2 way radios, which ones are the best???

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

Does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of 2 way radio's to purchase? I have been doing seaches- I don't know what range to get - 5, 6, 16, 22 miles, privacy channels or not. I just don't know and don't want to break the bank. We are a party of 8- 4 adults & 4 children (17-7 yrs). I have heard that 2 way radios are the best form of communication on the ship. Any suggesstions are greatly appreciated-since I'm a newbie. :D

[JenDalessan]

We had the motorola ones for our Cedar Point trip and it did not work out well. If there are lots of other people using them then the channels get full of chatter and you can't find each other. :o

 

However, I have not seen a lot of radios on our cruises so you should be in better shape. I think the motorola ones worked well overall.

 

Hey- I see you are from Buffalo! We are from lockport and I work in Williamsville. We have cruised on the Spirit too! We took all 5 of our kids with us.

 

I thought about driving to the port and going out of NYC but so far our cruises have been out of Florida. Have you looked at jetblue's airfare? That 50 minute flight sure beats an 8 hour drive :eek:

[Romy40]

Dear Buffalo - -

 

On the Diamond Princess they had rental walkie-talkie-type phones -

$4/day.

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

Jen- we thought about flying but my husband is from NYC so we drive down a couple of times a year- so the kids are use to it. Plus we are picking up my mother in law on the way to the port-since she is going with us, every little savings helps. I'll check into the Motorola a little more and let you know when we get back how they worked out.

 

Thanks for the help. :p

[CaribbeanBound]

We used a Motorola Walkabout and it worked well. It's best when you make a time to check-in with each other rather than leaving it on all day. It's also best when it is used with extreme courtesy towards other passengers. ie. go somewhere private when you want to talk, don't use it for idle chatter and quit yelling!

[jscdagourmet]

We use Motorola "Talk-A-Bouts" which work well "on the stream"...DH is a fly fisher. We've never been on a cruise, but plan to take them to Alaska come May. They do each use 3 AAA batteries, so we plan to take additional batteries. He indicates if the channels are set properly, there should be no issue with other peoples' chatter?

[tip]

Does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of 2 way radio's to purchase? I have been doing seaches- I don't know what range to get - 5, 6, 16, 22 miles, privacy channels or not. I just don't know and don't want to break the bank. We are a party of 8- 4 adults & 4 children (17-7 yrs). I have heard that 2 way radios are the best form of communication on the ship. Any suggesstions are greatly appreciated-since I'm a newbie. :D

 

Any type will do as long as the rest of your fellow passengers don't have to hear it!

[jscdagourmet]

I made a mistake I see...the Motorola "Talk-A-Bouts" take *double* A batteries. Sorry.

Jane

[Philip217]

Most of the cheaper radios either cannot penetrate through the many layers of steel on ships - or are confined to the small number of channels that actually do work. But then everyone else on the ship is using the same channels as you, and you can never get through.

 

You should use the same radios the ships use if you want it to work properly.

I have a Motorola GP340 UHF Radio sitting in front of me now. Wonderful machine. They cost between $400 and $600 each.

[cv322]

Any type will do as long as the rest of your fellow passengers don't have to hear it!

 

Ditto!

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

Phillip217- I thank you for the advice on the $400-$600 walkie talkie:eek: , but I wouldn't trust my kids or DH with something that expensive. Plus I'm looking for a budget item(s) not a break the bank item. Don't wnat to go to cheap then they will not be worth it- but also don't want to pay more for the talkies than the trip. ;)

[sharonny]

Motorola Talkabouts and Midlands. Our group of 14 used these and had no problems with reception on our Elation cruise. Just find an odd channel for your party. We got our Motorola's at Walmart for around $30, came with a double charger and Friends got Midlands at Staples, same price range. We brought a power strip so that we could plug everything in. Worked great!