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Communicating while on board


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This may or may not have been addressed before. If it has please direct me to the correc thread.

 

We will have a couple of 13 year olds on our cruise. And as teens tend to do they will want to venture off on their own. We thought wallow talkies or use our iPhones, but that would require multiple internet packages. How have some of you maintained contact with your kids or others in your party?

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Some ships/cruiselines have phones available that you can use onboard. Allure had them when we were on board for about $30 per phone to rent them.

 

Lots of caveats; they didn't work well, there was a large liability if you lost/broke it, etc. but they were a way to keep in touch.

 

We have tried walkie talkies and found they were a mess with so many people trying the same thing it was hard to know who was talking.

 

Generally we just set meet points and expectations ... we are going to the pool will be there for a while and then headed to lunch at windjammer, find us before 2pm at one of those places for example.

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The simplest solution is to use your iPhones texting, even when roaming.

 

Check your carrier but most major carriers only charge for incoming messages and the cost per message is pennies.  I've found that by just texting, it will not cost a whole lot to do and there is no additional investment required (such as buying new walkie talkie hardware).

 

On a personal note, I have always found walkie talkies to be annoying to other guests and the metal bulkheads and radio interference reduces their effectiveness.

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Thanks for the question and the info Guys! 

Just spoke with Sprint.  They offer texting while on the ship (which is considered international service).  $.50 outgoing/$0.15 incoming. 

 

NOTE**** They "Strongly" advised turning off Cellular Data While on the ship.  DATA rates are through the roof. 

 

Cin and I will use I-phones for Texting if needed. :)  This will work well with the 3 other couples in our "group".   There are certain settings that need to be made on your phone for use on the boat.  Call your carrier and ask.  Then, "HAVE FUN".

Rob-o

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yes and ALWAYs turn your DATA off when on the ship unless you want to pay

hi roaming fees.  It amazes me still how many people are not aware of that

and I would never trust my kids, lol

 

We have used phones on the ships which has been great

and Verizon has some good packages and I do text some

Good time for them to communicate with each other, lol and hoping

they will be busy enough not to care about phones - notes left

in cabins are great !

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We are planning on walkie-talkies.  Worked out great for us with 10 people spread out amongst 4 cabins on an Alaskan cruise we took over the summer.  At first it was chaotic, especially with the kids going crazy on them, but once we figured out a system they were extremely helpful.  I think we did something like saying our name first, then who we were trying to reach, and then what we were calling about...   

 

I'm cruising this March, only 5 of us this time and in 2 cabins, but think the walkie-talkies will be the way to go again for us.   Saw recommendations to bring sticky-notes and/or white boards to use to communicate - I'm not sure if we will use on this cruise or not, but will bring along since small and easy enough pack.  Saw another post about using voicemail messages on cabin phones.  Not sure how easy that would be, but an option.  

 

I would not count on using your phone unless you know you will be getting wifi package and don't care about data charges.  They will add up quickly.  Personally, it's nice to be on vacation and have my phone turned OFF.  Easy enough to catch up if necessary when at port and can connect through free wifi somewhere.  And, in case of any emergencies, I can be reached through the ship.    

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I used texting on the Liberty this last week.  It worked well and it only costs us about $2 overall.  It wasn't used that often especially since my wife still uses a flip phone. ;)

 

I did see white boards being used as well as walkie talkies.  However, keep in mind that with walkie talkies there are a lot of dead spots around the ship because of all of the metal.  In fact, it's likely that your cell phone may not work if you have an interior cabin depending on which deck you're on.

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