I currently live in Canada and I'm heading over to Portugal this summer. The problem is that the phones in North America mostly use CDMA. The only exception to this is Rogers Wireless which uses GSM so in theory it will work in Europe.

All I need is email and maybe text messaging but there is no need for the phone portion

Will it work without any tinkering? or do I need to unlock it?

Your 8703e will not work in Europe. You need a GSM phone and data plan.

I'm aware that My bell Mobility won't work but Since my entire family is big travelers and need a GSM phone about 1-2 times a year, i thought it would be cheaper to buy a Rogers Wireless Blackberry and use that in europe.

From what you said though, it sounds like it would work...

Yes, if you switch to Rogers (nicknamed Robbers because they are so expensive) then you will have service in Europe. Make sure you have international roaming provisioned.

If you need email and you want to go thr route of unlocking then you need to check to see if a carrier in Portugal will offer you BB data on a prepaid SIM. Most carriers don't.