Walkie Talkies

Don't know if anyone's asked this question before or not.

I've seen people using Walkie Talkies onboard the ships I've been on...do they really work anywhere on the ship?

Just curious:confused:

We've used them twice, on Veendam and Grand Princess. Not to say they don't exist, but we never did experience any dead spots. They're a good way to keep track of active youngsters.

Warning: This thread will bring out a few of posters anxious to lecture you on the courteous use of walkie talkies. I presume you're an intelligent adult. Just ignore them.

We always take a pair of our walky talkies on our cruises. They are a great way of communicating aboard the ship as well as on land when we go ashore.

We have used our radios on the Grand Princess, Golden Princess, Volendam and the Veendam. The Veendam was the only vessel on which we encountered dead spots.

We use rechargeable batteries in all of our bettery powered portable devices. Just as a packing tip bring an power strip with you because there aren't very many electrical outlets in any of the cabins. We also bring a small battery charger capable of recharging 4 AAA or AA batteries. We also bring two small flashlights along (just in case) that use the same AA batteries our radios do.

Hope this info is helpful and have a great day.

I guess I am one of those that don't appreciate to listen to walkie talkies while I am on vacation...I also don't like cell phones everywhere I go either. People and families have cruised forever without the use of them...why start now? People are vacationing to relax, and get away from all the annoying things that are found at home and work. Sorry, just my opinion.

We've used them twice, on Veendam and Grand Princess. Not to say they don't exist, but we never did experience any dead spots. They're a good way to keep track of active youngsters.

 

Warning: This thread will bring out a few of posters anxious to lecture you on the courteous use of walkie talkies. I presume you're an intelligent adult. Just ignore them.

ROTFL! I'll whisper into it and use an earphone;)

My partner and I usually split up during the day, but maybe want to meet somewhere at a certain time and it would be a good thing to give a "shout" (whisper) to (whisper) out a reminder that when the ship's bell gongs 8 times...it's time to check in.:)

I guess I am one of those that don't appreciate to listen to walkie talkies while I am on vacation...I also don't like cell phones everywhere I go either. People and families have cruised forever without the use of them...why start now? People are vacationing to relax, and get away from all the annoying things that are found at home and work. Sorry, just my opinion.

I'll make sure I'm nowhere near you.:D

I think you may want to check out reviews of different brands on a website like shopping.com, because I think some brands work better at sea than others.

We have used them in the past, very sparingly - now we just tell the kids what time to be in a certain place and they show up. At first we were a bit worried about the kids on the ship, but they know their way around better than we do, more often times than not. Luckily, my DH prefers to frequent certain locations of the ship, I have never had a problem finding him... yet. ;)

On our last cruise, there was a guy shouting into his walkie talkie while he was eating, unfortunately, he was at the table next to ours - I guess he thought if he yelled loud enough, the kids would understand him, but the more he yelled, the more they just yelled back and got him all worked up. He was definitely the exception though, most folks use common sense and common courtesy. :)

I think you may want to check out reviews of different brands on a website like shopping.com, because I think some brands work better at sea than others.

 

We have used them in the past, very sparingly - now we just tell the kids what time to be in a certain place and they show up. At first we were a bit worried about the kids on the ship, but they know their way around better than we do, more often times than not. Luckily, my DH prefers to frequent certain locations of the ship, I have never had a problem finding him... yet. ;)

 

On our last cruise, there was a guy shouting into his walkie talkie while he was eating, unfortunately, he was at the table next to ours - I guess he thought if he yelled loud enough, the kids would understand him, but the more he yelled, the more they just yelled back and got him all worked up. He was definitely the exception though, most folks use common sense and common courtesy. :)

Thanks. I have a set of Cobras. We tend to split up during the day. My DP and like to go to different things at different times and it would be nice to use them just to check in to make sure one of us is on time for dinner or something interesting that we'd like to meet for.

Actually, I'd not ever think of using it where someone can hear my frisky conversations.....some people are so nosy!:D

There are a limited number of channels on most walkie talkies and I have found that many times other folks are on the same channel so it becomes confusing.

This is mostly true when the ship is docked or anchored and you can pick up the conversations of people on land as well. While at sea it should be no problem. In my case I have found that they were of little use but then I don't have children with me. It also was my experience that the batteries seemed to die very quickly.

Given how difficult it can be to find one's traveling companion, I think it might be a good idea ... at least worth investigating. Oh, I'd never carry on long-winded, intruding conversations over it ... but for finding out where someone is so that you can find 'em, it's not a bad idea.

And for those with miniature replicates to keep track of, it sounds like a VERY good idea. :D

Mom & I use them all the time as we don't tend to spend much time together on sea days during the day. If we need to find each other they can come in handy. They will work with whoever else you are keeping in touch with as long as you are within range of each other. 2 way radios come in defferent mileages as to what thier range is. Over the years they have been increased in the number of miles thier range is and are smaller. One thing to keep in mind though is that if you are on the same channel & code as other people on the ship you will get their conversations on your radios. If you don't want to hear it then you will need to change your channel and or code on your radios. For people that go to Half Moon Cay the crew that are working ashore will probably be seen using them becasue its easier that way for them to keep up with keeping things stocked. There was one time we were there that we let one of the crew use ours and we just changed the channel & code. We called it the Island Channel.

47 cruises on HAL at the age of 41

504 days at sea on 11 different DAM SHIPS

500 day gold medllion holder

9/06 Trans Canal - Westerdam

12/06 Christmas & New Years - Westerdam

if Holland America doesn't go there WE DON'T GO!!!!

My DH and I do our own thing on sea days. We use the walkie talkies sparingly to touch base. It's a safety thing for us.

B

Walkie talkies have been a topic of conversation regularly on these boards. A search for "Walkie talkie" on the just the HAL boards got 8 hits. A search of all the boards returns 247 hits.

Here are a few of my favorite comments from walkie talkie posts:

How about someone TALKING ON A WALKIE TALKIE IN THE PINNACLE GRILL!!:eek:

Please keep in mind that people take cruises to get away from things such as people yelling into cell phones... walkie talkies are no better. Maybe you could just leave each other a note and agree to meet at a specific time.

My wife & I are farther apart in a shopping mall, yet don't see the need to add to the cacaphony of sound which permeates the air.

Personally, I figure if party members aren't competent to check in at a certain place at a certain time, they should be outfitted with a chest harness attached to a leash that is tightly wrapped around the wrist of whoever is worried about them

We got some to use a couple years ago when we took DD on a cruise for her graduation. All I ever heard on it was "Mom? Mom? Mom? can I get a soda?" and it wasn't my kid, I was picking up someone else. I was half tempted to reply "Sure, go ahead and get one for all your friends too!" ;) . Whenever we tried to use them, they were essentially useless.

Absolutely HATE rampant cell phone or walkie talkie use.

We were on the Constellation last year and we were waiting to get some ice cream. There was a father with his daughter ahead of us, with a walkie talkie. So the father hands the walkie talkie to the kid, who is all of 5 years old. She starts SCREAMING into the walkie talkie "MOMMY I'M GETTING ICE CREAM!!! MOMMY I'M GETTING ICE CREAM! MOMMY WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING ME???" So the father finally takes the walkie talkie away after he realizes no one else thinks it's cute, and holds it so the kid can talk to the mother about her ice cream, while we waited and waited and waited.....turns out the mother was on the other side of the Lido eating lunch. Evidentally this conversation couldn't wait until the father and daughter walked back around to the other side.

Now you tell me, was that really necessary?

The beauty of these ships is that they are so huge. The ugly is that they are not huge enough to avoid families who THINK (or, more aptly, DON'T THINK) they NEED to use walkie talkies to 'keep in touch'. If you want to keep in touch, stay together! If you must be separated make arrangements to meet somewhere at a pre-determined time.

GMRS radios are only legal in the USA. They require an FCC license. The license fee is $75 for 5 years. They can have up to 50 Watts of power. Many less than 2 Watts have been introduced.

FRS radios are only legal in the USA and Canada. They can have up to .5 Watts of power. Using either of these 2 way radios elsewhere is probably against the local laws. If you're planning on using them overseas, check with the local authorities first. Aslo, check with the Captain before using the higher power GMRS radios aboard the ship, as they can interfer with the ship radios.

Bravo, Whogo. Well stated.

I was just quoting.

People and families have cruised forever without the use of them...why start now?

Lvtotrvl1, I am with you -- I am not a fan of cell phones or walkie talkies on a ship, or anywhere for that matter, regardless of the fact that I have one on my belt! But I understand the reasons for needing one - at home or away.

But to say that people have done without them before is no reason to do without them now. Humans managed to have about 6 million years of exsistence without a cruiseship, but I don't care if those who came before me didn't get to cruise! I'm still going in October!

I just have to hope that those who use them use common sense. If I get really bugged, then I have to save up more money so I can do a private charter, rather than a mass market cruise. There are trade offs for everything.

Just my 2 cents worth (that's really an inflated price for my opinion, if you ask me!).

Keep Smiling!!!:D

Hmmm, all I have to say to the people who are so adamant against other people using modern technology to keep in touch and try to stay safe is....tune out the people that bother you...I tune out peoples' screaming kids, and other peoples' loud conversations all the time...I KNOW it can be done, because I see them tuning out their own kids!;)

Ok, I promise to stay away from anyone it annoys...if you see me anywhere near you using my walkie talkie...just come up to me and grab it out of my hand and throw it overboard.:D

Hmmm, all I have to say to the people who are so adamant against other people using modern technology to keep in touch and try to stay safe is....tune out the people that bother you...I tune out peoples' screaming kids, and other peoples' loud conversations all the time...I KNOW it can be done, because I see them tuning out their own kids!;)

Ok, I promise to stay away from anyone it annoys...if you see me anywhere near you using my walkie talkie...just come up to me and grab it out of my hand and throw it overboard...You can even smack me around a little!:D

But have you ever noticed, say on a Vista ship when one is in the Lido,and calls the other party and finds out they are in the Vista Lounge awaiting bingo, that the conversation gets much louder??? Seems the further away the person is, the louder they feel they have to scream into them???

HoneyGV,

Just go for it and use them. When we have seen other people use them they have usually been pretty good about it. Mom & I only use them during the day and not in the evening hours. Mom always knows where to find me at that time anyways.

Where would we be without modern technology. If people are posting here they must at least have a computer at home. Isn't that cosidered modern technology? When it comes to cell phones I don't know very many people who don't have one. Have a co worker who doesn't have a lan line any more and instead eveyone in his familiy uses a cel phone. Gee, can't we make long distance calls on a cell phone and not pay extra for it unless you exceed your monthy minnutes???? My mom calls my brother that way all the time who lives in Minnesota and we are in Florida. The call shows up on her monthy statement for her cell phone but there was no charge for the call. I have also called a freind of ours in CA using mine. When my freind was here in Tampa who is working on the Veendam he would send a text messgae as they were comming in late every friday night or early Saturday morning so that I would know when he was going to get off and I would go over to the pier accordingly. It was a big help and cut down on the waiting I would have to do. Could I say that if we didn't also have modern technology we wouldn't have cruising the way we do today.

We are getting on the Westerdam the end of September and going through the canal to Ft. Lauderdale. Will be a busy day as I found that 5 ships are supposed to transit that day. Will be a flotilla to the Caribbean. Maybe some should look at how the canal saves the trip around South America and that the canal still operates today using a lot of the same equipment that it did when it first opened. One piece of modern technology are the mules that are used when the ships are in the locks. This will be our 4th transit.

What would we rather do. Sit down in front of a old typewriter and having to fix typos using white out or a computer where we have spell check and a printer. Being a FL resident part of a hurricane supply kit is to have extra batteries for a cell phone. Bet a lot of us have chordless phones in our homes these days. If you lose power they are useless. Unless you have a simple phone you can just plug the phone line in then the only other way to make calls is a cell phone. As in modern technology.

When we last did Hawaii for the Holidays on the Statendam, we were in Lahaina on Christmas day arriving around 12 noon. As we started to make landfall on the island of Maui, Molokai and one other island it was actually quite funny as I remember the sight of seeing so many people out on deck who had gone back to thier cabins to get thier cell phones. After 4 1/2 days at sea we had the chance to use our phones again and everyone was wanting to call other family & releatives to wish them a Merry Christmas. What's wrong with that.

Oh yeah. Can't we buy a car these days with built in GPS navigation, DVD players and satelite radio?

47 cruises on HAL at the age of 41

504 Days at sea on 11 different DAM SHIPS

500 day gold medallion holder

9/06 Ttrans Canal - Westerdam

12/06 Christmas & New Years - Westerdam

If Holland America does't go there WE DON'T GO!!!!

If you have to use one, get a pair that has privacy channels. i.e. You can tune into Channel 4 but there could be 30 sub channels under Channel 4. Otherwise, you are bound to run into someone who chooses the same frequency that keep yakking away looking for their kids. Get off my channel!!! I am not your son.:mad:

Hmmm, all I have to say to the people who are so adamant against other people using modern technology to keep in touch and try to stay safe is....tune out the people that bother you...I tune out peoples' screaming kids, and other peoples' loud conversations all the time...I KNOW it can be done, because I see them tuning out their own kids!;)

 

Ok, I promise to stay away from anyone it annoys...if you see me anywhere near you using my walkie talkie...just come up to me and grab it out of my hand and throw it overboard...You can even smack me around a little!:D

Awwwrighty then HoneyGV:eek:

Here's some codes for your walkie talkie use;) :

Ankle biter... Young Child

Back... Over(Back to you)

Back at ya... Answering

Big ten-four... Yes

Bleed over... Interference from another channel

Blowing my windows out... Strong signal

Catch a few Z's... Sleep

Catch you on the flip-flop... Speak to you on the return trip

Come back... Answer back

Come on... Answer back

Do you copy?... Can you here me?

Eighty eights... Love and kisses

Five and nine... Good strong signal

For sure... Definitely

Four on that... Yes

Give me a shout... Answer back

Handset... Walkie talkie

Hit the hay... Sleep

Little woman... Wife

Motor mouth... Walkie talkie user who talks too much

Negatory... No

One-eyed monster... Television

Ratchet jaw...Walkie talkie user who talks too much

Roger that... Yes

Rug Rats... Kids

Seat cover... Attractive woman

Ten Four... Yes,Ok,Roger etc.

Wall to wall and treetop tall... Good strong signal

You got a copy on me... Can you here me

ZZZZ's... Sleep time

My DH is like the wind - one minute he's there & the next minute he's dissappeared..I lost him in Rome and sure wished we had Walkie Talkies then..My friends & I finally found him at the Trevi Fountain after an hour and a half of hunting..I was so worried & then Angry!:mad: We now take them with us in port just in case we lose track of each other...Like having them as a backup..Never use them on board as we can usually find each other sleeping (err reading) out on the Promenade Deck or having coffee in one of the lounges..

Also have a Virgin Atlantic cell phone, which I hardly ever use but so glad to have it in case of emergency..It's pay as you go & only have to top it off every three months for $15.00..Won't leave home without it..;)

Happy cruising everyone..:) Betty

 

Please keep in mind that people take cruises to get away from things such as people yelling into cell phones... walkie talkies are no better. Maybe you could just leave each other a note and agree to meet at a specific time.

Absolutely HATE rampant cell phone or walkie talkie use.

 

We were on the Constellation last year and we were waiting to get some ice cream. There was a father with his daughter ahead of us, with a walkie talkie. So the father hands the walkie talkie to the kid, who is all of 5 years old. She starts SCREAMING into the walkie talkie "MOMMY I'M GETTING ICE CREAM!!! MOMMY I'M GETTING ICE CREAM! MOMMY WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING ME???" So the father finally takes the walkie talkie away after he realizes no one else thinks it's cute, and holds it so the kid can talk to the mother about her ice cream, while we waited and waited and waited.....turns out the mother was on the other side of the Lido eating lunch. Evidentally this conversation couldn't wait until the father and daughter walked back around to the other side.

Now you tell me, was that really necessary?

 

LOL. I hate them also.

My experience was the SCREAMING Mom and Dad with "Joey, Joey where are you? " "Answer me Joey", you get the picture.

We were on deck waiting for fireworks in Curacao. The couple next to us had one. The guy was SCREAMING into it, "where are you?" "What ? I can't hear you, what did you say ? " The other couple was a deck below us. The SCREAMING continued about what they did after dinner, who won what at the casino on shore. That was bad enough, then the guy hands it to his wife and the SCREAMING started all over again. :eek:

This last cruise was the first time we took them along and believe me fellow cruisers / posters we were aware of who was around when we used them. We used them to touch base with our two DD's when they went to club hal- just to check in that they were there and or when they were leaving.

If we received a ring in a public area I would always step out into a hall, and if our conversations lasted 30 seconds it was alot. I agree they can be annoying but remember its not the actual walkie talkie that's the problem...its the user of it! Most parents who bring them along use it as we did to keep tabs on the kids so that we know where and what they are doing - I think thats being more responsible then not checking in.