walkie-talkies onboard

[dfecker]

My kids are asking me if they can bring their two walkie-talkies on board. I know we use them a lot snow skiing, but not sure the rules on RCCL.

[IsanTom]

No, very annoying to your fellow cruisers!

[vol1967]

Yes you can bring them,we don't use them but they don't bother us either. Some people are just to stuffy and hate to see kids having a good time.also they think that kids don't belong on boats

[davekathy]

Yes you can bring them,we don't use them but they don't bother us either. Some people are just to stuffy and hate to see kids having a good time.also they think that kids don't belong on boats

 

Ha!

[MommaBear55]

Yes you can bring them,we don't use them but they don't bother us either. Some people are just to stuffy and hate to see kids having a good time.also they think that kids don't belong on boats

 

It actually wasn't a kid who annoyed us. It was the mother standing in the middle if the Schooner bar yelling into the walkie talkie threatening her kid because he wasn't answering her. There may have been 98 other times they were used near me and I never noticed, but this one time was very annoying and intrusive

[VK3DQ]

My kids are asking me if they can bring their two walkie-talkies on board. I know we use them a lot snow skiing, but not sure the rules on RCCL.

 

Please remember that once you are outside of the USA you may well find that other countries forbid the use of walkie talkies

 

For example in Australia where I live you are libel to fines and or Prison just for possessing them let alone using them.

 

Some counties take this very seriously so my advise is to leave them at home.

 

 

If you are a licensed Amateur you may be able to use your equipment in some other countries but check with the ARRL first

 

 

Regards

 

John

[leaveitallbehind]

Yes you can bring them, there are no RCI rules against them. They tend not to work too well on board for a number of reasons and by local rules are not permitted in certain ports of call. And IMO they tend to be annoying to the other passengers due to the chirping and amplified reception and usually louder talking - perhaps because they don't tend to work too well on board as mentioned.

Edited July 24, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[cb at sea]

You will find you don't really need them. Once your party has told each other their plans for the day, you'll know where to look for the rest of your party! TALKING to each other makes a world of difference! Do it at dinner, or breakfast...whenever you're all together! You can leave messages on the cabin phones, too, if there's a change in plans!

 

I know my kids would NOT have wanted to lug around a walkie-talkie...and neither would I!

[dfecker]

You will find you don't really need them. Once your party has told each other their plans for the day, you'll know where to look for the rest of your party! TALKING to each other makes a world of difference! Do it at dinner, or breakfast...whenever you're all together! You can leave messages on the cabin phones, too, if there's a change in plans!

 

I know my kids would NOT have wanted to lug around a walkie-talkie...and neither would I!

 

Thanks for the positive feedback, I'll let them know. I also read on the forums about post-it notes. So I got a few of those and some pens. That should cover it.

[rucruisn2]

We have used walkie talkies may times onboard. Very good to have when trying to locate your family and friends. We have also used them onshore as well, excellent also. Royal has no problem with them

[halp79]

I've only been on a few cruises and one of my pet peeves is not being able to contact my DW on board when we're apart. Many, many blogs about cruise hacks say to use walkie-talkies on board. Since there will be no other inexpensive way to keep in touch, I bought an inexpensive pair. Now I'm reading that most people don't suggest it. FYI- We're not planning to have long conversations using them, just to communicate whereabouts and such.

[Grandma Dazzles]

We have used walkie talkies may times onboard. Very good to have when trying to locate your family and friends. We have also used them onshore as well, excellent also. Royal has no problem with them

 

Many do not work well because of all the metal on board. Squawking and people yelling is very annoying to other passengers. Perhaps it depends on the quality of the product being used, but there are far more negative reviews than positive.

 

Wilkie talkies and camouflage clothing are banned in many places, especially in the Caribbean.

[Trekker954]

These ships are big, go for the better model. I've bought expensive and cheap one. I can assure you the cheapo do not work well onboard. My good ones work great and I wouldn't leave home without them.

 

Its typically my adult daughter and I who wake at different hours, and often go on different excursions, so we can easily find each other when we return to the ship and/or she radios me when she wakes up.

 

I too believe if giving these to kids, parents need to give them a good lesson in manners. Give them a lesson in manners anyway.

 

As I'm typing from a land based hotel room, kids are running up and down the halls yelling. yikes!!!!

[Uelandir]

No, very annoying to your fellow cruisers!

 

No what? They even sell them onboard.

[Grandma Dazzles]

No what? They even sell them onboard.

 

Haven't particularly looked for them but in browsing the stores and just generally shopping I don't remember seeing them. Just because something is sold in the shops doesn't mean it's for use on board - look at the liquor store as an example !

[rucruisn2]

We bought ours at Bass Pro Shop, I think Midland brand. They work very well.

[Embl]

On Voyager they sell those small battery operated walkie talkies in the kid's section of the Gift Shop.

[Lionesss]

Having brought ours years back, we said we would never do again.

 

Too much of a lost signal and I got more alerts from other users and conversations due to only a handful of "wave lengths" we left them in the cabin after the first couple hours.

 

And besides DD did not want to carry it around.

 

Safe travels.

[Wendyland]

We brought our Midland GXT walkie Talkies, but barely found them useable. Only if we were on the same floor. There's so much metal to go through. We did find them useful when we went to Belize and my kids stayed in the ship with their grandparents. If they stood on top, we could communicate from the shops. I will not take them in future. I'd rather get a text app or just use do notes in the room.

[TrishRip]

We always bring our Motorola Talkabouts. However, we use them for serious communication, not to play. We have a teenager and she is rarely with us, so it is a good way to keep in communication and stay advised of changes in plans. She is required to check in with us every few hours or we will come looking for her (and she does NOT want that to happen!). We use earplugs/headphones and keep on vibrate. We also step out of heavily populated areas to speak whenever possible. We have never had an issue using them onboard, not even on Oasis and Freedom class, which is exactly why we bought them. We use a subchannel with no other traffic, and have never really had any interference issues. We never take them off into port as many of the Caribbean countries do not allow them. If their walkie-talkies are simple toy ones, they may not even work well on the ship for them.

 

Obviously, use common courtesy when using walkie-talkies, but in most cases they are no more annoying then having to listen to anyone else's conversation who is not within your group as everyone does anyway!

[Pipo]

Radios are permitted, they even sell then on board. But we used a couple of Motorola walki-talkies on the Allure, and they were useless most of the time. Radio signals are subject to line of sight, that means that any obstruction will affect the transmissions, and a cruise ship has lots of obstructions.

My suggestion is to show them how to use the telephones that are in common spaces: simply dial the room number and the phone in that room will ring.

[caribbean sailor]

My kids are asking me if they can bring their two walkie-talkies on board. I know we use them a lot snow skiing, but not sure the rules on RCCL.

 

Sure you can bring them,we always bring ours.They work better in ports then on the ship.Have a great cruise.:)