I fully understand international roaming costs. I travel regularly. $75 is cheap compared to bills I've had. These days, there's no excuse for paying those rates though. Every carrier has prepaid packages to cover incidental and light roaming, and T-Mobile even offers free roaming for short trips.
Consider un-suspending your line when you next go on leave and add a package.
International Plans and Pricing - Verizon Wireless
If you do choose to un-suspend, the reason you need to be on the Verizon network in order for it to activate is that it activates via the MEID of the CDMA radio, not the SIM card that is used for international roaming.
The easiest thing is to take our previous suggestions.