TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Cell phone options now that Queen of SXM is done

I use the Verizon daily international plan when traveling but your description misses the biggest "gotcha" catch. The $10 is triggered by texts not just calls. There is no way I can get everybody to stop texting me so I just assume I am paying each day.
I used the 40/month plan once but you go through data quickly then have to keep in wifi mode to avoid overage.

"There is no way I can get everybody to stop texting me so I just assume I am paying each day."

Only if you open them.

Unfortunately if you see texts then the daily charge was initiated..opened or not

The Verizon $10/day or $40/month uses the same plan constraints (data, text, minutes (if any) you have in the USA...why are you exceeding it?

Put your phone on airplane mode. Then the texts won't come through until your on wifi. That's how we use the 10 a day, we stretch it out if we need to make calls. We still have to work from the island so found this to be the best approach.

If your phone is on airplane mode (wifi on) chances are you CAN make those work calls using your own carrier without an International plan...

Trust me..it works well

If we keep our phone on airplane mode on the days we don't need the phone, we don't see incoming texts and don't get charged by AT&T for that day.

T Mobile offers .20 a minute calls and unlimited text and data for no additional charge to your regular plan. Data is steady but slow, although faster than Club O's wifi.

I am a bit slow when it comes to Sim Cards and top up and stuff like that. We have been using Sharon's Service since it started.

I have an IPhone 6s and have Verizon as my carrier. Without buying a phone or taking one apart, what seems to be my best option? Is it a service from Verizon or Pack Light? Does a Sim Card work on an iPhone? Is so where is the best place for me to go? Staying at Royal Palm.coming in on a Friday.

Thanks in advance for an answer in layman terms.

i wonder if AT&T's $10/day plan works the same way, considering that AT&T doesn't normally charge you to RECEIVE texts while outside the US, just charges for sending

From AT&T's website:

Pay-per-use messaging rates
Text $0.25/message sent
Picture/Video $0.50/message sent

Standard domestic messaging rates apply to text, picture, and video messages received.

Pay-per-use rates apply if you do not have a package.

Rick & Grace, You will spend much more using your Verizon than buying an inexpensive phone and a sim card, depending on how often you visit SXM, or how much you use your phone.

Why do you need to buy the phone? Why not just the SIM?

You do not have to buy the phone if the phone is unlocked. If the phone is locked, then you have to deal with your provider (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) to have the phone unlocked or buy another unlocked phone.

You need to have a tri-band phone, or as ChiTownHarry explained.

Ok, was just curious, since we have been changing the SIM for a few years in SXM. We do the same thing in Italy.

How do I determine if I have a locked or unlocked phone? I'm clueless about all this stuff...just got a "smart" phone not too long ago, still figuring out how to use all things on it!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

True, but the reason I keep my phone on is in case of a medical emergency with my mother, so wifi won't work. The assisted living facility will call if any problem.

For Canadians that want to have their phones unlocked, there was good news this week. As of December 1, 2017, Canadian carriers will have to unlock phones at no charge and all phones sold as of that date will have to be unlocked. I have always had and unlocked phone and switch out the SIM card where ever we go. I always find it the least expensive way to go.

If you received the phone from a US carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile,etc) it is likely locked. We are with AT&T and if the phone is paid for, you can contact AT&T to have it unlocked. For more information AT&T unlock device information

appreciate your reply, thanks! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

All Verizon LTE phones are sold unlocked. This is due to certain spectrum allocated to them by the FCC that is designated for open source and they are not allowed to lock their devices using that spectrum.

Sprint will unlock your device for international sim use once the device has been on your account for 90 days.

We've used a local SIM in our unlocked Android phone for years, from UTS. The pain is adding to the balance every so often while we're away. We get it done, but not convenient.

For calls home I usually use Skype...