Phone for France - pls help

Hank

Thank you for the follow up. I find this information very useful. Interesting the aggressive progress T Mobile is making.

Cheers

Tom

Just returned from a month in Northern Europe and thought we would provide some late info on cell phones. This was our first extended European trip using our T Mobile account (with an iPhone6). We visited quite a few different places (some quite rural) including Russia, Finland, Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Estonia. Our T-Mobile phone connected in every place and usually gave is 3-5 bars. In most places we got LTE speed with a few spots dropping to 3G (fast enough for all our needs). We used our phone as a personal "hotspot" whenever near a port (our phone would often work when within 20 miles of shore) to retrive our e-mails on our iPad (would also work on any laptop). As a result, we had no need to purchase any internet time from our ship (many complained the ship;s Wifi did not usually work).

 

Others on the ship with ATT told us they got little to no service. Those with Verizon, who paid extra for European service, had few complaints about phone service. But unlike T mobile (who provides data at no extra charge and only charges 20 cents per minute for phone calls), Verizon does have extra fees.

 

Despite extensive use of both phone (20 cents a min) and data/texting (no extra charges above our usual US monthly fee) we incurred no extra charges for roaming or otherwise. Must admit we were really surprised that our phone service was good wherever we went in rural areas of both Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

 

Hank

Thanks for the info, Hank! We're traveling to Southern Europe with our Tmobile phones and I was hoping that we could get 4G service - Nice to hear about your firsthand experience:)

Thanks for the info, Hank! We're traveling to Southern Europe with our Tmobile phones and I was hoping that we could get 4G service - Nice to hear about your firsthand experience:)

Bear in mind, we are still in the two month period during which T Mobile is providing free 4g data in Europe. That will end 31 August. I have seen no annoucements nor frankly do I expect any that this will be extended past the end of August. I hope I'm wrong but would expect t mobile's simple choice plans to go back to 2g unlimited data, too slow to be all that useful.

Bear in mind, we are still in the two month period during which T Mobile is providing free 4g data in Europe. That will end 31 August. I have seen no annoucements nor frankly do I expect any that this will be extended past the end of August. I hope I'm wrong but would expect t mobile's simple choice plans to go back to 2g unlimited data, too slow to be all that useful.

I'm trying out a new option, "Knowroaming" for my October TA from Civitavecchia.

DW tells me that I am becoming a marketing rep for T-Mobile :). We still remember when they were considered (by many) a 2nd rate provider (in the USA). But times have certainly changed and they have now turned us into big time fans. The concept that your cell phone should simply work just about everywhere in the world, without extra plans or cost, is something that T-Mobile has adopted (at least for now). For us it has become a no-brainer. We jump on a plane (or ship) to Europe and our phone works. Go to Canada and it works, Go to Mexico and it works. No need to buy additional add-ons or worry about high European data fees or roaming charges. Our T-Mobile plan simply costs $50 a month (for one phone). If we need more then the 2 gigs of monthly LTE data (if you exceed the 2 gigs you do get unlimited at a slower speed....without more costs) we simply pay a flat $15 (for just that month) to raise the high speed LTE data limit to 6 Gigs.

The key to all the changes is to simply own a decent unlocked phone! You then can avoid contracts and simply change to whatever company has the best deals. We changed over from ATT to T-Mobile with a few clicks of the mouse and one toll free call. T-Mobile has simply set a new standard for international travelers...and we suspect that both ATT and Verizon will eventually have to come up with something comparable.

Hank

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The key to all the changes is to simply own a decent unlocked phone! You then can avoid contracts and simply change to whatever company has the best deals. We changed over from ATT to T-Mobile with a few clicks of the mouse and one toll free call. T-Mobile has simply set a new standard for international travelers...and we suspect that both ATT and Verizon will eventually have to come up with something comparable.

 

Hank

Dittos. Great advice. I'll never buy a locked phone again!

Dittos. Great advice. I'll never buy a locked phone again!

The good news for folks with locked phones is that it is usually possible to get them unlocked by simply calling your provider. While the attempt is not always excepted....it is worth a phone call. As to Apple iPhones.....anyone can simply purchase an unlocked phone directly from Apple at any Apple Store. Of course one must be willing to pay the full retail cost of the phone.

Hank

For AT&T phones they have an online request form. There was a glitch one could take advantage of and get a phone unlocked even if it was under contract. I got my new iPhone 6 unlocked within 6 months of purchase. I'm not sure if it has been fixed. Pretty easy.

KnowRoaming SIM sticker

Just returned from our 15 Night TA on Celebrity Reflection. Using the "KnowRoaming" SIM sticker. Our TA cruise included stops in Italy, France and Spain (including the island of Tenerife). We used the KnowRoaming SIM sticker and were very happy with the results. In all of the the ports of call.

The speeds and cell connections were all great. Even though 3G Speeds I was still able to get fast data connections for maps, stream video, periscope and FaceTime video. Very impressed. Easy to set up and use. The smartphone app which must be used in the setup and activation process is good but could be better. Just make sure you follow the steps and directions the present to you. The return home phase could be a little easier, but if you remember this is a separate SIM and you need to switch back to the home sim it makes the process make sense. Also remember you must have an unlocked smartphone to use this sticker.

As much as I like the KnowRoaming SIM it's not great for all travel scenarios. If you are staying in a single country for a week or more, KnowRoaming is not the best option. I recommend getting a local SIM.

However, if you are visiting multiple countries for short stays on your trip, KnowRoaming's unlimited daily data plans make sense. Customer service is great and the YouTube videos are all very helpful to understand the concept of the SIM sticker. I can't wait to use KnowRoaming again. Highly recommended.