A new international cell phone plan was announced by Verizon yesterday. TravePass allows use of existing data, voice and text allowances while traveling outside the U.S. The best deals are $2 per 24 hour period for each device when traveling to Canada and Mexico. Sadly, countries in Europe and elsewhere are five times as much. When I visit friends north of the border (am about due for more Rogers Golden Syrup) I can keep my phone on for a modest charge.
Posted by
Seattle
544 posts
If this is true that you can opt in and out of the TravelPass a day at a time, this could be a compelling option to stay connected:
My question is can I travel with Verizon in Europe and one day choose to connect and pay the $10 to call, text, data as I like. Then, when I'm done, switch my phone back into airplane mode and not be charged the $10 again until another day I choose to connect.
I'm going to tweet my question to Verizon support and see what they say.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32200 posts
Bruce,
Hopefully that will result in cheaper prices for those of us travelling in the other direction. I haven't checked Rogers roaming rates lately, but as I recall cell costs on my last trip south of the 49th weren't cheap.
Posted by
Rural Georgia
2107 posts
I just signed up for the service. It's easy and you go through a verification process before to make sure your plan and phone work in the country.
The service only activates for 24 hours if you make or receive an international call. The nice thing is it uses your current plan for text, voice and data. For us, that's unlimited text and talk.
We plan to leave our phones in airplane mode and use wifi to text. My wife has to make a business call one of the days of the trip, so we'll activate for that day. We'll use that day to call home and talk to familyy.
Posted by
Monterey County, CA (formerly Verbania Italy-Lago Maggiore)
1626 posts
I was recently in Montreal for business and called Verizon for an Intl plan. So for 2 days, the Canadian plan cost we only $4.00. And no need to call upon return and turn the plan off.
Posted by
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
740 posts
I usually take my iphone and ipad mini to Europe. I've added the Verizon Travel Pass to my plan. If I understand correctly, I can use my phone as a personal hot spot and not have to activate data on my ipad when I need data. By using the phone as a hotspot, I believe I avoid having to pay an additional $10/day to have data on the ipad. I'm curious to see if others have done this.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
1184 posts
Eric
If you already have data on your phone at home, you set up a hotspot and test your ipad on it.
Posted by
347 posts
I am curious what Verizon customers have experienced on cruise ships with making and receiving calls and texts.
I plan to purchase the cruise ship WiFi plan. Will be on 14 day transfer Atlantic trip
Posted by
Tennessee USA
30 posts
Interesting. So if I have the Travelpass activated on my iphone and am in Europe, does a person in the US calling me there incur an international call charge on their calling plan?
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32200 posts
Southern girl,
"So if I have the Travelpass activated on my iphone and am in Europe, does a person in the US calling me there incur an international call charge on their calling plan? "
The short answer is "NO". The person in the U.S. is simply calling a local number, so they won't incur any additional charges. However, you will pay for the incoming call in accordance with the terms of your roaming plan (Travelpass).