Cell Phone use in Negril

[MissBlue]

loaner phone from our usual driver ............. he fills it with minutes for Jamaica calls only ............

those minutes/credits are good to call the USA too -- there's probably just not enough credit in the loaner phone to do it - but regular ol' Digicel credit/minutes are good to call anywhere, local or international.

The unlimited monthly international plan isn't *necessary* to be able to call internationally-- it's just more economical if you plan to talk a LOT, or stay on-island for long term. (and it only works for international - it cannot call locally). Regular phonecards/credits work just as well; when i'm there just for a week i usually get a 500 J phone card - about half the cost of the monthly plan.

........... somehow they know how to call USA for darn near NOTHING ! ! !

Yah - that's the monthly international plan ppl are speaking of -- your driver probably has that on his personal phone. And since it's good for unlimited calls, it's cheaper for him to just let you use that to call home - as opposed to buying additional 'regular' phonecards/credit to add to the phone he lends you.

[Brian@Chicago]

I have taken my various iPhones a few times. It's not airplane mode you want to be in, because that shuts off your wifi, too. International Data Roaming-->OFF is what you want to be on, unless you have an International Data Plan. That will allow you to access all wifi services still, and also make calls at $2 a minute, so probably not for everyday use, but you can still make calls and (I think) send and receive texts for a reasonable amount. The second you turn International Data Roaming on, you will start sucking all kinds of data and you'll pay for it when you get home.

[saeyedoc]

I have taken my various iPhones a few times. It's not airplane mode you want to be in, because that shuts off your wifi, too. International Data Roaming-->OFF is what you want to be on, unless you have an International Data Plan. That will allow you to access all wifi services still, and also make calls at $2 a minute, so probably not for everyday use, but you can still make calls and (I think) send and receive texts for a reasonable amount. The second you turn International Data Roaming on, you will start sucking all kinds of data and you'll pay for it when you get home.

You can leave it in airplane mode, then turn wifi back on.

[Brian@Chicago]

You can leave it in airplane mode, then turn wifi back on.

But if it's in airplane mode, you can't use it to make $2 a minute phone calls.