What do you do about mobiles / roaming?

[dan_the_man]

International roaming is included in my tariff, always worth checking for add ons with your provider?

[lizzie145]

I just use WiFi on my phone so it stays in airplane mode.
Though I don't go far off the beaten track

[Beth_Disney]

I had an EE Max contract until recently and just switched to a £10 a month contract with Sky. EE Max was great as I could use my normal package in USA for no extra cost but it was about £60 a month!

Sky mobile charge £5 or £6 a day (can’t remember which) to use data in USA so I’ll be topping up my emergency Three phone for when I’m out and about. I’ll use my normal phone on WiFi only.

[wifey]

We both have a 3 SIM card which includes roaming in the USA we’ve used it for the last few years. It works well for us.. in the theme parks we just use their WiFi which is free for onsite guests. Received Text messages from home are paid for by us as well as anything sent out is usually covered by our monthly plan ( unlimited ). We tend to avoid making calls whilst out there for more than about ten minutes. Usually it’s just local calls that aren’t that costly.

[LOUISEACAT]

As OP above said EE charged £10 add on. Really needed it as we use Lyft, Disney wifi not always great etc.

[bosshogg]

As above. Either use an inclusive plan if you have it or an add on if it's a one off fee of a few pounds.
Or buy a three sim card and top up and use the week before you go.

The only advantage of buying a local sim is none of the above solutions allow USA calling natively.
To get round this I sign up for the free trial of Skype before I go .
Zipcall is another option.

[fleurbie]

I will get better roaming for next trip, the WiFi around the hotels and park's is very iffy, plus I went to vinelands and even though I have a Simons account I couldn't log on to the WiFi there and had to walk over to the bar in the middle of the car park to use theirs to get an uber home!
Universal WiFi worked like a dream😆

[Sandraoh40]

We have an EE plan sim only , 17.99 a month that includes all the use in the US. I’m sure we could probably save a few £ a month but this just suits us perfectly. No worries using it on holiday.

[Bozza]

I just buy three SIMs for each of our phones.

I'm not sure why I've not just transferred our phones (as we always buy the phone outright so they are always unlocked) to three permanently, frankly, as it would save 3 * £20 on the PAYG SIMs each time we go away!

[Winter]

I’m with Voxi as are both my teens. There doesn’t seem to be the option with Voxi to buy a chunk of data in advance to use in the USA. I don’t like the idea of running up unexpected charges but it would be useful to be able to Whats App each other around the parks or from hotel to park etc if we are not together.

What would you do?