Telephone from Tahiti

[late seating]

Hello,

We are going on a Tahiti cruise January 9th. Can anyone please tell us about the telephone situation there, such as: Will our cell phone work?; Can telephone cards be bought in Tahiti and the other islands & how much do they cost?

Regards, Late Seating

[cruze610]

your cell phone will not work in Tahiti. (unless you have a phone that works all around the world) You can purchase calling cards. they are available just about every where there. I dont remember the prices though. We saw signs for them all over the place but didnt buy any.

[texswamper]

We have AT&T GSM phones and specifically asked if our phones would work while in Tahiti and were told "no problem". Yeah right! No service at all, not even text messaging. We stuck with email while onboard and at the resort precruise.

 

Best trip ever, wish I were going with you!:)

[laurieb]

texswamper, great pictures!!

phone card, they are available everywhere. I also don't remember how much but they aren't too expensive. I still have one from our last trip, I am hoping it is still good.

[Spikesgirl]

If you haven't already done this, post this over on the Tahiti (Ports of Call - All Pacific Islands ) forum and ask Meherio for the answer. He splits his days between Tahiti and Sherman Oaks and know just about everything that you could possibly want to ask about FP.

 

According to my Jan Prince book(2006), public phones primarily take phone cards which a 40 unit card costs 1.550 CFP. Cell phones need to be unblocked and operate on a 900m megaherts system. If you have a GSM phonem buy a prre paid SIMS card for FP at Celluar Abroad in Santa Monica (800-287-3020 or www.celluarabroad.com or buy a Vini chip in Tahiti at the post office(good for 30 minute of local calls or 15 minute international calls). There are three pages of info on phones in her book, so you might want to stop by a book store and just glance through it.

 

We have an AT&T phone and it did work, with the proper card installed. It does seem to me that my DH (an AT&T employee) had to jump through hoops to get it accomplished though. Of course, the was four years ago and I think it's easier now, but definitely ask Meherio your question. He can also get you the latest cost on a phone card there. It may take him a couple of days to respond as he doesn't do CC in the islands.

 

Cheers!

 

Charlie

[flhokie]

My parents recently did a South Pacific cruise (including Tahiti) and used their AT&T cell-phone with no problem (except Christmas Island & American Samoa). They had the AT&T international plan added to their cell-phone plan to (about $5-$6 per month) and took my dad's quad-band phone. The international plan does away with unknown roaming charges and you have a flat per minute rate for each place (usually $1-$2 per minute). AT&T can tell you whether or not your specific phone will work and what the rates are (they have a tool on their website to do this too). They had no problems at all. It was easy for them to call or for me to call them.

[jacketwatch]

Hello,

We are going on a Tahiti cruise January 9th. Can anyone please tell us about the telephone situation there, such as: Will our cell phone work?; Can telephone cards be bought in Tahiti and the other islands & how much do they cost?

Regards, Late Seating

It depends on your phone and your carries. If you have a phone with a GSM band and if your carrier is global then it should. My little old Motorola V-180 which was free thru AT+T worked fine.

[jacketwatch]

Hello,

We are going on a Tahiti cruise January 9th. Can anyone please tell us about the telephone situation there, such as: Will our cell phone work?; Can telephone cards be bought in Tahiti and the other islands & how much do they cost?

Regards, Late Seating

It depends on your phone and your carrier. If you have a phone with a GSM band and if your carrier is global then it should. My little old Motorola V-180 which was free thru AT+T worked fine.

[late seating]

Thanks to everyone the replied. It is a great help!!

regards, Connie & Angelo

[Pam in CA]

My parents recently did a South Pacific cruise (including Tahiti) and used their AT&T cell-phone with no problem (except Christmas Island & American Samoa). They had the AT&T international plan added to their cell-phone plan to (about $5-$6 per month) and took my dad's quad-band phone. The international plan does away with unknown roaming charges and you have a flat per minute rate for each place (usually $1-$2 per minute). AT&T can tell you whether or not your specific phone will work and what the rates are (they have a tool on their website to do this too). They had no problems at all. It was easy for them to call or for me to call them.

I pay $5.99/month to AT&T for International roaming and in the past six months, have made calls on my basic Samsung GSM cell phone from Norway, China (only place I didn't have service was Shanghai), Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Italy. I was able to make/receive calls and use my cell phone to check my email. The data transfer rate was a lot less-expensive than the per-minute cell phone cost. I'm expecting to be able to use it pretty much from Australia trans-Pacific to LA in April/May.

 

Here's the link to the page at AT&T with the International rate information: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp?WT.svl=calltoaction#1

[jennb]

I have T-Mobile service and I was able to receive and make calls on my cell in FP this past Nov. It was quite pricey, however! I was amazed at the reception, it was great - even at sea sometimes.

[ECCruise]

ATT/Cingular GSM phones work fine in Tahiti/Moorea.

 

Just a note: You do not have to pay for international roaming, but you do have to apply for it (they check your credit since there is a potential for big bills!). The $5.95 charge referenced here is to get discounted rates on your calls in some (but not all) countries.