Communication devices among travelers?? Thanks

I second Brad's suggestion. To keep in touch other travelers while overseas, the local phone option is best and possibly the cheapest. But, because you are going to four different countries, this may not be as workable as it seems. You have to figure out what the roaming costs will be, ensure your phones have enough credit, and be sure you know how to dial an international number. Within the E.U. roaming costs are capped. Not sure about what happens in Turkey. What carrier do you use in the U.S.? If it is AT&T or T-Mobile (and not on one of their prepaid plans) and if your phones have the correct frequencies for overseas use, another option would be to just text each other. In a pinch, you could even call. The cost might be worth it to you. Text messages will cost you $0.50 or so for both incoming and outgoing, although if you have a U.S. message plan, incoming texts are covered, at least with T-Mobile. In other words, budget for each text to cost about $1, which would mean you should use them sparingly and skip all the replies that just say "ok." Dialing is easy, too. If your child's number is 555-1212, and your area code is 222, you'd just dial or text to this number: +222-555-1212. (The plus sign makes it work internationally.)

(Continued . . . ) If you have Verizon, they will rent or loan you phones that will work overseas and give you SIM cards necessary to make them work. One warning: Don't use your phones on any cruise lines. The roaming charges there make European roaming charges look cheap.

Brad gets a third here, although we carry Blackberry Bolds and we used the Nav more than we called places.

I'd probably go for two or three cell phones, purchased on arrival in Barcelona. A basic phone and pin card (edit: should have said SIM card, not pin) isn't too expensive and calls in Spain will be cheap. As you travel through Italy, Greece and Turkey, the phones will be roaming and cost more per minute. I think you are better off with a Spain based phone, since you are likely to spend most of your wandering time there. Europe friendly radios have limited range. I'm not sure you can count on always being within range. I also noticed my cell phone battery liked to die, even when turned off, in my stateroom safe. Like your camera, make sure everyone starts their day with a charged battery.

I've used Verizon loaners for several trips, and the good thing is that your kids will remember mom and dad and sis's numbers.... however, I'd let my kids roam in Barcelona and make them stick with an adult on the shore excursions. Too much trouble to get them to the next port if they get turned around there and don't get back to the ship. The loaners are free ( you HAVE to already have Verizon as your provider) unless you lose or damage or fail to return all the adapters and accessories they include. You could have just two phones, or one for everyone who uses Verizon. You would have to make sure they arent calling all their friends or constantly texting folks back home. incoming texts are a nickel, outgoing ones are 50 cents. Also the loaners are not cool phones so no one will want to keep them at the end of the trip.
Sounds like a fun trip!

Your cruise ship may not allow your minor children to leave the ship without you.

Chip is probably right about the cruise ships rules on minors leaving the ship without parents. You can all get off together then let them go one direction while you go another. I'm pretty sure ships will let them back on without their parents but that's something to find out about the ship's policy. Otherwise you need to meet up first, then board. If they do wander in port, give yourself plenty of time to meet up before getting back on the ship. The worst thing is to miss the boat (literally) when its next destination is another country. Much easier to let them roam in Barcelona when your lodging doesn't have a chance of leaving without them. If you buy phones, bring them home. To keep your SIM card active you need to make a call once in awhile. Or you can not worry about that and simply bring the phone(s) to Europe on your next trip and buy a new local SIM card.

I went through this on my last trip and found out a few things. .... Using a cell phone in another language is not easy. Trying to retrieve a message was impossible without understanding the instructions. We never needed to call each other. Even more chargers to carry and adapters. The expense was not worth it to have two phones, one for emergencies and changing plans was enough. As for your kids.... Say they are late for the ship, you call them and then what? I would think the ship would have contingency plans, make sure they have a copy of that plan with appropriate phone numbers on their persons. Buy them a watch with an alarm. If you can't trust them to make it back without a phone you shouldn't let them go off without you.

I bought a bottom-of-the-line TIM phone in Italy last summer and bought minutes as I needed them (10 euro blocks of minutes and the phone was about 30 euro). It came with a 13-month contract, which won't expire before my next trip, so I'm taking it back with me. I used it for confirming hotel reservations and getting in touch with some friends; not sure it would be effective in herding teens. The phone worked at the same call rate in several countries (a little more to the US), check the provider to see what calls cost in various countries if you decide to go this route.