sim card for europe recommendations

[necommcruise]

Great Info.  I will be purchasing just a 7 days eSim($4.50(US). If I need more GB then I I could purchase it online.

Thank you all.

 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

On 1/17/2024 at 7:18 AM, d9704011 said:

This raises the question of why get a esim (or sim) at all.  If the poster is simply taking a TA and intends to disembark in Europe and return to Canada, there is no very good reason (at least in ky opinion) to have a Europe/UK sim.

 Spending time in Europe before the cruise , SIM cards are cheap in Europe, it great to have maps to use as you walking around to find different places ,

Meeting up with friends who are in different parts of the city 

Basically the same reason to have a SIM card in Canada are the reason to have SIM card in the EU 

[d9704011]

3 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

 Spending time in Europe before the cruise , SIM cards are cheap in Europe, it great to have maps to use as you walking around to find different places ,

Meeting up with friends who are in different parts of the city 

Basically the same reason to have a SIM card in Canada are the reason to have SIM card in the EU 

I agree.  I was only commenting on a cruiser who intends to disembark the ship and hightail it to the local aerodrome for a flight back to North America.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

9 hours ago, d9704011 said:

I agree.  I was only commenting on a cruiser who intends to disembark the ship and hightail it to the local aerodrome for a flight back to North America.

You could also do  4 / 5 ports before you disembark, so have a SIM card still could be useful 

[starvenger]

Would agree on using Airalo. I've used them in France, in the US, and for Latin America (Belize/Honduras/Mexico). I'll more than likely use it again when I'm in Europe this fall.

 

And I keep my voice plan on (Virgin, so basically Bell) so I can receive calls if needed. But the important thing to remember about doing this is to ensure that you do not have "Roam like home" enabled, or you'll get hit with however much the per day charge is. 

 

The other thing about eSIMs is that you should activate the eSIM before you arrive at your destination. Activating the eSIM does not mean you're activating your prepaid data plan - it simply means that your eSIM is ready to go when you get to your destination. The data plan will start once the eSIM connects with the local provider. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Here is in interesting video on esims 

 

[gold1953]

On 1/29/2024 at 11:51 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Here is in interesting video on esims 

 

great info , Thanks!  Looks like I can install for the USA and Europe before I leave home

[CDNPolar]

23 hours ago, gold1953 said:

great info , Thanks!  Looks like I can install for the USA and Europe before I leave home

 

Always install before you leave home, as in some situations depending on what you want to achieve, you can only change some settings when at home.  Once you are in another country the option to choose "Rogers" or other Canadian carriers is gone....

[gold1953]

22 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Always install before you leave home, as in some situations depending on what you want to achieve, you can only change some settings when at home.  Once you are in another country the option to choose "Rogers" or other Canadian carriers is gone....

I will get both a US e-sim and a Europe and get set up at home as instructed..Thanks!

[Niavlys Ruofud]

9 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

I will get both a US e-sim and a Europe and get set up at home as instructed..Thanks!

Maybe you should buy the international one, it might be cheaper.  Just bought the airalo international one for 69$ US and its good for 365 days with 20 gb.  The one with phone calls is 89$ US

[gold1953]

On 2/3/2024 at 6:55 AM, Niavlys Ruofud said:

Maybe you should buy the international one, it might be cheaper.  Just bought the airalo international one for 69$ US and its good for 365 days with 20 gb.  The one with phone calls is 89$ US

We may or may not travel after our cruise in this period so this option would be pricey

[Niavlys Ruofud]

1 hour ago, gold1953 said:

We may or may not travel after our cruise in this period so this option would be pricey

Agree, but if you want 20 GB, the 365 days with Airalo is tge only option.  I'll be gone for 1 month (including 12 days on a cruise) and will likely travel for a month in Europe in September. When travelling to Europe, I use to buy a Sim card for 55$ canadian with 10 GB...For me, the 20 GB - 365 days anywhere in the world for 69$ us is worth it. 

[d9704011]

On 2/3/2024 at 5:55 AM, Niavlys Ruofud said:

Maybe you should buy the international one, it might be cheaper.  Just bought the airalo international one for 69$ US and its good for 365 days with 20 gb.  The one with phone calls is 89$ US

We are on a cruise/land tour to Europe in April and are planning six weeks in NZ and Australia next Jan to March.  So, the 365 day option is definitely attractive.  I couldn't figure out the phone call business; are the calls just local numbers (within the country you're traveling in) or is 'long distance' allowed?  In any event USD 89 (the extra USD 20 for voice may be worthwhile, especially down-under) would be a good bargain for the service and flexibility that appears to be on offer.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 minutes ago, Niavlys Ruofud said:

Agree, but if you want 20 GB, the 365 days with Airalo is tge only option.  I'll be gone for 1 month (including 12 days on a cruise) and will likely travel for a month in Europe in September. When travelling to Europe, I use to buy a Sim card for 55$ canadian with 10 GB...For me, the 20 GB - 365 days anywhere in the world for 69$ us is worth it. 

$55 CAD for a sim with only 10gbs, is pricey, never paid that much 

used Tim, Vodafone, Movistar  and simcorner in the past in the EU 

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

$55 CAD for a sim with only 10gbs, is pricey, never paid that much 

used Tim, Vodafone, Movistar  and simcorner in the past in the EU 

Agreed (we especially liked TIM Tourist but had to actually be in Italy to get that).  I think the trade here is, not so much a heavy data user but the extended period of time to be connected pretty much anywhere.

[bookbabe]

2 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

We are on a cruise/land tour to Europe in April and are planning six weeks in NZ and Australia next Jan to March.  So, the 365 day option is definitely attractive.  I couldn't figure out the phone call business; are the calls just local numbers (within the country you're traveling in) or is 'long distance' allowed?  In any event USD 89 (the extra USD 20 for voice may be worthwhile, especially down-under) would be a good bargain for the service and flexibility that appears to be on offer.

We have the Airalo global+ or whatever it’s called, the one with the data and calling that’s good for a year.  They assign you a phone number, ours is Austrian, I think.  It’s a European-style number, so it’s tricky for elderly Canadian relatives calling us, but it worked fine for me calling Canada while in the covered countries, plus calling local numbers like taxis or restaurants.  It doesn’t cover all countries, so look at the full countries list on their website or app to make sure it works in all the countries you’re stopping in.

 

I highly recommend Airalo.  Good product and good customer service, as far as we’ve encountered so far.

 

We have been working to transition our parents to WhatsApp, which lets people call or text or send video/audio messages using data or whatever internet is available.  Most individuals here in Cayman use it to avoid pricey phone company charges for regular calls and texts (data is generally unlimited on plans, texts and calls are not) so we’ve gotten used to using it on a daily basis.  It’s pretty easy to use, and you set up your account using your regular cell number, so people wanting to WhatsApp you just use your same number no matter where in the world you are.

[starvenger]

47 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

$55 CAD for a sim with only 10gbs, is pricey, never paid that much 

used Tim, Vodafone, Movistar  and simcorner in the past in the EU 

Yeah that's a big layout for 30 days. You're better off going to the 20GB global or a different provider at that point.

[Niavlys Ruofud]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

$55 CAD for a sim with only 10gbs, is pricey, never paid that much 

used Tim, Vodafone, Movistar  and simcorner in the past in the EU 

It was in France paid 37 euros which translated into 55$ Canadian... Canadian worth much less than US dollar and Euro.  As an example, 50$ Canadian translates into 37$..

[Niavlys Ruofud]

2 hours ago, d9704011 said:

We are on a cruise/land tour to Europe in April and are planning six weeks in NZ and Australia next Jan to March.  So, the 365 day option is definitely attractive.  I couldn't figure out the phone call business; are the calls just local numbers (within the country you're traveling in) or is 'long distance' allowed?  In any event USD 89 (the extra USD 20 for voice may be worthwhile, especially down-under) would be a good bargain for the service and flexibility that appears to be on offer.

My reading is that you can call from or to any of tge 127 countries covered by the international esim with voice/sms, but the numbers of minutes are limited to 200 I believe. 

[d9704011]

33 minutes ago, Niavlys Ruofud said:

My reading is that you can call from or to any of tge 127 countries covered by the international esim with voice/sms, but the numbers of minutes are limited to 200 I believe. 

Yes, that's what I think too.  200 minutes is plenty; the convenience of being able to make a few calls over the course of a year is something I'm willing to invest a few $$ in.

[darren42]

I have found that keepgo https://keepgo.refr.cc/seaestax and flexiroam http://roam.my/TU6624DF are they best and the cheapest. You can get global data for use anywhere that is valid for 360 days, useful if you cruise multiple times a year to the Caribbean and Europe or Asia. 

 

They both have regional data plans but if you wait for a sale you can get the global package for only $30

[Ex-Airbalancer]

37 minutes ago, darren42 said:

I have found that keepgo https://keepgo.refr.cc/seaestax and flexiroam http://roam.my/TU6624DF are they best and the cheapest. You can get global data for use anywhere that is valid for 360 days, useful if you cruise multiple times a year to the Caribbean and Europe or Asia. 

 

They both have regional data plans but if you wait for a sale you can get the global package for only $30

Looks pricey to me 

[Mike_and_Co]

In 2022 we obtained SIM cards from a Bouygues Telecom shop in Paris. I was attracted to the brand because they were good for 30 days and included a substantial data allowance, along with a French phone number which could be used throughout Europe. Most of the other European SIM options I found at the time were oriented to the shorter one-week and two-week stays more typical of vacationers. 

 

Having cell data made it very easy to navigate with maps, use Google translate, and to make a few phone calls as we traveled first to Amsterdam, then took a two-week Danube river cruise to Budapest. 

 

Although the Bouygues website and the texts we received from the company certainly didn't cater to us as English-speaking customers, our calls to their customer support were absolutely great in that regard. 

 

[Also, after installing the new SIM card and thereby finding myself to be an urbane, cosmopolitan world traveler, I immediately set about adding the USA prefix "1" to all my contact numbers.]  ; ) 

 

Today, I see that Bouyages currently offers 30GB & 30 Days for 39,90€, and they offer your choice of a physical SIM card or eSIM. I also see that my iPhone SE 2 can use eSIM, which I had not realized until today. 

 

So, I'll be looking further into Bouyages and also some of the other service options folks have posted here. Thanks! 

Edited February 13 by Mike_and_Co

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Freedom mobile has a good plan , a month roaming pass for $20 with 1 gd, and for $30 with 5 gb 

might be time to go back to Freedom 

https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/network-coverage/international-roaming

[Mike_and_Co]

I've been trying to read up on this a bit. We currently have service through Page Plus, an MVNO. While this saves us quite a bit monthly, it also brings limitations like not being able to use the phone as a hot spot, and no ability to roam internationally if I understand their terms correctly. 

 

Having a French phone number with Bouygues back in 2022 did introduce some issues as no one could call us at our regular phone number, and it seems like there were also some limitations on our ability to text, at least as best as I recall - ? 

 

Now, the prospect of loading an eSIM so that we can have multiple services in the phone simultaneously has changed the landscape considerably, though I can't say I fully understand how this works in practice. 

 

Comparing all of the service providers and their various plans is absolutely a matter of apples, oranges and the rest of the fruit-bowl combined, along with a healthy measure of nuts thrown in for good measure. 

 

Airalo and Google Fi look like contenders, but I'm still trying to interpret the best route to put together the jigsaw puzzle of data, text and calling services with some measure of economy. Bottom line, I don't think I've had this much fun since we signed up for Medicare...

Edited February 17 by Mike_and_Co