Walkie Talkies

[brookers528]

Cruising with the kids for the first time. We would like to try walkie talkies as a way to communicate. Any suggestions on what kind to buy? I know range won't be great no matter what, but cruising with 5 children of various ages, I want a means of communication in addition to cabin door sticky notes. Just curious what brands or types other cruisers have had good luck with. Thanks!

[puppycanducruise]

There is a thread about walkie talkies on the "ask a cruise question" forum - if you're brave, you could read it. This question has been posed many times and is a sore topic with some people. I'm not sure if you'll get a straight answer to your question. Good luck.

[cb at sea]

First...determine if your kids (and you!) want to lug those things around all the time! You really don't need them. Tentative daily plans allow everyone to know where to look for the others....and a "visual" check in with the kids is MUCH better than talking to them from afar! You will probably be eating meals together...you can update your plans for the next couple hours at that time.

[John Bull]

- if you're brave, you could read it. .

 

Love the turn of phrase :D

 

JB :)

[brookers528]

There is a thread about walkie talkies on the "ask a cruise question" forum - if you're brave, you could read it. This question has been posed many times and is a sore topic with some people. I'm not sure if you'll get a straight answer to your question. Good luck.

 

I noticed! I kind of regret asking, and I haven't even gotten any nasty replies. YET. ;)

 

I'm beginning to accept the idea of no instant communication. I have 2 special needs kids, but one will be Camp Carnival age and I know they will give us pagers or phones. The other is 17 & highly functioning, and his 16 yr old sister will be going wherever he goes. Just hard to imagine letting him out from under my wing, even knowing he is fully capable on his own. My kids are very polite, respectful kids who have been reminded of the cruise rules and repercussions daily since booking. I know meeting times and sticky notes will work beautifully for our group of ten. I'm going to forego walkie talkies and cut the cord!

[Sherlock43031]

wonder how many pages this one will go?

[brookers528]

wonder how many pages this one will go?

 

Hopefully people will read my addendum before throwing stones *ducking for cover*

 

Honestly had no clue it was such a polarizing issue around here. Can we just discuss politics instead? Seems safer.

[kitty9]

There are a lot of inherent problems with walkie talkies including, but not limited to, poor reception, interference, and the inability to use them in many of the indoor public areas where they would be a disturbance to others. As a former special education teacher, I understand your concerns. While your two teens are still eligible for the teen program, most teens don't participate and just tend to hang out together. And, depending on when you're cruising, there may be a lot of other kids on board, or very few.

 

Bring the walkie talkies and put firm limits on when and where to use them. I suggest quick calls just to let you know where they are or where they are going. Also, no using them in the MDR, show lounge or adult dance venues.

 

Oh, and don't take the devices off the ship. They are illegal in many places as the frequencies they use are the same as those used by the local police and military.

[kcwingwalker]

Here's the thread for the recent discussion of walkie-talkies. It's a little funny and sometimes a little hard on the OP, but might be worth taking a look.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1609563

[LA_CA_GAL]

Cruising with the kids for the first time. We would like to try walkie talkies as a way to communicate. Any suggestions on what kind to buy?

 

Get really really loud ones.

[John Bull]

Get really really loud ones.

 

 

Uh oh.

You & I are likely to fall out big-time :D:D:D

 

JB :)

[Sailingpeace]

I noticed! I kind of regret asking, and I haven't even gotten any nasty replies. YET. ;)

 

I'm beginning to accept the idea of no instant communication. I have 2 special needs kids, but one will be Camp Carnival age and I know they will give us pagers or phones. The other is 17 & highly functioning, and his 16 yr old sister will be going wherever he goes. Just hard to imagine letting him out from under my wing, even knowing he is fully capable on his own. My kids are very polite, respectful kids who have been reminded of the cruise rules and repercussions daily since booking. I know meeting times and sticky notes will work beautifully for our group of ten. I'm going to forego walkie talkies and cut the cord!

 

I understand thet you are in special situation and salute you for not letting it stop you from giving your kids such great opportunities as sailing. Maybe to help you feel ok, remember what you do at the mall... Probably no walkies tàkies.. ;) and the ship is so much safer as they can't go that far! If you are worried, i beleive you can get their cruise card coded so they can't get off the ship without an adult when in port. I also believe you are on the right path , giving yourself the opportunity to let go a little, I am sure you will all have a good times and wonderful stories to tell each other of what you did when you were not together. You can also let you cabin steward now about the special situation and they can keep an eye and be of great help, They did it for me once and were very gracious about it. During the day and even at night they are often in the hallway , in and out of cabins and they do notice a lot of things.Have a great cruise !

[Putterdude]

I noticed! I kind of regret asking, and I haven't even gotten any nasty replies. YET. ;)

 

I'm beginning to accept the idea of no instant communication. I have 2 special needs kids, but one will be Camp Carnival age and I know they will give us pagers or phones. The other is 17 & highly functioning, and his 16 yr old sister will be going wherever he goes. Just hard to imagine letting him out from under my wing, even knowing he is fully capable on his own. My kids are very polite, respectful kids who have been reminded of the cruise rules and repercussions daily since booking. I know meeting times and sticky notes will work beautifully for our group of ten. I'm going to forego walkie talkies and cut the cord!

 

Congratulations, you sound like a very responsible parent. I am certain that you and your children will have a wonderful cruise vacation.:)

[cobynana]

Congratulations, you sound like a very responsible parent. I am certain that you and your children will have a wonderful cruise vacation.:)

 

i was told to do not even attempt to use talk text or data on the boat and so Ibought a pair of w/t @amazon for 20 bux

 

dont know if i have to register them with the FCC but i do know since i bought them specifically for my 1st cruise I will bring them onboard

its just me and my daughter we dont talk much its a JUST IN CASE for us..i read that other thread and wow i never cruised before so do ppl

really get they pannies in a bunch over somebody talkin?:confused:

[Keith1010]

I have found that Walkie Talkies are highly unreliable and do bother other passengers.

 

Keith

[MSN-Travelers]

i was told to do not even attempt to use talk text or data on the boat and so Ibought a pair of w/t @amazon for 20 bux

 

dont know if i have to register them with the FCC but i do know since i bought them specifically for my 1st cruise I will bring them onboard

its just me and my daughter we dont talk much its a JUST IN CASE for us..i read that other thread and wow i never cruised before so do ppl

really get they pannies in a bunch over somebody talkin?:confused:

 

Walkie-Talkies are line-of-sight devices. They don't work well when their is much metal between them. In theory, they should be rgistered if you use them on the high setting.

 

As with cell phones, people tend to shout into them in the belief that the receiver will hear/understand them better the louder they talk. People tend to get their pannies in a bundle when a talkie, left on a pool lounger, is sounding off while the child/adult is in the pool and can't hear it. Kinda like the person taking a call in church and talking for 10-15 minutes.

 

We bought a high-power set of talkies and took them along for our first two cruises. We found they were a pain in the butt because there were so many dead zones on the ship and there are legal issues if you take them ashore in most foreign countries.

 

Enjoy!

[lifes-a-beach]

,

 

We bought a high-power set of talkies and took them along for our first two cruises. We found they were a pain in the butt because there were so many dead zones on the ship and there are legal issues if you take them ashore in most foreign countries.

 

Enjoy!

 

This. We tried them too on our kids first cruise when they were young. Not worth it. We set down a few simple rules; be ready for dinner every night, check in a couple of times during the day and never, ever go below deck to the crew areas. They're good kids to begin with so we just stayed out of their way.

[Sherlock43031]

FRS units are not 'line of sight' but with all the steel on a ship they probably become close to that. they do not need registered. worse case you take them and they suck.. best case maybe they work on the upper open decks.

[sandyh85]

I found that knowing what my family enjoyed was an easy way of figuring out where they could be during sea days. My brother? Casino. His girlfriend? Lido deck in the sun. Me? Any food or drink tasting noted in the daily schedule.

 

She and I found it easy to find each other on the Lido as we each brought one smallish, very bright towel/wrap we tied to the top of our chairs. With everyone on board using identical blue ship towels, having that "flag" was awesome!

 

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