Actually, I just looked at my receipt and I paid closer to $12us.Originally Posted by Mike_D
Actually, I just looked at my receipt and I paid closer to $12us.
We'll probably try MegaMart. We are arriving during a weekend, and unfortunately, there is just more hassle in downtown Negril than I care to deal with during our first day there.
The prepaid international 1000 bundle gives you 660 international minutes and costs 1000 credits. That's almost US$10 right there?
http://www.digiceljamaica.com/en/ser...l-calling-plan
For the sim and maybe a couple of hundred credits it should be about US$10 but you'll need another 1000 credits to purchase the international plan plus any additional credits for local calls. I'm using the same math as Mike_D. If you got a sim and the 660 international minutes plus some additional credits for local calls for $12 then thats a pretty good deal since you essentially got the sim for free. It costs me that much just for the credits I need each trip (1000 credits for 660 mins. of international calling (for calls to home\US) plus some extra credits for local calls).
Blue Cave Castle '12, '13 '14 '15 '16 Catcha Falling Star '13 Boardwalk Village '14 '15
Here are the international rates if you just use your credits and don't purchase an international bundle:
http://www.digiceljamaica.com/en/pla...national-rates
With the bundle your paying about 1.50 credits per minute for international calls. It depends how much calling you do. If you use close to 660 minutes calling internationally then you're better off getting the bundle. If you make short and\or infrequent international calls then it's not worth purchasing the international bundle of minutes.
It also depends if you make the calls or people are calling you. We make it a point not to answer calls from home because many times our friends and family are not aware they would be charged for an international call to Jamaica while the call would cost us nothing. We will call them back and use our international minutes instead so they don't get billed for Int. LD on their phone bill. If we feel like talking
Our first trip my brother kept calling us from home on his cell phone and ended up with $200 in international LD charges ($2.99 per minute).
Blue Cave Castle '12, '13 '14 '15 '16 Catcha Falling Star '13 Boardwalk Village '14 '15
We are just going to be there for several days, and just want a phone to use around town. No need for international minutes. I think we got 100 minutes total, last time.
At the risk of hijacking the thread, I heard (many years ago) that all phones won't work in Jamaica because of differences in technology. Is this true? If so, how do I know if my phone is compatible?
Also, if I go to Digicel, is it as simple as swapping out the sim card and you are good to go? My phone number stays the same?
(Please don't laugh, I'm a bit technologically challenged when it comes to this type of cell phone chat. So please use small words.)
Johio
Yeah. This will take some explaining. There are two types of phones used in the United States; GSM and CDMA. I believe most new phones are GSM. In the past, only AT&T and T-Mobile (I think) used GSM, and I think the rest used CDMA. A GSM phone is compatible with the rest of the cell phone networks in the world, to my knowledge. If you wanted to use an older phone in Jamaica, it will need to be a GSM phone, so you'll need to find one that was on an AT&T network, or maybe T-Mobile (you'll have to check). If you are using a newer phone, you'll either have to research it or contact the carrier to see if it is a GSM phone. A CDMA phone will not work in Jamaica. Verizon used to use CDMA phones, and may still, to some degree. Once you find a GSM phone, you'll have to get it "unlocked", so that it will work on another network, other than the one for which it was originally intended. AT&T has a department that is dedicated to this, now, and you can apply online. If you are getting a phone from someone you know, it needs to be unlocked by them, as the unlocking process requires information that only they may know. Once you get all that done, just pop in the DigiCel SIM card, add minutes, and you are good to go. You're number will not be the same. I wouldn't recommend unlocking the phone that you use day-to-day. I am using an older phone, and would recommend that.At the risk of hijacking the thread, I heard (many years ago) that all phones won't work in Jamaica because of differences in technology. Is this true? If so, how do I know if my phone is compatible?
Also, if I go to Digicel, is it as simple as swapping out the sim card and you are good to go? My phone number stays the same?
(Please don't laugh, I'm a bit technologically challenged when it comes to this type of cell phone chat. So please use small words.
Thanks, Ryan. That all makes sense. It should work out for me then, if I want to go this route. I have a fairly new phone and I'm 99.9% sure it is a GSM phone. My old service provider was bought by Verizon, but I switched to AT&T instead. When that happened, my phone needed to be unlocked so that the AT&T network could be used. So I already have an unlocked, GSM phone. Now I just need to get to a Digicel store, switch out sim cards and pick up some international credits to use when calling home to catch up with our daughter.
Or, I could try to find a JusTalk card and call from the hotel room phone. We'll see.
Thanks again.
Johio
You got a good deal. I wonder if that was part of some type of package. I remember paying a-la-cart for the SIM plus minutes, but this was a couple a years ago. I still have the same SIM and just top it before each trip.
Not 100% positive, but I think you may be subject to roaming charges, unless you use the DigiCel network to call home. I would make sure, before I tested it out.
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