Anyone use walkie talkies onboard?

[iluvtravel]

We are having a family reunion on the Elation next August. I was wondering if anyone has used walkie talkies onboard to try to keep kids/parents in touch. Does it interfere with radio equipment, etc? Are they allowed? Do they work? Thanks for your thoughts!

[myangel]

We used ours for our teenaged sons both on the Paradise and the Glory and they worked great! I have heard of some minor problems from other cc members, but we had none, if you did have any problem, I think it would be minor tho. Enjoy your cruise!!

[98Charlie]

We don't use them and haven't really seen any used on our cruises.

 

Scroll to the bottom of this page for several older threads regarding walkie talkies.

[luvwater]

I used them on the NCL Dawn with my nieces and worked out ok. We had some problems picking up other people but it did work.

[Peanuts]

We had a family cruise last Feb and had two sets of walkie talkies. Worked out great. Gave each couple a walkie talkie and set it to the same channel and frequency. It was the best way to keep in touch and stay together on shore. If someone wanted to go off by themselves we could do things on our own and then meet somewhere.

[p2lockhart]

Did you bring your own or rent them? How much is it to rent? We are going on a 4 day cruise.

 

Patti

[L2J]

We are having a family reunion on the Elation next August. I was wondering if anyone has used walkie talkies onboard to try to keep kids/parents in touch. Does it interfere with radio equipment, etc? Are they allowed? Do they work? Thanks for your thoughts!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=59269 2nd post.:rolleyes:

[SevenVII]

On our last cruise we just gave each member a bullhorn. It has the capacity to be heard from 1/4 mile away and it was much easier than having to remember to change channels/frequencies. Also, we bought the version that can play the Dukes of Hazard horn theme so that we know to all meet on the Lido deck when we heard the battle cry of the General Lee!

[bonnys]

We used them on our cruise on the Glory. They were great to have. We bought ones that had sub channels, so we didn't have problems with picking us other people. The few times we did we just changed over to a new sub-channel. Also, the ones we have have a very long range and we used them while on the islands when we would split up for a bit.

[Gingee]

We used them on the Conquest this year. No problems. We then used them to find each other on the islands (if we separated). Works great. We didn't buy expensive ones. I think they were $20-$30 a set.

[beaming90]

I just bought a pair for us to use. I got them for $15.00. They have a 3 mile range. My mom has been sick off and on, and I want her to have the freedom to not be with me 24/7 on the cruise, but I want her to be able to get a hold of me if she needs too. So I think they are great no matter what some of you say. They will make me feel more secure knowing she can reach me if she suddenly gets sick.:rolleyes:

[L2J]

On our last cruise we just gave each member a bullhorn. It has the capacity to be heard from 1/4 mile away and it was much easier than having to remember to change channels/frequencies. Also, we bought the version that can play the Dukes of Hazard horn theme so that we know to all meet on the Lido deck when we heard the battle cry of the General Lee!

ROFLMAO Seven.

[lmondrop]

Yeah we had the walkie talkies on one cruise...very annoying you get crossed frequencies and its constatnly going off from other people...Not using it anymore.

[makeda]

mom and i use the walkie-talkies on all our cruises to keep in touch because she is usually on the balcony when i am all over the place! costs about $40 for the pair...interference from others? = change to another channel...bored? = listen to others!

[LSUtraveler]

Bought ones with the sub channels. Worked great. Some kids on the crusies have them and use them constantly. Verry annoying.

[debihen]

We used them on our NCL cruise to Alaska in June. They work well. If one is conciderate, one will keep the volume off and use the vibration setting only. This is what we did when we were trying to contact each other. The walkie-talkie would vibrate, therefore not disturbing anyone around us. We also had the set that had many sub-channels, so we had little interference from other walkie-talkie users.

[Boston6]

Yes, you need to have the one's with sub-channels. They work well but there were some areas in the Glory where reception was poor. Must be all the steel

[cali-croozer]

We tried to use them, but got poor reception. I was in the dining room for lunch when my son called. He could hear me, but I couldn't hear him. He ended up walking over to the dining room to tell me he was in Camp Carnival. We put them away after that. This was when they were expensive too.....we paid $60 for them! On our last cruise, our friends used them on shore and they worked fine. In Costa Maya, we asked them where they were and they told us they were on the beach so we were able to find them. I might buy another pair to use on our upcoming cruise, since they are inexpensive now and have a longer range.

[bigmacfan]

We have used them on two cruises and I don't think I will use them again. We had significant trouble with hearing other people's conversations...we tried switching channels, but had the same trouble on all of the channels. Also, you have to be together to determine which channel to switch to as it is SO hard to communicate when there are several people on the same channel.

 

We love them in other settings, like hotels, etc, but not again for cruising. Just my opinion.

[Frequent Floater]

Just back from the Spirit with 51 persons. Each cabin had one (Motorola's from Costco) We pre selected a setting channel and had NO one else on it the entire week. It was also great to keep in touch when we were in different tour vans.