Devon ...
I actually checked with my cell phone provider regarding making calls from
Europe to the US. I was told in no uncertain terms that it is not possible for
me to do so & that if I even tried to make such a call then my service with
them would be immediately cancelled. I was quite taken aback as you can
imagine. That is why I'm looking into telephone calling cards. My father, who
is 90 years old, suffers from a variety of ailments including slight dementia.
It is important for him to stick to a routine. I have been calling him every
day at 4:00 p.m. for the past 3 years. It would cause him immense anxiety to
not get his phone call each day. My husband had received a rented cell phone
while he was in Italy but it was all in Italian which was of no help to him
whatsoever. I actually had to call him at a prearranged time each day in order
to talk with him.
I have found some companies offering phone cards for sale on the internet
which indicate they can be used for calling from Europe to the US. However,
along with these search engine results I also received warnings about
purchasing calling cards from companies who may not be on the up & up. And
again, my husband purchased a calling card while working in either Italy or
Germany & was unable to use it at pay phones or his hotel phone. I am just
hoping that someone can tell me "this card will work anywhere" & then my
problems will be solved : )
Blessings,
Shirlee
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
When I travel now, I call the provider for my cell phone, which is
compatible with European technology, and have them put on a "international
package" for the duration of the visit. As I recall it was quite cheap, $5 or
$10 dollars. The calls were more expensive, possibly $1.99/minute to the US,
less within Europe. (Memory is poor for the exact details.) But actually, you
don't tend to make many phone calls because you don't have to keep calling home
to find out if something bad is happening, since they can call you when
something bad is happening.
Before I had this phone, when I rented a car overseas from Auto Europe, they
offered cell phone rental as well. The rental of the phone itself was
negligible, as I recall, practically a give away. The calls were priced
similarly to the cost of calls that I am now able to make and receive on my own
cell phone. The odd thing was that the phone was sent to you in the mail before
you left, then you sent it back when you returned, and its pricing was
conducted as though in England. So, if you were in Germany and calling with in
Germany, it was priced as though you were calling England to Germany. At the
time, I had investigated some other companies that provided cell phones for
rent and they all operated as though out of England, and mailed the phone. My
theory that you could rent a phone at the airport when you arrived in Europe
did not pan out. There seemed to be no alternative to having it sent to you
before the trip. This was a few years ago, of course.
The advantages I see from renting a phone, or getting the international
package, is that people in the US can call you easily. (In fact I received a
phone call, while touring the Beguinage in Bruges from my hamster's
veternarian, who was boarding her, to tell me that the hamster had developed
"persistant head tilt" and that they had changed her medication.) Also, when
you are circling a walled city with no idea how to find your hotel within the
walled city, you can call the hotel and they can direct you. If you are
traveling with other people, you can use it to meet up, after separating. I got
the international package on my phone and my daughter's phone, which is
actually one service plan, and then she was able to go off to flea markets
while her father and I toured museums, knowing we would be able to contact each
other.
Don't know if any of this is helpful.
Devon
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