cell phones and roomates
17 Nov 2007 Dave said
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18 Nov 2007 rafa said
Yes the cel phone works there but you will have to pay the international fees, and it is really expensive. You shall buy an australian sms chip and put it in your cel phone, it is much cheaper than use it with your US chip.
About the rooms it depends if you booked with your agent solo rooms, double share or quad share, there should be from 35 to 50 people traveling with you on your bus.- 0 people like this
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18 Nov 2007 cdm115 said
Dave you’ll have to check with your provider, different providers have different capabilities – a verizon phone wont work (unless you got the international plan). Find out how much it will cost or if you can just switch the sim card in the phone.
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18 Nov 2007 Cassidy said
im studying in australia right now and ended up buying a phone here, but when i was looking for the cheapest way to do it, they told me that if i had gotten my phone “unlocked” by my cell phone provider, i could have just bought an australian sim card and put that in my american cell phone. so i would just stop by ur service provider and ask them to unlock it for u, buy a sim card here, and get some prepaid credit (im using optus – optus or telstra would probably be best). otherwise, if you dont want to go through all of the hassel, you can just buy a phone card and use pay phones/hotel phones/etc to call home
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18 Nov 2007 LeighF said
I bought a phone card and used public payphones and hotel phones to call home on my Grand Canadian Contiki last year. Its so much easier and if you are only here just for a holiday….I think its the best option.
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19 Nov 2007 gracesc said
Hey Dave, unless you booked a single or you are travelling with another person & requested a double, I think it’s automatic that you will be in a quad share. If you’re lucky, the tour will have booked in odd numbers that for one or two nights, you’ll be in a triple share.
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21 Nov 2007 Dave said
Hey Gracesc,
Thanks for your reply about roomates. On the Whitsundays and Coast tour, would I be sharing a room with three other people every night? At the hotel stops, I would imagine there would only be two people per room. I can see there being more roomates at the farmhouses and lodges. Does that sound correct?quote:Originally posted by gracesc:
Hey Dave, unless you booked a single or you are travelling with another person & requested a double, I think it’s automatic that you will be in a quad share. If you’re lucky, the tour will have booked in odd numbers that for one or two nights, you’ll be in a triple share.- 0 people like this
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22 Nov 2007 gracesc said
Hey Dave; even for hotel stops, there will still be four people per room..some places have made that possible by adding bunkbeds (as in fraser island) or very large rooms, like in surfers paradise. I know at farmstay, where the girls were staying, they had mixed rooms, where some had a single or double or..you get the idea. I had booked a single and a lot of times I was in a room with 3 or 4 beds (in rockhampton, me & a couple friends jumped from bed to bed). So if you’re in a quad share, it will always be a quad share.
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20 Jan 2008 shmaity said
You will probably have to set up international roaming for your phone. Which can be a pain cause I set it up when I went OS and my provider said it was all good to go but when I got over there it didnt work. I ended up having to buy a new sim card.
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21 Jan 2008 HD1712 said
As many people have said, ring your service provider and get your phone unlocked or have international roaming on. Buy a sim card when you get to oz with the tour your doing i would suggest Telstra if you want service otherwise you could find yourself climbing trees with the monkeys to get some service.
As for the room mates, you will be sharing with 3 others most nights of the tour, at the farmstay up to 8 per room. Don’t worry they send around a board so you can choose your friends to share a room, mix it up every night to make more new friends.- 0 people like this
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21 Jan 2008 MJ said
I’d just wait till you get there and purchase a prepaid cell phone in Australia. International charges will be pricy. A full bus usually holds around 50 ppl. Contiki will pair you up with roomates so you don’thave to worry about it if you travel alone.
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