you thoughts on two way radios for families on a cruise.

[MisterD21]

I was reading in several posts on here with families wondering about the safety of their children while cruising. While i think we all would agree the cruise lines do keep the safety and well being of their guests in mind, a parent always wonders. Now certainly i would not let a child under the age of 12 roam the ship alone. They would definitly have to be with another sibling, or left in the care of the cruiselines' childcare and activities dept.

However a child 12 and above is quite old enough to explore the ship on their own, and do not need constant supervision. Provided the child is well mannered and well behaved no issues should arise.

So my what i am wondering is, what are your opinions of families using 2way radios(walkie talkies) to keep in touch with their children while allowing them to explore on their own? Along with the added sense of safety the parents would feel simply knowing that both they, and their children are only a push of the button away??

I have seen several families using them on my last cruise, and it seemed to work out pretty good for them. After talking to a couple about it it made me think. I asked them why they decided to use the radios, they replied almost in unison "security", i queried, "security" not knowing exactly what they meant. They then explained it to me. While they knew that the ship's crew would do all they could to keep them safe, they just felt that they felt more secure just knowing they could press a button and talk to the kids. They said it made for a better cruise for everyone.. the kids didn't have to be tied to their parents all day, and could explore on their own. They also said that what was even better was that they could have their own "personal time" without having to worry about the kids. Afterwards i thought WOW.. something as simple as being able to "call" the kids at will made for the whole family to enjoy a better cruise experience.

So anyhow... what are your thoughts on the issue??? good? bad? indifferent?? .... lets hear from you ....

 

[Gramma Ann]

I had the impression that they do not work onboard. All that metal etc. Maybe if you are high on the ship or outside they might work. Anxious to here replies from others. :spyglass:

 

[MisterD21]

I don't know about how the metal interferes with the radios... but i have heard that some of the 2way radios seem to work more like cell phones do now. I'm not certain about that though.

The couple i talked to didn't mention anything about interference or lack of being able to use them though. Which could mean that they either don't let the kids wander too far astray or they simply haven't had trouble with them working.

Many of the newer 2way radios have a range of service from 1 mile to 4miles depending on the model from what i've seen. I don't know if that has anything to do with being able to use them on ships and interference.

I will say that i seem to recall seeing at least 6 families using radios on the last cruise i took on the EOTS.. so i don't know if there is a trend for families to use them when cruising, or if some families just use them in lieu of cell phones when doing family activities period. I'm just not that informed i guess, which is why i created this post to see what others think ...

actually... come to think of it.... don't cell phones also use RF's as well ?? cause i didn't have trouble using my cell phone while on board(although after seeing my bill i wished i had)

 

[Calgon1]

The 'Family Radios' are short range, no-license required radios which work fairly weel on and about the ships. From what I have seen, they get a good workout on days one and two, but after that, they become more of a bother than anything else. There are times and places where their use is an annoyance (show lounge, dining room, etc., and please, keep your conversations to yourselves .... I would suggest that, if you do get a set, you also use ear-buds and remember that it is not necessary to speak loudly into the microphone to be heard on the other end. i.e. - enjoy yourselves, but please use basic common sense.

 

[boba]

We used them once and they should be called one-way radios. When my teen DDs wanted something from us, they worked great. When we wanted the girls for something, they didn't seem to work too well. Must of been some kind of freak radio wave interferance on board. Yeah, that's it.

 

[PH8]

We used them on our first family cruises..............and that was it.........they do work,but its kinda annoying to carry them...............

and just like cell phones,please remember,we all dont want to hear your conversation..........

But if it will make you feel better,go for it................

 

[Jeanie]

We just Got off the Monarch, saw several families using radios. Do not know the make but they seem to work find. Could hear them talking

 

[MisterD21]

We used them once and they should be called one-way radios. When my teen DDs wanted something from us, they worked great. When we wanted the girls for something, they didn't seem to work too well. Must of been some kind of freak radio wave interferance on board. Yeah, that's it.

LMAO!!!! yeah that was it... radio interference .. methinks the girls were having fun at mom and dads expense... i can imagine them sitting there hearing you and just busting up laughing thinking it was so funny that you "couldn't hear them".... well at least it was good clean fun..:clap:

 

[sanjoseca]

Personally, I think that the FRS radios give parents a false sense of security. They're probably good for general conversations on the families where abouts, but the first thing a stranger would do if they intended to do harm would be to snatch the radios away from the child.

Communications via radio onboard are spotty....especially on lower decks. Even Amateur radio handhelds that have 8 to 10 times the power of Family Radio Service units are not reliable onboard. While range on FRS radios may get you 1 to 2 miles of range in ideal conditions and in a direct line....range onboard will be just a fraction of that. Handheld radios used by the crew work well, because there are repeaters around the ship that eliminate the dead spots. Those repeaters will not help FRS range.

If it gives you peace of mind, get the radios, but as others have said, they have to be used responsibly in order to not be obnxious to other passengers.

 

[Mbandy]

For the most part, I have found them annoying. Some people have no consideration and keep them on high volume. People who do have consideration for others will keep the volume low and the conversation short.

 

[PH8]

For the most part, I have found them annoying. Some people have no consideration and keep them on high volume. People who do have consideration for others will keep the volume low and the conversation short.

Those are the same people who use those Nextell phones..........I hate them!

 

[MisterD21]

Those are the same people who use those Nextell phones..........I hate them!

As with any societal settings you always have to accomodate those who are less equipped socially. For this purpose, i was merely wondering about what people thought about them as a way for parents to have an added peace of mind when it came to their childrens safety.

I think for anyone to chat publicly, and loud enough for anyone to hear their conversation does so in very poor taste. However, for a parent to take a moment to "check in" on, or to inform the kids that they need to meet for dinner is acceptable. Both reasons should elicit a short conversation and can be done without broadcasting their conversation to the whole ship... lol..

this is especially true of cell phone usage in daily life as well.. as we all hate those people who carry on a detailed conversation in public as if they were in the privacy of their own home... Yet we seen to tolerate that poor behavior don't we ??? it's part of the whole tolerance crap we've been conditioned to accept.... i personally think tolerance is highly overrated. :bbat:
THE BEATINGS SHALL COMMENCE MOMMENTARILY!!!!

 

[boba]

We didn't have conversations on the 2 ways. We just tell them to come see us or find out where they were and go see them. I can't imagine how annoying it would be to hear a conversation, or worse, an argument over the radio to other cruisers. Also you don't know who else might pick up your frequency and hear you.

 

[CruiserRC]

I have a suggestion!
We sailed last December on the Freedom of the Seas. We had 2 other families go with us. There were 11 children in total. My kids were 11,14 and 16. We let them have their Freedom (no pun intended, lol). Made for a good time for my husband I too.

We would go to breakfast at the same time. Then at breakfast say, we will meet in front of the pool at 10am to check in. Then at 10am we would say, ok, we will meet for lunch at 1:00PM in our usual spot. Then we would meet back at the room for 4pm to check in for a rest and get ready for dinner in the dining room. After dinner, we would set a time to meet in the theatre for their shows and then stay together as a family the rest of the night. It worked very well and the kids were very well behaved and had a great time.
We picked a usual spot to meet every time in different areas of the ship. We also asked where the kids would be so that it wouldn't be hard to find them.
The ship was huge, but with this plan in place, we did not ever have a hard time finding the kids when we needed to get them other than our planned times.

Have a great time!!

 

[PH8]

Are you saying your kids werent in Adventure Ocean and were on their own for couple of hours at a time?? Im not quite sure I would feel comfortable with that,esp the younger ones...................

What if they really needed to get in touch with you?? How would they find you in between those meeting times??

 

[Breeze]

Our daughter and her family used the walkie talkies on their last cruise with us. They worked very well for them to keep track of their 2 sons. The boys don't wear watches and sometimes lost track of time. The walkie talkies were a good way to remind them that it was time to meet for lunch or to get ready for dinner.
A friend used them not for kids, but to get her husband out of the casino when it was time to do something!

 

[PH8]

A friend used them not for kids, but to get her husband out of the casino when it was time to do something!

Poor Bert...

 

[Breeze]

Poor Bert...

Wrong! Guess again ...

 

[CruiserRC]

Oh yes, we were comfortable with this style of parenting of ours (haha). I'm not sure you read that my kids are 16, 14 and 11. And they hung around the 17 year old in our party of 11 children. they were quite safe. If we had to get ahold of them when they weren't with us, we would either check the arcade, our rooms, or the windjammer. Most of the time the younger one was with us swimming in the pool. We didn't have a hard time finding them at all. And they could find us too because we used the same areas of public places theywere familiar with.
the reason for my post was to give you a suggestion on meeting times.

Your children are obviously younger than mine were. I would stick to adventure ocean when you are not with them if I were you. Walkie talkies are not reliable on such a big ship.

 

[PH8]

Wrong! Guess again ...

I know who...........SAN!!:boogie: