Google fi any users

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Any comments about using Google fi when traveling? 

[danb35]

I have it, but haven't yet cruised with it (plan to do so next month).  I have travelled internationally with it, though, and the low data rates are very handy.  I'm planning on keeping the phone in airplane mode while onboard, though.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

1 minute ago, danb35 said:

I have it, but haven't yet cruised with it (plan to do so next month).  I have travelled internationally with it, though, and the low data rates are very handy.  I'm planning on keeping the phone in airplane mode while onboard, though.

I don't know if you have to keep it on

airplane mode?

[danb35]

I'm concerned about the possibility of some funky (and high) roaming charges while onboard.  On land, not so much; the phone will tell me what international roaming will cost.  It's probably an unnecessary precaution though.

 

I'll say, though, that with a month in Korea, my bill only went up about $5 compared to normal.  Definitely the thing to have for international travel.

[DaveOKC]

I have had Google Fi for about 3 years and love it, especially for travel.  I do not turn it on while onboard (at sea), but do so when in ports.  In most countries (see the list on the Google Fi website) you only pay the "normal" rate for data, which is $10 per G.  I get on, check my email, do a bit of surfing and log off - my total bill for this is normally about 50 cents - $1.00 (or less).

 

I have not had to make a phone call on the plan, but I think the rate is about 10 cents a minute (check the website for each country rate).

 

When I log into a local wifi, the cost is zero.  But given the low cost, I seldom bother looking for a place in the port (unless it is very convenient like in the pier building).

 

Your the record, my average Google Fi bill for 2 phone lines is under $50 per month (data included) but we are not heavy data users.  One nice thing - you only get charged for the exact data usage for the month, not a minimum amount.  When I use .1 G of data for the month, I only get charged $1 for data!  Also, Google Fi has some sort of maximum data usuage fee, but I do not recall the details on it - so check it out for yourself, again on the website!

 

Google Fi IMO is a fantastic deal if you are not heavy data users but do want data when you travel.

[KirkNC]

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

I have had Google Fi for about 3 years and love it, especially for travel.  I do not turn it on while onboard (at sea), but do so when in ports.  In most countries (see the list on the Google Fi website) you only pay the "normal" rate for data, which is $10 per G.  I get on, check my email, do a bit of surfing and log off - my total bill for this is normally about 50 cents - $1.00 (or less).

 

I have not had to make a phone call on the plan, but I think the rate is about 10 cents a minute (check the website for each country rate).

 

When I log into a local wifi, the cost is zero.  But given the low cost, I seldom bother looking for a place in the port (unless it is very convenient like in the pier building).

 

Your the record, my average Google Fi bill for 2 phone lines is under $50 per month (data included) but we are not heavy data users.  One nice thing - you only get charged for the exact data usage for the month, not a minimum amount.  When I use .1 G of data for the month, I only get charged $1 for data!  Also, Google Fi has some sort of maximum data usuage fee, but I do not recall the details on it - so check it out for yourself, again on the website!

 

Google Fi IMO is a fantastic deal if you are not heavy data users but do want data when you travel.

 

Thanks for the info.  We are changing to it from T-Mobile in early January.  T-Mobile was going to block our account as all of our data was international.  

[1025cruise]

I used to be a FI subscriber. Being able to use it internationally was one of the selling points. In all honesty, I found that it just didn't work so well in some of the Caribbean islands I visited. 

[faerievert]

I’m switching to Fi shortly. Happy to hear another report of successful data usage abroad.

[danb35]

8 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Also, Google Fi has some sort of maximum data usuage fee, but I do not recall the details on it

They don't charge for more than 6 GB of data in the US, but I don't believe that's the case internationally--if you use 10 GB abroad, you'll pay for it.

[CruiserEK]

I've been a pleased Google Fi user for the last couple of years and I have used the service on a few cruises. I have been able to get coverage at all of the ports I have been to. I have gotten poor to pretty good cellular and data coverage when the ship is in port depending on the signal quality and where I am on land or on the ship. I'm not too sure if the Wifi calling works on the ship as I have never really tried it onboard nor have I purchased any internet package to try it. Depending on the cruise line and what service level you purchase they may or may not block VOIP calling so your mileage may vary.

 

Google Fi does not connect to the ship's cell tower at least for the cruise lines I have been on (Norwegian, Carnival, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line). I tend to put the phone in airplane mode just to save some battery life when I am at sea. I have never seen any extra roaming charges other than for making a call when I am out of the country.

 

The data quality can range anywhere from 2G speeds all the ways up to LTE. It depends on the infrastructure and what can get in it's way. The data at $10/GB is a little pricey but it sort of beats having to find a public wifi hotspot that is managed by who knows. The 6GB cap is also in effect for international use. The most data I have used is 1-2GB while on vacation. But usually I only use about 250-500MB a month. I can also turn my phone into a WiFi hotspot and tether my data connection to at least 5 other devices at no additional cost other than the data used.

 

Calls are pretty cheap at $.20 a minute. At least once when I was in Cozumel I made a 10 minute call that only cost me $2.00. Compared to calling from the ship's phone making a call could cost $4.99+ a minute. I have texted from abroad which is no additional cost.

 

As much as Google Fi has helped me stay connected when I travel, I still prefer the small periods of time being disconnected and not always glued to social media or work.