Cell phone use in ports

I'm going to be away from my kids and have heard that a ship to shore call is incredibly expensive... thought maybe my cell phone would be a better option. We are going to port in both Catalina Island and Ensenada- anyone have any experience?

Thanks!

Ship to shore calls are about $8-10 per minute. Your cell phone would be a "local" call from Catalina if you have a nationwide plan of some sort. Check with your cell phone company for rates and info about Ensenada, you would need to have international service enabled in most cases.

Another option is to purchase a pre-paid long distance phone card and call from a pay phone.