Ken Marino wrote in news:KO-
:

On Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:54:06 -0600, Geoff Schultz wrote:

Ken Marino wrote in
:

Fairly new to the group. My wife and I purchased a 40' sailboat about 6
months ago and are ready for our first long trip, We plan to spend 2-3
months in the Florida keys and Bahamas--mostly the latter. Any
suggestions on a reasonably priced ( I know cheap is out of the
question ) phone and or data plans out there? Many thanks in advance
for any and all suggestions. Also open to starting an ongoing exchange
of experiences with any who have done or are doing similar trips.



Get yourself the best plan for FL and/or wherever else you plan to
cruise in the US and place it on hold when you head to the Bahamas. Buy
an unlocked GSM phone for use in the Bahamas. You may be able to use
the same phone as you used in the States. For example, T-Mobile
utilizes GSM phones in the US. When you get to the Bahamas, purchase a
SIM card from BATELCO and purchase minutes as you go along. I think
that it's about $1.15/minute from the Bahamas to the US.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

Thanks Geoff,
Any suggestions on data-ie internet

The Bahamas are a BIG place, so this question is highly dependent upon
where you are. You'll find OK coverage in the Abacos and Nassua, but it
falls off to near nothing outside of that. One of the major providers is
Out Island Internet and you can see their coverage map at

http://www.abacoinet.com/locations.html

Other than that you'll have to use public Internet at libraries or at
marinas. Don't expect to be connected on a daily basis unless you stay in
populated areas. I remember another provider, something like Coconut
Internet, but I can't find anything online about them. Recent cruising
guides to Bahamas will have ads for providers.

Oh, get yourself a good external WIFI antenna setup. This has been
discussed extensively in this forum. You can use the advanced search
function of groups.google.com to search for this info.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org