Thank you for all of these thoughts and suggestions. I am going to study them. I suspect I will have more questions… once I do so. The reasons for my concern is business documents in my phone, etc.

I doubt anywhere in Europe will be bothered by what you have on your phone, but who knows about the US. Can you transfer the documents elsewhere if they are sensitive and liable to lead to problems with US border control?

The people who may be interested in what you have on your phone could be anywhere in the world.

If your phone is unlocked, getting a local SIM or eSIM is way easier and cheaper than buying a new prepaid phone. Are you mainly worried about keeping your number for things like 2FA, or just looking for reliable data while abroad?

Thank you for all of this sound advice. We are going to go with our Verizon International plan which is about $65., just a little more than our usual payment. I am going to make sure everything is saved on the cloud and delete unnecessary apps, etc. Good excuse to clean out the phone. I doubt our phones will be seized, and for reasons, we need to be accessible with our own numbers. Again, thanks for helping me think this through.

Set up the Verizon today. It was seamless. We can return to our “special” regular rate when we return.

Virginiafish--Good decision. The "Keep It Simple" method.

As I've often related on this board, there was once a time when we ourselves chose to be DISCONNECTED from home in Europe and only sought communication with each other should one in our party get lost. I started out buying cheapie GSM phones and buying local SIMS years ago, and I then slowly worked up to other methods.

But with the advent of rampant identity theft, I realized I MUST stay connected so that if accounts of any type become invaded, I'm onto it quickly. And after hours and hours of research not that long ago--and only after Verizon finally updated its International Plan advantages--I realized I no longer had to reinvent the wheel. I'm using Verizon International Plans for the third (fourth?) time on our upcoming UK/Ireland adventure.

One good piece of advice: in the days before you leave, sign into all your important phone apps. You can choose to log out--it really doesn't matter. It's the checking in that counts. That way if an app needs to be updated, you'll catch it, plus the various apps will consider you to be "active" and make any future use of them in Europe a little less fraught. And of course, if any of them offer you an opportunity to set a travel advisory, do it.

And when coverage gets glitchy overseas, turn the phone off and turn it back on again. Your connections usually reset to find the right network or tower.
Have fun,
AZ