Pay as you go cell phone . . .

[Underwatr]

Let me get this straight, I was just reading another thread. If I bring my cell using Verizon with me it will be useable on the ship? In Belize, Honduras, Mexico?

You will be able to roam with your Verizon CDMA phone in Mexico ($0.99/minute), Belize ($2.89/minute) and Honduras ($2.89/minute), as well as on more than 120 cruise ships ($2.49/minute).

 

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/outside_us.html

http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Cruise_Ships/index.html

[Putterdude]

I have a Tracphone which I use during the winter in AZ but also have used it in Alaska, San Juan, PR and St Thomas,VI. I keep re-subscribing for a year and have some 2400 mins that I will likely never use. They do not work in Canada at least in the Vancouver area and I have not had success with it in Mexico.

[ladycaveat]

Think I've finally made up my mind (thanks to all the help I've gotten on here). I'm going to the mall tomorrow and get a T-Moble pay as you go phone with roll over minutes. Don't plan on using a phone on my cruise but do want one to talk to my son before he picks me up at the Port in Baltimore. Also with the roll over minutes, I can just keep it in my car in case of emergencies which is what my son worries about. I'm sixty-three and never had an emergency in my car or anywhere for that matter that I couldn't deal with without a cell phone. But, it will put my son's worries to rest. Love the idea of paying $100 dollars the first year and then only $10 a year from then on when I don't plan to use it. I do have a cell phone at the office in case my secretary needs to get in touch with me when I'm in Court. Think that's only happened once or twice a year.

 

Thanks you guys for all your help . . . . :p

[Underwatr]

Good plan - just keep the battery charged (either the phone's or the car's).

[operafan]

Think I've finally made up my mind (thanks to all the help I've gotten on here). I'm going to the mall tomorrow and get a T-Moble pay as you go phone with roll over minutes. Don't plan on using a phone on my cruise but do want one to talk to my son before he picks me up at the Port in Baltimore. Also with the roll over minutes, I can just keep it in my car in case of emergencies which is what my son worries about. I'm sixty-three and never had an emergency in my car or anywhere for that matter that I couldn't deal with without a cell phone. But, it will put my son's worries to rest. Love the idea of paying $100 dollars the first year and then only $10 a year from then on when I don't plan to use it. I do have a cell phone at the office in case my secretary needs to get in touch with me when I'm in Court. Think that's only happened once or twice a year.

 

Thanks you guys for all your help . . . . :p

 

Great choice. Btw, when we were in Alaska and Victoria last year I used it to make calls and it only deducted the number of minutes I used. No extra deductions for calling from Canada. I was amazed.......

[JanieC]

I have tracfone & really like it. I have researched & as far as I can find out there are no pay-as-you-go or prepaid cells that work on ship or foreign country. You can make calls from US to foreign countries. I have no need for a monthly plan phone as I hardly ever use a cell except when I travel. I do wish they would come up with a way to use prepaid on cruises I would gladly pay the $2.50 a min roaming just to be able to check things at home. As far as adding minutes to phones, you can usually do this at the website or by phone. If you do tacfone online it's really quite easy, buy the time, add it to phone only takes a few minutes. The minutes roll over you just have to add minutes every 90 days to keep phone active. Hope this helps. And if anyone knows of a prepay cell that is cheap & I could use on cruise I would appreciate it. I know they work from V.I & Puerto Rico, some from Mexico. Thank you

[Underwatr]

Mobal is a pay-as-you-go service that works just about everywhere, but its prices are on the order of cruise ship prices - $1.50 per minute and up. I don't think it works on a cruise ship but it should work in most if not all ports.

[mtwingcpa]

I have a Tracphone which I use during the winter in AZ but also have used it in Alaska, San Juan, PR and St Thomas,VI. I keep re-subscribing for a year and have some 2400 mins that I will likely never use. They do not work in Canada at least in the Vancouver area and I have not had success with it in Mexico.

 

I've also got a Tracfone with more accumulated minutes than I'll ever use. And I can confirm that it doesn't work in Canada or Mexico or on board cruise ships (unless in port in the US).

[ray98]

T-Mobile is the best deal for someone who rarely uses a phone. After the initial investment the upkeep is basically nothing, as above, as little as $10 per year.

[Travelcat2]

Just keep in mind. . . . no matter which phone you have. . . . . do not call from the ship unless you want to pay an arm and a leg (maybe two arms:-). No matter what carrier you have or how much roaming you have, you need to pick up a signal. . . . if you are at sea or on the ship, you will pick up the ship's signal and will be charged. You may want to do some "searches" on this subject. Many people have returned home from a cruise to find a phone bill of several hundred dollars.

[RoofingPrincess]

I have researched & as far as I can find out there are no pay-as-you-go or prepaid cells that work on ship or foreign country.

I have a pay-as-you-go from Verizon. I just talked to them and had international roaming enabled. The woman on the phone said it probably won't work in foreign countries but should work fine on the cruise ship. She did make me aware that there will be roaming charges involved. That's OK; I'm not planning on using it a lot (if at all). I just have a $100+ balance on that phone that expires Nov 15 so I may as well use some of it up! My plan is one where the expiration date of the minutes depends on how big a package you buy; $30 worth extends the expiration by 90 days. Since it's a phone I only use when I travel, it seems my remaining balance just keeps getting bigger and bigger as I add $ to the account to keep it from expiring.

I will just have to try to keep the time difference in mind so I'm not waking anyone up in the middle of the night! :o