Going On A Carrabian Cruise

[irocroe]

I am going on a cruise in April. I was wondering if I use a international SIM card, would it work in my S3? I really don't want to go off the ship tower and pay those crazy fees. I also don't want to pay Verizon's crazy fees either. Does anyone know I can do this inexpensively and how to do it? My phone is stock.

 

[makaroni]

I think with the JB update it made the S3 a world phone. I think it's unlocked right out of the box though. I read some people just stick the international sim right in it and it works as far as talk and texts but sometimes they have issues with the data. Should work fine though so Good luck

My GS3 sleeps in the bed and I make my girlfriend sleep on the couch

 

[nyry]

You can just set your phone to global and pop in any international sim you'd like. Voice and text should work fine but data seems to be an issue for many people

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[irocroe]

Where would I purchase a international sim card?

 

[Droid3r]

OP fix your botched spelling

iSheep... iSheep... Meowww that's Apple VZW GSIII

 

[nyry]

Depends on where you are going. Once you get there, check out one of their wireless carriers and just explain that you just need temporary service with them and a SIM to pop in your phone they will probably have different plans such as voice and text only, data only, or Voice,text, and data

 

[Wnrgway]

My wife is traveling overseas and had to work this out as well. So, here's the story.

Before you leave, login to your Verizon account and add the feature for Global Roaming. Once overseas, you can set your mobile network to Global. Provided Verizon has a roaming agreement there, you can call and use data. Charges are very high though. The cruise ship may already provide Verizon service though, so I'd check with them before you do anything.

Another option is to use a foreign sim card. Depending on how often you plan to use your phone, it could lower your costs dramaticly. Being that you're on a cruise ship , I don't know if it would help. The one issue with foreign sims is that data will most likely not work. You need to enter a new APN into your phone to connect to a foreign carrier data plan. The GS3 for some reason doesn't let you change from the Verizon APN. It's possible to change it, but you have to roote the phone and the process is a little involved. So you'll probably still need to rely on wifi for data if you go this route.

Another option is to just use wifi only. If you have a Google Voice app and account, you can call the U.S. for $0.01/minute. It may use Verizon plan minutes on your regular phone dialier. You can use Talkatone as your dailer to avoid using plan minutes. Be aware that the ship may charge you for wifi.

 

[bjboucher]

Caribbean.

 

[makaroni]

Where would I purchase a international sim card?

Probably best if you got one from the country you go to. Then you're most likely to get the best service available

My GS3 sleeps in the bed and I make my girlfriend sleep on the couch

 

[Zombieheadshot]

It is a cruise right? Maybe you should leave your phone turned off and enjoy life like the old days when we weren't surgically attached to our cellphones hah That being said is is still good to stay in touch, especially if your leaving children behind on the mainland. But one thing I always wondered was that our Verizon GS3s would only work globally on a CDMA network. I was under the impression that our Verizon phones only had CDMA radio's in them and ive heard that the majority of foreign countries are on GSM networks which require different radios to even connect for talk or text.

Perhaps you should make sure that whatever foreign sim your going to be using is for a service provider that had its network on CDMA. I could be wrong though. I think it would be awesome to find out that my Verizon GS3 could connect to any CDMA or GSM network anywhere in the world with different SIM cards.

I hope there is someone more knowledgeable that can enlighten me!

Matt Nethery

 

[Suntan]

I've used this before, although not with my GSIII and not in the Caribbean. Depending on where you will be going, and if you will do further international travel, you may find a benefit with it.

One of the nice things is that people can call the number and it treats it like a local call.

International SIM Card by National Geographic with Voice & Data Service | Cellular Abroad

That said, you're going to the freaking tropics! Turn off your phone and chill!

-Suntan

 

[gollum18]

I was under the impression that all Verizon and sprint phones have embedded sim cards that can't be removed because they are cdma. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[makaroni]

I was under the impression that all Verizon and sprint phones have embedded sim cards that can't be removed because they are cdma. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Sprint doesn't use sim cards because it's cdma but Verizon does and it can be removed.

I am Samsungma Bin Laden, leader of the Android Taliban. I will blow up 1,000 iPhones to prove my loyalty to Android

 

[Zombieheadshot]

Well I've just done a bit of "Googaling"
[GUIDE] Set up Verizon Galaxy S3 as World GSM Phone (confirmed working) - xda-developers

 

[mesocyclonic]

I was under the impression that all Verizon and sprint phones have embedded sim cards that can't be removed because they are cdma. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Purely CDMA phones (think OG Droid, OG Droid Incredible) do not require a SIM card. However, Verizon's LTE network does, even though they also have CDMA radios. Because the GS3 has GSM radios in addition to the LTE and CDMA radios, it can be used with GSM networks with the proper SIM card, but VZW has put a software block to keep you from using a US GSM carrier's SIM in.

 

[Wnrgway]

Well I've just done a bit of "Googaling"
[GUIDE] Set up Verizon Galaxy S3 as World GSM Phone (confirmed working) - xda-developers

I've read through that as well. It's a bit dated as it was done before the Jelly Bean update came out that unlocked global roaming. Now you can use a foreign sim card with a stock unrooted phone provided you enable global roaming on your account. The only problem is you may not be able to access data with another sim. New android versions won't allow 3rd party apps to change the apn. You have to use something like titanium backup and set the app as a system app. That said, I haven't done it myself yet.

 

[1LoudLS]

maybe since your going on a cruise, you should just unplug from your life...


i just went on a Caribbean cruise in November, left from Puerto Rico (phone will work fine and not really cost too much as long as you dont get crazy) and then went east and south. it kinda makes it hard to use a local cell network when you wake up in a different country everyday. look at it this way, the less money you spend on your phone trying to get it to work where ever, the more money you have to spend on drinks. there is always enough rum on board to make you not care about updating your status...