Cel phones - west coast???

[bridegirl]

I did a search and found alot of info about which cel phones work where on the east coast, but couldn't find any west coast info.

Does someone know the deal for Mexico? Any that work better than others? T-mobile? Verizon? Cingular?

Has anybody ever gotten a satellite phone for the trip? If so, did that work?

Thanks so much!
(Please don't flame me about the idea of being on the phone while on vacation. I have one of those jobs where I just have to call in, and if you don't then you are just luckier than me)

Susy

 

[jel0511]

Your cell phone MIGHT work in Mexico, but won't work on sea days. You will also have to call your Cell company to enable calling to/from Mexico and you will be charged heftily. I saw some reports of being charged $2 per minute, even those with national plans since Mexico isn't covered. A satelite phone should work all the time since it relys on satellites not cell towers for signals. Those are also hefty to rent.

 

[neenermom]

I have a Sprint PCS phone. Was told that I would only be able to use the phone in Puerto Vallarta. I did and the service was great. I signed up for international calling, $4.00/month and 50 cents a minute. Without int'l calling, $2/minute.

No such luck in Mazatlan or Cabo. We worked things out using the unlimited internet, but did have to make phone calls at $6.95/minute from the ship.

Lorena

 

[atakaratemom]

This was a big deal for my husband as he has his own business and wanted to be able to stay in touch. We have Verizon so we called them and for this month we switched to their North American Plan which includes Mexico so that we wouldn't get hit with extra charges. The bad news is that his phone did not work at all on sea days. He finally broke down and used ship to shore phone, but it is pricey. A three minute call cost $27. He did have good phone service on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday while we were in the ports, but lost it again on Friday at sea. The best thing to do is check with your provider. Verizon was pretty helpful.

Mary

 

[bridegirl]

My husband and I both have T-mobile and we called them and they said we are basically out of luck past san diego.

They reccommended buying a cingular phone and mexico phone card calling minutes?

Thanks,

Susy

 

[Honu]

Sign up for the unlimited internet access and tell your office they need to email you. Also tell them the approximate times you will try to be online. Email works much better for me than spotty cell service.

 

[JSCTRico4]

We also own our own business and are going to be gone for the 14 day Repo. I am going to change our outgoing message to include our senior employees cell phone number for urgent matters, and ask people to e-mail us in lieu of leaving messages. We plan on sucking it up and getting the unlimited access and keeping in touch via e-mail and instant messaging. I thought it was important though to change the outgoing message on the cell. That way people won't expect that you will return their call. Just an idea!

 

[DL_DCA_fans]

We have Cingular service. I called them a few days before our West Coast (Mexican Riviera) trip. Cingular activated my phones for use in Mexico (takes up to three days). The cost was $0.79 per minute with no monthly fee. Had service in PV, Mazatlan and Cabo. No service on sea days.

Be aware you need the USA prefix code ( 011 ? ) to dial into the States.

 

[ivanova]

I'm going to switch my Verizon Wireless plan to the "North America" plan for the two weeks we're on the repo cruise .. that way our free "IN" calling still applies (when I call from Mexico to someone with a Verizon cell phone in the US) and the per minute charges (for non-"IN" calls) will be a LOT less.

I'll just be outta luck in Curacao and days at sea (that's what the ol' email is for). LOL

 

[pclaire]

I have Cingular, and had service in Mazatlan and Cabo, and as we approached San diego. otherwise, nothing on sea days. I didn't do anything special or talk to Cingular before we went, because I didn't really need it. I was shocked when all of a sudden my phone started ringing in Mazatlan!!

 

[bstsuda]

Hi Susy,
I called Verizon last night and they switched my plan to include Mexico at no addl charge....however i'm sure that too will only be the 'port days' - but at least i can call my DH those three days - the others he will just have to do okay without us (his fault he's not coming anyway!!)

 

[bridegirl]

I really appreciate all the info. Will post again whatever I work out.

Susy