eSim for Adriatic/Aegean sea cruise

[Michael]

What is a good eSim for Adriatic Sea/Aegean sea cruise? (14 days Holland America) I have AT&T who has an international plan that would be $150 for both our phones. Thanks

[Michael]

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I did see a YouTube by a couple who were sponsored by a company O2 eSim that stated 10gigs for $29 but since they sponsored the video not sure if reliable. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Michael That doesn't sound too reliable, but I haven't heard of this company before. Have you contacted your AT&T phone provider? I'm sure they will have a very expensive option but possibly pausing your service during this duration could be useful so they don't overcharge you for an accidental message and so on. It's going to be hard for you to find cell service out in the middle of the ocean, but you could always get the wifi onboard and utilize that service for wi-fi only messaging and calls. 

I found this company online that looks promising. 

https://alosim.com/mediterranean-esim/ Maybe chat online with someone and see if the service would meet what you are looking for.

[Michael]

Thank you for the link.  I did check my AT&T. It has a program that is unlimited for $15/day for both phones maximum charge is 10 days but last for billing cycle. So $150 covers the whole 2 week cruise 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@Michael That price seems pretty fair! I also like the idea that AT&T is the primary provider you trust will provide the service. Are you still looking for a more affordable option? The link I provided seems like another solid option but that price per day may come out to be about the same. 

[RoadTravelled]

On 6/21/2023 at 11:30 PM, Michael said:

What is a good eSim for Adriatic Sea/Aegean sea cruise? (14 days Holland America) I have AT&T who has an international plan that would be $150 for both our phones. Thanks

@Michael and @Kendall James-Vargas On our recent trip to Italy I used the Airalo eSim card.  It was very cheap, easy to install, and worked flawlessly throughout our trip.  They have local country, regional, and global plans.  You probably could buy the Europe Regional eSim card that covers 39 countries, including those around your destinations.  An eSim for 30 days with 5GB data coverage for example only costs $20 as an example.  Like AT&T, my carrier Verizon wanted to charge me $15/day to provide coverage.  So, after only 2 days in this case you are ahead on the Airalo plan.

A few things to keep in mind though.  This is only for data, no voice or text coverage.  But, we used WhatsApp which can do phone calls and text over data to communicate when necessary to each other or 3rd parties (like people at home in the US).  To use eSim cards you must have a fairly modern smart phone that is unlocked from your carrier (AT&T in your case).  Check out the list of eligible phones on Airalo's site.  You also need to manage your use somewhat.  The app gives you a good indication of where you are at all times.  In the 3 weeks we were in Italy, I only used 3GB of the 5GB plan by using Wi-Fi wherever possible (like in the hotel rooms, restaurants, etc) and judiciously using data when out and about like for Google Maps.

Hope that helps and have a fun trip!

 

[LCK]

On 8/4/2023 at 11:12 PM, RoadTravelled said:

@Michael and @Kendall James-Vargas On our recent trip to Italy I used the Airalo eSim card.  It was very cheap, easy to install, and worked flawlessly throughout our trip.  They have local country, regional, and global plans.  You probably could buy the Europe Regional eSim card that covers 39 countries, including those around your destinations.  An eSim for 30 days with 5GB data coverage for example only costs $20 as an example.  Like AT&T, my carrier Verizon wanted to charge me $15/day to provide coverage.  So, after only 2 days in this case you are ahead on the Airalo plan.

A few things to keep in mind though.  This is only for data, no voice or text coverage.  But, we used WhatsApp which can do phone calls and text over data to communicate when necessary to each other or 3rd parties (like people at home in the US).  To use eSim cards you must have a fairly modern smart phone that is unlocked from your carrier (AT&T in your case).  Check out the list of eligible phones on Airalo's site.  You also need to manage your use somewhat.  The app gives you a good indication of where you are at all times.  In the 3 weeks we were in Italy, I only used 3GB of the 5GB plan by using Wi-Fi wherever possible (like in the hotel rooms, restaurants, etc) and judiciously using data when out and about like for Google Maps.

Hope that helps and have a fun trip!

 

@RoadTraveled : Were you using your AIralo eSim card on the ship? Or was your trip land based?

 I'll be cruising the NCL Pearl June 2024, Venice to Athens with ports in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece. I think the ship won't be too far from shore and I'll be able to get cell service at least within 20 miles of the ports, and other coastal towns.

 

[RoadTravelled]

@LCK Our trip was land-based that time.  You will need to be close enough to the port to pick up the local cell service provider in order to use the e-Sim card.  I don't know how far that goes out to sea.  But, I'm thinking it wouldn't be that far since it relies obviously on land-based cell towers to work.  And, 5G service especially is very distance sensitive.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@RoadTravelled Thanks for sharing all of that info! I haven't used an Airalo eSim card but I would be interested to try in for my Peru trip next year. I will be there some time and happily use wifi for communication, but this time I plan to rent a car so I will need GPS. I have to look up how to insert the SIM card into my fancy Iphone. What's crazy is I known how to navigate my phone so well, but when it comes down to inputing a SIM card, I'm clueless. The price is really good for this eSim card so I'm going to watch a Youtube tutorial and try to figure it out. It can't be too complicated! This tip may have saved me some serious bucks. I could always get a more basic phone if needed just for the purpose of using that SIM card. 

[RoadTravelled]

@Kendall James-Vargas  I just bought an eSim for Europe for our river cruise next week.  It covers all 5 countries we will be visiting.  I got a 30-day, 5GB data plan.  And, after using my reward dollars with them, it cost me a grand total of $13.27, such a deal.  If you decide to go this route, let me know and I can give you my referral code that will knock off $3 on your purchase.

Just a side note, you don't actually physically install this SIM card.  It's all just software.  So, once you purchase it you just click a few buttons to download it to your phone and do a quick setup.  Once you are ready to use it you activate it and you are good to go.  As noted above, make sure you confirm your phone qualifies and it is unlocked from your normal carrier (in other words you own the phone outright).

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@RoadTravelled That's excellent! I think it's brilliant that you are able to get one eSim that will work for all of your cruise destinations this time around. I didn't know you could earn reward points too! That's great. How much do you have to spend in order to earn extra points? I love that you have a referral code too. When the time comes down to purchasing it, I would absolutely love the code. Well the fact that it isn't a physical SIM card is even better! I can certainly manage downloading an app on my phone. All of these details are very important. I think I pay annually for my phone so I can get the upgrade every few years. That may hinder my usage from this system on my current cellular device. 

[RoadTravelled]

@Kendall James-Vargas  You get rewards as soon as  you spend any money at all on purchases.  It really is a deal you can't pass up.  Let me know when you think you might use it and I'll be happy to pass along my referral code.  Yea, you may not be able to do this if you are still paying for your phone and it's not completely paid off.  Check with your carrier to see if it is considered "unlocked" to that particular carrier and can switch to a different SIM.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@RoadTravelled Thanks for the tip! I will certainly call AT&T and ask. According to my husband we pay monthly for the phones so we always get an upgrade. We are about due for another upgrade. Maybe I can hold off on the upgrade for a bit, ensuring it's unlocked, and then get a new phone after the trip. It's bound to get broken or stollen at some point anyways. I do loose my phone around the house a lot, but thankfully I have never had it stollen. My motto is, use it till it breaks. This is a good theory, although my husband used to disagree. One way we chartered a yacht with some family and he jumped in the ocean. When he jumped in, he lost his Apple watch. It sunk and the water was very deep. He wanted a new Apple watch and I kept saying no. Now he's thankful he waited because it could have been his brand new one that he lost!