Best way to call home to Canada??

Just wondering what is the cheapest way to call to Ontario from the ship and from hotels pre and post cruise?

I would like to call my mom fairly frequently, so hoping to get some advice from you seasoned Tahiti go-ers.

My mom is 85, so computers (Skype) or anything complicated is out of the question. We will be on the 10 day F.P. cruise with a few nights at hotels on either side.

Great question fellow Ontarian! I looked into buying a French Polynesian sim card but if you're with Rogers your phone will be locked and it will be useless. When do you sail? We're on the November 13th sailing.

It's my understanding that pay phones are readily found in Tahiti and less so but still present on the other islands. You need to buy a prepaid card to use them. This will probably be the cheapest way to call back to the US/Canada. My cell phone is unlocked, but I still use the pre-paid cards at payphones when possible, as it's the least expensive option.

DH uses his blackberry. Never used to work in the past but does now. I will ask him who his provider is.

He has also used the ships phone but that was rather expensive.

Pg cruises is very miserly with their repeaters benefits. No phone time, no unlimited Internet!

Remaxlu- We are going on the repeaters cruise even though it is our first P.G. cruise. Sept.10,2014.

ducklite- where can I get a prepaid card? -approx. how much does it cost a minute to call home?

Emdee= On the tours I have booked with you do you know if there are pay phones?

Does anyone know if there are pay phones at the I.C. Tahiti and the Moorea Hilton.

Dunner no pay phones....tours are away from civilization. Don't recall one in IC either but you could send them an email and ask.

Ask someone who will be on the pg. to find out what the crew do. I think they buy local phones to call the Phillipines.

Dunner, are you with Rogers, Bell, or other?

It's not that hard these days to get a phone unlocked, then you could buy a simcard in FP.

Or...you could roam. Either buy a package in advance, or just roam. Bell, for example, has these prices for FP:

Operator Network Voice Text Data

VINI GSM 900 $3.50 $0.75 $16.00

This is a la carte, I believe. If you buy a package for voice only, you can get 40 minutes for $80, $2 per additional min.

Don't know about Rogers but I'm sure they offer something similar. Not a lot for peace of mind.

Things have changed a lot since I first travelled to FP in 2000!

Thanks for the info! P.S. we are with Rogers--I will check with them

Will have to get something for our cell phone since pay phones seem to be out of the question.

Good luck dealing with Rogers! We've had nothing but problems with them but we're locked in for a another two years.

Dunner no pay phones....tours are away from civilization. Don't recall one in IC either but you could send them an email and ask.

 

Ask someone who will be on the pg. to find out what the crew do. I think they buy local phones to call the Phillipines.

Emdee, it's my understanding that the resort hotels all have them, and they are also located in all post offices. So I guess it depends on what you plan to do for shore excursions.

My plan is to have international calling turned on on my unlocked iPhone, and use that when a pay phone would be impractical, but utilize payphones and a calling cars purchased on arrival in Tahiti when practical.

I called home every day from Europe last year, hoping that next year I will only need to call home every 2-3 days.

Ducklite,

I cannot recall seeing one in the IC Tahiti.

However, that means nothing. Other people couldnt recall there being an ATM there and we knew there was one and used it too!

Most of the excursions I have organized are to motus away from the towns so no phones and usually no facilities!