How to keep in touch with others on board?

[Crystalcat]

I will be cruising with my family on FOS next spring with DH and 2 DS. The boys will be across the hall from us in a separate cabin, which we will also have a passcard to. I'm looking for tips on how other families keep in touch while on board. [My sons will be 13 and nearly nearly 15, and while they are old enough to come and go freely from the youth programs, and we will set times to meet for meals or specific activities, I would still like to keep tabs on where they will be (sports deck, movie theatre...), or letting them know where to find us. We don't take cell phones on vacation, and don't want to use walkie talkies as they generally tend to be annoying to most people. ] Thanks.

[Puffinater]

Try using post it notes. You can both leave notes in their cabin with any daily updates or info that should be shared. You can easily drop off and pick up the notes

[cb at sea]

Even tho the ship LOOKS big, most of the space is taken up with cabins, so except for your hallway, you can count out all of the other "passenger" space.

 

Your teens will either be in the AO area, or sports deck or around the pool (ogling the ladies!)...It's not hard to find each other!

 

Set some "meeting" times and places. A note left in the cabin is great if plans change. Tell them where you'll most likely be.

You'll find this is easier than you think!

[MISSYLOU]

I would set time limits for how long they are away from you and set a few times during the day for them to check in with you.

[missnjvirgo]

My 13 yr old daughter and I sailed on the FOS last August, and staying in touch was a problem. Teens loose track of time and don't check in when they are suppose to.

 

Prior to sailing, I had the same concern about how to stay in touch. I read on these boards that walkie talkies were the best way to stay in touch. I decided against it, and regretted it once on the ship when I couldn't find her. The days at sea were the worst, on port days it was fine because she was with me, but at sea days forget it. She made tons of friends and I never saw her. It was so bad that the last night on the ship she didn't come back to have dinner with me, mind you I didn't think I needed to tell her to do so. She said it was her last night and she wanted to hang out with her friends.

 

So, I say if you want be sure to be able to stay in touch, walkie talkies are the way to go.

 

Have fun.

 

P.S. My daughter loved the FOS, she said it was the best vacation she's ever had and she has been on a lot of really nice vacations. So you kids should have a ton of fun.

[Kat1613]

We made it clear to our kids(teens) that they had to be at our scheduled dinner each evening that was never an option. Then we would find out what they planned to do that nite and we would tell them approximately where we would be --the show, casino etc.

They had a curfew & we would wake them up each morning and had a set place to meet

in the windjammer for breakfast. Other then that call their rooms, set meeting times and places to check in, leave messages in their rooms. On ship days we usually sat by the pool and showed them where we would be after breakfast so they could check in -- I did not see walkie talkies at all being used on the FOS maybe some did I just never saw it--they're not always reliable with noise, batteries etc. either but you usually find eachother --

sports deck, teen clubs, pools, arcade.

[PhoenixCruiser]

You can also use the house phones and leave voice mail messages on the phones in your cabins.

 

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[masonpips]

Last cruise we rented DECT phones on board. Our kids paid for one $25 and we paid for the other. These are the phones the crew use with no walkie-talking yelling and/or reception issues. You get them at Guest Services and I've heard they have a limited supply.

 

We allowed our kids to check themselves out of the clubs for the first time (9-11) but only after they called us to tell us where they were going. They'd typically call say "we want pizza", go get it, maybe a cookie too and then head back to the kid's clubs.

 

It was FANTASTIC and well worth every dime to know you could find them at any point

[dixie54]

On another post someone mentioned the TSX300 2 way radios worked well and that you can also text. I ordered some for our upcoming cruise from DataVison today with tax was a little over $70. I used coupon code datavis5. I got $5 off.

 

Hope this helps!

[ehfl]

I would just arrange for times/places to meet. They are old enough to meet at a specific time and place. It really shouldn't matter whether they are playing basketball, or are in the pool, as long as they meet at the right time and place.

 

We have traveled with different people and families, and just arrange for a time and place to meet. We usually have a general idea of where people are, and can usually find them in 10 -15 minutes if we really needed to.

[akcruz]

We set up regular times for our teens to meet us and have them leave a note in our cabin inf their plans change. The hardest thing I have found, is letting them know where we are. Its hard to go back to cabin and keep updating notes, but well worth it for the peace of mind.

 

Make sure to set the rules BEFORE you get on the ship. My son was late getting back one day and lost some of his freedom for the rest of that day. He was always back on time after that. Let them know the rules and enforce them and you will be fine.

 

Also as mentioned by another poster, they do tend to hang out in the same places (the ship really is not all that big), so once you figure out where they are pop by every once in a while to check out what they are doing. Most times you can do this without them even seeing you.

[Crystalcat]

Thanks for everyone's input - this was very helpful. :D We will be sure to lay the ground rules and consequences before we go and make sure they learn how to use the phones/voice mail the first day.

[It'sRC4ME]

You can also use the house phones and leave voice mail messages on the phones in your cabins.

 

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I do this with my husband. Works great and and saves a walk back to the cabin if I'm not going that way.

[Disneycrazymom]

We used magnetic boards attached to the outside of our cabin door for our family reunion cruise last year. They worked really well. Everyone (even Grandma) wrote where they were headed and the time as they left the cabin. If we moved to a new place someone went by the cabin and wrote it down. We could also leave messages for the kids on their cabin doors. Pretty cheep and low tech but it worked really well.

[JazzieB]

Last cruise we rented DECT phones on board. Our kids paid for one $25 and we paid for the other. These are the phones the crew use with no walkie-talking yelling and/or reception issues. You get them at Guest Services and I've heard they have a limited supply.

 

We allowed our kids to check themselves out of the clubs for the first time (9-11) but only after they called us to tell us where they were going. They'd typically call say "we want pizza", go get it, maybe a cookie too and then head back to the kid's clubs.

 

It was FANTASTIC and well worth every dime to know you could find them at any point

 

Does anyone know if DECT phones are still available, DS is 12 this sailing and we'd like to give him some freedom but still have contact :) We're on Voyager

 

Thanks