Originally Posted by serpens

Thank you for asking. Your situation does not match mine exactly, but you articulated your questions well enough that it was helpful.

Thank you for answering. I think I knew most of that already, but the reinforcement is helpful.

How would I buy an Airalo (or other) eSIM for western Europe (England and Benelux) and avoid starting usage on it but still have it ready to go on arrival? In other words, I would like to buy the eSIM and its data plan, install the eSIM, and have the full time and data available to me upon arrival. I'm not sure what word I should use other than activate, and I'm not sure how I should use the word activate, but I want to have everything ready to go before I travel ("activate" it) but not start the usage period (don't "activate" it). A possible complication is that I will be taking a ship to cross the Atlantic, so will not have cell service until arrival. Thanks for any help.