Calling USA from St. Maarten??

[Sauunders]

For business purposes, we MUST call home on the day that we are in St. Maarten.

Was wondering if anyone has called the states from there and what the process would be. Is it easier (and less expensive) to call ship-to-shore or to call from land in St. Maarten.

Also, would our Cingular Wireless Cell phone work there??

Thanks so much.

4 weeks tomorrow!!! June 1, 2002 Now there's 14 of us going !!!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Ship-to-shore phone calls are prohibitively expensive... $6.95/minute. No, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use your Cingular Wireless phone at St Maarten (although you probably could at St Thomas). Your best bet would be to buy a phone card from the little sundries shop at the end of the dock in St Maarten and use it at a dockside public phone. Or from a phone in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Philipsburg.

 

[tony3331]

no cell service on st martin you can call from st thomas just got back today i rented a satillight phone it worked great on the ship on dawn beach all over post me back if you need info

 

[Rikersmom]

My husband had very bad luck trying to call from a pay phone on St. Maarten. If the call is very important, I suggest that you talk to Guest Services onboard. Maybe they could recommend a place where you could place a call on the island.

St Thomas--we had no problems using our Cingular service there.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

What a NIGHTMARE!!!!! I must have tried 10 payphones with my AT & T phone card..People kept telling me to go here and there......it was AWFUL!!! Never did get the card to work. Cellphone definitely won't work!!!

Check out what phone cards would work before you go.....or maybe call collect???

Good Luck!!!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

All the problems mentioned about using long distance cards are why I suggested buying a long-distance card at the sundries shop at the end of the dock. They should only be selling cards that can be used with local phones.

As far as using AT&T, I've used their AT&T Direct service from Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand with no problem. Apparently it's a bit more difficult to use it from St Maarten.

<i>Posted on AT&T's web site (<a href="http://traveler.network.att.com/traveler/country/index.jsp?country=netherlands_antilles">link</a>)</i>

Dial this number to place calls from St. Maarten:

1 800 872 2881

<nl><li><b><i>Service is not available from public phones in St. Maarten. Use phones at Bobby's Marina.</i></b>
<li>Calls to the U.S. only</nl>

tony3331, how much did it cost to rent a satellite phone? What were the air-time charges? Could you use it inside the ship or did you have to go up on deck?

 

[Lisa L from MI]

We even walked all the way to Bobby's Marina and my AT & T card still didn't work......I was SOOO MAD!!!! Not that I wanted to call anyone important, but it was the point of the matter....being directed to all these different payphones and nothing worked!!!