Internet access for my iPhone in South America

I'm going on a cruise in South America which travels around Cape Horn. I'm looking for some way that I can occasionally check my emails, maybe make a handful of phone calls. Of course I don't want to spend a fortune, either. So a SIM card or wireless hotspot would do the trick.

Does anyone know where I should go to find something like this? I already have an unlocked iPhone that I use regularly, so I can simply switch out the SIM card and it should be fine.

The cruise is about 20 days long around South America, so my specific needs are:

• 100 MB data
  
• 10 minutes of phone calls
  

Thanks in advance!

Gary -

I am in the same boat (or on the same ship!). I will goto Verizon and ask about a sim card. Typically, these are already in the phone, unless you walked out of the Apple store with a phone. I would call your provider, than can do a series of test to see if you have the right one.

Kyle Barton

I did indeed walk out of an Apple Store with a phone, so my phone is already unlocked. I can get a SIM card from wherever, and it should work with my phone immediately. And then when I'm done, I can just stick my usual SIM card back into my phone when my trip is done.

Perhaps if you pick up a sim card in Chile or Argentina? Try posting on Trip Advisor maybe a local could answer this question best.

You're talking about accessing the Internet while in port? Accessing while on board the ship could only be done through the cruise line, wouldn't it? Internet access can be spotty in some remote areas. We used LAN houses in Ushuaia and Punta Arenas.

If you are calling at the Falklands, there is no free Wifi. Hotspots are about 10USD for 10 minutes. Your ship probably has better and cheaper internet access than the Falklands do... :-)

I was on a tour bus in Argintina which had free wifi :D. I updated all my apps on my iPhone while traveling between stops.

Don

Free wi-fi between stops sounds great-please share-which port and which tour company?

I have usedSIM cards from both OneSimCard (http://www.onesimcard.com/) and Telestial (http://www.telestial.com/) and both worked well for both voice and data when traveling.

Both companies list the countries they work in. Telestial covers a few more than OneSimCard. I purchased Telestial because it works in Bermuda and OneSimCard doesn't.

We recently dumped Verizon and switched to T-Mobile because they offer free international data and texting wherever there is cell service available--which is now almost everywhere. No special sim card needed. Also, with wifi calling you can call back to the US free whenever there is wifi available. You need to change a couple settings on your phone to enable international roaming and set it for wifi only calling. Haven't tried it yet in S. America (we are cruising there next month), but have used it in China and on several Caribbean islands with great results. Our son was in Ecuador in Sept. and had cell service even on some islands out in the Galapagos and could call us over the wifi in his hotel in Quito. Just a thought. By the way, I do not work for T-Mobile but am just a customer.

We recently dumped Verizon and switched to T-Mobile because they offer free international data and texting wherever there is cell service available--which is now almost everywhere. No special sim card needed. Also, with wifi calling you can call back to the US free whenever there is wifi available. You need to change a couple settings on your phone to enable international roaming and set it for wifi only calling. Haven't tried it yet in S. America (we are cruising there next month), but have used it in China and on several Caribbean islands with great results. Our son was in Ecuador in Sept. and had cell service even on some islands out in the Galapagos and could call us over the wifi in his hotel in Quito. Just a thought. By the way, I do not work for T-Mobile but am just a customer.

You will still be charged ON THE SHIP. Some cell companies are now offering "packages" for ON THE SHIP use. Otherwise, plan on $2.99 per minute for phone, $.50 to text, $.05 to receive text and a specific price per MB for data. In addition, you will pay for internet usage to access your email, send email or do anything else that is considered data.

Off the ship-lots of free wifi, internet cafes, etc. etc. MUCH cheaper to send emails from port.

You will still be charged ON THE SHIP. Some cell companies are now offering "packages" for ON THE SHIP use. Otherwise, plan on $2.99 per minute for phone, $.50 to text, $.05 to receive text and a specific price per MB for data. In addition, you will pay for internet usage to access your email, send email or do anything else that is considered data.

 

Off the ship-lots of free wifi, internet cafes, etc. etc. MUCH cheaper to send emails from port.

We don't plan to use the phone on the ship except maybe with wifi--we're platinum with Princess so we each have 250 free internet minutes on a long cruise (when it works). We were on the Sapphire Princess for 25 days repositioning cruise this year and were careful with our minutes, only to have the internet completely go out the last few days when we really needed it. We travel with Kindles and a small laptop, which are much more convenient for email than the phone. When we were in port in the Caribbean last month the phone was fine for texting and wifi calling with our phone plan.