campl41 Posted December 1, 2016 Report Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hi - leave for our cruise in 3 days :) as I am packing I am wondering if our walkie talkies would work while out at sea ? has anyone used them ? ours are good one's with decent range TIA Xobertlab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted December 1, 2016 Report Share Posted December 1, 2016 Given the amount a steel, I doubt they'd have much range. You could try then out, however. I just done think they'd be there reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 I've never tried W-T but I have read where others have reported that the effectiveness is hit-or-miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 Checkout the thread where we discuss keeping on touch on your Royal Caribbean cruise. I'll also paste below some information I wrote (in the comments of that thread) about using radios on the ship. Coped from http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/07/27/how-stay-touch-someone-your-royal-caribbean-cruise This is certainly a popular suggestion for staying in touch with others onboard. Using a phone and data yields the advantage of being able to communicate with those on land, as well as others you've just met onboard. Also, while the small FRS radios may work, depending on the circumstance (there is a whole lot of steel on ships, obviously), they present two issues that I'm particularly sensitive to as a former paramedic/ff and also a radio communication technician. 1) The FRS (Family Radio Service) frequencies are allocated in the US. Frequency allocations are different in every country, which means, beyond it likely violating local laws, one of those radios, keyed up in a given port, could potentially be operating on a frequency that interferes with communications on land (police, fire, or maybe just a fast food drive-through - you get the idea). 2) They can be a distraction to others onboard. Lying out by the pool, having a quiet read in a lounge, etc, I generally don't want to hear the tones they generate, statically and amplified conversation, etc. It's not the end of the world, it doesn't ruin my vacation, but I'm sure it's a popular consensus as well. All of that in mind, it isn't against the cruise line's rules, and I can certain appreciate the practicality. I assure you I won't judge you negatively if you show up on a cruise we're both on rocking a yellow radio :-) I will remind you that despite the manufacturers calling the CTCSS tones on these radios 'privacy codes' and similar things, the conversations are not private in any way, shape or form. So only discuss information you're okay telling the entire ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzard05 Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 Hi - leave for our cruise in 3 days :) as I am packing I am wondering if our walkie talkies would work while out at sea ? has anyone used them ? ours are good one's with decent range TIA We were just on Navigator over Thanksgiving and I saw several families using them without issue (now I have no idea how close the person on the other end was when they were talking). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 Tried them when we first started cruising and they were definitely hit and miss. We found the bigger problem than the actual signal was finding a clear channel. Never forget sitting up in the Viking lounge reading my book and hearing a bunch of "chatter" on the channel my wife had instructed me to listen for her on when she headed off to do her thing. You could hear one lady getting increasingly loud and angry trying to make herself heard .... turns out it was my wife ... boy was I in trouble for ignoring her :) coneyraven, donolog and DocLC 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneyraven Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 We tried them on Navigator years ago .... as has been mentioned already, their effectiveness was limited, but when it really came down to it, they were just a pain to lug around..... The last thing I want is to have to keep track of another item for fear of losing it or leaving it behind ..... We keep our seapass cards in lanyards, and aside from occasionally taking our phones for their cameras, that's it ..... we like to be hands free when on vacation (unless, of course, there's a drink in them). donolog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 I will remind you that despite the manufacturers calling the CTCSS tones on these radios 'privacy codes' and similar things, the conversations are not private in any way, shape or form. So only discuss information you're okay telling the entire ship. Most W-Ts would have a port for an earbud...I would appreciate not hearing the static, tones, and conversations of others.... monorailmedic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorailmedic Posted December 2, 2016 Report Share Posted December 2, 2016 Most W-Ts would have a port for an earbud...I would appreciate not hearing the static, tones, and conversations of others.... I agree. For the record however, the privacy factor I was mentioning with with a feature that leads some people to think others cannot hear their conversations on other radios - which couldn't be farther from the truth, the feature just keeps you from hearing others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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