-10 Days and Counting!!

With only TEN days left, I am still struggling over staying connected with the office - both data and phone. For those of you who just can't 'unplug' for a month, here is the research that I have done for both phone and data connections.

After calling Cingular (the 'New' AT&T) about 5 different times - each time getting a different answer of course, I have finally come to a decision on the 'cheapest' way to stay connected.

Cingular has a plan called World Traveler. For a mere 5.99 per month, you can be on the Disney Magic and place and receive phone calls for $2.49 per minute. If you go into port (i.e. leave the ship), then the rates drop significantly. England, France, Spain and Italy are all .99 per minute. I was told that if you wait until you get back from your trip and receive your bill, you can then cancel the World Traveler on your account without penalty. The way to tell if you are going to get charged the 2.49 per minute vs. the .99 per minute is to look at the phone itself. If it says 'Cingular' then you will be charged the ship rates. If it says 'Vodaphone' or 'Orange' then you will be charged .99.

As far as the data plans go. They have a plan called DataConnect Global for about $140 per month. There is debate on if you can cancel within 30 days without incurring a $175 penalty. Half of the customer service reps that I spoke to said you don't need to pay it, half did. The last guy I spoke to said that if I complained enough, it would get taken off of my bill.

This plan will give you the fist 100MB free and then it costs about $5/MB after that. The problem is that if you use this plan on the ship, you will be charged $20/MB because you will go through the Disney Cingular satellite. You will have to take your laptop off the ship and connect in port (once again look for a name on the phone other than 'Cingular' on your phone). I decided not to get this plan since I just can't imagine lugging my laptop into port and trying to find a place to work. I think I am just going to get as many Disney minutes as I can and try to just use them wisely.

The hotel in Paris is supposed to have some kind of Internet access, so I will let you know how that connection is and what the costs are when I get there.

I hope this helps anyone heading out there this summer. Have a great weekend!