USVI-On-Line

I called verizon today to have my phone put on the international plan for our trip. In the past, we had to do this, and it cost about $70/month. Calls cost $1.00/minute, texts free and pics were something like 50 cents.

Now, and I have this in writing, calls will be 1.99/minute, texts no charge at all, pics no charge at all unless you're sending them out of the united states, and unlimited data - all without having to use whatever international plan they've made up sign up for, every other trip.

Works for me!

Thanks for that info. Was wondering about that.

Just be carful when you head up the North Shore, you will pick up the BVI towers, and then all bets are off. All new charges take effect.

That's right mindehankins, I contacted Verizon too and got the same information. I figured we can use the villas landline to make calls and our phones for texts. That'll work!

Happy New Year!

That's true, Vav. I've sent pics and texts from Francis and never incurred extra charges, but I've heard of people who have had their bills run high. They also said that they've changed the wording of the "roaming" warnings you receive, to be more specific. I'll report back to say if they were or not.
I had them send me the prices in writing, and plan to contest any extra charges if they occur. They never have before, but just in case.....

When you find out what's beyond Jacobs Ladder, you will see that Verizon service is very limited. I went to AT&T go phone because my verizon was not dependable.. I hope verizon customer service for St John cell billing is better than earlier years. Please let us know. I shut down my verizon when landing STT and activate the go-phone.

With all your trips to St. John, I can't believe you never ventured beyond Pine Peace. Have a super trip and adventures.

Minde:

Even though you may have unlimited data & texting, be mindful of any warnings you receive from Verizon on your phone.

I have a Verizon plan identical to yours. This summer, even with unlimited data, I received messages that I had exceeded my plan's limits. I called Verizon International Services immediately, and they told me not to worry about the messages.

But when I returned Stateside, my bill was jacked up a couple of hundred dollars for excess data usage. Turns out that Verizon's system saw me as being in Jamaica (the country) & charged me accordingly. I eventually got the charges reversed, but any time I use my Verizon phone away from Cruz Bay, some weird charges always seem to pop-up.

When not using it, I'd suggest turning off roaming. Its a small PITA, worthwhile. Also, if you receive any strange messages from Verizon, call them immediately, so you're on record with them that you notified them. Its more difficult to resolve an issue w/ them after the fact.

JohnM

We got those messages in April, too, John! And I also called them immediately and had them post a note to my account to put their answer in writing. I watched the next bills closely, and we made out okay. I'm kind of hyper-aware of Verizon charging you for something they shouldn't, but so far we've been lucky.
I'm leery cause this time, they didn't want me to upgrade to the international data plan, and will be very wary.

Remember 15, 20 years ago when we didn't have cell phones? How did we go on vacation and enjoy our self's?

Minde - we have the same Verizon plan and I too called them about it last week. We got the same story that you got, but they told me that they don't have an international calling plan for the USV I; that there's no agreement for phone plans and it's $1.99 per minute for calling. Text and data are free but beware of the BVI cell tower notices... we got them on Bordeaux a few years ago.

I also called TWICE before our trip last May, and I had them note it both times in my account that we had spoken about my concerns. I still had excess charges on my account that I had to have corrected when I got home..
This year, I have US cellular ( no coverage?) so I may have to get a to go phone. ( is that what they are called?)
I plan to use my tablet at the cabin.

Katie, they told me no international data plan necessary this trip. It was always necessary before, so I double checked and had them put it in writing.

I made a couple of calls and had them document my concerns in April, but our bill was normal (except we'd added the international data plan) when we got home. It was $1.99/min then, and some small charge per photo sent by text. Sometimes you just get lucky. Or get a go phone