i am curious if i should bring my cell phone? will there be outrageous roaming charges? my carrier is ATT. thanks
I believe ATT roaming in Cancun is $1.49/minute or .49/m if you sign up for their International roaming @$5.00 per month (you have to sign for a year).
The big thing that gets people is the data charges... if you've got a smartphone.. make sure you turn off the data services, otherwise every time it checks for email, your facebook page, updates, etc... you'll get hit with big charges.... really unless you've got to do business just leave it at home or keep it turned off in your bag to make sure you don't get any surprises at the end of the month.
We have AT&T, and temporarily switch to a Mexico plan when we travel. Go to your AT&T store and they can set you ups with a plan that isn't too expensive.
I would trust MapChick for sure. If she says 'jump'... Jump turns around to make sure she's not calling him out!:icon_surprised: Seriously, she knows a lot about everything Yucatan. A side note about Sprint... I paid $1.00 per minute for full voice/data access my last trip down. Not a great deal but I only needed to make 10 minutes worth of phone calls back to the US. $10 charge for those minutes and I didn't have to worry about hotel up charges or calling cards or dialing complications. It was worth the cost to me.
You don't have to sign up for these plans for a specific amount of time. And they are correct, the data charges are extremely expensive. You can turn off the data or purchase a plan that would give you minimal data usage as well. Use wifi. If you stay in a hotel that has free wifi, you can simply place your phone on wifi and surf the web from that. ATT is all about customer service. If you do go over, they can possibly re-rate you to a better international plan that would cover your usage.
I have ATT and have the Iphone and before I went down in october I had them switch me to a international plan for about $5 extra a month and you can cancel when you get back which they pro rate it and it only cost you about 2-3 dollars, it only charges you $.99 a min and $.50 each text message you send and recieve.....but they did tell me to keep data off while down there cause they have seen people go to mexico and come back to a $3,000 phone bill cause they were on facebook all day long.....lol
I used a pay as you go plane from home if you get a card for 10 or 20 $ you will not get a big bill it just run out
You have a few other options. 1. You can rent a phone from Vic at www.cancunvalet.com $.69 per minute with per second billing. For Mexico, US and Canada. Great service and he delivers and picks it up I think at the Concierge desk of your hotel. 2. Get the "SIM Unlock Code" for your US phone from ATT. Tell them you are going to travel abroad and have service from a local provider in Mexico. They will send you the unlock info by email with easy to follow instructions. This will allow your phone to work with a Telcel SIM Card here in Mexico. Telcel stores are everywhere. I think they are (ALL THESE $s ARE IN PESOS) $149, like $12 US and that includes $50 pesos in credit. Calls locally are $1 per minute. To the US they are like $4 or $4.5. 3. Get a Magic Jack and make your calls from an internet cafe for free. The MJ is $40 plus tax at Best Buy and includes the first year service. If you bring your computer it may even work WIFI from your room or your hotel lobby. For Starbucks for sure if you get the user name off your receipt. Currently those are starbucks@infinitummovil (NO dot com) and the PW is capuccino13. If your laptop has a built in mic and speakers you are good to go, or you can bring a cheap mic and the a headset from the airplane or iPod. 4. Open a Skype account, get a headset and mic and call for next to nothing from an internet cafe. 5. Some internet cafes offer calls for like $4 per minute. Good luck.
