Internet Access While Traveling

Overview

Have you ever thought about how you will access your Cell Phone Internet or Wi-Fi while traveling overseas? This is something you may not have thought about if you are not an avid traveler. Having no Cellular/Internet Service when you really need it will make you realize how important it can be, and how lost you can be without it. Like with anything, when traveling overseas it is important to do your due diligence and plan ahead so you can still get internet access should you need it while traveling.

Why do I need Internet While Overseas?

You may be saying to yourself, "I am on a VACATION, the whole point of this is to NOT be connected to the Internet." This is 100% true! However, what if you are in a location where they don't speak your language? What if you are looking for a new restaurant to try, or trying to find your way back to the port to get back to your Cruise Ship? This is one situation where the old saying goes, "It is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it". Here is a list of common situations where having Cell Service/Internet may be useful:

Maps - If you're trying to get from point A to point B
Trying to find something to do, a restaurant, a concert...etc
Calling - If you're trying to call for assistance or call to touch base with a fellow traveler.
Accessing Banking Information - You may have issues with your credit/debit cards while overseas. Being able to access your banking information will be useful in this situation.
Translation Services - Don't speak the language? No problem, just type it in to Google Translate and show it to a local. This is a great way to communicate with people who don't speak the same language.

Will you have access to the internet if I am on a Cruise Ship?

If you're traveling by Ship, you may or may not know that your cell phone carrier (i.e. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) does NOT work when you are out at Sea. When at Sea, Internet Services may be provided by the ship's Wi-Fi, usually via a satellite signal For this purpose, most ships integrate a satellite internet solution such as Starlink. In my experience, Starlink is EXCELLENT at Sea, and I rarely even noticed any difference in internet speed while using Starlink. I can't vouch for other services because I havn't used them, but my point is that internet connectivity is usually achieved via this method when traveling on a Cruise Ship. With that being said, be forewarned that Cruise Ships do charge for this service, as you would imagine.

Navigating your Cell Phone Plan BEFORE you leave

Most cell phone carriers (in the United States) have plans that will allow you to use your cell phone while overseas. Carriers will typically have different approaches to providing you with internet access, which are implemented in the following ways:

By Country: Cell phone carriers will have a plan for each country. It is important to know that NOT EVERY COUNTRY is on this plan. However, if the country in question IS on your carrier's list, you can work with them ahead of time to make sure of the steps you need to take to use the travel plan for the specific country. In my experience, there were times where I did not know which countries I would be traveling to. So when I arrived within cell phone range of any country, I would receive a text messaging from my cell phone carrier asking if I wanted to use internet in that country for that day, and I would respond by saying Yes or No. I would receive this message every day and confirm 'Yes' or 'No', and I would get internet access accordingly. If you are traveling by plane, you will most likely get one of these text messages once you touch down in your destination country, and turn your phone off of airplane mode.

IMPORTANT!: If you are traveling to a country to which your cell provider DOES NOT have on their list of countries, it is possible that you will be charged an ASTRONOMICAL amount of money if you use your cell phone service while in that country. Ask me how I know! Let's just say that this happened to me and I got a cell phone bill for just under $1000. What angered me the most was that I had been in a 1st World - technologically advanced country, so I figured my carrier had a plan for that country, which was NOT the case. I swore that I wouldn't give them another dime after that so I switched carriers to the carrier I currently have today.

Included In Your Plan: By default, some carriers allow you to use your normal Cellular Internet plan while overseas. This is currently the plan I have today. With this plan, I have been able to travel overseas and not have to worry about whether or not I will be charged a huge amount of money simply for using my cell phone's internet to get around. I can vouch that it is awesome to not have to worry about being charged an obscene amount of money for a cell phone bill.

A Quick Note on Cellular Internet: One thing I will mention is that just because your Cellular Internet plan allows for Internet usage, that does NOT necessarily mean that your Internet service will be stellar in that country. Most of the time, overseas you will have some sort of degredation of service anyway. An example of this is that if you have 5G-LTE service in the United States, you may have 4G or 3G service in a different country. This has been my experience.

Using Wi-Fi - The Alternative to Cellular Internet

One great thing about living in these technologically advanced times is Wi-Fi is EVERYWHERE. Just like here in the United States, if you don't have Cellular Service in a particular area of the country in which you are traveling, you can most likely find some free Wi-Fi Network. The same applies overseas, as cities and towns will have Wi-Fi available at restaurants, coffee-shops, malls, and many other public places. If you don't want to use your Cell Phone internet, you will be able to find one of these Wi-Fi networks most of the time, giving you free Internet while overseas. Also note that these Wi-Fi connections are not always the fastest, so if you use one, be patient because it may be slow!

Summary

Hopefully this article will act as a guide to assist you in making your traveling experience as good as possible. Everybody's situation is different, so it is important that you do your own research when trying to set up your internet situation when on your trip. Best of luck on your travels!