Have a Major League Vacation

February 12, 2007
070215_baseball
Chris Epting
Headed for spring training? Baseball expert Chris Epting fields questions on how to get the most out of your trip.

Chris Epting has written nine books, including Roadside Baseball, and has brought his family to watch spring-training games for the last eight years. He recently chatted with BudgetTravelOnline about spring-training trips, including  the best way to buy tickets, the best time to visit, the best places to find players signing autographs, and the best baseball-themed attractions near the training camps.

Q: What makes baseball's spring-training magical?

A: Let's start with the obvious appeal. The stadiums are compact. You can be inches away from players standing on deck, which would never happen at a regular season game. So you'll more likely experience a moment when a player will say hello to your kids, or say, "Kid, I cracked this bat, would you like to have it?" The training sessions that happen outside of the games can be even more magical. For example, when I take my 13-year-old son Charlie to spring-training camps in Arizona, he will collect 10 to 15 balls. He'll run around on the lawn out beyond the diamond. For a kid, that's heaven. That's better than watching any game. Charlie loves to learn where the balls came from. Many of the balls have been recycled from all-star games, or other major-league games, and are marked as such. For the grown-ups, of course, the games themselves are exciting. You're so up close that you can hear the chatter and how the coaches push these guys. The trip doesn't require a long commitment, either. Two days can offer a full experience.

Q: Is the trip affordable?

A: Yes, it's a bargain. Hotels are inexpensive in the parts of Arizona and Florida where the games are held. The average room rate for a low-cost, modern hotel room for a family of two adults and two kids can be as low as $75 a night. The game tickets are super cheap, from $5 to $22 a game generally.

Q: How do you buy tickets?

A: Buy them from your team's box office or from the stadium itself on game night. [You'll find all the teams' spring-training advice listed at this Major League Baseball site (click here).] If you'd like to sit behind home plate, you may need to buy tickets from a ticket reseller, especially if your team is very popular. One large ticket reseller is Ticko. You'll also find tickets included in packages offered by hotels. If you don't want to buy a ticket to a game, you can often still gain access to the facilities to watch the practices for free. [For Arizona game schedules, click here. For games in Florida, click here.]

Q: What's the difference between the spring-training leagues in Arizona and Florida?

A: Arizona has the Cactus League. Florida has the Grapefruit League. These leagues don't correspond to Major League Baseball's American League and National League. So teams play against teams they wouldn't ordinarily see during regular season. (The New York Yankees versus the Cincinnati Reds or Philadelphia Phillies, for instance.) This is good news for fans who would like to see teams they wouldn't ordinarily get to see in their hometown stadium. For example, my wife, son, and daughter are Los Angeles Angels fans. We see the Angels all year, so when we visit spring training each year, we'll wander off to see other teams that aren't in the American League because we probably won't get an opportunity to see those teams during the season. My advice: Go as a baseball fan instead of as a fan of one team.

Q: Which state offers a better experience, Florida or Arizona?

A: Both do a good job. Arizona's Cactus League is more convenient in the sense that nearly all its stadiums are located within a 40-minute drive of each other. You can base yourself in a hotel either in, or near, Phoenix, and you'll be pretty much set. The exception is that two teams in Tempe are a bit farther away. By contrast, in Florida, stadiums are located on the east and west coasts of the state, with the exception of one stadium in the middle of the state. Given the long distances, you would be wise to commit yourself to seeing only one of those areas. One warning, though: Whether you go to Arizona or Florida, note that your favorite team may have to travel to play other exhibition games. So check the game schedules before you leave to make sure your team will be at its home stadium when you visit.

Q: What's the best time to visit?

A: Spring-training lasts about a month. If your kids' school schedule allows, go during the first couple of weeks of spring training, not the last week, for the best experience. The players are more relaxed at the start of spring training than at the end. Players aren't into peak-competition mode--jockeying with each other to earn the coach's favor--because the rosters aren't being set in those first few weeks. As the month wears on, the whole spirit turns more serious towards the end, when players are being assessed and selected. What's more, all the players show up at the start, but some of the players may be sent home early, and if you arrive at the end of spring training you won't see them. By the end, some of the more veteran players may pack it in before opening day.

Q: What's your advice to parents bringing children?

A: The magic for younger kids is going to happen on the days when your team might be practicing instead of playing a game. On those days, kids may have better access to players for getting autographs. They'll certainly have a better chance at catching foul balls. For kids, practice days are better because they can wander throughout the facilities and watch drills and see the players up close. My advice to parents is to look at your team's website and check the team's spring season game schedule. If the team is not listed as being on the road for a given day, it'll probably be at the training facility, though games are played just about every day. Call to confirm this information. And get there when the gates open in the morning to get a good jump on everything!

Q: What's the most common mistake made by visitors to spring training?

A: Some people only attend the games. But for the great stories, you gotta go to the rookie training camps, not just the standard games with the longtime pros. Many teams will have rookie camps with 200-odd kids vying for roughly five spots. The camps are free to watch. And they're dramatic. You know that for each kid, in their hometown, they're the best that has played locally. Each guy has won every local baseball award. Yet the competition is so fierce at this national rookie camp that most kids will go home without a position. There is no other place to see that high level of drama in the major leagues today. This is where you might see the next Babe Ruth.

Q: Any tips for bargain-conscious travelers?

A: You can wander most spring-training facilities at no charge if you pay a few bucks to park your car. My kids have bumped into players as we have toured the facilities, which is something that would never happen in a million years if we were hanging around at a stadium during regular-season play.

Q: Any tips on how to get autographs?

A: In general, parking lots. But every team has its own prime moment when players are unguarded and willing to interact with fans. For example, in Tempe and Mesa, Ariz., where the Angels train, you can park your car in the morning and wait for the players to come out to practice before their afternoon game. They'll come out in groups. Pitchers will be training on one field. Catchers on another. Other players will be doing a different drill or activity on another part of the lawn. After the players finish and before they head to the locker room to get ready for the game, that's usually a prime time for getting autographs.

Q: Any more tips for getting autographs?

A: The best information is local. Most stadiums tap volunteer or part-time workers to help manage the crowds during spring training. Ask these folks to tell you where the best spots are to bump into players. Asking around can be fun for your kids, too. Kids like to play detective to find out the best way to enjoy the event.

Q: What are some baseball-themed sights worth seeing in the area of the spring-training camps?

A: In Scottsdale, Ariz., try the baseball-themed Don & Charlie's Restaurant and Lounge; it has lots of memorabilia. You'll be going more for the experience than the food. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg, Fla., (which is close to the games) has the Ted Williams museum at Tropicana Field, but it looks like it will be closed during spring training this year. An alternative stop is the field where Babe Ruth hit his furthest ball. The site is now Pepin-Rood Stadium at the University of Tampa (401 West Kennedy Boulevard, 813/253-3333). [For other ideas, read Chris Epting's BudgetTravelOnline article "Florida's Best Baseball Sites."]

Q: Which team do you root for?

A: I'm a New York Mets fan, but my family lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., so we're big Los Angeles Angels fans. I split my allegiance. We're going to see the Angels train in Arizona this year. For me as a grown-up, there's something very therapeutic and cathartic about this annual family trip. The time passes so slowly and blissfully. It's a true vacation because you disconnect from the workaday hustle. Maybe because it lets you empty your mind of your troubles and just eat and breathe baseball. Every time I come back from spring training, I feel even more hopeful than usual about life.

Related link:

  • Real Deals: Baseball packages in Arizona and Florida
  • College Town: Tempe, Arizona
  • MLB's Spring-Training site
  • Plan Your Next Getaway
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    Washington State's Olympic Peninsula

    Day 1: Seattle to Ocean ShoresSince even in the summer one rarely swims outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, spring is a perfect time to visit the Olympic Peninsula. Rates are cheap and, without the summer crowds, the wilderness feels all the more wild. With daylight at a premium, my wife, Susan, and I motor quickly, resisting the multiple espresso choices offered by every town along the way, including Kurt Cobain's childhood home of Aberdeen (the welcome sign reads COME AS YOU ARE). We reach Ocean Shores on a blustery, fleece-and-base-layer afternoon, and it's not hard to see why the town boasts a champion kite-flying team or why firewood is still for sale. Ocean Shores is basically a sleeping/shopping/eating hub for tourists, but today the four-lane beachfront boulevard is largely carless. We drive semi-aimlessly toward the marina at the tip-top of Grays Harbor. We weren't really planning to visitOcean Shores Interpretive Center, but hey, it's right here--and a lot bigger and more well-rounded than the quaint small-town museum that we expected. There are rooms of shells and bones and fossils, a preserved eagle's nest, all kinds of bird-watching information, and a taxidermic specimen known as the Passaround Bear--because, as a volunteer tells us, it's been displayed in a handful of local establishments since the 1920s. We also learn that Pat Boone and Ray Charles used to hang out and perform in Ocean Shores back in its 1960s heyday. A short walk from the museum isDamon Point State Park, where theCatala, a former freighter and "botel," has been buried in the sand since 1965. Storm erosion has brought some of it back to the surface, but since last year it's been fenced off so that the oil still remaining in the wreck can be drained. A big portion of Damon Point is also closed off as a snowy plover nesting habitat. One path to the water is available. We trudge along the dark, gravelly sand, fail to spotany of the baby seals we've been instructed not to pet, and then flee the wind for a nap at theHoliday Inn Express. Emily's Restaurant, inside the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino, provides the answer to the question, Where are all the people? We've come for the salmon, which is either farmed or caught wild by members of the Quinault Nation. The fish is served in the traditional style on a wooden plank the size of a cutting board; it has a decent smoky flavor but is a bit dry for my taste buds. I win back half of what it cost at a fancy electronic slot machine, despite the fact that I don't really understand what constitutes a jackpot. Lodging Holiday Inn Express685 Ocean Shores Blvd., Ocean Shores, 360/289-4900, from $69 Food Emily's78 State Rte. 115, Ocean Shores, 360/289- 9466, roasted salmon $17 Activities Ocean Shores Interpretive Center1033 Catala Ave. SE, 360/289-4617, interpretivecenter.org, open Apr.-Sept. Damon Point State ParkOcean Shores, 360/902-8844, parks.wa.gov Day 2: Ocean Shores to Neah BayThe hazelnut-encrusted French toast atOcean Crest Resort in Moclips is so good and rich I barely use the freshly zested orange butter. The restaurant (which is currently closed) sits high on a bluff, with 131 wooden stairs that drop through the trees down onto flat, wide-open Sunset Beach. We walk off breakfast but don't linger, as theQuinault Rain Forest awaits. After an hour's drive we pause in theQuinault Mercantilestore to sock away some sandwiches; the owner, fisherman and would-be retiree Chuck Coble, says he loves this neck of the woods more than the national park's Hoh Rain Forest because there, the best scenery comes only after long hikes. "Here," says Chuck, "it's 31 miles and you can see it all by car." Funnily enough, our waitress at Ocean Crest told us she prefers the Hoh for the exact same reason. Since we already have a hike planned for tomorrow, Susan and I are down with Chuck's perspective. "Have you seen the tree?" Chuck asks. No, but we're about to: The World's Largest Sitka Spruce--191 feet tall and just an inch shy of 59 feet around, with an enormous root system--is at the beginning of the Quinault Rain Forest loop drive. Then South Shore Road rambles past homes and farmland--Rainy Daze Farm, the Wild Ass Ranch--before resuming alongside the Quinault River. At the 10.8 mile mark we cross the river and continue down North Shore Road, which winds and drops into a denser, lower-hanging canopy. We picnic in a meadow by the ranger station, toss our trash into a bear-proof bin, and proceed on foot along the Maple Glade Trail, a half-mile circuit of seemingly boundless forest with maples, mosses, hemlocks, spruces, and, as Susan dubs them,Jurassic Parkferns. U.S. 101 returns us right to the coast, where we pause for gas, espresso, salmon jerky, and views of pounding surf. We later stop at a supermarket in the logging town of Forks, having gathered that the peninsula's most charming locales are short on services, while the towns with services lack charm. Further up the highway, a series of four signs explains a bare patch in the usually dense state forest: CUT SOME TREES, TO HELP THE COUNTY, WE PLANT SOME MORE, FOR FUTURE BOUNTY. "Burma Shave!" Susan and I blurt out simultaneously, joining, no doubt, thousands before us. Our destination for the night is Neah Bay, the northwesternmost point in the continental U.S. "You're at the end of the world," says the goateed desk clerk at theCape Motel & RV Park, which doesn't aspire to be anything more than a place for fishing buddies to bunk down with a 4 A.M. wake-up call. The clerk mentions that some people in town like to say Neah Bay is actually thebeginningof the world, but he tells them: "You haven't been very many places." Lodging Cape Motel & RV Park1510 Bayview Ave., Neah Bay, 360/645-2250, from $45 Food Ocean Crest Resort4651 State Rte. 109, Moclips, 360/276-4465, French toast $10 Quinault Mercantile352 South Shore Rd., Quinault, 360/288-2620, turkey sandwich $5 Activities Quinault Rain Forest353 South Shore Rd., Quinault, 360/288-2525, quinaultrainforest.com Day 3: Neah Bay to Sol Duc Resort"I'm sick and tired of all these restaurants with beautiful ocean views," Susan mock-complains. This one isWarm House, owned by the Makah Nation (alas, it's now closed). We're not there two seconds before an older fellow wearing a baseball cap that says NATIVE AMERICAN joins us in our booth. Over coffee and sticky buns, Ed Claplanhoo, age 78, tells us all about theMakah Cultural & Research Center, which displays the mud-slide-preserved treasures of a 500-year-old Ozette Indian village. The Makah tribe began working with archaeologists at the site in 1970, and ultimately they unearthed 55,000 artifacts. The research center, which opened in 1979, is a truly impressive facility that also helps the Makah stay connected to their traditions, including whaling--after its 1999 whale hunt, and subsequent animal-rights protests and media coverage, the tribe became somewhat infamous. What we're really in the area to do is walk to Shi Shi Beach, often touted as one of North America's most remote beaches. "It's one of the most beautiful hikes there is," Ed tells us, though he's unable to give us any further tips: "Don't ask me, I've been there twice in my lifetime!" Used to be the only legal way to get to Shi Shi was by hiking 11 miles up the rocky coast, in time with the tide pools; or you could trespass on private land. These days, a two-mile trail is laid out with stone and blocked off with logs. A $10 permit, sold at shops in town, is required. The hike follows roads that were put in during World War II so the coast could be defended from a Japanese attack. The paths are narrow and muddy, though I don't mind the slop too much. While I'm hardly a technical hiker, it's nice to have to contemplate my every step, Zen-like, in order to avoid sludge and puddles. The beach itself is lovely--foamy surf crashing onto rocks, big cliffs above, driftwood that's been washed to Louisville Slugger smoothness--but really, Shi Shi is a place you want to overnight. Then you can hike three miles further to the famous rock formation Point of the Arches, maybe catch some fish, go tidepooling, and camp in total isolation. Next time. Truth be told, the beach views from the road between Neah Bay and Sekiu are fantastic on their own. Right around mile marker 14 we cruise past a yard full of multicolored objects that demand investigation; we go back to findBirdhouses Etc., a store with hundreds of adorable structures, some with old Washington-state license plates as roofs, all laid out in the yard. STEALING HURTS TWO HEARTS, MINE AND YOURS reads a hand-painted sign above a drop box. Our barracks is a cozy cabin at theSol Duc Hot Springs Resort, which first opened its doors in 1912. It's 12 miles inside Olympic National Park and has a slightly chintzy Catskills feel, but it also has the Catskills' peacefulness and mountain air. The four pools--three hot (98 to 104 degrees; one of them is for kids) and one cold--look like any other hotel's spa and swimming area, except of course they're spring-fed, and just what we've been wanting after a half-day hike and two hours in the car. Deer nuzzle up against the surrounding fence as we squeeze in as much soaking as we can before the restaurant closes at 9 P.M. Lodging Sol Duc Hot Springs ResortSol Duc Rd., 866/476-5382, visitsolduc.com, cabins from $125, open Mar. 15-Oct. 31 Activities Makah Cultural & Research Center1880 Bayview Ave., Neah Bay, 360/645-2711, makah.com, $5 Shopping Birdhouses Etc.13753 Hwy. 112, Sekiu, 360/963-2770, open May 1-Sept. 15 Day 4: Sol Duc Resort to SeattleSusan has had enough outdoor exertion. She hangs back with a book while I tool around in a little yellow kayak in Lake Aldwell, about an hour's drive from the resort. It's another crisp, blue-sky morning--somehow we haven't needed rain gear the whole trip--and the wind provides just enough chop to keep my paddling honest. I'm working up a little sweat even as my hands get cold from dipping in the 50-degree water. The man-made lake is scheduled to disappear circa 2009, when two dams will be removed as part of the Elwha River restoration, but that doesn't make it any less appealing. I share the lake with just one fisherman, who is in an inflatable catamaran. I paddle out a ways for a view of the jagged white peaks of the Olympic range. Arriving in the hub city of Port Angeles is jarring--has it really been just 48 hours since we last saw a fast-food chain?--but the downtown has quirky grit as well as tourist-friendly commerce. We replenish our caffeine supply and head to Sequim (pronounced squim), the self-proclaimed lavender capital of North America. The gift-shop cottage atOliver's Lavender Farmappears closed, but soon Don Oliver, a gray-haired gentleman, emerges, explaining that the door is shut tight so his quail don't get inside. "There'd be white spots all over the floor," he says. A former lawyer and policeman, Don started the crop with his wife, Claudine, in 1999; they now have 10 different varieties and 2,100 plants. We're too early to self-pick (harvest is in July), so we instead buy jars of shaving soap and hand cream. What better way to cap off 500 miles of driving than to let a boat captain handle the last leg? Though knockdown-strength gusts keep us off the deck of theBainbridge Island Ferry, the view of the Space Needle and the rest of Seattle's skyline is as pretty as the untamed beauty fading behind us. Transportation Bainbridge Island Ferry888/808-7977, wsdot.wa.gov/ferries, one way with car to Seattle from $11.25 Activities Olympic Raft & Kayak123 Lake Aldwell Rd., Port Angeles, 360/452-1443, raftandkayak.com, one-hour kayak rental $18 Shopping Oliver's Lavender Farm82 Cameron Acres Ln., Sequim, 360/681-3789 Finding Your Way There's nothing on this trip a normal car can't navigate, but certain bumpy side roads will be slow going. Renting an SUV for $20-$30 more per day is not a bad idea. Got an extra few days? Linger in Port Angeles, where you can drive up mile-high Hurricane Ridge for some hiking, go to Port Townsend and whale-watch in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, or ferry over to the cute city of Victoria, B.C.

    Confessions of...An AAA Hotel Inspector

    Our anonymous confessor has inspected and rated hotels and restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic region for the American Automobile Association for 19 years. It's All About Diamonds I'm one of about 65 full-time inspectors employed by AAA, paid to be fussbudgets when it comes to a smudge of ketchup left on a dust ruffle or crumbs under an armoire. The scores we give each hotel (in categories like Guest Services, Room Decor, and Ambience), are weighted and totaled to arrive at the diamond ratings consulted by 50 million members. But our impressions only mean so much. There are specific requirements each property must meet in order to be rated. For instance, to get one diamond a hotel must have vending machines, dead bolts on doors, and bathrooms with a box of facial tissue and at least two bars of soap. Some perfectly nice hotels are omitted from AAA TourBooks or listed without an official rating in a book's FYI section because they don't have dead bolts or vending machines, or they fail to meet one of the many other little requirements. Call Me Jeremy Obviously, it's essential that I remain anonymous while doing assessments. A hotel can scramble to clean up its act in seconds if it knows an inspector is checking in, and it's always a battle to make sure no one is on to me. That's why we disguise ourselves. I used to grow a beard every other year. One inspector I know dyes her hair. Another uses fake glasses. To keep my cover, I'll pay with credit cards that I've taken out in made-up names; American Express has never given me a hard time about these aliases, so long as someone is paying the bills. I pick whatever names pop into my head. One year my pseudonym was Jeremy Richards; the next, Bill Durkin. One Annoying Customer When checking in, I carry all kinds of extra bags to test the bellhops. I tell the front desk I need a late checkout, or a bed board, or a baby-bottle warmer, just to test the hotel's response. Occasionally, I trash my room to see if things get replaced. I hoard the pads and pens, throw the shampoo and lotion into a desk drawer, and maybe shred the toilet paper. A really well-run hotel will soon have everything looking just as it was, or better. Bed Stains and Cockroaches The job can be pretty grim when hotels aren't clean. There has been a lot of media hype about poring over bedspreads with black lights, but you can spot all kinds of stains with the naked eye just by looking carefully. And I don't simply look, but sniff. Often the upholstery will smell like beer, or worse. I'm always on the watch for critters, too. At one hotel restaurant, a column of roaches marched out of the knotty-pine paneling. Mice are common in hotels, since there are crumbs from room service. Once, a front-desk clerk showing me to my motel room started screaming as a rodent boldly ran down the hall. Getting Busted When it comes to food, I'm extremely demanding. I have to order three courses in every restaurant I inspect, whether I'm hungry or not, so I'll taste a bite and ask the waiter to just take it away. I'll send back my flounder, telling him I think it's cod. During one of my tantrums at a place I'd gone back to year after year, the waiter wasn't fazed a bit. After I was done complaining about the chocolate mousse, he grinned and said, "No sweat. Whatever the AAA guy wants, he gets." It was time to start growing another beard.

    Family Cruises, Easy as 1-2-3

    Pre-cruise Planning There are many options these days when it comes to cruising. If a bargain price is your top priority (rather than a specific destination or time of year), consider sailing during the off-season. Many cruises offer their best rates from September through mid-November in the Caribbean, partly because that period is hurricane season. While older kids are already in school then, for families with infants or toddlers, it can be a very affordable, if less predictable, time to cruise. Another way to save is to target cruise lines that offer kids-cruise-free promotions. Children 17 and under cruise for free on many of Costa Cruises, Caribbean sailings from November through April. This year, youngsters can also sail for free on Costa's two late-April cruises to Bermuda. Similarly, MSC Cruises is expanding its promotion and allowing those 17 and under to sail free not only on Caribbean voyages but those to Europe in the summer as well. Children 6 and older sail free on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' two family-oriented ships, the Polynesia and the Legacy, each summer. Since 9/11, cruise lines have greatly expanded the number of domestic home ports (ports from which a ship departs) so that passengers who don't want to fly have more flexibility. When traveling with a family, you will save a bundle by selecting a ship and itinerary that departs from a port you can drive to, so you don't have to pay multiple airfares. Some of the latest developments include two ports in Seattle, operating from late April through November; B Street Pier in downtown San Diego, which begins a year-round cruise schedule this May; a new 80,000-square-foot cruise terminal in Norfolk, Va.; and year-round sailings from the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, N.J. Booking Your Cruise Now that major websites such as Expedia and Kayak have entered the cruise market, there tends to be less of a difference in the prices quoted by cruise agencies, consolidators, and cruise lines. Be sure to do your research and compare prices--and read the fine print. Paul Motter, editor of CruiseMates.com, suggests booking through an online cruise-only agency (such as cruises-n-more.com) and calling the agency beforehand, for two reasons. By calling first, you can ascertain the quality of customer service in case you have a problem down the road. Also, you may also be offered a lower rate on the phone than what's listed online. The reason is that large travel and cruise agencies were traditionally able to provide the best discounted cruise fares due to their large volume, but there has been an effort to level the playing field. Most cruise lines now prohibit agencies to advertise--online or in print--discount fares below the lines' approved rate. The exception is that savings, often in the form of rebated commissions or free travel insurance, can be offered verbally over the phone or via e-mail if a potential client makes the initial contact. E-mail newsletters are another exception. Since they are not considered advertisements, large volume agencies and cruise websites (such as CruiseStar.com) can promote discounts in their newsletters. Travel and cruise informational websites that do not sell cruises, such as CruiseMates.com, have free newsletters, that are e-mailed weekly with the best deals, along with daily promotional updates online. You may also want to check out CruiseCompete.com. This online service allows you to specify which cruise ship you want to sail on and when. Cruise-only agencies then get back to you with the best deals they have for that particular cruise. When making a reservation, it's worth considering a "family cabin," which is an alternative to a costly large suite. The rooms vary in design but are generally more accommodating to family needs. Some have either distinct alcoves or separate bedrooms, while others have two bathrooms. Family cabins often come with other perks, such as kid-friendly interior decorating and free room-service delivery. They are available on some ships run by Disney, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean. Ask your cruise representative to find out which ships are offering these cabins. Prices are roughly the same for family cabins as for purchasing two separate interior rooms with a connecting interior door. To see an example from Disney Cruise Lines, click here. Doing Your Homework Cruise lines encourage travelers to book a huge array of shore excursions directly through them. It's a no-brainer way to explore on land, but is also a huge assault on your piggy bank--especially for families. Instead, you should do some online research before your cruise by contacting sites, such as PortPromotions.com, that offer some of the same excursions as many cruise lines for up to 25 percent less. You can book online and meet the tours in port at a specified time. (One word of caution: If you don't book your excursion through the cruise line and are late returning to port, the ship won't necessarily wait for you.) A good rule of thumb is to look over the cruise line's shore excursions ahead of time and choose one "must-do" and then find things you'd like to explore independently in the other ports. For example, in Alaska, cruise lines offer one-of-a-kind excursions such as walking on a glacier or dogsledding. If you splurge on one, explore other ports and more accessible attractions on your own to help offset the cost. Keep in mind that a few cruise lines have children's rates for select excursions that can provide savings of $5-$25 off the adult rate. Other pre-trip research should include finding out how close the port is to the main town or city, names of beaches you'd like to explore, and what attractions your kids might enjoy. For families, it's much more affordable to hop in a cab portside and go to a beach independently than to buy a shore excursion in which the operator and the cruise line are both making money from your purchase. Once Aboard The cruise line will start an account for you once you're aboard ship that you'll pay by credit card at the end of your cruise. The account typically covers your drink bill (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic), shop purchases, specialty restaurant tabs, spa services, and shore excursions. If your kids can't live without electronic games, they'll be happy that the majority of large ships catering to families have extensive game arcades. However, the cost of these video games can really add up. Set a limit ahead of time so that there won't be any tears on your kids' part when you say no and on your part when you receive the bill. When cruising in the hot Caribbean, drinks of all kinds will also raise your final bill. If your kids are big soda drinkers, purchase a soda card for them (which usually costs around $30 for a week) so that they can get all the drinks they want during the cruise for one lump sum. Additionally, juice bars--which make frosty, nonalcoholic fruit drinks your kids will love--are popping up a lot at sea. They will cost you extra, so you may want to set a limit on these with your youngsters, too. Ice tea served at meals is generally free. Many teens, and parents, have a hard time disconnecting from their e-mail. The beauty of a cruise is that you don't have to. However, you will pay the price. Most cruise lines offer a package fee for Internet access, which I strongly suggest you opt for. Otherwise, you will pay at least 50 cents per minute, even for connection time, which is slow while at sea. With some pre-trip preparation and shipboard savvy, your family can save money and still have a memorable experience. Once your kids have a taste of all the fun activities there are to do--with and without you--we suspect they'll be asking you to cruise again.