Cell phone question

[Mehroswitha]

In the past I've never used my (US-based) cell phone when abroad. That may change now that I have new plan that includes free data and relatively inexpensive calls throughout Europe and most of the world.

 

My question is this: When I am on shore in another country and want to place a call to a number in that country, do I need to enter the international code for that country (since I'm using a US phone) or is that unnecessary (since I'm already in that country)? If I call home to the US, I need to enter 1 ahead of the area code, right?

 

Is it any different if I'm in port but still on board ship?

 

Sorry if those are silly questions, but none of it is obvious to me! Thanks! 

[CruiserBruce]

For your calling questions,  you are correct. 

 

If you are on board,  but in port, you will be using local cell towers, not the ship's cell.

[Mehroswitha]

I'm sorry to be so dense (!), but does that mean I don't need to use the country code for calls within that locality but do need it in calling the US?

[WisRiver]

We have T-Mobile which has good international calling service.  When we are in a foreign county, for example Spain, we have to use the Spain county code (+34) to call another Spanish number.  If we wanted to call a number in the UK, we would use the UK code, +44.  When we are in a foreign country, we use +1 and area code to call back to the US.  We put our phone on airplane mode when on a ship unless we are docked.  

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Mehroswitha said:

I'm sorry to be so dense (!), but does that mean I don't need to use the country code for calls within that locality but do need it in calling the US?

You need to use the country code.

[Fouremco]

When traveling abroad and making calls to local numbers within that country, you do not need any international dialing codes - just dial the number as you would if you were a local resident. The international codes are only required when calling a different country from where you are physically located.

[VMax1700]

The easiest answer is to store all phone numbers in the international format!

[POA1]

The country code for the US, Canada and most of the Caribbean is 1.

 

If you store phone numbers with a preceding 1, your carrier will drop it when dialing from the USA.

 

If you really, really want to have the old timey, just like grandma used to do dialing experience, it's

 

011+ Country Code + NPA + NXX

 

NPA is numbering plan area, or as you youngsters call it, "Area Code."

 

NXX is the phone number. 7 digits in the US.

 

 

[Torquer]

On 5/23/2024 at 9:30 AM, Mehroswitha said:

In the past I've never used my (US-based) cell phone when abroad. That may change now that I have new plan that includes free data and relatively inexpensive calls throughout Europe and most of the world.

I assume this means you have T-Mobile, which does have reasonable fees for calling outside of the US?  If you do have Verizon or AT&T, I would strongly urge you to simply buy a European SIM Card on Amazon before you leave, or as soon as you get to Europe.  They are very cheap; under $50 for 30-days with unlimited calling and lots of data.  By EU law, they work in all European countries.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

I assume this means you have T-Mobile, which does have reasonable fees for calling outside of the US?  If you do have Verizon or AT&T, I would strongly urge you to simply buy a European SIM Card on Amazon before you leave, or as soon as you get to Europe.  They are very cheap; under $50 for 30-days with unlimited calling and lots of data.  By EU law, they work in all European countries.

A SIM card purchased in an EU country will not work seamlessly in the UK now that it has left the European Union. Similarly, for European countries that have never become members of the EU, like Switzerland, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, etc., using an EU/EEA SIM card will likely incur roaming charges set by the mobile operator.

[Torquer]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

A SIM card purchased in an EU country will not work seamlessly in the UK now that it has left the European Union.

Perhaps true (I don't know for sure), but you can get a UK Sim card that works in the UK and (almost) all of Europe.  When we go to Europe, we get a sim card on Amazon from the Three network in the UK, before we leave.  It works great.  It does work in Switzerland; the only country it does not work in, that we have gone to, is Turkey.  You just have to shop around.  There are lots of other options out there too.

[Fouremco]

11 minutes ago, Torquer said:

Perhaps true (I don't know for sure), but you can get a UK Sim card that works in the UK and (almost) all of Europe.  When we go to Europe, we get a sim card on Amazon from the Three network in the UK, before we leave.  It works great.  It does work in Switzerland; the only country it does not work in, that we have gone to, is Turkey.  You just have to shop around.  There are lots of other options out there too.

Yes, there's probably a better chance that a UK card will work in the EU/EEA than an EU/EEA card working in the UK.  In the end, it all depends on the mobile carrier and the SIM card purchased. As you say, you have to shop around.

[REOVA]

15 hours ago, POA1 said:

The country code for the US, Canada and most of the Caribbean is 1.

 

If you store phone numbers with a preceding 1, your carrier will drop it when dialing from the USA.

 

If you really, really want to have the old timey, just like grandma used to do dialing experience, it's

 

011+ Country Code + NPA + NXX

 

NPA is numbering plan area, or as you youngsters call it, "Area Code."

 

NXX is the phone number. 7 digits in the US.

 

 

Actually we only had 4 digits (before they went to 7) on grandma's phone 😉

[Sea42]

21 hours ago, Torquer said:

I assume this means you have T-Mobile, which does have reasonable fees for calling outside of the US?  If you do have Verizon or AT&T, I would strongly urge you to simply buy a European SIM Card on Amazon before you leave, or as soon as you get to Europe.  They are very cheap; under $50 for 30-days with unlimited calling and lots of data.  By EU law, they work in all European countries.

I've found eSims to be a much easier option than futzing with a physical sim card.

[Gibbie42]

On 5/24/2024 at 10:33 AM, Torquer said:

I assume this means you have T-Mobile, which does have reasonable fees for calling outside of the US?  If you do have Verizon or AT&T, I would strongly urge you to simply buy a European SIM Card on Amazon before you leave, or as soon as you get to Europe.  They are very cheap; under $50 for 30-days with unlimited calling and lots of data.  By EU law, they work in all European countries.

Verizon doesn't really do SIM cards. But they do offer an inexpensive international plan for 10.00 per 24 hours that charges the first time you use it in that period. So if I'm in port and use my phone, I pay the 10.00 for unlimited data, text and calling for a day. But when I'm at sea and don't connect to anything, there's no charge. Just never ever connect to Cellular at Sea. No one covers that. 

[RedIguana]

22 hours ago, Gibbie42 said:

Just never ever connect to Cellular at Sea. No one covers that. 

I think AT&T has a plan that does. I've never used it myself, so no clue how cheap or useful it is (T-Mobile user, love the fact it works in so many places).

[JJK2008]

simcorner.com, we've used them a few times. Very good.  

[Torquer]

On 5/25/2024 at 1:01 PM, Gibbie42 said:

Verizon doesn't really do SIM cards. But they do offer an inexpensive international plan for 10.00 per 24 hours that charges the first time you use it in that period. So if I'm in port and use my phone, I pay the 10.00 for unlimited data, text and calling for a day. But when I'm at sea and don't connect to anything, there's no charge. Just never ever connect to Cellular at Sea. No one covers that. 

Not sure what you mean.  I have a Verizon SIM card in my android phone.  Yes, they do have the $10.00 per day plan, and I have used that on occasion.  But I wouldn't consider that cheap for a port intensive cruise of longer than 10 days.

[lcand1923]

On 5/24/2024 at 10:55 AM, POA1 said:

The country code for the US, Canada and most of the Caribbean is 1.

 

If you store phone numbers with a preceding 1, your carrier will drop it when dialing from the USA.

 

If you really, really want to have the old timey, just like grandma used to do dialing experience, it's

 

011+ Country Code + NPA + NXX

 

NPA is numbering plan area, or as you youngsters call it, "Area Code."

 

NXX is the phone number. 7 digits in the US.

 

 

 

NXX is the Exchange Code

 

The next Four Digits are the Line Code

 

{As us old Bell Heads (those who worked for the Bell System) would say.}

[Gibbie42]

3 hours ago, Torquer said:

Not sure what you mean.  I have a Verizon SIM card in my android phone.  Yes, they do have the $10.00 per day plan, and I have used that on occasion.  But I wouldn't consider that cheap for a port intensive cruise of longer than 10 days.

Must depend on the phone. My Samsung Galaxy doesn't even open. I wouldn't know where a SIM card would go. I just stick to the international plan. 

[Seasick Sailor]

3 hours ago, Gibbie42 said:

Must depend on the phone. My Samsung Galaxy doesn't even open. I wouldn't know where a SIM card would go. I just stick to the international plan. 

 

Actually there is a place on our Galaxy that opens the SIM card. There's a tiny hole on the bottom of our phone. You can insert a thin paperclip in the hole and the little tray with the SIM card pops out. We have gotten lazy and now just use our Verizon global plan (10 bucks a day if using)

[skurvish]

Also, check with your carrier to see if the offer WiFi calling. If so activate it. Then check what their policy is on using it when outside of the US. Some carriers allow free WiFi calling back to the US, other charge a roaming fee just like when you are actually roaming. If it works for you then you can send/receive calls/texts on the ship.

[Fouremco]

16 hours ago, Gibbie42 said:

Must depend on the phone. My Samsung Galaxy doesn't even open. I wouldn't know where a SIM card would go. I just stick to the international plan. 

Every device in the Samsung range has a hybrid SIM tray. 
 
Hybrid SIM trays have one SIM card slot and a second slot that can take a second SIM or a microSD card. This gives you the flexibility to choose whether you would rather use your phone with dual SIMs or have extra storage.

[shadow 123]

On 5/25/2024 at 2:16 AM, REOVA said:

Actually we only had 4 digits (before they went to 7) on grandma's phone 😉

I'm old enough to remember that. There were 3 letters preceding the 4 digits.  I'm also a telephone company retiree

[KAKcruiser]

I remember two letters and one digit and then four more digits like tu4-8123.