gotenna on cruise ship

Will goTenna Work on a Cruise Ship?

By Anna Duncan

GoTenna is a revolutionary new device that promises to allow people to communicate with each other no matter where they are. The device, which is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, uses radio frequencies to connect two users without the need for a cell phone tower or internet connection.

This makes it ideal for travelers who want to stay in touch while on the go.

One question that has been asked about GoTenna is whether or not it will work on a cruise ship. The answer depends on the type of cruise ship you are traveling on and the type of communication you are trying to do.

For starters, your cruise ship must have an existing network of antennas that can be used to transmit and receive radio waves. If your cruise ship does not have this, then GoTenna will not work as intended. Additionally, GoTenna may not be able to transmit or receive signals over long distances if there is interference from other ships or large bodies of water in between them.

The second factor that will determine whether or not GoTenna will work on a cruise ship is the type of communication you want to do. GoTenna is designed for small-scale communications such as texting and sending pictures between two users who are relatively close together. So, if you’re looking for something more robust like video chat or voice calls, then it’s likely that GoTenna won’t be able to handle it.

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goTenna — a new concept in adventure communications

goTenna Mesh -- photo courtesy of goTenna

If you’re planning an adventure ride into the deep beyond, you’re probably thinking about ways to get the word out if you run into trouble. That’s the reason satellite-based products like SPOT Satellite Messenger and Garmin’s inReach exist. As long as there’s open sky above you, help is just the press of a button away.

But what if your adventure is a little less extreme? What if you’re in the wilderness and want to round up a lost member of your team? What if you’re part of a group that deliberately split up, has no cell towers within reach, but still wants to stay in touch?

That’s the niche which goTenna is hoping to fill. The little four-ounce device creates a 1-watt, UHF, limited-area radio network with other users. The device works by connecting with your telephone via Bluetooth. You can then type out chat or text messages and send them to anyone you’ve established a link with. You can also share GPS data. All you have to do is download their free app, enter an ID number (typically your telephone number), set-up a connection with another user and type away. It even works if your phone is in airplane mode. The app also has free, downloadable maps that you can use offline.

goTenna Plus — photo courtesy of goTenna

The basic goTenna will only link individual users. The goTenna Mesh takes it a step further. It creates a larger network by bouncing your signal off of other goTenna Mesh users (but not folks with the standard goTenna, since the two use different radio frequencies,) making it possible to have group chats.

 Related

• Review  /  goTenna: Comms Without Cell Towers

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Review: The goTenna, Communicate Via Smartphone Without A WIFI Or Mobile Connection

The goTenna is a device that allows for mobile communication without an internet connection.

The goTenna is a device which allows a user to communicated with people with their mobile phones without a WIFI or mobile connection.

It is basically a six inch antenna that you can connect to your phone via bluetooth and their specialized app. All of the people you wish to communicate with must also have the antennae and app hooked up to their phones — you can’t use it to communicate with just anybody — and they must be within a mile from you. It basically gives your mobile phone walkie talkie functionality — walkie talkie functionality in the form of text messages. There are no voice capabilities.

Its creators said they got the idea for the product when at a crowded concert where there was too much mobile interference to communicate with their group.

One of the goTenna’s biggest upsides is that it allows for GPS and mapping access from anywhere in the world. This means that you can be far outside the range of an internet connection and have real time access to maps. In my opinion, this is actually one of the product’s most beneficial features.

At first, this seemed like an extremely useful device for those times when you are out with a group of people beyond the bounds of WIFI and mobile data — such as when hiking, in the desert, on a cruise ship, or in a country that you don’t want to be bothered to get a local sim card and mobile plan in. I was excited to get this product for this reason — I could really use something like this when out traveling with my family. But its limitations are currently severe. The range is short, the only people that you can communicate with also must have the antennae attached, powered on, and have the goTenna app installed, and you can only text.

It seems as if the goTenna’s developers are on to something. If they could just tweak a few things this could be a big boost for communicating when traveling in remote locations.

Find out more about the goTenna here .

About the Author: VBJ

VBJ is currently in: New York City

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goTenna Mesh SMS & GPS Device

The goTenna Mesh works without satellites, towers, routers, and phone services to allow groups of people to communicate with secure messages and location identification. Perfect for backpacking, hiking, cruises, and camping, it is sold as a set of two devices that work with iOS and Android items.

Travelers can be separated from each other without the fear of being lost since the GPS and the offline maps allow you to see everyone in your party all the time. It is also great for international travel, crowds, outdoor adventures, festivals, and emergency situations. You can have group chats or just one-on-one messaging that have end-to-end encryption for great security. This off-grid device has a four-mile operation range but can be extended by the meshing of users. As you message others in your group, you can widen your range easily.

The free global offline detailed maps are made available with the included goTenna app . You also get the charging cables for powering up with the purchase. These products are such a travel-friendly size that they hook easily on to a backpack, keychain, bag, or jacket to be almost unnoticeable with minimal weight. If you are considering the purchase of this item, then you should read below to find out the issues it has that has caused it to have not so great rating with buyers.

• Encryption is end-to-end - no central store of data
• Travelers can separate without the fear of being lost
• Works with iOS and Android devices
• Call for help in emergency situations
• No costly plans for international travel
• Share and save pins using the offline maps
• Link users for a wider mesh area
• Good for hiking, skiing, backpacking, cruises, and others
• Hooks onto a backpack, jacket, or keychain easily
• Can only share text messages and GPS location
• Does not communicate with other nodes other than your own

Key Features

Flexibility, responsiveness, ease of use, power source, bottom line, related reviews:.

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goTenna Mesh community

Cruise ship project and test.

So I wanted to put this up here for a matter of record and reference for others who may want to use the GTM for the same purposes I plan to use them for.

Early next month, my family is taking a cruise out of Puerto Rico. We have a group of friends joining us.

I have 4 GTMs. Another family will have two GTMs and one more family will have two more GTMs. So far that’s a pretty good amount for a 1000 foot long ship with 14 decks. Being the nerd that I am, I plan to do some tests on the ship to see how many decks we can go and what distance can be covered. I’ll use this thread to report my results.

I purchased a temporary clamp on mast that is 36" long which I plan to attach to a Pelican micro case. Inside the case I will have a small battery and a single GTM.

Clamp on Mast: https://www.amazon.com/Tryone-Gooseneck-Nintendo-Samsung-Overall/dp/B01AUQ33LG/ref=lp_13962471011_1_2?srs=13962471011&ie=UTF8&qid=1531880541&sr=8-2

Pelican Box: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G23JZ4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

While we are on the islands I’ll want to test a little also but not take away from my vacation.

I’ll try to post updates while on the ship. If anyone has any ideas for tests they want me to do, please let me know here.

See relevant thread here:

A couple ideas for tests…

• How much does height matter? Would one highly mounted GTM suffice compared to several GTM’s posted on lower decks?
• Can you find any good hiding places on the ship for a relay node? I suppose you don’t want to risk it, but it sounds like you have plenty of devices to leave around from time to time.

Question for staff… what frequencies does the goTenna use while in motion? If I start it as a relay node, what frequencies will it listen on?

Height is the single best thing you can do to help reception. But on ships, by design, it is difficult to take full advantage of line of sight advantages of height. Getting the ideal spot up high to locate one is probably preempted by lots of radio gear the ship uses. Still, for those outside on deck, the best you can do here is very advantageous. In port, because of the ship’s height, such a location can carry ashore quite a way.

However, it’s difficult to carry a signal very far below deck simply with this height advantage.

Not really, unless they had strategic locations on balconies scattered about or possibly located in windows. The UHF radio waves from the goTenna Mesh travel mostly in a straight line. And ships are made mostly of metal, which tends to block radio waves. A relay that works within spaces inside the ship often has no way to reach a stationary relay directly above them. The openings in the ship’s hull that would allow radio waves to enter are located so that radio would have to go perpendicular to the hull somehow. That’s where a balcony or perhaps a large window can come in handy.

A balcony extends out to allow placing a gtm ti catch the suhiifhelp catch the signal, but a GTM located there can then relay the signal through a door or window into the hull space that is otherwise shielded by the metal of the ship’s structure. A relay located high up on the ship could then link multiple such balconies and the people they serve inside. The extra hops now available help simplify the task.

Before you get too far here with this idea in planning for your next cruise, a cautionary story from my youth is probably in order to suggest the potential pitfalls of secret goTennas all over a ship. While it didn’t ride the seas, the riverboat Admiral sailed from the St. Louis riverfront for many decades taking torurists to see the sights along the Mississippi while enjoying the food and amusements aboard. I had an aunt and uncle plus cousins in St. Louis and around or about 1968 mom and I went to visit them. Mom helped her sister with household tasks while one of my cousins went in for kidney surgery. One of our distractions was a trip on the Admiral.

I vaguely remember being in a game room, maybe pin ball machines, etc. I was bored, so thought I’d try a couple of doors to see what was behind them. The first one was unlocked, so it came right open when I tugged at it to reveal… GIANT PADDLEWHEEL SPINNING!

WHOA! Wasn’t expecting that, it looked like a broom closet from where I was!

As I gazed transfixed by the unexpected and rather awesome sight, a young member of the crew not all that much older than me, began yelling to shut the door before he had me thrown off the ship. OK, I could see it clearly was a place I had no place being in. I quickly shut the door and the crew-kid upheld his end of the bargain by not making me walk the plank.

Moral of the Story: It’s not 1968 anymore. Be cautious about poking around on a ship in this day and age. Some places are clearly off limits and marked so. Some places require a certain dress code or behavior. But there are some places and behaviors that may cause you trouble and it might not end with simply getting yelled at by some low ranked swabbie. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security might warn you about scattering suspicious stuff. Make sure to make arrangement with the crew so they understand what you’re up to. Your gear should be clearly marked to indicate it’s yours as a legit passenger. The last thing you want to start on your vacation is a panic over mysterious goings on that some folks mistakenly think should invoke the T word.

Let me state that I agree with you. In NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM am I going to go around a ship and hide GTM units or anything for that matter. That’s a receipt for disaster. I know if I saw someone doing that I would not be too keen with it.

With that said, this is all good discussion.

Right now everyone sailing in my group has gotten GTMs. 5 cabins with at least 2 in each. That should mean 11 GTMs roaming around the ship and 1 I will have fixed as a relay on my balcony.

I’m going to put a list of test scenarios together and share them here later. I want to have a list of tests to make sure I am doing everything possible to prove these things out.

There are some obvious ones like making sure I can go end to end from front of the ship and to the back. How many decks I can go through. Inside tests from my stateroom to the front and from my stateroom to the back. (I am in the middle of the ship)

Just a few ideas there. If anyone has suggestions let me know.

It’s a good discussion of an important venue that goTenna Mesh can enhance. I don’t think kevin_s intended to touch on anything other than being discrete about placement so a relay unit wouldn’t be found and discarded, for instance. That’s when my Admiral cruise experience popped into my head, so I thought I’d tie the whole thing up in a package that reminded that it’s important that discrete shouldn’t edge into surreptitious, given the age we live in.

One idea I didn’t quite get to but implied is to try to get a relay up high at both ends of the ship where they are able to connect to each other. That gives you double (or better) chance of hitting at least one of the relays. It would then bounce the message to the other relay, which would have a different set of line of sight angles to try. You’ll likely find that, if it’s possible, it will greatly improve over the use of only one relay. Kind of depends in where the cabins are located, but an easy to implement strategy.

Our cabins are all next to each other really on the same side of the ship. I don’t see any way of putting one in the front and one in the back without “hiding” one.

Never having the pleasure, but having looked at lots of brochures, perhaps there’s a bar or restaurant where you could do some testing albeit temporarily. Have some in the group go for drinks and/or dinner in a good location that does have the sort of favorable exposure. They take the relay and place it where it has a good view of the rest of the ship, then others can move about and test the reception as long as the party continues at the relay location.

Officers in particular are attentive to things that enhance passenger experience aboard, so it might lead to how easy it would be to take a charged goTenna and set it up in a nice spot for a few hours or a day in a place where only crew has access. They might be very interested in the results.

Sometimes, all it takes is a good conversation to start things in a productive direction.

This will depend on where the ship is and if the device goTenna Mesh is paired has updated it’s location.

In the US, CA, AU, and NZ, goTenna Mesh will operate on frequencies between 902 - 928 with 1W of power. In UE Regions and Singapore, it will operate between 865 - 870 with .5V of power.

For my specific application it will be the islands of Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Antigua, and Barbados.

That should give you a chance to compare the difference between 1 W and 1/2 W. Puerto Rico is US territory, so a full watt.

St. Maarten is Dutch/French, St. Kitts and St. Lucia are independent but associated with the UK, as is Barbados. Antigua was in a similar status, but “dissociated” itself from the UK in 1981. The CE standard likely governs mostly, but these islands are also known for being rather independent in some respects, but would imagine they follow whatever national governing policies they generally follow for amateur and commercial radio with goTenna. I would think that the half watt that the CE standard follows would reduce range, but it may be that you’ll never get far enough from the ship to notice if you have a dockside location to relay from?

Well thank you for all of that extra detail. I am a bit discouraged though that the power will be lowered for much of our trip. This does concern me.

What should I expect while at sea? I’ll be in airplane mode most of the time with just Bluetooth on and WiFi enabled on occasion. Less power is certainly not going to help my cause on the ship.

In international waters, I’m not sure what goTenna does. Perhaps someone in the know at goTenna on the way it sorts location can help with this?

At sea, I suspect the default would be to 1 W, but not sure the goTenna would parse things at sea. I’m also not sure of the granularity of how it detects being in a CE vs US/AUS/NZ location and whether it gets down to the island level detail in the Caribbean. Then there’s the fact that because a country observes CE standards, does that mean it actually part of the CE in how goTenna applies that to prompting the power level switching?

one thing to remember is that if you set any as a relay in one frequency range and your maned units change range you will need to pair the relay again so that changes also as it will not relay your messages anymore.

Also try and keep them on US range as the 1w of power will give you better range.

i’m doing a cruise in November and was thinking of using my mesh units on-board on the days i don’t sign up for wifi or if the ship loses satellite signal so the wifi would be down.

They default to US when in the water. This was the result when using a location spoofer on my one Android device to get around stacked location warnings.

Sounds like an incredible trip! In those areas, goTenna mesh would default to the 902 - 928 & 1w settings.

Thanks for the clarification. I’m happy to read that. Can you also share the logic as to why we get to use the full watt while in these islands regardless of the managing territory?

Probably split by ITU Region maps? Just a wild guess on my part.

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Travel Gear We Use: GoTenna review

When we visited Paris last winter, we spent a wonderful day in the Louvre . At least, it was mostly wonderful, except for the two hours we spent looking for each other. My husband had our two older sons in one section, and I had our youngest in another, and our plans to ‘find each other later’ went woefully sideways. We both had phones, but had put them in airplane mode to save on our international data plan. When I turned my phone on to contact him, he had his turned off, and vice versa.

Months later, I was introduced to GoTenna . The minute I saw what it did, I knew we could have used it in Paris. And in Rome. And in Costa Rica. And so on and so forth. GoTenna is a thin, 2-ounce wand that connects to a smartphone app via Bluetooth low energy (LE). It creates a low-frequency radio wave network for its iOS and Android app that reaches about 1 mile in skyscraper-filled urban areas, and, supposedly, up to 9 miles in most open outdoor areas (even longer on mountain tops).

How to use GoTenna:

When you buy GoTenna, it comes in a pack of two (for $199). I had ours set up in about two minutes. You just take the wands out of the package, and pull the little tab on each to extend the stick. When it clicks, you can see whether the GoTenna wand is charged by waiting for the light to blink. If it does, you’re in business. If not, charge the wands first using the included USB cords.

Once they’re ready, turn them off, and download the free GoTenna app. It will walk you through the activation steps, which, again, took me only a minute or so. You turn the GoTenna back on to pair it with your phone via Bluetooth (one wand per phone), add your phone number and name, and you’re in business. You can import your contacts, so it’s easy to find other people when you need to contact them (more on that in a minute) and download maps to use off-line (more on that, too).

Once you and a partner both have the wands paired to your phones, you can use them offline to contact each other. Each GoTenna has a nylon loop so you can attach it to a backpack, jacket, or hat. You don’t hold it; you need it to have a clear path to get a signal. Think of GoTenna like a messaging app: it has the capability to send messages and location, but not much else. You cannot use GoTenna to send photos or video, make phone calls, or scroll through social media. It’s like a walkie-talkie, only much better.

You do everything you want with GoTenna from the app.

• Send one-on-one messages: this is the primary thing we’ve done with it. You can send messages to anyone in your contacts who also has a GoTenna (this is the reason for the pack of two).
• Send Shout messages to everyone in the area with a GoTenna: A ‘shout’ message is basically a general message that will go out to everyone with a GoTenna within range. Not many people have these, so it’s not much of an issue right now, but in theory, you could use this feature to send out a general invite to meet up at a location at a concert or festival to meet other users, or send an ‘all call’ as an emergency.
• Send emergency messages: this feature is deceiving, because GoTenna cannot actually connect with emergency services (a con to using it, for sure). It can only connect with other GoTennas (not satellites), so this emergency feature is just a ‘shout’ set in priority mode. If anyone nearby is also using GoTenna, they’ll get a message that someone needs assistance. I guess it’s better than nothing.
• Use maps: I love this feature. While online, you can download tons of pre-existing maps in GoTenna’s app. (This feature is under ‘location’). Then you can use the maps while offline. We could have used this in Paris, and we will be using it in Central America this fall.

When and why to use GoTenna:

GoTenna is touted as a solution for communicating in the outdoors, when traveling without coverage, and during natural disasters other situations when off the grid. I initially thought I’d like using the wands while backpacking and camping, but in practice, we leave GoTenna at home during outdoor trips. Why? The range isn’t long enough for hikers or campers to communicate with family back at home (reason #1 I’d use it), and to use it hiker to hiker, we’d also have to carry multiple cell phones in the wilderness, which would require bringing solar chargers. While we might do this occasionally ( I love the Waka Waka solar charger for this purpose ) , most often, we’re tech-free in the wilderness.

So what DO we use GoTenna for? International travel. We’re also glad to have it in case of a natural disaster when we may need to communicate off the grid, but primarily, it’s a wonderful tool for travel. When we travel internationally, we pay for limited service plans, so more often than not, we’re in Airplane mode and offline. With GoTenna, we can continue to communicate when we separate during the day, and we can use the maps. The teens and I used GoTenna last month in the Caribbean, when we were doing different service projects a few miles apart, and we’ll use it again in Costa Rica and Panama later this year. The only place we’ve used GoTenna where it’s only worked so-so was on a cruise ship. I think all the metal walls and doors messed with it.

Pick up GoTenna for $199 or look for it at REI. If you travel even a few times per year off the grid (or in Airplane mode), it’s well worth the investment.

Disclosure: We were given a GoTenna to test, for the purpose of review. As always, all opinions are our own.

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GoTenna Mesh Review

This Satellite Messenger will keep your group connected when you’re off the grid or in crowded events where you may end up with a lot of dropped calls.

Here’s What the GoTenna Mesh Offers

Great for Adventures, Travel, Emergencies & Large Events

Send text & gps locations, range – up to 4 miles, mesh-networking for private chats, small, light & inexpensive, use with any ios or android phone, network map.

• GoTenna Plus

Let’s take a closer look at this unique and sleek looking device.

Keeps Your Friends Connected

The GoTenna Mesh will keep your group connected, even when off the grid. You can send messages and your location even without cell coverage or wifi. GoTenna allows you to send and receive private messages to anyone in your group.

Whether you are off the grid camping, traveling, at festivals, large sporting events or even on a cruise ship, the GoTenna Mesh can keep you connected.

Many times the cell networks will get overloaded at large sporting events, festivals and even in some large cities when traveling. Give yourself the peace of mind that you can stay in contact with your family and/or friends, no matter where you are. One family I read about had traveled to Sri Lanka and some of the group wanted to stay at the restaurant while others wanted to go see the market. They were able to stay connected even when there were problems with the cell coverage.

Send your GPS location to anyone in your group and send/receive messages, privately. You can even transmit messages through another GoTenna user in your area that does have cell service. You can drop pins for yourself or other people in your group so you can know where to meet up.

Of course, you won’t be messaging when rafting on white water rapids, but you can when you hit calm waters or stop for a break or lunch.

It’s easy to download the GoTenna app and pair to your smartphone then begin communicating with each other, point-to-point, up to 4 miles apart. The distance can be improved when you “piggyback” off other GoTenna users in your area.

• NOTICE: Any products sold by third-party are not guaranteed for manufacture warranty and cannot be confirmed as holding up-to-date firmware. Protect your purchase and buy from trusted and authorized sellers only – Amazon and GoTenna.
• SMART DEVICE: goTenna Mesh pairs to your phone and enables it to privately relay texts and GPS locations between other goTenna devices, up to 4 miles in range. ANDROID & IOS READY: Compatible with iOS or Android. Sold in pairs. Charging cables included
• INDEPENDENT & FREE: You don’t need phone service, routers, towers or satellites to use goTenna. Power your own network, whenever and wherever you need it. Secure encryption- No central data-store so your private chats are end-to-end encrypted.
• CHAT, TEXT & GPS: Our super-smart mesh protocol powers private 1-to-1, group chats or public emergency broadcasts to all nearby users. Plus, the free goTenna app includes detailed offline maps for any region in the world.
• THE PERFECT OFF-GRID TOOL: goTenna Mesh is great for hiking in areas where cell service is unreliable, avoiding costly data plans while traveling internationally, and staying connected in emergency situations when cell service is down.

This product was presentation was made with AAWP plugin.

The GoTenna Mesh network allows you to keep your messages private, even when connected to other users.

It’s hard to get a messenger like this one that is more compact or lighter. The GoTenna Mesh weighs 1.7 ounces, is 5″ tall, 1.25″ wide and 0.5″ thick. You really might forget that you even have it on you.

The GoTenna Mesh works with any iOS or Android smartphone.

GoTenna has an extensive network throughout the United States and Europe and most other large cities around the world.

My one concern with the GoTenna network is that you need to be in cell service or in the GoTenna network areas. You can see when we zoom in closer to the southwest United State and then into Colorado and Utah, how many gaps there are in the network.

GoTenna is not the right satellite messenger for serious outdoor adventurers who want to travel to remote destinations around the world.

GoTenna Pro

Check out GoTenna Pro if you have a team that needs more options.

My Final Thoughts

The GoTenna Mesh is a great device for traveling with a group, going to a large festival or sporting event and even camping or hiking if you’re not too remote. It is extremely small and lightweight and will help you stay in contact with your friends and family when the cell service is overloaded or non-existent.

Find more information at my GoTenna Mesh page .

Please Email Me with your questions or thoughts on the GoTenna Mesh Review or Leave a Comment Below .

You can also explore more Satellite Messengers models HERE or Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) HERE .

If you would like to see ALL the Satellite Messengers in another review, just CLICK HERE .

Check out the top 11 satellite communicators of 2023 in this YouTube video below.

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GoTenna Mesh

World Wide Coverage

2-way messaging, tracking & sharing, initial cost & subscription plan.

• Compact & Lightweight
• Customization
• Inexpensive
• Great in Large Crowds
• Helpful When Traveling
• Limited Coverage Area
• Limits to Emergency Services

10 thoughts on “GoTenna Mesh Review”

Excellent review, thank you!  I agree with the gaps in coverage, this one wouldn’t be great if say, I wanted to hike across Canada and Alaska in the wilderness for 6 months, but it looks like it would be useful around other areas of hiking and camping across the US, so thanks for that! An excellent suggestion to use it during sporting events.  When I was in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2016 for the Kentucky Derby week, cell coverage SUCKED bad.  It was really frustrating.  

Honestly, this is what I think the GoTenna Mesh is most suited for. It’s for groups that want to stay connected when at large events and the cell service gets overloaded. You would still be able to communicate with your group.

It sounds like a pretty useful gadget. I’m a hiker and think this would definitely come in handy. You say you can communicate with a 4-mile distance, but then can piggyback off other GoTenna users, how would you know others are using the device? 

I am thinking of purchasing something like as my young kids are starting to get interested in hiking with me, they tend to wander away, so this will help me feel more secure, knowing I can get their locations as well they will have a GPS to guide them. Great review. 

Hi Eric. The only way I would go confidently into the woods with this is to know that you are within the GoTenna network or that another GoTenna user has cell service nearby. This means that someone in “your” group would need to be connected to service. I have also read where you can leave another unit at a location that has service, then you can piggyback off that device to get connection.

This really requires some research to ensure that it will work for you in the area you are traveling to.

What a fantastic device!  I have a nephew in Scotland who absolutely loves hiking in the Scottish Highlands.  I am definitely going to suggest that he gets this.  You say that the GoTenna Mesh has a radius of 4 miles. I just want to be clear.  When may nephew goes hiking, would he have to ensure that he stays with a 4 mile radius of “base camp’ in order to stay in contact?  I know 4 miles is quite a distance, but I just wanted to make sure.  I also have a niece who is travelling to Thailand in December for a month, so i will certainly suggest that she gets this.

Is this a rechargeable device?  How long does it maintain power?

Thanks so much

Personally, I would be cautious when using it on hikes unless you are within the GoTenna network, have some cell service or are connected to other GoTenna users in the area. Your nephew will need to look into this more closely.

As far as your niece, this can be beneficially for traveling, but again you need to check their coverage map. I just checked the GoTenna coverage map for Thailand and GoTenna has no coverage there but you can still use the device if there is some cell service or if you are with a group that wants to stay connected.

This device is really interesting but you have to make sure it works for the area you are traveling to.

The battery life is approximately 27 hours and I cannot find any information that it is re-chargeable.

Thanks for this great review.  I had not heard of GoTenna before now.

At first, I was excited to read about this product.  I was thinking it did a peer to peer communication (like a hand-held radio) but with more bells and whistles.  Now, If I read this review correctly, I find that I need to be in range of their proprietary network.  To me, this is just another cell phone service in a way.  Did I misinterperate what you said here?

I like the idea but, I’m skeptical of the overall usability.  Is their network more robust vs. a cellular provider (i.e. covers more area)?

Thanks again.  I look forward to your reply.

The coverage area is my biggest concern with this device. They have a GoTenna network and you can use the GoTenna Mesh when you have cell service, or can piggyback off another user who does have cell service.

This device is really more useful at large sporting events or when traveling when you know that you are within their network or have some kind of cell service. It can be dependent on other GoTenna users in the area also.

I have my concerns about the GoTenna Mesh, especially for what I would use it for.

This is one to watch though, as they build out their network or make improvements to the range or see more people using this technology.

gotenna seem to be one of the coolest technology I have seen in a long time, I happen to be someone who is serious about emergency preparedness, I love to go camping with friends and family and this is something I’ll be needing as I do get disappointed with the network coverage around the cabin, I’ll definitely get this to communicate digitally without using cell phone services when the need arises.

That sounds perfect. If you know you have some service in the area but it may not be reliable, you can place one device at a location that does have service and then piggyback off it and any other GoTenna users in the area would have reliable service. This would not be for phone calls, but for messaging and having access to maps when using the GoTenna app.

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goTenna Mesh

$ 12.99

goTenna Mesh Off-Grid SMS & GPS Device

goTenna Mesh gives you 100% off-grid text and GPS on your phone and introduces revolutionary mesh networking. Relay messages through other devices to get to recipients out of point-to-point range! Great for groups enjoying outdoor activities, travel, crowded events & preparing for emergencies. Two Off-Grid SMS & GPS Devices that pair with any phone to Chat, Send Texts & Location Information Without Cell Service or Wi-Fi.

• SMART DEVICE – goTenna Mesh pairs to your phone and enables it to privately relay texts and GPS locations between other goTenna devices, up to 4 miles in range.
• INDEPENDENT AND FREE  – You don’t need phone service, routers, towers or satellites to use goTenna. Power your own network, whenever and wherever you need it.
• SECURE ENCRYPTION – no Central data-store so your private chats are end-to-end encrypted. Cell phone/Wi-Fi coverage is required in the initial set up and app download.
• CHAT, TEXT AND GPS -Super-smart mesh protocol powers private 1-to-1, group chats or PUBLIC emergency broadcasts to all nearby users. Plus, the free goTenna app includes detailed offline maps for any region in the world.

At ebay.com you can purchase a 2023 Shot Show Gotenna Patch Las Vegas, NV for only $12.99. The cheapest price was found on March 29, 2024 12:12 am. – View Buying Options

// LATEST DEALS

AVAILABLE ON EBAY

// MORE INFO

The goTenna Mesh is a powerful, portable communication device that enables users to send texts and GPS locations without relying on cell service or Wi-Fi. With its dynamic mesh networking capabilities, this device provides an extensive range of up to four miles, allowing you to stay connected with friends and family even in remote areas. The device is small and lightweight, making it easy to carry with you wherever you go. It can also be easily paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth technology, allowing you to use the goTenna app to send messages, check-in, and share your location. Whether you're out camping, hiking, or traveling through rural areas, the goTenna Mesh is an essential tool that will keep you connected, safe, and secure. Get your goTenna Mesh today and experience the benefits of reliable, off-grid communication.

// MEDIA GALLERY

// PRODUCT SUMMARY

The goTenna Mesh is a handheld device that enables communication between smartphones even when there is no cellular service or Wi-Fi available. It is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and emergency responders who need to stay connected in remote locations. Using Bluetooth Low Energy technology, the devices create their own ad-hoc networks, allowing users to send private one-to-one or group messages, coordinates, and even share maps with others who have the goTenna Mesh. The device has a range of up to 4 miles in open areas, but the range can be extended by creating a mesh network with other goTenna Mesh devices in the area, effectively creating an independent communication system. The goTenna Mesh is available in compact, weather-resistant enclosures and can be easily attached to a backpack or belt. It can be charged using any USB port, including a portable charger, and a full charge can keep it powered for up to 24 hours of intermittent use. Overall, the goTenna Mesh offers secure, off-grid communication and is a must-have tool for anyone who enjoys outdoor activities or needs to stay connected in remote areas.

// PRODUCT SPECS

// q & a.

You can exchange messages and share location data with other goTenna Mesh users. When using goTenna Plus, you can send a message via SMS relay. That message can be received by anyone who can receive SMS texts.

Point-to-point range depends on your environment, and no situation is exactly the same. That being said, more open terrain often allows for greater range; line-of-sight can also help but is not required. Plus: you may be able to extend your range through other goTenna Mesh devices by relaying! In general, you can expect up to 4 mi (6.4 km) point-to-point range in open environments such as plains, desert, beach-side, etc. Expect up to 0.5 mi (0.8 km) point-to-point range in congested areas such as cities, mountains, ravines, thick forests, etc.

goTenna Mesh, when on and paired, will also relay messages! If you wanted to unpair it and have it continue to relay messages for you, thats when the standalone relay mode comes in handy! You don't need to have it paired for it to Mesh but it will also Mesh when paired!

This worked great for me and my wife on the Allure of the Seas! We set up one in our room as a relay and each kept one in our pockets. We could text wherever, and we even bounced messages through 2 nodes once - meaning someone else on the ship was also using them. 10/10 recommend for cruises.

goTenna Mesh devices are not interoperable with our goTenna v1 devices (which are only available for sale in the U.S.) because they operate on different frequencies. Interoperability is physically and legally impossible due to regulatory restrictions that prohibit meshing on the first-gen product's frequencies. (e.g. It’s sort of similar to why your TV doesn’t “speak” to your microwave.)

// NEWS ARTICLES

goTenna Mesh privately and securely hops messages across devices, extending range. In 1-to-1 messaging, only end-users see messages. "Shout" messages are public broadcasts visible across the local mesh network. Create resilient and secure communication networks anywhere, from any smartphone.

goTenna | The World’s Leading Mobile Mesh Networking Platform

“ What makes goTenna Mesh unique is that it allows people to create a special network to stay in touch with others when telecommunications fail. “ Smaller, lighter, and cheaper than any other tactical comms system.

goTenna Mesh | Buy Now

goTenna Mesh devices create the world's first phone-to-phone off-grid, long-range mesh network. Get yours to create your own network and relay text and GPS messages from anywhere in the world, no service required.

// RELATED PRODUCTS

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9 Reviews for goTenna Mesh

Dorothy M – June 11, 2018

I’m a physician assistant student and I just got back from a 5 week clinical rotation where I worked in a medical clinic in a poor region of Peru. My friend and I used gotenna to stay connected throughout the trip. We absolutely love this product! We took the gotenna with us everywhere so we didn’t have to worry about becoming separated or lost while traveling to the clinic or around town. We were able to stay in touch with the chat feature during the evenings and early mornings from our dorm rooms. We were also able to see where the other was at all times.It was great to use the map feature when we traveled on the bus into Lima or nearby towns. We were able to download the map of Peru beforehand while we had access to wifi. We then used the GPS location while traveling on the bus to figure out when to get off the bus since none of the stops were marked and our spanish wasn’t that great. We also used gotenna to communicate while hiking and exploring machu picchu. I highly recommend this product. It took away a lot of the stress of traveling in a foreign country with limited access to wifi or cell service.

Sawmill Operator – August 9, 2018

The devices worked as advertised. However, in examining their network map, I was unable to communicate with any other nodes other than the other pair I bought. This would be unacceptable in any emergency situation. The network nodes shown in their map are generally turned off if they are ‘mobile nodes’. You cannot send out a broadcast message which will repeat through nodes—only to specific nodes known to you. This means you cannot seek other users other than those who can receive your signal directly, which will be highly limited. This device is engineered for city environments and is not useful to those outside of big cities. Furthermore, you cannot send data other than text messages or gps position. I suggest buying a Beofang uv-5r cheap hand held ($27) instead of these. You will have much more flexibility , albeit voice only.

Frederic Block – September 7, 2018

We purchased 4 GoTennas for our cruise this past August.We had 3 unites out and about on the ship and hung one up on our balcony to act as a dedicated relay node.I think the general consensus was that the GoTenna’s worked great throughout the ship. We were “regularly” relaying through one or two nodes so I am sure that the fact many of us had a GTM helped. I personally recorded successful messages throughout many parts of the ship and usually through one or two relay nodes. Remember that communications are a stretch considering all the steel the messages have to go through.On the island of St. Maarten we communicated with some of our friends who were further down the beach from us and one person communicated with his wife on the ship which was over a mile away from us.In all, I am pleased with the performance we got and can only see things getting better from here. So much so that I just ordered two more so now have a total of 6! I look forward to the next adventure where I can use them.

How2do – November 16, 2018

The description of this item says: Chat, Send Texts & Location Information Without Cell Service or Wi-Fi. But it does require a cell services to activate the device. During the activation step you should provide a cell. phone number and they will send you a text message. How can you do this without a cell services? There are no other options available to activate the device (like via e-mail). My daughter has a pay as you go phone with the iMessage service enabled via WiFi (but the text message service is disabled), and I was unable to activate her goTenna device. I am going to return them.

David L Johnson – November 30, 2018

First, they work as advertised. I bought 4 about six weeks ago and have done numerous tests with them. I have bought 2 more just recently. I have personally done a 15.5 mile test with one relay in between and they worked wonderfully. The distance between the relay and the two people was 6.5 and 9 miles. The relay was hung on the top strand of barb wire fence with a carabiner. It was that simple to make my own personal repeater. Real test by a real guy. They work. As with ALL radios, range is dependent on too many factors to give a definitive, set range capability. Just know they do what a 1w device of this nature should be able to do. Since buying and using these, I’ve had several “Aha” moments about the impact these would have for my family in a real, extended emergency or disaster. Do your own research on these. But while researching, think about these five things that set these apart from any other emergency communication device available to the average person: Privacy, delivery confirmation, ease of extending range with relays, out of the box usability for virtually anyone (we all text now, even teens) and ability to keep device outdoors (immediate range extension) while user is indoors via bluetooth. These things put the Gotenna Mesh in an entirely different universe compared to FRS/GMRS radios and even, quite frankly, Ham Radio. (I’m a Ham – N7DLJ) If you think about these things in the context of emergency communications and you don’t have several “Aha” moments, you either just don’t really think private communication is a big advantage or you don’t truly understand how these work and you need to keep researching. It’s not hyperbole to say these things are groundbreaking. They don’t use much power at all and use standard USB chargers. So pair these with a basic portable charger and a $50 portable USB solar panel and keeping them charged in an extended emergency would be pretty easy.Cons:Must have app installed on device before using. If a need for these arises and you haven’t installed the app, it’s too late.And the biggest problem of all which they need to fix, internal battery that cannot be easily replaced.This is a relatively new device and they recently worked out some kinks and improved the devices enormously with a recent firmware update. There is an active community of users who give great feedback to the company and there are some really great things coming in future firmware updates that will make these things even more amazing.

Al – December 2, 2018

Ordered two pairs, tested one pair so far. The first pair I opened looked like used or refurbished. One of the devices (with blue band) has a bad battery and dies fast, goes from 100% charge to 85% in an hour without any usage (no messaging). Both devices are sitting next to each other. The blue one also refuses to connect to phone several times, and is intermittent. The one with green band looks to have an OK battery. I haven’t tested the second pair yet.It seems there’s no way to contact the seller for support. Most probably will return both pairs soon.

Jason – January 12, 2019

The range wasn’t as advertised and the setup was confusing, which I could deal with, but I also learned that the unit has no GPS antenna itself. It relies on the GPS from your phone, which was a massive fail for this product.I felt a little misled and returned it for a refund. I bought a gotele instead, which has built-in GPS and was easy to set-up.

Graham – January 14, 2019

These are well made and look great. Simply to setup and use. So I was really happy until I used for real. I paired them with iPhones and set off. Unfortunately the position did not update! It sent the position and the range seemed great, but the position was the position when the app started (potentially many hours previously). After much searching and trialling I found an a bug conversation recently updated and going back to August. Basically the position does not update on iPhone, but fixing it is not a priority. I suspect on Android these are great.

Patricia Barron – August 18, 2019

Bought these several years ago. Waste of money. Doesn’t reach very far.

Wesley Kreiter – December 10, 2021

I intended to write you one little bit of word to be able to say thanks a lot the moment again for all the pleasant solutions you have featured at this time. It has been simply pretty open-handed with people like you in giving openly exactly what a lot of people would’ve marketed as an e-book to make some profit for themselves, precisely since you could have done it in the event you wanted. The advice as well worked as a easy way to realize that other individuals have the identical desire just as my own to find out many more when considering this problem. I’m certain there are thousands of more pleasurable moments in the future for many who look into your blog.

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GoTenna Mesh keeps people connected even when they’re miles apart and off-grid - TechCrunch

3 emergency communications solutions to implement now - techrepublic, gotenna could make the backcountry safer—if people use it - outside magazine, where to buy.

• Celebrity Cruises

How do you keep track of family members while on the ship?

By Dall , February 7, 2018 in Celebrity Cruises

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Does Celebrity have a phone plan for keeping in touch with other passengers? I thought I read that there is a cruiseline that offers this.

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We used to bring two way radios (walkie talkies) when traveling with our young teens.

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I tie them loosely to the martini bar.;p

Travel solo. No worries.

Magnetic Mini Whiteboard. On our last Disney cruise we had one. It came in handy to let the other person know where we were. We kept it on the inside of the stateroom door.

I guess I will have to make sure my mom packs it, I believe she took it home with her after the last cruise.

We just leave voicemail messages for people on their stateroom phones, from wherever on the ship we happen to be at the time.

Every now and then you can actually catch someone in the cabin who picks up the phone.

GeorgiaPeach51

We use yellow sticky notes on the door...."gone to the gym at 8:15". Works well and saves wandering around searching for people.

Princess is the cruise line that has a messaging system- a point that my loyal Princess friend touts all the time along with the self-serve laundries aboard their vessels. To quote her:

"You mean they don't have (fill-in-the-blank) on Celebrity?":rolleyes:

We usually have all 4 perks and only 2 people per stateroom so everyone gets unlimited internet. We just stay logged in all the time and use facebook messenger.

Yes if you have unlimited WiFi, you can use WiFi Calling or text-messaging on the ship.

We are on vacation and disconnected from the world. Only when we are at port, try to find a free WiFi, post and receive something. My son's will contact me via cellphone at port or via emergency phone number at the ship, only emergency!!

No news are good news

We always find a central place to meet during the day, usually somewhere on the pool deck. Then a we will be here at this time kind of thing.

Princess friend touts all the time along with the self-serve laundries aboard their vessels. To quote her: "You mean they don't have (fill-in-the-blank) on Celebrity?":rolleyes:

Just tell her that Celebrity is so service oriented that they do not want their guest to have to go to a "washateria" on their vacation. :D

Our communication methods have changed over the years.

On our most recent cruise on Disney, we took advantage of their free app which allows you to message each other using your personal phone. No need to purchase WiFi.

On a previous Carnival cruise, we took walkie talkies (which don’t work that great because the signal is hindered). Even though they had an 8 mile range, we couldn’t hear each other if we were on opposite ends of the ship, even on the same floor. But we could hear each other if we were on different floors right above or below each other.

On a Holland America cruise traveling with 14 family members, we agreed that we would leave voice messages on each other’s cabin’s and then we would check them periodically throughout the day. That seemed to work quite well.

Besides that, we’ve just agreed about a time and a place where to check in throughout the day.

If you don't use technology to stay in touch, here are a few tips I have learned over the years (husband not into communication technology):

We have the cabin attendant give us two copies of the dailies every night and we go through potential events we each want to attend before we go to sleep and take notes on what each other might do the next day.

On sea days, we like to be flexible and often each do our own thing, so know that plans may change. What we do though is make a lunch date - time and place. That way, we can touch base, spend some time together discussing our adventures of the morning and discuss afternoon and evening plans. As long as he keeps track of the time (without a watch, cell or kindle), that works well.

Another thing you could do as a group to help prevent frustration is to decide a general area of the sun decks on which you can likely can be found, what section of the theatre you might be in, etc. to help locate each other when meeting in one of those large areas.

When we go with others, we leave phone messages in the room and after a few days we know everyone's favorite haunts - al Bacio, casino, Sunset Bar, etc. and head there first.

Sometimes you will just wander around looking for each other and that is okay too - lots of good people watching out there and maybe then you will walk by the gelato and feel you deserve a scoop since you just did all that walking.

And sometimes we don't want to be found - if I spend 3 hours in the casino, no one needs to know. :D

On our cruises so far we have really just not worried too much about it. I could usually find my wife and two kids in one of about 4 places. Pool, pool table, buffet, stateroom. I hate the idea of Walkie Talkies but we have been considering devices called GoTenna.

These are little WiFi devices that relay text messages through an app on your phone. Basically each person has their phone and a GoTenna and you text them directly. The amazing part about the technology is that the GoTenna's will relay through other GoTennas using encryption. So lets say my family and yours are all on the boat and have Gotenna's, you could text someone in your family and to reach them the message would could bounce off the GoTenna's that I have even thought we don't know each other. They create a network that is independent of ship wifi and cell service. Pretty cool technology.

Here is a post on the GoTenna Mesh network about people using it on a cruise ship.

https://meshcommunity.gotenna.com/t/aboard-a-cruise-ship/1705

Edit to add: Two of them are about $180 on Amazon so they aren't cheap. Also, the link below lets you see how many Gotenna Mesh's are out there, including fixed relay stations. I am going to pick up a couple soon and test them out. If I like them we will be bringing them on our 2019 cruise.

https://www.imeshyou.com/

Tommy3putts

Much ado about nothing. With the exception of Walkie Talkies, all good options above but really unnecessary.

Walkie Talkies don’t work and usually are noisy and annoying to your fellow passengers.

Amen, if one needs to wash clothes themselves, then wait until you get to a port and do it there... OR there is the sink in the cabin, if that is not your cup of tea..

Since I Am the one who does the laundry at home, I welcome the opportunity to let someone else take care of it to my specs when on vacation.

... and I can wait 24 hours to get it back, too!

Oh, as for keeping track of family and friends while aboard, how many pools, bars and restaurants are there to check outside of evening activities? Not so many that I cannot take a stroll from top to bottom of the ship to find them... if I do not, guess what, I continue on with my activities and know that we will see each other by late afternoon/early evening...

Algebralovr

We tend to have a pattern on board. I find a place I like during sea days. The group generally wanders until they find me, then they look for me there or the Cafe Al Bacio. If traveling with a large group, we rent an alcove for the week as a home base.

I prefer not to be found on sea days during the day.

Unless you have little children who are in the kids club, let everyone do what they want and meet for drinks before dinner. You don’t need to be tied at the hip.

Please don’t use walkie talkies (or talk on your cell phone) in public spaces. I have no desire to hear your conversations...

Back in the 90s when we started cruising with children, everyone had a walkie-talkie.

Same with me. I also prefer not to keep track of anyone else.

GottaKnowWhen

Does Celebrity have a phone plan for keeping in touch with other passengers? I thought I read that there is a cruiseline that offers this.     Sent from my iPad using Forums

Your question seems to be based on an assumption that there is some reason why somebody would need to keep track of other passengers. (Family members?) Most of the replies have directly or indirectly questioned that assumption. It really would help, OP, if you could explain who the Other Passengers are and why you feel like keeping in touch. Then realistic strategies could be suggested.

Just guessing that your Other Passengers are family, I will say from my own experience that I know my family and can pretty well know where they will be and what they will be doing without a whole lot of anxiety. Worst case if we don’t connect beforehand, they will probably show up at the table in the MDR at the appointed time.

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Mesh | Two Off-Grid SMS & GPS Devices That Pair with Any Phone | Chat, Send Texts & Location Information Without Cell Service or Wi-Fi | 24-Hour Battery (Blue/Green)

About this item.

• NOTICE: Any products sold by third-party are not guaranteed for manufacture warranty and cannot be confirmed as holding up-to-date firmware. Protect your purchase and buy from trusted and authorized sellers only – Amazon and GoTenna.
• SMART DEVICE: goTenna Mesh pairs to your phone and enables it to privately relay texts and GPS locations between other goTenna devices, up to 4 miles in range. ANDROID & IOS READY: Compatible with iOS or Android. Sold in pairs. Charging cables included
• INDEPENDENT & FREE: You don’t need phone service, routers, towers or satellites to use goTenna. Power your own network, whenever and wherever you need it. Secure encryption- No central data-store so your private chats are end-to-end encrypted.
• CHAT, TEXT & GPS: Our super-smart mesh protocol powers private 1-to-1, group chats or public emergency broadcasts to all nearby users. Plus, the free goTenna app includes detailed offline maps for any region in the world.
• THE PERFECT OFF-GRID TOOL: goTenna Mesh is great for hiking in areas where cell service is unreliable, avoiding costly data plans while traveling internationally, and staying connected in emergency situations when cell service is down.

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Customers like the ease of use, quality and appearance of the outdoor recreation product. For example, they mention it's super easy to use, the app is super user friendly and the unit easily powers on. That said, opinions are mixed on performance and connectivity.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers like how easy it is to use the product. They say it's incredibly easy to set up, with a clear, step-by-step account creation process. They also appreciate the user-friendly app and the seamless setup process.

"...The product put her at ease , and she is even talking about potentially going camping now...." Read more

"...Seems to pair well with my iphone, and the app is easy to use . I like how you can share your location and drop pins with the app...." Read more

"...SO FRUSTRATING -- no guidance at all (they have a bunch of videos for the military versions but not for normal consumers???!?)..." Read more

"... Setting them up was a breeze the app is free to download and takes about 45 seconds to configure...." Read more

Customers like the quality of the radio. They say it's a great product, better than other options out there, and useful. They also mention that it'll supplement cellular data in situations where you can't use conventional cellular.

"...All things considered, it did good . Remember those older Cordless phones at 900Mhz?..." Read more

" Great product and super light! I brought these on a quick weekend road trip to Canada with a couple friends...." Read more

"...SO FRUSTRATING. I WANT A REFUND! What a massive waste of time , money, energy and hope!..." Read more

" Good device , should get better as more buy them. Mainly useful for small groups who want short range comms that does not rely on cell coverage." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the appearance of the off-grid antenna. They mention that the design is compact and sleek.

"...Everyone just needs the device. It’s pretty small and lightweight too. My girl kept saying how “cute” they are. Definitely worth the money!..." Read more

"These are so awesome! The design is compact and sleek - about the size of a small candy bar - and with an adjustable strap so that you can attach it..." Read more

"...Love the new design - it's smaller and really easy to use...." Read more

"These are neat little off-grid antennas . I hope as the community grows that I can create a mesh network in my community...." Read more

Customers find the map/location sharing feature of the outdoor recreation product great. They mention that it's easy to use, and they like that they can share their location and drop pins with the app. They also appreciate that the app can download offline maps, and that the GPS feature tells them where the other person is.

"...It has a GPS Feature that tells you were the other person is. That’s probably one of the best features...." Read more

"...I like how you can share your location and drop pins with the app ...." Read more

"...It was great to use the map feature when we traveled on the bus into Lima or nearby towns...." Read more

"...It was also a lot of fun to send location pins from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls over to the US side-- "Where are you?" *gets location..." Read more

Customers are mixed about the performance of the GoTenna. Some mention that it works great throughout the ship, and easy to use. They say it works perfect for talking across their property and for use at work where they have no cell. However, some customers report that the product didn't work at all, has limited functionality, and doesn't support ATAK or newer phones.

"I bought 12 packs of these (24) units and literally none work on the same hill with super tech savvy people spending hours trying to troubleshoot..." Read more

"...I bought a pair for me and my girlfriend and they worked great !..." Read more

"...(but the text message service is disabled), and I was unable to activate her goTenna device . I am going to return them." Read more

"...I think the general consensus was that the GoTenna’s worked great throughout the ship ...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the connectivity of the outdoor recreation product. Some mention that it's an awesome product for communication, and a fantastic way to keep in touch. However, others say that it can be difficult to connect to their GoTennas, and that messages don't go through.

"...That’s probably one of the best features. You can also Message 1on1 or group chat and it’s all private – which is awesome!..." Read more

"...It also kinda makes communication more fun than just texting , like Whatsapp - but obviously we don't need to have data coverage to use it!..." Read more

"... messages never send (ever) on the mesh network and NO TECH SUPPORT at all or useless 'community support' attempts to try to resolve bug-riddled..." Read more

"...I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm impressed. The items paired quickly to both cell phones and were able to quickly download maps...." Read more

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goTenna Mesh User Manual

Installation.

• Charge goTenna Mesh fully before initial operation via the micro-USB port found beneath the power button. The indicator light on the front of the device will light up during charging and will turn off, when fully charged.
• Install the goTenna app from the App store or the Play store onto your respective iOS or Android device.
• Follow the instructions within the app to setup your goTenna Mesh.
• Turn ON goTenna Mesh by pressing and holding the power button for ~3 seconds. Release the button and watch for the indicator light to slowly pulse. goTenna Mesh is now ready to pair.
• Follow instructions within the goTenna app to set up your goTenna contact number. Using your phone number as your goTenna contact number is recommended.
• Proceed to text, share GPS location, or send other data over the app using regular text-messaging app conventions. For more help please visit our FAQ online at gotenna.com/pages/support .
• We recommend placing goTenna Mesh in an unobstructed position, preferably as high up as possible on your body. For example, goTenna will work best when attached externally to the upper back of a backpack using the provided attachment strap.
• Note, you must keep the micro-USB port cap closed to ensure goTenna Mesh’s limited water-resistance.

FCC Interference Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an output on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• IMPORTANT! Changes or modifications not expressly approved by goTenna could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
• This device may not cause harmful interference.
• This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
• This device has been tested for RF emissions and has been deemed safe for human exposure as determined by the government’s SAR testing standards.

Canada, Industry Canada (IC) Notices

This device complies with Industry Canada licence-exempt RSS standard(s). Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference. and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device.

Cet appareil est conforme à la norme RSS d'Industrie Canada exempte de licence. Son fonctionnement est soumis aux deux conditions suivantes: (1) Ce dispositif ne doit pas causer d'interférences nuisibles, et (2) cet appareil doit accepter toute interférence reçue, y compris les interférences pouvant entraîner un fonctionnement indésirable.

CAN ICES-3 (B)/NMB-3(B) This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003. Cet appareil numériqué de la classe B est conformé à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

This equipment complies with portable radiation exposure limits set forth for uncontrolled environment. Cet équipement est conforme aux limites d'exposition aux rayonnements portables fixées pour un environnement non contrôlé.

Important Safety Information for Data Radios:

• Your goTenna Mesh device contains a RF transceiver.
• Your device has been tested for and passed the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines for regular body-worn operation without any modification of the hardware.
• Any modification of the hardware or use of the device not in line with provided instructions may not ensure compliance with RF exposure guidelines.
• Unauthorized modifications or attachments could damage the device and also violate FCC regulations.
• Recommended Position : For best performance we recommend that the goTenna be attached in an unobstructed environment as high up as possible on your person. For example, clipping to the upper back of a backpack using the provided attachment strap is ideal.

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Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them

A dream cruise vacation has turned into a nightmare for eight passengers left stranded on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe after their ship left without them because they were late to return from a private tour.

The tourists — six from the U.S. and two from Australia — were aboard the Norwegian Dawn, a Norwegian cruise line ship , which departed from Cape Town, South Africa, on March 20 for a 21-day voyage up the coast of Africa set to end in Barcelona, Spain, on April 10.

But on Wednesday, the group of eight tourists was late to return to the ship by more than an hour for the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. from a private excursion on the island, which was not organized by the cruise line.

Jay and Jill Campbell of South Carolina were part of the group that was left behind.

They said that their tour’s operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late to rejoin the ship and that the local Coast Guard tried to get them on the vessel but that they weren’t allowed to board.

As a result, the couple and the rest of the group have been stranded for days on the island off Nigeria, grappling with language, currency issues and complicated travel to catch up with the ship.

“The lovely people of São Tomé were very gracious, very hospitable. They had reached out as much as they could to help us find hotels,” Jay Campbell said on NBC's "TODAY" show Tuesday morning.

“We were able to get to a tour agency there to arrange flights to the next port of call. ... Very difficult process — you’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers, you’re dealing with different currencies ... finding someone that even has dollars ... trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to.

"It’s one of those ‘You can’t get there from here,’" he added.

A Norwegian spokesperson called the incident a “very unfortunate situation” and said, “Guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”

The cruise line said that after the guests failed to return, their passports were delivered to local port agents, in line with protocol. The company said it was working with local authorities to understand “the requirements and visas needed for the guests to reboard the ship at the next available port of call.”

On Monday, the guests had made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the ship was unable to safely dock there because of “adverse weather conditions” and “tidal restrictions,” Norwegian said. The guests were then contacted and provided with information to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday. 

Jill Campbell said they traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to arrive in Senegal on Monday night.

But the couple was reconsidering whether they even wanted to return to the cruise.

"We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship. It is in dock here in Senegal," she said. "We believe there was a basic duty of care that they had forgotten about, so it does concern us."

"After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly. I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and really the safety and well-being of the customers should be their first priority," she added.

Ultimately, the eight passengers did rejoin the cruise before 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, Norwegian told NBC News in an e-mail Tuesday evening, after this story originally published.

Norwegian said the passengers were responsible for making their own travel arrangements to rejoin the ship.

"Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal," a cruise line spokesperson said in a statement. "We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available."

A silver lining of the catastrophe was that the Campbells were able to connect with another Norwegian Dawn passenger — Julia Lenkoff, 80 — who was also left on the island, but for a medical reason.

Lenkoff was on a different day tour Wednesday. She had "medically disembarked" from the cruise to seek local treatment on that day, Norwegian said.

Norwegian said that its care team tried to call Lenkoff several times and was unable to reach her and that it worked with its port agent in São Tomé and Príncipe for updates on her health.

The Campbells met Lenkoff and were able to put her in contact with her family in California, who flew her home — a move Lenkoff's daughter said "saved her life."

"She's a world traveler. She travels all the time. So this was going to be one of her bucket list trips, because she's been to 120 countries so far, and she wanted to get to 130," her daughter, Lana Lenkoff Geis, said in an interview that aired Tuesday on "TODAY."

Norwegian said Lenkoff was escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, then put in the care of airport staff members to continue her journey back to the U.S., where she has safely returned.

Breaking News Reporter

Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were stranded on a small African island after missing a deadline to re-embark

• A couple says they were stranded on an island after missing their cruise ship's boarding time.
• They were on a tour of São Tomé and Príncipe with six others, per US local media. It overran.
• The stranded group flew to Gambia on Sunday, hoping to catch the ship at another port.

A couple says they were stranded on a small African island after they missed a cruise ship 's boarding deadline, according to local media.

Jay and Jill Campbell, from Garden City, South Carolina, described their ordeal with a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in an interview with WPDE, their local ABC affiliate.

Norwegian confirmed to Business Insider that they were denied boarding, saying it was their responsibility to be on time.

The Campbells said they were frequent cruisers, embarking on Norwegian Dawn on March 20 for their third voyage with the cruise line in a year.

However, an excursion last Wednesday with six other people to São Tomé and Príncipe , an island nation of some 220,000 people off West Africa, took an unfortunate turn.

The couple says the tour overran, and its operator informed the captain that eight passengers were running late.

They were refused entry to the ship upon their return, according to WPDE, even though they could still see the ship from the shore.

The ship was anchored, Jay Campbell said, but the captain refused to let them board despite repeated calls and emails by the passengers to the ship and the cruise line's emergency hotline.

The São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard even took the passengers to the ship, but they weren't able to get on and had to turn back, WPDE reported.

In total, WPDE said that nine passengers were not allowed to reenter the ship, including four elderly people and one person who is a paraplegic.

The Campbells told the news outlet that the ninth passenger was late for another reason — an 80-year-old woman who got a concussion on the island and was hospitalized there.

Related stories

Most of the stranded passengers didn't have their medication or working credit cards, WPDE said.

The Campbells, who had a working card, said they covered $5,000 worth of expenses for the group in food, toiletries, and hotel bills.

"We have never had an experience like this before," Jill Campbell told WPDE.

The Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement provided to BI by email that eight guests on the tour missed the last tender back to the vessel.

The cruise line said the passengers missed the "all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time." It said it was a "very unfortunate situation" but that passengers were responsible for being on time.

It added that the deadline to return was "communicated broadly" over the ship's intercom, in printed communications, and on posts shown at the exits of the ship.

The elderly passenger who was concussed was returned to the US, where she has made a "safe return," a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said.

According to WPDE, the group flew to Gambia on Sunday, hoping to rejoin the ship at another port.

A spokesperson for the cruise line said that the ship could not safely dock in Gambia due to adverse weather conditions, adding that efforts are being made for the guests to rejoin the ship in Senegal on Tuesday.

Though cruise ships need to stay punctual, ruined-vacation stories like this are a reputational risk and might put people off.

For instance, two MSC Splendida passengers were stranded last summer at an Italian port after arriving too late for departure.

A TikTok video showed the couple waving and begging the crew to wait for them, even though the gangway appeared to have already been removed.

Other passengers may face the stress of becoming stranded in remote locations through no fault of their own. Last September, more than 200 people got stuck in a remote part of Greenland after their cruise ship ran aground.

And last November, passengers were stranded at a Brisbane port after a Royal Caribbean ship was overbooked.

Watch: Stowaways survive 14 days at sea clinging to a ship rudder

• Main content

This major cruise line operator just announced its biggest ship order ever

One of the world’s leading cruise operators unveiled its biggest ship order ever on Monday.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will take delivery of eight ships between 2026 and 2036 across its three brands. 

Norwegian Cruise Line will welcome four ships in 2030, 2032, 2034 and 2036, each with a capacity of close to 5,000 guests. The additions are subject to financing.

The vessels will follow the line’s previously announced Prima-Plus class vessels.

The upscale Oceania Cruises will take delivery of two 1,450-guest ships in 2027 and 2029, and luxury line Regent Seven Seas Cruises will add two ships in 2026 and 2029, each accommodating 850 passengers.

"This strategic new-ship order across all three of our award-winning brands provides for the steady introduction of cutting-edge vessels into our fleet and solidifies our long-term growth,” Harry Sommer, the company’s president and CEO, said in a news release . “It also allows us to significantly leverage our operating scale, strengthen our commitment to innovation and enhance our ability to offer our guests new products and experiences, all while providing opportunities to enhance the efficiency of our fleet.”

Specifics about the ships’ accommodations and amenities will be announced “in the coming months,” according to the release.

The company will also add a new multi-ship pier at its private Bahamas island, Great Stirrup Cay, scheduled for completion by late 2025. The pier will be able to accommodate two large ships at once.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

Bangor Daily News

Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries

The era of large cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor might soon end

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Unless another court ruling overturns Bar Harbor’s new cruise ship limits, 2025 is expected to be the last year that large passenger ships drop anchor in Frenchman Bay.

But it could be sooner than that — or may have already passed — if a judge decides that the town must enforce the new limits this year.

“Large” can be a relative term when the smallest cruise ships that visit Bar Harbor are more than 200 feet long and can accommodate 100 paid passengers. Most of the ships that visit Bar Harbor, Maine’s busiest cruise ship port, are closer to 1,000 feet long and carry between 1,800 and 4,000 passengers per voyage.

It is these larger ships that effectively will be banned from visiting the tourist destination when the town’s new daily limit of 1,000 passengers per day  starts being enforced. Of Bar Harbor’s current 104 cruise ship visits scheduled for this year, 70 would be prohibited if the daily limit was to go into effect before May 2, when the first large ship of the year, carrying nearly 2,400 passengers, is expected to arrive.

Of the ships that will still be allowed, most carry approximately 100 to 200 passengers and rarely do two of them appear in Bar Harbor on the same day. As a result, the town most likely will get only a couple hundred passengers ashore on cruise ship days — below the daily 1,000-passenger limit and far below the 2,000 to 5,000 passengers that have sometimes come ashore when multiple ships are in town at the same time.

But when the new limit will be fully enforced is a heated subject of debate  in Bar Harbor, where the council says it will honor reservations made by large ships before voters approved the new limits on Nov. 8, 2022. Charles Sidman , a local resident who spearheaded the referendum vote, is taking the town to court to try to legally compel it to enforce the cap now.

In addition, a coalition of local businesses is challenging the new daily limit in federal court, arguing that it runs counter to federal maritime law and is unfairly onerous. A federal judge upheld the new daily limit  in February, but the business group has said it intends to appeal the decision.

Regardless of which entity prevails in court, the number of annual cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor, which gets millions of visitors each year who arrive each year by car or bus, already is declining and likely will never regain the volume of recent years.

Outside the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 — when the global cruise ship industry ground to a halt and no ships came to Bar Harbor  — the town recently has averaged roughly 150 visits each year, all between late April and early November, and received an annual total between 200,000 and 250,000 passengers. This year, even if large ships are allowed, the town will get fewer than 200,000 passengers for the first time — apart from 2020 and 2021 — since 2016.

After cruise ships first started showing up sporadically off Bar Harbor in the 1980s, their numbers jumped above 50 per year in 2001 and then above 100 per year in 2008. The town’s first year with more than 100,000 cruise ship passengers was in 2004, when it welcomed 87 ships into Frenchman Bay.

Along the way, the town has worked with local cruise industry officials to find ways to manage the flow of passengers to and from the downtown waterfront. It moved anchorage points in the bay behind the Porcupine Islands to make the ships less visually imposing from downtown, and tried making adjustments to how tour buses come and go from West Street to relieve traffic congestion, even as the number of visits consistently increased over time.

But as complaints continued to come in, the town decided in 2021 — when annual visits to Acadia National Park soared to more than 4 million  — to conduct a survey to ask local people what they thought about local cruise ship traffic. More than half  of the survey’s respondents said the volume of cruise ship visits was hurting the town.

With the writing on the wall, both town officials and local cruise industry officials began discussing how to reduce the number  of large ships that visit each year.

Together, they came up with a plan to impose a daily passenger cap of 3,800 passengers for May, June, September and October, and a daily cap of 3,500 for July and August. They also agreed on monthly caps of 30,000 passengers in May and June, 40,000 in July and August, and 65,000 in September and October.

But Sidman’s 2022 citizens’ petition effort, which led to the November referendum that year, derailed that plan.

For now, with Bar Harbor officials saying they plan to honor large cruise ship reservations made prior to the November 8, 2022 vote, the number of visits scheduled for 2025 stands at 18, all of which are large ships that together would bring nearly 57,000 ship passengers to town between late August and early October. The Regal Princess, which carries 3,560 passengers, would be the final large ship to visit Bar Harbor, on Oct. 28, 2025.

All large ship reservation requests that have come in since residents approved the daily 1,000-passenger cap have been denied, according to town officials.

More articles from the BDN

Bill trotter.

A news reporter in coastal Maine for more than 20 years, Bill Trotter writes about how the Atlantic Ocean and the state's iconic coastline help to shape the lives of coastal Maine residents and visitors.... More by Bill Trotter

Eight tourists left stranded on African island after cruise ship departs without them

The tourists - which included a pregnant woman - were forced to make their own way through several countries as they tried to catch up with the ship.

News reporter @niamhielynch

Tuesday 2 April 2024 20:01, UK

Eight passengers on a luxury cruise holiday were left stranded on the African island of Sao Tome and Principe after their ship departed without them. 

The tourists - six from the US and two from Australia - were forced to make their own way through several countries as they tried to catch up with the vessel.

The group were aboard the Norwegian Dawn, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, which departed from Cape Town, South Africa, on 20 March for a 21-day trip up the coast of Africa.

The cruise was set to end in Barcelona, Spain, on 10 April.

But they were late to return to the ship on 27 March after going on a private tour that day.

They said their tour's operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late to rejoin the ship, and the local coastguard tried to get them on the vessel, but they weren't allowed to board.

As a result, the eight passengers were left stranded for days on the island, 190 miles off the coast of Nigeria - grappling with language barriers, currency issues, and complicated travel to rejoin the ship.

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Jill and Jay Campbell, from South Carolina, told Sky's US partner network NBC News about the "very difficult process".

"We were able to get to a tour agency there to arrange flights to the next port of call," Mr Campbell said.

"[But it is a] very difficult process - you're dealing with multiple languages, language barriers, you're dealing with different currencies… finding someone that even has dollars… trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to.

"It's one of those, 'You can't get there from here."

"The lovely people of Sao Tome were very gracious, very hospitable. They had reached out as much as they could to help us find hotels," he added.

Read more from Sky News: Nepal villagers duped into selling kidneys Remains found of boy, 2, missing since July Tens of thousands stage protests in Israel

The group had arranged to rejoin the cruise in Gambia but the ship was unable to safely dock there due to bad weather conditions.

Ms Campbell said they travelled through seven countries in 48 hours to be able to meet the ship in Senegal.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

But they said they are now considering whether they even want to return to the cruise.

She added: "We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship. It is in dock here in Senegal. We believe there was a basic duty of care that they had forgotten about, so it does concern us."

A pregnant woman and her husband were also part of the stranded group.

Separately, an 80-year-old woman who was "medically disembarked" from the ship to receive treatment on the island was also left there, the group alleged.

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Norwegian Cruise Line told NBC News they were unable to contact Julia Lenkoff, who flew home to California after the group of eight stranded tourists made contact with her family.

Norwegian Cruise Line did not respond immediately to Sky News's request for comment.

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Juneau had a record-breaking cruise season last year. This year should be about the same.

Juneau’s 2024 cruise ship tourism season is just around the corner as the  first ship of the year  — the Norwegian Bliss — is slated to arrive early Tuesday morning.

Last year, the capital city saw its busiest season ever — welcoming more than 1.6 million passengers. On the busiest days, Juneau welcomed upwards of 21,000 cruise visitors. 

Juneau Tourism Manager Alix Pierce said this year likely won’t top last year’s record-breaking season. She expects to see about the same number of visitors.

“I think it will run a lot more smoothly, and things will be better,” she said. “Generally, our tour operators know what to expect. They know what kind of volume to expect, and they’re gearing up and getting ready.”

In a survey conducted last fall, about 64% of Juneau residents said they wanted to keep the local tourism volume about the same or reduce it slightly. 

But some major problems did crop up during 2023’s record season — things like heavy  downtown congestion , the Mendenhall Glacier reaching  its tour capacity  and business owners saying it was just hard to keep up.

One big change this year for controlling the traffic will be a new limit of  five large ships  per day. 

During a tourism panel on Thursday, Cruise Lines International Association Alaska spokesperson Renee Reeve said that agreement with the city will be key to flattening growth in the coming years.

“I think what that shows is industry’s commitment and CBJs commitment to making this place somewhere that visitors want to visit, and somewhere that the residents want to live,” she said.

A limit on the number of ships does not necessarily mean fewer passengers. But an even bigger change could be coming in 2026. Pierce said the city is in the early stages of negotiating with cruise lines to limit the number of passengers that come off their ships each day. 

“The best thing that we can come up with are daily passenger caps to keep our numbers relatively flat or decrease a little bit,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing some of these things come to fruition, and then seeing how it feels in terms of passenger volume, and numbers and what that means for us as a destination.”

Last season, cruise ship passengers spent a total of $320 million in Juneau, according to a  report that came out last fall.  To support that business, it’s estimated that more than 3,000 people in Juneau worked jobs that were directly related to tourism. 

Local tour operators faced a tough situation after they sold out on  bus trips to the Mendenhall Glacier  halfway through the season, which meant more tourists stayed downtown.

This year, the city plans to send extra buses to follow the city buses that carry people out to the glacier to handle the overflow. Pierce said local operators are also trying to balance their permits over the season to reduce congestion on buses and downtown.

“They’re offering more city tours that go to other sites where you can see the glacier from elsewhere. So they’re trying to pick up that volume in different ways,” she said.

In April, about one-to-three ships will port in Juneau per week before ramping up to three-to-five ships per day by the latter half of May. Ships will continue to port in Juneau nearly every day before winding down in late October. 

And as tourism kicks up for the summer, residents can send in complaints and concerns to the city’s  tourism hotline.

Clarise Larson, KTOO - Juneau

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