Communicating with spouse while on board

[mwood0612]

We have cruised many times and have YET to figure out a good way to communicate with each other when we do separate things while on board; WITHOUT having to go all the way back to the room! I love to lay by the pool and chill, especially on sea days while DH like to go workout, walk around, etc. There are MANY times that I need or want to move spots, or go get some food or drinks but I am afraid to move because then we spend forever trying to find one another again!!! On our last cruise we purchased the internet plan and thought we would be able to imessage each other but that didn't work! Not sure what we were doing wrong! It has been several years since we've been on RCCL and I'm sure the internet pkgs and phone apps have improved tremendously!! With that being said, what way do you guys use to communicate with your spouse or family while on board??

Thanks!!

[Clarea]

If you purchase a package such that both phones have simultaneous internet access, iMessage or any other internet based messaging service should work fine. Also, if your phones have WiFi calling enabled, you can even call each other for no extra cost using the ship's internet.

[disbthai]

Two way radios walkie talkie

[Clarea]

Two way radios walkie talkie

We've had very poor luck with walkie-talkies.

[Devi8or]

I had thought about this too, we sail on Freedom in February with us and the 2 kids. I think we're just gonna go primitive and have a whiteboard in the room to write where we are incase anyone is looking for one another. The kids aren't old enough to wonder on their own, so they'll be with one of us at all times. I figure that should be good enough to at least give an idea where we are

[Biker19]

On our last cruise we purchased the internet plan and thought we would be able to imessage each other but that didn't work!

Try it at home before you go - put your phones in airplane mode, turn on WiFi only and try it.

[Clarea]

I had thought about this too, we sail on Freedom in February with us and the 2 kids. I think we're just gonna go primitive and have a whiteboard in the room to write where we are incase anyone is looking for one another. The kids aren't old enough to wonder on their own, so they'll be with one of us at all times. I figure that should be good enough to at least give an idea where we are

Remember, you can also leave messages on the stateroom phone.

[setsail]

Bars are a good place to talk

[lajbec]

Is there anyway to check your in storeroom phone messages remotely? I've never seen a way to set a password or pin. Wouldn't that be a nice feature??

 

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[Lovesealife]

Purchase the internet package on the ship and download an app called whatsapp to your phone's. This will enable you to message and call each other over Wi-Fi. Make sure to keep the phones on airplane mode so you are using Wi-Fi and not data. Happy sailing!

 

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[Dixie1337]

My husband and I actually used fb messenger. We were able to call each other over it too.

[lenquixote66]

We have cruised many times and have YET to figure out a good way to communicate with each other when we do separate things while on board; WITHOUT having to go all the way back to the room! I love to lay by the pool and chill, especially on sea days while DH like to go workout, walk around, etc. There are MANY times that I need or want to move spots, or go get some food or drinks but I am afraid to move because then we spend forever trying to find one another again!!! On our last cruise we purchased the internet plan and thought we would be able to imessage each other but that didn't work! Not sure what we were doing wrong! It has been several years since we've been on RCCL and I'm sure the internet pkgs and phone apps have improved tremendously!! With that being said, what way do you guys use to communicate with your spouse or family while on board??

Thanks!!

Unless an emergency occurs we never have a need to contact each other .We head out for our seperate activities and have a meeting place and time.We have never had a problem in our 40+_ years of cruising.

[Clarea]

Is there anyway to check your in storeroom phone messages remotely? I've never seen a way to set a password or pin. Wouldn't that be a nice feature??

I agree, but I've never seen that capability.

[gerif]

Unless an emergency occurs we never have a need to contact each other .We head out for our seperate activities and have a meeting place and time.We have never had a problem in our 40+_ years of cruising.

We've always done the same - like, I'll be in the Solarium but if I decide to do something else I'll meet you at the entrance of the MDR at noon regardless. Never failed in many cruises.

[vacationlover_mn]

Try it at home before you go - put your phones in airplane mode, turn on WiFi only and try it.

 

This is what we did on our last 2 cruises, and it worked great :)

[cb at sea]

Unless an emergency occurs we never have a need to contact each other .We head out for our seperate activities and have a meeting place and time.We have never had a problem in our 40+_ years of cruising.

 

I have to agree! My hubby will find me eventually, or I will find him! He spends sea days in the casino a great deal of the time...I'm at the pool somewhere! If we aren't in those places, we'll be in the cabin!

[Milwaukee Eight]

We've had very poor luck with walkie-talkies.

 

 

 

Same here.

 

 

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[Lionesss]

Years ago used walkie talkies on Disney cruise, we had more interference and um obscene messages, not worth it.

 

Fortunately being in a suite we have free communication thru texting..............

 

Safe travels

[EBFURR]

We tried the walkie talkies years ago when we had a large group with very limited success. We found out about the DECT phones and were able to get them on several cruises but it has been several years so I don't know if they still do that. We would go to Guest services when we boarded and ask for them. We got one for us and one for each of our teens. They look like older cell phones and each has a number. You can call them and also to/from any cabin on board. They are what the crew used and they are essentially part of the ships phone system. There was no charge and we had to turn them back in before departure They worked great. No idea if they still have them but it might be worth a try.

[harryfat1]

My wife would say we never communicate while on land, why start now when we're on board? ;p

[fred30]

Also, depending on you carrier it may be feasible to get packages for your phones that give you a limited amount of text and phone coverage. This can be reasonable as long as you won't be receiving too many calls from others. If I remember correctly AT&T only charges for sent text not ones you receive. So you can really keep the cost down.

[Cuervosar]

My SO and I think it is imperative that we know each other's location at all times. You never know what could happen. Just look at the North Korea situation.

 

Therefore, we've devised a triple redundant SO Location Plan that is in effect from the moment we step on board.

 

Step 1 is regular radio contact. We don't trust those little radios you get at Walmart though. We both have high end Motorola radios and we're both HAM operators. Every 15 minutes we check in with our on board location or "OBL". In the event of a 10-1, we make contact with pre-determined ground stations and give them our coded locations. Something like "SO unit one 14:45 check in OBL is lemur banana echo 6 until 14:52, will update further. " In this example, lemur banana echo 6 was a specific seat in the lounge used for Bingo.

 

Each of us carries a laminated ship map with our location codes in our ready bags that also has our spare batteries and a 12 hour food supply.

 

In the unlikely event of a step 1 failure (2 consecutive non-contacts) we go to our backup which is an hourly plan we stash at preselected dead drops around the ship.

 

We select 12 individual dead drops and then update each spot at the appropriate time with the next hours plan. So for example, at the 3:08 dead drop I code in my plan for the next hour and leave it there. If SO is unable to establish radio contact, they can pick up the drop and coordinate from there.

 

With each person having 12 drops the locations are only used twice daily decreasing suspicion. Again, drop locations are coded on a laminated card cross referenced with the drop times in the ready bag and photos of the cards are kept both in our phones and in an innocuous looking paperback in the cabin.

 

Step 3 I'll keep to myself, and we've never had to use it, but I will say it involves an intricate code we've devised using buffet silverware, 2 Pina Coladas, a red and yellow checkered scarf and a poor Guatemalan family whose inside cabin we pay for just for this contingency.

 

You can never be too prepared.

 

 

We have cruised many times and have YET to figure out a good way to communicate with each other when we do separate things while on board; WITHOUT having to go all the way back to the room! I love to lay by the pool and chill, especially on sea days while DH like to go workout, walk around, etc. There are MANY times that I need or want to move spots, or go get some food or drinks but I am afraid to move because then we spend forever trying to find one another again!!! On our last cruise we purchased the internet plan and thought we would be able to imessage each other but that didn't work! Not sure what we were doing wrong! It has been several years since we've been on RCCL and I'm sure the internet pkgs and phone apps have improved tremendously!! With that being said, what way do you guys use to communicate with your spouse or family while on board??

Thanks!!

[Biker19]

Step 3 I'll keep to myself, and we've never had to use it, but I will say it involves an intricate code we've devised using buffet silverware, 2 Pina Coladas, a red and yellow checkered scarf and a poor Guatemalan family whose inside cabin we pay for just for this contingency.

:loudcry::loudcry:

[Trevor Fountain]

Distress flares.

[toxicfairy]

I just tell my husband where I'm going and when. Then I get side tracked go somewhere else and pretend he forgot what I said . So far it's worked. We also use notes in the state room or the house phones if we want to check and in the cabin

 

 

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