Sue81

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

Andrew

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!

SenatorSteve

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.

Andrew

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!

SenatorSteve

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.

Andrew

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.

rs899

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.

SenatorSteve

Andrew and RS 899:

Thank you both. You've been very helpful.

Andrew

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.

Sue81

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

Andrew

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.

Sue81

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

conradgg

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!

Sue81

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.)

Andrew

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.

Sue81

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.

rs899

"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.

misterbill

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.

hetismij2

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!

misterbill

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.