Making calls on US cell phone in Europe

As always, thanks much for the helpful replies.
Mike - that was a good way to put ....same as if I were making calls from my own living room. I have Rick's calling chart and will refer to that to know when to dial prefixes and such. Good idea to try to figure how to program in the "+" sign and will try to text as much as possible.
I do have a Blackberry and will be sure to turn the data off. AT&T rep said to do it while at airport before departure and to use the data "off when roaming" option. not sure how that differed then the "off" option...sure either would serve my purpose.
THANKS!

sorry...i also meant to be clear that i have rick's very helpful chart but wasn't sure if it would work the same since i was out of the country with my phone (even though still had US phone number).

and now I have to change my reply slightly...

Use the phone as if you were making calls from another US city; for example, if you had decided to drive up to Santa Barbara for a day. The difference this makes is when you're dialing numbers in your home area code. In your living room you'd just dial the 7-digit number, but from Santa Barbara you'd dial 1-XXX before the number.

Also Ken is right; you need the "+" in front of the 1.

For what it is worth. I took my blackberry to France and did exactly what you wanted. I only made a few calls home and a couple texts. So I didn't add the intern' package - I just paid the extra fees. What I found was that if a number was pre-programmed in my phone - the calls went thru easy breazy. When I tried to manually dial - I could never get the calls to go thru.

If you have an Iphone - make absolutely sure you have the data turned off or you will return home to a hefty bill when you get home. It automatically sends and receives data that you get roaming charges for. Not a problem with the old blackberry I used to have though.

For infrequent calls keeping your AT&T SIM in the phone is a good idea.

All your questions can be answered with one reply. Using your phone in Europe with the US SIM in it is no different than using it in your living room right here in the USA. So do everything just the same as you'd do back here.

The RS page giving explicit instructions for calling is at http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/phonechart.htm Just read the "Calling from US" column.

Christy,

To begin with, do you have a copy of the Italy Guidebook? Quesions 1 & 2 are answered in the Appendix at the back (pages 830 & 831 in the 2008 edition).

Regarding question #3, I'd suggest you program the number of your travelling companion's US-based cell phone with a "+" sign preceding the area code. You'll have to check the manual for your phone to determine how to generate the "+" sign (on my Motorola phone, holding down the "0" key produces the "+" sign). That will make it much easier to either call or text. The format will be +1 - Area Code - seven digit number.

Be sure that you're clear on the rates, as whenever you call your traveling companion, you'll be dialing back to the U.S. and the call will then be routed back to Italy (or wherever you are). You will pay a charge for the call and so will your companion. I'm assuming you'll both be traveling with AT&T phones? I'd suggest using text as much as possible, as it's much less expensive.

Happy travels!

ok. thanks. and i believe i heard somewhere that the + is the same as 00. Can anyone confirm that?

Yes, Christy, that is correct. "00" or "+" accesses international long-distance....as does "011" when we call from here to Europe.

actually "+" is a little different (and better) than "00".

As explained in more detail on the website at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_dialing_prefix when you call internationally the phone system first needs to know that you are making an international call. If you are in Europe and many other countries when you place the call, the prefix to use is 00. Dialing internationally from the US, the prefix is 011. But rather than make you remember it, cell phones have a table built in. "+" tells the cell phone to use the prefix that is right for where the phone currently is.

So on Ricks dialing instructions from an earlier link, he says that to call Italy while standing in the US you dial "011 + 39 + LN" With your cell phone, this will work equally well if you dial "+39 + LN" And "+39 + LN" will also work when you take your cellphone to Europe and dial that same destination in Italy.

So if you use the "+" in front of the country code it will work no matter where you are. The country code for the US is 1. I have all the US numbers in my cellphone prefixed with a "+" so for example a friend in Los Angeles is entered as +1 213 5551212. It doesn't hurt anything (or cost anything extra) when I'm in the US, and when I travel overseas I select the person I want to call the same way I always do and the call goes thru.

Thanks for the explanations. So just to make sure I am clear (and so I can program in numbers accordingly before I leave):
I want to call my mom who has a 949 # here in Orange County so I can put her number in as "+ 949 444 5533".
And then for a friend that has a number in Ireland, I can put his number in as "+ 353 867999888" (some confusion here as he gave me a phone number that had a zero AFTER the 353 but in Rick's book, it says to dial withOUT the zero).
I am getting this, right??

Be sure you know how to access the "+" symbol on your phone....some sold here in North America won't come up with it when you hold down the Zero, which is the way it's SUPPOSED to work. As well, if you ever "unlock" your phone and use a foreign SIM, some services (mainly, it seems, the call-back ones) seem to have trouble accepting the "+" symbol...so the "00" is a good alternative. I find it just as easy to hit the Zero twice as to hold it down until the "+" sign comes up when dialling numbers.

Not quite...program your Mom's with the "+" or "00", then 1 (country code for the U-S) THEN area code, then 7 digit phone number.
As for your friend in Ireland, it depends on where you are calling him from. If you're in another European country, then the format you've listed is OK. If you're calling from inside Ireland, just dial the number as he gave it to you, with the Zero...0-867999888

you guys are the best! thanks much.

Christy, I hope I haven't been confusing you. However "+ 949 444 5533" might not work. I haven't tried it that way from a cellphone, though. And to be fair, with a cell phone you don't have to dial 1 before entering an area code so it might work. But why take chances?

What I suggest you enter is just what you'd enter into a phone if you were trying to call the number from a landline phone (except for the "+" sign). Enter "+1 949 444 5533" and leave it like that. In the US or abroad, it will work. That I know for sure, because I have all my numbers entered that way and I use them all the time here in the States, and also have from several countries in Europe.

For your friend in Ireland, "+ 353 867999888" should work anwhere; from the US, from Italy, in Ireland.