Singapore SIM Cards

[RebeccaBFerguson]

Will be going on a SilverSea Cruise ending in Singapore.

Decided to spend a week in Singapore. Have been advised that that is probably too long to spend in Singapore, but will be spending time with an old family friend

Because of this, am thinking of getting data when in Singapore

 

Have done some research and realized that the main providers are Singtel, M1 and Starhub

Singtel seems to be the most reputable

 

Want to ask if anyone has any experience with the data sims and if they make any difference?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Hoyaheel]

We spent 6 days in Singapore prior to a cruise Dec 16 (flights worked out better and I spent a couple days working with collaborators in town - we enjoyed a more relaxed way of exploring, too). Got Simcards for data from Singtel. Worked fine. Had a hard time finding a store that had the specific card we wanted though - 3 or 4 stores before we found it. But that was a few years ago and the options have probably changed by now....

[Philob]

Who's your provider at home?  Check with them.  

 

T-Mobile has data, messaging, text included in 200+ countries.  AT$T & Verizon  you can add international coverage for a month(?) at a time.

 

I have friends who have family in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and go there regularly.  They have Verizon as their carrier in the US.

 

We have T-Mobile and SWMBO was constantly on her phone looking at reviews of places to eat in China.

Edited January 27, 2019 by Philob

[Hoyaheel]

Yeah, data options change constantly. It was definitely a better option for us to use a singapore sim for data when we were there. We have Verizon and in the past (I haven't checked in a year) the international options weren't my preference.

[Philob]

Another question to the OP.  Is your phone "unlocked"?  

[Kalinda]

We purchased a Singtel sim and it worked well the entire time we were there. 

[mking8288]

Singtel has an inexpensive Tourist Sim card package, look it up on their website ... maybe your old family friend there can get one for you ahead of time, activate it & mail it to you, as it can be used to roam in Hong Kong, Vietnam & Thailand, before you disembark from the ship (based on SS's Nov 2019 itinerary)   It can be easily refilled - most factory unlocked devices used by US carriers - including new iPhone, Google/Pixel & Samsung/Motorola should support 4G LTE Band 3, 7 and 8 (900, 1800 and 2600 Mhz) to insure maximum ease of data connectivity.  Hotels should have fast WiFi for its guests.

 

We have been using Google (Project) Fi for the last 4+ years, with excellent coverage now in 170 countries for voice, SMS and 4G LTE data, roaming inexpensively with same rates as being at "home" - $10 per 1GB of data, tethering ... and, iPhones are officially supported so it's no longer limited to just a handful of Androids.  On our recent 14 nights NCL cruise - West Caribbean & Mexico, we spend an "extra" $20 USD only, mostly for (2 GB+) data and 6 minutes of calls that we didn't route over WiFi for $1.20 + taxes/fees (20 cents a minute) plus 300 "free" NCL satellite WiFi minutes while on the ship.  

[Hoyaheel]

10 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Singtel has an inexpensive Tourist Sim card package

That's the card we wanted - proved very difficult to find! There are singtel stores & kiosks everywhere BUT not very many sold the Tourist card we wanted. As I noted, took us 3 or 4 tries (after our 2nd failed attempt - with the singtel employees not very helpful, we asked our hotel concierge where the largest singtel stores were and tried that...Ended up in a big mall somewhere and were successful)