Bahamas Travel / Cruise Question???

Does anyone happen to know if International calling rates apply to cellular coverage in the Bahamas?

My wife and MIL are going on a cruise next week to Nassau, and I she was wondering if she'll be able to use her cell phone to call. Her calling plan is basically anywhere in the CONUS, but I wasn't sure about Bahamas. My phone is world-wide toll free, but that won't matter because she won't have my phone.

ETA - This is kind of an important question too. It's not about the rates (don't care about that). It's because an International call on her phone is a violation of her employer's pooled contract. (it's complicated) She wouldn't get in trouble or anything, but it might just cause billing nightmares because there are municipalities involved.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

1 - ask her service provider

2 - ask her employer

the international " policy " of my cellular service " three " [ hutchinson ] on a UK contract is a bizarre quagmire - that thier own staff dont even seem to understand fully - it seems to change weekly

it " ok " for france and belgium - where i spend 80 % of my trips abroad - but the ukraine was " interesting " - and it took 4 months to resolve a £208 bill from kievstar

so - ask the right people - and hope they actually know thier own policies

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

She should ABSOLUTELY CONTACT her IT department and confirm that 1.) she is actually able to take her work phone out of the country. 2.) what special things need done to do so. 3.) verify that she is allowed to take her work computer, which I assume since your taking a work phone, that might be an option.

I work in IT for the Energy sector, you absolutely would not believe the hoops people have to jump through to simply go to canada.

I am going to say, if you are dealing with Energy, Healthcare, or Government she is not allowed to take the assets as they are. She should definitely contact IT before doing anything.

Camain

I'll agree with camain on this as well, any type of industry that relies on regulations to function like were mentioned tend to raise a bit of a stink if you leave the country with their equipment and it's not a work trip. Especially with a work phone, they may have a special plan they turn on temporarily for her (I know that's how it was at previous jobs I've had),

I was in the Bahamas a few years ago and the calls and texts I made didn't count as CONUS. Had to pay extra. But that was AT&T, and I think each provider might have different policies on that.

I was in Nassau for four days and got ok reception and service there; ten days on South Andros was spotty service. I had to skype the U.S. for a class I needed to attend and it was only successful for a few minutes.

Anyway I think you'll just have to call the service provider.

a reply to: camain

Thanks. As it turns out she actually kind of IS the IT department. She's the finance director for the IT department (which is pretty much why she won't get in trouble, she actually HAS to take the phone). She's the one who manages the contracts and accounts.

I was just trying to get a quick answer for her.

It's just a major hassle if one of these phones goes International. Government rules stipulate that if the phone goes international then the charges are on the person. Okay, no big deal right? WRONG! The problem is the account is in the local governments name, so there's no way to extract out the specific charges in a person's name for her to pay. (she'd just expense the charges as they are allowable given she's required to take the phone). And, because Verizon can't invoice like this the whole issue winds up getting tied up for months with tons of paperwork.

ETA - Many moons ago I also had one of these same issues. I strictly carry a personal phone now, not a company phone, just to avoid all that crap. It was a major headache. In my case, I didn't even make any calls! I just turned the phone on (not thinking) and the phone roamed to a carrier site and downloaded a great big gob of emails with massive attachments. BOOM...instant International roaming charges and mobile data. This was in South America. Man, was that a hassle!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Yes. You'll often get international roaming charges if you're too close to the Canadian border, let alone flying to a Caribbean island.

You can call your crummy service provider and pay a fee for a block of international data which would be cheaper than letting your phone run wild once you get there, I often do this for my TATL and TPAC travel.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

My experience at Channel 51 cable from Ft.Lauderdale to the Bahamas (less than 90 miles east of Miami)...cable shows and phone calls were like from across the street due to the closeness.

Now a days...don't know. It wasn't even like international calling...prob because they share the same Gulf Stream waterway...like 2 sides of a river...Miami West-Grand Bahama East.

At airport turn off Roam, cellular data download.