Ul Unlimited plan: Anyone with experience in S. America?

[LimuHead]

Hi folks,

I'm on the $70 unlimited plan from T-mobile and will soon be leaving for a 3 week S. American cruise. The cruise starts in Chile and then hits most of the countries up the Pacific coast until ending in Los Angeles.

With that in mind, I have a few things I'm concerned about:

Does the GN3 automatically switch to the different country's bands without me having to do anything?

What kind of data & phone reception should I expect?

Is there anything I should be especially aware or wary of in regard to phone service and personal safety?

Please share what your experience in S.A. has been. Especially if you've been on the Pacific coast.

Thank you!

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[jcastilloalonso]

Re: UlUnlimited plan: Anyone with experience in S. America?

Hi folks,

I'm on the $70 unlimited plan from T-mobile and will soon be leaving for a 3 week S. American cruise. The cruise starts in Chile and then hits most of the countries up the Pacific coast until ending in Los Angeles.

With that in mind, I have a few things I'm concerned about:

Does the GN3 automatically switch to the different country's bands without me having to do anything?

- Yes

What kind of data & phone reception should I expect?

- Depends on the destination carrier. On the Ship expect GPRS (1G), on land expect EDGE (2G) or UMTS (3G) depending on the port.

Is there anything I should be especially aware or wary of in regard to phone service and personal safety?

- T-Mobile offers unlimited text and data on certain countries. The cruise ship is NOT one of them, be sure to call them and have them block that data unless you want to pay big bucks. Also, while roaming the phone call will be billed even if the call goes to voicemail, as it was routed to your phone. I highly recommend using visual voicemail (so voicemail uses data) and forward all calls to voicemail, tell everybody that could call you to leave a message and that you will call them back (outgoing or incoming price is the same) or text them (those are free in a lot of countries). Cellphone service is not as reliable as it is in first world countries, and port areas are usually congested since there's a lot of cellphone's using the few towers in the area. Keep that in mind when using your phone.
Regarding safety, try to no flash your phone, not all countries are safe and while the tourist areas usually are, showing a >$500 smartphone might make somebody make a move to steal it from you, also, remember you might go to wet areas and your phone might not be waterproof...

Please share what your experience in S.A. has been. Especially if you've been on the Pacific coast.

-Never been to that region, let us know how your trip goes! Have fun and stay safe.

 

[LimuHead]

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it.

I should be onboard my ship by tomorrow night.

I'll try and report what kind of service I get along the way.

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