cell phone while in Europe

[tate23]

We will be on the Mariner (Barcelona to Rome) this June and are looking for advice for keeping in touch via cell phone during our 2-week trip. (We will be in Barcelona for a few days pre-cruise and are also visiting Sicily post-cruise.) We'll have laptop/tablet and using Skype but would also like to have a cell phone. Have heard that it is possible to rent cell phone while in Europe. Has anyone done this?

[A Tucson Guy]

I know if you are on Verizon, you can rent a global phone.

 

We will be on the Mariner (Barcelona to Rome) this June and are looking for advice for keeping in touch via cell phone during our 2-week trip. (We will be in Barcelona for a few days pre-cruise and are also visiting Sicily post-cruise.) We'll have laptop/tablet and using Skype but would also like to have a cell phone. Have heard that it is possible to rent cell phone while in Europe. Has anyone done this?

[jstroose1]

I have a Droid and it is fully functional in Europe but last year my Blackberry didn't work and Verizon provided an international phone at no charge (except shipping around $10.00 I think). I upgraded my plan for just the time I was in Europe (I got my emails there as well). It worked great.

 

By the way, we are on the June 9 Barcelona to Rome (I think that is your cruise). We will be in Barcelone two nights pre-cruise and are just getting around to booking hotel.

 

WHere are you staying?

[shuguley]

Internet connections via the ship's satellite service is sometimes very slow. At times, Skype may work for audio connections but I certainly would not count on audio/video.

 

As for cell phone service, I would contact my present cell phone service provider customer service about international roaming. It could be that your phone will work just fine if the provider turns on the international roaming option. There is usually no charge just to have the option available. The customer service rep can also advise you on what to expect the international roaming rates to be for voice, text and data.

 

I always turn off the data feature on my phone when roaming due to the VERY expensive data download charges. SMS (text) messages are usually very reasonable at about 35 cents per message and voice will probably be around $4.50 per minute depending on location.

 

BTW, my Blackberry worked fine in Europe once my provider turned on international roaming.

Edited February 16, 2012 by shuguley

[tate23]

Thank you both. We have Verizon (and a Droid).

jstroose1: Great!! We are staying at Acta Atrium Palace. Our first trip to BCN but hotel highly recommended on TripAdvisor and they have (or had) special deal for cruisers.

[MarilynA]

I always turn off the data feature on my phone when roaming due to the VERY expensive data download charges.

 

How does one turn off the data features on an iPhone? Is there a way to do that without involving AT&T? The last time I called them just to verify that my phone was enabled for international roaming, they totally turned off my data and took away my unlimited plan. That was last November, and I'm still trying to get my bill and plan back to where it was originally. Last trip, I just turned my phone totally off and relied upon email, but I would like to leave the option open of using my phone if I should want to without a bunch of data downloading.

 

Edited to add: I just answered my own question, I believe. On an iPhone 4S, go to General/Network where there are on/off switches for Cellular Data and Data Roaming, although I'm not sure if I should turn off both.

Edited February 16, 2012 by MarilynA

[rallydave]

How does one turn off the data features on an iPhone? Is there a way to do that without involving AT&T? The last time I called them just to verify that my phone was enabled for international roaming, they totally turned off my data and took away my unlimited plan. That was last November, and I'm still trying to get my bill and plan back to where it was originally. Last trip, I just turned my phone totally off and relied upon email, but I would like to leave the option open of using my phone if I should want to without a bunch of data downloading.

 

You can do this a couple of ways. If you want to use wifi, simply put your phone in airplane mode and then turn wifi on.

 

Choose settings

 

Choose Airplane Mode "ON"

 

Then choose General

 

Choose wifi

 

Turn wifi on

 

If you just want to turn off data all together

 

Choose settings

 

Choose General

 

Choose network

 

Turn off enable 3G, cellular data, and data roaming.

 

When you are back in the states, simply turn them back on. Hope this helps. You don't need to get ATT involved with any of this.

[jhenry1]

I rented a phone from Verizon and it worked like a champ. I have a Droid but will not work in Europe. Be sure to check with Verizon.

 

Kandy

[bermudabarb]

My husband has a Droid through Verizon - last summer we went to Turks & Caicos for 10 days and he needed to be available to his office and we also needed to be able to reach different excursions we planned while on the island.

 

He contacted Verizon (through 611 on his phone) and they "turned on" the international roaming - there was a small charge (maybe $10?) for this and it worked fine with no issues.

 

One word of caution - from what we experienced, you do need to call and "turn it off" or you will be charged additional fees - they never explained this to us and when I received the bill the following month, I called about the extra charges and since it was never explained to us, we did receive a credit. Don't know if that is the same with all carriers.

[mariners]

We have rented a phone once but then bought a Mobal World Phone. The phones are not expensive to purchase. You pay a per minute rate for phone calls. There are no monthly fees and it can be used all over the world.

[Gcto]

There are a few ways to call from abroad.

The easiest is to have a GSM phone (ATT, T-Mobile) are GSM phones and your phone will work without a problem in Europe. ATT usually has international roaming switched on and your phone will connect to a local carrier partnering with ATT (T-Mobile). You can then make calls which will cost you anywhere from $1.29 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain) to 2.49 (Turkey). When you are close to shore or at shore, your phone will automatically connect. And you pay by the minute.

 

Another way is to use your phone on board. Most ships (and Regent ships are part of this) have an onboard feature called Cruise ship roaming. See link below. When you are at sea and away from land based carriers, your phone will use the on board cell network.

 

Verizon uses CDMA and it is not compatible with the European GSM networks. That's why you could rent a phone....or again, use the on board network (which does work with GSM and CDMA phones).

The link below explains how it works with Verizon and how much it costs.

We've done both, called via the on ship network and waited til we were close to shore or at shore.

 

Here's the verizon info.

 

http://businessportals.verizonwireless.com/international/Cruise_Ships/index.html

 

Enjoy your trip

[tate23]

Thank you all for such great information. :)

[newlondon]

Verizon also has very simple phones that can add an international card. It is true they are CDMA based, but the card makes them GSM compatible. We have used ours all over the world with no problems. Monthly fee for two lines and int. capability $70.

[hondorner]

Sprint has the best coverage where I live, so it's a no-brainer to deal with them. However, they have very little in the way of international offerings -- currently some Blackberry phones and one HTC Android phone. I was just in our local Sprint store for another purpose and happened top mention the international phone issue. The representative's suggestion, one that many of her customers use, is to buy an inexpensive pre-paid phone once you arrive in Europe, with only as many minutes as you think you might need (you can alwasy add more).

 

I never thought of this before, and obviously haven't tried it, but off the top of my head, I would think there are some pros and cons.

 

Pro -- very inexpensive local calls. If you have to call a tour organizer, or stay in touch with traveling companions in a different hotel, or make dinner reservations or any other local use, you'd be paying the ame rate as residents.

 

Cons -- Really only useful for making calls; few would have your number to call you. Of course, you could send the number to others by email, but if you have email capability, there's not much added usefullness to a phone. Also, any calls you might make "back home" would probably be more expensive than the other excellent solutions suggested already.

 

We recently booked a B & B in Venice with a requirement that we call the owner as soon as we arrive to make arrangements for keys, etc. (there is no regular lobby). Also, we would be sharing our travels with two other couples who are each staying at different hotels. Having a local phone available would be a convenience. We don't need to call home or get calls from home.

 

Anyone have expereince with this they'd like to share?

[Gardendog]

It's a great idea to buy one of those "disposable" phones, with pre paid minutes. The question is though, or at least has been for us, how much calling will we do to make it worth it to buy such a phone?

 

We are meeting family from Sweden in Istanbul and we are staying in two different hotels. We decided to use our sprint androids to text each other. Each text is no more than 50 cents, probably less due to the phone service they have (it's a partner thing). I am thinking max 3 texts outgoing per day, so ten texts on the high end, $5. I am not planning on talking on the phone, just make plans for the day and the dinner etc. For us, incoming texts are free. Even if we loose each other and have to make additional texts, it would not be over $20.

 

Even though prepaid phones are cheap, they are not just $5, but are they $20?Everyone has different needs of a phone though, so this is just what we decided to do. We text here all the time, works great with the kids and with each other.

 

Just food for thought.

[Rainbow58]

We have rented a phone once but then bought a Mobal World Phone. The phones are not expensive to purchase. You pay a per minute rate for phone calls. There are no monthly fees and it can be used all over the world.

Where did you buy the phone? We are from Canada but will be travelling to Vegas and Palm Springs, Ca before flying out of LAX to Venice. I would love to have a phone that works but one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg :) Thanks for any help you can give me.

[PremiumSuite]

Where did you buy the phone? We are from Canada but will be travelling to Vegas and Palm Springs, Ca before flying out of LAX to Venice. I would love to have a phone that works but one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg :) Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

I agree Telus charges a fortune for roaming!!!!!

[mariners]

Rainbow58, we are from Canada, too. I ordered the phone over the internet. I'm not sure if links to sites are permitted, but, if you search for mobal world phone, you will find the website. They have different types of phones depending upon how you want to use the phone. The website is full of information on rates, etc. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them if I can.

[room010]

How on earth did the world keep spinning when the only way to contact someone on a cruise was via semaphore? If we can't deal with anything via email it will either have to wait until we get home or someone else will have to figure out what to do. They usually can if they have to ;)

[Travelcat2]

How on earth did the world keep spinning when the only way to contact someone on a cruise was via semaphore? If we can't deal with anything via email it will either have to wait until we get home or someone else will have to figure out what to do. They usually can if they have to ;)

 

Agree with you 100%!!!!!!!!!

[Lovesatq]

Room & TC2 I'm with you on the phone issue. My feelings are, I'm on vacation and should an emergency come up I can be reached by email or ship's phone if it's really that important. One of the gifts of cruising is getting away from it all.

[mariners]

We do not have the phone so that family/friends can telephone us. We have the phone so that we can contact the driver who is picking us up at an airport and has not shown or we cannot find the driver; for emergency situations that might occur when we are travelling on land overseas; for calling home/our office when we choose; and for other circumstances that crop up when we have been travelling. We tend to go on long trips and, for us, having a phone where we do not have to pay monthly fees/minimum fees/etc., makes sense. For some of you, that obviously is not a factor. There are other people who still love to travel and require different types of contact with the "outside" world. We each choose the options that work best for us. Mobal was, and is, a great option for us.

[Rainbow58]

Rainbow58, we are from Canada, too. I ordered the phone over the internet. I'm not sure if links to sites are permitted, but, if you search for mobal world phone, you will find the website. They have different types of phones depending upon how you want to use the phone. The website is full of information on rates, etc. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them if I can.

 

Thanks for all the information - I'll check out mobal phones website and make some decisions. I had never heard of it but it seems a number of people have used it. Also thanks for your updated comments re cell phone use :) Much appreciated.

Ranie

[Palmetto Lady]

How on earth did the world keep spinning when the only way to contact someone on a cruise was via semaphore? If we can't deal with anything via email it will either have to wait until we get home or someone else will have to figure out what to do. They usually can if they have to ;)

 

That is all well and good, but we were forcefully disembarked in Norway because my husband needed to go to a hospital. I had to depend on the kindness of the local hotel to contact insurance companies, the ship's home office, etc.

[room010]

Exactly, you were still able to contact the necessary people even in exceptional circumstances. There's always a way :)