Using cell phones and data in certain countries

[jmcookiemonster25]

Hi, we are going on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean in about a month. We are going to the following locations:

 

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

ST.THOMAS, UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS

PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN

TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

 

Can we use our phones and internet data with no additional charges in any of these places? I know Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands are US territories, so I am going to guess we can use phones like normal, to call and use internet 3g/4g data.

 

We have AT&T, and are on the 10 GB family sharing plan, with unlimited talk and text.

[pieshops]

you should probably call ATT, they would give you a definite answer

[jmcookiemonster25]

you should probably call ATT, they would give you a definite answer

 

I am not the account owner, nor do I like talking on the phone.

 

I know I will get the best answer directly, but I just wanted to see in advance if anyone on here knew too.

[cliffd64]

Unless you arrange for an international plan ahead of time, Tortola and St. Maarten will be international roaming and very expensive if it works at all. Contact AT&T for info regarding an international temporary plan to avoid roaming if that is important to you.

[jmcookiemonster25]

Unless you arrange for an international plan ahead of time, Tortola and St. Maarten will be international roaming and very expensive if it works at all. Contact AT&T for info regarding an international temporary plan to avoid roaming if that is important to you.

 

Okay thanks for that info. We will just turn off our phones for those two stops. We don't need to call or use internet every single day. It's just nice to have a couple stops with this access to call home, check emails, post pictures to Facebook, etc.

[Baseball fan]

I would think they would have it posted on their website. You could see the general costs.

 

 

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[AlwaysNeedSun]

You are better off calling your carrier. With us, we have Sprint. Only my husband and I bring our phones. My oldest son leaves his home or we put it in the safe in the room. Only my husband keeps his phone on, ours is powered off. We call Sprint before we leave and they put international calling on his phone for the duration of the trip. He needs his phone because he has a business to run and then we touch base with some family about half way thru the trip. Then when we get back, we call Sprint and have it removed. Hope this helps some.

 

 

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[younglegend]

It's been a while, but I worked for AT&T for many years and the US territories were included in data and calling plans. I think that's still the same for all plans (it is for mine), but you should confirm with AT&T to be sure.

[fshagan]

We use Virgin Mobile and the US territories were included in our plans. But it varies by carrier.

 

You can use this site: https://www.att.com/travelguide/coverage/roaming/step1.jsp

 

With AT&T, it evidently depends on the phone you have because of the radios that are in it so there's not an easy answer. Relying on what one person experienced with an iPhone 6 on their plan might not apply to you if you have an HTC One on another plan.

 

I looked for an iPhone 6 on your itinerary and PR and the USVI were both included in the domestic plan. The BVI and St. Marteen were both expensive, at $2.50 per minute for voice and high data charges. But you could be surprised by very high bills if you don't check and make sure for yourself.

[jmcookiemonster25]

We asked at the ATT kiosk in Costco and the guy we talked to was "100% positive that we could use our phones in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands" but still gave us a phone number to confirm with ATT. Lol 100% sure my butt.

[soaringfalcon]

Hi, we are going on a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean in about a month. We are going to the following locations:

 

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

ST.THOMAS, UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS

PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN

TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

 

Can we use our phones and internet data with no additional charges in any of these places? I know Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands are US territories, so I am going to guess we can use phones like normal, to call and use internet 3g/4g data.

 

We have AT&T, and are on the 10 GB family sharing plan, with unlimited talk and text.

 

With AT&T, you'll be fine in San Juan and St Thomas. That's our carrier and we called before we left to confirm. I cruise so I can be unplugged so I only used it to call home but DH posted to Facebook and checked email.

[LrgPizza]

We vacation in St. Thomas, and for the past 10 years we have always been able to use any phone we have with AT&T without any charges. We have had several different phones and plans during that time, but St. Thomas is always covered without having to make any special calls to customer service or changes.