Probably one of the most asked questions these days about cruising in the Bahamas is, "How can I communicate with home?"
Let me address this in a few parts:
1) how do I communicate locally
2) how do I avoid astronomical phone bills
3) can I get data inexpensively
Communicating locally:
For the past couple of years, I have had a Bahamian cell phone. That phone enabled me to connect with boaters that I met in the Bahamas, and businesses in town, marinas, etc. and allow them to communicate with me. When my mother died last year, while I was in the Bahamas, BTC was a good communication tool to the States.
A cheap, unlocked GSM phone with a Bahamian (BTC) SIM card activated at a Batelco office will provide you with cell service. You can buy minutes, prepaid, and they are good for 90 days, unless you add to them (ie. "top off") You can set up with Batelco to renew it online with a credit card, but, be careful! "Topping off" your phone does NOT extend the 90 days on a dormant phone.
Have the idea of keeping your number until you return next year by topping off? It doesn't work. The only way you keep your phone number active is to use it every 90 days, voice or text. BTW, unless you have activated Stateside roaming, you can't make a call in the States to keep it active. Sigh. I learn a lesson every year, they are just expensive.
So, the BTC number keeps me in touch locally, and I can also call the States. This year I put the SIM card into my iPhone, as told below, giving me voice and data.
How do I avoid astronomical phone bills?
I also keep my Stateside number, since, like a lot of us, we are under a contract.
I have Stateside service with ATT, and don't know how the other companies operate. The first year I brought a phone, I had the mistaken idea that if I didn't answer the phone I would not be charged. Wrong! You are charged for every voicemail, whether you ever listen to it, or not. If your phone is turned on in the Bahamas, you will be charged for every incoming call. Only turn on the phone when you want to use it? Doesn't matter. Your voice mails have reached the International fees.
The funds I might have contributed to the Republican Convention went to paying my phone bill for the elections calls instead. I'm talking hundreds of dollars in phone bills, mostly from hang-ups, and politicians! My friends from the States knew I was cruising.
The ATT international services were very helpful. Here is what they suggested: forward your phone to a different number before you leave the States. Hmmm. That would have worked very well, forwarding to my house, had I not just disconnected my home phone to save money to cruise.
But, the idea is good! I forwarded my calls to a number my dad doesn't answer, but goes to a voice mail. The junk he deletes, and anything important, he tells me about. I am still able to make outgoing calls with my phone, in the event of an emergency, and still able to send and receive texts on my ATT phone.
Once again, ATT international services has been great for me. I have an international text plan, and all my outgoing texts are billed to it. My incoming calls are on my unlimited domestic plan.
It costs Stateside folks NOTHING to text me, and should I choose to answer, it is billed to my international text plan. Did I mention, texts do screwy things? I got texts today from a couple of days ago, some of which I'd already received once... That's ok, incoming texts are counted against your domestic plan anyhow!
Services do not have the reliability that we've come to expect Stateside, but, the Bahamas has other attributes! Remember that incoming texts hang "in the cloud" until you pass a tower, so that is nice.
The other thing I do with my Verizon iPad is call Verizon before I leave the States, and ask them to remove my auto renew off my credit card. If you disconnect through the iPad software, it fries your SIM card. When I go back into US waters, I enter the cc info on the iPad, and the service is activated again.
Can I get data inexpensively? (Check email, get weather reports)
Yes, and probably less than you pay in the States.
I had an old ATT iPhone, which I had upgraded after three years, but kept. Before I left the States, I unlocked it, legally!
I contacted ATT, and told them I was a long time customer, that this phone was not under contract, and they have a procedure to unlock the phone. The email you get from them says it can take several days. It took me less than an hour. They send you a set of instructions, and a time parameter to follow them (24 hrs I think) I brought an unlocked iPhone with me this year.
At the BTC office, I bought a micro SIM card, voice minutes, AND, the Bahamas do things differently folks, a data card.
The BTC employees pop SIM cards in and out all day long, and they will usually try a SIM card from their stash to make sure your phone or tablet will work before they send you to the cashier to buy one.
I spent $15 for the SIM card. I put $40 in voice minutes, and I bought some data cards. The data card is good for 2gigs, or 30 days, whichever comes first. They sell for $30, but are frequently on sale for $15. I bought several, as they were on sale, and are good as long as I use them before October 2016. You can put your activated card into whatever device the SIM card will fit (iPad) For some reason, even though BTC is a 4g network, Apple's agreement with BTC (maybe disagreement?) is Apple products are limited to 3g, so said some lady at the BTC office.
Apple has some other weird agreements, evidentally. If you have a Verizon iPad, it is already unlocked, and has GSM capability. (so I've read) I know that when I put the GSM BTC SIM card in mine, it works.
Oh, but wait! You can't initially activate it on the iPad or tablet! You have to activate it on a phone, and stick it in your iPad after it is activated. When your month or 2gig is up, back to the phone to activate again. Did I mention you need to buy a $5 voice cell card to have that ability?
I hope you bring the device needed to pop your SIM cards, since it seems like there is a lot of that.
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