What baby monitors do and don’t work on board cruise ships?
When searching the internet you will find a lot of different information about cruise ships and baby monitors. Some websites will say your baby monitor will work and some say it will not. The last thing you want is to have trusted the wrong information and to be stuck in your cabin every evening of the cruise simply because your baby monitor is failing on you.
From first hand experience I can say: most baby monitors will not work on a cruise ship! There is simply too much steal that your radio signal needs to get through. Most of the times your signal is strong enough to be received through 1 or 2 walls, but after that most of the times you signal is simply lost after a few yards. So this is a critical point in planning your cruise where you have to be creative. As internet and phone service is simply to expensive you don’t want to rely on that and radio’s often do not have the capacity to get you very far.
The baby monitor that might work on cruise ships:
A solution that I found have worked for me is to bring a baby monitor that works on wi-fi. Your first reaction might be the you think you are going bankrupt on this option, but it really is absolutely free. Most cruise lines have a guest network you can connect to when you want to check the daily program, restaurant menus, account charges, shore excursions etc. This cruise ship network alternatively also gives you the opportunity to buy an internet packages to make a connection to the outside world.
So basically the guest network can transport data locally without you having to buy an internet package, because your data is simply staying with the local network of the ship. For this reason a wi-fi baby monitor will work on cruise ships. With this technique you should be able stay connected to your cabin in all areas of the ship. It even doesn’t make a difference if your baby monitor is just audio or video based. The local ship network should be able to handle it.
So you get to have some well deserved free time on the ship without having to worry about your baby monitor connection.
There is a very important note that I need to add in regards to the type of wifi baby monitor you decide to bring with you on your cruise. Some wifi baby monitors will not support the cruise line’s open network due to security concerns. Check the requirement of your baby monitor before you leave on your cruise. As I am not sure this is going to work on all cruise ships I highly recommend you to always verify all this information with your cruise line.
Baby monitor app for cruise ships:
If you do not have a wifi baby monitor, or want to spend the money on it, you can also download a baby monitor app on your phone, tablet or Ipad. Make sure you have 2 devices that have downloaded the same baby monitor app. When onboard make sure to connect those devices to the cruise ship network and that should do the trick. One of the devices (phone, tablet or ipad) will stay in the cabin with your baby or child and the other device you can take with you on board.
If you have more that one child or cabin to cover you can even set up multiple child stations and/or parent stations. Best of all; you can even use the video function.
Again, your signal will stay within the cruise ship utilising the local data network and you will have full range all over the ship without paying anything for that connection. Best thing of all, there are some great apps out there that you can even download for free! Again, verify this information with your cruise line before you step on board!
Another solution to the baby monitor issue is to book a cabin on the ship which you know is close to one of your favourite bar and than cross you fingers that your radio baby monitor will work.
Alternatively you can also inquire information about baby sitters on board. Most cruise line offer this as a paid service on board. Than again, you might want to consider if this is the right choice for your baby or child.
I hope you found this information valuable! Leave a comment below about your experience. Sharing is caring, so I hope we can help each other out with what works and what not. Love to hear from you.
Ciao, Olivia!
