Walkie talkies

[noppy]

We will be sailing with my 87 old mother. Does anyone have any ideas on how she can reach us if we are not with her ? She does not get around well and I would like for her to be able to reach us if we are not with her. Thank you!!

[Clarea]

Our experience was not good with walkie-talkies. Once we were separated by a few decks, they were unreliable.

 

If you purchase a WiFi package, you can use an internet texting or calling program from your phones.

[noppy]

Thank you for your response!!!

[TrojanUSC]

Does she have a smart phone? If so your best bet might be to get the two-device package then use a messenger service like WhatsApp or iMessage to communicate for free.

[DrD]

We've found that texting works best and is most reliable. Each text through the ship's cell service is about 50 cents, depending on your carrier. so you wouldn't want to do dozens per day but once or twice for situations as you described is worth it. Of course many or most octogenarians aren't great at texting. Cell phones are not designed with low-vision or arthritis in mind.

[noppy]

Thank you for the ideas. Most of the time someone will be with mom. Just in case she is by herself, I just want to make sure that my mom can reach us.

[Suzyrn89]

Thank you for the ideas. Most of the time someone will be with mom. Just in case she is by herself, I just want to make sure that my mom can reach us.

 

We have used a nice set of walkie talkies for about $50 including from ship to the port stores and not had a problem with them.

[GotMINI]

We used walkie-talkies on Alaska cruise for party of 10 going in about 7 directions on the ship at all times and they worked out great. Kids went berserk using them at first, but after we came up with a "talk" system it improved. We'd say "our name" calling for "other person's name/s" and then "what calling for." Obviously whatever works best for your group.

 

We opted not to use our phones on ship as didn't want to deal with purchasing wifi or paying any data charges.

[noppy]

Thank you for your response!! What brand name of walkie talkies did you use? I don't think my mother has ever sent me a text!! I am not sure if the cell phones will be a good option for us.

[GotMINI]

Thank you for your response!! What brand name of walkie talkies did you use? I don't think my mother has ever sent me a text!! I am not sure if the cell phones will be a good option for us.

 

Ours are Motorola MR350R - it's 35-mile, 22-channels, 2-way. Two-way is important! Came as 2-pack w/ charger. Got ours through Amazon for about $50.

[marycat33]

We purchased a set of walkie talkies on the ship (not the toy looking version) and had good reception with them once we figured out how to use them. Only trouble we had was when we were in noisy areas, it was difficult to hear. This was on the Oasis class.

[jagsfan]

As a soon to be octogenarian, I can tell you that we're not too

old to learn anything. My 92 year old friend tweets, texts and posts on Facebook. Try your mom, you might be surprised.

We have tried walkie talkies in the past, and the trick is to get multi channel ones and use an obscure one so you don't get extraneous chatter.

Texting is so easy though, and smart phones so portable, I'd talk to my carrier and see what kind of plan you can get.

You can also hang a memo board on your door with messages. Those help family members find each other.

Remember 80 is the new 60, so there's plenty of life left.