Cell phone use in Med

[naples queen]

May be a stupid question but need to know. We have cell phone service in the US with Verizon. Can we use this phone in the med?? Need to be able to contact a local taxi service in Barcelona when we disembark. If not, can we use a phone on the ship to contact this service???:confused: :confused:

[suzy671]

I don't think so, I think you can call your carrier and they can add international to your phone. We rented a phone last year when we were in Europe and it worked out great.

[cberge]

May be a stupid question but need to know. We have cell phone service in the US with Verizon. Can we use this phone in the med?? Need to be able to contact a local taxi service in Barcelona when we disembark. If not, can we use a phone on the ship to contact this service???:confused: :confused:

 

No,you cannot use your US phone in Europe...two totally different systems.You can rent a phone for use in Europe through Verizon,but it is $$$.Not sure if you can add Int. to a Verizon phone.If calling for the taxi is the only reason you need it I am sure the ship will be glad to help.

[drefinnej15]

I'm in the same predicament also. If you want to use the ship phone in your room, I think it's like $7.95 per minute! I have a verizon cell phone and my husband has a nextel and we are not able to use either phones because it's not the right equipment for Europe. And trying to use a calling card in port I hear is a nightmare with everyone on lines. We have Angie as our driver in Barcelona, so I think I'll just email her from the ship the night before to confirm our pickup and try to save money on a phone call. Think the internet cafe on the ship charges 50 cents per minute for internet service. If you are using another driver other than Angie (as many people use her in Barcelona), see if they have an email address and email them instead. Have fun on your trip. We leave this Saturday on Voyager of the Seas!!! Can't wait!!!! :D

[LILynn]

My TA told me that Cingular (which I have) will allow me to add internation roaming for about $5.00 per month and then the calls will be .99 per minute.

 

Before I leave I am going to call to add the international roaming - still not cheap but very convenient and a lot less than using the ship's phone.

[redlef]

May be a stupid question but need to know. We have cell phone service in the US with Verizon. Can we use this phone in the med?? Need to be able to contact a local taxi service in Barcelona when we disembark. If not, can we use a phone on the ship to contact this service???:confused: :confused:

 

No such thing as a stupid question.

 

You need a TriBand or QuadBand GSM phone for Europe. Verizon isn't GSM technology. I have the same issue that you do.

 

I started my research at :

 

http://www.mobalrental.com. I didn't end up purchasing from them, but the site's got good info. Also, there's a buying guide on eBay.

 

For one phone call, I'd just pay the cruise line their $10 and be done with it. Or if you make friends with someone on your cruise, maybe they'll lend you their phone. With a European phone, it's less than half a Euro to place a call.

 

I ended up buying an unlocked phone on eBay, but I like to be in touch with my office when I vacation (self employed people never really take vacations).

 

BTW - I've heard that at the Barcelona pier, the taxis are lined up waiting for passengers on disembarkation. That's what i'm counting on. When are you traveling?

[naples queen]

Thanks to all for your good information. We are on the Millenium on August 6th and are also using Angie in Barcelona which was the reason for my question. After reading a previous post, I wonder if it's even necessary to reserve a driver in advance or just take one of the many taxis which seem to be available at the pier. Anyone had any experience with this? How were the rates?

[Globaliser]

My TA told me that Cingular (which I have) will allow me to add internation roaming for about $5.00 per month and then the calls will be .99 per minute.

I believe that the difference between Cingular and Verizon is that Cingular uses GSM technology, which is the normal mobile phone system used worldwide, but Verizon doesn't. T-Mobile is the other name I've seen come up on my own phone recently when I've been in the US, but I'm sure they used to be someone else before they were taken over. But there must be other GSM operators in the US, too.

[drefinnej15]

I guess it depends on when your flight is. Ours is at 10:40 a.m. back to NY so it is critical we have someone waiting for us at the pier. I don't want to take a chance of not having a taxi available when I need it.:)

[naples queen]

Actually, we are staying in Barcelona two days post cruise so timing really isn't an issue. When we leave two days later, however, it will be as we have a 7 AM flight. I guess maybe I should look at lining up Angie for that morning if possible and just going with the taxis at the pier for our trip to our hotel.

[atltravel]

There is only one company worth taking outside the USA. T-Mobile.

They have worked everywhere. that is because they are an international company, NOT a US company.

All their phones work with the GSM network. My next choice would be Nextel, but you do have to have a certain phone with them, but they work good also.

I have people walk up to me constantly on my trips asking who I have service with.

[kwekwe]

We arrive Rome this Sat. and no cannot use Verizon. Two Verizon stores said we may be able to rent a prepaid phone at the Rome airport...

Some hotels rent them too.

[goforfun]

As others have said, you need 2 things for a US market cell phone to work abroad:

 

1) a company that uses GSM technology;

 

2) a tri- or quad-band cell phone.

 

T-Mobile and Cingular offer GSM. Check out customer satisfaction with their service (Consumer Reports is a source) and what it will cost per minute to use your phone abroad. It isn't cheap -- for example, $1-$1.50 per minute are the current rates in countries we will visit this year in Europe. Be sure to check on the rate for the countries you will visit.

[sunsetme]

you can rent a phone from planetfone.com. they deliver free, its $20 to return and cost $2.35 minute in Europe. if you have citibank aadvantage platinum the rental is free for 30 days.

[Aviendha]

T-Mobile's international rates vary depending on which country you're in. Most that we've checked have been 99 cents/minute. Text messages are around 35 cents each. (They even have service on quite a few cruise ships, but it is still quite expensive.) There is no additional charge per month to add the international service to your plan...it's free!

[GracieAtTara]

Since we were going to be in the Med, we purchased a GSM, tri-band phone from AT&T Wireless (Cingular) in 2004. We did not pay the monthly fee for international calling which gets you the reduced rate, but just paid as we went something like $1.49/minute since we were not planning on making many calls. The coverage in Europe was fabulous: much more consistent signal strength than we get here in the states. We were in ports across Italy, France and Spain and had good signal strength everywhere on land. The GSM phone will pick up the strongest signal from the carrier depending upon the country you are in (so instead of Cingular it may say ORANGEF which is one of Cingular's partners in Europe). While standing inside the Colosseum in Rome my cell phone rang. Our family wanted to check in with us and all they did was dial my local (U.S.) phone number, not even long distance or international dialing, and the cell phone network found us in Rome. Technology is wonderful!

[CAKER]

No such thing as a stupid question.

 

You need a TriBand or QuadBand GSM phone for Europe. Verizon isn't GSM technology. I have the same issue that you do.

 

I started my research at :

 

http://www.mobalrental.com. I didn't end up purchasing from them, but the site's got good info. Also, there's a buying guide on eBay.

 

I checked with several people who bought the International Cellphone from MobalRental (which is a misnomer). It's a $ 49 one-time charge to own the phone forever. It comes with service for 140 countries (not South or Central America, but everywhere else, except U.S. of course). Calls vary by country, but are about $ 1.50 per minute.

 

Before we knew about Mobal, we rented from TravelCell for $ 30/week. Calls were about the same cost. It seems to be a no brainer to buy from Mobal. Their website has numerous testimonials from travel columnists, publications, etc. I called some travelers who indicated they bought it, from postings on Rich Steve's website. They were all very pleased with the quality of service, price, and call rates.

 

I'm not sure if you have to buy SIM cards in every country if you use U S carriers, or if you buy/rent phones when you get to Europe. With Mobal and TravelCell you don't.

[martyap]

I ended up buying a razr V3 unlocked quad-band cell phone on eBay. You can get something decent for $100 or less. The problem with the Mobal deal was that although the phone only cost you $49 you paid for both incoming and outgoing calls at a rate of $1.49/per minute. Still....if you don't plan on making many calls it is convenient and you pay only for your calls as you go.

 

I decided to put a SIM card into my unlocked phone. There are several avail. Telestial sells the Explorer (you get a #372 Estonia exchange number) It is $49 which includes a $10 credit. You can add more $$$ any time. Most incoming calls are FREE. Outgoing to the US are about $.60. You can provide family members with a calling card so they can reach your Estonia exchange for pennies a minute.

 

Telestial also sells a Passport SIM at $69 with no credits....you add what you want. Calls are a little less than the Explorer and somewhat less in other parts of the world as well (for example calls from Mexico/Argentina were MUCH less on the Passport) The passport gives you a UK exchange #. Again family & friends can reach you cheaply using a calling card from the US.

 

The last was the united-mobile SIM card at $49 with a $20 credit. You again add what additional time you want. Incoming are free. Outgoing are $.50 per minute + a set up fee of $.30 for the first minute of each call. It is a little more complicated because you get a #472 Liechtenstein cell exchange. You make a call, the phone disconnects, united-mobile re-routes your call to a Liechtenstein land exchange, your phone rings in 10 seconds with your connected call. ALSO....a little more expensive for family to call the #472 exchange.

 

The advantage of having a good unlocked quad phone is that you can add a low rate SIM card on any trip you make. A little more expensive but for those who don't have T-Mobile or Cingular as their regular carriers it provides an option.

[Notaveragelady]

Budget Travel has an ad for a company called Cellular Abroad that sells and rents (ahead of travel time) phones good in Europe. I have not used them, because I have Cingular: Last year I bought a Nokia phone that allowed me to buy a SIM chip in Europe for about $50, and put my US SIM chip back in when I returned to the states. I do know someone who used this company and had no problems. One plan does allow for all incoming calls to be free (but obviously, the caller pays for a foreign call).

[grandmadarlene]

May be a stupid question but need to know. We have cell phone service in the US with Verizon. Can we use this phone in the med?? Need to be able to contact a local taxi service in Barcelona when we disembark. If not, can we use a phone on the ship to contact this service???:confused: :confused:

 

This is the exact reason we swtiched from Verizon to T-Mobile. Verizon wanted something like $350 for their phone that works worldwide.

 

I program our international numbers before I go.. Hotel, Airlines, etc. Have used the phone in Argentina, Spain, Italy, Bali. In Spain we had to leave for the airport really early and got stuck in the elevator and no one answered the alarm. So DH had the hotel card stuck in a book and we called the desk to let us out. Now I preprogram all the numbers in before we go. Don't forget to get your telephone company's foreign customer service number

 

I have been warned that to use your phone on NCL it is extra in addition to the 99c charge. They use Cingular, so if I turn on my phone and it shows Cingular as the company I turn it off again until I get I-Tim in the port. Actually people can call you from home without realizing you are overseas. Mostly you will get voice mail because the hours are so different. DO NOT FORGET YOUR CHARGER And think twice about taking it on shore excursions unless your traveling companion has one too. But 2 way radios are cheaper and if they get lost or stolen it's no big deal. Also on board 2 way radios are a nice way to keep in touch on big ships.