Cell phones forum: Phone for Europe for 3 wks

I just got off the phone with Verizon
and their Global Travel program seems amazingly good!

We would be on the 21 day or less program.
$9.99 to ship the loaner phone (they provide return shipping)
$1.29 per minute for incoming and outgoing calls
Text messages 50cents to send, 5 cents to receive
WE GET TO KEEP OUR SAME CELL PHONE NUMBER -which is cool!

We are going to be on a cruise ship while in Europe
and they did say the phone won't work on the ship
but we'll be fine when we are in port.

I am wondering if someone tries to call us while we are on the
ship will it go to a voicemail that we can retrieve
while in port?
Would that be the $1.29 charge to get a voicemail?

Thanks for any additional insight.

No free nights and weekends or in-calling while overseas. We asked. Darn.

I just returned to the US from a trip to Paris and Lisbon. The "Einstein" at verizon who set up my account blocked texting, although texting was the main reason why I took the phone in the first place. I don't have money to make and receive calls at 99c a min, but I thought I coudl swing the texting fees once a day. Plus, there was the safety issue. I wanted to have a recourse with me at all times. But relying on the phone was a hassle when in Europe one of my flights was cancelled. I was not notified via text (from the airline and from my husband) and still lugged my suitcases for over 1 hr via metros and trains, towards Charles De Gaulle airport, only to get there and be told "Hmmm we texted you... your flight was cancelled." I was not happy.

So in case you get the same Verizon "Einstein" I did, test your phone fully while still in the USA, and tell them that you DO NOT WANT to pay for the costs incurred by those tests, because they are necessary and for not fault of yours. Once you traverse the ocean.... you can't reach verizon, no matter what numbers they might have given you to call from overseas. I tried to call Verizon using the 908-559-9899 many times, to no avail.

So I was not able to receive or send texts, I could not reach verizon and sometimes the phone would not ring. Yes, I do know how to set the sounds on my phone. It just would not ring - sometimes... randomly. The sceen would light up with the incoming call, but the ringer would act as if it were off, though it was on and loud. Theuy sent me a defective phone. So I was able to make and receive calls (at 99c a minute) but even that only happened when the phone decided to work. Verizon has refunded $4.99 of the $10 I paid for shipping, but frankly I feel that it was a worthless hassle. I am about to now drive 20 mins into town to drop it off at a Fed Ex depot and would like to stick Verizon with my gas expense. I hope things work well for you. Just, like i said, test the phone fully while still withing Verizon stateside territory.

I signed up for the Verizon Loaner plan for a 3 week work trip to Spain. Half way through the trip my Blackberry quit working completely and has left me without a way to contact my employees back home. I have to use the hotel phone, which is a fortune, or email. I'm certain they sent me a refurbished phone. It shows no signs of ever having been wet, and the functional decline was gradual. When I return home I'm having my company switch me to AT&T. Their coverage isn't the greatest, but at least the phones worked overseas. Lesson learned.