do we need a phone w/international access
in Travel Tips
I'm traveling on the upcoming Aegean Sea trip. My cell phone carrier said I do not have international access. I'm trying to decide if I need to make arrangements for access. I don't anticipate needing a phone for anything. Recommendations?
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A resounding yes! Definitely get a phone with international access! We arranged a rental through our Verizon provider and were thankful we did. In fact, this was the first year we did so. When we arrived in Frankfurt to make our connection onto Milan for our Bellisima Italy tour, we were advised virtually the moment we landed, that Lufthansa was on cabin crew strike! It was a nightmare, spending 12 hours at the airport, attempting to re-book flights 5 times, with no success, due to every Lufthansa flight being cancelled and no other carrier connections available. We finally made it out of Frankfurt and onto Milan the following morning, having to overnight in Frankfurt. Thankfully, we had an international phone to call family as well as Tauck, giving them updates.
Suffice it to say, we will never, ever travel without the use of either an international phone or at the very least an international calling card.
Please do look into it. You never know what you will have to deal with anywhere and having that phone was a lifesaver for us to keep in contact.
Thank you so much!
All it takes is one really bad travel experience to make you value having that international phone at hand! We will never travel without one!
We do have a Family Unlimited Texting plan. This we use extensively. Incoming texts are free worldwide, and outgoing texts are just 50 cents.
On our recent trip to Canada, I did have three phone calls charged to me. Two were regarding a misunderstanding about my pickup from the airport (Tauck reimbursed me for those!), and one was a call from a restaurant confirming a reservation I had.
International roaming calls can usually be kept to a minimum.
A friend had mentioned that one could purchase international phones and SIM cards on Amazon. I haven't looked into that.
We also use an older iPad so we do have email available. However, that phone was invaluable to us last year, as was the iPad.
Jan, I do hope there are dramatic changes underway in regard to the suppliers and outrageous charges in Australia!
There have been so many complaints to the Telecommunications Ombudsman in recent years that it's clear that the 2 major telecoms can't get away with their games any longer. We call the situation Phone Bill Shock and there are numerous consumer tip sheets to help beat the avaricious telcoms at their own game. You know how Aussies like a challenge! But I guess it's hard to explain that to people with phone addiction!
I am certainly not a Luddite, but I don't have a mobile phone. I've had them in the past but I just hate the intrusion. Now I call myself a conscientious objector. Although, I am having terrible trouble arranging Tauck pickup at Logan International without a mobile phone. Don't ask! I know, Logan is hard, but Terminal E for international arrivals is quite straightforward. Sometimes things that are very easy are just made so much harder when we are just too blind to see.
Hey ho.
After initially refusing to get cell phones, we decided on a "happy medium" getting a "dumb phone" and a bare basics plan for emergency purposes when out and about. We hardly ever use our phones. Texting - forget about it! Yes, I so agree - sometimes the easiest things are now made more complicated! Such is life living in a techno world!
We will forever make an exception when it comes to having an international phone at our disposal when traveling. Last year was the very first year we rented one and believe me, we so appreciated having that phone in light of some chaotic events at Frankfurt airport due to strikes! And, guess where our connection is for this years trip - Frankfurt!! Hoping we can change outbound air itinerary, eventually. We've book award tickets and took what was available.
I think the operative word is ... small market. Sorry, that's two words! Lack of competition is the reason Telstra, principally, and Optus can get away with the games a duopoly can play. But they have been so greedy the authorities are cracking down. On the positive side, we are lucky to have pretty good corporate and telecommunication regulation so we are set to put some brakes on their greedy little red wagons!
Personally, it's become a bit of a game to me to see how long I can stand against the tide of mobile phone ownership, this time. It certainly doesn't sit easily with me to discover that someone thinks it's a good idea to tell a foreigner, me, that ownership of a US local call enabled phone is a pre-resquite for a tour starting in Boston, Logan, though.
I'm praying for a sympathetic and helpful stranger to make a call for me. There's always smoke signals. Or what about those signal flags they used to use on naval vessels?
Cheers,
Jan
Denise
Cheers,
Jan
Denise
This only applies to 3G iPads. If you have a Wi-Fi only iPad, you do not need to worry about these charges.