In our constantly connected world, it can be jarring for even seasoned cruisers to be without cell service at sea.
For many families, the lack of cell service raises an important question of how to stay in contact during their voyage – especially if the travel group is planning to separate in order to take advantage of different activities happening at once.
One parent and future cruiser wrote to Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald on his Facebook page to inquire about using walkie talkies as a solution.
“Has anyone been successful using walkie talkies onboard to communicate with family? We are a family of 8, me, my partner and our 6 children aged between 11 & 17. Are they allowed John please?,” the future guest asked.
According to the Carnival expert, using walkie talkies on Carnival cruise ships is allowed – and he even went so far as to recommend Motorola as a brand he had personally seen used onboard.
It’s always best to confirm with the cruise brand directly, but in general, most cruise lines allow walkie talkies with a range of up to 10 miles and up to 5 watts of power.
However, permission to use the walkie talkies wasn’t this parent’s only concern. In fact, she was worried other passengers would find her family’s use of the devices to be annoying or rude.
“I did ask this question on the Facebook page we are on for this Carnival Panorama Christmas cruise. One man told me I would be considered ‘selfish’ if I did this. That was upsetting,” continued the guest-to-be.
Always eager to make guests happy, Heald was quick to reassure the cruiser that she was not being selfish as long as she was respectful of the people around her, such as by keeping the volume low and turning the walkie talkies off during shows.
Do Walkie Talkies Work on Cruise Ships?
The hundreds of comments that were left in response to Heald’s post showed that many felt their experiences with using walkie talkies at sea had been hit or miss.
Some cruisers swear by walkie talkies and had no issues using them onboard.
“We used walkie talkies on our first few cruises. They came in handy on finding and meeting up with family,” one Facebook user shared.
In past years, walkie talkies have also been a top choice for families to keep in touch onboard – especially if they were sailing with kids that didn’t yet own cell phones.
That said, the majority were dissatisfied with their experiences using walkie talkies during their cruises – with many citing interference and spotty signal as top complaints.
Walkie talkies work by using radio waves to send and receive audio, which unfortunately, can be blocked by metal. On land, this might not be an issue, but cruise ships are largely constructed from heavy steel.
“Our large group cruises every two years. We tried the walkies, but everyone has to have them on all the time and there was a lot of interference. The last time we tried them we all just gave up,” one frequent cruiser shared.
Read Also: What Items Do You Need to Pack for a Family Cruise?
Others said that their walkie talkies worked, but it was annoying to carry them around all the time – that is, assuming they remembered to bring them. Some lamented that they were constantly forgetting their two-way radios in the their cabins or accidentally leaving them around the ship.
While Heald also suggested using the messaging feature on the Carnival HUB App as an alternative to walkie talkies, many in the comments felt that the App was similarly unreliable.
Seasoned Carnival cruisers seemed to agree that the easiest way to stay in contact was to invest in a Wi-Fi package so that everyone could message each other normally.
