Keeping in touch with other passengers

If we don't opt for Voom what is the best way to keep in touch with other passengers? We were thinking walkie talkies but wanted to see other suggestions

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We just do it the old fashion way. Before we go off to do something, we discuss "the when and where" do we meet. If we are in our cabin, we can call to friends in another cabin, if there are change of plans, etc.

Even if it is just my hubby and I, we leave a note in the cabin if our plans change.

When traveling with friends for instance if we do the buffet, we do our best to always sit in the same area, so the rest can find us - we don't wait at the front door. Same with the show, tend to sit in one general area, so we can look out for each other.

I've heard they're working on an app that will allow people to keep in touch without purchasing the full internet package, but have NO idea when that's supposed to come out. I always get the Voom and use FB messenger to keep in touch.

I have also used magnetic white boards to leave notes on the door for friends to tell them where to find us.

Walkie talkies do not work well because of all the metal. They are also very annoying to other passengers because of the noise and squaking. You will find lots of threads if you do a search outlining in more detail.

Many of the old fashioned ways mentioned work just fine, such as post-it notes, white boards, and also leaving a message on the cabin phone. You can call from any house phone. Any of these work if you don't want to purchase a phone plan, or carry a phone.

I have always used the notepad and pen that they always leave in the rooms (maybe bring a little one jsut to make sure you have one) and we have always written little memos to each other, such as "At the Lido, needed some coffee, I'll be back in 15" or "Went to the Solarium, Look for me up there". We recently even started emplying times just because we had some confusion once. If you write the memos smaller, you can just draw a line under it and keep lots on one page. I know it's probably not the most convenient thing, as it will keep you coming back and forth to the room all day, but like "DD Likes To Cruise" has said, the old fashioned way of talking to each othe rbefirehand and planning your day can go a long way.

I've heard they're working on an app that will allow people to keep in touch without purchasing the full internet package, but have NO idea when that's supposed to come out. I always get the Voom and use FB messenger to keep in touch.

Royal IQ does this, $8 per device/per cruise. It was available on the Harmony, not sure about what other ships it's on.

If we don't opt for Voom what is the best way to keep in touch with other passengers? We were thinking walkie talkies but wanted to see other suggestions

We have have had very poor luck with walkie-talkies.

Stateroom phones have voicemail capability.

Royal IQ does this, $8 per device/per cruise. It was available on the Harmony, not sure about what other ships it's on.

So far, only Harmony of the Seas and Quantum class.

Try TALKING to the rest of your party! So easy! Have everyone tell everyone else your plans for the day. I'm assuming you will have at least 1 meal together....so that's the time to catch everyone up. It's really not a big deal to find the others in your party, especially if you know that Bob will be in the casino, and Mary and Louise will be at the pool...Geraldine will be in the spa, etc......TALK to each other! You won't have a problem with contact...I swear!

I gotta say, in researching for our upcoming cruise and reading a few of these posts, I was surprised to discover that RC does not have a intranet or i-message type system. Not a huge deal, but I would have thought they would have been the trend setters in this area. If corporate is reading this, please send an IT "spy" over to Princess to check it out. Great system and it's free. And while there, please take some notes on the TV and movie set up. Still looking forward to our Liberty cruise very much. DH and I will just have to keep pen and paper handy!

I have always used the notepad and pen that they always leave in the rooms (maybe bring a little one jsut to make sure you have one) and we have always written little memos to each other, such as "At the Lido, needed some coffee, I'll be back in 15" or "Went to the Solarium, Look for me up there".

Our last cruise (Navigator 2015) did not provide pen and paper in the cabin. When we asked the cabin steward, he said that perk has been eliminated. We weren't too happy as we leave notes for one another at times to communicate where we are and what our plans are. From now on, I guess we have to bring our own. No big deal, but it's something they always had and apparently now they do not.

I gotta say, in researching for our upcoming cruise and reading a few of these posts, I was surprised to discover that RC does not have a intranet or i-message type system. Not a huge deal, but I would have thought they would have been the trend setters in this area. If corporate is reading this, please send an IT "spy" over to Princess to check it out. Great system and it's free. And while there, please take some notes on the TV and movie set up. Still looking forward to our Liberty cruise very much. DH and I will just have to keep pen and paper handy!

As mentioned in another post above...Royal Caribbean actually does support intra-ship passenger communications via an app - however this is very new, and only available on Harmony and 1 Quantum class ship at this time. According to various reports...the intent will be to expand this further, but there is a dependency on high-speed internet being on the ship to support the messaging infrastructure for the RoyalI IQ app. We used it earlier this year on Harmony and it worked great. Look for more ships to have this feature later in 2017 and 2018.

Our last cruise (Navigator 2015) did not provide pen and paper in the cabin. When we asked the cabin steward, he said that perk has been eliminated. We weren't too happy as we leave notes for one another at times to communicate where we are and what our plans are. From now on, I guess we have to bring our own. No big deal, but it's something they always had and apparently now they do not.

That's weird. I remember having a pen and pad onboard Empress in August 2016. Maybe they were trying to get rid of any they had left over. But I always bring my own journal out of habit so I guess that will be something that I make sure I put in my bag next time. Thanks for the heads up!

As mentioned in another post above...Royal Caribbean actually does support intra-ship passenger communications via an app - however this is very new, and only available on Harmony and 1 Quantum class ship at this time. According to various reports...the intent will be to expand this further, but there is a dependency on high-speed internet being on the ship to support the messaging infrastructure for the RoyalI IQ app. We used it earlier this year on Harmony and it worked great. Look for more ships to have this feature later in 2017 and 2018.

It is for sure available on Anthem, but I though Quantum and Ovation had it as well. We used this Royal iQ app on Anthem last march with a group of 8 families and it was extremely useful.

dp

I have also used magnetic white boards to leave notes on the door for friends to tell them where to find us.

I did the white board thing on my first cruise (Celebrity Summit 2015). After finding multiple illustrations of anatomy reflecting varying degrees of primary and secondary sexual characteristics, I gave up and took it off the door. :rolleyes:

--bruce T.

We use a message board: Try something like this. https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Magnetic-Whiteboard-Fridge-Markes/dp/B01J23JSE4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503324016&sr=8-2&keywords=magnetic+whiteboard

Packs well and is easy to use. It also allows others to leave messages for you, which can be a plus.

Walkie talkies do not work well because of all the metal. They are also very annoying to other passengers because of the noise and squaking. You will find lots of threads if you do a search outlining in more detail.

 

Many of the old fashioned ways mentioned work just fine, such as post-it notes, white boards, and also leaving a message on the cabin phone. You can call from any house phone. Any of these work if you don't want to purchase a phone plan, or carry a phone.

I can only speak for our own use of walkie-talkies -- they worked fine.....we have used them on ships as big as Oasis class. As far as 'annoying' to other passengers: it is NOT our intention to have a long conversation on the walkie-talkie (some people do and that could be annoying)....it is just to let someone know where I am or ask where someone from my group is.

I can only speak for our own use of walkie-talkies -- they worked fine.....we have used them on ships as big as Oasis class. As far as 'annoying' to other passengers: it is NOT our intention to have a long conversation on the walkie-talkie (some people do and that could be annoying)....it is just to let someone know where I am or ask where someone from my group is.

Paulette - I agree...

My November Grandeur cruise will be our 19th, but our first with RCI.

I was very surprised:o and disappointed:( that they don't have a texting/communications app!!

Paulette - I agree...

My November Grandeur cruise will be our 19th, but our first with RCI.

I was very surprised:o and disappointed:( that they don't have a texting/communications app!!

I can only speak for myself again....I would not want a texting app that uses my cell phone.....that just means that I could be carrying my cell phone and drop it and it would break. Walkie talkies have worked wonderfully for us, and they seem to be built to withstand abusiveness.... hard core cases. They have worked for us.

We tried walking talkies. There are just a few channels and they are all in use. So they are really noisy! And they are heavy. Consider notes in the room or a write-on-wipe-off board that sticks with magnets on the door or just making plans with others to meet at certain times and places.

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We tried walking talkies. There are just a few channels and they are all in use. So they are really noisy! And they are heavy. Consider notes in the room or a write-on-wipe-off board that sticks with magnets on the door or just making plans with others to meet at certain times and places.

 

 

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The walkie talkies we have are small, and not heavy at all. Yes, many people might be on the 4-6 channels available, but when someone isn't talking I would interject what I wanted to say to the person I was looking for and then they would answer me -- it was never a problem for us.

We tried walking talkies. There are just a few channels and they are all in use. So they are really noisy! And they are heavy. Consider notes in the room or a write-on-wipe-off board that sticks with magnets on the door or just making plans with others to meet at certain times and places.

 

 

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Many of the new models have many more channels plus privacy sub channels, so you now have over 2500 channels to work with. The last set I bought for hunting even have a vibrate alert function so they don't have to beep or ring. That being said, I still use my cell phone and texting since I keep my phone with me as a camera anyway. If you cruise with a larger group with many kids, it is unrealistic to think that a simple whiteboard on the door and making plans in advance would suffice. Doors are spread all over the ship and things come up so plans change.

dp

For those interested, there are also other options that are a bit pricey but can link to your cell phone to enable communication to other enabled cellphones without using cell towers or Wi-Fi. The Royal iQ app is still the cheapest way, but many ships don't have it and maybe some of you have other activities where this might be useful.

Look up Beartooth: https://www.beartooth.com/

or goTenna: https://www.gotenna.com/

Like I said, a bit pricey but perhaps a solution for some of you.

dp

The walkie talkies we have are small, and not heavy at all. Yes, many people might be on the 4-6 channels available, but when someone isn't talking I would interject what I wanted to say to the person I was looking for and then they would answer me -- it was never a problem for us.

Hi - There are 7 of us on the Freedom next month in 4 cabins and I'm thinking about getting 4 walkie talkies for us to keep in touch. What kind do you have? Thanks