Anyone travel to Europe with an iPhone lately?

[annabanana86]

Hi all,

We will be on the Gem next week, and I am debating whether to bring my iPhone. I would like to bring it in case of emergencies, but I am hesistant because I have heard so many horror stories of people unknowingly racking up hundreds or thousands of dollars in bills with AT&T. Anyone have any experience with this recently? Here is my plan if I do take the phone:

 

- keep data roaming off always

- keep phone off as much as possible

- keep in airplane mode when it is on to prevent incoming calls

- send texts instead of making calls if I need to get in touch with anyone back home

- use Wifi where it is available to use email, etc

 

I am hoping to avoid any extra charges except the 50 cents per outgoing text by doing this. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!

[HHusky]

yes, I just returned from the med with an iphone. I'd leave it off the whole time if I were you. Also, I had a hard time using the onboard wifi pay service with it. I just used the computer lab when I needed to check email.

[samka]

I have had my iphone overseas. Turn data roaming and data push off. Phone calls are not very expensive. It is the data that it. I had a $3000 bill in Mexico but was credited all but $200 because ATT allowed me to retroactively purchase an overseas plan. You might consider purchasing a plan retroactively. t is easier to use your iphone overseas than to locate a pay phone. They are not readily available in Europe. You will be fine. Don't know about wifi reception on the ship though.

[nparmelee]

We just did with both of ours. Turn Data Roaming off and turn off the fetch on email and such, look at the AT&T web site for the data plan prices. We added the international calling to get reduced prices on minutes (usually $0.99 instead of $1.29 or more). We also did the 50MB international data plan on one phone and the 20MB plan on the other since we knew we would want to do some internet things with the phones. We also used wi-fi when we could.

[cruza]

Hi all,

We will be on the Gem next week, and I am debating whether to bring my iPhone. I would like to bring it in case of emergencies, but I am hesistant because I have heard so many horror stories of people unknowingly racking up hundreds or thousands of dollars in bills with AT&T. Anyone have any experience with this recently? Here is my plan if I do take the phone:

 

- keep data roaming off always

- keep phone off as much as possible

- keep in airplane mode when it is on to prevent incoming calls

- send texts instead of making calls if I need to get in touch with anyone back home

- use Wifi where it is available to use email, etc

 

I am hoping to avoid any extra charges except the 50 cents per outgoing text by doing this. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!

 

 

If you have wi-fi on your Iphone (latest version of Iphone), you can connect to wi-fi spot (there is app to locate wi-fi spots). Download and install Skype on your Iphone and you can call to USA for few cents/minute. Nothing would compete with Skype price

[BobandToni]

We use our iPhones all the time when traveling to Europe. One of the MANY reasons I dumped Verizon, but that's another story.

 

You can add the Europe call plan for $5.99/month which, as "nparmalee" mentioned, lowers your per minute rate from $1.29 to $.99. We also add data plans for fetching email and accessing the web, etc. Usually the 20MB plan ($29.99, IIRC) is sufficient if you turn off the automatic fetching of email. They now have much larger data plans, if needed.

 

I also recommend, once you get to Europe, going into "Settings->General->Usage" and reset the data counter (Reset Statistics). This will allow you to keep track of the actual cell data usage so you can make sure you don't go over your plan amount.

 

Also, when you add the Europe plans, or make any changes to your AT&T account, they may not cover what you think they do, because of your billing cycle. If your trip to Europe is completely within a billing cycle, you're fine but YOU MUST add the Data Plan changes at the start of the billing cycle for that period, otherwise you will only get a pro-rated coverage from the time you called until the end of the billing cycle. The charge is prorated, but so is the data amount. I had this happen the first time and now I know. Most of the people at AT&T don't realize this either.

 

Also, if you have problems or need up increase your call plan here is the toll free support number (from Europe): 001 (916) 843-4685

 

Texting was the big surprise! :eek: ATT charges $.50 for EACH text message in both directions. A one minute phone call is MUCH cheaper.

 

And, if you listen to voice mail, it's billed at the voice rate ($.99/min).

 

Tell people to email you. Depending on the cost of WiFi (and from what I've read that ain't cheap either) it might be more cost effective to email back and forth. Certainly cheaper than Texting!

 

Regardless, the iPhone is much cheaper than pay phones or renting a phone, which I've also done and paid a fortune for.

 

Sorry for the long drawn out explanation, but like most things, once you know all the answers it's simple!

 

Have a great trip! :D

[doctrd]

We brought the iPhones last year and loved it!

In addition to the above tips on turning data roaming off (very important!) and using wifi is great (download your email when you find a wifi spot), this is a tip when you are at port.

 

If you just make a call, the phone will use the first/strongest available carrier. You DO NOT want that carrier to be the cruise ship...it's almost $8 per minute. The nice thing about the iPhone is you can select the carrier from a list. I beleive it's under settings/general/network.

There is no list here in USA, but I remember there were several choices when we were in a port, one you can recognize as the ship carrier, and others from land based.

[Ukap]

Here is ATT suggestions: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/iphone-travel-tips.jsp

 

We just took TA from USA to Barcelona & took our iphone. We took all the steps that you did to turn off data roaming, email, etc. We also pre-forwarded all our calls from the Iphone to our home phone (go to settings/phone/call forwarding) before our ship sailed. We used our home landline as our "forward to" number and left a message saying we could be reached only by text message and left the number to send texts.

 

We could still make outgoing calls if we wanted to (they cost $2.49 @ minute). We just could not receive any incoming.

(When you use call forward your calls only are forwarded, your text messages are still received as usual). Go ahead & do a test at home before you leave!!

FYI - With my Iphone I get 200 messages included each month. It did not cost me anything to receive because they came out of this bundle. However text messages out are counted as International and cost 50c each.

It was a lifeline to us. Our employee's sent us a text each morning & evening and we were able to keep in contact this way.

Don't bother with the wifi on the ship...too slow. Use wifi when in port.

[abouna]

If you get a lot of calls to your phone, the call forwarding is a good idea because if you phone is off, the call will go to voicemail and when you turn it on to make a call, your messages will come in, even if you don't listen to them, and you will be charged. The lady said the charge wouldn't be more than a maximum of 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the length of the message, but if you get a lot of them, even at .99 a minute, they will add up.

 

Another way around this she said is to leave the phone on, but in airplane mode. In this mode, when someone calls they will just get a message that the phone is out of range or unavailable or something, but won't give them an option to leave a voicemail.

[abouna]

. . . . well I just tried the airplane mode advice and it still went to voicemail so the call forwarding seems to be the better option.

[Ukap]

This worked well for us. As I mentioned, practice with it before you leave for your cruise. Forward your calls to another number then have someone make a call to your iphone to make sure it is forwarding correctly. Have them send a text message and you will see that your text messages are not forwarded and come through just fine.

[samavarcruiser]

I have had my iphone overseas. Turn data roaming and data push off. Phone calls are not very expensive. It is the data that it. I had a $3000 bill in Mexico but was credited all but $200 because ATT allowed me to retroactively purchase an overseas plan. You might consider purchasing a plan retroactively. t is easier to use your iphone overseas than to locate a pay phone. They are not readily available in Europe. You will be fine. Don't know about wifi reception on the ship though.

 

Great idea ;)

[Bearsparents]

Thinking about getting an Iphone and interested in using some of the travel apps while in Europe. If i have an app that is offline (travelto) and keep the phone in data roaming off, can i still have my phone on and use my travelto app? Also if the data roaming is off and I use an app that would require the data plan will it just not let me use the app? Want to avoid accidentally using data roaming. I would use the call forwarding option I think that is great and could then receive texts in case i need to be in touch.

 

Thanks

 

Kris

[critterchick]

If you have wi-fi on your Iphone (latest version of Iphone), you can connect to wi-fi spot (there is app to locate wi-fi spots). Download and install Skype on your Iphone and you can call to USA for few cents/minute. Nothing would compete with Skype price

 

You can do that on shore, but ships' Wifi won't support Skype.

 

If you just make a call, the phone will use the first/strongest available carrier. You DO NOT want that carrier to be the cruise ship...it's almost $8 per minute. The nice thing about the iPhone is you can select the carrier from a list. I beleive it's under settings/general/network.

There is no list here in USA, but I remember there were several choices when we were in a port, one you can recognize as the ship carrier, and others from land based.

 

It's "only" $2.49 to us the ship's cellphone tower. The $8.00/minute charge applies to the ship's phones. Most of the time the ships turn off their towers while in port so some poor schmo walking by won't get whacked with the big charges.

 

We just got back from 3 weeks in Italy and used the iPhone when we needed to make a call. I purchased the $5.99/month plan and then my calls were .99/minute. I had data roaming off, and that did the trick.

[6rugrats]

I have had my iphone overseas. Turn data roaming and data push off. Phone calls are not very expensive. It is the data that it. I had a $3000 bill in Mexico but was credited all but $200 because ATT allowed me to retroactively purchase an overseas plan. You might consider purchasing a plan retroactively. t is easier to use your iphone overseas than to locate a pay phone. They are not readily available in Europe. You will be fine. Don't know about wifi reception on the ship though.

 

I have found just the opposite to be true. In the last four months, I have been to Hungary, Turkey, England, Japan and Germany. There was no problem finding a pay phone anywhere. T Mobile is big in most of these countries. Purchasing a prepaid phone card was less expensive in most places, and my iphone, because it is not a 3G would not even work in Japan anyway.

[6rugrats]

We use our iPhones all the time when traveling to Europe. One of the MANY reasons I dumped Verizon, but that's another story.

 

You can add the Europe call plan for $5.99/month which, as "nparmalee" mentioned, lowers your per minute rate from $1.29 to $.99. We also add data plans for fetching email and accessing the web, etc. Usually the 20MB plan ($29.99, IIRC) is sufficient if you turn off the automatic fetching of email. They now have much larger data plans, if needed.

 

I also recommend, once you get to Europe, going into "Settings->General->Usage" and reset the data counter (Reset Statistics). This will allow you to keep track of the actual cell data usage so you can make sure you don't go over your plan amount.

 

Also, when you add the Europe plans, or make any changes to your AT&T account, they may not cover what you think they do, because of your billing cycle. If your trip to Europe is completely within a billing cycle, you're fine but YOU MUST add the Data Plan changes at the start of the billing cycle for that period, otherwise you will only get a pro-rated coverage from the time you called until the end of the billing cycle. The charge is prorated, but so is the data amount. I had this happen the first time and now I know. Most of the people at AT&T don't realize this either.

 

Also, if you have problems or need up increase your call plan here is the toll free support number (from Europe): 001 (916) 843-4685

 

Texting was the big surprise! :eek: ATT charges $.50 for EACH text message in both directions. A one minute phone call is MUCH cheaper.

 

And, if you listen to voice mail, it's billed at the voice rate ($.99/min).

 

Tell people to email you. Depending on the cost of WiFi (and from what I've read that ain't cheap either) it might be more cost effective to email back and forth. Certainly cheaper than Texting!

 

Regardless, the iPhone is much cheaper than pay phones or renting a phone, which I've also done and paid a fortune for.

 

Sorry for the long drawn out explanation, but like most things, once you know all the answers it's simple!

 

Have a great trip! :D

Most of this is true, but the charge per minute depends on what country you are visiting. You can find the rate chart on AT&T's webpage. If you an international calling plan, you will need to leave it on a miniumum of two months as it can take some time for them to receive the charges from the European carrier.

 

Tell people NOT to leave you voice mail, as you are paying per minute for them to do so. Agree to use wifi when in port; it's an easy way to check your email.

 

I found .50 a text to be quite inexpensive as those phone call charges really add up, even with this plan. The rep. at AT&T should be able to explain exactly what settings you need to change on your phone.

[Iwannavacation]

Before you leave the US, you need to activate international calling with AT&T. The number can be found on their website under the international calling section. This is true regardless of whether you buy an international calling plan or not. AT&T also has a little "tips" card you can print out and carry in your wallet.

 

I think you'll find that wi-fi spots on land is your best and cheapest communication device.

 

Another thing I do when traveling is use the passcode feature, which, frankly I don't do around home. That way, if you lose your phone, someone won't charge a zillion dollars to your phone before you can report it. Go to settings, general, to enable if you have not already.

[6rugrats]

Another thing I do when traveling is use the passcode feature, which, frankly I don't do around home. That way, if you lose your phone, someone won't charge a zillion dollars to your phone before you can report it. Go to settings, general, to enable if you have not already.

 

Excellent suggestion, and one I've never thought about. Thanks!

[twoputt.plusone]

I took mine to Europe last fall but thankfully I checked with our service provider before we went. I wanted to know if it would work overseas. The answer was yes but he also warned me not to turn it on unless it was an dire emergency..... translated as life-saving. I was told that it would be unbelievably expensive, particularly on a cruise where you visit several countries. Unless your service provider has agreements with each country, you are at their mercy for charges. With that warning, I took it with me but it never came out of my purse nor did it get turned on. :eek:

 

2P.P1

[mconthehighseas]

We got an iphone, because I wanted an international phone that I could used for a calendar, notes, etc. We travel with the phone on, so that if a family member back home wants to check in with us, they just dial our regular number. So far, they have been very circumspect about calling us, once 6 years ago to tell us our niece was born, and twice to see if we were safe on a Black Sea cruise. However, it was very useful for us to use last year for coordinating with tour guides and our overseas relatives. However, all those calls were to a regular cell phone and not an iphone.

 

It is so reassuring to see how everyone has come up with something that works for them, even though everyone has different circumstances. We will look at all the ideas here, and I am glad we have until October to figure out our own strategy.

 

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread.

[abouna]

More iphone questions:

 

Concerning voicemail. Do you only get charged if you read them or even if the person leaves one? Someone told me when I called ATT if your phone is off and the call goes right to voicemail you will be charged, but ifyou have it in airplane mode it will say the phone is not in service. Not sure, but it doesn't make sense to me. Do you have any thoughts based on your experience? We are on the Ruby in August. I will use the new Skype app when I can, but still would like access to the data now and then.

 

We use our iPhones all the time when traveling to Europe. One of the MANY reasons I dumped Verizon, but that's another story.

 

You can add the Europe call plan for $5.99/month which, as "nparmalee" mentioned, lowers your per minute rate from $1.29 to $.99. We also add data plans for fetching email and accessing the web, etc. Usually the 20MB plan ($29.99, IIRC) is sufficient if you turn off the automatic fetching of email. They now have much larger data plans, if needed.

 

I also recommend, once you get to Europe, going into "Settings->General->Usage" and reset the data counter (Reset Statistics). This will allow you to keep track of the actual cell data usage so you can make sure you don't go over your plan amount.

 

Also, when you add the Europe plans, or make any changes to your AT&T account, they may not cover what you think they do, because of your billing cycle. If your trip to Europe is completely within a billing cycle, you're fine but YOU MUST add the Data Plan changes at the start of the billing cycle for that period, otherwise you will only get a pro-rated coverage from the time you called until the end of the billing cycle. The charge is prorated, but so is the data amount. I had this happen the first time and now I know. Most of the people at AT&T don't realize this either.

 

Also, if you have problems or need up increase your call plan here is the toll free support number (from Europe): 001 (916) 843-4685

 

Texting was the big surprise! :eek: ATT charges $.50 for EACH text message in both directions. A one minute phone call is MUCH cheaper.

 

And, if you listen to voice mail, it's billed at the voice rate ($.99/min).

 

Tell people to email you. Depending on the cost of WiFi (and from what I've read that ain't cheap either) it might be more cost effective to email back and forth. Certainly cheaper than Texting!

 

Regardless, the iPhone is much cheaper than pay phones or renting a phone, which I've also done and paid a fortune for.

 

Sorry for the long drawn out explanation, but like most things, once you know all the answers it's simple!

 

Have a great trip! :D

[abouna]

One more question . . . Since it seems a variety of cell services will pop up in various countries, do you have to know which one to choose (that is, one that ATT has an agreement with) or will it only show ones for which we can use (besides the cruise ship one of course)?

 

For example, in Italy, if we have three or four choices when we turn the phone on, do we have to pick one for which ATT has an agreement to get the .99 cent/minute rate or will any of them do besides choosing the cruise ship if we are close to that tower and it shows up as one of the choices?

 

Thanks!

[Bincent]

If you definitely don't plan on using voice calls, can't you just take out your SIM card and avoid data or roaming charges altogether??

 

Then your iphone basically acts as an iPod Touch.

[nparmelee]

For the different services in different countries, the iPhone will pick the one it needs to, you do not need to specify one. The Cruise ship services for mobile phones are usually more than .99/minute, I would avoid theirs if you are in port, our phone went to the local service as soon as we were in range of a cell tower.

 

Yes, you could take out your sim and essentially have an iPod Touch. If you think you will need to make any calls though, make sure you keep your sim in a safe place. Going into airplane mode is basically the same thing as taking out the sim though, so just go to airplane mode, you can turn on wi-fi still.

 

I don't think we were billed any minutes for receiving voicemail calls, but if your phone is off or in airplane mode, as far as AT&T is concerned, you could be in the US and your calls go straight to voicemail, so that wouldn't make a lot of sense to me. Maybe if you had the phone on and connected to a service and then got a call and let it go to voicemail, then there might be a charge. Checking voicemail, yes, that we were billed for.