Landing Gear thanks again for all your help and info!
shane-o welcome to FT!
BogeyMan, may I ask you to jot down the name of the shop to which I sent you and report back here? Most of the kiosques (newsstands) at CDG are operated by a company called Relay but I don't know about this one.
Also, I was wondering if you were planning on buying any duty free stuff when you depart CDG. I will not ask you to buy anything for me; I simply want to know if they are carrying a particular bottle of booze and its price, IF you have the time that day.
Thank you for the additional information. I added some profile info. I'm in Washington DC, but will be flying in June (I know its a bit off, but I'm coordinating efforts for a family vacation for 10 people) via Houston (Delta Award tix) on Air france. Currently, the flight ends up at Terminal 2E.
I looked at the Orange link you gave. As you suspected, they will only ship within France.
It seems that the best option will be for everybody to buy Orange cards in the airport, and just exchange phone numbers once we get to the hotel. I was hoping to find a way to get cards and numbers in advance, but you made some good points about having the vendor set up the phone and using Orange directly instead of through a third party.
Thanks again for the help.
Shane
Shane,
My pleasure.
May I suggest you place a call to CDG's information department, open 24 hours a day, every day, at 011 33 1 48 62 22 80? I found this number on their English language page.
If your call does not produce any results, let me know and I will call for you. I speak French.
One other thing, if you don't mind a suggestion. I can't help wondering how many in your group of 10 would be willing to stay at the airport and complete the entire process there. Why not go into Paris, check into the hotel and then go to an Orange "boutique" or the FNAC or the Virgin Megastore and do it all at once?
BogeyMan, may I ask you to jot down the name of the shop to which I sent you and report back here? Most of the kiosques (newsstands) at CDG are operated by a company called Relay but I don't know about this one.
Also, I was wondering if you were planning on buying any duty free stuff when you depart CDG. I will not ask you to buy anything for me; I simply want to know if they are carrying a particular bottle of booze and its price, IF you have the time that day.
Will do. I have a 11AM departure from CDG so should have plenty of time to check out the duty free. PM me info.
May I suggest you place a call to CDG's information department, open 24 hours a day, every day, at 011 33 1 48 62 22 80? I found this number on their English language page.
If your call does not produce any results, let me know and I will call for you. I speak French.
One other thing, if you don't mind a suggestion. I can't help wondering how many in your group of 10 would be willing to stay at the airport and complete the entire process there. Why not go into Paris, check into the hotel and then go to an Orange "boutique" or the FNAC or the Virgin Megastore and do it all at once?
There are a few complicating factors. We are arriving on 3 different flights (2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon), We are staying near Disney Paris and may not get into the city before the hotel (my wife and I are arriving at 2:45pm and may go straight to the hotel depending on sleep), 3) I am only gathering information for the others. They may end up getting SIM's before they go or rent a phone from Verizon or whatever is easier (not necessarily better).
So if we end up heading straight to the hotel, I'll want to get my phone first so I can be activated before we head out the next morning.
I'll try calling CDG, although it may be at least a few weeks since I'm not traveling until June. Plus I have some friends in town that speak French fluently, but thank you for your offer. I do appreciate it. Thanks again for the advice. I know its a way off, but I'll report back after my trip.
There are a few complicating factors. We are arriving on 3 different flights (2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon), We are staying near Disney Paris and may not get into the city before the hotel (my wife and I are arriving at 2:45pm and may go straight to the hotel depending on sleep), 3) I am only gathering information for the others. They may end up getting SIM's before they go or rent a phone from Verizon or whatever is easier (not necessarily better).
So if we end up heading straight to the hotel, I'll want to get my phone first so I can be activated before we head out the next morning.
I'll try calling CDG, although it may be at least a few weeks since I'm not traveling until June. Plus I have some friends in town that speak French fluently, but thank you for your offer. I do appreciate it. Thanks again for the advice. I know its a way off, but I'll report back after my trip.
Pas de probleme.
Here is the question I suggest that your friends pose on the phone:
There is a shop in the Zone Publique of Terminal 2A that is like a small supermarket. They also sell telephone SIM cards. Does this company have a similar shop in 2E? Or, in the alternative, where can I buy a telephone SIM card in 2E?
BogeyMan, may I ask you to jot down the name of the shop to which I sent you and report back here? Most of the kiosques (newsstands) at CDG are operated by a company called Relay but I don't know about this one.
The shop name is Petit Casino (green and red letters).
Could you be more specific about what Europe is? Orange in the UK allows data GPRS and maybe EDGE by now. I dont know about Orange in other countries.
In the UK TMobile's prepaids give you access to its 3g data network. Its Walkn'Web prepaid tariff is 1 pound per day for unlimited mobile data soft-capped at 35 megs a day.
Wind in Italy has a good domestic data SIM for prepaid (mega no limits). The Wind SIM used to be great for data roaming, but the international part of the tariff was recently rewritten for the worst.
Did you find it okay with my directions? Were you able to get your cellular matters taken care of? Was the shop as I described?
Yes, the directions were very easy to follow. I found the shop but it had a very long line of customers and only one clerk so I decided to get my SIM card in town. I bought an Orange Mobicart SIM and additional minutes at the fnac store on Champs Elysee. I appreciate your help. Merci.
I have considered using United Mobile for some time as I will be traveling through France, Germany and the Czech Republic in the near future. I have a Virgin SIM but it receives calls free in England only I think. I need to have two SIM chips while traveling in those countries with a very low per minute rate between them and free incoming. I will be using the phone to call the hotels as I travel and the other phone, sorta like a walkie talkie. Any recommendations?
