Use of walkee talkies onboard?

I would like to be able to keep in touch with family especially the kids. Was thinking of buying walkee talkies but not sure if they are even operable on the ship. Has anyone used them and if so can you suggest what brand worked the best?

Thank you!

I can't remember which brand we have/had - got them just for the first cruise with the kids ... they didn't really work all that well - sketchy at best. We just made a schedule for them to follow and used post it notes in the cabin. We would have liked to use the hub app but it wasn't on the Conquest when we sailed and I think it is still not available - they told us 12 to 18 months .... well, it has been like 16 months and I guess they are still saying 12 to 18 ...

Good luck with the walkies if you go that route - but I wouldn't if I had it to do over.

We tried them on our first cruise on the Pride. Bought decent ones. Not the cheapest, not the most expensive. They were Motorola. Did not work at all. DS left the cabins talking to us and got about 10 doors away and we lost the signal and couldn't hear him. I ran into other people who were using them with no problem. SO it's a crap shoot whether they will work or not.

We are going to use the HUB app this next cruise. That or Facebook Messenger.

Thank you for the info. Any particular brands you suggest or use?

We bought Motorola Talkabout MH230R two-way radio - FRS/GMRS. 23 mile range

As I mentioned, we used them without issue on our 4 cruises, including the Pride in November.

We also bought an additional 2 units so we would have 4 total. Just put them all on the same channel/ private sub channel and test before your cruise.

Also came in handy in ports where parents split and didn't want to pay international on their cells.

We bought Motorola Talkabout MH230R two-way radio - FRS/GMRS. 23 mile range

 

As I mentioned, we used them without issue on our 4 cruises, including the Pride in November.

 

We also bought an additional 2 units so we would have 4 total. Just put them all on the same channel/ private sub channel and test before your cruise.

 

Also came in handy in ports where parents split and didn't want to pay international on their cells.

Actually, the FRS/GMRS bands are at the wrong end of the UHF spectrum for optimum "burn through" of steel, so your good results were likely random good luck with atmospherics, distance between radios, and the amount of open doors between radios. Some will work one day, and not the next in the exact same locations onboard. And nothing short of 5 watts is of much use (I think they call this about 50 miles, though even 36 miles is well beyond line of sight).

Further, I would be very careful taking radios ashore, unless you have done research on your ports of call, as the FRS/GMRS frequencies are quite often banned for civilian use in Caribbean countries, and completely illegal even to own in Europe.

Seriously? ummm 1987 called (on their cordless Sony phone) and they want their Walkie-Talkies back!

Come on people, it's 2016. My nieces and nephews wouldn't be caught dead with Walkie-Talkies and If forced to use them would "lose" them real fast.

Just get the kids either ipod touches or cheap android phones and get the social media plan - then you can use facebook messanger which works everywhere. BONUS, they will be able to also post pics to FB and use messanger to make voice or video calls home or texts via FB. It's a bargain for only about $25 a cruise and yet another reason Carnival is my #1 cruiseline - all the other lines are WAY more expensive to stay connected.

Cheers!

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

Actually, the FRS/GMRS bands are at the wrong end of the UHF spectrum for optimum "burn through" of steel, so your good results were likely random good luck with atmospherics, distance between radios, and the amount of open doors between radios. Some will work one day, and not the next in the exact same locations onboard. And nothing short of 5 watts is of much use (I think they call this about 50 miles, though even 36 miles is well beyond line of sight).

 

Further, I would be very careful taking radios ashore, unless you have done research on your ports of call, as the FRS/GMRS frequencies are quite often banned for civilian use in Caribbean countries, and completely illegal even to own in Europe.

The last sentence is of importance here in the quoted post. It is very much against the laws in many ports to use walkie talkie/radios as they interfere with local emergency services frequencies. I observed a passenger in Jamaica almost get arrested by the police for refusing to return his walkie talkies to the ship.

Seriously? ummm 1987 called (on their cordless Sony phone) and they want their Walkie-Talkies back!

 

Come on people, it's 2016. My nieces and nephews wouldn't be caught dead with Walkie-Talkies and If forced to use them would "lose" them real fast.

 

Just get the kids either ipod touches or cheap android phones and get the social media plan - then you can use facebook messanger which works everywhere. BONUS, they will be able to also post pics to FB and use messanger to make voice or video calls home or texts via FB. It's a bargain for only about $25 a cruise and yet another reason Carnival is my #1 cruiseline - all the other lines are WAY more expensive to stay connected.

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

My 36 mile FRS radios work very well on the ship, but I would gladly give up my radios for a dependable mobile phone communication option. The dream will not have the hub app yet when I cruise, does anyone know of a good chat app that works across the cheap Carnival Wifi plan and across both Apple and Android devices?

Seriously? ummm 1987 called (on their cordless Sony phone) and they want their Walkie-Talkies back!

 

Come on people, it's 2016. My nieces and nephews wouldn't be caught dead with Walkie-Talkies and If forced to use them would "lose" them real fast.

 

Just get the kids either ipod touches or cheap android phones and get the social media plan - then you can use facebook messanger which works everywhere. BONUS, they will be able to also post pics to FB and use messanger to make voice or video calls home or texts via FB. It's a bargain for only about $25 a cruise and yet another reason Carnival is my #1 cruiseline - all the other lines are WAY more expensive to stay connected.

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

Yes, but not everyone wants their kids to have FB access. I know my 14 yo does not have FB and my 10 yo absolutely will not have FB as he is not responsible enough

Yes, but not everyone wants their kids to have FB access. I know my 14 yo does not have FB and my 10 yo absolutely will not have FB as he is not responsible enough

Well ... anyone wishing to prevent their kids from using FB will just have to PAY MORE and get the intermediate plan, which is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than the social plan. If you do that then they can just download any of the texting apps and you can communicate with them that way.

Personally, I know that kids are resourceful - if they "really wanted" to have access to FB ... all it takes is an email address. So you can't "protect" them forever. Myself, I would rather teach them responsible use of social media than censor it ... cause then when they get old enough (2 short years for the 14 year old!) then they wont take any advice from you at all.

Just my opinion, I know that when I was young, anything my parents told me NOT to do (ESPECIALLY something all the other kids WERE doing), I made it my mission to DO it, no matter what, and I was always successful.

Good luck tho!

Cheers!

Jeff

I would like to be able to keep in touch with family especially the kids. Was thinking of buying walkee talkies but not sure if they are even operable on the ship. Has anyone used them and if so can you suggest what brand worked the best?

Thank you!

We got Motorola.

If you do decide to go this route, please remember the people around you. On my last cruise I was trying to read and enjoy a cup of coffee when a guy and two kids sat down at the table next to mine. They spent the next five minutes or so screaming back and forth into a walkie talkie to the mom who was somewhere else on the ship. It wasn't just a short "where are we going to meet" thing, but lots of "how was your day" kind of chit chat. Very annoying. Yes, I know that you can get loud talkers sitting next to you anywhere, but I think they weren't used to using walkie talkies and felt they had to be extra loud to make the words move through the air and reach all the way to the other end of the ship.

Very annoying to your fellow cruisers!

My 36 mile FRS radios work very well on the ship, but I would gladly give up my radios for a dependable mobile phone communication option. The dream will not have the hub app yet when I cruise, does anyone know of a good chat app that works across the cheap Carnival Wifi plan and across both Apple and Android devices?

Really in 2016?? I'm aghast!! Not all ships have the hub. (Tongue firmly in cheek).

1987 didn't call. It called using what you already have to solve a problem.

Signed 2016 Hobster

I would like to be able to keep in touch with family especially the kids. Was thinking of buying walkee talkies but not sure if they are even operable on the ship. Has anyone used them and if so can you suggest what brand worked the best?

Thank you!

We used Motorola model # MH230R, purchased them on Amazon. They worked fine, and as I said in a previous post, my boys only used them to see where we were when they left the clubs/activities they were at.

As for using facebook or other social media to keep in touch: My boys don't use facebook, one has no interest and one is just too young in my opinion (he's 11). My boys had NO problem using a walkee talkie and following the rules that they were only to use them to locate us. How this is somehow annoying to other passengers is beyond me!

We used them for many cruises to stay in touch with our daughter. They worked well but you can get far enough apart they won't work. Seldom happened for us and when it did just change location a bit until they work.

We usually had a check in schedule and DD knew that if we didn't answer to move and try again in a new location.

Ok if you can afford to get everyone on the basic social internet package I have a MUCH better way for you. use yoru phone on wifi only and all download zello its an app for android and iphones that turns your phones into walkie talkies. its free , just set it up ahead of time as one needs to create a private channel with a password then everyone logs into that channel. it runs in the background , meaning your phone can be doing other important things like taking pictures or playing pokemon and you will still hear and be able to reply to messages coming in.

When I bought walkie talkies there is a direction that you have to sign up for an FCC license to use it. Wonder how many do.