Best Travel SIM Cards for Seafarers
Staying connected to your friends, family, and co-workers when out at sea is invaluable for seafarers. Let’s take a look at some of the best travel SIM cards and what they have to offer the modern seafarer.
We looked at some of the travel SIM on the market used by Seafarers, and we found some big variance in the cost of a Gigabyte. Like all SIM cards, these do not work while out to sea and you will need to be in range of a mobile network signal in order to make calls, send SMS messages, or use data.
Sim4Crew
SIM4CREW is a virtual mobile network provider that is designed with the seafarer in mind. They offer traditional voice and SMS packages with rates that vary from country to country. The phone number you receive will be a UK (+44) number.
Data rates change depending on the region you are in. Europe can cost as little as 1GB for $15. However in Asia the rates can get as high 1GB for $29, which is 10 times the price of other Asian options.
S4C only takes Paypal, Unionpay, Yandex.money (Russia’s largest online payment service), and Sofort (Available to people with bank accounts in Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands). They sell internet only sims as well as international SIMs with rates per minute and per SMS.
Three UK
Three UK is one of the UK’s largest mobile operators. They have a roaming SIM for their customers that works in 71 countries. Getting a Three UK roaming SIM allows you to have a UK number (+44) and with this you can make calls and send SMS messages to any number in the world. Calls and SMS carry with them their own rates depending on the country. You can find the countries available and their rates by clicking here.
For data, Three UK sells what they call a Data Passport. This allows your Three UK SIM to use the internet for £5 a day. You will have to top up another day at midnight UK time if you wish to continue browsing the internet once your data passport to run out. So a 15 day Data Passport will cost $98.26
Poginet
Poginet is a mobile carrier that claims to be the best SIM card for seafarers. You must apply online and they will ship it to you by Royal Mail within 4 to 14 working days. Coverage area is Asia, North America, and Europe. There is little to no coverage in many African or South American countries.
Poginet is a data only SIM, so you will not be issued a phone number, be able to make calls or send SMS. You can however use any number of messaging apps that allow you to send messages and make voice calls through the internet.
For $19.54 USD their 15 day SIM will get you 1GB of data worldwide and up to 3GB in Europe.
KnowRoaming
Knowroaming.com is a virtual mobile network provider based in the United States that offers a roaming travel SIM as well as eSIMs and international SIM stickers. You will receive a US (+1) number with which you can make voice calls and send SMS massages. Standard rates apply depending on the country you are calling and calling from. The data packages they offer range from 3GB for $25.00 every 15 days or 5GB at $99.99 USD that will last 30 days.
Knowroaming.com mails the SIM card to you if you get a traditional SIM card. eSIMs will be emailed to you in the form of a QR code that is scanned to activate the eSIM. Travel SIM stickers will also be mailed to you where you can put them on your SIM card to make them international.
AIS SIM2Fly
AIS is Thailand’s largest mobile network operator. Due to Thailand’s unique situation, they are able to sell international roaming packages for cheaper than many other country’s mobile telcoms. Thailand gets millions of tourist every year buying local SIM cards. Due to this imbalance, Thailand’s mobile network operators enjoy a surplus of data that they in turn can sell as a low cost travel SIM.
AIS SIM2Fly has very straightforward and comprehensive data plans for their customers. For networks in Asia and Australia you can receive 6GB for 10 days at $12.85 USD. Outside of Asia their rates are either 6GB for 15 days $28.95 USD or get a 100 country Global Plan with 15GB for valid for 1 year at $90.14 USD.
TrueMove Travel SIM Asia
TrueMove is another Thai telcom that offers international travel SIMs. These have different rates depending on which part of the world you are traveling. If you travel to Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Malaysia their packages is 2GB of data for 15 days for $3.19 USD. In other parts of Asia and Australia you can get 3GB for 3 days for $6.41 USD or 7GB 10 days $12.85 USD. Worldwide rates will run 499 baht for 3GB for 7days or $28.95 USD for 7Gb for 15 days.
What to Do When I Run Out of Credit?
Depending on how often you use your data and minutes, you may be required to add additional funds on to your package once you run out. Online top up websites and apps are extremely helpful for this. Top up sites allow you to add credit to your phone from anywhere in the world on any network. Simply input the number and the country that it is registered in and select the data package that suits you. Your phone will be topped up within seconds and you can continue browsing and making phone calls.
Summary
Prices per GB in your region of need can vary widely, so check your options. The low price of the SIM2Fly are attracting many seafarers, but keep in mind there is a slight learning curve to saving money while roaming.
