Two Way Radios?!?

[janabm81]

I posted this in the cruise questions section but didn't get much response.

 

We are thinking of getting 2 way radios for our upcoming cruise because we feel our kids are now old enough to have a bit of freedom around the ship. (the youngest just turned 13) We've done a lot of research but can't find anything specifically for cruising and all the info has now obliterated our brains. :(

We are just wondering if anyone has any experience with two way radios on the ships and if so what types did you use?

Thanks for the help!!!:)

[crusinmama06]

I've taken a set of Motorola two ways, with not much luck. :( But this was a few years ago. I have talked to people on ships, recently, who were using walkies and they said they loved them. I was sitting in the Solarium (RCCL) with a couple of ladies who were using them to keep in touch with the rest of their family. I asked them if they had any problems using them, they said for the first day or two, it was tough finding a free channel. But they said that once they found one, they had no problems with them.

 

So from what I have heard from others, the key is getting one with alot of channels. :)

[SuziCruz]

Our family - DH, boys aged 11 & 13, and myself - completed an awesome cruise on Liberty of the Seas (HUGE SHIP!) at the end of March. We brought one set of 2-way radios. Motorola T9500. Bought at Costco in Ottawa, Canada for under $60. Best decision ever. We should have brought 2 sets, but it worked out pretty well as the boys mostly stuck together. Minimal break-ups, although sometimes it was hard to hear if we were at opposite ends of the ship. One night my husband and I went to the casino and the boys stayed in the room. They were trying to reach us and we didn't hear the signal. I'm not sure if it was because there's a lot of background noise in the casino (bells and pinging) or if the signal was blocked somehow. Overall, they were really convenient to have along on the trip.:)

[brenderlou]

We take them when we cruise. Not sure what brand but they work fine.

At times you can't get thru depending on how many decks are between you and the other person and if one is in a cabin.

They are great to have in my opinion.

[Onessa]

Some work better than others.

 

Can't help with brands or models since our cruises have been European and we had to buy ours "over there" since European bands are different than North American. Had a friend who lives in Berlin buy a set (Phillips I believe) and we've used them on several land and sea trips "over there"

 

As a previous poster stated, there are areas where the structure of the ship, causes drops or breakup. We've generally always gotten at least the signal for a message, haven't always been able to understand the words -- so we have a "back up" to meet at a particular place if we get a communication but cannot understand.

[Correia_Cruiser]

I'm really interested in this post, since I'm bring kids on their first cruise in a few weeks. I'm not familiar with 2 way radios AT ALL, so if anyone has any info on what makes one radio better than another in general, I would love to hear it! And if anyone's used one with or without success (we're on Carnival Elation), please share!! Thanks!

[hopingforthebest]

Do you know what brands would work in Europe? I'll be crusiing the Med with three teens in June and think this sounds like a great idea. However,I won't have much time pre-cruise to shop.

[graysladymurphy]

We brought some that were a few year old. They did not work well at all. We were on the pool deck, trying to contact my husband on deck 8, and we ended up talking to someone else, thinking it was my husband. Kinda crazy. We asked him to bring up more towels and he asked "how many." We said, "three" before realizing it wasn't my husband.

[cb at sea]

I can't even imagine my kids wanting to lug a radio around all the time---it would go "missing" about 2 hours into the cruise!