After reading this CNN travel article about cell bill nightmares, I decided to get serious about affordable calls from Amsterdam to the US. I had already planned on using VoIP but wanted a cell-based backup just in case.

The article mentioned SIM4Travel and it looks like a decent deal. I'll probably go ahead and get the "occasional traveler" package for this trip.

Note that data plans aren't provided and text messages not guaranteed... but it looks like a good option for those of us coming from great distances.

http://www.sim4travel.com/