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-   -   cell phone companys (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/cell-phone-companys-1126761/)

Joe95401 Aug 25th, 2016 04:38 AM

cell phone companys
 
we are going Europe for the first time. Abruzzo Italy for about 10 days and a cruise for another 7. I need to be available via cell phone during that time and need a recommendation on a company that rents phones at a fair rate. My current provider isn't supported there. Any suggestions?
Much thanks

willit Aug 25th, 2016 05:06 AM

Presuming you are in the US, you can buy an unlocked, dual sim , international band using smartphone on Amazon for around $60. You should be able to pick up a pay as you go sim card from TIM, WIND or one of the other Italian suppliers for less than €10 (Their branches are on virtually every street in Rome)

I use a cheap and cheerful UMI phone from China. It works fine, and I keep my regular UK sim in one slot, plus my Italian sim in the other.

Personally, I cannot see the point of renting if it is as relatively cheap to buy (you could always resell the phone on Ebay if you are never going to use it again.

Robert2016 Aug 25th, 2016 06:54 AM

If you check, you'll find that mobile phone service on cruise ships is expensive and reception terrible. You might want to consider renting a satellite phone if you really need to be in contact while at sea.

If you travel enough, then you might want to consider changing your service provider.

xyz123 Aug 25th, 2016 07:28 AM

The advice about a local Italian sim above is fine and will work well when you are in port or on an excursion.

Now...one place where cruises lines lag is when at sea and the gouging that goes on while at sea. You will be at the mercy of however much the cruise line will wish to gouge you. What you will almost want to do is on a sea day or at night put the phone on off or airplane mode. You will get your text messages the next day in port or through voice mail.

Joe95401 Aug 25th, 2016 12:18 PM

Thanks for your imput. Only one follow up question. What is TIM, WIND AND UMI? And what exactly am I looking for on Amazon This is what I found

Maxwest Orbit 330G 4G 3.5" Touchscreen Unlocked Quad Band GSM Dual-SIM 1.0GHz Dual-Core smartphone w/Android 4.2 (Blue)
It says: Dual SIM card slot International Unlocked
Is this what I,m looking for?

Joe95401 Aug 25th, 2016 12:24 PM

Thanks for all that replied. As far a the cruise it is a river cruise so I'm guessing that since we are not "out to sea" we should still have service. Trying to get all these things together is drive me crazy since this is the first real vacation in over 14 years I am a bit overwhelmed.

kybourbon Aug 25th, 2016 03:56 PM

TIM Italia, a cell phone service in Italy (like AT&T, Verizon, etc.). Another Italian carrier besides Tim or Wind is Vodaphone. YOu can stop in one of their stores, get a sim card for your phone (you will need your passport). They have various plans (starting at 10€)and you can add more time if you start getting low. Here's one example aimed at tourists.

https://www.tim.it/offerte/mobile/es...for-visitor-uk

FYI - Your phone will have an Italian phone number so you will need to give that to your contacts. Look up how to dial from Italy to the US (assuming you are from the US) or ask in the TIM store.

re Aug 25th, 2016 07:57 PM

We are going to Italy in the fall and appreciate this information on SIM cards. Would like to know if these SIM cards can also be used for text as well as calls. We would use our cell phone; our provider in the US is T Mobile.

greg Aug 25th, 2016 08:38 PM

re:
Do you have a T-Mobile Simple Choice plan? If your phone is international capable, you don't have to do anything to use your phone in Italy. Read this http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/roaming.html. No need to get a SIM.

willit Aug 26th, 2016 03:05 AM

Joe95401 -as others have said TIM and Wind are mobile phone companies in Italy (there are others)

UMI is one of many Chinese phone manufacturers - The Maxwest orbit you found should be fine for a short trip. It has what you need (Quad band - so it will work nearly everywhere in the world).

I like dual sim phones. On mine, when I first put in the foreign sim card and turn it back on, it asks me a) what sim do I want to use for data b) what sim do I want to work for calls and text.

I select my new sim for both - and leave my UK sim to pick up calls from home. There is a real advantage in having an Italian sim/phone number in that Rome and other cities often have areas of free wifi, but you often need an Italian mobile number to register.

StCirq Aug 26th, 2016 03:32 AM

If you don't have to have a smart phone, on e-bay or amazon you can buy a Blü phone (and probably other brands as well) for about US$25. Mine has four SIM slots and works like a charm.

bvlenci Aug 26th, 2016 05:23 AM

For cell phone providers I would choose either TIM or Vodafone. Wind does not have as much national coverage, and Abruzzo is one area where coverage can be spotty.

TIM has a plan called TIM for Visitors, and Vodafone has a plan called Vodafone Holiday. They are very similar,except that TIM has more data (4 gb) and fewer talk minutes (100) than Vodafone, which has 2 gb of data and 300 minutes of talk. Plus Vodafone has 300 SMS, while TIM has none. (With all that data, you can use an internet messaging app instead of texting.) Both cost €20 for one month, and both let you use your minutes for calls within Italy and calls to many other countries. You have to buy a SIM card, which will cost another €10.

https://www.tim.it/offerte/mobile/es...for-visitor-uk

http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privat...oliday-English

kybourbon Aug 26th, 2016 05:30 AM

TIM has other plans also.

re Aug 26th, 2016 07:50 AM

Thanks for all the information but 1 more question. Do these plans allow your mobile phone to be used as a GPS while in Italy?

Holly_uncasdewar Aug 26th, 2016 10:37 AM

I, too, am new to the cellphone in Italy experience. My question is: if you bring your own unlocked phone, buy a SIM card in Italy, and you get an Italian phone number - will you be able to get to your contacts for email and messaging purposes once you connect with your email address using the new SIM?

bvlenci Aug 26th, 2016 11:01 AM

Re: Using a phone as a GPS device depends on two different services:

1. You need to download maps for the area where you are. This requires either wifi or a data plan. Any data plan will allow this, but if you want to save your data allowances for other uses, Google Maps (and other services) allow you to download maps for a specified area <b>in advance</b> using wifi.

2. You need to connect to a satellite to determine exactly where you are and to follow your route. This doesn't depend on the data plan you're using.


Holly:

Your contacts are stored on your phone, not on your SIM card. On some very old phones, there was the possibility to save contacts only on the SIM card, but I don't think anyone has such a phone any more.

kybourbon Aug 26th, 2016 11:12 AM

Yes, you get various plans based on your own needs although they have some special plans aimed at travelers. Tell them what you want to do and they will find a plan for your needs. I used to get one from TIM that was 10€ (5€ was for the SIM and 5€ of time). It was good for 30 days and if you needed to add more time, you could in various amounts. If you have an unlocked tablet with a Sim and only want to take that, you can get a SIM for it instead of depending on wifi.

For calls/texts, the other party does need to expect something from an Italian number.

Go to the bottom and click details for the plan bvlenci mentioned. I don't know if that plan can be topped up. You will have to ask.

https://www.tim.it/tim-visitors-en

bvlenci Aug 27th, 2016 04:06 AM

The TIM SIM cards have always cost €10, but they come with €5 of initial credit, which would be enough for about 20-25 minutes of local calls. If that's all you want, you can still do that.

Most people these days want data as well as talk time, and the plans for visitors are ideal for those people. For what they offer, there's no cheaper plan available even for Italians. One big bonus is the ability to use your minutes to call other countries.

The TIM for Visitors is a month-long plan that can't be renewed. However, the SIM card is a normal SIM card that can be topped up, and you can put a different plan on it if you like. TIM for Visitors can only be activated on a new SIM card.

Vodafone Holiday can be renewed, and in fact is renewed automatically if you don't cancel it. This is one thing I don't like about it, because it will be renewed even if you don't have enough credit, and have returned home, leaving your SIM credit negative. (This would only cause a problem if you think you'll want to use the same SIM card again within a year. After a year of not ever being topped up, it expires.) You should definitely not pay for Vodafone Holiday with a credit card, because through a misunderstanding, you may end up paying for the renewal with your credit card. Also, after the first month, it costs €30 instead of €20.

The only reason to prefer Vodafone Holiday is if you don't need much data and think 100 minutes of talk time won't be enough.

Holly_uncasdewar Aug 28th, 2016 05:48 AM

That's all very helpful. Thanks.


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