using walkie talkies on the ship

[ILOVEOSU]

I'd like to get a pair of walkie talkies to keep track of my two teenagers on our cruise on the Sky next month. Does anyone have and use them, that can recommnend a good brand/model? I'm not really familiar with them.:o

Thanks!

[roger001]

Use the search for walkies talkies and you should see dozens of comments on these, opinions, brands, where they do and don't work.

[CanadianTwosome]

We use motorolas and it's really hit or miss. It depends on where you are on the ship and (I think) how much metal/bulkhead is in between you.

 

My suggestion is to just keep in touch. I assume your teenagers get along and will be together around the ship? Make sure you talk about potential dangers and set some rules before you board. A ship is a small community and all of the 'don't talk to strangers' warnings definitely apply. Add 'NEVER go into anyone's cabin' to that as well.

 

Anyway, back to 'keeping in touch'... While Freestyle is all about not setting schedules, parenting is still parenting. I expect the teen club will have a weekly schedule that they give out in the same manner as the kid's Crew, so make sure you get one of those, and then sit down together and look at the Daily every night. You don't have to plan every moment, but if you have an idea of what everyone's plans are for each day, then if you need to find one another, that makes it easier. Also, make a plans to meet at certain times during the day - meals are a good way to do this - even if you don't spend more than five minutes saying 'We're at the pool', it still gives you that ability to check on everyone's safety and well being, etc.

 

All that being said, our walkie talkies have been useful, but not as useful as we might have hoped. I don't recommend depending on them completely - and besides, it gives you an excuse to see your kids once or twice a day. :)

[ILOVEOSU]

Yeah, we've gone over the rules, but this is the first time they will have been on a cruise, so we've never done the teens club or anything like that. I plan on keeping track of them, and they will be together if they aren't with us...I just thought as a back up, it would be nice to have a quick way to find them if they were tired of the teen club or something and the plan changed. We'll still be eating meals together will be doing all of the port stuff together, of course. I tend to be a huge worrier, so I plan to know what they're up to, but I think the walkie talkies might be nice just in case. I wish cell phone charges weren't so expensive on the ship...would make things way easier. :)

[CanadianTwosome]

I think you'll be fine. The thing about a cruise ship is that there really aren't a lot of places to go, so it's not that hard to find each other if you just communicate a little. We've got the added security of the Kid's Crew and our daughter's inability to leave without us signing her out, but we are also very aware that it is her vacation also, and we don't want her to have to stay there if she wants to leave. We were actually able to borrow one of their 'diaper phones' on the Pearl, since there weren't many toddlers, so we had a reliable form of contact; we only got one call when she hurt her knee (nothing serious, she was just hyper-sensitive to it as she'd just completed six weeks of therapy on it). At other times, though, we've just gone past it every once in a while to ensure she's still having fun. I'm pretty sure she's completely unaware that we've ever done that, though, since every time we do, she's having so much fun that she doesn't even notice us. :) Like I said, there aren't that many places to go, and the ship is really not that big; a stroll past the teen area really won't take you much time, especially if you're on the move from location to location (ie from the place your kids expect you to be to somewhere else).

 

I wish I could tell you more about the Teen club, but we're not there yet. I imagine the kids have complete freedom to sign in and out, however. That being the case, though, as long as your kids have a pretty good idea of where you are, that shouldn't be a problem. Also, if you intend to take meals together, that doesn't leave much time in between that you're apart, and since the daily arrives a night ahead, you'll know in advance about any activities you're interested in. You can also have a note system in your cabin - or I'm absolutely certain that if your kids decided to leave the teen club they could leave a message with the counsellors in case you came looking for them - and vice versa.

 

Have you checked out the family board? I've seen many threads there about teens and families keeping in touch. They always get fantastic responses, including some rules you may not have thought of. :)

[Philly Steve]

We've used Motorola too and they do come in handy, on and off the ship. :cool:

[bplazo]

Yeah, we've gone over the rules, but this is the first time they will have been on a cruise, so we've never done the teens club or anything like that. I plan on keeping track of them, and they will be together if they aren't with us...I just thought as a back up, it would be nice to have a quick way to find them if they were tired of the teen club or something and the plan changed. We'll still be eating meals together will be doing all of the port stuff together, of course. I tend to be a huge worrier, so I plan to know what they're up to, but I think the walkie talkies might be nice just in case. I wish cell phone charges weren't so expensive on the ship...would make things way easier. :)

 

I do not think that they charge enough for cell phones on the ship because I enjoy getting away from it. I never had much of a problem keeping in touch with my daughter. I always made sure that I told her where I would be and I always had her leave a note in the cabin where she would be (and then spy on her to make sure she was behaving).

[MJPByron]

I use radios in outdoor action sports and I've had great success with Midland, but I don't know if they come with rechargable battery packs and chargers. Check that before you buy. I cannot recommend Radio Shack brand FRS/GMRS walkie-talkies - they don't even get a half-mile across level forested terrain in good weather.