What Is The Best Choice For On Ship Communications During A Cruise?

[JASII]

I am just wondering what the best choices are currently to bring along on a cruise ship? In the past we have simply used old Nextels for the simplex Direct Talk. I know that they are only 600 milliwatts and worked okay, but we lost communications depending on where each family members was on the ship. I am considering either GMRS or 900 mHz DTR550s, which are only 1 watt. Anyway, what would people here choose for communications aboard ship?

[W2NJS]

Do a search on this Board for this subject, as there have been quite a few posts about cruise ship comms by people who have the experience and have taken time to share that experience with others.

[JASII]

Using 2-ways On Cruise Ships

It looks like the DTR550s with the longer antenna might be the best choice still.


I am somewhat tempted by these, though! The wife and I still have our hammy licenses. I am not sure if the higher power of the Alinco would matter that much aboard the ship, though. http://www.alinco.com/Products/DJ-G29/

[gewecke]

Off topic, but if taking a cruise on carnival lines then don't forget your emergency bag with a good supply of snacks and a porta potty ... just in case.

73,
n9zas

[redneckcellphone]

Lol. It's illegal to use gmrs outside of the us and Canada. 900mhz would be your best bet if you can still find a place to buy them


Sent from my iPhone yes iPhone using Tapatalk app thingy

[MOONBOOTS]

It might not be Kosher to use GMRS while in port in another country, but at open sea, you're in no mans land, so it should be fine. I've used a couple of 900 mhz GTX radios, & they worked great all over the ship.

[rapidcharger]

4 watt UHF portables should get the job done.
That's what many of the ships used and continue to use.

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

IIRC, a foreign flagged vessel (and very few cruise ships fly the US flag) is considered the sovereign soil of that country, and, technically, you have to obey the radio laws of that country, even at sea.
Now as to how well they're enforced, I don't know.

[mmckenna]

Yep, 4 watts on UHF worked for us a few years back.

GMRS using a non-bubble pack radio, or a "bubble pack" radio that uses more than 2 watts is only legal in the US. Canada has a 2 watt limit.

On board the ship, using a two way radio has to be approved by the ships master (captain). While unlikely they will actually take it up that far, it is what the FCC rules say. Usually they have some specific rules. When I took my 2 meter radio on board for an Alaska cruise a few years back, they confiscated it at the boarding/baggage check. It was returned to me the same day after being check by someone. I wasn't thrilled about that, but rules is rules. Someone else in our group had their radio in their checked baggage and their radio didn't suffer the same fate as mine.

While in any non-US port, you must follow the local rules. The US/Canadian GMRS frequencies do not necessarily apply in other countries. You may find that those frequencies are used for other services in other countries. Your GMRS license ONLY is valid in the USA or it's possessions. While 99% of people ignore this, it's unlikely you'll get a compliant.

Expect to hear a lot of other traffic on the ship. GMRS was pretty busy when I tried it a few years ago.

[ecps92]

Especially since many cruise lines have been known to Rent, as well as Sell GMRS/FRS bubble packs Which as an FYI are typically in the same band as the On-Board Radio systems

I bring/take what I have, if I really need to contact someone by radio, but find the chirp, burp, buzz annoying. Leave a love-note in the cabin

Originally Posted by KB7MIB

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

IIRC, a foreign flagged vessel (and very few cruise ships fly the US flag) is considered the sovereign soil of that country, and, technically, you have to obey the radio laws of that country, even at sea.
Now as to how well they're enforced, I don't know.

[newsphotog]

The Motorola DTR radios are awesome. I haven't heard anything but excellent reviews. I am preparing to order 6 of them soon. Do some googling about these radios and read the reviews... a lot of the users are using them in high-RF environments and dense concrete structures.

[b7spectra]

Get some field programmable units, that way you can add or change frequencies on the fly in order to avoid interference.

[DaveNF2G]

How about staying together and talking? Enjoy the cruise and the company and leave the radios at home (or at least in your stateroom).

[MOONBOOTS]

Originally Posted by DaveNF2G

How about staying together and talking? Enjoy the cruise and the company and leave the radios at home (or at least in your stateroom).

Not always possible. I like getting up at 8 AM, while my gal sleeps in until 11 AM, even on a cruise. So how will she find me when she finally gets up, & I'm somewhere on the ship?

[ecps92]

Leave a Note.
Indicate you will be at the Pool
Which pool ? Two Feet will coordinate that.

Beep, Burp, Bwahp ahhh the sounds of Children on a ship, ARGH

Originally Posted by MOONBOOTS

Not always possible. I like getting up at 8 AM, while my gal sleeps in until 11 AM, even on a cruise. So how will she find me when she finally gets up, & I'm somewhere on the ship?

[FrensicPic]

If you post your question on a cruise oriented message board, you'll see there is a high "annoyance factor" with families who use personal two-way radios. Keeping the volume down (both the radio and the person talking) will be helpful in this regard.