Walkie Talkies

[yeaterae]

Hello!

 

My roommates and I are going on a cruise during our spring break on the Carnival Fantasy. We are on a tight budget and wanted to forgo the internet plans and were wondering would walkie talkies be a viable alternative to purchasing the plan?

 

Thank you!

[TomCruise48]

Chat plan is only $5 per device for the length of the cruise. Reception using walkie-talkies is spotty.

[Cruzn4fun14]

Download the carnival hub app for the prior mentioned $5 chat plan. It will also have other features for ship map and fun times. We have used chat feature on last 2 cruises and good way to keep up with each other.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[lcpagejr]

Chat plan is only $5 per device for the length of the cruise. Reception using walkie-talkies is spotty.

 

So isn't the chat function...Read many posts stating people stopped or didn't bother using because message were delivered 1 or 2 hours later. Many reverted to "stickys on door"....lol

[Clarea]

Hello!

 

My roommates and I are going on a cruise during our spring break on the Carnival Fantasy. We are on a tight budget and wanted to forgo the internet plans and were wondering would walkie talkies be a viable alternative to purchasing the plan?

 

Thank you!

We've had very poor luck with walkie-talkies. Once separated by a few decks, communication was bad to impossible.

[n6uqqq]

Just say no---- ineffective and annoying to others!

[yeaterae]

Download the carnival hub app for the prior mentioned $5 chat plan. It will also have other features for ship map and fun times. We have used chat feature on last 2 cruises and good way to keep up with each other.

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

On the carnival website they have a $4 per day per person plan for a total of $80. I am not finding the chat plan. Do you know where I can find it?

[Melcoug]

I was traveling with several other families in Nov and we all used the the Hub app to communicate. I never noticed much of a lag. It was a great way to communicate with each other. I just wish it was free like on other lines.

[Purvis1231]

We used walkie-talkies and had good luck with them but remember they are really a toy. If you are going to use them, do it in the open decks and not in the enclosed areas.

[cflips7]

Here is the cost of chat right from carnival website:

Is the Carnival HUB app free?

The App is free to download and use on board. For a small additional fee ($5 USD for the voyage) the HUB App offers chat.

 

 

The $5 per day is for WIFI and social networks

[crzndeb]

On the carnival website they have a $4 per day per person plan for a total of $80. I am not finding the chat plan. Do you know where I can find it?

 

It’s an app. Look up Carnival Hub and download. It will only show a countdown until you are on ship. You have to turn airplane mode on and WiFi on. There is no charge for the app itself, but you can get the chat feature for $5 for entire cruise once it’s online.

[Kamloops50]

Hello!

 

 

 

My roommates and I are going on a cruise during our spring break on the Carnival Fantasy. We are on a tight budget and wanted to forgo the internet plans and were wondering would walkie talkies be a viable alternative to purchasing the plan?

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Walkie Talkie really aren’t a good option. They don’t work very inside a large steel box.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Stinger-pr]

My personal experience is that out on the open decks they work pretty well. But once you get below decks, or if you're not really close one to another, they do not deliver. I had trouble getting reception even down the hallway from my cabin! Mind you that I did not use some $20 Toys r Us radios. I have multi- channel Motorolas. I guess the thickness of the steel inside the ship wreacks havoc in the signal. I tried using them twice and put them away for the rest of the cruise.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

[ProgRockCruiser]

Indeed, using walkie-talkies inside what is effectively a multi-compartment Faraday cage is likely to be, um, "ineffective".

 

That is partly the reason the wifi can be spotty - it is also relying on RF, which is interfered with by the ship's decks, bulkheads, and hull.

 

I don't think think this applies to typical Caribbean destinations, but also be aware of whether it is legal to use walkie-talkies at your destination ports. U.S.-sold walkie-talkies are illegal in Europe, for example - they use frequencies that are designated for other uses (Emergency Services, IIRC).

[evandbob]

Walkie Talkies seem so Kathie Lee Gifford.

[asalligo]

Chat plan is only $5 per device for the length of the cruise. Reception using walkie-talkies is spotty.

 

Reception using the hub app is spotty. Twice on my 5 days cruise one of my four member family was sending out texts that appeared they were going and no one was getting.

 

We don't use the radios anymore, we have moved to the hub app, but a few 36 mile FRS radios worked very well on the ship. Now, the fact that other passengers seem to hate their use is a whole other topic. We tried to keep it on the down low, but they are still pretty loud if using them.

[dmdiver]

We have walkie talkies. We've found that they were pretty useless for our group on board the ship. It was pretty noisy where we were & we just didn't hear the darn things go off. Most of the time we were all together, so they weren't needed most days. We also used the hub app for messaging each other at $5 per device for the week. We didn't always get messages right away, but I've read a lot of comments saying you need to leave the app open all the time to get the messages right away. I may try that next trip.

 

Where walkie talkies came in handy was when we had separate excursions. The guys went scubadiving and we girls went snorkeling. We radioed when we were headed back to port so we were able to find each other.

[serene56]

The ship is not all that large where you will be lost for hours. Much of that space is cabin space. so you are either on the lido deck or the promanade. Using the Hub app you can click on stuff that is the favorites so you will now where anyone is at any given hour.

THe telephone in the cabin is equipped with voice mail and can leave a message from any house phone located by any elevators

 

 

Save your money and not invest in the walkie talkies. they are annoying and will pick up all the people using certain channels

[BallFour4]

We've used GMRS quality walkie-talkies on Fantasy class ships many times with great success. Now our daughter is 27...

The HUB app is explained here:

https://www.carnival.com/cms/shipboard/funhub/funhub-landing.html

The fee is described here:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3829/~/stay-connected-via-text%21

[crusinpsychRN]

Just say no---- ineffective and annoying to others!

 

That's for sure. It is funny to listen to the messages.

[teknoge3k]

The ship is not all that large where you will be lost for hours. Much of that space is cabin space. so you are either on the lido deck or the promanade. Using the Hub app you can click on stuff that is the favorites so you will now where anyone is at any given hour.

THe telephone in the cabin is equipped with voice mail and can leave a message from any house phone located by any elevators

 

 

Save your money and not invest in the walkie talkies. they are annoying and will pick up all the people using certain channels

 

I agree with this. Keep in mind you're going to be on the smallest ship so you'll likely see one another frequently anyway. Definitely use the Hub app though, give the old walkie talkies to the kids to play with at home or something.

[bunchesofun]

We bought two sets of decent Motorola walkie talkies. They did not work. My son tried contacting us as he walked down the hall away from us and we couldn't hear him at all. Wasted money.

[GotMINI]

We have used walkie-talkies with great success on Royal Caribbean cruises. However, this time we will be trying the Carnival Hub app's chat feature for $5/each for duration of the cruise. Seems like great deal not to have to lug around the walkies and we always have our phones with us anyway for picture taken. I do not plan on purchasing wifi.