A cruise is a great vacation for families, as nearly 24 hours a day, something fun will be happening that appeals to everyone.
One of the pros to cruising is that members of the family can safely and easily split up to check out different activities happening on board at the same time – or sometimes parents simply want to take a break from their kids to enjoy some alone time.
But, how do families keep in touch onboard and know when and where to come back together – especially without purchasing Wi-Fi packages or when kids don’t yet have their own cell phones? That is what one parent took to Reddit to find out.
“Our kids don’t have cell phones, but while onboard a cruise ship, we’d like to have the option to communicate if not together. Is purchasing a “burner” phone a viable option or are there better methods? We won’t be purchasing WIFI onboard. This is Carnival, if it matters,” the anonymous parent asked on Reddit.
If the parents did choose to purchase temporary burner phones for their kids, they could download the Carnival HUB app and chat through there – without purchasing a Carnival internet package – at a one-time cost of $5 per person.
But while basic burner phones can cost as little as $10, chatting on the HUB may still be a better solution for teens who already have cell phones – especially if they are staying in their own cruise cabin away from their parents.
Depending on the age of the child, parents who prefer a bit more supervision and structure may want to limit their child’s freedom to explore alone to roaming between the kids’ clubs and their stateroom.
As a family-friendly cruise line, Carnival boasts award-winning youth clubs for kids and teens – and that way the parents would always know where to find their children.
Children have to be at least between the ages of 9 to 11 to have the option to sign themselves in and out of the kids’ clubs – and even then parent permission has to be given in advance.
Unique Ways to Keep in Touch
In response to the Reddit post, seasoned cruisers had more creative suggestions, including setting curfews for the kids to return to the cruise cabin and communicating via notes and whiteboards.
“Our family cruise rule was always ‘enjoy your day, but everyone eats dinner together.’ This meant a 4:30/5:00 deadline to get back to the cabin to wash up and dress for dinner,” one cruiser replied on Reddit.
“During the day, all family members were required to check in on the magnetic whiteboard we brought. Every venue change required an update: leaving the Kids’ Club to go to the pool? Leave a note with a timestamp. Going to the arcade? Leave a note. Hanging out by the Flowrider? Note,” the commenter continued.
Read Also: What Items Do You Need to Pack for a Family Cruise?
Another guest had an interesting suggestion of bringing walkie talkies onboard – although some in the comments were skeptical about how well they would work considering the steel within the ship could potentially block the signal.
“I saw many parents and kids with the small walkies,” one cruiser observed.
While every cruise line has a slightly different walkie talkie policy, Carnival does allow them onboard.
It’s best to check with Carnival directly about which brands they allow at the time of your sailing in case things change, but a good rule of thumb for most cruise lines is to choose walkie talkies with a range of up to 10 miles and a power of up to 5 watts.
