Cell Phone rental

[Mardonna]

We will be in London for a week and then a 12 day Baltic cruise....we have service with sprint but don't have phones that work in Europe.....does anyone know of options for rentals....My husband mainly want to be able to text and call international if we need too....

[MATHA531]

Easiest....when you get to London, pop into a mobile phone store, say carphone warehouse. They can sell you an inexpensive gsm phone with the European frequencies and a PAYG plan....British sim cards are literally being given away for nothing so all you will pay for is service. Assuming you are from the USA (sprint gives it away), British sim cards can be used to call the USA for as little as 3p/minute (you go through a third party called yourcallworld and it only applies to Orange and T Mobile) but you can use the carrier's plan for calls as cheap as 4p or 5p per minute (usually timed to the second no rounding to the next highest minute)....a bargain.

 

All these PAYG plans feature the european roaming rates imposed by the eu. You will be able to receive calls for 19p/minute everywhere a Baltic cruise goes except for Russia but all have plans for a supplement you can receive calls for nothing (Orange for example has an add on where for £5 for a month, you get almost unlimited free reception of calls throughout Europe except Russia)...the clerk at the mobile store should be able to help you with this....

 

The thing is, though, you most assuredly do not want to use the mobile phone while at sea as you pay asininely high rates for satelite coverage as opposed to gsm coverage.....when you're in a port, you'll be able to tell as when you turn on the phone, you'll see the name of a local cell company on which your phone has registered. If it shows the ship's satelite, do not use it. Also, Russia is very very expensive.

 

Also while roaming outside the UK, you lose the ability to call the USA for next to nothing although you will be able to call other eu numbers for a reasonable price. The USA is another story.

 

Finally be aware, you will have a UK number (+44) and be aware that when friends from home call you, they pay a bit of a surcharge to call a British mobile as opposed to the rate for a British landline....most USA ld companies charge in the vicinity of 30¢/minute to call a UK mobile.

 

There are other solutions too such as buying an unlocked gsm phone up front and going for an international card but you wanted the easiest.

[ddschur]

I subscribe to the following: www.mobal.com

 

I also would suggest you look at www.telestial.com

[MATHA531]

I subscribe to the following: www.mobal.com

 

I also would suggest you look at www.telestial.com

 

Both mobal and telestial at one time were okay but somehow I don't think they can beat the price of a British sim card (free) and the ability while in Britain to make calls to the USA (and many many other countries) for as little as 3p/minute.

[ddschur]

We will be in London for a week and then a 12 day Baltic cruise

 

It sounds as if there are needs beyond England!

 

Obviously, the choice is yours, however for a very modest cost you can make call from most European countries and I only suggest it prudent to see if one of the choices I recommend is worth your while.

 

The Mobal solution is very, very easy but call costs can be high...need to manage call length.

 

Telestial, on the other hand, has very inexpensive rates to call to the US and other countries and may be the better option...and is unlocked and can be used with other SIM cards.

 

Again, you purchase the phone from both services and have it available for future travel.

[Mardonna]

honestly it will mainly be for texting when my husband and I are not togther in London....don't plan to make any calls to usa unless emergency..Marlo

[Hlitner]

We love our MOBAL phone deal because it is perfect for emergency or ocassional use and has no monthly fees. One problem with buying SIM cards is that you first need to own a multi-freq (should be a quad freq) phone that is unlocked! These can cost quite a bit of money.

 

Hank

[MATHA531]

We love our MOBAL phone deal because it is perfect for emergency or ocassional use and has no monthly fees. One problem with buying SIM cards is that you first need to own a multi-freq (should be a quad freq) phone that is unlocked! These can cost quite a bit of money.

 

Hank

 

The operative word being can....if you want a 5 megapixel camera, an mp3 player with digital stabilization, a 16 gig micro sd card, a gps, you can pay quite a bit...if you just want a functional phone to make and receive calls and make and receive text messages, there are plenty of quad band unlocked gsm phones on e-bay available for as little as $20.

 

As far as telestial, their e-kit cards are not too bad once you leave the UK (outside of Russia of course) but they're available for even less on ebay....the e-kit US/Canada simple card goes for $9 with $3 shipping on ebay but you get $10 credit for calls and texts and gives you both a USA and UK number....it's not a bad deal. You pay 49¢/minute plus a 35¢ one time set up fee to call back to the USA throughout all the countries a Baltic cruise would go to except Russia. Receiving calls everywhere in Europe on a Baltic Cruise including the UK but excluding Russia would be free if the call is made to the UK number and your caller pays for whatever his or her ld carrier charges for a call to a UK mobile. If a call is made to the USA number, the caller pays whatever his or her ld carrier charges for a call to that particular area code (unfortunately you can't pick your area code) and you pay 19¢/minute to receive in all these European countries again excepting Russia. Text messages to the +44 number are received for free...texts to the +1 USA number are, I believe, 10¢ each. I don't remember the charge for sending text messages but it can't be very much!

 

The OP wanted simplicity but as a little more complex, there's nothing to keep you from getting the best of both worlds. Get a cheap gsm unlocked quad band on ebay and the e-kit simple card. When you arrive in Great Britain, you may even find people handing out free sim cards at Victoria, Heathrow, Gatwick.....use the British sim card while in England including the dirt cheap calls to the USA....when you get on the ship, switch the sim cards (which is the beauty of gsm, switching sim cards is done all the time provided the phone is not locked to a single carrier and easy to do) and you're all set. However, the precautions against using the cards while at sea and in Russia still hold!

[Infowoman]

Does the British sim card deal work in Northern Ireland? Thanks.

[MATHA531]

Does the British sim card deal work in Northern Ireland? Thanks.

 

Absotively posilutely, Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

[greyhound101]

Verizon will give you a phone for the cost of 2 days shipping. They activate the loaner and deactivate your phone. All you pay are roaming charges. For a fee of 4.99 a month USD you can get discounted roaming charges. If you have a data plan then you pay 50 cents to send a text and 5 cents to receive. Email I believe is included since you are actually working off whatever your home plan is.

[Shelbyjane56]

We will be in London for a week and then a 12 day Baltic cruise....we have service with sprint but don't have phones that work in Europe.....does anyone know of options for rentals....My husband mainly want to be able to text and call international if we need too....

 

 

Hubby has an interntional phone that he got in the states, so you dont have to wait till you are in the uk you just let them know how much time you want on it and you are ready to go!!

[moyaroo]

Another player on the international scene is found at http://www.telna.com I have the service and plan to use it nex month. Right now I can only say for sure that it looks good on paper for roaming in multiple European countries.

 

I have looked at Mobal and while it is attractive in its bill only for calls used, It is expensive when compared with other providers. (Note that many providers come and go in this marke. It is competitive and with European roaming coming down, it is not as appealing to our European neighbors.)

[Mardonna]

It sounds as if there are needs beyond England!

 

Obviously, the choice is yours, however for a very modest cost you can make call from most European countries and I only suggest it prudent to see if one of the choices I recommend is worth your while.

 

The Mobal solution is very, very easy but call costs can be high...need to manage call length.

 

Telestial, on the other hand, has very inexpensive rates to call to the US and other countries and may be the better option...and is unlocked and can be used with other SIM cards.

 

Again, you purchase the phone from both services and have it available for future travel.

 

Telestial has cell phone rentals which would be free daily for up to 3 weeks......it comes with a sims card that gives you $5 free calls.....this may be the best option....but what I am tying to understand or figure out is how do we get addtional minutes for the best price? Can I purchase prepaid sim cards? if I do does this cahnge number.....don't think it is best to buy phones.....our next trip will be Canada and we go to Mexico and the these phones don;t work there....thoughts?

[ddschur]

if I do does this cahnge number.....don't think it is best to buy phones.....our next trip will be Canada and we go to Mexico and the these phones don;t work there....thoughts?

 

 

See link for additional countries you mention:

 

http://www.telestial.com/promo/quadpack.php

[gsquaredb]

What I am not clear about is how to make outgoing calls to the US using these international sim cards. I believe they all require you to dial the number. The phone hangs up and then calls you back. If so are there and that allow you to dial directly possibly using a calling card.

[ddschur]

What I am not clear about is how to make outgoing calls to the US using these international sim cards. I believe they all require you to dial the number. The phone hangs up and then calls you back. If so are there and that allow you to dial directly possibly using a calling card.

 

http://www.mobal.com

[bludevil]

I posted a very similar thread a while ago. I know the SIM cards are cheaper, but I didn't want to spend my first period of time in the country setting up a phone. I wanted to hop off the plane, make a quick call home, and go about the business of enjoying my vacation.

 

I just ordered the Mobal $99 phone and it arrived this week. I already turned it on to see if it works (it does). It also has a $40 calling credit included.

 

I know it's more expensive, but I liked the idea of having it in my hand and testing it before I left.

 

The phone is also small and cute.

[moyaroo]

the call back services are really absurdly simple. dial the number. answer the phone when it rings back, wait for party to answer. Save tons of money.

 

If anyone calls you, just answer. save tons more.