Walkie Talkies...?

[catjammies]

I have some kids' Barbie Walkie Talkies -- do you think these will work on the ship? or should we get "really good" ones?

 

[brack]

Don't waste your money. They are not needed.

Just go and relax. If you take these (or other electronic shackles) it will only keep you from relaxing.

DON'T DO IT! Step away from the hassles of life.

It's a vacation not a field trip.

 

[GenieDana]

Ditto

 

[tross]

If you are traveling with kids that are old enough for some independence but you still need to keep in contact it seems like they would come in handy. Anyone used them with kids?

 

[clh2]

They worked great on the ship - most of the time.

Our DD (9.5 at the time) was able to sign in/out of the kid's club only because she had the radio.

They also worked great when she was back in the room and we were going to be a few minutes late.

We loved having them at Disney too!

 

[thebets57]

We've been on 6 cruises with the kids (now 12/18 ) these are essential in my book!!! If you think for any reason you would let your kids out of your sight, then how else would you check in with them? I can't comment on Barbie quality. We have basic 2-way radios from "Costo" - probably $50-75 for the pair. I wouldn't go for cheaper quality than this. This quality is adequate but nothing special. You might still have conflicting parties on your channel, but it's never been a problem for us. Well worth the investment!!!!!!!

 

[rsjj]

but we'd be using it while we are on our "scramble" to make reservations at the various places. DH will be at the Flounder's Reef, and I'd be at Palo. We have to book our times on both places for the same day & time slots, and if one is not available, then we can communicate that way and figure out our ressies, right on the spot!

 

[RellingTwin]

I LOVED our radios! When we sailed without them I was always looking for the kids. I knew they were OK, but I was always a little uneasy when I didn't know where they were.Plus it could take 30min to an hour to find them, so I had to begin the hunt 2 hours before dinner, so I had time to find them and get ready for dinner.
The next time we sailed we had the radios and it made for a MUCH more relaxing trip for me.
We also found them very handy at CC. My DS and I left the ship early and got 2 chairs with an umbrella. Later as our husbands and kids joined us we were able to find each other quickly.

Just remind the kids to turn them off during shows or movies and turn them back ON after the show

We were a group of 8, 4 adults,4 kids. We each had a radio. The kids were on one channel, adults on another. When I wanted to check on the kids, I switched to the kid channel and spoke to them. If they needed us...same thing.

 

[rae519]

We have them for this trip just because of the wonderful reports we have gotten from adults during the Ressie 500 and later with their children. Never know until you try!!!

Hello RellingTwin and also to TwinAve!

Rae

 

[MrsPete]

We didn't take them, but I wish we had. We had one bad moment: DH and DD-9 had gone up to Deck 9 to fill the water bottles, while DD-6 and I had gone to Wavebands to meet the Dolphin Excursion group. While on Deck 9, DD needed to go to the restroom, so DH told her to go alone while he filled the water bottles. He thought she was in one restroom, she'd actually gone to another one farther away. He ran all over the ship looking for her, and we were afraid we'd miss the Dolphin Excursion (we didn't, but we were afraid). Wish we'd had a radio that day.

 

[Zandy595]

We're taking our 2-way radios also.

On our last cruise (there were 11 of us) we used them in Nassau when our group split up. And I also talked to DH while he was on Castaway Cay and I was still in the cabin (deck 2). We were surprised they worked that far away because they are just inexpensive Cobras.

This year I'm planning on getting DS 8 a 2-way radio watch to use with our other radios. He won't have to worry about losing it if it's strapped to his wrist.

 

[tross]

2 way radio watch that sounds really cool. Where would I find one of those? My 3 DSs would love that. I was concerned that they would loose a regular 2 way radio.

Thanks to everyone for the great tips regarding the radios.

 

[Jillie]

We took ours on our first cruise, used them the first day and then never again...we were 6 adults and six kids ages 8-14 and they all stayed together. On cruise #2 we did not even bring them and all went well and that year we were a group of 29!!

 

[d'Isigny]

Take em - or invest/borrow a good pair. You can prob get two on-line or warehouse style (Costco - Sams) for 50-70$. We have the Motorola Talk-about...they worked great.

We enhanced our vacation using these. They saved time and frustration when we were; trying to meet, had a change of plans, ran early/late - etc. They were a great way to 'keep in touch'.

Most cruisers were very considerate about their use - it was terrible at the parks. I wish people would use radios for 'brief conversations'. Am I the only one that feels this way? Why...why do people need to hold an ENTIRE coversation - 5 to 10 minutes? It was a pain in the A__ to change our channel every hour.

 

[RellingTwin]

There are FANTASIC deals for these radios on EBAY. I got a set of 6 (SIX) Motorola "Talk About"T5420 for $45.00. They were "new" condition not in the orginal package. This was less then the cost of 2(TWO) of the same radios at Wal-Mart. Sice we do a bunch of camping/hiking with my son's cub scouts we thought we would be able to use them again. And at a cost of $7.50 each, if the kids lost one I would not have a heart attack!

 

[Jeanny]

we took our Motorola's with us and it was actually a waste of money & space in my carry on. I couldn't get my daughter on ours for anything.... but I could hear all the other kids fooling around and screeching on them. Ours worked when she was about 6' from me!

So the moral of the walkie-talkies is: some work, some don't.