A phone for international use?

[LuAnn]

we don't use our US cell phone much...so we use Tracphone...just buy your minutes as you go...but it doesn't have world coverage...and a traditional cell phone contract is just more minutes per month than we could possibly use...nor want to pay for.

 

I have run across a company called Mobal...which provides an opportunity to buy a cell phone...where service is available in 190 countries and once you buy the phone ( pretty inexpensive) you just pay for the minutes as you use them...if you use them.

 

Sounds like a good deal!!! Has any one used them...and what have you thought about the service? Thanks!!! LuAnn

[youwash]

Maybe do a search-I know I have seen a thread on here about this phone. I do remember that there were a lot of "never leave home without it"

[Gracie115]

we bought a phone last year from OneSimCard International which works most everywhere. Original cost was about $100 but you only pay for minutes use after that and an annual charge of about $15.00. Since we hope to do more international cruising we thought it was worth it and the few times we needed to use it worked very well. We are still working on the original minutes. We did opt to also have a US number added to the phone which was nice for our family/work contacts if they had needed us(thank goodness they haven't ever had to use it!!) which is a few $$ more but not necessary....

 

anyway hope that helps, there are several options out there...this one just worked for us....:)

[Jetswdo]

We will be using our mobal phones for our upcoming travels-Italy and Greece-

 

We purchased them years ago for our trip to England and France. One for my husband and one for me. They were very handy and very useful for us there. At the time we felt it was the cheapest option to keep in touch.

 

For us, the mobal phone is still our best option. Our regular cell phones arent the smart ones, as we only use them for a basic quick call and that's about it- and would be too much money for our use abroad. If you can get a good price to purchase the mobal phones, go for it. Anita

[Fblack]

I don't understand why people still use Mobal. They charge more per minute than just about any other provider. That includes ATT, Verizon or private SIM sellers. Just go to their web site and check rates for incoming and out going calls to the U.S. If you buy a cheap ATT prepaid G phone, (which has GSM) you can call back to the U.S. Walmart sells a basic ATT GSM Go phone Samsung A157 for $20. Just call ATT's international department first and ask about Go phones and International calling. This web site may help. It list ATT International rates. http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/long-distance/go-phone-international.jsp

 

I personally use an EKIT (Telestial) phone and Passport SIM when I go to Europe. Try this web site. http://www.telestial.com/gsm_phones.php

[judie43]

I purchased a Mobal phone 5 years ago. Use it once or twice a year. It always charges right up...holds a charge...very user friendly. I was charged $4.50 for a call that lasted 10 minutes. I think that is reasonable.

[Bobocasey]

Just make sure whatever phone you get is quad band. Those are phones that will work in most European countries. It is always cheaper to get a text in a foreign country than get a phone call. So perhaps you need a phone that it also able to send and receive text.

[4774Papa]

we don't use our US cell phone much...so we use Tracphone...just buy your minutes as you go...but it doesn't have world coverage...and a traditional cell phone contract is just more minutes per month than we could possibly use...nor want to pay for.

 

I have run across a company called Mobal...which provides an opportunity to buy a cell phone...where service is available in 190 countries and once you buy the phone ( pretty inexpensive) you just pay for the minutes as you use them...if you use them.

 

Sounds like a good deal!!! Has any one used them...and what have you thought about the service? Thanks!!! LuAnn

I have a Mobal phone and it works as advertized. I have used the phone in Spain and Russia. I had a problem using it in Chile.

Calls are expensive, but it only costs when you use the phone.

I have found that when on an overseas trip, unless meeting others from the US, I don't even take the phone with me.

[Savvyhaze]

Don't know if this is of any help to you.... but if anyone has an iPhone and are wanting to be in contact with someone else who has an iPhone - if you have iMessage enabled, you can send messages for free rather than using text allowance and may be useful if wanting to send quick messages to loved ones to let them know you are ok, or to allow people to contact you from back home (if you want them to of course!). My friend is currently working on Equinox and iMessage has been a real help to us when staying in touch; normal texts and calls are so expensive - but it's a crew "trick" to use iMessage - which is free! :) Obviously if you don't have the phone/facility then I appreciate this is of no use to you, but I just wanted to mention it for anyone it might be helpful to. As I say, it's been invaluable to me and my friend while he's been working away on the ship.

[CruisinNole]

we don't use our US cell phone much...so we use Tracphone...just buy your minutes as you go...but it doesn't have world coverage...and a traditional cell phone contract is just more minutes per month than we could possibly use...nor want to pay for.

Sounds like a good deal!!! Has any one used them...and what have you thought about the service? Thanks!!! LuAnn

 

Like you, we use a Tracfone so I purchased a phone from Telestial for $19. Works better than my Tracfone and since I have it mainly for emergencies, the cost is minimal. I only need it once or twice a year.

[ken85121]

Don't know if this is of any help to you.... but if anyone has an iPhone and are wanting to be in contact with someone else who has an iPhone - if you have iMessage enabled, you can send messages for free rather than using text allowance and may be useful if wanting to send quick messages to loved ones to let them know you are ok, or to allow people to contact you from back home (if you want them to of course!). My friend is currently working on Equinox and iMessage has been a real help to us when staying in touch; normal texts and calls are so expensive - but it's a crew "trick" to use iMessage - which is free! :)

 

I an very interested in trying this out!! I have never bought internet time before. Do you buy the internet package then put in the wifi code into your phone?

[tn1728]

Savvyhaze, do we have to use wifi for iMessage? Or would ths work while we were on shore only and had the phone on? I was told to adjust my settings on the iPhone to not allow auto updates or roaming, I'll iMessage still work?

 

Thanks,

 

Theresa

[Christine Frances]

I don't understand why people still use Mobal. They charge more per minute than just about any other provider. That includes ATT, Verizon or private SIM sellers. Just go to their web site and check rates for incoming and out going calls to the U.S. If you buy a cheap ATT prepaid G phone, (which has GSM) you can call back to the U.S. Walmart sells a basic ATT GSM Go phone Samsung A157 for $20. Just call ATT's international department first and ask about Go phones and International calling. This web site may help. It list ATT International rates. http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/long-distance/go-phone-international.jsp

 

I personally use an EKIT (Telestial) phone and Passport SIM when I go to Europe. Try this web site. http://www.telestial.com/gsm_phones.php

 

All well and good if you live in the States:confused: We have had our Mobal for 4 yrs and have used it twice. We love it - perfect reception all through China, SE Asia, and South America. We bought it for emergency purposes only, mainly because we have elderly parents at home. We just wanted a phone were we could be reached quickly as we don't check our email everyday. For everything else we use our iPads. For our purposes, Mobal fits our needs.

[Jetswdo]

What I was saying in my above response, was that I had purchased the Mobal phones years ago, I think in 2007. They reasonably served its purpose at the time. You just pay for each call as needed, and that is it. We just checked the phones after dusting them off, and they both still work just fine. For the purpose of quick light calls- and emergency contact etc. the pricing is quite reasonable.

[bigbenboys]

These phone you are talking about might be great for the person that doesn't need or want a cell phone in their home country. GSM is the standard in more than 212 countries. GSM has 80% for the mobile world market. If you live in one of the few countries that runs CDMA. And yes I do. Why dont you have a global phone with a sims card. I dont remember the phone costing any more money. Richard

[Savvyhaze]

Hi folks, I'll ask my friend re what you have to have your phone set to for using iMessage. All I know is we've been texting back and forth for free - but he's on the ship so I'll ask him what the deal is. I can't imagine it's a very expensive option as the crew all use it for months at a time. :) I shall find out & report back. :) x

[KeywestK]

we don't use our US cell phone much...so we use Tracphone...just buy your minutes as you go...but it doesn't have world coverage...and a traditional cell phone contract is just more minutes per month than we could possibly use...nor want to pay for.

 

I have run across a company called Mobal...which provides an opportunity to buy a cell phone...where service is available in 190 countries and once you buy the phone ( pretty inexpensive) you just pay for the minutes as you use them...if you use them.

 

Sounds like a good deal!!! Has any one used them...and what have you thought about the service? Thanks!!! LuAnn

 

We bought a Mobal phone last year and used it in France and Spain with no problems. Our cell phones do not have international capability, so we just wanted something inexpensive that would provide us with the ability to make whatever calls we needed to make. The phone itself was very inexpensive, and we kept our calls to a minimum, as we were paying per minute. It was a good solution for us.

[Lsimon]

Hi folks, I'll ask my friend re what you have to have your phone set to for using iMessage. All I know is we've been texting back and forth for free - but he's on the ship so I'll ask him what the deal is. I can't imagine it's a very expensive option as the crew all use it for months at a time. :) I shall find out & report back. :) x

iMessage only works between iPhones, iPads and iPods. You can not use iMessage to text a non-Apple product.

 

Also, and more importantly, iMessage uses internet data service and not the basic SMS service that all other text message service uses. Data service is the same service that provides internet email and web browsing and on the ship the cellular version if this is the super high expensive service that had generated stories of multi thousand dollar bills and instilled fear in iPhone, and other smart phone, users. So from a practical basis iMessage is not good for use on the ship. If you have data roaming set to off then it will be disabled and it will default to regular cellular SMS text messaging that runs $0.50 per message for outbound messages and no extra charge beyond your normal "at home" cost for incoming messages - at least these are the ATT rates.

[phyllisrf]

What is the most economical/efficient way to make calls from the Caribbean? (we'll be gone for 14 days)

 

Thanks.

[gkny]

When I worked in China, I used Skype to talk to my wife and family.

[dana77kc]

iMessage only works between iPhones, iPads and iPods. You can not use iMessage to text a non-Apple product.

 

Also, and more importantly, iMessage uses internet data service and not the basic SMS service that all other text message service uses. Data service is the same service that provides internet email and web browsing and on the ship the cellular version if this is the super high expensive service that had generated stories of multi thousand dollar bills and instilled fear in iPhone, and other smart phone, users. So from a practical basis iMessage is not good for use on the ship. If you have data roaming set to off then it will be disabled and it will default to regular cellular SMS text messaging that runs $0.50 per message for outbound messages and no extra charge beyond your normal "at home" cost for incoming messages - at least these are the ATT rates.

 

Dear LS...For ages I've been meaning to tell you that I get all tingly when you talk tech to us...your wife is one lucky woman.

[Kevnzworld]

My favorite cheap way to make phone calls is Skype. You can't use it on the ship, but there are free wifi spots in most ports. Most restaurant / cafe's have them, if you sit down and get a coffee or bottled water they will give you the access code. It's like 5 cents a minute, or so cheap that I loaded $20 3 cruises ago and i still haven't loaded more $.

You can get the free Skype app for iPhone or android phones. It's easier than making a cell call because there are no access or country codes to figure out.

I use text and email on the ship, and Skype in every port or excursion.

[cruisestitch]

gkny -- Skype and other high-bandwidth-using features are disabled on Celebrity ships

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Don't know if this is of any help to you.... but if anyone has an iPhone and are wanting to be in contact with someone else who has an iPhone - if you have iMessage enabled, you can send messages for free rather than using text allowance and may be useful if wanting to send quick messages to loved ones to let them know you are ok, or to allow people to contact you from back home (if you want them to of course!). My friend is currently working on Equinox and iMessage has been a real help to us when staying in touch; normal texts and calls are so expensive - but it's a crew "trick" to use iMessage - which is free! :) Obviously if you don't have the phone/facility then I appreciate this is of no use to you, but I just wanted to mention it for anyone it might be helpful to. As I say, it's been invaluable to me and my friend while he's been working away on the ship.

 

I checked out iMessage at the ap store and it gets horrible reviews. Interesting that it seems to work for you.

 

My daughter and I have unlimited texting on our plan, so don't see the need to purchase an ap that may or may not work. YMMV.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

iMessage only works between iPhones, iPads and iPods. You can not use iMessage to text a non-Apple product.

 

Also, and more importantly, iMessage uses internet data service and not the basic SMS service that all other text message service uses. Data service is the same service that provides internet email and web browsing and on the ship the cellular version if this is the super high expensive service that had generated stories of multi thousand dollar bills and instilled fear in iPhone, and other smart phone, users. So from a practical basis iMessage is not good for use on the ship. If you have data roaming set to off then it will be disabled and it will default to regular cellular SMS text messaging that runs $0.50 per message for outbound messages and no extra charge beyond your normal "at home" cost for incoming messages - at least these are the ATT rates.

 

Larry, who is assessing this $.50 charge per outbound message? Is this your carrier or the ship? My upcoming cruise will be my first with a smart phone, so I'm curious to learn the ins and outs. With my old phone which didn't work outside the country, I just tossed it in the safe and forgot it during the cruise.) Our plan with Verizon provides for unlimited texts as part of our service.