Thyra

Hello Fodorites! After scanning all the threads relating to Cell Phone Rentals abroad, one name was repeated over and over Omnipoint. Well I went to their web site, sent an email a few days ago, heard nothing.And now have tried to call three times each time being left on hold for more then 15 minutes, (long distance). So just to see what would happen I pressed the number for immediate technical support and guess what? 10 minutes on hold. I am not really thrilled with their customer service so far! What if I had a problem while in Greece? I really would like to know if this is atypical or can someone recommend an alternative company?

tom

Matt Barrett's greece site, http://www.greecetravel.com/, offers some specific suggestions for Greek cell phone service, but I have no direct experience yet. <BR> <BR>Also, your existing cell provider may offer foreign handset rental & roaming plans, may be worth checking out (eg Pacific & Nevada Bell do). <BR> <BR>I'm still researching this for my August trip, still haven't decided. With roaming fees from both the US & Greek phone companies, it can get really expensive, really fast. <BR> <BR>

Thyra

Tom, thanks for your input, actually I had considered Matt's suggestion, it seemed really pricey to me. $170.00 for the rental, plus $20.00 prepaid phone card, $200.00 just struck me as a big steep. One of the draws to Omnipoint was that it is only $49.00 for 20 days plus security and prepaid minutes. I don't plan to be using it much so about $100.00 seemed a better deal. I'd be interested in other opinions.

stacey

Well, this doesn't apply to Greece specifically, but I was finally able to find something about Germany that may help. I am buying a phone there - it's 100DM (50$) and you purchase card chips for any denomination. They work like pre-paid phone cards. You may be able to check something like that. If you're staying at a larger hotel, maybe they have a concierge that could help.

tom

I just looked at what my existing provider (Pacific Bell, part of SBC) offers, apparently they contract out to "Cellhire" at 1-888-271-1302. <BR> <BR>Cellhire Handset Rental Rates <BR>Weekly $39.95 <BR>Monthly $75.00 <BR> <BR>But PacBell's roaming charge abroad is VERY expensive, $2.50 per minute, plus I guess the Greek company adds their roaming charge, too. <BR> <BR>Since Pac Bell uses the GSM digital phone system, you can take the SIM card out of the existing US phone, transfer it to the european phone, & preserve your same phone number, account #, phone directory list, etc. <BR> <BR>If anyone has better deals available, pls let us know!! I wanted a phone for both my son & I, to be able to stay in easy contact with each other, but it would cost $5+ per minute to say "hey dad, what'cha doing?" <BR>

Thyra

Update, I found several companies online and am curious to know if anyone has experience with them. <BR>www.intouchusa.com looks like about $100.00 for two weeks, plus some pretty steep per minute rate. Also "Roberts" phone rentals out of NYC. Has anyone heard of these companies? <BR>

Paul

Thyra - as an Omnipoint customer, I can tell you that YES, their wait times are atrocious! The only thing I can suggest to you is to find a friend who's an Omnipoint customer, and ask if you can use their phone to call Omnipoint. You dial "611" on their phone, and you'll get through faster. By the way, they do have a toll-free number, so you can hold on long distance on their nickel! Good luck!!

Thyra

Paul, do you happen to have that number? I can't seem to find it on their web site but it's possible that their wierd, soft jazz hold music has affected my vision.

Paul

In looking at Omnipont's web site, it appears that they are now part of Voice Stream, and are no longer offering the $49/month rental. It's now $149/month through CellHire! Quite a price jump! If you're still interested, the number is 800-299-6886.

Bob

I have a one day old fax from Omnipoint that still quotes the $49 per month fee and the same schedule as I used in October. I now have my second order placed and had to wait about 5 minutes for a response on their 800 line. Don't know where the other poster got his info. All I can say is that our Omnipoint phone saved a lot of hassle when in Italy last year. Convenience alone was worth the price and reception was good. Sure beat screwing around with the hotel phones. One cavet: Their bill takes about two months to finally show up on your credit card statement.