Phone for France - pls help

I'm going to France and can anyone give me some information on a sim card or how it works to use the internet, text, call, etc. I won't do much calling unless there is an emergency, I can find hotspots for internet, I have a us cellular samsung - can anyone please help - thanks

Cheapest: If your phone is unlocked, simply buy a French SIM card from Orange once you arrive. If it's not unlocked, and you can't get it unlocked (hint: there are internet services that will sell you an unlocking code even if your carrier doesn't want to unlock your phone), buy a cheap phone and the French SIM card after you arrive. More expensive, but not bad: Buy or rent a phone and multi-country SIM card from Mobal and have it shipped to you before you leave.

Cheapest: If your phone is unlocked, simply buy a French SIM card from Orange once you arrive. If it's not unlocked, and you can't get it unlocked (hint: there are internet services that will sell you an unlocking code even if your carrier doesn't want to unlock your phone), buy a cheap phone and the French SIM card after you arrive. More expensive, but not bad: Buy or rent a phone and multi-country SIM card from Mobal and have it shipped to you before you leave.

Thanks so so so very much! I think we will try and unlock the phone first and get the sim card from Mobal like you said. I'd like to go ahead and buy before I get to france so I don't have to hunt it down :) Once I look up Mobal on the internet, do I just put in sim card for france - will there be a data plan, etc - sorry, I'm so clueless

Mobal is more expensive per minute than using a country-specific SIM card, but very handy if you're going to be in more than one country during your trip, which is why I use it. As well as a European (UK) number, it also includes a US number so people here can reach you without making an international call (but you will pay for the incoming call on that number). In your case, I would probably suggest a France-only SIM (much cheaper), which can also be purchased in advance from various vendors and sent to you in the U.S. Don't be alarmed if they ask for your passport number; this is an anti-terrorism measure. Just remember that if you use your own U.S. phone no one can call you on your existing number once you remove your U.S. SIM card and replace it with a European one, as you will have a new European number (unless you have a phone with slots for two SIM cards, which is probably much more information than you want to deal with right now...)

P.S. One possibility is to leave the new French number on the outgoing voicemail message of your U.S. number, and let anyone who really needs to contact you make an international call at their expense (much cheaper than it used to be). One of the reasons I use Mobal is that we travel to Europe frequently, to different countries, both the U.S. and UK numbers are permanent, and I'm only charged per minute when I use the phone. Country-specific SIM cards are a little different, but that may not be an issue for you, and they are cheaper per minute. All this will become clearer as you investigate, but at first it seems really, really complicated.

P.S. One possibility is to leave the new French number on the outgoing voicemail message of your U.S. number, and let anyone who really needs to contact you make an international call at their expense (much cheaper than it used to be). One of the reasons I use Mobal is that we travel to Europe frequently, to different countries, both the U.S. and UK numbers are permanent, and I'm only charged per minute when I use the phone. Country-specific SIM cards are a little different, but that may not be an issue for you, and they are cheaper per minute. All this will become clearer as you investigate, but at first it seems really, really complicated.

WOW, I'm overwhelmed!, But good information :) I'll start investigating!:eek:

You might also want to consider what is done by many American crew who works on ships. They simply change their US (I think this also works for Canadians) to T-Mobile....who includes service throughout Europe...including both phone and date. We did not understand who or why they would do this until we realized that T-Mobile is owned by a huge German phone company.

Hank

The times they are changing. American carriers now have various plans that include European roaming at very reasonable rates. T Mobile is the best here. With most T Mobile plans, besides unlimited calls and data in the USA, Canada and Mexico, you get 20¢/minute calls in almost every European country. Callers call in on your US number and the call rings through to you as you will be roaming on a European network in the country you're in; it doesn't relly matter which. So if you're in France, for example, if you have such a plan with T Mobile, upon arrival when you turn on the phone, it will register on a French network perhaps but not exclusively Orsnge FR. As noted all calls to and from will be 20¢/minute. Unlimited text and unlimited data albeit 2g (slow as molassas) is incouded. This is in every European country including places you wouldn't expect such as Russia. Of course, in your hotel you ight have wifi which will allow you to use high speed data. Now there are other alternatives and other carriers have plans although, to the best of my knowledge, none as good or as inclusive as t mobile. Worth a look if your carrier in the USA is T Mobile.

I'm going to France and can anyone give me some information on a sim card or how it works to use the internet, text, call, etc. I won't do much calling unless there is an emergency, I can find hotspots for internet, I have a us cellular samsung - can anyone please help - thanks

Great timing! The New York Times just published an article ahead of the Summer travel season with this very thought in mind! France is included in their coverage, it's a great, helpful article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/technology/personaltech/a-travelers-guide-to-taking-a-smartphone-abroad.html?_r=0

The article includes details about the "unlock" scenarios with the various phone carriers - in other words, into which phones you can pop in a SIM card easily enough - mostly all except one ;)

As you've already been advised, Orange is the company to go to for French SIM cards but you can purchase 1GB card online or 2GB in person in their stores. If you don't expect to use it much, 1GB is probably enough, especially taking into account saving your data (remember to turn it off on your phone settings to preserve it) when you have access to free wifi.

The article also covers other message/phone options such as WhatsApp, owned by Facebook or, if you use an iPhone and someone else you're contacting also does, calling or messaging via FaceTime or iMessage. Yet another app called Rebtel works more or less the same and is for Android or iPhone so long as caller and receiver both have the app...there are options.

Most recently I used SIM cards in Italy in my Verizon phone and it worked very well. Important to note that you'll have a phone number local to the country you are in, not your own home number so folks dialing from the US will need to dial France 011+33+1+the 8 digit number if you are calling from Paris for example (need the 1) but otherwise everything worked as if I were using my phone exactly the same as if I were at home. What *I* did to call home though to maximize my SIM card was purchase Phone cards from the Tabac (tobacco store) since this gave me hundreds of minutes to talk...I was in Italy for about 6 weeks ;) For a briefer visit, I might have skipped that step - there *were* some hiccups too :eek:

Enjoy your holiday feeling connected :)

I wanted an international phone to use only in case of emergency so I purchased the Mobal basic model. I like the idea that once purchased, there are no other expenses like a monthly contract.

Plus if you purchase a phone from them using a referral, you get a $5 credit on your account to be used against phone charges.

If you're not already overwhelmed by the various options we are presenting, I congratulate you. One of the reasons I use a Mobal multi-country SIM when in Europe (rather than getting all my service through T-Mobile or a similar carrier) is that I use a Consumer Cellular SIM in the U.S. (dirt cheap per month through AARP) and then simply swap it out for the Mobal SIM when I leave the country; for me, this works out to be cheaper than other options, but that may not be true for you. I should also point out that I am using a flip-phone for all this, not any kind of 21st century smartphone; for that kind of stuff, I carry a wifi-only iPad Mini in Europe, and use that for my emailing, banking, train reservations, etc. by connecting to the free wifi in airports, hotels, trains, etc. I have considered upgrading the iPad to a combo model, but I like having the small flip-phone in my pocket, as I think it attracts far less attention from muggers and other miscreants than even a smartphone. Your mileage may vary.

The article i'n the NY Times is excellent. Even I can't find much to quibble with.

That NYT article is OK, as far as it goes...but it does not mention MOBAL (maybe they are owned by a Conservative) :).

 

Hank

Not to be a voice of disent or in the slightest to disuade you. At one time, Mobal was a very good alternative and it's certainly fine if you don't have a smart phone and have data needs. But as I said, time marches on. Now we all have our individual needs, likes and dislikes.

For example, I can go through what I do to make sure that when I'm on holiday in Europe, I have ways to dirt cheaply divert calls to my home number to where I am at the time. I won't go through that. In another blog, I went through it and somebody scolded me that people don't want to be bothered when they are on holiday. Okay, to each his or her own.

The ability to use the major US carriers for relatively cheap roaming has only come about in the very very recent past. The thought, for example, that I have an app from which I can play most of the channels I get on my Verizon Fios bundle to me is absolutely amazing. Last year, just as an exssmple, I was able to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs on my smartphone using wifi in my hotel or use my gps in Paris to find a restaurant or find out when the next bus would arrive in London. All routine today with data packages. Who knows what will be possible in 5 years but again I am sure others will yell why would you want to watch television when on holiday. And they're right.

I know, I know. A long winded silly answer on my part. Mobal is fine for your needs; it wouldn't be so good for me. At least today. But then again, you never know.

Regards

Hi all

I am researching this issue as well. I have used local sims on my unlocked iPhone for several years now. It is a great option, but usually requires some advance research and a visit to a local cell phone store on arrival at your destination.

My issue is a bit different this year. I am looking for a single SIM option for for roaming in in three countries during our Oct west bound TA. We will visit Italy, France and Spain. I'm looking at a Vodafone option in Italy with a roaming add-on for France and Spain as well as a new international roaming option called "knowroaming". Does anyone have any experience with knowroaming?

Here is a link to the discussion in the Italy forum. It was very helpful to me in 2014.

Buying cell and data SIMS in Italy

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fboards%2Ecruisecritic%2Ecom%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D1925022&share_tid=1925022&share_fid=24703&share_type=t

Cheers

Tom

So, this thread, plus some advice from a couple of crew members on the Prinsendam, spurred me to look into switching my iPhone from ATT to T-Mobile. After talking to a a few T-Mobile sales folks at a local store, and carefully reading about their coverage...we are sold...and will be switching to T-Mobile before our upcoming trip to Northern Europe-Baltic. No hassles with buying Sims overseas.....no more having to deal with my old Mobal phone (and expensive cost per minute). Bottom line is that T-mobile gives me unlimited free text, the same amount of data I get at home, and only 20 cents a minute for calls. Roaming does not cost extra...so my US phone number will work all over Europe (and most of Asia) without any additional cost.

Hank

P.S, If you want to actually look for train schedules...the regional train company is called the "TER."

So, this thread, plus some advice from a couple of crew members on the Prinsendam, spurred me to look into switching my iPhone from ATT to T-Mobile. After talking to a a few T-Mobile sales folks at a local store, and carefully reading about their coverage...we are sold...and will be switching to T-Mobile before our upcoming trip to Northern Europe-Baltic. No hassles with buying Sims overseas.....no more having to deal with my old Mobal phone (and expensive cost per minute). Bottom line is that T-mobile gives me unlimited free text, the same amount of data I get at home, and only 20 cents a minute for calls. Roaming does not cost extra...so my US phone number will work all over Europe (and most of Asia) without any additional cost.

 

Hank

P.S, If you want to actually look for train schedules...the regional train company is called the "TER."

I hope you'll share your experiences with us. I'm not sold on the T-Mobile option due to its speed limitation to 2G. I've heard mixed results so far from a friend who switched to T-mobile last year.

Ironically I predict this whole international data roaming issue will be history in the coming years. For example EU roaming tariffs will be gone next June.

I hope you'll share your experiences with us. I'm not sold on the T-Mobile option due to its speed limitation to 2G. I've heard mixed results so far from a friend who switched to T-mobile last year.

 

Ironically I predict this whole international data roaming issue will be history in the coming years. For example EU roaming tariffs will be gone next June.

Ok, we will have to relay on advice and info from others. But in the USA and Canada T-Mobile is 4LTE just about everywhere. In Europe, it is generally 3G (not 2G) which is more then adequate for most tasks. And keep in mind that you can have service for as little as $50 a month (includes 2Gig of data) and the data will work throughout Europe (T-Mobile's owner is a German Telecom empire).

But for us, the advantage is that our US Cell phone number will work throughout a lot of the world...with no modifications to our plan. And when we live in Mexico (for 10 weeks this year) our T-Mobile phone will work just like it does in the USA with no additional cost. Must admit that we had never considered T-Mobile until several crew members told us we were crazy. They actually had pretty decent cell service while we were cruising several miles off of both Italy and Greece....and all this without paying any extra fees over the basic plan. We will be in Russia in about 6 weeks, and also like the fact that T-Mobile apparently works in that country. We shall see. Since we own our own unlocked iPhone...we do not get involved with any contracts. So if it does not work as advertised...a few clicks of the mouse and we shall switch to a different company :).

Hank

Unlocked iPhones are a wonderful thing. Hope T-Mobil works for you. Interested in your results in Russia. We go there in July 2017.

So, this thread, plus some advice from a couple of crew members on the Prinsendam, spurred me to look into switching my iPhone from ATT to T-Mobile. After talking to a a few T-Mobile sales folks at a local store, and carefully reading about their coverage...we are sold...and will be switching to T-Mobile before our upcoming trip to Northern Europe-Baltic. No hassles with buying Sims overseas.....no more having to deal with my old Mobal phone (and expensive cost per minute). Bottom line is that T-mobile gives me unlimited free text, the same amount of data I get at home, and only 20 cents a minute for calls. Roaming does not cost extra...so my US phone number will work all over Europe (and most of Asia) without any additional cost.

 

Hank

P.S, If you want to actually look for train schedules...the regional train company is called the "TER."

Where did you get the information that the mobile included data is 3g? I thought it was 2g.

The info is available on their coverage maps (or you can simply stop in one of their stores and ask for the info. Here is a link to their France coverage....nearly all of which is specified as 3G or Above....although the manager of a local T-Mobile store told me not to expect anything better than 3G. I would add that since we have no intention of streaming video....3G (and even 2G) would be more then adequate.

http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/roaming.html

We should also mention that buying regional or National Sim cards in Europe is a fine alternative for those that want to take the time to purchase the cards. However, with a European SIM, you get a European phone number....which none of your contacts are aware. This is why most frequent travelers look for an alternative that allows them roaming with the their regular US/Canada phone number. There are some cell companies (we know Verizon is one) that will sell account upgrades that add Europe...but most of these plans do not include any data...or add an even higher price for data. What makes T-Mobile attractive is that their regular plans include the same amount of data world-wide (in countries they cover) and only add a 20 cent per minute charge for phone calls. As a comparison, my MOBAL phone has a UK phone number....and charges me $1.25 per minute for calls.

Hank

P.S. Let me be clear that we are not advocating T-Mobile...but simply relaying what was told to us by several Prinsendam crew members (including an American entertainer)

If you have a smart phone and will be in several countries, it could make sense to look at KnowRoaming. Basically a sticker that turns your sim into a dual sim, and agreements with local phone companies for voice, text & data. Do a Google search for more info...they are based in Toronto. An MVNO (such as Consumer Cellular, also our carrier) and local SIM or KnowRoaming will be less for most users than T-Mobile would be. ymmv!

We used KnowRoaming in my DH's Samsung Galaxy7 in Canada 2 wks ago and it worked fine. Will be using it later this month in UK & France. The rates are higher than buying a local SIM, but after buying the sticker you pay only for the time (or data) you use, and it works in LOTS of countries. Most users can pay a monthly fee (zero to $3 typically, depending on country of origin) for their home number to forward to their phone while out of the country (voice only, texts do not forward); you also get a UK # and a US # that will work abroad.

Daily unlimited (with the usual throttling above given limits) data is $7.99, but we used voice only and wifi. You prepay and can set to auto refill. Non-Samsung phones may require more techy adjustments when first arriving in a new country. A few clicks on the app, and a restart or two, and it worked great for us.

We think some of the posts about T-Mobile are not quite accurate and/or explain the issue of speed. While it is true that if one wants to stream video (or run some complex apps) the speeds overseas may not be adequate. But many of us simply want our phone to work around the world for text, phone calls, and some data. So I did a little research and found this very good explanation:

http://thegirlandglobe.com/t-mobile-international-roaming-review/

Hank

If you have a smart phone and will be in several countries, it could make sense to look at KnowRoaming. Basically a sticker that turns your sim into a dual sim, and agreements with local phone companies for voice, text & data. Do a Google search for more info...they are based in Toronto. An MVNO (such as Consumer Cellular, also our carrier) and local SIM or KnowRoaming will be less for most users than T-Mobile would be. ymmv!

 

 

 

We used KnowRoaming in my DH's Samsung Galaxy7 in Canada 2 wks ago and it worked fine. Will be using it later this month in UK & France. The rates are higher than buying a local SIM, but after buying the sticker you pay only for the time (or data) you use, and it works in LOTS of countries. Most users can pay a monthly fee (zero to $3 typically, depending on country of origin) for their home number to forward to their phone while out of the country (voice only, texts do not forward); you also get a UK # and a US # that will work abroad.

 

 

 

Daily unlimited (with the usual throttling above given limits) data is $7.99, but we used voice only and wifi. You prepay and can set to auto refill. Non-Samsung phones may require more techy adjustments when first arriving in a new country. A few clicks on the app, and a restart or two, and it worked great for us.

Thank you for this feed back. This is extremely helpful info. I am pretty sure I'm going to get the Knowroaming sim sticker. The convenience of having it and not having to get local sims outweighs the slightly higher cost. I hope you'll share your experiences with it on your trip this month.

Tom

We think some of the posts about T-Mobile are not quite accurate and/or explain the issue of speed. While it is true that if one wants to stream video (or run some complex apps) the speeds overseas may not be adequate. But many of us simply want our phone to work around the world for text, phone calls, and some data. So I did a little research and found this very good explanation:

http://thegirlandglobe.com/t-mobile-international-roaming-review/

 

Hank

This is a good discussion of the T-Mobile option, and explains why for us it's probably not the best choice. We need faster data and are pretty happy with our US carrier AT&T. I expect in the not to distant future all major US carriers will follow T-Mobile's lead. I sure hope so!

Tom

This is a good discussion of the T-Mobile option, and explains why for us it's probably not the best choice. We need faster data and are pretty happy with our US carrier AT&T. I expect in the not to distant future all major US carriers will follow T-Mobile's lead. I sure hope so!

 

Tom

We would stick with ATT if that were the case. Keep in mind that T-Mobile is actually owned by Deutsche Telekom, which is a nice size company doing about $60 Billion per year in revenue. Being owned by a European telcom company has advantages for European coverage. But they have to work harder to cut into business of the huge North American giants like ATT and Verizon.

One reason we purchased an unlocked iPhone (bought direct from Apple) is that it gives us total flexibility to switch carriers. If anyone comes up with a better plan, we could switch in a heartbeat. Since we live in Mexico during the winter, T-Mobile is really advantageous (they have 4LTE where we live). ATT also offers some deals that include Mexico...but at greater cost.

Hank