Walkie Talkies banned on all NCL ships.

[quagmire0]

6 hours ago, razor7_us said:

Could also be to influence passengers to purchase the $9.95 chat feature on their app. The $$ drives the train.

 

That too, but I hardly think it has to do with interference with the ship's radios.  It's kind of like how every airplane manages to take off even when half the plane forget to put their phone in airplane mode. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by quagmire0

[omahabob]

I suspect that it's also an issue of discrimination. They don't want to be stuck trying to determine which radios could potentially cause interference, so they institute a blanket ban on all of them.

[eileeshb]

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

I suspect that it's also an issue of discrimination. They don't want to be stuck trying to determine which radios could potentially cause interference, so they institute a blanket ban on all of them.

Yep.. like the local surf schools here banning folks from using their own summer wetsuits because the poor kids in the cheapo versions would be frozen within 30mins in poor weather. 

[scooter6139]

Saw lots of these radio's on the Bliss two weeks ago, so not sure if they are enforcing this rule yet.

[omahabob]

We were talking about rules. Who said anything about enforcement? This is NCL, after all. 😜

[cassie55]

9 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

If they ban that and Bluetooth speakers I'll be with NCL for life. 

Why ban Bluetooth speakers? I listen to podcasts as I fall asleep every night. 

[itsnotjustme]

5 hours ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

LOL I was hoping to take a wireless transceiver with me to try to make some mobile ham radio contacts... (since I'm licensed)

What country are you licensed in?  The FCC has zero authority outside the US and Possessions.

 

Actually, the differing spectrum regulations by country would be another reason to prohibit them.  An example from my military days is that many US baby monitors operated in the same spectrum used by German police radios.

[omahabob]

Bluetooth speakers are banned because a lot of people don't confine their use to their stateroom, like you do.

Edited July 15, 2023 by omahabob

[Two Wheels Only]

29 minutes ago, cassie55 said:

Why ban Bluetooth speakers? I listen to podcasts as I fall asleep every night. 

 

Carnival has....

 

Bluetooth, portable and wireless speakers are only permitted within your stateroom and must be used respectfully and at reasonable sound levels and times of day.

 

...so if NCL did something similar, you'd be fine.

 

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

31 minutes ago, cassie55 said:

Why ban Bluetooth speakers? I listen to podcasts as I fall asleep every night. 

Because people take them into public areas and use them on their balconies,  thus imposing their music on other people. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by LoungerOnBalcony55

[JustAPilot]

Good, I don’t care to hear what your dinner plans are over your radios. Almost as annoying as those groups who come onboard with the matching T-shirt’s with  something like “have the drink package” and act obnoxious. 

[zqvol]

6 hours ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Sorry my mistake, "up to 16."
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185179299379

 

they meant to say 16 feet

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

LOL I was hoping to take a wireless transceiver with me to try to make some mobile ham radio contacts... (since I'm licensed) but saw that's not allowed... Which is kind of a bummer..  Thought that would be fun.

While you made be licensed at home, the ship is not "licensed" to broadcast on those frequencies in the countries you are visiting. 

[omahabob]

A ham radio license, with few exceptions, is valid worldwide. The ship is not considered to be the broadcasting (control) station unless they operate the radio.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, omahabob said:

A ham radio license, with few exceptions, is valid worldwide. The ship is not considered to be the broadcasting (control) station unless they operate the radio.

Whether the operator has a valid ham radio license or not, that transceiver operating on the frequencies it does, comes under the ship's Radiotelephony certificate, and the Captain would need to be aware of the presence of the unit, and agree that it is acceptable to operate it under the ship's license.  All communication equipment, even down to hand held radios must be listed on the certificate, with a few minor exceptions.

[shof515]

9 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Carnival has....

 

Bluetooth, portable and wireless speakers are only permitted within your stateroom and must be used respectfully and at reasonable sound levels and times of day.

 

...so if NCL did something similar, you'd be fine.

 

unfortunately like most rules, this rule is hardly enforced. i have been on carnival ships recently in the past few months and people still have their own speaker out on the open decks blasting music.

 

also strange in the gift ship, carnival has a bluetooth speaker that looks like a ship that you can buy

[omahabob]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Whether the operator has a valid ham radio license or not, that transceiver operating on the frequencies it does, comes under the ship's Radiotelephony certificate, and the Captain would need to be aware of the presence of the unit, and agree that it is acceptable to operate it under the ship's license.  All communication equipment, even down to hand held radios must be listed on the certificate, with a few minor exceptions.

Not true. That certificate only applies to installed equipment. It is technically legal to operate a ham radio from a ship, but there are numerous hurdles to be aware of.

 

https://www.arrl.org/maritime-mobile-operation-in-international-waters

 

But since the cruise lines don't allow them, this debate is moot.

[RocketMan275]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

unfortunately like most rules, this rule is hardly enforced. i have been on carnival ships recently in the past few months and people still have their own speaker out on the open decks blasting music.

 

also strange in the gift ship, carnival has a bluetooth speaker that looks like a ship that you can buy

Strange?  My nearest military installation has sign at each gate that knives more than 4" are prohibited.

Guess what, the PX at that installation sells knives that are longer.

[D_And_K_gocruising]

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

Not true. That certificate only applies to installed equipment. It is technically legal to operate a ham radio from a ship, but there are numerous hurdles to be aware of.

 

https://www.arrl.org/maritime-mobile-operation-in-international-waters

 

But since the cruise lines don't allow them, this debate is moot.

Correct, I had started looking into what I'd need to use them internationally, but then saw they arent allowed on-board anyway, so no more reason to look into it..  I was never expecting to use them on the ship itself, but in ports.. But again.. Doesnt matter. 

 

 

[D_And_K_gocruising]

14 hours ago, itsnotjustme said:

What country are you licensed in?  The FCC has zero authority outside the US and Possessions.

 

Actually, the differing spectrum regulations by country would be another reason to prohibit them.  An example from my military days is that many US baby monitors operated in the same spectrum used by German police radios.

Well, generally speaking when I'm talking HAM radio, the large, large majority of the countries all use the same frequencies because if we didnt it would be really hard for us to communicate across not only countries, but continents.   Would be hard for me to communicate with someone in asia / austraila / UK / germany, south america / canada / africa if we arent using the same freqs..  And I have the logs to prove those contacts.. 

[omahabob]

On 7/15/2023 at 3:54 AM, chengkp75 said:

Whether the operator has a valid ham radio license or not, that transceiver operating on the frequencies it does, comes under the ship's Radiotelephony certificate, and the Captain would need to be aware of the presence of the unit, and agree that it is acceptable to operate it under the ship's license.  All communication equipment, even down to hand held radios must be listed on the certificate, with a few minor exceptions.

 

And yet ham stations operate on ships all the time, quite legally, without doing that. The Marine Radio Operator’s Permit (MROP) and the Restricted Radiotelephone Operator’s Permit (RR) are commercial licenses, and do not cover ham stations, which are non-commercial by law. The qualifications and requirements are different, so you could not cover a station from one service under the license for another service. I have both RR and Ham, because I've been down this regulatory road.

 

EDIT: Sorry. Was gone for a while, and my notifications indicated I had not already replied to this previous comment.

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by omahabob