Going on an organised trip to Canada & Alaska

[Jdoherty76]

At the end of the month. I'm going on an organised tour of Canada and Alaska. 1st 2 weeks touring Canada and finishing 3rd week with a cruise to Alaska. Couple of questions please:

1. What roaming packs would be required?

2. Would I be better with an Esim? I know nothing about these, or how to use them, but have heard about them

3. I could just use the WiFi services upon arriving at each hotel or wherever there are WiFi services. If I choose this method. How do I ensure I don't run up any expensive roaming costs. What do I turn off to ensure no additional costs?

Many thanks for any help received.

[bristolian · Accepted solution]

First off an eSIM is still a SIM, but is popularly mis-described by the mass media to recommend a SIM issued by a local network in a foreign country. You are issued a local number by that operator which can be cheaper for people in that country to call you, and sometimes for mobile data.

Roaming costs to use your existing EE SIM are listed at https://ee.co.uk/help/mobile/roaming/roaming-costs - Both Canada & the USA are part of the flat-rate roaming regime. That is, you pay a flat £5/day or £25/week charge which unlocks access to your UK allowances while using your phone in that country. In-country calls, calls to the UK, incoming calls, text messages & mobile data are all inclusive, subject to an FUP on data usage of 50GB per month.You could alternatively pay per-minute for calls, per-message for sending text messages, and go without mobile data - but it wouldn't take much for the flat-rate to become cheaper.

Whichever billing option you choose, make sure you enable the free roaming facility which unlocks access to foreign networks and thus having coverage abroad - text ROAMING to 150 before leaving the UK.

WiFi is just an internet connection between a mobile device and broadband router. If you want to make or receive calls, send or receive text messages, or use mobile data, you will need a mobile network connection - doing so abroad is called roaming. Receiving text messages is always free, but everything else will attract charges. Do the maths and make an educated decision on which will be easier and/or most cost-effective.

Ultimately, the only way to avoid all roaming charges is either a) To not take your phone, b) Not connect your phone to any local networks, or c) Ensure that, when your phone is roaming, that you only receive text messages via mobile - and use WiFi hotspots for all your internet use. Only you can decide if this will work, or if the flat-rate roaming costs are worth the convenience.

[ukms]

On the basis that roaming with EE would cost you at least £75 for 3 weeks. For your data it might be worth considering using a combination of WiFi at your hotels and an eSIM from a mobile provider in the US/Canada. An eSIM is an electronic/digital sim which is loaded into your phone electronically usually via a QR code as opposed to a physical plastic sim that you would  slot into your mobile device. Typically I haven't found them misdescribed and have used eSIMs extensively around the world.  Often with a foreign eSIM it will be data only so you won't always get a local number to use. This is all assuming that your device is capable of having 2 sims, which most recent devices can. 

The only thing to be aware of is that with either of these options you will still be charged by EE if you make/take phone calls, however you could still make/take calls via WhatsApp calling or FaceTime or many other calling apps as these use data. if you are not using EE for your roaming data then to make absolutely sure you just need to check that 'data roaming' is switched off on your EE line, this you do via the settings on your device, that said make sure that data roaming is set to on for the eSIM line. 

There are many eSIM providers online, I have used a company called Airalo a lot and always found the eSIMs sold by them to always work and be reasonably priced. They sell eSIM for US and Canada individually and also a regional eSIM that allows you to use in both countries without having to change. 

Hope that helps 

[Jdoherty76]

Thanks UKMS. I'll take your advice re an ESim. I'm not prepared to pay £75 for 3 weeks. I can use the WIFI at the various hotels etc. and hopefully the Esim to avoid any unnecessary charges. I was looking at Saily, but will have a look at Airalo as you advised.

Thanks..

[Peter_W]

Hey @Jdoherty76. 

Welcome to the Community 😊

The eSIM option from a third party is absolutely one that you can look into here, but I just thought I'd highlight one last thing in case it saves you a bit in the long-run. 

Do you happen to know what type of EE plan you have at the moment?

If you're on one of our Full Works plans this inclusive roaming is actually included, or some older plans allowed you to select this as a monthly smart benefit too.

Peter