Thanks very much to you both for the replies.
Our situation is that on one day only, we will be apart, so the local sims are really not necessary.
The roaming charge is nominal, and we won't be talking very long, if at all.
Appreciate your taking the time to reply to me.

Peter

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peteroakland wrote:
Thanks very much to you both for the replies.
Our situation is that on one day only, we will be apart, so the local sims are really not necessary.
The roaming charge is nominal, and we won't be talking very long, if at all.
Appreciate your taking the time to reply to me.

Peter

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You're welcome! Also, if you have text messaging plans and do not plan to exchange a lot of information, it may make sense for you to do just that. Incoming messages are applied to the plan or cost $.20 and outgoing are $.50, while talking will hit you with roaming charges on both phones, amounting to $2-$2.60 per minute of conversation, depending on whether you purchase the World Traveler package ($5.99 per month per line).

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csp_gp wrote:

Just remember that roaming charges will apply.

 

You might want to consider getting a local sim for each of your phones, so that you'll pay local rates to call to each other, and to area restaurants, tourist attractions, etc. This would mean that folks calling from the US will only reach your VM.

 

Now, if getting local SIMs is an option for you, you might want to sign up for a www.youmail.com  account, for voicemail, and then give that number to your friends and family. They can dial that number and go directly into voicemail, which you can pick up from any computer. You wouldn't even need to dial in (since roaming rates are expensive).

 

I'll be traveling to Germany in the fall, so am considering doing something like this. It would be especially helpful if I can get a local data plan, so that I can just download VMs directly to the phone to listen, when I get to a WiFi spot, which I hope the hotel will have.

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The United Mobile global roaming SIMs now offer data options and I believe they also have data-specific SIM cards. I'm sure that a local German SIM will give you better rates, though, if you have a way of shopping around.

Actually, we signed up for international calling, and I believe we're charged a flat rate of $1.29 per minute, no matter where we call.
I think that's US$!  Sure hope so.

Peter

Aha!  Hadn't thought of that.  Thanks for that reminder.
Still, a one-time call won't break the bank :-)

Peter

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peteroakland wrote:
Aha!  Hadn't thought of that.  Thanks for that reminder.
Still, a one-time call won't break the bank :-)

Peter

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Good At any rate, I was just trying to think of different approaches — whichever one you choose is obviously entirely up to you, just wanted you to have a more or less complete picture

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peteroakland wrote:

One other thing I just thought of -- or rather, my wife did, really:

How do we call from our cell phones to numbers in either Scotland or Ireland?

Do we need the country codes when we're in the countries?

And is Northern Ireland different in that regard from the Republic of Ireland?

 

Many thanks for all the help.

 

Peter

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Thanks.  I did have international roaming added to my account, and that's just a per minute charge.  I didn't sign up for anything regular, since this is a one-time vacation trip.
I'll report back on what I hear from them.

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dmapr wrote:

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csp_gp wrote:

Just remember that roaming charges will apply.

 

You might want to consider getting a local sim for each of your phones, so that you'll pay local rates to call to each other, and to area restaurants, tourist attractions, etc. This would mean that folks calling from the US will only reach your VM.

 

Now, if getting local SIMs is an option for you, you might want to sign up for a www.youmail.com  account, for voicemail, and then give that number to your friends and family. They can dial that number and go directly into voicemail, which you can pick up from any computer. You wouldn't even need to dial in (since roaming rates are expensive).

 

I'll be traveling to Germany in the fall, so am considering doing something like this. It would be especially helpful if I can get a local data plan, so that I can just download VMs directly to the phone to listen, when I get to a WiFi spot, which I hope the hotel will have.

---

The United Mobile global roaming SIMs now offer data options and I believe they also have data-specific SIM cards. I'm sure that a local German SIM will give you better rates, though, if you have a way of shopping around.

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The word from AT&T Int'l Dept:
With the International Calling feature enabled, the one for which there is no charge except per minute:
-- I CAN call from Scotland to Northern Ireland, since they're both in the UK (e.g. Glasgow to Belfast. +44)
-- I CAN call from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, presumably because they're on the same relatively small land mass (Dublin to Belfast. +44)
-- I CAN call Scotland numbers from within Scotland +44, and I CAN call Republic of Ireland numbers from within the Republic of Ireland +353, and Northern Ireland numbers from within Northern Ireland +44.
-- I CANNOT call across the Irish Sea from Scotland to the Republic of Ireland (e.g. Glasgow to Dublin.)


Thanks to all for your input and replies.

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csp_gp wrote:

Thanks! I will look into that.

 

Trying to figure out the most economical way to contact my family while I'm away...and my work to contact me, without putting too much burden on them (or me) monetarily...or having to remember to switch SIMs...

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You're welcome! At the current exchange rate it's hard to imagine you'll find something convenient and not overly expensive. The last time I was traveling I juggled SIMs a lot. Incidentally, the only SIM I haven't used once outside the US was my AT&T one — T-Mobile To Go (in Canada), United Mobile & Russian MTS (in Europe) were the ones doing all the work. I could've saved some more by buying a Vodafone SIM in Prague, but felt like that would've been one too many