debco5

Hello experts - need your help.

My husband and I are traveling to Europe the end of august. we are taking a 10 day Mediterranean cruise beginning and ending in Rome. We will be in rome for 3 days prior to our cruise leaving.
. I want to purchase global SIM cards for us to use while we are are docked at port and go off the ship for our 3 devices - my iPad , iPhone 4 and blackberry curve. All of which are unlocked.
The countries that we will be visiting are sicily, athens, Ephesus ,rhodes, santorini, Mykonos and naples . There are so many companies that sell these pre paid online but I am a bit hesitant.
It seems that I need to purchase a SIM card for each device and than load it with a bundle packages for both voice/data/text as well as data only( for my iPad).
I am thinking that it makes sense to purchase these prior to our trip so that I can rest assured that they are installed properly =.
my husband and i will be accessing our emails, surfing the web as well as using the iPad for directions in case we get lost.

please advise

brotherleelove2004

If you can in fact find SIMs that are truly "global" then that would be the way to go, although I suspect they will be very expensive. Before you buy do a google search for reviews of the ones you're considering to make sure they're reliable and will work where you plan to be.

debco5

i found SIM cards through Orange. It seems like it will work in the countries that we are visiting and seems reasonable 3MB + unlimited talk and text for $36.

thanks for your help.

brotherleelove2004

Be sure about the amount of access time that $36 gives you. It might be a good idea to buy extra time up front or extra SIMs to take along if you can't add minutes to the first one.

greg

3MB? Do you really know how much data you use?

Are you from the US using ATTwireless at home?
In order to choose a relevant service, you need to know your usage model. Can you forecast how much more you need during the trip? If you have no idea, I recommend you turn on data traffic counter, use it for a week to get an idea of how much data/min/msg bucket you need.

If all three devices are always together, you can get away with only one SIM. You need a SIM on a device that can do a wifi hotspot to allow your other devices to piggyback. This usually allows for more efficient pooled bucketing as the pricing per MB buckets get cheaper more you MB bucket you buy at a time. But of course, only one device can operate on its own.

Assuming you are on ATTwireless, if your usage is low (you need to know your usage model,) you can simply sign up for their international plan for voice/data. This is more acceptable on small devices where you will be accessing web via apps or using the mobile sites.

I have not found any so called Global SIM company that offers competitive data plans. I always end up buying local SIMs. In your case, your usage seem to be mostly in Italy and in Greece. In which case, you can buy an Italian and a Greek SIM cards with far more generous data allowances.

Visiting a full web sites using your iPad can consume a lot of data.

Here are examples of how much data visits to full sites consume:
0.7MB www.fodors.com/community/europe
0.5MB www.weather.com
1.8MB www.weather.com, then search "Rome".
Boing! your 3MB is gone!

worldinabag

I think Debco did a typo - should read 3GB.

nochblad

My first query is - have you checked whether your cruise ship offers wifi and at what cost?

Second I would suggest a SIM card from Italy alone. It is possible to get a top up SIM from WIND at a very good price and you can get 1 months internet with 10GB at only 15 Euros. I will get a complete breakdown of the costs and set this out in another posting.

One important thing is to get the SIM card in Italy as soon as possible as it will take a max of 24 hours before it is fully operational with the add-ons requested (10GB internet etc). However, full connection is often quicker - often under 12 hours. A text message to your phone will confirm this.

If you put the SIM in your iphone you can also use it as a personal router for your other devices.

For Greece and Turkey a SIM card may not be necessary as most ports as well as bars and restaurants in the vicinity offer free wifi. If you find one close to your ship you may even find the signal strong enough to keep using it while still on board. Do a search of available networks before going ashore.

chaimtek

hi!
I can recommend http://www.gotglobalsim.com/ - I've used them in Rome, Germany, Switzerland, Barcelona and all over the east- very satisfactory and pretty cheap (they have all their prices on the site). enjoy!

Reading54

Correct me if I am wrong.
When a cruise ship is in the ocean, the only available cellular tower is the ship's. So if you were to use a SIM card from another carrier, then it will incur roaming charge by using a 3rd party cellular (in this case the ship's), therefore the money on your SIM card will drew down much faster, isn't it?

If you were to purchase wifi connection time from your cruise ship, the rate is approximately $55 for 100 minutes.

nochblad

First of all the Mediterranean is not an ocean. Secondly the first few legs of the trip will follow the coast of Italy and the signal to an Italian operator will be strong - there will not be interference from buildings, hills etc.

$55 for 100 minutes - is this a US cruise ship rate? Only when one knows the shipping line can one come up with a figure.

debco5

worldinabag. You are so right. I did mean 3GB.
nochbald. Thank you for your detailed information. I will check that out right away .
The ship offers Internet by the minute not by the amount you are downloading. The max plan that they offer is 1600 minutes is $399. This can be used on several devices. I don't recall the smaller plans but they do offer them.

I have some research to do. Thank you all so much. This is truly helpful. Keep the advice coming.
I am aware that I should order the SIM cards as early as possible so that I can be certain that everything is set up properly.

Reading54

nochbld, good luck to you if you are able to receive signals from land towers while cruising x kilometers off Italian coast. Since after the Costa Concordia accident in 2012, cruise ships must cruise at a minimum distance from shore. I do not have that x number at hand right now.

Yes, US$55 for 100 minutes was on RCCL and on NCL cruise lines. The larger wifi package will give you a lower price/minute ratio. One just have to adapt to down load pages/email and then read offline.

doug_stallings

Almost all cruise ships these days provide cell service onboard, which will make it impossible to get a signal from land. Onboard cell service has a huge mark-up but it turned off in port, so there's always a local signal then.

But I have to question the necessity of having all these SIMs for all these devices. Is this really necessary? For example, could you simply get away with a Wi-Fi plan on the ship? You can almost certainly find free Wi-Fi on land.

Unless you plan to make constant, multiple calls, I'd simply sign up temporarily for data-roaming through your provider so you can make or receive calls while traveling. You can usually add international data roaming for a reasonable feel.

International SIMs are good if you are making a lot of local calls but don't help that much for calls back home. And it's very likely that your devices aren't unlocked and can't use a different SIM card (have you verified this?).

The purpose of a vacation is to be away from things, and in my opinion, being constantly connected takes away from the experience. Turning on international roaming will allow loved ones or work to make important emergency calls. Otherwise, take it easy. You can save tremendously by simply sending texts instead of making calls. That's what I do when I'm traveling, and I never miss my cell ringing all the time.

Improviser

I refuse to pay at all when travelling, for using my iPad to access e-mails, surf the web or get directions.

As Doug says, it's at my convenience and for my use, not for anyone back home to get to me when they want to. So free wifi is the only way I will connect when travelling. Nowadays that's pretty much available universally. Certainly in the areas where you are going.

Nor do I bother to take a cellphone when I travel. I use my iPad and Skype if I need to make a call.

People were able to travel perfectly happily before iPhones and Blackberries and computers existed. I'm not saying they don't have some uses for the traveller or are a bad thing necessarily but sometimes I think people need to take a step back and think about jsut how necessary or not they all are when travelling for pleasure.

You are supposed to be there to see/do things in the places you visit, you don't need ANY technology to do that. Rather than spending time trying to get directions to a place online, why not just ask somebody for directions?

I'm always reminded of the story (real or myth) of the Russian astronaut who said, 'the Americans spent millions of dollars inventing the Space pen to write in zero gravity, we took a pencil'.

Sarvowinner

We did a similar cruise in May, except the only Greek island we visited was Crete, on the Navigator of the Seas. I used my Italian and Woolworths Global Roaming Sim (which is quite similar to a lot of the Global Roaming Sims). I was able to access Italian 3G for some time after leaving Rome and throughout the islands around Sicily. I also used my global roaming Sim in Greece and Turkey (in port).
3gb would be plenty. I had to use the ships wifi to print out transfers to the airport in Rome. OMG so frustatingly slow compared to my 3g. I definitely remember that Ephesus did not have wifi at the port, rather you had to go to restaurants or cafes which were quite pricy in the port.
I just checked my data usage. I used 40mb over 5 days. One thing is check if you can tether your iphone. They said my global sim could, but it wouldn't work in Scotland. After querying it, I received an email apologising and they changed the website.
Are you sure you need to be connected on all three devices? Could you get by with skype on the ipad, and potentially viber? Just remember to get viber set up prior to leaving home as you need to receive a sms on your mobile/sim to verify your account.
Definitely texts are the way to go, even with a global sim. However, when I was in Ephesus, I received a very important call from our house sitter in Sydney. He had had a prang in our car, it was Friday and he was leaving Australia on the Sunday night so we had to quickly make some decisions.

brotherleelove2004

Debco5, I don't know where you live but will you be able to activate SIMs for Europe from home?

StCirq

If you absolutely HAVE to have this kind of connectivity (and I agree that no one does - we didn't for decades and managed to get by), go on eBay or Amazon, buy a $30 unlocked GMS quad-band tri-sim phone and order sim cards from each country online. I don't know about Turkey and Greece, but I've activated French and Italian sims from the USA before arriving (plus I keep my US sim on the phone as well).

ShellD

We just returned from a similar trip and I can tell you what I did.

I have to have access to emails for business purposes, so being totally disconnected wasn't an option. We were gone for 3 weeks.

We have T-Mobile, which may make a difference. I have a Blackberry phone that I only use for overseas travel. I take the unlocked SIM card out of one of our cell phones that we don't use while traveling - my husband's for example, and put it in the blackberry (It's an older cell phone that has long since been upgraded) But T-mobile and maybe other providers - offer a blackberry, unlimited international data roaming plan for EMAIL. I can't browse the web, but I can get access to email as long as there is a cell connection. I have them turn this plan on before we leave and off when we get back. I believe it's about $19.99/month. This kept me in touch with home - as far as family - which was good for my mom to keep in touch with her mom, our pet sitter, and also with my business.

As far as the internet. ALL of the cell phones were immediately put on AIRPLANE mode as soon as we left the US. You will find free WIFI many places in Europe. Most of the hotels we stayed in had free wifi so that was never an issue. The iPads connected with no problem as well as our Droid and iPhones.

While in port for a day, we never had time to bother checking the internet. We were far too busy. I had the Blackberry for email if needed. If you have to find wifi in port, there are many wifi hot spots in the shopping areas that you will see in every port.

On the ships, you might not find cell service while out at sea - during the night and sea days. So the SIM card isn't going to help anyway. But the ship's wifi is good for a quick check of the internet. Either on your devices or in their internet area. I bought the mid-level packages on both cruises we just returned from and with about 5 minutes a day, sometimes more, I could check whatever I needed - business or personal - upload some pictures. My grandmother loved to see where we were - this was a trip she only dreamed about going on!

So - I think you probably could get by with the ship wifi and the phones you have.

You can also look into renting a global phone - we did this for my daughter did this when overseas for a school trip last summer. It allowed us to stay in touch with her for a very reasonable price. You can rent blackberry phones that allow for email and web access on one device. That may work better than trying to get SIM chips that don't work everywhere.

debco5

shellD - like you, we have to have our devices for business purposes we too cannot be fully dicsonnected in regards to renting a seperate phone - not going to work as. we need to have access to our contacts as well as emails on our devices. we are with AT&T and the plans that they offer are a bit pricey - i think I am going to keep my current iphone 4 as our travel phone once I upgrade my iphone. I think that this is a great idea for future travel.

Also, my husband is a huge football fan and so he needs to keep up with the scores of the games while we are away. my concern is more data related than phoneh calls. we have installed Viber and I can text my family at home while we are away.

I thank you all agaon for your help - I definately feel more comfortable with what my direction and what type of SIM card to get.

many thanks

doug_stallings

If you use it sparingly, an international data plan for AT&T isn't that expensive, but for just football scores, it may be cheaper to get a ship-board Wi-Fi plan for your ipad.

I actually disagree with you about a travel smart phone. In most cases, it's cheaper and easier, as ShellD says, to keep a Blackberry rather than an iphone since it can get you calls, emails, and texts on the same device without having to purchase a separate data plan. On an iphone, you can't get emails without a data plan, so that means more cost. But it's fine if you want to unlock your iphone 4 so you purchse local SIMs when you travel so you can make local calls more cost effective.