Best phone carrier for overseas travel

This is a question for the Americans<g> I have Verizon.

while cruising, all i want to do is get my emails, texts and upload photos to Facebook. I do NOT plan to make/get phone calls.

Do I stick with Verizon or go to Tmobile? AT&T.

8 of our days are at sea so unless someone is putting cell towers in the ocean, the phone will be useless.

one option is to not use my phone, but buy the entire cruise internet package and check my mail and post photos when back on board.

Thoughts?

The phone will work at sea as the ship has a cellular at sea system.

You could check your emails by signing up to a WiFi package.

Nothing's a problem.

Hobart

Hobar

I have used my T-mobile unlocked iPhone and had not problem in most ports checking my email and using the Internet. My basic plan includes this with unlimited use for text and data in I believe 100 countries. I only made one or two brief phone calls and the price was quite reasonable.

I’m a little perplexed. It appears you have been on a very nice selection of ships over the last three years and they all work the same way now as they did then. Only difference is WIFI data connection plans and costs have changed. If you’re not making phone calls you are using the ships WIFI and it makes no difference who you use for phone carrier. You could just bring a tablet with no data connection and it would be just fine. Better yet put your phone in airplane mode or just turn it off and stop by a use one of the shops computers, to check your emails. Still just don’t know if this is the answers you’re looking for?

For international travel T-Mobile seems to have the best rate plans.

Keith

Carefree cruise,

The ship wifi does you no good when you are on shore. I like to use the maps on my phone and check out info in various places of interest. Furthermore not all people have the unlimited Seabourn wifi package. And even with the unlimited package I find using my phone on shore to send emails and photos is much faster than Seabourn's painfully slow service.

Carefree cruise,

The ship wifi does you no good when you are on shore. I like to use the maps on my phone and check out info in various places of interest. Furthermore not all people have the unlimited Seabourn wifi package. And even with the unlimited package I find using my phone on shore to send emails and photos is much faster than Seabourn's painfully slow service.

Chairsin

You are correct but the OP was only concerned with the 8 sea days. that's why I answered it that way. I also use T Mobile with the Simple plan; free roaming in 100 country's, free texting, free phone calls when connected to someone's WIFI and .20 cents a minute voice calls when calling back to the USA. Sure is nice leaving the phone in roaming OK mode and not have to worry when sailing in to each port. Just got my bill from 15 days in Europe and only had a $10.00 extra charge, for me thinking it was OK to check my visual voice mail at sea, thinking the phone was using WIFI. But now I know better and will check Visual Voice mails on land at .20 cents a minute.

You can take your phone off the ship and a get a phone chip. They will put it in and your phone bill on ground will be very cheap/\.

we can't thank you all enough. here is what we deduce. $399 for the entire ship package. 7 am is midnight in AZ and 5pm is 9AM so if we do twice a day, we can keep up. we'll use the phone to take pics and upload them when we get to the ship.we figured, 8 days at sea, we'd have no cellular so the easiest package is on line. no one is acalling us..or us, them while on the trip and if someone HAS to reach us, they can call the ship or email us. we ARE on vacation after all. thanks for all your feedback. too busy to switch to Tmobile for 3 1/2 weeks.

We are also from Az.The time diffence was a issue but not a problem. We kept our phone on airplane mode but used the camera daily. Most of our friends and family knew not to email or text unless urgent. We bought the the 3 hour package and it was plenty for us. We had full service on sea days no issue.