I have a question about cell phone rentals. This is the first year that I feel it is necessary to have a cell phone with me while on vacation. I have my own, but since my company pays the bill I don't want to deal with trying to figure out how much it cost to put an international plan on my bill as well as figuring out what I owe for calls made while there. I am renting a car from arubarental and they offer free cells with car rentals and a plan that gives me free incoming calls and depending on how much I want to call out, so much for whatever minute plan I want. Long story short I need suggestions.....I do buy a calling card when on the island and use the black phone banks by Aqua Grill, but I need to be available because my mom is ill and I need to be available if something should happen...any help would be greatly appreciated

Since cell phones can be a frequent discussion, I did a search and found a thread here:

cell phones

Good luck!

>>>> " they offer free cells with car rentals"
----- Sounds like using that is the best way to go.
>>>> "gives me free incoming calls"
----- My understanding of that is that on the Aruba end nothing is added to your cell bill. But the person in the States still pays the normal fee for a long distance call. Just give the people back home your cell phone #.
They would first put the long distance direct dial code in, then the country code for Aruba, and then the 7 digit cell phone #.
Someone who has done this please add corrections and the correct codes.

Thanks for the help, I emailed royalaruba car rental and they replied that yes the cell is free and if I purchase a card for $15, it gives me about 40 minutes to US. That might work since I really only need it in case someone needs to get in touch with me immediately. After that I can even use the phone banks with a card.
However, any better suggestions...please feel free.

Aruba, my home away from home !!

sounds like a deal
you should probably go for it
maybe the royalaruba car place will send you the phone number BEFORE you depart for aruba............that way you can leave the number with those at home that need the number.

incoming calls to your cell are free for you. (they are not charged against your minutes)

andrea

Just looked through my papers and to call Aruba you dial:
011-297-7digit phone #

Thanks for the info, I will call royalaruba and ask for the number before we leave...great idea
Tom, thanks also for the international dialing info.

Aruba, my home away from home !!

Danadog - we rented a car from Royal on our recent trip and used the free cell phone they gave us. The emailed us the phone number a day or two in advance so I could give it out before we left. I, too, only needed it to check in with my elderly parents and to have in case they or one of the kids needed us in a emergency. We went to Ling & sons and purchased a phone for about $15, but we had trouble getting the phone programmed and finally asked guest services at our hotel to help and she got it done, but ended up using a lot of our minutes calling the phone card company to get it straightened out. Turns out something was printed wrong on the card or something like that...I never did understand that whole thing. I was just happy when she finally got it working.

Long story short, we decided we would not go that route again but would instead activate international calling on our own Verizon phones and take them with us. You may not have that option with your cell phone company, and you probably won't have the same problem with your rental phone anyway. Also, that particular phone had very different features than ours, so it was a little frustrating trying to get used to it. Truthfully, we found it very difficult to use. I'm not trying to talk you out of the rental cell, I just wanted to share our experience so you'd have it to consider.

Oh yeah...one other tip, when you are calling the US you dial 001 for the international code, but when friends and family are calling you in Aruba, they dial 011.

~Dana & Dan~
20th Anniversary in Aruba - October 2007