Using Two-Way Radios to Keep in Touch on Cruise Ships

Keeping in touch with friends or family on a cruise is easy if you're going to be purchasing an onboard WiFi package, but often guests look to handheld radios or "walkie-talkies" for a cheaper way to coordinate happenings on ever-larger ships with countless distracting events. This can certainly be an effective option for some, but you'll want to keep reading to learn about features, options, reasonable expectations, and a few "gotchas" before relying on two-way radios on your cruise. Warning, I'm an amateur radio operator, used to work in radio communications, and a bit of a nerd - but I'll try to keep things simple.
Bringing extras with you on any trip can mean baggage fees and other inconveniences, and we're often struggling to pack less - not more. There are, however, some items you can bring along which could save you money. In many cases they're even things you already have at home...


We’ve discussed before 
When you think of cruising most people think about leaving from South Florida, Seattle, or perhaps a large city in Europe. There are many other ports out of which you can cruise, and recently Carnival announced they’re greatly increasing their capacity at some of them. We look at why this is important, and what we think it might say about the popularity of cruising as well as the economy...
Recently, Celebrity Cruises recently announced that the much-anticipated Celebrity Edge is ahead of schedule and will begin sailing earlier than expected. While this is generally great news, there are some who may be less than thrilled, and this made us stop and wonder - what is a "maiden voyage?"
On the final day of the cruise, I got up pretty early thinking I might go over to Great Stirrup Cay. I made my way down to Taste for my last chance at some table service breakfast. Although breakfast is served at Taste on disembarkation day, I thought I would most likely just make a quick buffet trip. The huevos rancheros SP had enjoyed so much on our previous cruise on the Norwegian Escape were back on the menu. I ordered what became my standard breakfast...