What do you do about cellular service? On our first trip I made the mistake of not turning off cellular data and received a number of texts when our plane landed. I turned if off for the rest of our trip but upon getting my bill I learned those texts cost me big bucks in roaming charges.

We have since learned to turn it off and use only Wi-Fi at our resort. However, we have often wished we could use the GPS function of our iPhone but we dared not turn on cellular to do so.

Any advice?

Who is your mobile phone carrier?

If you really want YOUR phone for use in SXM and have Verizon they have a Travel Pass for $10/day or $40/month that will give you the same services that you have on your home plan (much less cost in Canada, Mexico and Spain)

Works great ....

Easy answer.....Contact Sharon "The Queen of SXM" Harris, and rent a phone for her for your stay. Very very very reasonable rates, and you will have the number in advance of your trip to give family and friends back home. Also, it is the cheapest way to keep in touch with folks back home...plus the coverage is so much better than using your cell phones from home.

For just a cell phone, your answer is spot on. I don't know whether Sharon has phones that you can use for GPS or not though, which is one thing the OP wanted?

ATT

Sharon also sells or rents sim cards, that you can insert into your unlocked phone. The data isn't cheap, but it would give you the gps capability on the island. Is there a particular reason you want gps? The island is pretty easy to navigate, and you can find free maps pretty much anywhere.

I agree...no real need for gps on SXM.

Phone: for use inside/outside of rental= Sharon (reasonable cost)
Own Phone: for use on wifi (wherever)..Skype (airplane mode enabled) (cost minimal)
Own Phone and data(assuming you have an unlocked phone) sim card (cost depending on data used)

AT&T(like Verizon) has a $40/month plan also but adds $1/minute voice and also a limited data allowance. Probably not appropriate

Sprint has a plan called Global Roaming, 20c for calls in and out, free texts and data. Program is free. St Martin and Anguilla are covered but not Dutch side, Weird.

Sorry, answered before I saw you had AT&T.

ATT's Passport plans will give you data, free outgoing texts, and reduced call prices. There are multiple levels. The minimum Passport plan gives you 200mb of data, free outgoing texts, and $1/minute phone calls for $40. It's a package which is good for 30 days, you pick the start date, and it does not automatically renew.

It depends upon the planned use of the GPS function. Even on the island, it can be used for activity tracking and to quickly see how far something is if you are planning to walk.

On the topic of what to do, we have unlocked phones so we go with the local SIM card option -- always cheaper for us than any kind of roaming package.

We also get data on Chippie (4 gb for $55 good for 30 days) which is actually cheaper than on a prepaid plan here in Canada.

Another option might be to just remove the SIM card. You should still be able to use data and GPS.

If you just want GPS, you could use Google Maps offline mode. Just download the area of St. Martin while you have wifi

So if I buy an unlocked phone on ebay, I just go to a Chippie place in SXM to get it working for phone and emails?

Yes, as long as the phone you buy on ebay is a GSM model that works on the following frequencies: 900/1800/1900

So... I paid the $40 for the month of November with Verizon for their International service, so I can use phone anywhere on the Island and listen to music and use my GPS and not incur a bunch of roaming charges?? Or do I need to only still use my phone when I have a wifi connection? I want to listen to music at the beach and in the car, also use GPS to get around. Is that cover on my International Verizon plan?

I have never been able to use any internet radio on my phone in St Martin. I have verizon and had international hooked up.

I think with Verizon you have to pay $40 for the Dutch side and $40 for the French side to use your phone "anywhere on the island". We're mostly at Club O so we only pay for the French plan.

I never had to do that. We stay on the French side but I know I made calls at the airport.

I have Verizon. Last year using the Tunein app and wifi I was able to listen to internet radio.

Anyone use the AT&T GoPhone? Can you get an International package to use in St Marten?

I was wondering, how good is Verizon coverage ( both as far as phone and data, speed,..) around the island, especially the french side (we are staying at Grand case).
Thanks
Nick

Hmmm...that's a excellent point. After a bit of investigation it looks like you have to choose which side to pay for

The monthly plan only list the dutch side as being available.
The daily plan lists both side but each at a fee.

It's been several years since I tried to use my Verizon phone on the island, but when I did coverage was very spotty, and almost non-existent on the French side. Things may have changed.

Just returned. For calling numbers on the island and emergency purposes we have an Island phone from Sharon (queen of Sxm) still the best. We are self employed and only way to sneak away is to stay connected. We both have Verizon phones (iPhone 6 - Motorola droid - not sure which one about 2 years old). I'm going to look into 40 a month as I'm not sure what that is. But we pay 10 a day per line, its automatic and you receive a text saying your about to run out of your 24hr period so you have the option of turning it off (airplane mode). But the phone acts just like it does at home. Same calling plan etc. same Data and texting. It does add up but being able to just sit on the beach and resolve issues it's worth it! We stayed in Cupecoy, it worked in Simpson bay, on Mullet, Orient, Rouge and Grand Case no issues.

Just signed up with Verizon - $40/month covers both French and Dutch sides, 100 min talk, 100 sent text, unlimited incoming, 100 MB data. That's not much data, so use wifi for that.

Either that's new or I got really bad information last year. Was definitely told I would have to add French and Dutch service to call from anywhere on the island. Just to be sure you might want to check the email or text message you got when you signed up to avoid a nasty surprise down the line. I know I shouldn't expect much, but I always have to educate the Verizon customer support people whenever I call about international service, especially when it's about a Caribbean island or cruise ship.

Pretty sure you don't, I've used my Verizon phone on both sides, Angulla and St Barths. Just 10 a day. Researched and we used to do the 40 a month but the overages on data made it not worth it. Plus you can't tell your phone where you are. Sometimes it will roam to Barbuda or Guadeloupe

We have used several solutions but like the current one the best.

For calls home, we use our ATT WIFI calling to use our home number via WIFI which results in no long distance or roaming charges. This is a feature of the newer iPhones and may not be available with other phones. I believe some other carriers have a similar capability. It does require WIFI access to use.

For local calls and touching bases with friends, we use a local SIM card installed in a cheap local phone or an unlocked GSM phone from home. We are usually there for 5 weeks and find this very economical. A local phone can be purchased for about $20. We usually buy a $20 phone card and seldom have to extend it. We each get one and that allows us to keep in touch when we do different things.

We rent a phone from Sharon which enables calls from anywhere on the island, as well as using our T Mobile phone at the resort which places calls over the Internet using the hotel WIFI, which is great if the call has to be lengthy. We get email and texts over the Internet on the T Mobile phone at no extra cost as well.