Hi All,
Didn't want to start another thread, but did want to outline my plans to see what you all thought.
Traveling to Rome and then Sicily later this month ... spouse (iPhone 6 A1549) has a standard 5GB Verizon plan with preferential pricing through my previous employer. I (iPhone 7 A1661) have a Boom Mobile plan (uses Verizon system). Verizon coverage has been adequate in the past everywhere in US we usually travel.
I've read this and several other threads on the topic - also have a couple of airline pilot buddies who relate their very positive experiences with T Mobile in Europe.
First part of the plan is to drop my Boom month-to-month service, and get service with T-Mobile - 55+. It is $50/month for the single line and offers everything I think I need in Europe, and while the service is not as good as Verizon in my area in the US, it is sufficient, I think. It looks like I can simply switch back to Boom if I don't like what happens with T-Mobile on return.
Second part is to sign up for Verizon connectively on my wife's phone - from what everyone has said, this is $10/day IF you use it in cell mode, right? The charge does not apply if you are simply connecting through hotel wifi, etc?
Does this seem suitable to cover the bases?
My husband and I have traveled extensively in Europe the past couple of years (and are currently experiencing the beautiful city of Budapest!), and here is what we've learned with regard to cell phone use while traveling. Verizon is our cell phone provider (because of its superior coverage in the U.S.). Our first couple of trips to Europe were fairly short (a week to 10 days), and the Verizon $10/day international service was very convenient, if a little expensive, and we were able to use our phones just as if we were in the U.S. However, I discovered that there must be a daily limit on how much data that can be used, and there were a few days on our last trip that we used this service that I received a message from Verizon that I had exceeded my daily allowance and my phone stopped working. It didn't seem that my data usage amount was very accurate either on a couple of those days, but I'm not sure why. I use my phone extensively when we travel, so this was very inconvenient!
So if you aren't going to be gone for long (and don't experience the data allowance problem), Verizon's $10/day service is the way to go. You only pay $10 on the days that you actually use cell data, not wifi.
Since our latest trips have been for over a month each, the $10 plan has been cost-prohibitive, and we take a mobile wifi that allows us two options: it has slots for multiple local SIM cards, or we can use the device's proprietary cloud-based international data plan. Installing and using a local SIM card is the cheaper way to go, although it is takes a bit of time to buy and activate the cards. On this current trip, we have both turned our phones on airplane mode and are using exclusively cloud-based data packages, which cost a little more than the local SIMS but are super convenient. We just order and pay online for our data package and order more data, as necessary as we go. Here is a link to the device we use:
https://www.glocalme.com
We both have iPhones, so we can use Facetime and iMessage on wifi, and also make and receive calls and messages on any internet-based service, including Whatsapp, Ooma, etc. In addition, Verizon has a service called VZW WiFi, which allows us to receive and to make (to U.S. numbers) regular phone calls while we're connected to wifi, including our mobile wifi device. The only thing we can't do with our mobile wifi and all these services is call/SMS text an international phone number.
This is probably way more than you wanted to know, but these issues are complicated, and we've learned a lot the past couple of years. Good luck!
