How to find my family onboard without texting?

I am a newbie cruiser, travelling with two family members on a large ship.

We are used to communicating by texting back and forth when we travel.

If smartphones don't work onboard (or are horribly expensive to use) is there another way to leave messages?

Ruby Princess, March 20th sailing.

Sometimes, it's a good thing not having others know where you are every minute. :D

Seriously, just up some regular meeting times/places.

LuLu

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I am a newbie cruiser, travelling with two family members on a large ship.

We are used to communicating by texting back and forth when we travel.

If smartphones don't work onboard (or are horribly expensive to use) is there another way to leave messages?

Ruby Princess, March 20th sailing.

All rooms have a phone with voice mail options (at least on the cruises I've been on). Post-it notes on the mirror in the room. Or as PP said, pre-arranged times ("I'll be at the pool at 11:00" or "Lunch at 12:30")

Seriously, it's not that difficult to find each other. I find that I keep running into the same people all the time onboard.

Plan when and where to meet.

You will find that the ship is really not that big. There are only so many places someone can be.

Good advice all.

The ship becomes your home away from home.

You will find certain places (restaurants, lounges, pool areas) that will become your favorites and that you will find yourself frequenting.

It will be easy to find each other when you will be hanging out in your (and their) fav places.

At least that's how it worked for us.

Make a certain place a designated meeting area for excursions.

It is not hard to stay in touch!!

Happy Cruising!

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

You can always call the cabin from anywhere on the ship.

You can also leave post-notes on the door.

I just had to "roar" after reading the OP's post. It is hard to imagine how we used to exist without Smartphones, text msgs, cell phones, etc. We fondly remember cruising (and traveling) before there were any cells phones, radio phone calls on ships cost about $18 a min, there was little to no e-mail, etc. On longer cruises, those that had to keep in touch would wait until they got to a port and then head for the pay phones. And what a wonderful world it was. Drivers actually looked at the road (rather then texting and driving), families actually talked to each other (rather then texting), and some of us actually wrote real letters and mailed them from foreign lands.

And by the way, although we spend more then 6 months a year traveling, DW and I have yet to purchase a "Smart Phone." Our DD thinks we are crazy, but our total cell phone bill (for the 2 of us) is less then $20 a month (and that is for 2 phones). Guess we will have to break down one of these days and get an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy (I am a techie) but for now, we still enjoy actually talking to people face to face (guess we need to be using more Face Time).

Hank

I just had to "roar" after reading the OP's post. It is hard to imagine how we used to exist without Smartphones, text msgs, cell phones, etc. We fondly remember cruising (and traveling) before there were any cells phones, radio phone calls on ships cost about $18 a min, there was little to no e-mail, etc. On longer cruises, those that had to keep in touch would wait until they got to a port and then head for the pay phones. And what a wonderful world it was. Drivers actually looked at the road (rather then texting and driving), families actually talked to each other (rather then texting), and some of us actually wrote real letters and mailed them from foreign lands.

 

And by the way, although we spend more then 6 months a year traveling, DW and I have yet to purchase a "Smart Phone." Our DD thinks we are crazy, but our total cell phone bill (for the 2 of us) is less then $20 a month (and that is for 2 phones). Guess we will have to break down one of these days and get an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy (I am a techie) but for now, we still enjoy actually talking to people face to face (guess we need to be using more Face Time).

 

Hank

Haha me too. We traveled to theme parks on vacation and when we went in the gate we were told.... Be here at xx time. Not being where you were supposed to be before mom and dad showed up could easily result in every one having to leave.

I've also heard that post it notes inside the cabin for safety reasons Is a good way to communicate.

Two-way radios/walkie-talkies onboard are great. Just clip it on your pocket and go....

Two-way radios/walkie-talkies onboard are great. Just clip it on your pocket and go....

NOOOoooooo.......!!

Two-way radios/walkie-talkies onboard are great. Just clip it on your pocket and go....

Two way radios are a great way to meet your fellow passengers. They will be thrilled as you are yelling into the radio trying to communicate with your group. For get the radios and just plan ahead.

Thanks all for great suggestions.

"Sometimes, it's a good thing not having others know where you are every minute. "

That advice really made me laugh.

Make tentative plans for the day...that way, everyone will know where everyone else is likely to be.

You really don't need to text to find each other. Jeez..until the last couple of years, NO ONE texted...and yet, we still "found" each other...amazing, but true!

There are only so many place you might be on the ship. More than 3/4 of the ship is cabin space...except for your hallway, you needn't search there! You will find that everyone gravitates to the same areas over and over...pool, casino, sports deck or favorite bar..... you'll find them! No worries!

Two-way radios/walkie-talkies onboard are great. Just clip it on your pocket and go....

No.

A thousand times.

No.

It really isn't that difficult. Even our teen contributed to our running note on the door whenever any of us went back to the cabin for a brief stop. She knew when we would be getting ready for dinner as we had assigned seating.

You can leave a message with any cabin's voice mail using the house phones that are all around the ship.

Some people will use a little dry erase board or post it notes.

Two-way radios/walkie-talkies onboard are great. Just clip it on your pocket and go....

You'll be just as popular as the passenger that brings on the loud boom box to the pool and plays his music on full blast.... aaaahhhh

I brought a small white board for my friends and I to use, and it worked great! Although we did also get funny messages from other passengers on it. :) I'm definitely going to bring it again on the next cruise.

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if you go the two way radio route two things:

1. it may not be legal to operate outside the u.s.a.

different frequencies in different countries and all that stuff.

2. you will be assured of meeting lots of other passengers, but not in a GOOD way...

Because I watch too much Criminal Minds and CSI you can consider the source

How about putting post it notes or white board inside the door for security purposes or to avoid notes being lost. Especially if with kidst

For me...I just know my wife....so....if I am not sure where she is I stop and think and then I take a walk to check:

1. Ship Shops

2. Main lounge to see if there is a shopping lecture. (do you detect a common thread here?)

If I cannot find her, I go find a place to watch the water and relax. There is no doubt in my mind that she isn't more than 8-900 feet away from me and that, when we do meet up, I will learn everything about where she was, what she did, that I shoulda been there and when she can show me the fabulous piece of bling she found.

So, as noted, not knowing is kinda nice. :):D:cool:

We always bring white boards with magnetic markers that have erasers on the caps.

When first heading out, we'd tell the kids what time to check in with us. If they couldn't find us, then they left notes on the white board that they checked in at the designated times and we would leave notes back to them to let them know next check in or where we thought we might be.

Added bonus to putting a white board up is the funny notes from your fellow passengers.

You guys are funny. :) When we went to Hawaii last fall with the kids, we kept running into them everywhere we went. Yes, it was a family vacation, but 4 adults don't need to spend every second together. At least not on the ship.

Haha me too. We traveled to theme parks on vacation and when we went in the gate we were told.... Be here at xx time. Not being where you were supposed to be before mom and dad showed up could easily result in every one having to leave.

 

I've also heard that post it notes inside the cabin for safety reasons Is a good way to communicate.

I remember packing stamps for postcards.....:D

Post-its, white board, and many times, after 46 years of marriage, I like getting "lost" for a while.....hmm? after 46 years, we seem to be able to find each other easily.

After 16 family vacations on cruise ships, we always settle into the same routine. We have breakfast together and give a pretty flimsy description of what each of our plans are ('cause plans can change). We have a favorite spot by the pool, so (1) look there if you are close (2) Call your cabin. If we are doing something we hadn't planned, we leave a message on your cabin voicemail telling you where we are. You can do the same for us (3) If you go by your cabin, we will have left a post-it note on the dresser mirror. You can do the same for us (3) If all this fails, you're on your on until we see you at dinner..on time. We HATE 2-way radios and have to fight the urge to grab it from the person yelling into it and toss it overboard. This method has worked successfully on every cruise. We've never had anyone panic.

Pilgrim212, we go old school by using a piece of paper with the typical "places" a person would be (pool, spa, workout, dining room, shopping, library, etc) taped on the inside of the door. We use a unique magnet for each person and simply put the magnet on the spot where we plan to be in case someone wants to find us. It works, and is simple.