Walkie talkie's onboard

[Luv2Cruise1980]

Few questions. We're going on liberty in july with 3 other families.....

 

- Would a walkie talkie work onboard?

 

- if so, anyone have any suggestions as to which brand of walkie talkie's to purchase?

 

- Is there any other way to communicate besides this way?

 

- Would we all need to purchase the same brand of device? and,

 

- How much would they cost?

[nimbex1970]

too long ago, we purchased them when cruising with the kids, over 10 years. They were $99, for two. didn't work, caught others chat, no matter what channel we switched to, cross talk was common. I'm sure upgrades have been made, however let me give you an alternative.

 

There are phones that can be used everywhere to cabins, ask the bartender for the phone, set up meeting places, set up a back up plan, discipline the stinkers if they stray from it.

 

We had a morning breakfast place, we all met for dinner and we all checked in at the same spot at 930 pm. Plus we had scheduled activities together meanwhile. Those walkie talkies were crap, and the kids could "pretend" not to be in touch with you, so have a back up plan. Just my own experience;)

[LilBlackDress]

They haven't gotten better over the years... my sister tried it a couple years ago and it was hit and miss if they would be able to connect.

 

There are phones all over the ship you can leave vms in cabins, set up meeting spots, magnetic dry erase board for outside a cabin door (people leave msgs for each other)

[Clarea]

We found that when you are separated by a couple of decks, the walkie talkies were not able to communicate.

[robtulipe]

Cruise ship construction is with steel so multiple layers of steel walls and decks effectively block the radio signal of walkie talkie units when inside unless you and the person you want to contact are close by.

On shore and in open areas of the ship these work but as other have mentioned you will hear others on the same frequency (channel) including commercial users on shore. Best to select units with multiple sub-channels in addition to the regular main channels offered on all units. All would have to have units, not necessarily the same make or manufacturer, that have the same sub-channels capability if going that route. That will allow to use a frequency channel less used by others.

Using the public phones, which are all over the ship typically in elevators/stairs areas, bars and at service desks is a good recommendation for calls to cabins or to a public phone where you know friends/family member are at or nearby.

Edited February 19, 2015 by robtulipe

[chengkp75]

Cruise ship construction is with steel so multiple layers of steel walls and decks effectively block the radio signal of walkie talkie units when inside unless you and the person you want to contact are close by.

On shore and in open areas of the ship these work but as other have mentioned you will hear others on the same frequency (channel) including commercial users on shore. Best to select units with multiple sub-channels in addition to the regular main channels offered on all units. All would have to have units, not necessarily the same make or manufacturer, that have the same sub-channels capability if going that route. That will allow to use a frequency channel less used by others.

Using the public phones, which are all over the ship typically in elevators/stairs areas, bars and at service desks is a good recommendation for calls to cabins or to a public phone where you know friends/family member are at or nearby.

 

I'll answer as I always do when this is asked. If you want to know what radios work onboard, just look at what the crew uses. If they could get away with the $99 for two radios, they would, since the ship will have 60 or so in use. What they use are 5 watt UHF radios, at around $500 each, with repeater antenna placed around the ship to aid in transmission. Power in a radio equates to its ability to broadcast over distance, unobstructed. It does nothing to aid in "burning through" steel walls, floors, and ceilings. Frequency, and hence wave length are the key here, and the allowable frequencies on the FRS and GMRS radios sold to consumers just don't cut it.

 

You will get replies from people who have used radios onboard with no problems, and those that cannot get through. It will all depend on the radio, antenna, frequency, where you are on the ship, where the other radio is on the ship, how many decks between, open doors and stairwells, and atmospherics. I can't recommend one method of communication over another, never had any problems onboard, but radios are not worth the cost.

[dpostman]

Instead of purchasing Radios, you could use the money to buy Wifi Packages and use an app like Google Hangouts.

 

Looks like new upcoming pricing on wifi will make it much more affordable.

 

But if I were still intent on getting GMRS radios for a cruise ship, I'd get the newer models that have Vibration Alert and keep the volume down and prevent them from blasting out Call Tones

dp

[sailset]

We tried them once when we took our kids with us and they were hit or miss and more aggravation than they were worth. We've never had any real issues finding fellow cruisers or each other on any cruise. If we see ya, we see ya. If not we'll see you at dinner.

Edited February 19, 2015 by sailset

[cb at sea]

Lordy...just make plans with your friends....that way, everyone will know when and where to find the others. It's really not as hard as you're thinking it is! About 80% of the ship is cabin space, so you have no need to search the ENTIRE ship...only the public areas....if couple 1 says they'll be at the pool until around 2pm, that's where you'll look for them!

 

If your plans change, leave a message on their cabin phone!

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

I think they look naff,

[dpostman]

On our Disney cruise, we did find ourselves using the "Wave Phones" quite a bit. They provide 2 phones per room. You can call phone to phone, or to room, and even text. Our son, who was 14 at the time, would pretty much go on his own to the Teens club or anywhere else on the ship with one phone, and my wife and I kept the other. It proved very very useful to call up our son to remind him that it was time to come get ready for dinner. The Oceaneer club (Kids club) where our daughter that was 9, could get in touch with us at any time if they needed to, and a few times sent us a text to indicate that our DD wanted for us to go pick her up.

 

This system was a big bonus for us, we had even brought GMRS radios with us, but never took them out of our suitcase.

 

dp

Edited February 19, 2015 by dpostman

[spookwife]

Few questions. We're going on liberty in july with 3 other families.....

 

- Would a walkie talkie work onboard?

 

- if so, anyone have any suggestions as to which brand of walkie talkie's to purchase?

 

- Is there any other way to communicate besides this way?

 

- Would we all need to purchase the same brand of device? and,

 

- How much would they cost?

 

they are nothing but a PITA, annoy the crap out of everyone around you, rarely work at all and are a complete waste.

 

use house phone, sticky notes, and a white board. a small WB can be purchased for like $5.

[time4u2go]

We've had pretty good success with our walkie-talkies. Just be aware that some types of walkie-talkies are illegal in some countries if you are planning on taking them ashore.

[cathep]

Leaving the walkie talkies out of the packing list. Thanks for this discussion!

[Luv2Cruise1980]

Considering that majority is telling me it's a waste.. I don't think i'll be investing in them. Lol. I guess we'll figure something out when we go onboard. Thankyou everyone. [emoji4]

[chengkp75]

Considering that majority is telling me it's a waste.. I don't think i'll be investing in them. Lol. I guess we'll figure something out when we go onboard. Thankyou everyone. [emoji4]

 

No, thank you. :D

[robtulipe]

I'll answer as I always do when this is asked. If you want to know what radios work onboard, just look at what the crew uses. If they could get away with the $99 for two radios, they would, since the ship will have 60 or so in use. What they use are 5 watt UHF radios, at around $500 each, with repeater antenna placed around the ship to aid in transmission. Power in a radio equates to its ability to broadcast over distance, unobstructed. It does nothing to aid in "burning through" steel walls, floors, and ceilings. Frequency, and hence wave length are the key here, and the allowable frequencies on the FRS and GMRS radios sold to consumers just don't cut it.

 

What the crew were using on our recent B2B2B Navigator cruises were cell phone likely using the ship's Wi-Fi.

Edited February 19, 2015 by robtulipe

[chengkp75]

What the crew were using on our recent B2B2B Navigator cruises were cell phone likely using the ship's Wi-Fi.

 

Yes, for the reasons I gave, like cost, many of the ships have gone to the push to talk phones. The deck and engineering crews will still tend to use the UHF radios for better service in marginal areas of wifi, like the mooring decks, and engine room, but have the phones as well for comms with the hotel department.