Any suggestions on which is best option for my ATT service in Barcelona, Other Spain ports, France ports and Italy ports while on a cruise? Normally never use cell service internationally, but thought I might want especially for 5 days in Barcelona. TIA.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
Hi Terri. If you use your AT&T service in Europe, you won't need another SIM card. You'll use the AT&T SIM card already in your phone.
You'll have to pay for AT&T's international roaming plan - either a daily $10/day plan or a monthly plan. AT&T's monthly plan is $60/month for 1GB of data and 35 cents/min calls and free texting, - described here:
https://www.att.com/offers/international-plans/passport.html
If your cruise is say two weeks, you might get by with only 1GB of data for $60 vs. paying $140 ($10 per day) to use as much data as is on your normal monthly plan at home.
You can get a European SIM card instead - people only get one to save money. One downside is that you can't use your AT&T phone number for calls or texting while you have a European SIM in your phone - if you get a Spanish SIM card, you'll have a Spanish phone number until you put your AT&T SIM back into your phone. Also, your AT&T phone must be unlocked to be able to use a SIM card from someone other than AT&T. AT&T does lock phones that you buy directly from them, but if the phone is paid off, they will provide you with an unlock code by request.
So if you can get by with the $60 plan, that might be your best bet. If you think you'll want/need more data, then you might wind up saving money by buying a SIM card, but for a short trip, I'd guest most people would stick to the $60 plan.