Cell service while in Canada

[trailertrawlerkismet]

We have Verizon cell service and it works well just about everywhere we've traveled in the U.S. I called Verizon and added their International Service when we recently went to the North Channel, in Ontario, but they still had roaming or there was no service. We plan on spending several months in British Columbia's Victoria and Gulf Islands and are trying to find out from those that have U.S. Verizon plans what they have done or suggest for cell service while in B.C., especially around Victoria and the Gulf Islands.

Thanks, Jim

 

[Stella Maris]

Jim,
We too have Verizon. We also added the international service to our plan. We have had no issues with coverage in the area you plan to roam.

David

 

[SGIDAVE]

Active Captain has discussed cell and data service while outside CONUS in their past two newsletters. More info here. Their newsletter from 16 Sep 2015 has info as well.

dave

 

[andejack]

Be very cautious when N of or even near the Border. If "Rogers Wireless" shows up on your phone, hang up real quick. Otherwise you will be shocked at the charges you incur!

 

[Irish Mist]

If you have an iPad you can get a rogers SIM card and just purchase Data for you iPad.. Once you get 5gig on it you should be able to teather you laptop or cell phone .. That is how it used to be. We do the same in the U.S. We just purchase data as needed with a gift card with ATT that way no auto renewal.. If under 5 gig it doesn't let you teather.. At least that's how it is with iPad .. With this you cAn skype or use other internet phone app. The other would be to get a pay as you go phone up here.. If they still do that .
That's my suggestions🙂

 

[JamesTXSD]

We bought a phone while in Canada, with prepaid minutes. Only use it while there, mainly so family has a way to get ahold of us in case of emergency. If the marina has wifi, you can Skype to a US phone number for 2¢ per minute. We have an old data plan with unlimited usage - any changes we make means that plan would go away. So, we use marina wifi or visit a local library or internet cafe while out and about on land. Verizon data costs, when we last checked, were very high in Canada.

 

[daveo]

We just got back from 2 weeks in Desolation. Have Verizon with international service. It worked fine except one night, my phone went on a binge and incurred over $110.00 of mobile data use. I can find nothing on the phone for what it down loaded or viewed. Another disappointment, when calling the 888 number for whiskey gulf, it would not let me connect.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

It's been a couple of months since this topic was reviewed so I wanted to follow up with those from the US who have Verizon service and added the Verizon International Plan while cruising in BC. When you got your bill were there any surprises, such as roaming charges? How did you find the reception availability? or anything else you'd like to share.

Thanks, Jim

 

[Irish Mist]

There is limted free wifi around Victoria, it is spotty and slow but it is free.

 

[knotflying]

Jim,
We use AT&T. I just simply go on line and get the international plan with a predetermined amount of data and minutes. If I get close to the limit they notify me. If I go over they are kind enough to give me the additional amount needed retroactively.

 

[scross]

I have been a VZ Wireless customer for over a decade now. Have used their international calling plan in BC for the past three summers. I don't download much data - but I still get hit with substantial data and long distance charges. This summer the international plan, data and long distance totaled $80 for a six day trip from Sidney to Ganges. Coverage was fair but not great.
In talking to VZ last month about a phone upgrade, they mentioned a way use your full US data allowance while in Canada for just a minimal extra charge. Don't remember all the specifics but it did not require using wifi. We figured it would have cut my last summer's Canada travel bill in half. Sorry, don't remember what it was called.

 

[Levitation]

When you go to a third world country what do you expect 😱

 

[Crewdog]

When you go to a third world country what do you expect

AT&T, through the international roaming plan, had good service at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

I'll add a ditto to Mike's comment; it was real easy to add gigabytes to the facebook meter.

Notice the hat.......

 

[RonB]

When you go to a third world country what do you expect 😱

Careful now ... you may need our fresh water some day ... 😀

 

[Two killicks]

Just a tought, would it be cheaper to get a phone (without a contract) from a Walmart in Canada or Costco?

Many people that I Know when they go in the US, that's what they do. They buy a cell phone without a contract, everytime that they go back to the States, they buy more minutes.

I must say that the prices for a contract with our cellular services in Canada is quite expensive compared to the US.

Could be an option to look into.

 

[Glen]

I have Verizon Wireless and while cruising up from Anacortes WA to Desolation this past summer I added Canadian service, it cost $15 for the month. I just doubled checked my phone bills and verified that I did not receive any roaming or other additional charges. When I requested the Canadian service I asked Verizon to discontinue it after a month, which they did. I only used my phone to call marinas and a friend that was also cruising in Canada (i.e. no data downloads). The description on my bill was "Mex/Can 4g & Cdma 100mb/Min/Msg $15.00". I was very happy with the plan although as you would expect their wasn't any service in remote areas.

Glen

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice and personal experiences regarding cell service while in BC, this has (as usual) been very helpful.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year.

Jim n Lisa

 

[JamesTXSD]

Just a note regarding Verizon: we have an old plan that has 600 minutes of talk time, but unlimited data. Back in the "olden days" before 3g existed, you couldn't use more than 3 gigs in a month, even if you were online all the time. Along comes 3g, then 4g, and our data usage REALLY went up. Last month, we managed to use 55 gigs! Verizon did raise the cost of our unlimited data by $20, but buying by the gig (as with their new plans) would be a fortune.

So, how does that relate to Canada coverage? Thanks for asking. If we make ANY changes in our plan, we will lose the unlimited data (according to several Verizon reps). So, on our occasional trips north, we use a phone we bought in Canada with 30 minutes of time on it, and just add minutes when necessary. We live without our "unlimited data," and make use of wifi that is available (libraries, internet cafes, or pay-by-the-day in marinas). Way cheaper in the long run.

Jim

 

[Captmike]

Over Thanksgiving we tried T mobil. it is a $50/month plan with unlimited calling, texting, and data. we travel to Europe and Australia so we wanted service in those countries without hassle or roaming charges. It took a bit to get it set up once we got to Canada but we found the Tmobil techs very helpful. We had full data as we went up Island (we were driving). I was able to get wind and wave data as well as envirocanada data. We currently have ATT and are likely going to change to Tmobil next June when we begin our travels north again. We just found out that tmobil purchased bandwidth from Version so the service will likely work better in rural areas in Washington state in the near future. Hope this helps.