CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT THE STORY IS ON PHONES IN OUR APARTMENTS? IS THERE JUST ONE LINE AND WE HAVE TO BUY A PHONE OR WHAT? DO WE GET THE PHONE NUMBER WHEN WE'RE THERE? ARE CELL PHONES REALLY EXPENSIVE TO BUY AND USE?
Hi again... As for cell-phones, you can pick a semi decent one up for around $99 brand new... i mean, I bought a flip fone from Virgin Megastore on Pay As You Go a few years backs just for when I'm in America as its way cheaper than using my UK one... Ok, the U.S fone aint as fancy as my UK one but it sends texts, and obviously voice calls. Someone (female) on these boards somewhere has a U.S cell fone for sale I seem to recall... if I find her I'll send you the link! To be honest, I'm gonna look into buying either a Nextel Cell or similar with PTT built in... (That's basically an instant Walkie-Talkie built into your handset... t'll come to the UK soon... trust me... it's gonna take over from texting... the next big thing!!) Well... Hope I've managed to answer ONE of your questions... as for the Phones in rooms thing... all i'm aware of is that you already have phone jacks, but as far as phones goes and numbers... I'm not too sure.. I've got a feeling you can HIRE them... I'll find out the next time I'm talking to a new mate who's done the IP... Speak t'ya real soon!! Hakuna Matata! Will
Hi again... According to a new buddy all apartments have phones. He says: It is free for local calls (dial '8' before the number, or '0' for the Disney operator) For other calls, you need a calling card. Some are $5, you can get 200-300 minutes on, excellent value. For incoming calls, people in the Disney apartments would dial your internal 4-digit extension. Otherwise, people from anywhere else (ie Calling From Italy, UK etc) would dial the commons number, then '1' and the 4-digit number to reach you. Some apartments have an answering machine too. Hope that answers your questions... I know it has for me too.
Hey, There is one main phone in the kitchen that is provided. In the bedrooms we bought phones cause we wanted to be able to go away from everyone and talk to boyfriends, family, etc. DONT ever buy the phone cards at the Commons unless you are super desperate. If you buy the STI card available at most convenience stores and walmart etc its a great deal. Plus there is usually someone who has a stack and sells them to people. So just check around.
Can you make long-distance calls, and would it cost extra to call home from the phone in the kitchen? Because I have a close friend whom I'm gonna want to keep in touch with...
You have to buy cards to call long distance. Then you just dial the number to get out of commons which I think was 8 and then 1800 and whatever your access number is. Its kind of a pain cause you have to have a card that has enough money to make the call and sometimes it would be really late and my card would run out. Best advice buy a few and dont start them till your ready but have some extras on hand. You can call from any phone though even pay phones.
I've been a busy boy... Walmart (which is just down the road) sells Cell Phones which are alot cheaper than I imagined... Here's the link: DON'T FORGET TO ENTER YOUR NEW ZIPCODE (WHICH WILL BE # 32821) THEN HAVE A LOOK AT ALL THESE PHONES: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=133261&path=0:3944:3977:133261 Also, the address that you'll need to give people (plus your apartment number) is: College and International Programs Office The Commons Housing Complex 8050 Gables Commons Drive Orlando FL 32821 HOPE THAT ALL HELPS. ;D
ok people - im out here at the mo ill give u some info............. 1) CELL PHONES - i bought a nokia in walmart for $40 (its an old ish model but EVERYONE has the same phone) i then put that sim card in my uk phone and it works fine - its all good. 2) PHONE CARDS - there is a phonecard called extreme - its $5 for 7 hours or $10 for 15 hours to call the uk - pretty good and they DO last ages. 3) APPARTEMNT PHONES - there is one phone line but we have 4 phones in my appartment 1 in each room which is handy when the phone rings at 3am (and it does - parents jus dont get the time differenee thing) hope this helps ;D
Words of advice: 1) If you get a phone for your bedroom turn the ringer off at night. Nothing more annoying than your roommate's mother calling from overseas at 6am! You can still hear the kitchen phone ring but that one's easier to sleep through. 2) Buy an answering machine, especially if you live in a big apartment. This way you won't feel guilty about turning off the ringer at night when you're sure no one's going to call for you! It's also easier to let people from other countries record messages in their own languages than try to understand accents through the phone and write down the message yourself. Even though all of the roommates can communicate in English their families back home might not speak it and then you're stuck.
Chrissi If you want to call your friend for about 7 hours then u pay about 10 bucks ...OMG! How cheap is that!!! Thanks Chrissi! Kellp P APPARTEMNT PHONES - there is one phone line but we have 4 phones in my appartment 1 in each room which is handy when the phone rings at 3am (and it does - parents jus dont get the time difference thing) ...I guess its something we don't think about until it happens... Thanks Kelly! Linda-bo-binda Buy an answering machine, especially if you live in a big apartment.  It's also easier to let people from other countries record messages in their own languages than try to understand accents through the phone and write down the message yourself. Even though all of the roommates can communicate in English their families back home might not speak it and then you're stuck. ...What a great bit of advice and an even greater idea! My Mexican isn't up to scratch these days!!! Thanks for that one Linda! WOW... All these bits of advice are SOOOOOOOO good, I know what I'll be buying on my first Walmart trrip (Assuming I get there that is!) Thanks guys... Priceless!
I called my friends and family back home in Canada all the time. Easiest way...and cheapest for you if they have the $20 a month deal...call collect, leave your name and have them decline the charges and call you back. Just make sure they have your number in your apartment...or wherever you are. I made sure they had my apt. number and my boyfriends apt. number, so when I'd call I'd say "Shan home" or "Shan Craigs" and they'd call me back in a couple of minutes!! Shan
