For Americans Going To Europe Or Overseas

[dripley]

Thanks for all the replies. I tried to obtain the unlocking code from Vodafone but it appears that I will have to wait until September before they will issue me with a code. That is OK by me as our holiday in Italy doesn't start until October. Thanks again to all of you.

Denis

[misterbill]

OK so I apologize if this is covered in some other thread or even in this one.

We're going on a Mediterranean cruise in a couple of weeks. We start in Spain (Barcelona, 2 days) then visit France (1 day, also will be in Monaco that day), Greece (2 days), Croatia (1 day) and Italy (7 days). I am buying an unlocked quad-band Samsung and my plan is only to use it for very occasional calls home to the US and to contact other cruise passengers. Is there one service we can use everywhere? I could do without service in France if that makes it easier. I guess I would want to buy the package in Barcelona unless I can get it cheaply and quickly by mail here in the US.

Cheap Internet service would be nice but is not absolutely required. I don't want to spend very much for this. I had not planned to bring a Bluetooth capable PC to connect to the phone but might if I can get Internet access by phone (although when I would want to use it at night, the ship will be out at sea and likely will not have cellular service so it might not be that feasable to use it as a modem).

Thanks..

[dripley]

Since my original post in June, I have been waiting until September to obtain the unlock code for my Vodafone 226. I have just obtained the code from the German Vodafone website but now I have no idea what to do next. No doubt there are instructions on the German site but the German/English translations I have been using do not leave me with clear instructions. Can anyone give me a blow by blow description of what I should do next. The Vodafone site I used to obtain the unlock code is as follows,

Vodafone D2 | Callya Handy entsperren - Vodafone D2 - Hilfe & Support / Infocenter / Hardware entsperren / CallYa-Handy entsperren

I hope someone can help me.

Thanks in advance.

Denis

[dripley]

The URL I just gave in my previous email is incorrect. It should be,

[url=http://www.vodafone.de/hilfe-support/infodoks-jugendschutz-sicherheit-netzabdeckung-kontakt/96918.html]

Thanks.

Denis

[inquisitor]

Insert a non-Vodafone SIM into your phone, switch it on and you will be asked for the unlock code after the PIN code for the SIM.

[jchoo]

Hello,

I'm currently an AT&T customer at home in the US, but am in the middle of a month long trip to England for work. I purchased a quad band, unlocked phone (samsung S5230) for use here with an Orange prepaid sim (on Camel, for 6p/min calls back home). I am also going to be sent to Spain (Almaraz) for work in November, and am trying to figure out what my best option is for inexpensive calls back home. I expect to use anywhere from 20-60 minutes of talk time per day calling home, so the "home option" of utilizing my AT&T sim is right out. From the research I've done, I am leaning toward a Lebara sim, but I would like some guidance. I am also looking to purchase a USB modem for 3g internet use with my laptop. Is there anything available in Spain like there is here in the UK, such as the £25ish per month for 5 gb that is offered by Orange? I am also open to using my phone as a modem, but this phone is not 3G (didn't need it, as my hometown in the US won't be getting 3G for at least another 8 months!)


So, a recap for the TL:DR crowd:

US customer on postpay AT&T
have the following additional sims: UK Orange PAYG, UK Talkmobile PAYG
going to Almaraz, Spain
will call almost exclusively back to the US (mobile number)
using quad band (not 3g) phone
also looking for 3g usb modem and sim with 1gb or larger prepaid data plan


Thanks in advance,

-Joe

[petkow]

Hi Joe. Have another search through the Europe sub-section of the forum. Plenty of info on Spanish prepaid SIMs there including ones that will give you very cheap internet access.

Personally I would stay clear of Lebara. Instead go with any Spanish operator that gives you cheap national calls (the going rate is 8c/min) and then use a callthrough for calling internationally. Otherwise stick to VoIP.

[powerlifter]

Joe,

Have you thought about Skype. You can call through your computer, and for very little cost.
You can get a subscription for a few dollars a month, or you can buy credit. It is very cheap.
The subscription is for unlimited calls to almost anywhere in the world. Just trying to give you options.

Hi.
Hey mate thanks a lot for sharing this.
Its really useful and helpful.

[Pat Bendtsen]

I'd like to use an Orange Sim, but am using [...] pre-dial service to reduce my phone calls. The price that is charged from the UK to any other country is 3p/min without any connection charge (something that is often ignored in calculations) and without paying a topup fee.

How much is the roaming rate when using a UK Orange sim, but with the reduced rate service of [...]?