Walkie Talkies on board??

[LolaNY]

Hi all! We're planning a family vacation on the DCL (us and DH's brothers and their families) and I was wondering about something . . . we thought of using walkie talkies to communicate with one another while on board. I just wanted to be sure - would they work? Are they allowed?

Thx!

- Lola

 

[mommasita]

They are allowed...I have found them to be a great thing, personally...SOmetimes they do not work, and others have mentioned interference, but we never experienced this..

HTH

 

[JSCTRico4]

They are allowed as far as I know. Ours worked.... sort of.... we have a 5 mile range set. I was able to barely communicate from deck 10 by the Micky Pool, while my DH was in our cabin deck 5 midship. I plan on taking ours again, just in case. I used the pager system a couple of times to find him. I just went to the kids club, and they would send a message to him for me.

 

[FirstTimeCruiser]

We also used walkie talkies on board with no problems. We had the 10 mile ones and only experienced a little interference. They really came in handy the first day and also when in the ports. Also very helpful for tracking down our DS when he was either with DH or grandparents.

Suzy

 

[mark & sandra]

We used Motorola Walk-abouts, they worked great, except while the kids were in the lab. Kids had to step out for them to work...Mark

 

[tvguy]

If you already have them, take them and try them. I wouldn't depend on them working through. They are designed to work "line of sight", not through metal. They operate in the 462 to 467 mhz range. Do get through metal you would need radios that operate in the 42 to 44 mhz range, and that is reserved for law enforcement and governemnt.
And technically, they may not be legal for use in port unless it is a U.S. territory.
I wouldn't go out and buy them for the cruise.

We took a pair to Disneyland in 2000. They tell you that you can set them so you don't hear any other radios, and that is correct, but we rarely could transmit because they don't make it clear that even with the settting, ALL the radios are still operating on the same frequencies, so basically it's like an old party line phone. You only answer when it rings your phone, but there may be dozens using the same line.

We went again to Disneyland this year, with cell phones, Too bad they don't work on the ship

 

[Eeyorefan12]

Hi all! We're planning a family vacation on the DCL (us and DH's brothers and their families) and I was wondering about something . . . we thought of using walkie talkies to communicate with one another while on board. I just wanted to be sure - would they work? Are they allowed?

Thx!

- Lola

Even though I'd been warned they wouldn't work, I brought our new Motorola Talkabouts with us (Model T6530R...10 mile range.) They operate on two different types of frequencies and have 22 channels and "99 codes". (I'm no expert...I had just read all the buyer comments on Amazon.com to learn what I needed to get the best reception for hiking.) They worked VERY well on the ship through at least 5 decks and I only had to switch frequencies once onboard due to interference. (The 99 codes really helps!) The only time we had a lot of interference was the one time we used them while in port in Mexico...because all the cabbies there use them constantly. OTOH, we weren't sure they were legal to use there so we didn't take them off the ship.

Because these radios operate on both FRS and GMRS frequencies, use of the GMRS requires that one member of your immediate family have an FCC license. We did get one because we use the radios for hiking (it's an online process through the FCC) but you could just use the non-FRS channels if you didn't want to pay the extra money.

CB

 

[Jsme]

Bought some last year for this soel purpose. Then I left the things at home!! LOL

We will use them in November 2006.

 

[brack]

Too much hassle .... it's a vacation!

It can't be that important to keep in constant contact and find someone at a moments notice. What did we do before all of this high tech? Relax, enjoy life and let the others in your party relax too.

 

[Eeyorefan12]

Too much hassle .... it's a vacation!

It can't be that important to keep in constant contact and find someone at a moments notice. What did we do before all of this high tech? Relax, enjoy life and let the others in your party relax too.

I suppose how important it is to you depends on how you define "relaxation". In my case, I have a DS who gets frequent migraines (and needs medication within 5 minutes or goes down for 5 days) and keeping in touch is vital. On our Mexico cruise, my DD11 became ill and had to stay in the cabin for 2 days. It was good to know we could leave the cabin for a while and she could always reach us if she needed us (or play on our sympathy by asking for just one more thing from the Disney store.) I was much more relaxed knowing that my kids could contact me instantly. We didn't chat on the WT's like cell phones or anything--just loved the peace of mind.

Also, if others have a DH like mine who likes to wander off the ship 1/2 hour before we're supposed to leave port, it's much more "relaxing" to be able to find him than worry that he'll be left behind. Eek!

Different strokes...

CB

 

[Jsme]

I feel better if I can locate my kids and this helps us do that.

 

[brack]

Different strokes... CB

I really do understand the need in some cases but most of the cases I have seen it is not necessary. The average vactioner can not bring themselves to let go and relax.

I am as "geeky" as anybody but I have started leaving my computer, cell phone and any such device at home when I go vacation.

ps: have you tried the leash thing on your DH like some families do their small children?

 

[kecall]

ps: have you tried the leash thing on your DH like some families do their small children?

Do you know where I might buy one?? -- I think I'll need an Extra-Large as my dh is 6' 2" and 300 lbs!!!

karen

 

[Firegoalie23]

our cell phones (nextel i275) has an off network walkie Talkee, that we plan on using. doubt we will, but nice to know that if we need it, we have it.

 

[Eeyorefan12]

ps: have you tried the leash thing on your DH like some families do their small children?[/color]

I'd be too tempted to strangle him once I reel him in!

CB

 

[Skallywag]

Quite agree with Brack on this one. leave things like that at home. Just arrange to meet up at certain time and the discipline is good for children in that respect. As I have said before find these things most annoying and find that people always tend to shout down them for some reason and this can be so annoying to other people.

Likewise Mobile phones which have reached eperdemic proportions here in England. We will have our mobiles with us as our daughters are flying in on a different day to us but then they will be switched off for the holiday.

Am toying with the idea of buying a lap top not to keep in touch but just for downloading digital photos but reading reviews will perhaps buy a portable storage device.