Cell phone in Europe

[lpkshop]

I will be in Ireland then heading to Amsterdam and on a cruise to the Baltic
What do you use for phone service. I have seen the threads about shutting the phone on the cruise but what do you use on the land?

[memason]

I will be in Ireland then heading to Amsterdam and on a cruise to the Baltic
What do you use for phone service. I have seen the threads about shutting the phone on the cruise but what do you use on the land?

I'll give you my 2 cents.... I travel to Europe often and this is what I do to stay connected without spending an arm and a leg....

First, I'll assume you have a smartphone. There are two type of cellphone protocols; GSM & CDMA. The only GSM providers in the US are T-Mobile and AT&T. All other providers are CDMA; Sprint, Verizon, etc...

All iPhones, 4S and newer have GSM capabilities and have slots for a SIM card. The SIM card gives your phones its identity...ie. phone number. The SIM slot is on the side of the iPhone and is easily changeable by the user.

Once your hit Ireland, go to a local cellphone shop. I normally use Vodafone in Europe. There, you can purchase a local SIM card to put into your phone. In Germany, it normally costs about 30 Euros and along with that your get lots of talk, text and data minutes. Be advised, you will have a local phone number, in your case, an Irish phone number. For me, talk and text is of no real benefit, as I use iMessage to text with friends worldwide and it's free on any data connection. I get the SIM card so I have a data connection for GPS, Internet, iMessaging and FaceTime. So, that's for Ireland... By the way, these are "Pay as you Go" cards.

You can repeat the process for Amsterdam or just roam on your exiting Ireland SIM card. Depends upon how long you plan to stay in Amsterdam...If more than a few days, I'd get another SIM there.

For the cruise, you are right....putting your phone in airplane mode or turning it off is the safe bet. When in port, you'll be bale to find WiFi hotspot, where you can check email, text etc...

Good Luck and enjoy your trip!

[CFrance]

I ditto that. That's what we do. We don't use AT&T or iPhone, but we went to an AT&T store and bought a cheap used "unlocked" GSM phone--one that will allow you to change out the sim card. Sometimes there are even cell phone service stores in foreign airports where you can buy a prepaid sim card.

Also, if we are in an area with wifi, we use can Skype to make calls without incurring any roaming charges on our smart phones.

My iPad has an interchangeable sim card, and I also buy a data card for it in foreign countries. Then I have internet almost anywhere.

[l2ridehd]

I have done it a couple different ways. I have an iphone with AT&T service. If I am not planning on making many calls, than I just use their service. I travel all over the globe and have had very few problems with service. Used to have a few problems in KL, but that was fixed a few years ago. If I know I will need to make more than a few calls, do as memason suggested and buy a local SIM card. The problem with that is you have to send everyone who may want or need to call you the international number. This is standard my phone rings and I use it to make calls.

Another very low cost way is to use google voice over your computer and wifi service. Skype can also be used. And Magic Jack has a capability that is also very low cost. But all of these do not use your phone.

[CFrance]

I have done it a couple different ways. I have an iphone with AT&T service. If I am not planning on making many calls, than I just use their service. I travel all over the globe and have had very few problems with service. Used to have a few problems in KL, but that was fixed a few years ago. If I know I will need to make more than a few calls, do as memason suggested and buy a local SIM card. The problem with that is you have to send everyone who may want or need to call you the international number. This is standard my phone rings and I use it to make calls.

Another very low cost way is to use google voice over your computer and wifi service. Skype can also be used. And Magic Jack has a capability that is also very low cost. But all of these do not use your phone.
The only clarification I would make to the above is that a Skype app can be added to your Android smart phone (don't know about an iPhone), and it works on your phone wherever you have wifi. So you log into Skype on your phone app, then talk through your phone as you normally would. Technically it's not using your phone, but is convenient, and you don't have to yell at a computer screen.

Also, you can load $ onto your Skype account, then use the app on your phone to call anywhere, whether the person you're calling is on Skype or not. I think it's just a few cents/min. to call Western Europe.

[l2ridehd]

Thanks CFrance. I forgot about the Skype app. They are all using VOIP vs cell tower technology, but still very good quality connections at a low cost.

[OldManTime]

I bought a phone strictly for the EU, used it a couple years, and threw it away, it was expessive. I now use Skype not on my iPad, and laptop.

[lpkshop]

Thanks all for the info
We were able to get international service from Verizon . Got all my texts with no problem. Didn't make any phone calls but it was nice to know we could
HAPPY traveling

[784caroline]

Just completed a trip to Africa and one person wanted to stay connected and got a special package for his smart phone from ATT. Another person had a Majicjack app on his Ipad which cost nothing.

Bottom line the ATT package never could connect..have no reason why. The MajicJack at worked perfect and it was crystal clear. All we needed was a wifi connection...no added cost. Everyone in our group used the MajicJack to call back to the states. Made a believer out of me.

[CFrance]

We used MagicJack on our smart phone in Australia and France, and it worked fine. My friend got a Verizon package for her smart phone for France. We got separated from her in Paris, and we never could put a call through to her from our French cell phone, and she couldn't call us. I don't know what happened.