying fellow cruisers with Bleep "I'm in the Schooner Bar. Where are you?" Bleep Bleep "I'm in the Casino" Bleep Bleep "Ok, walk towards me." Bleep Bleep "Oh, I can see you" Bleep Bleep "I can't see you. Where are you?" Bleep

 

Sounds of a woman screaming and then a "splash" is heard by all. LOL

 

:D:D:D That rendition is right on the money! :D:D:D

[ERTHDOG]

Do you remember what the cost was? Also, they way I understand the dect phones, they are part of the ship's phone system, right? You could call stateroom phones from the dect phones and vice-versa?

 

if i remember correctly,they were 25.00 each per cruise. we got 2 of them for the kids and they had them on hand at all times,then if we wanted to reach them we would use the room phone or one of the many ship phones that you see all over the ship(if you look for them)and yes they can call us,but that only works if we are in the cabin,get it?

 

dave

[toots13]

If you sign up younger children for Adventure Ocean, they will give you a dect phone for free, at least they did for us on Freedom and Liberty. It worked great. You can put it on vibrate and call cabin phones. We have also used walkie talkies and not had any problem finding a free channel. You can put ours on vibrate and we use them only for major plan changes.

[ahornb]

If you sign up younger children for Adventure Ocean, they will give you a dect phone for free, at least they did for us on Freedom and Liberty. It worked great. You can put it on vibrate and call cabin phones. We have also used walkie talkies and not had any problem finding a free channel. You can put ours on vibrate and we use them only for major plan changes.

 

How young are your Adventure Ocean kids?

[Clarea]

if i remember correctly,they were 25.00 each per cruise. we got 2 of them for the kids and they had them on hand at all times,then if we wanted to reach them we would use the room phone or one of the many ship phones that you see all over the ship(if you look for them)and yes they can call us,but that only works if we are in the cabin,get it?

 

dave

Thanks for the info Dave. Sounds like a good deal.

 

Bob

[toots13]

How young are your Adventure Ocean kids?

 

My kids were 4, 8, and 11. I think they were giving them out to the younger group (3-6 yo I think), and then letting older kids families' have the leftovers the next day.

[ahornb]

My kids were 4, 8, and 11. I think they were giving them out to the younger group (3-6 yo I think), and then letting older kids families' have the leftovers the next day.

 

Mine will be 9 and 12 yo. Guess I'll have to hope for a leftovers. Do you think they'll give us one if we ask?

[Pop Tart]

Please, please don't use the walkie talkies! They are such annoying things to have to be around - all that bleeping and talking ( and sometimes yelling back and forth ). Trust me, we've heard a lot!!

We planned ahead with our children, and they were much younger when we sailed with them. We had specific times to meet, and they knew where we would be on the ship. They also knew what time we were dining, therefore, knew that they had to be back to the room to get ready! Just be very organized - it's not that hard!