What walkie talkie have you used that works well please?

What walkie talkie have you used on large cruise ships that works well? Thank you for any help.

Yes, I know that some people find them annoying but one of our party is mostly blind and totally deaf (his eye sight is recently bad enough that we have to sign into his hands) and I am worried he will get lost. This way he can communicate his needs to his kids and they can go find him/help him get where he needs to be.

Yes, we are responsible cruisers and have no desire to negatively affect others so he is the only one who will use it to actually call out. That said, most cruise passengers are annoying to others at least some of the time but we do not have a right to not be offended..... I, personally, would love for you all to leave your kids behind but I certainly wouldn't insist on it :p

Yes, I know that these walkie talkies are illegal in some areas but in international water (where we will be using them as this guest will be accompanied on all shore excursions) they are 100% legal. Norwegian, the cruise line that we will be on, has no policy on them and I talked to a service rep who said they were fine.

Thank you all :)

We have had very poor luck with multiple models of walkie talkies. Once we get separated by a few decks, communication was poor to impossible.

For the most part, any radio that works on the FRS/GMRS bands, and is in the legal power range will have hit or miss reception onboard ships. It will vary by time of day, day to day, weather conditions, horizontal distance between radios on the same deck, whether doors are open or not, number of decks between the radios, and a wide variety of other factors. Generally, the more expensive the radio, the better it will work. Do not rely on "reception distances" advertised, as these are outdoors with no obstructions. Ships are giant Farraday cages that firmly resist radio waves. FRS radios are limited to 0.5 watts of power, and GMRS radios require a license if above that wattage. The ships use UHF radios on different frequencies than allowed on FRS/GMRS that penetrate steel better, have at least 5 watts of power, and have tuned repeater antenna throughout the ship to boost the signal.

Depending upon what you're sailing but Princess offers a nice intranet messaging feature. You use your phone to log in to the ship's network (no internet charges) and send text messages. No annoying radios and you can send private or group texts

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Depending upon what you're sailing but Princess offers a nice intranet messaging feature. You use your phone to log in to the ship's network (no internet charges) and send text messages. No annoying radios and you can send private or group texts

 

 

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But I suspect a nearly totally blind person is not going to be doing much texting. EM

What you want does not exist.

For the most part, any radio that works on the FRS/GMRS bands, and is in the legal power range will have hit or miss reception onboard ships. It will vary by time of day, day to day, weather conditions, horizontal distance between radios on the same deck, whether doors are open or not, number of decks between the radios, and a wide variety of other factors. Generally, the more expensive the radio, the better it will work. Do not rely on "reception distances" advertised, as these are outdoors with no obstructions. Ships are giant Farraday cages that firmly resist radio waves. FRS radios are limited to 0.5 watts of power, and GMRS radios require a license if above that wattage. The ships use UHF radios on different frequencies than allowed on FRS/GMRS that penetrate steel better, have at least 5 watts of power, and have tuned repeater antenna throughout the ship to boost the signal.

As always, Chengkp75 has given you excellent advice. He is so knowledgeable about ships/communications, etc. I would definitely take his advice.

You already seem to know that walkie talkies do not work well, and it sounds as if reliability is certainly needed for your friend. I would check out using some type of cell phone package - realizing texting would not work, but perhaps having a phone and asking a crew member to help use. Would not give the phone to another passenger unless known to your friend in case they didn't return it; hate to say it, but not everyone is honest.

I would also be very wary of leaving someone with such a disability alone anywhere. How is he/she going to get around ship without 24/7 assistance?

It is difficult to perceive an effective use to which a totally deaf, almost blind, person could put a walkie talkie: just keep shouting into it until someone came and signed into his hands? Seriously?

I believe people would be more (justifiably) annoyed by those attempts than OP would be by the simple presence of other peoples' children.

I would check if NCL has some sort of internal phone system for which they might rent handsets. I know that Royal Caribbean has a limited number of DECT phones for guest rental. These use an internal repeater system on the ship, so have excellent coverage.

Thank you all for your help, I very much appreciate it. I will get the GRMS type that chengkp75 talked about (I will see if I can get above a 0.5 watt which I understand is illegal to use in the US but is legal to buy in the US.... and since we will be in international waters, it will not be a problem there).

I understand that he may or may not get reception but it is better then nothing.

Grandma Dazzles, we took him on several Disney cruises before (where they have "wave phones", basically a ship wide cell phone for all guests) and he did well with it. He would just call and say "I could use some help getting to the pool deck/theatre/ect". He was always accompanied when he was out of his room but he is older and sleeps a lot so it was nice for people to be able to know when he needed help getting around.

Thank you all!

Thank you all for your help, I very much appreciate it. I will get the GRMS type that chengkp75 talked about (I will see if I can get above a 0.5 watt which I understand is illegal to use in the US but is legal to buy in the US.... and since we will be in international waters, it will not be a problem there).

 

I understand that he may or may not get reception but it is better then nothing.

 

Grandma Dazzles, we took him on several Disney cruises before (where they have "wave phones", basically a ship wide cell phone for all guests) and he did well with it. He would just call and say "I could use some help getting to the pool deck/theatre/ect". He was always accompanied when he was out of his room but he is older and sleeps a lot so it was nice for people to be able to know when he needed help getting around.

 

Thank you all!

Actually, even in international waters, anything over 1 watt must be covered by the ship's radiotelephony certificate, issued by the flag state, so high wattage units brought onboard would have to be cleared with the cruise line and the Captain, or you would have to have an internationally recognized radio station license (like the FCC). Being in international waters does not mean that no laws apply, you must abide by international agreements and flag state laws.

What ship? The newer ones have an app for smartphones that facilitate texting and calling.

What walkie talkie have you used on large cruise ships that works well? Thank you for any help.

 

Yes, I know that some people find them annoying but one of our party is mostly blind and totally deaf (his eye sight is recently bad enough that we have to sign into his hands) and I am worried he will get lost. This way he can communicate his needs to his kids and they can go find him/help him get where he needs to be.

 

Yes, we are responsible cruisers and have no desire to negatively affect others so he is the only one who will use it to actually call out. That said, most cruise passengers are annoying to others at least some of the time but we do not have a right to not be offended..... I, personally, would love for you all to leave your kids behind but I certainly wouldn't insist on it :p

 

Yes, I know that these walkie talkies are illegal in some areas but in international water (where we will be using them as this guest will be accompanied on all shore excursions) they are 100% legal. Norwegian, the cruise line that we will be on, has no policy on them and I talked to a service rep who said they were fine.

 

Thank you all :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Actually, the ship can fix you up with a radio that will work for your purposes.

You should contact them in advance. It is probably the Special Needs department.

I have been on a ship with a family that used the system.

Your commercially available walkie talkie unit is basically useless on the ship for anything other than line-of-sight and in THAT case semaphore flags would be a better option.

I still cannot figure out how someone who is deaf intends to use the radio.

If your family member is going to try to be on his own, maybe that isn't a good thing (speaking as someone who knows that one day my glaucoma may affect my independence), especially if it's a big ship. Rather than having him lug a heavy device around, maybe people in your group can take turns doing companion duty. Also talk with the passenger services desk staff and let them know about this person. I imagine he won't be the first person with this type of special needs. In fact, it may be a good idea to send an email to the company and let them know (also read up on the special needs FAQs on the cruise line website...as I said, there's always passengers who have special needs on just about every sailing).

I do think your comment about children is a bit much. even before I got married and even considered having one of my own, I've been on cruises with children on board and find them, for the most part, very well behaved. In fact, on one cruise, it was some elderly who needed some lessons in behaving.

[quote=luddite;

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I still cannot figure out how someone who is deaf intends to use the radio.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Not really mysterious at all. If the person is in their room alone, perhaps resting or catching up on their sleep and suddenly needs assistance, they can call for help. It would be similar to pressing a button or pulling a cord, much like devices that can be found in hospitals and assisted living facilities. The blind person would call out on the walkie talkie and wait for help to arrive. With a single button to press, it would be quite easy for a blind person to do. Many deaf people can speak clearly enough to be understood.

We have a nearly blind elderly relative who insists on living alone in an "in-law" quarters in her daughter's home. She wears a wrist band with a button that when pressed, an alarm goes off inside the main house. If the alarm ever goes off, members of the family would rush next door to assist. I can see a similar scenario in the OP's case.

Exactly Sloop.

Cruisin' Chick, it is just my opinion. I do not like kids even the so called "well behaved" ones.... however, I would never try to foist that opinion off on others like I have seen people do in regards to walkie talkies on ships.

Luddite.... PERFECT! Thank you so much, I didn't even know that was an option!

Not really mysterious at all. If the person is in their room alone, perhaps resting or catching up on their sleep and suddenly needs assistance, they can call for help. It would be similar to pressing a button or pulling a cord, much like devices that can be found in hospitals and assisted living facilities. The blind person would call out on the walkie talkie and wait for help to arrive[

 

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/QUOTE]

 

OP was not talking about your scenario - but expressed concern that elderly companion would get lost, and need someone to find him.

Exactly Sloop.

 

Cruisin' Chick, it is just my opinion. I do not like kids even the so called "well behaved" ones.... however, I would never try to foist that opinion off on others like I have seen people do in regards to walkie talkies on ships.

!

Opinions given have been trying to assist you and showing concern for situations that could arise.

It seems that you had already made up your mind to purchase and use a walkie talkie. No one was trying to "foist off opinions" - I would have hoped that being made of international laws and the frequency requirements etc. would be helpful.

Your original post indicated you were worried about the person getting lost on the ship - not calling for assistance when waking from a nap in their cabin.

It's unfortunate that you don't like kids! Suggest perhaps vacationing at an adults only venue rather than a main line cruiseline.

Good luck with your cruise.

OP was not talking about your scenario - but expressed concern that elderly companion would get lost, and need someone to find him.

Perhaps. But the scenario I described is valid none-the-less.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

OP was not talking about your scenario - but expressed concern that elderly companion would get lost, and need someone to find him.

The way I understood the OPs query is that this person might attempt to find his/her way around the ship if no assistance was available. Any elderly people who insists in being independent might do the same. To prevent the senior from wandering off without help, it is apparent from the posting that the OP wants this person to have the ability to summon someone to help.

Perhaps it is my lifetime career of providing health care and services that caused me to understand the post in such a way.

PTMary is correct. I think I was clear so I am not sure why some people are confused.

We bought this set for our last sailing:

They worked surprisingly well.

Here are a few more options for cruise ship walkie talkies.

Good luck!

I am looking to buy a set of walkie talkies for our first family cruise, didn't realize it's a touchy subject before searching threads here, your thread is quite helpful. The one in your link seems to be very professional, is it easy to use? we have 4 kids in our party so i was thinking to chose this kind of kids walkie talkies at first, i searched on Amazon and they works fine, but i am not sure if there is any difference when cruise?