Cell phone

gator44

Not a big fan of these, but one does have to carry it in case of family emergency. I don't believe my carrier has International coverage, so is there anyone that has an idea of what kind of phone I can get? I've been checking on the net, and there are a couple of sites that rent phones, or they will sell you a SIM card to install in the phone you have. I think I would rather just rent a phone. Anyone have any ideas about this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

British

If you have an Ipad, you can Facetime for free with a wifi connection. And of course you will have email, which frankly is easier because you do no have to figure out the time difference.

Ken from Vegas

If you're looking to call home, Skype on your computer, tablet or smartphone using hotel Wifi is your best bet. No SIM needed and you can call a phone anywhere in the world very cheaply. If they need to contact you, have them e-mail you. If you feel you must have a phone, get an unlocked quad band GSM phone. You can then buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card in Europe (usually about $20 to start).

British

Ken, we regularly Skype relatives in England, iPad to iPad for free.

RJS666

You said you needed a phone in case of emergency. Skype requires you to be logged into you tablet or pc to make or receive a call, and my not be as portable as a phone. If your phone does not have international capabilities, check with your carrier about renting from them. When I was with Verizon, I rented from them each time I went overseas. Not inexpensive, but safe and reliable.

travelingteacher

Cello Mobile rents and sells international cell phones and prepaid travel SIM cards with FREE incoming calls in many countries. 1.877.602.2999. Another company is called cellular abroad...their number is 1-800-287-5072. I have never used either, but found these numbers when I googled how to rent a phone to call overseas. I use T-Mobile, and in the early days of cell phones, they rented me one that made international calls. Now it is part of my plan so I don't have to worry. You might consider changing carriers so you don't have this as an ongoing problem if you think you will continue to travel. I also need to be able to be in touch with family due to health issues, so when I am away it helps me sleep at night knowing I can always be reached....however, you need to remember that some areas of the world are outside cellular towers. I doubt you will have that as a big problem in Europe. I also check my e-mail daily, but that is not as immediate as a phone call. If you have an iPad and use the wifi in your hotel, you will also be able to stay connected. Many hotels have a business center Tauck travelers can use...I used it in my hotel when I was in Cuba. Good luck and I hope this helps.

British

I certainly understand the need for family to contact you while you are away, but by phone it is so difficult, first, the time difference, then Tauck does not allow the use of cell phones while we are in our group, which I certainly think is the correct way to go. It really leaves little time to connect with family at acceptable times. If your provider does not support international calls, then I think it is time to switch providers, especially if you are going to be traveling abroad again in the future, it will probably be a cheaper alternative and if there are arrangements to be made to get you back home, change flights and so on, a phone with limited time bought might be a problem.
I have been on a couple of tours during time when my mother was ill and when there was a chance our grandchild could be born, but other than that, apart from emailing news bulletins of our trip, the family never expect to hear from us and we never expect to hear from them. They know in emergency that they can call Tauck, who I am sure can contact us. This is the advantage of travelling on an organized tour, it is much easier locating people than when they travel independently and another reason we feel 'safer' I don't mean from harm in this incidence, but just that if we have any kind of problem there is more chance of immediate support.
We did for fun once FaceTime my son and his wife just as we were about to leave India. It was Sunday morning in the US and in India it was about 10pm and we were in bed because we had to get up a couple of hours later to go to the airport. There we all were, all in bed and talking to each other on the other side of the world, magic!

Claudia Sails

We have Verizon smart phones and could have gotten a 1 month deal to allow ours to be used in France. In the end we decided not to.

Once we had gotten our travel document book from Tauck we noticed it had a page with very specific information for friends/family to get in touch with us during both the hotel stay at the beginning of the cruise and the cruise itself. It had time zone information, dates, addresses, phone/fax numbers including the numbers for the cruise ship. We just copied that page for anyone who needed it.

The ship has wifi that you can use with your own portable device (ipad, kindle fire, smartphone, laptop, etc) or if you don't have/bring one of those there is a terminal for use in the lounge at the rear of the ship.The Rhone had pretty good wifi availability (one couple even skyped their young kids back home). Not sure on your cruise but I would imagine Holland/Belgium have plenty of towers the ship can connect their wifi to.

We used our smart phones for email, websurfing, and most importantly picture taking. We were never told we couldn't use our phones during daily excursions and there was plenty of free time during the day to check email, etc.

If there had been an emergency and we'd been contacted, I'm sure the tour/cruise directors would have assisted us in whatever was needed to communicate back home, change travel plans, whatever.

Claudia Sails

You might also want to read this article on Rick Steve's website

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech

British

Claudia Sails wrote:

We have Verizon smart phones and could have gotten a 1 month deal to allow ours to be used in France. In the end we decided not to.

.
We used our smart phones for email, websurfing, and most importantly picture taking. We were never told we couldn't use our phones during daily excursions and there was plenty of free time during the day to check email, etc


We understand and appreciate the value of instant communication when we travel; it keeps us in touch with friends and family, and it's a reassurance in the event of an emergency. However, the use of cell phones can be disruptive to a tour and to other guests who are enjoying their vacation. As a courtesy to others, we ask that you refrain from using your cell phone during motor coach travel, group functions, when sightseeing and when the Tauck Director is addressing the group as a whole. There are usually ample opportunities to make or receive calls at times when it does not affect others. Please contact your cell phone carrier to determine limitations and services that exist in your destination. - See more at: http://www.tauck.com/tours/europe-tours/central-and-eastern-europe-tours/holland-cruises-rhs-2016.aspx#sthash.RR9qWjor.dpuf

As you can see above, this extract was taken from the Tauck website and applies to all Tauck tours. It pays to read the small print. I'd be annoyed if anyone on my tour was talking or texting on a cell phone, it's just not acceptable on a high end tour.

Claudia Sails

Thanx for pointing that out British. I don't remember the TD's ever mentioning it, but then again it was never a problem either. No one is our group ever tried to make/take a call during any of the time mentioned in the Tauck guidance. Can't imagine anyone paying thousands of dollars to go on a once in a lifetime trip and wasting that time chatting with someone at home. As I said, there was always plenty of free time to catch up on email, etc when it wouldn't bother anyone else.

On the other hand, I remember one older gentleman who stayed in the lounge during the TD's "french scarf tying lesson" who kept chatting to his companion. I'm sure he thought he was doing it quietly. Arg!

travelingteacher

And there is no cell reception in Cuba....and every group has its talker, its joker, etc.. Luckily, I've never been away with someone who felt they were so important they could not survive without being in constant touch with those back home...however, there always can be an emergency, which I am sure fellow travelers would understand.

British

While I have only ever heard one cell phone ring, we have been on more than one tour where people have talked and talked while the tour director has been talking and they have asked to be quiet, usually before I get the chance to say anything because I tend to boil and boil before I get up the courage, but then I blow. Got too much time on my hands today, just had delicate surgery on my eye, trying to keep in sympathy with Jan. Decided I needed to go out to buy food and managed to fall out of the door into the garage, no I do not usually fall, but am not supposed to look or bend down. So resting again but want to go out later. Someone keep this forum interesting, my best to all of you out there!

Claudia Sails

Ouch. My sympathies. I spent a season with repeated eye surgeries that meant I had to look down all the time. Schlepped around the house watching my floors get dirtier and dirtier without being able to clean them.

Get well wishes to all.

jdurkin

British wrote:

Got too much time on my hands today, just had delicate surgery on my eye, trying to keep in sympathy with Jan. Decided I needed to go out to buy food and managed to fall out of the door into the garage, no I do not usually fall, but am not supposed to look or bend down. So resting again but want to go out later. Someone keep this forum interesting, my best to all of you out there!

Oh, poor baby! I hope you didn't break your noggin! Hopefully, when the sun goes over the yardarm in your part of the world, you can sit down with a beverage of your choice at hand and see the funny side of everything and/or rejoice in the notion that it could have been worse. Alternatively, you can reminisce about all the Very Important People you've toured with, who, knowing themselves to be so important, needed everyone else to know, too. Constantly.

Funny story. Quite true. I was on a European river cruise. I was wandering around on the top deck and got chatting to a Dutch gentleman ... in uniform. We chatted away for a while swapping tales of our home counties. I didn't realise who he was till later when it dawned on me he was the Captain. Duh. Anyway, fast forward to the Captain's farewell dinner and I was most honoured to be invited to dine at the Captain's table. How delightful. There was the Captain, the CD, myself and a couple from Texas, as I recall. Mr Texas knew why he was at the Captain's table, because He was Very Important. After all, his most important client back home had to hear His Important Voice at least a couple of times during the journey. (I imagine that's what paid for the Important Person's holiday!) But He wanted to know, there and then over dinner, why I was there, since naturally, I wasn't important. The Captain just looked at me and we both dissolved into laughter.

Ken from Vegas

British wrote:

Ken, we regularly Skype relatives in England, iPad to iPad for free.

Yes, British, you are right. Let me clarify my response a bit for others following this post. Tablet to tablet (or any internet device to device) is free. However, unless that device is on and near the receiving individual, you won't get through. We have found it easiest and most reliable (the original poster was concerned about emergencies after all) to call to a phone first and pay a little to Skype. Then if we want to talk further, we call back on a device to device video call for free.

Claudia Sails

I pulled out my daily programs I'd saved from our cruise last summer and found something I'd not noticed before. Here are quotes from the printout:

"INTERNET. Complimentary internet is available via a computer in the Bistro, Deck 3, aft. Additionally two laptops are available at Reception. If you have your own laptop or smart phone, the ship offers a wifi connection but you will still need to use your username and password."

"TELEPHONE Room to room - simply dial the cabin number. For an International line, please contact the Reception Desk (9). International calls are 2.00 (euro) per minute."