SIM for Baltic cruise starting in Amsterdam?
 

I am looking for a SIM in Amsterdam / Schipol that will provide mostly data with some voice, SMS for a trip starting in Netherlands but travelling through Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany over a 3 week period.

What's the best options for a SIM that gives about 1-5 GB of data and some text with a little bit of minutes for voice. Is Vodafone the best option for me, or some other carrier?

I am staying at Schipol when I arrive so I could pick up the SIM there - what is a trustworthy mobile shop there?

Thanks,
Forrest

Hi. Starting from Amsterdam Vodafone NL is definitely the easiest solution. They sell you Data BloX for €10 with 1 GB valid in all countries you will travel except of Russia. Voice includes Europe only, but you should use a VoIP app like Skype or WhatsApp calls for overseas calling.

You can easily top-up by credit card if you need more and use it as a back-up solution. Surely, in the Baltics and Scandinavia you get cheaper local data, but only for this particular country. But that really depends on how long you are staying and how much time you want to spend for another local SIM for this extra discount. So if you stay for a week in a particular country and plan to spend >1 GB, it may be another option on top.

I had no problems managing this SIM from abroad. You may get familiar with its rules: http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Euro8. I don't think you get it at the airport. I didn't see Vodafone in Schiphol, only lots of Lebara or Lycamobile there. But as soon as you hit Amsterdam downtown, there are many branded Vodafone stores. It can only be a problem on Sundays, when they are closed. Schiphol airport has free WiFi and Amsterdam Central Station is a 15 mins train ride away.

Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, has Vodafone prepaid cards for free. Many of them are open at sundays.
For the first topup you get 25% extra, and for registering with a (fake?) address you get additional 5€ after the first topup.

Until october there is a promo for the online only BloX: you get 1GB extra, which is only valid in the Netherlands. This free data is used first.

And tethering, too?
 

I, too, am taking a cruise out of the Netherlands with an intinerary that includes ports in Scotland and Norway. I have been searching for an answer to similar questions for weeks. This forum is a Godsend! I've got my unlocked GSM phone already. One question that I have that hasn't been answered - does Vodafone permit "personal hotspots" (Apple-speak) or tethering? I would like a non-SIM iPad to get Internet access thru the iPhone SIM. Thank you for your expertise.