Sim card that works in the Westpunt area?

[jd950]

Although Verizon claims its phones will work on Curacao, including the west end, we have taken our Verizon phones in the past and have had no service or very spotty service in the Westpunt area. I was considering buying a sim card for my unlocked GSM phone.

Can anyone tell me if digicel or Chippie work well in the Westpunt area and if so, can I buy a sim card on the west end or would I have to go into Willemstad?

Thanks.

 

[Kukuisa]

JD,

There are no stores at that part of the island.
UTS [http://www.uts.an/personal/stores] has a store at the Renaissance Hotel in Otrobanda and Digicel has an office at the Brionplein, also in Otrobanda.
For the service I can only tell about my Digicel cellular and they do not show a good signal everywhere. That must have to do with the mountains, althought there are masts on the top of Seru Gracia.

Can someone living on Banda Abao give more information?

K.

 

[ScottUgly]

Verizon worked well for me on Curacao. But they charged $2 or $3 a minute, even after I upgraded to the international plan. They eventually waived some of the charges, but it was a nightmare trying to get them to do it. Definitely take the unlocked phone. If I remember correctly, most of my co-workers were buying Digicel cards.

 

[jd950]

Thanks. I suppose it might be worth trying a digicel card to see if it works in the area I need. In many countries I have found even little markets will have sim cards for sale. I have never paid attention in Curacao as to whether these were available in such places. Guess not.
I doubt we will take the time to make a trip to Otrabanda or Punda for a sim card. Maybe I can find one online.

 

[Curacao Sunshine]

Hi John,
Our Digicell works in Westpunt. I put a reminder on my shopping list. If I go to by Digicell, I'll ask/get you a sim card and some minutes. I don't know how much they cost? Would you spend $25 dollars or ? on a sim card?
If you have one of those new fangled phones, get a headset and download Skype. Our calls to the States cost 2 1/2 cents a minute and All West has wireless Internet.

 

[tc_rain]

We had the same problem with our verizon phone. Since we statyed at All West, we used their internet service and Skype to make calls. Worked great in the apartment.



Guess I should have read Sunshine's post before posting this ....

 

[Curacao Sunshine]

I asked in town.....
Phones here use 3 and 4 bandwidth, a lot of US phones use 2 bandwidth - not compatible.
The phone must be unlocked and (uh doh) be able to accept a sim card.
Most Verizon (specifically) are programed not to recognize the Curacao sim card.
You can buy a phone on sale for 79 guilders - $45. A sim card is 25 guilders - $14+.
You buy minutes and it will cost you approx 1 guilder (57 cents) a minute to call here or to the states. You can buy a similar card (Tinlin) and add the minutes to the phone at the apartments at All West. Or use Skype 2 1/2 cents a minute. I hope this helps.

 

[jd950]

Thank you all for the help, and thank you Sunshine for the info and offer. I have a multi-band phone that I purchased awhile back just for travel purposes. It is unlocked and takes a sim card and will work on the digicel bands. I don't even use it in the U.S. I think it has a sim card for Turkey in it right now (the country, not the bird).

If it is convenient for you, I would reimburse you up to $40-$50 for a sim card with some time on it, maybe 15-20 minutes. If it is cheaper, that is fine, too. It would mostly be for incoming calls, which are typically free to me when using a foreign sim card.

Some of the family and some customers like to feel they can reach me without resorting to computers and text messages. I have Skype on my laptop, but it won't work on my cell phone.


JD