Walkie talkie

Will be sailing on the breakaway in April with another couple -

So to keep in touch ( mostly for the kids )

What brand walkie talkies have worked best for those who have used them ?

Is there a better option to communicate on board ?

No brand of walkie/talkie works well on the ship.

Semaphore flags will work better.

To communicate, talk with each other. The room phones have voicemail and little notes also work well.

The ship isn't all that big. It isn't real hard to figure out where someone will be.

I think having "meet up" times with the kids is the best way to go. Texting or walkie-talkies (if they even work) tell you NOTHING!

At breakfast, tell everyone your plans, and they will tell theirs. Then you know where to look for the others, if needed. Unless the "kids" are 17 or so, I would have them come to me, and get permission to do the next thing. I don't think giving kids "run of the ship" is wise.

You will find that the adults will gravitate to the same areas over and over....and despite the size of the ship, there are only so many "public" areas....it's not as hard to find each other are you are thinking. 90% of the ship is cabin space...no reason to be in the cabin hallways unless it's YOUR hallway!

Will be sailing on the breakaway in April with another couple -

So to keep in touch ( mostly for the kids )

What brand walkie talkies have worked best for those who have used them ?

Is there a better option to communicate on board ?

I normally don't encourage searching. However, this subject has huge amounts of info/opinions in previous threads. Do a search for walkie talkie and see what you come up with. It would take this thread a long time to repeat all that is out there already.

Download iconcierge, and pay the $7.99 (?) per device.

I normally don't encourage searching. However, this subject has huge amounts of info/opinions in previous threads. Do a search for walkie talkie and see what you come up with. It would take this thread a long time to repeat all that is out there already.

Yes, you should just do the search first rather than start the controversy over and over again.

If you do purchase them, be sure that they float .

You should all get walkie talkies and matching selfie sticks. Air horns, too, if you can find them. ;):D

You should all get walkie talkies and matching selfie sticks. Air horns, too, if you can find them. ;):D

That was my 666th post, so it had to be evil!

That was my 666th post, so it had to be evil!

Evil thought...

OP should just get a Walkie vibrator, and enjoy talking to self.:D

I agree that everyone in your party should just download the iConcierge app and use the texting to communicate that way. Or do what people did in the days before the app and in the days before people used walkie talkies... talk to each other. Tell each other where you are going, arrange meet up times, use the phones to call the room, etc.

To me one of the more annoying things is hearing people with walkie talkies at full volume: "BeepBoop! Hello? Hello???? Can you hear me? Whaaaaattt??? I can't hear you. Say again. What????"

To me one of the more annoying things is hearing people with walkie talkies at full volume: "BeepBoop! Hello? Hello???? Can you hear me? Whaaaaattt??? I can't hear you. Say again. What????"

Remember the days of Nextel, when this was an acceptable way of talking on a cell phone? Gee, I wonder why it didn't last, lol.

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We tried with walkie talkies on a cruise several years ago, but it didn't work very well. Even though we could choose between many difference frequencies, no matter which frequency we tried there were loads of other people on board using the same frequency as us. Not ideal, to say the least....

So I totally support the suggestions of installing IConcierge or use the voicemail on the cabin telephone or leaving small notes to eachother.

None, walkie talkies are rude and obnoxious on a cruise ship.

None, walkie talkies are rude and obnoxious on a cruise ship.

Yes they are really annoying, more so in the hands of a child! We use sticky notes left in the cabin to communicate most of the time. There is always the phone, lots around the ship to call your cabin.

We used walkie talkies on our last carnival cruise and they worked perfect. I don't remember what brand they were but def not cheapie ones. As to them being rude and obnoxious...I guess it depends on who's using them. But I feel better knowing my kids have them and I can get in touch with them right away.

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WE are one of those annoying families, but we try to be respectful of other people. But I can tell you that we have very very good walkie talkies, that have a huge range, and they do not work at all well on the large ships. They work well on the smaller older ships. I think the steel between floors etc just creates too much interference on the big ships. We have been using iconcierge and it isnt perfect, but it works pretty well.

Yes they are really annoying, more so in the hands of a child! We use sticky notes left in the cabin to communicate most of the time. There is always the phone, lots around the ship to call your cabin.

Good suggestions.................free for you and rudeness free!:)

Wow , tell me how you really feel.

Didn't know this was a sore subject. I get it... they would be annoying if not used considering that's why I asked for another form of communicating .

My first choice would be to talk directly, sometimes that's not an option first thing in the morning.

I defiantly will check out what NCL has to offer .

Never mind the Walkie Talkies.

Thanks to all ! 😜

Something a tad bit more civilized:

You have a phone in your cabin and it is capable of being answered and

being left with voice messages.

So you are out and about on the ship:

You can go to Guest Services or any other service area and use the house

phone to call your own cabin and connect leaving a message.

Also the phone you need maybe just in front of you - so you are in an

elevator foyer look for the house phone on the wall or panel somewhere close.

Real good deal if you are in a suite - a portable cell phone is provided to

make calls anywhere on the ship and as I found recently at St. Johns Canada

from in the city (almost line of sight to the ship) half a mile away.

There are arrangements to make with NCL to use your own cell phone on the

ship for a service charge -OR- if in Port and your cell phone provider has

coverage use it !

Walkie Talkies are not all that great - good for line of site transmission - not

good for voice signals thru steel bulkheads and decks and definitely not

suitable for wet shore excursions (nix the underwater stuff) !

Now about that phone thing - didn't you take a cruise to get away from all that !

They don't work well, I did a lot of research on it.

That said, all the idiots who are so upset about people using them are probably the same people sticking their fingers in the buffet lines, letting their children run wild, getting drunk ect.

Point being, you are in an enclosed area with a lot of people... you will find some annoying and I promise you that some of them will find you annoying. Shut up and deal with it.

I wonder if it's just the bigger newer ships that they don't work on. Ours worked fine on the Carnival Valore and Carnival Pride. We will be on the Gem in April so I'm hoping they work. And to the people that think walkie talkies are obnoxious, oh well. I have 3 teenagers and if I want to have a quick "where are you" convo to check in I am. I'd rather rely on a walkie talkie than the ships cell service. That being said, I would never do that in the middle of the dining room or a restaurant or anything like that. That's what is rude and obnoxious [emoji16]

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The signal on the ship may be very weak.

It' difficult for kids walkie talkies to work well within the weak signal.

You should all get walkie talkies and matching selfie sticks. Air horns, too, if you can find them. ;):D

I'm guessing u don't have kids.

We tried using walkie talkies many years ago on Liberty of the Seas. They didn't work AT ALL so we never tried again on any other ship. We now use the iconcierge if traveling with others or just call each other's rooms and leave messages. Meeting places at a certain time work very well too.