How do you keep in contact with family on board?

[jimc_usa]

IS there some kind of walkie-talkie that would work?

[steve20832]

Go to Best Buy and buy a pair of those half mile range walkie talkies for around $40. It won't work in all areas of the ship but if both people are outside it should work fine.

[afnjf]

This was posted on another Thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=274159

 

I was shopping on line and found these Motorola 7 mile range walkie talkies for 19.99.

They seem like a great deal. If you buy 2 pair, the 5.50 cost of shipping is waved.

I saw them in the outlet section of Circuit City.com.

 

Maybe this will help anybody trying to decide if they should buy walkies.

 

Here is a link to the site:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/produ...?oid=95237&c=1

[Bunkie103]

I never thought I would need something like that, but, on our very first cruise DH was in the casino and I was done playing....couldn't find him! Evidentally he was having the same experience, we both even went back to our cabin and missed each other again. Must admit it was a little disconcerting. First night of first cruise and I was LOST!:o

[AppleValleyCruisers]

Another idea might be post-it notes, for messages on the mirror in your stateroom. In any case, they work well for leaving notes/requests for the Steward:)

[momthecruisedirector]

I prefer a meeting time and place, the walkie talkies can be a real pain for fellow cruisers. We've never used the walkie talkies but have been near those that are trying to hear their families members on theirs. There is a lot of static and the person using them talks louder and louder, over and over, trying to be heard. If you have someone in your party with a medical problem or something similar I think they are a good idea, otherwise a meeting place and time to check in every so often should be fine.

[TxStacey]

We use the dry erase type boards and put them on the outside of our doors. They work great!

[zqvol]

I prefer a meeting time and place, the walkie talkies can be a real pain for fellow cruisers. We've never used the walkie talkies but have been near those that are trying to hear their families members on theirs. There is a lot of static and the person using them talks louder and louder, over and over, trying to be heard. If you have someone in your party with a medical problem or something similar I think they are a good idea, otherwise a meeting place and time to check in every so often should be fine.

I agree, please leave the walkie talkies at home, their use in public places is nothing short of rude.

[dromMOM]

IS there some kind of walkie-talkie that would work?

 

My teenage son avoided all contact.. so...LOL

 

Last year we tried walkie talkies.. that lasted about 30 minutes.. he said it wasnt cool...

 

This year we hooked a watch on his belt loop. He was alone all day till 4 when we asked that he report to the cabin. This was on Sea days.. so that we could all get ready for dinner.

 

After dinner we asked that if he was going to be out past one am to please pick up the nearest phone and call the room and leave a message. Just so we know he was alive!!

 

We also would leave postits.. IN the room when necessary..

[caprcorn28]

I agree, please leave the walkie talkies at home, their use in public places is nothing short of rude.

 

I think that walkies are appropriate at appropriate places on the ship. For instance: Lido deck. Yes. It's nothing formal/quiet. Formal dining room. No. Same thing would go for on land with a cell phone. I am guessing the same people that despise walkies are the same that despise cell phones.

 

If they aren't meant for public places, where do you use them?? I don't need them at home...

[Kittybork]

I saw people using walkie-talkies. It didn't bother me a bit. I would want one if I sailed with a teenager: just in case.

[wpd805]

Oh man..the old walkie talkie question...hmmm...to use them or not....people are going to tell you there rude and so on..so be prepared...Im on a cruise, all that needs to be said is that...you would not offend me, as it is a good way to communicate..I use them everyday in my job. You should do as you seem fit...if they will help you and your family then by all means..use them. If your next to me on the cruise using them, I may just ask to borrow it so I may say hi to whom ever your talking to (to many DOD's maybe:rolleyes: )

[gwyneth140]

I agree, please leave the walkie talkies at home, their use in public places is nothing short of rude.

 

I could care less if people find it rude, I think they are a great idea to know your family's whereabouts. Knowing where my teen is takes precedence over someone elses irritation.

[Signal9]

I use them everyday in my job.

 

Where at in Illinois...I grew up in Glen Ellyn. I am a Cop in TN now.

[Zeta3]

My daughter got those "ChatNow" walkie talkie things for Christmas and they are pretty cool we are going to try them on our upcoming cruise. They work on regular FRS bands but also allow you to send text messages which is much less disruptive than trying to yell into a staticy connection.

[wpd805]

Where at in Illinois...I grew up in Glen Ellyn. I am a Cop in TN now.

 

Central Illinois area...I went to the academy with an officer from Glen Ellyn..

[serene56]

I could care less if people find it rude, I think they are a great idea to know your family's whereabouts. Knowing where my teen is takes precedence over someone elses irritation.

 

they are a good idea if used correctly. Having them to check in with family members is what they are supposed to be used for. But for MY irratation is when the kids are using them to have whole conversation (very loudly) with their new found friends sitting behind me while we are trying to watch the show. which was very rude.

If your child uses them for check in purposes only-- Great-- please ask them to use them for that purpose only.

[kujobie]

I think they are a waste of money. We never found them very reliable on ships, probably due to so many others using them and other wireless transmissions on the ship itself causing interference. They usually get lost, either by accident or on purpose :) And to be honest, we never really needed them. We would often bump into our kids throughout the day in the course of normal activities. If we wanted to check on my daughter, we would just check the capers for the Camp CArnival activity that was currently in progress and could just go to that location and find her. Otherwise, we had scheduled meeting times at the cabin before dinner, and other times leave notes for each other in the cabin about where we would be. The voice mail in the cabin is great too, and there are public phones all over the ship. It is too easy to pick up a phone where ever you are and call someone in a cabin or leave a msg.

[dromMOM]

I think they are a waste of money. We never found them very reliable on ships, probably due to so many others using them and other wireless transmissions on the ship itself causing interference. They usually get lost, either by accident or on purpose :) And to be honest, we never really needed them. We would often bump into our kids throughout the day in the course of normal activities. If we wanted to check on my daughter, we would just check the capers for the Camp CArnival activity that was currently in progress and could just go to that location and find her. Otherwise, we had scheduled meeting times at the cabin before dinner, and other times leave notes for each other in the cabin about where we would be. The voice mail in the cabin is great too, and there are public phones all over the ship. It is too easy to pick up a phone where ever you are and call someone in a cabin or leave a msg.

 

I totally agree.. Once we found out where we were going to plant ourselves in a chaise.. We called the room and left a message. So If my son really needed us he would know where we were. He was very self sufficient. He could find the grill, pizza and Ice cream station blindfolded.... he didnt need us at all.

 

We always used the cabin phones..

 

He called us numerous times. My husband also knew if he wasnt in the teen center or on the lido deck by the movies.. he could find him near the Icecream and Pizza around Midnight!

[nimbex1970]

we have 3 ways,

 

we all meet for breakfast and do a plan for the day which is flexable, but sets up meeting points at least twice before meeting back at the cabin for dinner.

 

we use the house phones to try rooms

 

we use motorolla walkie-talkies... but my kids not only are seasoned cruisers, we taught them about stepping away from activities and respecting others as they shout into them. With motorolla, there are so many channels and frequencies, communicating isn't a problem.

 

we the have dinner together and redo our night agenda

[Retired LEO]

I found good prices here.

 

http://www.wholesaledirect.ws/catalog.cfm?do=list&catID=21

[serene56]

you want walkies with rechargeable batteries--or those cheaper ones will cost you a lot more in the long run with batteries.

[zqvol]

I could care less if people find it rude, I think they are a great idea to know your family's whereabouts. Knowing where my teen is takes precedence over someone elses irritation.

If your child is so small that you can't trust them on the ship they need to be with you or in camp Carnival. Walkie talkies and cell phones have become America's latest way to be rude. THere is no excuse for carrying on a converstion where the world can hear it.

 

I was at the gym today and had to listen to a guy talk on the phone about bipolar disorder while I showered and dressed. There is no excuse for it except to say it is rude. In fact it is more rude than wearing a bathing suit to dinner on formal night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lurkyloo]

We brought Walkie Talkies on our last cruise - truthfully, we didn't use them much on ship, but they did come in handy. The few times we did talk on them it was just "where are you?" or "meet us in the cabin now" not a long conversation or anything. I seriously doubt we bothered anyone. We mostly used post its and meeting times.

 

Where we found them most helpful was when we in port shopping around. If you are with a group, it's great to be able to touch base if someone wanders off. Since it would cost a fortune to use our cell phones in Mexico, the Walkie Talkies are a great alternative! ;)

[nugsmom]

We have Nextel phones with the walkie-talkie feature. We took them on our last cruise and was able to use the walkie-talkie feature. It was great to be able to find each other. No long drawn out conversations, just hi, I'm here, where are you, okay meet me here. Worked great!