Yeah, $30 USD is about what I spent on my Vodafone NL SIM with top-up, etc. but with only 3GB of data. Still, I have used only about 2GB (I'm at CDG about to fly out - using the hotspot to burn up the data - why not?) I was able to top mine up with a US credit card on Vodafone's site without using Paypal or getting any surcharges. It would be nice to have 12GB of data (wow!) and the extra WiFi access, though, but I'm quite happy with the way my Vodafone SIM experience worked out. After roaming charges are removed, maybe the SIM will still be useful next year (supposedly will remain active for a year - I have 5 Euro credit on it) if I come back to Europe.

One minus seems to be that you can't turn the phone into a hotspot. I am going to try the sim in another phone that is rooted and has a custom ROM and try some different tethering apps to see if I can get around it.

Oh, that's a shame! Hotspot is essential for me - has worked great with the Vodafone SIM (at least on Android - I hear iPhone users may have problems). Still using it the last few minutes before we depart CDG.

Wait! I switched the SIM to an old Galaxy Nexus that I had running Cyanogenmod 14.0 (Nougat) and it worked fine. Three didn't block it .
I am going to try a different rooted phone and see if it works. I will bet WiFi tether router will work.

Glad you got it to work, but I would have been out of luck; I have only the one 4G phone for Europe and it's not rooted. I would have been disappointed not to have hotspot - I used it every day for my laptop and tablet, sometimes for hours on the train. I think I remember now one of the other reasons I picked the Vodafone NL SIM: very few restrictions like this.

I know what you mean. I normally bring a tablet, but this time I just going to bring a phone as I don't want to be forced to check and pay for a bag if they ban tablets while we are there. By the way, I don't think Three roams in 4g, though it has it in UK.

I also got Three to tether using the native hotspot on my dual sim Moto E which is also running cyanogenmod 14.0 (nougat).

Andrew- I thought you had a moto e? Have you tried to root it and unlock the bootloader?

I have several versions of the Moto E. Is yours the XT1521 (dual SIM)? I use that one for Europe - works great. Haven't tried to root it but haven't needed to. There's a free upgrade to Android Marshmallow available that I've not even bothered to install yet, because my other Moto E's are not being upgraded past Lollipop and I like having them all the same, for now. The Verizon Moto E I have cannot be rooted; I think the Sprint Moto E (which is now my daily phone at home) can be, perhaps I'll root it to upgrade it to Marshmallow someday.

Yes, XT1521. You should be able to unlock the bootloader through Motorola or Lenovo and drop a custom ROM on it like I did (go to Nougat). I am going to use my Israeli LG G3 in Europe (d855, not rooted) as it has a larger screen, but will likely take the moto e or the galaxy nexus to give to SWMBO so that we can use Hangouts and communicate with each other if we get separated . I have some Freedompop Global GSM SIMs to use in the backup phone. I also have a 17 year old daughter who swears she can use wifi on her iphone but I am loaded for bear with that 12 gig ThreeUK SIM deal and phones that can hotspot with it.

Hi, I am the one that started this thread so here is a summary for me. I have the Sim card now, for Vodafone NL for my Apple 7 I phone. I also have loaded in the APP google hangout, and it does work in the US. So now my idea is to go to a Vodafone store in Amsterdam and have them put the Sim card in and get it activated, and buy some data. Does this make sense to wait until I get to Amsterdam to do this.Remember I am not real tech savy. Verizon will do little to help me on this here in the US. I will freeze my Verizon service for the period that I am in Europe and use the Vodafone/Google hangout for free calls to the US, but not US to Europe. So How do I get the phone info, to be in English rather in Dutch, seems like i read this somewhere? Any comments on this plan? Seems to make sense to me. What am I missing???? Are vodafone stores pretty prevalent in Amsterdam, might try Schlipol airport....Sue

You can certainly wait until you get to Amsterdam to set up the SIM card at a Vodafone store, though that negates any benefit to having bought a SIM ahead of time - you can probably get a SIM for free or almost free at a Vodafone store there. But if that feels less stressful for you at this point and you can't find someone locally (Apple store?) to help you swap SIM cards and activate your Vodafone SIM card before you leave for Europe, then I guess you should wait until you get to Amsterdam.

In any case, bring something safe to store your Verizon SIM card in so you don't lose it during your trip! The nano SIM card is tiny and easy to lose.

After you activate the Vodafone SIM card, you'll have to add credit (top up) first - then you use that credit to buy a "You" package - the cheapest way to go. For example, I added 20 Euros credit to my SIM. Then I bought, with my credit, the "You L" package for 20 Euros to get 3GB of data for a month. Yes, you can do this all at a Vodafone store if you don't want to do it ahead of time.


The Vodafone store clerk can set your phone to communicate in English. If you happen to activate your SIM before you get to Amsterdam, I can look up how to do it for you - I never bothered.

Andrew, My son is getting his Sim card in Amsterdam at a Vodafone store, but I got mine already from the Internet. It just seems easier to let the Vodafone store set it up for me. I sure hope we can find a Vodafone store easily in Amsterdam. I think there is one at the airport, so may do it there. Thanks for the help everyone, I hope I am all set and have this figured out. Sue

"So How do I get the phone info, to be in English rather in Dutch, seems like i read this somewhere?"

The phone itself will still operate in English. No changes needed. However, you will get messages in Dutch from Vodaphone, warning you that you need to top up, etc.

Perhaps Vodaphone will have an app in English that will help you monitor your balance.

Text 'English' to 4000 to switch NL Vodafone's message to you in English.

Text 'Status' to 4000 to get an update on how much data remains in your plan.

If it ever prompts you for a password to unlock your SIM card, the default password is 0000 (4 zeros.)

rs899: <i>Perhaps Vodaphone will have an app in English that will help you monitor your balance.</i>

Unfortunately, they do not. Their app is only in Dutch. And you can't install it on your phone unless you are in the Netherlands anyway - unless you find a way to download it on your own (which is what I did). You must use the Dutch Vodafone app for the Dutch Vodafone SIM - you can't use an app for a different branch of Vodafone (say, Vodafone UK) which is completely incompatible.

But even in Dutch, you can get the general idea from the app of what's going on. The My Vodafone login on their website is basically the same thing, but it can be translated (e.g. in Google Chrome) to English. You don't really need the app - just slightly more convenient.

Reading54: <i>If it ever prompts you for a password to unlock your SIM card, the default password is 0000 (4 zeros.)</i>

You can remove the SIM lock - I did. Just a security thing, something you can set or remove on any SIM card (at least in Android). Let's hope the Vodafone rep will do that as part of the setup process. It's annoying, and anyone who can steal my phone and pop out the SIM to see it's Vodafone will be able to figure out the 0000 code anyway.

Ok, here I am again. I have the nano Sim card for my Apple I phone 7, got it in two weeks in US.Also have a little plastic container for old Sim to store in safe spot. I have the google hangout downloaded on phone and can call two friends in US. Andrew I am stopping my Verizon plan as of 7/4 (saves $10.), and will have the Sim card installed by Vodafone in Amsterdam. What is the GSM not CDMA issue. If Verizon is stopped is this something I need to deal with? what does that mean? Also do I need to open a google account or is it opened with the App? I hope I have this all in order. Thanks all, again. Off 7/3. Sue

You are confusing me with the GSM CDMA thing. Your phone works on both bur Verizon is a CDMA carrier. If you already got Hangouts to work on wifi in the US, you are golden. Just get data working on Vodaphone somehow and you should be fine.

You certainly already have a Google account if you have used Google Hangouts now. That won't change when you get to Europe or when you use a different SIM. So you don't need a new Google account. All you need to remember to do is add the +1 prefix in front of US phone numbers to call with Hangouts, something you don't do in the US.

CDMA is the wireless technology Verizon uses in the US (Sprint too). GSM is what T-Mobile and AT&T use in the US and also what is used in all of Europe. Your phone can roam on GSM networks in Europe, but you may need to enable roaming in the phone to do that. Not sure - I know little about iPhones, but it should be easy. No doubt a Vodafone store agent would know how to turn that on. So would someone at an Apple store here in the US. Your son probably can too. It's probably just a simple iPhone setting - swipe one setting to roam and that's all you need to do. Swipe it back when you get home to the US to use Verizon again.

OK RS and Andrew. I think I am all set then. This should save a good bit of money and I do appreciate all the help on this. Sue Happy Travels

At the Vodafone store, ask them to:

1. Remove the SIM lock code (0000) so you don't have to enter that each time you turn the phone on.
2. Remove your "data warning" limit so you won't be warned at 800MB of data usage that your data will be disabled.

Have fun!

Sue:

I've posted a similar question yesterday. I'm travelling to 7 countries in 17 days. Cruise plus before and after. I just wanted to thank you for your technological unsophistication. ME TOO! Most people respond with instructions that are useless to me. I was just starting law school when they came out with this amazing dedicated word processor where you could fit 20 WHOLE PAGES on a giant floppy disc. I still have a home AOL email address. I've been feeling old and left out on most of the solutions people offer. Thank you for also requesting simpler solutions.

Steve, the "simpler solution" is to use Verizon's international roaming package.

I've spent a lot of time here laying out detailed instructions for people to use to use another SIM card and answering every question anyone has asked. If you still can't understand them, I apologize and say...pay the $10/day to Verizon and be done with it. It's that easy!

Andrew:

I thank you for the detailed responses that you've given. I didn't say that EVERY response was too complicated, just that many of them are.

I'm inclined to use Google Hangout, and hope for the best. On the other hand, if we're only talking $10/day, I don't mind that. I thought that Verizon International was like $2.00/minute.

The $10/day plan only takes effect on the days you actually use it, too. So you won't need it for those days on the ship where you'll have internet.

Doesn't hurt to call Verizon before you leave and set it up. If you never use it, it won't cost you anything. Could be you stop at a mobile store in Sweden the first day and buy a SIM that offers roaming - so would be free roaming in the EU, just not Russia. Then you'd never need to use the Verizon option or maybe only a day or two.

If you want to use Google Hangouts in Europe, try it before you leave for Europe: install the Google Hangouts app, make a test call. I use it every day at home, even to call landlines. It will work the same in Europe (as long as you have internet) except that you must add the +1 prefix to call US phone numbers while in Europe. WiFi on the ship may be too slow to make good quality calls, though, but it's worth trying.

SenatorS

From your other post you talk about texting back to the US to your kids.

Hangouts is perfect for this. You can text, and video chat if you have a good fast data or WiFi connection if your kids have hangouts on their phones. You can also get voicemail over Google voice with a gv phone number.

I think this is a great (cheap) way for us priveledged Americans to communicate back home. But, as Andrew says, download it here and practice first.

You can also figure out a SIM solution from here and get it running before you go. With ThreeUK it it fairly easy.

Andrew and RS 899:

Thank you both. You've been very helpful.

Steve, it would be helpful to hear back after your trip what you actually did and how it worked. (Either on this thread or your other thread.)

I'd be curious to know how Google Hangouts might work with a ship's WiFi. I've used Hangouts successfully to make calls on some pretty spotty WiFi networks.

I've never been on a cruise, but I hear that these ships tend to have terribly slow internet, difficult to use. I took a ferry from Helsinki to St. Petersburg and back last year - I had been told the ship's internet package (which I declined) was also slow and pretty useless. I had T-Mobile at the time and could roam for free on different countries' mobile networks, and as the ferry cruised the Gulf of Finland, I was able to pick up cell towers on land from Finland, Russia, or Estonia - even when I couldn't even see land - and occasionally get usable internet.

andrew, I think it depends on what cruise company you are on in Europe. I've been on a Tauck Tour cruise company before, and it is a US company, started in the NE US.these are smaller ships. They have US electrical outlets which makes life a tad easier. They also have a few laptop computers that can be used in the evening and I was always able to get one and send email almost daily, but late in evening, and it was not slow. I cannot speak for other river ships in Europe. I would caution the use of cell phones on any cruise ships as it "can" add a big upcharge, so ask on any ship about that. Probably better to use off ship. Actually, I have used the Internet on Holland American cruise ships in Alaska 3 X and it is pretty expensive, better to use Internet cafes up there if you can.
I can report back in late July how this Sim/google hangout works for me with Vodafone in Europe, but I am hopeful that it will. Sue

Yes, Sue, please do report back on your experience with your phone after all of this! Feel free to post questions while you are gone too, if you wish.

My parents have cruised many times but not in Europe. Mom has regularly reported how slow and terrible the internet was on particular ships - so I know it isn't always great. I'm sure it varies by the cruise line and even where the ship is.

Ok, I need to end this long long thread, but it has been so helpful. Anyway, I think we can be truly thankful for the fact that we can email and possibly phone for free from Europe to USA. Also some of the ships up in Alaska, have high mountains/glaciers around them and it blocks easy access to the Internet. Some ships make a good bit of $ off the computer use. Some of the European computers are quite different with letters in different places, and some are just real slow. So on this note I am going to bed. Thanks all. I will report back in late July as to my success with the Sim card and Vodafone service and the google hangout app. I plan to call home to the US daily to check on family members, and hope to have NO CHARGES. Thanks all again. THE END. Sue

Hi Sue,
Was in a very similar boat to you. There's some good guides out there on unlocking iphones through carriers such as Verizon, I myself had issues with Vodafone as it did automatically update the country but it took some time and I felt overcharged for a longer trip when I didn't use the phone too much.
I found this guide with Telestial pretty helpful and have used them twice for euro trips with an unlocked phone and roaming data. http://www.telestial.com/unlocking_cell_phone.php
Good luck!

OK, just as a follow up on my trip in July 17, I started this string of questions. The I phone worked great, Apple I phones are not locked, if I understand this correctly. I got the Sim card from Ebay, $4. over Internet, had Vodafone put it in when we got to Amsterdam, and it worked in 5 countries so I could keep contact with son who traveled with me. Also downloaded Google Hangout,so I could call back to US to keep contact with husband daily and there was NO charge at all extra. I skipped the expensive Verizon plan which was not needed. I popped the old Sim card back in when we got home, so hang on to it, and all was well. I am not tech savy so anyone can do it, some good advice here, esp from Andrew. Thanks all. Do be careful on cruise ships as some can add charges, ask about that. I called to US when off the river cruise ship. I was in Holland, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Worked great. Sue from GA (also there are NO roaming charges in any of these countries and most of Europe now.)

To be clear, Sue needed to install Google Hangouts BEFORE she left the US, so Google could verify her phone's number to let her make calls to real phones. (Google offers calling in Hangouts only to people with existing phone service, it seems.) Google Hangouts let you call US phone numbers, even landlines, for free from Europe or anywhere. But you can't wait to get to Europe, then download/install Hangouts there and expect to make phone calls without US phone service there.

Also, Sue didn't have to buy the Vodafone SIM via eBay (like I did), because she was headed to Amsterdam first anyway. She could have just popped into a Vodafone store in Amsterdam and done everything there. But it's possible to get a Vodafone SIM via ebay and activate it from outside the Netherlands and add credit to it online without even going to the Netherlands; that's the big reason you'd want to buy the SIM before leaving for Europe. I did this in May, because I was not going to the Netherlands but needed a SIM for Slovenia, Italy, and France. Now that the EU has eliminated most roaming fees on mobile phones, there are other SIMs that may be even better deals than the Dutch Vodafone SIM, but it does allow online top-up, and it doesn't block VOIP services like Google Hangouts and Skype. And it allowed me to use my Android phone as a hotspot, something other mobile companies also may not allow with their prepaid plans.

Hi Andrew is correct I did download the google hangout BEFORE I left the US and tried it out with a family member who also downloaded google hangout before I left on the trip to try it out, and it worked. Also I could make calls to the US for free from Europe, with the Vodafone Sim card ($4. from Ebay) however someone in the US could NOT call me for free unless they also had downloaded google hangout. Then the Sim card was loaded in when I got to Amsterdam by the Vodafone store, but be sure to hang on the the one they remove, keep in little plastic container, like for camera battery, etc. It works and saves a lot of $, at least in the countries that I was in see above. Also you also want to stop your provider charges while you are gone, as it saved me more money, then remember to restart when you return, easy to do. Sue I did pay alittle extra to vodafone for sending emails, but not much.

"Also I could make calls to the US for free from Europe, with the Vodafone Sim card ($4. from Ebay) however someone in the US could NOT call me for free unless they also had downloaded google hangout."

To be a bit more precise, Hangouts works just fine with any type of reasonably fast data connection, so even on your hotel WiFi you can connect and talk back to the US for free, for as long as you like.

Also, if you get a Google Voice phone number, people in the US can call you free. You can get GV to forward calls from your normal US phone number, to the GV number , so nobody but you has to know this. Plus, with GV, you can pick up voicemail from your normal US phone number.

Andrew -- I'm heading to Amsterdam and a 2 week Norway cruise next month and was thinking of doing the same thing you did (purchase the Vodafone NL SIM off ebay and get it set up at home and then be ready to go when I land at Schipol airport). Did you have any problems doing what you did or would you still recommend that? I'm guessing I could find somewhere to buy a SIM at the airport when I land, although we're arriving very early and I don't know if they will be open. It appears that I can get 2gb for 10 euro (including the 5 euro bonus, per the ebay listings), which will be more than enough for my needs. And it's certainly cheaper than paying Verizon $10 a day for Travelpass.

Be aware that if you are cruising you may be on a maritime network. That is not covered by the roaming agreements. Check which provider you have before using the phone!

Thanks, I am aware of that. I wouldn't imagine that it would work on a network that they did not have an agreement with. And I don't think that Holland America even has mobile data on their cellular service.