SeaRoam - anyone know anything about this company?

[adam917]

So on another forum I hear of another global SIM company called SeaRoam. What I am wondering is if anyone on here has heard of them before. Their site seems to claim a bit too much compared to what I have heard about other such services on here (coverage on over 700 carriers in 213+ countries, plus cruise ships/ferries & flights at $0.50/minute incoming & outgoing, $0.30 per sent SMS).

So, I have to ask: is this service any more legitimate than the others which have closed up in recent times? I know another SIM I have claims coverage on some 494 networks in 213 countries yet in my own country it will not register on the largest GSM network in the nation (AT&T) and this network is on the partner list.

[petkow]

Just a rehash of Maxroam. Their sites are identical. Have a look at:

SeaRoam - Frequently Asked Questions
MAXroam - Frequently Asked Questions

Without sounding too negative... as it is a rebrand of Maxroam, I suspect the price calculator may well have to be taken with a pinch of salt! Also, not sure if the claim that you can forward your Belgian number free of charge to 50 destinations worldwide is completely accurate either!

[andy]

Originally Posted by petkow

Without sounding too negative... as it is a rebrand of Maxroam, I suspect the price calculator may well have to be taken with a pinch of salt! Also, not sure if the claim that you can forward your Belgian number free of charge to 50 destinations worldwide is completely accurate either!

As you've noticed, although the FAQ are similar, the rates certainly are not, and Searoam says 50 cents a minute even in certain EU countries where Maxroam charges more than 3 times as much

It's a little difficult to understand why, if Maxroam has been able to achieve this 50 cent rate on behalf of its reseller, it hasn't revised its own to make it more competitive

As an example, if I were to travel to South Africa, Searoam says 50 US cents a minute, whereas Maxroam is 83 EU cents for calling either RSA or UK mobiles, which is actually more expensive than the 60p O2 UK would charge me (though they're all more than using certain other roaming SIMs)

[FBlack_111]

I do not think they can deliver those rates on a cruise ship calling back to the US. I tried their rate calculator for cruise ship calls and it says "error".

[123456]

From the Irish Examiner Newspaper:

CORK firm Cubic Telecom has signed a €10 million deal with the international charity organisation, the Mission to Seafarers.
Cubic’s MAXroam SIM card will be rebranded as SeaRoam and will be made available to the 1.7 million seafarers worldwide at 250 ports.

Chief executive, PatPhelan, said this was the company’s biggest deal so far this year. He said the SIM cards would save users up to 80%on telephone charges when they travelled internationally.
The Mission to Seafarers is a missionary society of the Anglican Church, which helps seafarers worldwide by visiting them on their ships.

Discussions on the deal began more than two years ago and the product began going on sale last week.
"We had meetings all over the world with the organisation in order to secure this deal," said Mr Phelan.
Cubic estimates that this partnership could generate up to €10m annually.

MAXroam is a SIM card that works by making your phone think it’s at home, no matter where in the world you go. Because it thinks it’s local, users get charged local rates.

As most seafarers do not have credit cards, Cubic had to develop a new pre-paid service.
It will have scratch card credit vouchers on sale at all ports used by the organisation worldwide.

Cubic was founded in 2005 and provides its own MAXroam service, which provides low-cost voice services in 213 countries.
Cubic signed an exclusive deal in San Francisco earlier this month with US start-up Qik to provide it with SIM cards. Earlier in the year, it signed a deal with US social networking site Dopplr.

Cubic is also in talks with a number of Irish, British and US retailers to get its MAXroam product into stores.
The company is aiming to sign up 50 partners for its service by the end of the year, growing to 200 by the end of next year.
Mr Phelan said the firm’s focus was on joining with partners worldwide, and the firm had developed a virtual platform that could be rolled out for any brand that had a large number of customers or members.

Searoam seems very cheap (too cheap?) to make calls:

No weekly fees
No monthly fees
No expiry date for the SIM, it does not have to be continually replaced
No need to keep changing SIMS as you travel to different countries. So you only need to carry one SIM for your mobile phone. This is a truly Global SIM.
No excessive charges for SMS – good savings can be made on SMS.
There is No charge to receive texts. You receive text messages for FREE.
No extra charges to receive calls
No complicated PIN Numbers, just direct dialling.
No roaming charges !! Just US 50 cents per minute to make or receive calls !!

[seafarer]

Originally Posted by adam917

So on another forum I hear of another global SIM company called SeaRoam. What I am wondering is if anyone on here has heard of them before. Their site seems to claim a bit too much compared to what I have heard about other such services on here (coverage on over 700 carriers in 213+ countries, plus cruise ships/ferries & flights at $0.50/minute incoming & outgoing, $0.30 per sent SMS).

So, I have to ask: is this service any more legitimate than the others which have closed up in recent times? I know another SIM I have claims coverage on some 494 networks in 213 countries yet in my own country it will not register on the largest GSM network in the nation (AT&T) and this network is on the partner list.

Hi guys. This is my first post.
I am Port Chaplaincy IT Coordinator for The Mission to Seafarers which is an international charity working in ports all over the world to care for the welfare of seafarers on merchant ships, ferries and cruise liners.
My function (among others) is the research and devlopment of communications for seafarers away from home including our popular Mission to Seafarers International telephone card which is used by seafarers all over the world.
Our latest development is SEAROAM working in association with Millennium Communications and you will also see the parentage from previous posts.

The Mission to Seafarers has been caring for seafarers for more than 155 years and is respected by seafarers worldwide with an international network of Chaplains, seafarers centres, ship visitors and volunteers caring for their needs when far from home.

We see communications as a vital tool in our work and have developed a range of best quality, economical and reliable systems of communication to a seafaring community which is constantly travelling.

SEAROAM is one of these developments and provides the means for a seafarer (or anyone else) to make and for a single flat rate of 50 cents per minute from the countries listed on Searoam's website.

Since it's launch, it has been in great demand by seafarers and our chaplains are reporting an enthusiastic response. Seafarers are very 'switched on' people and have been asking for just such a porduct for a number of years.

Searoam is endorsed by The Mission to Seafarers as well as Blue Ocean Wireless which is a very reputable communications company iin the maritime world. You will see the two logos and links on Searoam's website.

With regard to another posting which I quote
"I do not think they can deliver those rates on a cruise ship calling back to the US. I tried their rate calculator for cruise ship calls and it says "error"

.... Whilst there is an option in the drop down menu on the rates calculator, Searoam is a GSM system and only works where GSM network is available which may well be not far out at sea. On a cruise ship (providing it is within range of a network, you would select the GSM network of the country you are in. (I admit, the cruies ship option should perhaps should not be there at the monent.)
It's all a little pointless because the flat rate is 50 cents in any country covered.

The obvious answer to any comments of course is to try it and see.

Hope this helps.


Port Chaplaincy IT Coordinator
The Mission to Seafarers
Welcome to the home of the Mission To Seafarers

[seafarer6924]

I thought I would add a reply to your forum (something I do not normally do), as I have been using the Searoam SIM card for some time now, during my time working in South Africa & travelling to many other countries.

I think you will find that a lot of people are not yet aware of the Searoam SIM as it is very new to the market. I had the luck to stumble on it, as the SIM was launched & I have been using it ever since.

Through actual experience, I have found that the rates are genuine and the option to add credit to my SIM on-line, is very simple and really useful. The texts are a bonus, as I receive texts for free. Also there are many other advantages to having this account, accessible on-line.

Also, another novelty, is that if you send them an e-mail with a query, you actually get the e-mail answered & answered quickly, which helped me in the early stages.

I am sorry to write such a lot, but I just want to spread the word to other seafarers, as anything which gives us such a 'life-line' to families & friends & does not rip us off with roaming charges & excessive monthly etc charges is a very welcome thing, in this day & age.

I read that a couple of remarks regarding this SIM were not too complimentary - but I bet they haven't tried using it !!!! Because if they had they would not be disputing that the calls were too cheap to be true.

Trust me - got to SeaRoam - Low Cost Roaming & take advantage of this wonderful new SIM - and it is for life, the SIM does not have an expiry date.

[FBlack_111]

So your SIM will not actually work while out to sea on a cruise ship. Is that correct? Only when you can get a signal when cruising close enough to land and you can get a signal.

Most modern cruise ships now have the ability to connect both CDMA and GSM phone calls in the middle of the ocean. It costs $2.49 a minute if you have a Verizon or ATT phone. Your web site seems to imply your SIM will do it for 50 cents.

[tivoboy]

Originally Posted by seafarer6924

Also, another novelty, is that if you send them an e-mail with a query, you actually get the e-mail answered & answered quickly, which helped me in the early stages.

I tried the email and contact us options for about two weeks, with NO REPLY at all. Indeed, calling them yielded an operator, but didn't have much of the info I wanted. So, I ordered anyway and will try it for some upcoming trips.

[andy]

Can either of our new members tell us whether Searoam has a facility for, and whether they've had success, getting local landline numbers to attach to the SIM card?

This is something that Maxroam users have been promised for months, and there are now at last a few numbers available in about 15 countries, but they still aren't automatically allocated to users who had one in the past.