Cell phones in Med

[CathyCruises]

I have seen this discussed a time or two, but I wonder about the most up to date info on the best way to use a cell phone in Europe. I have an iPhone--is that a good option? Or do I need to buy a special phone to use while I am there for an extended length of time? I am going to need some contact other than email. I know someone out there has great information--please share!

 

Thanks,

Cathy

[FinelyCruising]

Cathy -

 

Just back with iPhone.

 

You will need to contact AT&T and obtain International Dailing Plan. You can add and subtract once you get home. I did not make any calls while underway, just while in port when I was assigned the roaming carrier. It was my undertstanding that if underway I would have needed the cruiselines satellite and the cost would have been huge.

 

Check with AT&T and they can review each of the ports you are going to be in and what the cost of the plan will be, for me we were Italy and Spain and Spanish owned Islands, so it is not terribly expensive by itself.

 

For Data, there are several options depending upon your units you estimate you are going to use. I took a large plan and it was $119.99 for the "month" since it mirrored what I used here are home and left me with a solid cushion. You can delete the plan and the costs once you get home and they helped ensure I didn't clip the timing and have it cost me more due to usage versus pro-ration.

 

There are some smart rules about data and how to set up your phone. I have multiple accounts and only was going to use my personal email, so the rest were set to not retrieve data unless I opened the account. As a result I controlled th data flow.

 

A very important aspect is to use the land based carrier as much as possible while in port. Once you leave port you will need the ships wi-fi plan and that costs about $100.00 based on what I took for a 14 day cruise and it burns through pretty fast even when being economical. You can see what carrier you are on at the top of your iPhone, so if in port make sure you are not getting the wi-fi icon.

 

So you will probably need the carriers data plan and you will need the ships wi-fi if you plan to use internet while underway. With the combination you should be able to establish the times you will fetch and send in the most efficent manner.

 

At the end of the day it does all cost a bit to stay in touch. If I can make any parts clearer, please let me know.

 

AT&T International has been very helpful every time I contacted, they are only Monday-Friday.

[CathyCruises]

Wow, that's exactly the info I was looking for! Actually, we are not cruising this go-around; we have rented houses in Italy and France and will be 'over there' for about two months all together. I will have my laptop for staying in touch at work (ha ha!), but we still feel like we need to have phone access as well, so I'll only use the phone for voice, not data.

 

I will call AT&T tomorrow!

 

Thanks, Cathy

[hylasgirl]

Cathy...

 

iPhone is an excellent cell phone for all over Europe.

 

But, yeah... make sure your data is turned off or it can mean huge money! In fact, unless I am actively using my phone, I turn it to "airplane" mode.