Getting ready to book, then a negative Nelly spoiled it... So now I am worried

I looked this up and found what I think is the right site for ordering one (they offer rentals as well as sales), but I'm still confused about how it works in terms of what you pay for it. Do you get charged by the amount of data you use, or the number of days you use it, or is it a flat fee for buying or renting the device?

I used HIPPOCKETWIFI. They have two options; 1 GB/day or Unlimited/day and each charge by the day. So around 6 euros/day for 1 GB (which is more than enough to check emails and use social media) or around 8 euros/day for unlimited. The longer you visit is, the cheaper the plan. Super easy and convenient.
 
I didnt spot that about Amex but yes its mainly Visa and Mastercard which are accepted here in Europe. I only know Amex, American Express and Diners Club from my own travels to America, we dont use them here in Europe.
Amex is just another way of saying American Express. I couldn't tell by your wording if that was known. Amex is known for not having foreign transaction fees. It's the card we used in St. Lucia the one or two times we needed to because of that. We were prepared to exchange our money at the resort but didn't actually need to.

This just baffles me, you are going to a different country, you need to use their currency, not your own.
Well...I would probably say the better way of saying it is to research what currency is accepted.

For instance St. Lucia, which is part of the Commonwealth of Nations (which is NOT part of America nor has had any strong ties to America during its existence but rather the British Empire), has Eastern Carribbean Dollar but accepts US American dollars as well. I ate on the side of a mountain in a mom and pop place and their menu had items in both currency. Even craft people on the side of the mountain that sell their wares to tourists mostly accepted US American Dollars.

The Caribbean is obviously more Americanised and due to its close proximity to America probably uses alot of systems that are American.
Eh..I don't think it has to do with Americanised. Tourism is usually a vital part of economy. It's likely just as simple as saying the countries have figured out who visits them the most and made it easier to do business with those who do.

While the official language of St. Lucia is English (likely due to being a former part of the British Empire), 95% of the population speaks a creole (Saint Lucian French Creole combines syntax of African and Carib origin with a primarily French-derived vocabulary) as well as French and is part of La Francophonie.

FWIW though we encountered a lot of tourists from Australia and Britain. Granted it's been since 2013 since we visited so things may be different as far as debit/credit card acceptability but I doubt the Eastern Carribbean Dollars/US American Dollars aspect is different.
 
I used HIPPOCKETWIFI. They have two options; 1 GB/day or Unlimited/day and each charge by the day. So around 6 euros/day for 1 GB (which is more than enough to check emails and use social media) or around 8 euros/day for unlimited. The longer you visit is, the cheaper the plan. Super easy and convenient.

Thanks! This kind of thing is why I love this board. Never would have even thought to look for something like that; I would have just used wifi on my phone at my accommodations and assumed that was all the connectivity I could get abroad without racking up a bunch of fees. I did the alternate SIM card thing in Russia back in 2009, but a.) I had an experienced person guiding me through the process in person and b.) back then I had a phone I could open up to change out the SIM card (pretty sure I can't do that to my iPhone). This time around I'm figuring I'll just rely on wifi instead of trying to make any actual calls while I'm overseas, so it'll be great to be able to take the wifi with me.
 


Thanks! This kind of thing is why I love this board. Never would have even thought to look for something like that; I would have just used wifi on my phone at my accommodations and assumed that was all the connectivity I could get abroad without racking up a bunch of fees. I did the alternate SIM card thing in Russia back in 2009, but a.) I had an experienced person guiding me through the process in person and b.) back then I had a phone I could open up to change out the SIM card (pretty sure I can't do that to my iPhone). This time around I'm figuring I'll just rely on wifi instead of trying to make any actual calls while I'm overseas, so it'll be great to be able to take the wifi with me.
When my husband had to go to Japan for business he used a wifi hotspot device that you paid daily or X amount of days (I forget what it was called though). He loved it and said it was very easy to use.
 
I took my daughter to Paris for her 13th birthday and we spent 2 days at DLP. We loved it, even though a bunch of stuff was closed down to prepare for the 25th anniversary festivities this year. My daughter still talks about how much she loved Crush's Coaster and the Ratatouille ride and Toy Story land was adorable.

For calling and texting, I just added the international plan to my regular cell phone and let my daughter tether to my phone. I didn't have a problem anywhere. I believe the cost was $9.95 per day. For me it was just easier than the other options. I did not incur foreign transaction fees using my Bank of America debit card or my Capital One master card.

We stayed at one of the local hotels (it had a circus theme). We had a huge room and the bus service to the parks was very reliable. The cost was much cheaper than staying in a Disney hotel and we enjoyed it.

Don't let negative Nellies ruin your trip! I don't have one single regret about going there!
 
back then I had a phone I could open up to change out the SIM card (pretty sure I can't do that to my iPhone).

I have an iphone 7 plus and it has a sim card that I changed out when we went to the UK and Ireland in Sept. We went to Selfridges and bought a plan for around 20 pounds that had free text and calling and 8GB of data. That lasted us the entire 2 weeks we were there and worked in the UK and Ireland. It even worked when we had a layover in Amsterdam. If your phone has a sim card slot you might look into that. We also had zero trouble with our chip and signature cards, but I will have to look into the chip and pin for this trip.
We are looking at going to Paris and DLP next June so I am just getting started.
 


I have an iphone 7 plus and it has a sim card that I changed out when we went to the UK and Ireland in Sept. We went to Selfridges and bought a plan for around 20 pounds that had free text and calling and 8GB of data. That lasted us the entire 2 weeks we were there and worked in the UK and Ireland. It even worked when we had a layover in Amsterdam. If your phone has a sim card slot you might look into that. We also had zero trouble with our chip and signature cards, but I will have to look into the chip and pin for this trip.
We are looking at going to Paris and DLP next June so I am just getting started.

Huh! I just googled and apparently you can switch that sucker out. I never knew. The iPhone just seems so much less amenable to being taken apart than my old flip phone did; I'm honestly afraid I'll break something if I mess with it too much. That plan is way cheaper than I would have thought...I'm still debating how much I care about connectivity, since I won't need to keep in contact with any traveling companions and I'll at least have wifi in the evenings. It's more about being able to look things up and access my email in case my housemate tries to contact me from the states.
 
You do need to make sure your phone is unlocked and is able to connect to the European networks. I think my husband said Sprint phones are on a different kind of network and aren't good in Europe. We have ATT/cricket and it was awesome.
 
We visited Paris for the first time two years ago and absolutely LOVED it. I had heard before going from people who loved it and people who hated it. There seemed to be very little in between. So very many people went on about the rude Parisians.

I thought Paris was just breathtaking, and I would move there to live in a heartbeat if the chance arose. My girls were 4 and 6 at the time, and they had so much fun and loved it a lot. So much so that we will be returning next summer and visiting DLP for the first time as well.

Yes, you pay for toilets. This was not as weird to us only because we went to Amsterdam first on that trip, and you pay there, too. So we had gotten used to it by then. It was never a problem until the one at Sacre Coeur. They wanted 2 euros each for me and my two daughters (total of 6 euros, which seems insane!), even though they were very young and we were using the same stall. The attendant was very nasty towards me and my struggle to understand what she was saying, but I encounter rude people all the time in the US, so I didn't give it any further thought. You don't need to carry toilet paper. :) Just some coins. When you think about it, it's a great employment opportunity, so I tried to be positive about it, even though it seemed really weird.

Almost everyone else we encountered was so nice and helpful. There were a couple rude people, but they have become funny stories we like to tell and laugh about, and like I said, we encounter rude people here at home, so I don't think of it as a Parisian thing. My French is abysmal no matter how hard I try. I would ask, in French, if the person spoke English, and I always got a "non." Then, I would smile, take a deep breath, and do my very best to speak French, flipping through my little phrase book and trying to not let my NY accent through too much. They would immediately start speaking to me in English. :) I think they didn't want to speak English, but my French was just too painful for them to listen to any longer, but the attempt was appreciated. My husband's French was even worse, and that is saying something! We both found that a smile and "Bonjour" along with a humble attitude went a very long way towards smoothing the language issues. We have done several international trips, including to Japan where we rarely encountered an English speaker, and we have always found that when we are nice, it all goes quite smoothly, mostly. It's ignorant and rude Americans who demand the rest of the world speak perfect English just for us that angers people in other countries. Don't act like that and you won't have a problem.

We also used pocket wifi and found it to work great.

We kept our money and passports secure. My husband kept them in the bottom of his backpack. Big cities in Europe all have pickpockets, but it isn't a problem if you go prepared. Do not keep your phone or wallet easily accessible or in small pockets on the outside of backpacks or purses. I always wore my purse cross body and kept a hand on it, same as I do in every city, including my own. We felt perfectly safe, otherwise. We visited a few months after the tragic cafe bombing, and while the mood was a little more somber and edgy, perhaps,than it might have otherwise been, we felt safe. The only place that was not as expected was the Eiffel Tower area. There are so many people trying to sell you junk and bumping into you and trailing you around asking for money. We are city people, so it wasn't that uncomfortable for us, but it did take away a little from the beauty of the place.

If you are interested in museums, check out the museum pass. It allows you to skip the very long entrance lines and is also quite a savings if you go to lots of museums. Although the Louvre was very beautiful, our favorite was Musée de l'Orangerie. If you are looking for where to stay, I highly recommend the Saint Germain district. It was quite central and had lots of lovely restaurants and macaron stores (which was high on our list of priorities!). My second pick would probably be the Latin Quarter.

In the mornings, grab a pastry from a bakery. That was how we did breakfast for 7 days, and I still dream of the croissants.

I don't care if it is a 100 degrees when you go, you must try Angelina's hot chocolate. Heaven. On. Earth.

You can take the RER train from Paris to DLP. It's only about a 45 minute trip, I believe.

I hope you have an amazing trip to Paris! It truly is one of the most amazing cities in the world.
 
Last edited:

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top