Cruising with the family can be the perfect antidote to life’s stresses, but it is important to budget both your time and money for this relaxing getaway. Because of that, cruising from a port close to home may be the perfect remedy.

The trend toward homeports has been steadily gathering steam since the 1980s. Originally, most ships sailed from the major ports in Miami, New York City and San Francisco, but today the cruise industry offers no less than 30 homeports, blanketing the U.S. from Bayonne, N.J. to Long Beach, Calif.

Homeports allow travelers living within driving distance to avoid the expense of air fares, airport parking and taxi fees. They can also avoid spending money on hotel stays since they won’t have to fly in earlier than their cruise departures. Finally, there’s no price on eliminating the stress of flying: no long security lines, flight delays or wasted hours at the airport.

Sailing from a port close to home doesn’t mean having to settle for shorter itineraries or domestic ports of call. Today’s ships are bigger and faster, allowing cruise lines to operate more diverse itineraries from a wide range of close to home ports.

Popular homeports include Baltimore, MD, Bayonne, NJ; Boston, MA; Tampa, FL; Galveston, TX; New Orleans, LA; San Diego, CA; and Seattle, WA.   Typicaly thre will be more ships available to choose from during the Winter months becuase when Summer hits a lot of the ships leave homeports destined for Alaska and Europe.

If you would like to expolore family cruise options, visit Cruise Buzz's website at www.cruisebuzz.net.