Welcome Aboard, Douglas!
Thanks for stopping by the Disney Parks Moms Panel with your question. I'm happy to help!
When you're on a Disney Cruise, it's important to be able to keep up with your sailing party. It can be hard to keep up with everyone when there's so many fun activities going on all over the ship! In our family, we have a teenager that loves to roam the ship, shop, and stop by the teen club for a smoothie. Keeping tabs on the teenager is a real challenge.
Bringing along walkie talkies is an option, but I can tell you from personal experience that the reception can be spotty. We tried it on our first cruise, and didn't have much success. The good news is, Disney provides you with "
Wave Phones" in your staterooms, which work like cell phones on the ship. Every stateroom is provided two Wave Phones, and additional phones can be rented for a minimal fee. The phones work most everywhere on the ship, and also on Disney's private island Castaway Cay. The phones will not be operational in other ports, however.
The Wave Phones can send and receive texts and calls from other Wave Phones. If your kids visit the Youth Clubs, the counselors will use the phones to contact you if needed. We love using the Wave Phones - they come in handy when tracking down a teenager!
You can certainly bring walkie talkies if you'd like. If you want to save room in your suitcase for an extra pair of flip-flops, leave the radios at home and take advantage of the Wave Phones!
Hope this information helps. Have a magical day! - Diane W.