Walkie Talkie

[hailmary25]

Can anyone suggest a good walkie talkie or communication device to use upon a cruise? Going with 6 people (2 kids) and need a way to communicate since cell phones are not an option. And we do not want to keep leaving messages on their room phones. Also preferably one that isn't through the roof price wise. Thanks.

[mtaylor04]

I can't help, but there is a thread about them...

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1214229

[WNT]

I have 8 Motorolas of various models, and have used all of them very effectively on the Caribbean Princess. It always amazes me how well they work through the steel and shielding of the ship. Rarely have I not been able to hear the other party. They are affordable at WalMart or Target. Enjoy!

[blazerjan]

Got ours at Gander Mountain as gifts for our sons and their families just before our last cruise. They were wonderful and worked great. I believe they also are Motorlas and were about $50 for the pair. Plus I purchase the camo ones so the guys could use them for hunting afterward.

[hailmary25]

Well I have searched other threads and its just like everything some people swear by them and they are great and other people hate them and think they are a waste.

 

I am glad to hear they work reasonably well on the CB.

 

My other question I have is I know there are ones that have lets say 22 channels and thats limited with a 3000+ ship, but I head about privacy codes anyone know how those work?

[J&KCruisers]

I am one of those walkie talkie haters!:D

 

Take a couple stacks of post it notes and some pens to put in the mail holder outside your cabin. Talking or arranging meeting points and times is also useful. Trust me, this works.

 

Even the best motorola radios have trouble on the ship. You are on a ship made mostly of steel decking which makes it difficult to get the low watt frequencies. The large public areas or pool locations are typically loud and you can imagine trying to hear or talk over everyone into the walkie talkie.

 

One of the main reasons I cruise is to dump the cell phone. The last thing that I want to hear is people yelling into the walkie talkies because they cannot leave their cell phone addiction on shore.

 

Try old fashion notes and planned meeting. It really does work!

 

Happy Cruising:D:D

[CALMOM]

We used the Walkie-Talkies when the kids were younger and found it was a joke. There are only so many channels and you and several other people will be on the same channel, so good luck knowing who is who. You also get that unsupervised child that thinks it would be funny to keep screaming on the Talkie and playing games. The ship is not that big, set up meeting times & places, it will work well.

[1 HappyCruiser]

My other question I have is I know there are ones that have lets say 22 channels and thats limited with a 3000+ ship, but I head about privacy codes anyone know how those work?

 

The privacy coding allows the receiving radio to break the squelch & only hear the calling radio with the same coding. It does not provide a separate channel or secure and private channel. This feature if used properly does eliminate a lot of the chatter from other radio's but I've never seen anyone who understand how to actually use the feature and consequently instead of people listening if the channel is clear before talking they just pick up their radio & begin to talk not knowing if the channel clear or not. This only results in only the strongest signal getting through & lots of people screaming into their radios.

[cb at sea]

If you make tentative plans for the day (w'ell be at the pool until lunch, meet us at noon) or (Dad will be in the casino around 2 pm, etc...) then it's really not difficult to "find" each other...

The majority of the ship's size is taken up with cabins....you will only be concerned with your own hallway...and the public areas aren't THAT big! You'll find you tend to gravitate to one or two places for the entire trip.

[AZMinuteman]

We used the Walkie-Talkies when the kids were younger and found it was a joke. There are only so many channels and you and several other people will be on the same channel, so good luck knowing who is who. You also get that unsupervised child that thinks it would be funny to keep screaming on the Talkie and playing games. The ship is not that big, set up meeting times & places, it will work well.

 

I'm SURE the technology has improved over the last 25 years! Get your walkie talkies and don't worry about the drama filled haters on here, you will never see them at sea anyway and if you do happen to be that unlucky they won't be near as brave in person as they are here hiding behind their computers preaching to you! LOL

[maxxedout2]

Bought a $50 set. We thought we (DH and DW) needed them

but after the first day, no.

 

Maybe if you have kids it'll make you feel better.

 

FYI, many people use them on limited channels.

The Ship's crew use them in port and tendering.

There is a lot of chatter and noise and you don't

always know to whom you are talking.

 

I was trying to talk to DW and some teen thought

I was her parent and kept asking for directions.

 

She must have found her way or another parent. :-/

 

I dunno...maybe practice with kids at home first...

use easy 'handles' (anybody remember CB radio nicknames?).

 

We found them a pain, not panacea.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[TracieABD]

I'm SURE the technology has improved over the last 25 years! Get your walkie talkies and don't worry about the drama filled haters on here, you will never see them at sea anyway and if you do happen to be that unlucky they won't be near as brave in person as they are here hiding behind their computers preaching to you! LOL

Well, bless your heart!:)

[bubbadog]

YES The codes work well,so if one channel is busy try a different one:p;)

[scranger]

We have a pair of Motorola 350's that work quite well. However, unless you have kids or a large group, I'm not sure that you really need them. We shared them with my brother and his wife on a cruise last summer, but soon realized that most of our use was limited to calling them in their room, which is what phones are for. We're going with them to the Baltic next month, and probably will leave the WT's at home to save weight. JMO.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

One thing is true if it is to noise in some places on the ship you will not here them go off

[satxdiver]

By federal regulations there are only 22 channels and the output power is limited on FRS/GMRS radios. Any improvements over the years has been in the receiver but with the cost so low don't expect miracles. The privacy code has already been explained. Remember there are only 22 channels.

 

If you are using privacy mode, you will not hear anyone else on the radio but there well may be users. If you transmit you will be interfering with their signal resulting in both of you transmitting garbage. You have to take the privacy off to see if the channel is clear! Shouting into the radio overdrives the front end of the transmitter causing your signal to be unreadable. Shouting only annoys those around you and is counter productive to your listener.

 

There are 3000+ pax on a ship and only 22 channels. Good luck. FRS/GMRS walkie talkies are not legal in Europe and a lot of other countries. They may interfere with emergency services in those countries since they use the same frequency. Be forewarned before the long arm of the law shows up.

 

If you want some entertainment, read the data put out by manufacturers on the capability of these radios. Remember let the buyer beware!

[Krausssj]

By federal regulations there are only 22 channels and the output power is limited on FRS/GMRS radios. Any improvements over the years has been in the receiver but with the cost so low don't expect miracles. The privacy code has already been explained. Remember there are only 22 channels.

 

If you are using privacy mode, you will not hear anyone else on the radio but there well may be users. If you transmit you will be interfering with their signal resulting in both of you transmitting garbage. You have to take the privacy off to see if the channel is clear! Shouting into the radio overdrives the front end of the transmitter causing your signal to be unreadable. Shouting only annoys those around you and is counter productive to your listener.

 

There are 3000+ pax on a ship and only 22 channels. Good luck. FRS/GMRS walkie talkies are not legal in Europe and a lot of other countries. They may interfere with emergency services in those countries since they use the same frequency. Be forewarned before the long arm of the law shows up.

 

If you want some entertainment, read the data put out by manufacturers on the capability of these radios. Remember let the buyer beware!

 

The lowdown on "privacy codes":

Privacy codes are a nice feature to have because they effectively expand the number of channels you can use by adding 121 CTCSS (Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System) codes on the latest radios. For example, in the case of FRS radios, instead of having just 22 channels from which to choose, with these sub-channels you are effectively provided with 22 x 121 CTCSS codes, or 2662 available channels. This makes it much easier to find a free channel in crowded areas such as stadiums, amusement parks, shopping malls, or on cruise ships. The term "privacy code," however, is a bit misleading because choosing a given code does not block or scramble that channel or in any way prevent others from listening in.

 

So you should be able to find a clear 'CHANNEL' but remember it is not private.

[CantWaitToCrz]

We have a pair of Motorola 350's that work quite well. However, unless you have kids or a large group, I'm not sure that you really need them. We shared them with my brother and his wife on a cruise last summer, but soon realized that most of our use was limited to calling them in their room, which is what phones are for. We're going with them to the Baltic next month, and probably will leave the WT's at home to save weight. JMO.

 

We found them very helpful on multiple cruises when traveling with other couples. We found they worked well as we were trying to meet up again after our separate shore excursions, without going back onto the ship. We also used them to find what pool deck people were on, but often there was too much noise or static to have it clear. It's worth bringing and having one person in each couple carry. IMHO.

[Cozzette2]

I found the ones that the inlaws brought to be staticky and noisy. The kids talked so loud to be heard I am not sure why they needed walkie talkies at all lol. I never heard any other families on the same channel, just our own annoying group.

I was kind of embarassed by all the static they created, I tossed mine and went back to notes on doors and messages on the phones.

We always found each other pretty easily without the walkies, mostly at the poor or the ice cream station.:D

[mreasier]

We went on a long cruise to New Zealand, Australia, and Asia a few months ago. We brought our walkie-talkies and found them absolutely useless on board the ship. However, we did find them invaluable on shore. My wife loves to shop and (gasp) I do not. After touring or exploring a port we would go our separate ways. My wife would shop and I would find something else (a bar) to do. We used them to be able to meet up without setting up an artificial place or time.

[kenexx]

I'm SURE the technology has improved over the last 25 years! Get your walkie talkies and don't worry about the drama filled haters on here, you will never see them at sea anyway and if you do happen to be that unlucky they won't be near as brave in person as they are here hiding behind their computers preaching to you! LOL

 

Just like you are now!! :D

[hydrodriver831]

We have 4 Motorola W/T's and took them on one Alaska cruise. We used them for a couple of days and found that they we loud and annoying. You will find yourself says "what did you say" and "please repeat that" a lot. In noisy areas it was really difficult to hear the person on the other end. Hope this helps.:o

[Putterdude]

Put me on the list of Walkie Talkie haters...they just plain annoying to the people around you. Please use the ship's phones, it's voice mail, post'm notes and spend time with the children. Walkie Talkies really aren't necessary on a cruise ship.