Two-way radios

[two4ruff]

I've read several reports that mention using 2-way radios as a way of keeping families in touch on the islands, but do these work on the ship itself?

We're looking for a way to keep in touch with our boys onboard and my husband is concerned the radios would recieve too much interference on the ship.

thanks for any advice!

April 6th can't get here soon enough....

 

[jdm]

Although we haven't sailed yet, we did purchase radios to use on the ship. There have been several posts where people have done this. We purchased the ones with subchannels to have better chances of channels not already in use. We have found these radios to be invaluable even for my daughter to use around the neighborhood!
Jenn

 

[atigeg]

We have used them on many of our trips. They work pretty good, depending on where you are...they lose a lot of range due to all the metal. But they still come in very handy...we wouldn't travel without them! We have the subchannel kind and have not had any problems finding a good channel to use. Ours also "lock" onto each other, so we don't hear other people's conversations, and they also garble our conversations so it's not easy for others to hear what we are saying.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Annie]

I think they are very handy. We used them when we cruised. They even worked from the ship to the Castaway Cay beaches. We did have some problems hearing when inside due to all the metal. We just headed to the deck outside or near a window and the reception cleared up immediately.

We set each person's radio with a different "call signal." Then when we wanted to talk, we would first signal and the others would signal back so we would know who was there before we started just talking. The call signals also went through easier even in the very center of the ship.

And just like cell phones, remember to be courteous. Don't leave them on during shows or talks or anything else.

 

[ChiTownZee]

Barb -
Yours sound very nice! Can I ask the brand / model? I didn't know you could get those options.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

My husband and I Used 2-way radio's on 2 of our cruises and at the Parks. They came in great. We alway's knew were the other one was. The reception was good in most areas of the ship.

 

[cinbis]

Barb-

I'd like to know also before I open the 2nd package of Motorolas that I bought. I thought we should have 4 with us. My older ones were terrible last year on a skiing trip because of other people cutting in and being on a mountain. I'm wondering if we'll have the same problem on the ship.

 

[happylady]

Don't forget extra batteries!! After having ours on @ 8-10 hours a day, by Thursday, we had to buy more batteries in the gift shop!!

 

[inkkognito]

They are Kenwoods...yellow with a sticker that says "Free Talk." I think we got them at Circuit City.
We probably don't need all those fancy features, but if I were a parent, I would definitely like the scramble feature. I may be paranoid, but I would prefer not to have people overhear any plans I would make to meet the kids in a certain area.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[patches-4]

Just a note on batteries... Ours came with the rechargable base to set both in so we did this every night and didn't have to change the batteries at all. I can't tell what brand they are for sure but I think they were the upper level of Cobra, they are with my Mother right now on her cruise!!

 

[SINK]

We bought two Motorola T6220 from costco on our last WDW trip. We switched our subchannel so many times due to numerous stranger calls. Especially when placed on vibrate mode, the phone would vibrate even if the calls where not intented for us (no music symbol). We got so tired of switching channels, so we decided to fill the airwaves with lots of small talk (even when we are next to each other).

But, do like the fact that one person can go to get fastpasses while the rest of the group lineup for other rides.