Walkie Talkies On Board ??

[curtdesilets]

Has anyone ever used walkie talkies to keep in communication with one another on the ship. Does it even work, with all of the metal corridors and what not?

 

Are they even allowed?

Edited May 23, 2015 by curtdesilets

[Chazteach1]

Yes! We have used them and had no issue. Take them on shore excursions too for heading back to port and if in a market area and we get separated. They have come in handy.

[cruisead]

FYI, taking walkie talkies off the ship is illegal in many countries. The frequencies they use are also used by fire and police, and by the local military.

[SantaFeFan]

Yes! We have used them and had no issue. Take them on shore excursions too for heading back to port and if in a market area and we get separated. They have come in handy.

 

With all the metal that the ships are constructed out of, there is no way they will work well unless you are mostly "line of sight". If two users are decks apart, they can't possibly work well. The communication devices the crew uses are high powered commercial grade radios, and even with them the ship requires repeaters built into the structure for reliable communications.

 

FYI, taking walkie talkies off the ship is illegal in many countries. The frequencies they use are also used by fire and police, and by the local military.

 

The best advice is to just leave them at home. They work poorly on board. And as cruisead has said, they are illegal in many countries, including ALL of Europe. Using them could result in stiff fines , and even jail time in some instances due to the channels on US devices conflicting with emergency and police channels in those countries. The authorities don't take kindly to people tampering with those channels.

Edited May 23, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[UniPac]

and even jail time in some instances due to the channels on US devices conflicting with emergency and police channels in those countries. The authorities don't take kindly to people tampering with those channels.

 

I live in Europe and I don't think that there is any country that will sentence a cruiser using his foreign walkie talkies to jail.

Confiscate them maybe. Fine... maybe too, but jail? Hey we are in Europe, not the US ;)

[VK3DQ]

hello Folks

 

Please do not use your walkie talkie radios in Australia .. they are unlawful and you "could" be prosecuted just for having them in your possession you dont have to have used them..

 

And as others have said you will find they dont work very well on board a ship

 

Licensed amateurs may use their HT's under a class license ..

 

see http://www.wia.org.au for details

 

 

Regards

 

John

[emcee207]

I live in Europe and I don't think that there is any country that will sentence a cruiser using his foreign walkie talkies to jail.

Confiscate them maybe. Fine... maybe too, but jail? Hey we are in Europe, not the US ;)

 

Winking smiley face or not, I think this is a rude comment.

[OzKiwiJJ]

hello Folks

 

Please do not use your walkie talkie radios in Australia .. they are unlawful and you "could" be prosecuted just for having them in your possession you dont have to have used them..

 

And as others have said you will find they dont work very well on board a ship

 

Licensed amateurs may use their HT's under a class license ..

 

see http://www.wia.org.au for details

 

 

Regards

 

John

 

So why are they available at Marrickville Kmart? http://www.kmart.com.au/product/walkie-talkies/209801 and check store availability. :eek:

 

But, please, fellow Aussies, don't rush there to buy them. I'd rather not hear them squarking on my next cruise.

Edited May 23, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[dkjretired]

Winking smiley face or not, I think this is a rude comment.

 

Sorry, meant to quote this from a previous post.

 

maybe too, but jail? Hey we are in Europe, not the US

 

 

They are not illegal in the US....

Edited May 23, 2015 by dkjretired

[Turtles06]

The use of walkie talkies on board is typically an incredible annoyance to your fellow passengers. They don't work that well, and so most of the conversation is people screaming into their devices. I was enjoying a nice sea day brunch in the MDR until a woman sat down near me with a walkie talkie, and I had the "pleasure" of listening to this:

 

Woman: I'm over here.

 

Woman (louder): Over here. Can you hear me? I'm over here.

 

Woman (even louder): I'm over here. Here! Over here!

 

Woman (much louder): I'm over here. Can you hear me?

 

It went on like that... You get the idea. Please leave the walkie talkies home. Leave notes for your family as to where you're going, and make a plan to meet up.

[curtdesilets]

So it's a "No" on the walkie talkies. I thought as much, just needed confirmation. - OP

 

To further my inquiry ....

 

My wife and I have different schedules in the mornings on a cruise ship, and she can never find me. I'm up early roaming around while she sleeps in.

 

Does "texting" work on board like when the ship is at sea? I'm not sure the applicability of cell phones on Celebrity ships when the ship is outside of cellular tower range.

 

Also, if we are on a Verizon California cell plan, how expensive is it to call or text when you are in a port like Ketchikan or Juneau. Are the roaming charges insane, or what?

 

Any help in this matter would be highly appreciated as we sail Solstice to Alaska this Friday. Thanks!

[ClaudiaB]

~~~Also, if we are on a Verizon California cell plan, how expensive is it to call or text when you are in a port like Ketchikan or Juneau. Are the roaming charges insane, or what? ~~~

 

Well when we've been in Alaska, the best part is it's the US and our AT&T phones incurred no charges. No hassles or looking for special places to talk. Last time we cruised in Alaska there was literally a hurricane going through our city when we were in Juneau. Fortunately a family member was staying there and we spent countless minutes back and forth on the phone from ports in Alaska, from the "I think it's going to make landfall and follow a path here" stage to the "It's gone and there is no power but all is well" stage.

 

Not sure how Verizon works but I assume they are also in AK? AT&T works just fine, like you're calling your next door neighbor.

[curtdesilets]

~~~Also, if we are on a Verizon California cell plan, how expensive is it to call or text when you are in a port like Ketchikan or Juneau. Are the roaming charges insane, or what? ~~~

 

Well when we've been in Alaska, the best part is it's the US and our AT&T phones incurred no charges. No hassles or looking for special places to talk. Last time we cruised in Alaska there was literally a hurricane going through our city when we were in Juneau. Fortunately a family member was staying there and we spent countless minutes back and forth on the phone from ports in Alaska, from the "I think it's going to make landfall and follow a path here" stage to the "It's gone and there is no power but all is well" stage.

 

Not sure how Verizon works but I assume they are also in AK? AT&T works just fine, like you're calling your next door neighbor.

 

I appreciate the feedback !

[in2up2]

 

 

 

Does "texting" work on board like when the ship is at sea? I'm not sure the applicability of cell phones on Celebrity ships when the ship is outside of cellular tower range

 

 

Texting does work on board. Every ship has its own tower. Verizon's phone and text rates at sea are listed on their website under international charges. Can't seem to open the link or I would post it. Be careful to turn off all your apps that update in the background or you may got a surprise data bill when you get home.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DuncanHusky]

Does "texting" work on board like when the ship is at sea? I'm not sure the applicability of cell phones on Celebrity ships when the ship is outside of cellular tower range.

 

Also, if we are on a Verizon California cell plan, how expensive is it to call or text when you are in a port like Ketchikan or Juneau. Are the roaming charges insane, or what?

 

While you can get Verizon's Cellular At Sea on board the ship when underway, their rates may make you choose otherwise:

Voice Roaming - $2.49/minute

Texts - $0.50/message sent, $0.05/message received

Data Pay As You Go - $0.02/kb or $20.48/MB

 

As for ports, speaking from recent experience you can get excellent coverage in Ketchikan and Juneau and as noted above there are no additional charges. Skagway was a bit sketchy for me, and I was never able to get a reliable signal. Icy Strait Point had no coverage at all (but one of the restaurants does have free wifi!). And while Solstice doesn't go that far, in case anyone is wondering Verizon coverage in Seward is excellent, but nonexistent in Yakutat/Hubbard Glacier.

 

I hope this helps! Have a great cruise!

[dkjretired]

The use of walkie talkies on board is typically an incredible annoyance to your fellow passengers. They don't work that well, and so most of the conversation is people screaming into their devices. I was enjoying a nice sea day brunch in the MDR until a woman sat down near me with a walkie talkie, and I had the "pleasure" of listening to this:

 

Woman: I'm over here.

 

Woman (louder): Over here. Can you hear me? I'm over here.

 

Woman (even louder): I'm over here. Here! Over here!

 

Woman (much louder): I'm over here. Can you hear me?

 

It went on like that... You get the idea. Please leave the walkie talkies home. Leave notes for your family as to where you're going, and make a plan to meet up.

 

They were the precursor to Cell phones being an annoyance....I don't care to hear other peoples conversations....

[davekathy]

they were the precursor to cell phones being an annoyance....i don't care to hear other peoples conversations....

 

10-4...

[SantaFeFan]

Texting does work on board. Every ship has its own tower. Verizon's phone and text rates at sea are listed on their website under international charges. Can't seem to open the link or I would post it. Be careful to turn off all your apps that update in the background or you may got a surprise data bill when you get home.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Verizon's texting rates are 50 cents to send and 5 cents to receive.

 

EDIT: I see that DuncanHusky has already answered the rate question. Didn't see it until after I posted.

Edited May 23, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[kitegirl]

We have always used the small Motorola walkies... they have an ear phone jack so do no need to bother others... and no problem at all using it on the ship... even when one is in the room and the other multi decks away.... Enjoy!

[gergles]

T-Mobile charges nothing to receive a text but 50 cents to send. Data is $15/MB and talk is $6 (!!!!!!!) a minute. The pricing on the cellular at service is completely extortionate.

 

Verizon's $40 international plan used to include cruise ships in the 100 minute allocation, but it looks like they just removed it within the past month. I did enjoy using the cell-at-sea service for that price (and the voice quality was fantastic.)

[Turtles06]

We have always used the small Motorola walkies... they have an ear phone jack so do no need to bother others... and no problem at all using it on the ship... even when one is in the room and the other multi decks away.... Enjoy!

 

Unless I'm mistaken, all the earphone jack does is put the incoming part of the conversation into your ear. But your outgoing part of the conversation can still be overheard by others around you, and is as horribly annoying as listening to one side of a cell phone conversation.

 

Please, leave the walkie talkies at home.

[donaldsc]

~~~Also, if we are on a Verizon California cell plan, how expensive is it to call or text when you are in a port like Ketchikan or Juneau. Are the roaming charges insane, or what? ~~~

 

 

I am not sure what a "Verizon Cell Plan" but have you tried calling Verizon and asking?

 

DON

[curtdesilets]

I am not sure what a "Verizon Cell Plan" but have you tried calling Verizon and asking?

 

DON

 

I would ...But it's my wife's cell phone. I am fine with turning all of my electronic gadgets off for the week, but she wants to be able to text me in case she cannot find me, which apparently happens all of the time on board. :D

[curtdesilets]

While you can get Verizon's Cellular At Sea on board the ship when underway, their rates may make you choose otherwise:

Voice Roaming - $2.49/minute

Texts - $0.50/message sent, $0.05/message received

Data Pay As You Go - $0.02/kb or $20.48/MB

 

As for ports, speaking from recent experience you can get excellent coverage in Ketchikan and Juneau and as noted above there are no additional charges. Skagway was a bit sketchy for me, and I was never able to get a reliable signal. Icy Strait Point had no coverage at all (but one of the restaurants does have free wifi!). And while Solstice doesn't go that far, in case anyone is wondering Verizon coverage in Seward is excellent, but nonexistent in Yakutat/Hubbard Glacier.

 

I hope this helps! Have a great cruise!

 

That pretty much covers it. That was a great, and well researched response to my fairly ambiguous question. And I think we will have a GREAT cruise. :D

[Jetswdo]

The cruises we used them on: when our kids were with us, they came in very handy, we had no problems at all for the few times we used them to find each other.

 

Although we have brought them with us on the Reflection for Greek Cruise-- for just the two of us, we were so organized that we didn't need them at all. (When we were not together: dh usually in the gym- I would be usually in Solarium.)

 

When we were on the Royal Princess-- same thing, found we just didn't need them for anything.

 

So now on Celebrity Summit--I can't figure out the need for them either.

If you can get a pair fairly cheap (which we did years ago) and you have the space in your carry on-- you can see if it comes in handy or not for your purposes. I think if dh and I were on a huge ship with all the "stuff" like Royal Carribean, they might come in handy.