Cell Phones

You have to check with Cingular. Our plan allows us to make calls anywhere in the US and territories free. We bought a phone card to call our son in Mexico. We've had good service from Cingular and good reception in most locations on STX.

You can call the U.S. at no charge whether you keep your stateside plan or get one locally. As far as laundry goes, there are a number of laundry mats-but I was disappointed by them. They are expensive, uncomfortable and busy. I remember always having to wait for machines to open. If I remember correctly I paid about $2.50/load to wash and maybe a $1.50/load to dry.

Cingular is a great plan for here on StX as you can call just about anywhere back in the States for free. If you already have Cingular now you may want to see about just changing over to a local number once you are here. Many people on the island use their cell phones as their primary number. I also have a local line through Innovative but I use that mostly for my dial up connection on my computer. Innovative does however have long distance options on their service.

As far as laundromats, there are may throughout the island. Some small and some large ones. They will be busy depending on the time of day you go. I am lucky enough to have a washer/dryer where I live, but they are smaller apartment sized so that when I need to wash comforters or any large loads I use one of the local laundromats. I have found that if I go early in the morning on any week day there is usually no waiting. As far as cost, you have to remember that our water and electric are very expensive here, so of course the laundromat has to charge more than in the states.

I've heard Sprint works on the islands.Since Sprint bought Nextel, does Nextel work also?

Hello there. I have Cingular x 2, and my tenants have one based in NYC, the other based in Boston. No problem with any of us in terms of using the phones based on where they originated.

As far as laundomats, there is one near the Schooner Bay Market, directly across from the ball field. It is clean, I don't remember how expensive, but the dryers were hot and got things dry on 'two tries'. There also were never a lot of people in there. I only used it for a couple of months while my washer/dryer was held up in Miami last year due to all of the storms, but I didn't find it a bad experience at all.

Good luck,

Dan

Stick with Cingular: Sprint works great some places and not at all in others: Sprint is better on the East and south sides, generally, but not northwest.

JohnR

We were just on St.Thomas two weeks ago and my Nextel phone did not work even though Sprint bought out Nextel.

Thanks for the info. I can't believe that they can't share towers or what ever else they use.

Anyone have any experience with T-mobile on St. Thomas? I just got my plan a few months ago, before deciding to make the move, and while the cancellation fee isn't exorbitant it's still a bit. Thanks.

T-mobile is not the provider of choice...I've had a tough time trying to find a signal on island, and if you get a signal they'll charge you a roaming fee of $.69 per minute. the VI's are considered international. Switch to another carrier. Cingular works well.

As to the cancellation fee, see if it works out cheaper to keep te phone and downgrade the plan and cancell it at the end of the contract or to simply cancell it all together. Good luck.

Thanks Jen, that helps a ton. I'd checked out the T-mobile site, and it says they've changed it so there're no roaming fees in the usvi's, but i guess that point is null and void if I can't get a signal.

Keep Cingular. And keep your number from the states! My room mate in St.Croix changed his Cingular number to an island number for a while. He had problems calling out AND receiving calls. He switched his number back to a NY number . We both have Cingular numbers (NY and Boston: where we are part time)... and everything works perfect on the island!

I agree. I have Cingular service and I even run my business with it--- dependable. Laundry--- plenty of laundromats here on STX both diy and drop-off service. WFB gets my business. $13 for 2 loads dro-off pick-up same day dried and folded.

TPHOTO: If you keep your stateside number with Cingular and have a local landline, that may well be convenient. But if you are using your stateside number cellphone while looking for a job locally, don't hold your breath. Most longtime residents still rely on landlines and won't pay a long distance charge to return a 'phone call from a newbie either looking for a job or housing because it COSTS!

Cingular will give you a local 340 area code number and their basic rules apply. They do seem, from my experience in "calling out" to be the best so far but you need to know that the major problem appears to be with Innovative Communications. For that information you need to do some research. It all has little do with politics, sort of...a long story that continues to be convoluted.

If anyone is really interested, check out the online newspaper, St Thomas Source, for in-depth articles both in their local news section, the open forum and the op-ed forum. A search can provide you with lots of information! Cheers!

You could be right! I'm never expecting phone calls except from friends, family, and clients in the states. I personally have to keep my number from the states. For the short time we had local numbers, TOO many people couldn't get thru. EVEN people calling from the island... from island numbers, couldn't call thru many times. I find the same true now with many friends living on the island.... WITH island numbers. I try to call from my cell phone OR a land line and can't get thru, more often than not. Who knows. Keeping my state number works for me. I guess it depends on what you need it for!

Anyone using Virgin Mobile sucessfully on STX?

Kimberly

Kimberly,

I have used it in Cristiansted and Frederiksted and all in between with no problems at all.

DanielB_STX

Sweet! Thanks.

SO.. I switched over the exchange on my cell to a 340 one, and now every call that comes in is "unavailable," even when they are from friends' phones that I've never had a problem getting an ID on in the past.

My buddy says that the data of who is calling you is in an electronic packet that is deciphered at the tower that receives your call. So is this an STX thing?

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Kimberly

Caller ID information from stateside cell phone numbers doesn't generally appear on local cell phone numbers.

We've kept our stateside Cingular numbers (x3) with no problems. We have a national calling plan (our son's in school in Colorado); we did get a landline (took a month) in order to run our fax machine and have a number locals would be happier calling. Family and friends still call our cell phones. The only places we've not gotten reception are along the north shore -- Cane Bay / Carambola Beach -- but then, who wants to be bothered by a phone when one is at the beach?!

But if you have a stateside area code on your cell number your caller i.d. will still work?

I have a stateside number and my caller ID works. My boyfriend has a local number with Cingular and his caller ID doesn't work for stateside numbers. It makes no sense!