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Hello Everyone,
My mother and I are traveling to STT in the beginning of April, we are staying at the Sapphire Beach Condo Resort, and we are debating on what we should do about a phone, we are from Michigan... I went to my cellphone provider (ATT) and they said that it would probably be about $2 a min. and we would be further ahead to purchase a phone card. We dont plan on doing much talking on the phone (we are hoping to be on the beach most of the day), but we will probably be checking into home at least once a day to make sure everyone is behaving while we are gone :@) We have been looking at phone cards here, and it looks like they are about $10 for 100mins. or so, but I wasnt sure if they would work down there? Would we be further ahead to purchase one there? Are they sold on the island? Or should we just grit our teeth and pay the $2 a min. to use my cell phone.....
Let me know your thoughts, we cannot wait to get there!
~See ya in 20days-----and counting
They are available all over the place here in $5 and $10 denominations - large supermarkets, smaller grocery stores, KMart and gift shops, etc. so no worries. Cheers!
I have AT&T here and calling the States to another cell phone is free, for me (long distance after 9pm is also free)...you might want to check a little deeper...I think the info you were given may be misleading.....why spend $10 on a phone card, then hafta punch in a zillion numbers, when dialing direct might be just like being at home, ya know?
I agree with Marty, I also have AT&T stateside and the USVI are part of my nationwide calling plan. I only get the roaming charges if I travel over to the British islands. Unless you travel alot you do not need to upgrade to the international calling plan that does incur the per minute rate charge.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Molly
AT&T should be free to use, as well as Sprint. Just check with your provider, there should be no roaming charges. I have phone cards that I purchased from the Post Office a few years ago. They were a good price and there is no expiration date. Just be careful at the hotel that you stay at as far as charges to get to the service. The Marriott charges $2.50 each time you access the 800 number. There used to be pay phones there, but they decided to remove them.
We are planning a visit soon and checked with Sprint, our cell phone provided. Same thing. High rates.
I buy my phone card at Costco and get 700 minutes for $20. That lasts me several years since I make short calls for the most part.
Sapphire sometimes charges $1 for 800 numbers, but they have not been charging recently.
jkeys - Agree with others on double checking with ATT regarding cell phone service in the USVI if you have a nationwide plan. If no go there, then wouldn't go the $2 a minute cell phone route :-o, that could add up really fast. You can buy a phone card at home and bring it with you, that way you would have it right from the start and also you don't have to spend time looking for one once on island. If for whatever reason the phone card didn't work you can use it back home for LD calls, and then get one on island. They are available on island at lots of different places.
33years - Sprint is a cell phone provider in the USVI. If you have a Sprint plan with nationwide calling/LD included you should be all set, no roaming in the USVI and no extra charges for calls to and from the USVI. If you are with Sprint via Nextel however things may be different. You might double check with them regarding using your phone in St. Thomas if you have a Sprint nationwide plan. Make sure whoever you are speaking with knows St. Thomas is in the US Virgin Islands (and not the British Virgin Islands). If they need a zip code to help when looking things up - 00801 is a St. Thomas zip.
--Islander
