Experience with adding/cancelling Int'l plan for phone

[txflood33]

Just curious what experience some of you may have had

 

I am going to Europe in Oct and while I do want to detach from work and life, we all have somewhat become accustomed to having our phone for whatever we do in life.

 

I would love the ability to add a pic to facebook/twitter on occasion without being charged as much as the drink package cost me. I would also like the peace of mind to know that if something bad happened, I have some way to call for assistance if needed.

 

I will be sailing on Celebrity Reflection and use AT&T

 

is there a way to add a package and cancel it afterwards? I spoke to a guy at a kiosk in the mall and he said they have minute packages for talking but would have to call customer service regarding 3G/4G for internet.

 

How easy is wifi to come across in Rome/Greece/Istanbul/Naples? I think I read wifi on the boat was $0.48 a minute...so that's probably a no go.

[CruiserBruce]

It is very easy to put on, and take off international phone plans with ATT.

 

An easier plan would be to seek free wifi in Europe...there is lots. We have never, not once, turned on our phones in over 80 days in Europe the last 5 years. Using wifi on our tablets (or on your phone) will be much easier.

[GradySRQ]

Call up ATT and tell them what countries you will be visiting and when. They will put you on an International Plan which I believe when I was with ATT was a nominal fee. The plan gives you a better per minute rate than you would otherwise pay.

Usually international calling runs around $2.4-$2.8 per minute. When on the ship and out of a land towers range, you will pay around $2.95 per minute.

Last summer sailing from Venice to Croatia and Greece we were close enough to land to get tower reception on most days.

One very important thing to do!...turn off your data setting on your phone as soon as you leave the States. Even if you don’t go on line or check email, your smart phone is constantly downloading and searching for updates. If you don’t turn your data off you will get home to a very large phone bill.

Many restaurants in country provide free Wi-Fi. That’s the time to check email on post on Face Book.

[PRWeezer]

You can manage your account online, or if you prefer to handle it over the phone you can first look at your options online to see what will fit your needs best. Log in and go to wireless - add or change services - scroll down to International Services to see your options. You'll have the option to add features immediately or as of a future billing period. Just remember to go back and remove the features after the trip so you aren't charged once the services are no longer needed.

 

On my iPhone I also go into settings and re-set usage to keep track of data/voice usage during a trip.

 

Note - be mindful of uploading pictures if you're not on a wifi connection. Some photo files are large and can eat up a lot of data and/or rack up charges quickly. My husband still talks about the "$20 photo" I once posted on FB from Ireland via my BlackBerry. :)

[SPacificbound]

I also have AT&T and have added International plans when land traveling in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and other locations, and Cellular At Sea for cruise ship.

 

Call AT&T customer service and have your dates and locations handy and have a firm idea of what you need. Be prepared for sticker shock.

 

FWIW For our next International land trip we will be buying a prepay world sim card that we can use in a spare unlocked iPhone.