Magic Jack? Skype?

magicJack was reviewed by PCMag.com last June with an overall ** out of a possible *****. The summary indicates it works in the U.S. only and requires an Internet connection. I have been more than satisfied with Skype and loaded money into the account. This allows me to call landlines and cells phones at very low rates. I use Skype in Europe to call folks in the U.S. but also to make calls to Europe when making reservations for hotels, etc.

Emily, both MagicJack and Skype work essentially the same way. They send phone calls over the Internet as if the calls were data (which they are). That is, as if it was the same as the digital signal your web browser sends to google to do a search. To the Internet, it is all data. Because they use the common Internet transmission lines, they save on the costs over the phone company which uses dedicated lines it owns and maintains to make connections. Both Skype and MagicJack have their system set up, however, so you can also connect to the regular phone system, wireless or wired. Your call gets taken from the Internet and then is routed to a specific phone number. But this leg of the trip has added costs imposed by the phone companies for using their lines or their connections, so both companies charge extra if you're going to call anything other than another computer attached to the Internet. (Actually Skype is the only one that doesn't charge if you make an Internet connection only. MagicJack always assumes you're calling a phone number.) Consequently, to use either, you have to have an Internet data connection. If the cruise ship charges a lot per kilobyte or megabyte of data, you'll pay handsomely for a call made over the Internet. The real advantage of these methods is if you have a free or included in the overall cost Internet connection. The Internet generally doesn't care where you are so if you are in a hotel in London and connect to Skype on your netbook over the free wifi, you can call a U.S. number for the same low price you could if you were sitting in your home in Houston. Did this help at all? I hope so. If not, post further questions and someone will try and make it clearer.

We used Skype with our Ipod on our last trip. The nice thing about using the Ipod is it can also be used for email, weather, etc. when you have a signal and to view stored documents or translation apps when you don't. For Skype, we put $10 on deposit so we could call landlines and used it for calls back to the states (also one call within Europe). It worked well from anywhere with wifi. Dialed just the area code and number for the states, for Europe had to dial access code plus number like you were calling from the states. The cruise ship won't offer a cheap internet option. We've taken several cruises, including a Baltic cruise and found internet service to be cost prohibitive. For making calls with Skype, you're probably better off using a wifi zone when you're on shore (available in many cafes, bars, restaurants - McDonalds or Starbucks if you can't find any others). The downside here is you're using valuable shore excursion time. One other option is to get a cell phone. Since you'll be in lots of countries, you can't take advantage of the best rates buying a SIM card for a single country. You should check out the options for phones that give you decent rates for multiple countries. A cell phone will work anytime you're on shore or near enough to pick up a signal.

I should have added, we traveled with a Razr phone when we did a Baltic cruise. Because we were doing multiple countries, we just went with our T-Mobile roaming. It's often advertised as about $1 per minute. In the Baltics, the rate ran anywhere from $3 per minute to $8 per minute (in Russia) - so we didn't use it very much. I'm sure there are better multi-country deals available.

Brad, T-Mobile raised its rates not too long ago. It used to be about $1 a minute for most of Europe, but now it's $1.39 or worse.

1) I'd use skype. It's the same basic tech behind the scenes, but you don't need to have an extra do-hicky.
2) Make sure you read up on the price of accessing the internet from the cruise ship! Some cruises let you buy chunks of minutes (that cost between $0.40 and $0.70 per minute), while others charge by megabyte. If they charge by megabyte, stick with e-mail.

I'm living in France now and have both Skype and Magic Jack on my laptop and iphone -- and both work great. I use Magic Jack to call banks or other businesses back home to take care of my affairs - just as I would do if I was there. Cost $29 a year. I use Skype for video calls with family and friends.