I will be traveling to Aruba in seventeen days. I need the ability to have data and voice. I will be calling (minimal) to the US from Aruba and I am trying to determine the best option. Would it be a good idea to just pay the VZW global fee (which is 20?) and bite the bullet for the voice, or should I look at a SIM card from GoSim or Telestial? If I use GoSim or Telestial, will I loose my phone number for the time I use the SIM card? Thanks in advance!
I will be traveling to Aruba in seventeen days. I need the ability to have data and voice. I will be calling (minimal) to the US from Aruba and I am trying to determine the best option. Would it be a good idea to just pay the VZW global fee (which is 20?) and bite the bullet for the voice, or should I look at a SIM card from GoSim or Telestial? If I use GoSim or Telestial, will I loose my phone number for the time I use the SIM card? Thanks in advance!
Call VZW and make sure they work out down there okay... if so, I'd just pay the fee and deal with the calling (depending on how long you are down there). I've used Telestial before and they didn't have a data roaming provider where I was traveling (Dom Republic)... so I just used my default CDMA roaming provider there. I was without data and almost died... (my name is Russ and I am an addict).
If you can afford it (the voice roaming probably isn't that bad) I'd just go with the VZW solution... at least you'll have support then if you have a problem.
And, yes, if you use a third part sim card, you'll be given a local number (typically).
Yes. If you use a non-verizon SIM, you will be using the number associated with that SIM. Usually, if you use a local SIM card, it's a local number for that country.
I'm fairly new to Blackberry, so I don't know much about these 3rd party options you're talking about. I was in Aruba 3 weeks ago with my VZW 8830 WE and can tell you that I didn't have any problems using the phone for calls, although I didn't use it all too much (I was laying at the pool all day). Data, on the other hand, was a complete bust. I didn't get any emails and could not use the internet at all. Period - it didn't matter where I was on the island.
I hope this helps clarify what you're in for and allows you to pick the option that works best for you.
I arrived in Aruba on the Saturday of the Michigan/Ohio St. Football game. My fiancee went to Ohio St and she was dying to know the score. I wasn't able to connect to the internet at all. I didn't receive one email until I arrived at my stopover in Chicago the following Saturday. Text works fine. Phone works fine. No data.
Will VZW charge me if someone calls my BlackBerry when it has the Vodaphone sim card in it (while I am using it for data) and I press ignore (or it goes to voicemail)?
