Unplugged in vegas???

Have you ever gone to vegas and been unplugged. No phone, wifi etc???

I do not have an international data plan (my phone is 74 a month taxes included) so i can not take my phone with us when we go to vegas. I do have an ipod i could take for wifi but not sure if i should even bother.

Can you do vegas without anything? That means no looking up routes etc so i would have to know a lot before i left.

I may bring the laptop but obviously it would be left in the room, i could look up things there but of course nothing on the fly.

Any experience with this?

 

We do it every trip and its never been an issue for us or something we've given much of a second thought to.

I have to bring along my laptop for work but I just leave that in the room, and when out and about during the day I just don't find any need to be online or in need of my phone: wife and I usually go to same places together and if we are going our separate ways we'll just set up designated meet up spots and times and if there is anything I think I need to research I will usually have done that at home before the trip or can do it in the hotel room for the day.

But thats us... we mainly go for gambling and drinking so we don't need to check show times, best routes, schedules, etc. We'll start the day out grabbing breakfast somewhere and then pick what casinos we'll visit and then head off for the day and then 14-16 hours later we're heading back to the room. I think too because I am typically on the internet 15+ hours a day back home its nice to get away from it all from time to time.

 

What kind of phone do you have? I set my smartphone to data off when roaming. Then turn wifi on. When there is a wifi signal my phone works normally - all my data comes through. Not difficult at all. Turn your data off and then go practice using wifi at a Tims or McDonalds. A lot of the MGM properties have free wifi on the casino floor. Your phone will find the signal and you sign in and you are set for 2 hours.

 

I have my smartphone with me to:

a - see what time it is
b - check email from time to time to appear to be working -ha, ha!
c - Able to get text from folks that think I am working
d - answer SOME phone calls
e - something to read on the can
f - something to read while wife shops

 

I always have my smartphone on me and I use the hell of it, but for my convenience. I turn it off when I eat and on vibrate the rest of the time. I never answer a call while gaming, though I will check my texts and e-mails periodically. I'll return them at my discretion. I never feel like I'm a "slave" to my device, but I do feel "naked" without it. I turn it off when I go to bed.

 

I have a s3 and always have my data on but being from canada we hit roaming the minute it gets a signal for the states. It is not a data signal, it is a phone signal. No company up here has free roaming but there is now a new thing where the fees are slashed in half and max charges are 100 for data but i still don't want to pay it.

I can use the ipod for wifi but one more thing i have to carry lol.

Any other states trip i went unplugged. I turned the wifi on ipod just to check on the dog and make sure house was ok but left the ipod at the hotel. Sometimes it is nice just to get away as my phone goes off quite a bit and i am on fb daily.

 

Just because you are roaming doesn't mean you're being charged. As suggested turn off your data and just use free wifi.

If you split up from your partner or friends, it is good to have a way for them to contact you. Texting usually is 75 cents a message.

As a minimum, leave your phone in your room so family can text you in case of an emergency. Tell your immediate family what you're doing and then DO NOT answer any calls except from them.

And don't just take my advice. Call your Canadian provider and find what the real costs are.

Having your phone in the event of a real emergency, the costs will be worth it. I know from experience.

 

Wow. If the receding hairline, increasingly stiff joints and beard that's becoming as much salt as it is pepper didn't make me feel old...

 

Royal Flusher's gotcha covered....

 

We did it before smart phones with sim cards. We're Canadian and roaming is INSANE. Now we have American sim cards with the US prepaid plan. There's a thread about it somewhere around here.

But, yeah, before, nothing of the sort. Both phones turned off at the border. We considered buying a disposable US phone but never actually did it. We did buy US long distance cards and used those to let my mother know we hadn't been kidnapped and had our kidneys stolen. They had the phone number for the hotel and they could leave us a message.

But, that was the olden days. We have a good, cost effective system now and it is handy to have the smart phone. Our favourite joke is the reply to a "where r u?" text..."I'm @ Caesars, beside a big white statue of a naked dude, by slot machines"

 

I think these are the exact use cases the semi-brilliant Apple engineers had in mind when they designed the iPhone.

 

i meant my data is always OFF.

the problem with leaving the phone on the minute i get a text roaming goes into affect.........i get a lot of texts. Even if i tried to tell everyone to leave me alone some would still get through. I know for a fact i would have a huge phone bill when we get home.

Thanks Lola, another canadian who gets it lol.

 

Another Canadian here!! I turn my roaming off when I leave Canada and do not turn it on until we get back. Our rates are horrendous and not worth paying if you ask me but we are stuck with them. I don't need a phone when I'm on vacation as there are other means to contact me if there is an emergency.

 

There are a lot of Canadians on this board so you might want to say who your provider is - somebody else with the same provider might have information that can help.

As an example: I also have a Galaxy phone and my provider is Virgin Mobility...

For data, I just turn data roaming off. That way I can use wifi in the hotel room or if I am at a WIFI hotspot.

For texting, all Virgin plans have unlimited incoming text messages, even if you are roaming in the USA. Each text I send does cost me 75 cents while roaming so I just limit my texting and instead use email, instant messaging and Skype when I have WIFI (in the room or hotspot).


And as option they do sell a temporary US roaming bundle. Its good for 1 month, costs $25 and gives 50MB of data, 200 outgoing texts (still unlimited incoming texts) and 50 minutes of phone time.

 

Again I'll suggest you call your provider and double check if there's a cost for these text messages you get. Things have changed a lot in the past year.

You might have unlimited incoming texts like Auggie has. This isn't uncommon now.

It doesn't cost anything for the folks in Canada to send texts to you.

 

Dont have a phone, laptop, tablets so im always unplugged in vegas

I just use those 5$ for 5 Minutes computer in hotel lobby/ or mall a couple of times during the week

 

My provider is a local company that is huge in manitoba but only for manitobans. It is called MTS. This will be my 4th trip to the states, they charge lots for roaming.

thanks for the responses guys. I think i will just use the ipod for wifi if we need anything. I prefer not to be bothered by people.

 

I have to say that I am jealous. My wife ownes her own business, and as any small business owner will tell you, she is never completely unplugged, even on vacation.

 

I take my iPhone and iPad. The iPad is only to watch movies on the flights and is locked away during my stay. The iPhone is with me all the time. I feel safer having a phone with me
in case of an emergency and more importantly to stay in touch thru text messages. "WRU" seems to be the most frequently asked text because I tend to get lost in the Casinos haha.

 

Koodo has a U.S. bundle that costs $35 for 30 days. It includes 40 MB of data, 40 minutes of roaming and 400 incoming and outgoing texts or you if you don't need all you can add each one individually for $15

I am thinking of adding this for our trip in November. It is plenty for the week we will be gone. Anyone else used this before?