Best brand of Walkie Talkies for Cruise

[pam29922]

My DS will be cruising with us so I planned on taking our Walkie Talkies on our cruise in March. We already use them faithfully, but the set that we have just died on us so I am in the market for a new set. I figured that I would toss this question out there so I can get a set that meets our needs at home as well as at sea. I had a set with an 8 mile radius (even though my son is never more than 5 houses away :D ) and multiple channels, but I would really like to know if there's a particular brand that you feel has or has not worked well for you on the ship.

 

Also, has anyone used them on an excursion? It's possible that although the 4 of us will be on the same excursion, that we may split up and I would love to be able to keep in contact!

 

Thank you!!!

[jw4jg1mg2eg1]

I think I asked this question a couple of years ago & got lots of good replies(you may want to search that topic). But, we never bought any walkie-talkies. We just wrote alot of notes & tried to let each other know where we would be when we did see each other. We all met for breakfast, lunch & dinner. So, there was only a couple of hours between each meal that we don't see each other. I have heard that the ship rents walkie-talkies.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

It all depends on how much metal there is between radios. Last cruise I had an inside cabin on the lowest deck and the radios were worthless.

Another option is to use the ship's voicemail to leave messages. My DS could do this from any phone on the ship.

Here are some other reasons that I leave my radios at home:

• Other pax are on vacation too. I think it is inconsiderate to have a chattering radio going off within earshot of others. IMO this is no different than requiring headphones for radios, etc.
  
• You don't have to remember to pack and carry your radio with you.
  
• The radios don't go with formal night.
  
• You are required to hold a license for the "8-mile" radios. I am not sure if there is jurisdiction in international waters, and I have never seen anyone get caught, but with my luck it would be me.

In my experience the radios are unreliable and a pain. Use the post-it approach or voice mail and eliminate one more source of stress. ;)

[happy cruzin]

My sister tried the walkie talkies on our first cruise and also found them to be pretty useless. Unless everyone was outside they did not work very well at all :( .

[coevan]

The quietest ones(LOL) easier just to arrange meeting spots at certain times.

[tomboyy]

We brought a pair.. cobras 14 channels /w 38 sub channels on each channel. We used them at the beach and hotel before the cruise a couple times and when we got on the ship we only used them once.

[mowrider]

We have used radio's on 4 cruises. We only talk for less then 15 sec. each time. ( Hey, where are you.........Ok, I'll meet you there.) etc. We use Cobra 10 mile range, and they work Ok, once you find a frequency not used by someone else.

[jayesouthworth]

We have the Motorola Talkabouts and have used them on cruises many times. We've never had any trouble with them. When we drove to the ship with family (600 miles), we used them to talk between cars and they never failed. They are easy to use, just turn them off when no one plans to use them to save the batteries. If a child plans to have one just hope they don't lay it down somewhere that will get lost. We bought ours at COSTCO several years ago.

[DqALEX]

It all depends on how much metal there is between radios. Last cruise I had an inside cabin on the lowest deck and the radios were worthless.

Another option is to use the ship's voicemail to leave messages. My DS could do this from any phone on the ship.

Here are some other reasons that I leave my radios at home:

• Other pax are on vacation too. I think it is inconsiderate to have a chattering radio going off within earshot of others. IMO this is no different than requiring headphones for radios, etc.
  
• You don't have to remember to pack and carry your radio with you.
  
• The radios don't go with formal night.
  
• You are required to hold a license for the "8-mile" radios. I am not sure if there is jurisdiction in international waters, and I have never seen anyone get caught, but with my luck it would be me.

In my experience the radios are unreliable and a pain. Use the post-it approach or voice mail and eliminate one more source of stress. ;)

I have found the best walkie talkies are camp carnival. My kids love to go there, I don't have to worry about them and I don't have to carry anything around with me. When im on a cruise on a sea day I carry myself around and my ss card and thats about it.

[reefisher]

Even the best general market walkie talkies are nearly worthless on board because of the difficulty of transmission through metal. But if you do use them while on excursions, please be considerate of your fellow pssgrs.

 

Case in point: This last May DW and I were on an excursion from Skagway to the Yukon. A narrated excursion mind you and for the first twenty minutes some YeeHaw five seats back carried on a conversation with somebody back in Skagway on her "CB" with enough volume to drown out the PA system and call hogs across two sections. Before Ma Yokum was prodded to silence and out of range, everybody in the bus knew way too much about her, how bad the food was on board and exactly why Alaska couldn't come close to matching just about everything in her little corner of Georgia. WHY do such people even travel????

[janetz]

Motorola Talkabouts. Work great. Be considerate of your fellow passengers. :)

[Thirsty Cruiser]

I have found the best walkie talkies are camp carnival. My kids love to go there, I don't have to worry about them and I don't have to carry anything around with me. When im on a cruise on a sea day I carry myself around and my ss card and thats about it.

 

Me too. That and the DOTD.:D

(Enjoying the peace and quiet? This is my favorite time of year at the Jersey shore. Do any fishing?)

[DqALEX]

Me too. That and the DOTD.:D

(Enjoying the peace and quiet? This is my favorite time of year at the Jersey shore. Do any fishing?)

I wish I had more time to fish. I live here in Point Pleasant. A good friend owns Ken's landing where most of the party boats are, but owning a Dairy Queen im still working 7 days a week, until we close Dec.16. It is a nice time of the year here but each year more and more people live here full time.

[Schlepporello]

I've heard that walkie-talkies with a 10 mile range are the way to go. Also, the higher frequencies tend to work better than the lower ones so I hear. We will be taking a pair of Midland walkie-talkies. I chose the Midlands based on my experience as a "seasoned professional truck driver" (My wife helped me spell all of that). Were I looking for another pair, I'd look at Midland, Cobra, Uniden and Motorola.

 

As for a license to use a walkie-talkie with a range of 10 miles?

Pffffffffft!:p

[sharonny]

Motorola Talkabouts and Midlands. Our group of 14 used these and had no problems with reception.

 

:)

[jayesouthworth]

Motorola Talkabouts. Work great. Be considerate of your fellow passengers. :)

 

We won't have the brats with us this time and we're flying not driving.. The walkie-talkies are staying home.:D

[pam29922]

Thank you all very much for the information!!! They have the Motorola Talkabouts at BJ's at a pretty reasonable price and it looks like a few people have had success with them, so I think that will be my choice! Thanks again, everyone! :)

[larronry]

I've used the Motorola Talkabouts. Mine have a 12 miles range. I think I picked them up at BJ's. I've used them on all my cruises with no problem. I will keep the headset on except when I'm taking an exercise class. Of course DH always calls then because he always forgets. He refuses to wear a headset and always calls from some noisy environment so he can't hear me.

 

This trip will be important because if DH has my son and has questions about feeding him he needs to be able to ask me (DS has food allergies).

 

But the most frequent use has been the where are you and OK I'll meet you there or I'm going to _______.

[Thirsty Cruiser]

Thank you all very much for the information!!! They have the Motorola Talkabouts at BJ's at a pretty reasonable price and it looks like a few people have had success with them, so I think that will be my choice! Thanks again, everyone! :)

 

:confused: Just curious, any special reason you feel like you need to bring these?

 

I've used the Motorola Talkabouts. Mine have a 12 miles range. I think I picked them up at BJ's. I've used them on all my cruises with no problem. I will keep the headset on except when I'm taking an exercise class. Of course DH always calls then because he always forgets. He refuses to wear a headset and always calls from some noisy environment so he can't hear me.

 

This trip will be important because if DH has my son and has questions about feeding him he needs to be able to ask me (DS has food allergies).

 

But the most frequent use has been the where are you and OK I'll meet you there or I'm going to _______.

 

Do you have designer headsets for formal night?:D

[DarthGrady]

For those that have NEXTEL phones, most of the new ones have a feature called "DirecTalk". This mode allows you to talk via the direct connect off network just like two way radios. They work very well, and we have had no problems. Saves money (if you have NEXTEL), and they take up much less room in your pocket.

[gettin outta here]

chill repete!!!!

[Yellow_Jacket]

Motorola or Cobra

 

And you want the combo FRS/GMRS radios, which are a little bit more cost than the FRS-only models. With the GMRS, you get extra power and extra channels.

[leadout_kv]

It all depends on how much metal there is between radios. Last cruise I had an inside cabin on the lowest deck and the radios were worthless.

Another option is to use the ship's voicemail to leave messages. My DS could do this from any phone on the ship.

Here are some other reasons that I leave my radios at home:

• Other pax are on vacation too. I think it is inconsiderate to have a chattering radio going off within earshot of others. IMO this is no different than requiring headphones for radios, etc.
  
• You don't have to remember to pack and carry your radio with you.
  
• The radios don't go with formal night.
  
• You are required to hold a license for the "8-mile" radios. I am not sure if there is jurisdiction in international waters, and I have never seen anyone get caught, but with my luck it would be me.

In my experience the radios are unreliable and a pain. Use the post-it approach or voice mail and eliminate one more source of stress. ;)

 

The license that you speak of is NOT related to any mile range. It is related to the type of 2Way Radio that you buy.

 

The FRS (Family Radio Service) Channel(s) do NOT require a FCC license. The GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) does require a FCC license. Many of the latest 2Way Radios are combo FRS/GMRS radios. All ya do is select the FRS channels and you're fine.

[pam29922]

:confused: Just curious, any special reason you feel like you need to bring these?

 

I'm an overprotective mother and although DS will either be with me or at Camp Carnival, I "need" to be able to check in with him at Camp to make sure everything is going ok. It may sound silly and/or a bit overbearing, but if it will give me some peace of mind then it will enable me to enjoy my vacation that much more. :)

[sharonny]

Get the Motorola Talkabouts. You won't regret it. Find a private channel and relax. I totally agree and understand the "Peace of Mind" thing.

 

:)