Baseball is back, and so are lots of baseball-themed hotel packages. When you’re booking a baseball hotel package, be extra careful to check whether tickets to the game are included. Some packages offer ‘em, some don’t. Those that do are often a good way for travelers to score tickets to sold-out games. But even without tickets included in the package price, many of these can result in savings - especially when perks like breakfast and parking are thrown in for free. A few of our favorites:

Millennium Hotel St. Louis - Baseball Fan package includes overnight accommodations, $10 in Cardinal Bucks, parking and breakfast for two. Starts at $129/night.

Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark - Several packages are available, and some include tickets to the game and a stadium tour.

Boston Marriott Copley Place - For $642.50, you can score two tickets to a select number of games at Fenway Park, overnight accommodations for two at the hotel and breakfast for two at Gourmeli’s. A cheaper option offers two right field box tickets and overnight accommodations starting at $299.

Raphael Hotel Kansas City, MO - The hotel’s Baseball and BBQ package includes accommodations, $25 gift certificate for Jack’s Stack BBQ, Kansas City Royals tickets and two tickets to the Negro League Baseball Museum.

Graves 601 Hotel Minneapolis - The Take Me Out package offers two tickets to a Minnesota Twins home game, overnight accommodations on game day and late 3pm checkout.

Marriott Courtyard Detroit - The Grand Slam Baseball Fan package gets you overnight accommodations, breakfast for two, a $20 gift certificate to a local diner and parking. Rates starting at $159.

Hotel Nexus Seattle - The Seattle Mariners Baseball package includes two tickets to the game, transportation to and drom Safeco Field, two souvenir Mariners beer glasses and perks at the hotel like free high-speed wireless Internet access, free parking and breakfast for two each morning. Rates starting at $199.

Omni Detroit at River Place - Packages starting at $215 include accommodations for two, full breakfast, two Detroit Tigers baseball hats and free valet parking for one car.

Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel - Rates start at $144 for overnight accommodations, free parking, breakfast for two and a sports-themed goodie basket at check-in. (The same deal is also available at the Marriott Atlanta Marquis, but rates there start at $184).

The Chancellor Hotel San Francisco - The hotel’s San Francisco Giants 2008 package includes overnight accommodations, two tickets to a home Giants game, free valet parking and a $25 dining and beverage credit at the hotel. Starting at $225.

Yesterday officially marked the beginning of the Open Skies agreement. Under the new policy, U.S. and European airlines are allowed to operate direct flights between any cities they choose.

Some of the most exciting new routes to come out of the Open Skies agreement:

- Houston to London Heathrow on Continental

- Atlanta to London Heathrow on Delta

- Dallas-Fort Worth to Amsterdam Schipol on KLM

- Salt Lake City to Paris on Delta

- Seattle to London Heathrow on Northwest Airlines

- Denver to London Heathrow on United

- Minneapolis-St. Paul to London Heathrow on Northwest Airlines

- San Francisco to Dublin on Aer Lingus

- Los Angeles to London on Air France

After filing for its 2nd bankruptcy last week, Aloha Airlines has announced that it will cease operations by the end of the day. If you have tickets for a future Aloha flight, both United and Hawaiian Airlines have said they will honor those tickets and try to fit passengers into available seats on their routes, some of which will be expanded temporarily to handle to influx.

The regional Hawaiian carrier blamed its downfall on the rise of rival low-cost carrier go!, but I always like to point out that Aloha had already filed for its first bankruptcy before go! appeared in the island skies. Aloha’s demise undoubtedly makes life breezier for go!, which promptly announced plans to add 40 more flights to its daily schedule starting tomorrow.

Northwest announced today that it, too, will begin charging passengers $25 when they check a second piece of luggage. No shocker, really, but the news does solidify the second bag charge as more than a mere trend among old-guard airlines. Northwest Airlines joins United Airlines, British Airways, Spirit Airlines (only charges $10), Delta Airlines and US Airways, proving that the practice is fast becoming the standard. American Airlines has yet to instate the second bag fee, but we’d be surprised if the airline held out for much longer.

While I do think that this new standard is an interesting development in the travel world, I can’t say I remember the last time I checked more than one bag. Frankly, I don’t like to travel with more stuff than I can comfortably carry on my own. But the people this will no doubt hurt the most are families traveling long distances for leisure trips of one week or more. One thing I will say is that checking a second bag, in most cases, is still cheaper than stuffing everything into one bag and having to pay an overweight baggage charge (those are usually $50 and up).

This week, we received several questions from users about children’s fares. “Why can’t I search for children’s fares on Kayak?” so many of you asked. With summer almost here and family vacation planning underway, the time is right to unpack the mystery of children’s airfares.

Do major airlines sell children’s tickets?

Unfortunately, this is a complicated answer that depends on the age of your child and your destination. Some airlines offer child fares; others don’t. When traveling with your infant, be sure to bring along a birth certificate; the airline will want to see proof of the child’s age. Here are a few guidelines to help plan travel, but it’s best to check with the airline in advance:

• Infant under 2 and willing to have them sit on your lap? Children under 2 don’t require tickets for domestic trips if you are prepared to have them sit on your lap. Some airlines require a Boarding Verification Document to note that the child is traveling with you.

• Feel more comfortable with your infant in an approved child seat? Most airlines require you to buy a ticket to ensure that you can use a child restraint seat, but many sell discounted fares for this purpose.

• Traveling overseas? For international travel, airline policies vary widely from carrier to carrier, so you’ll need to check with that carrier. Airline policy varies based on the child’s age and the destination. Also, be sure to ask about bassinets. If available, a bassinet provides a place for your baby to sleep (other than your lap) during the flight.

To help with your research, here are links to the policies of some major US carriers:

Southwest

JetBlue

Delta

Continental

American

United

US Airways

Air Tran

(Air Tran offers special fees for unaccompanied minors (5-12 years old) $25 for one-way and nonstop direct flights and $50 roundtrip flights.)

Why doesn’t Kayak allow users to search for children’s fares?

The diverse policies across different airlines make it very difficult to present intelligible search results for child fares. Our engineers are good, but they aren’t miracle workers. The results of a child fare search would be overwhelmed with asterisks and exceptions, and Kayak’s filtering and sorting tools would not be effective.

ohMIGHHHHgod travel people. Heidi and Spencer are reportedly staying in different Las Vegas hotels this week. Nuh UH! While in Vegas to film for the show, Heidi headed for the Palazzo Las Vegas. But her erstwhile Beau checked into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. We knew the most irksome couple in the world was on the rocks when we saw Monday’s episode of The Hills. But we never thought they’d actually do something this, well, smart. You know, like not dating someone you can’t stand.

If given the choice, I’d so choose the Palazzo, home of the new Las Vegas outpost of Barney’s New York and a Canyon Ranch spa.

Okay, I’ll admit I could almost kinda sorta understand the TSA’s well-publicized MacBook Air guffaw (wha? a laptop without a hard drive? you’re gonna have to come with me, sir), but the recent stink over some poor woman’s nipple ring? C’mon people.

Today, the AP reports that a Texas woman was forced to remove her nipple piercings after security agents informed her that she would be required to take out her jewelry before she would be allowed to board her flight. Problem was, the woman couldn’t get one of the piercings out (they are supposed to be permanent accessories, after all). Pliers had to be summoned - all while male TSA agents reportedly stood there snickering at her. And get this - after she went through all that, agents allowed her to pass through security with her belly button piercing in tact. So much for consistency.

Luckily for the woman, big shot feminist lawyer Gloria Allred (past clients include Paula Jones, Amber Frey) is on the case. All I can say is this: I’m thinking those inquisitive agents would have been a lot more hesitant to press the issue if their wand had started beeping about crotch level on some burly dude. Just saying.

Can’t wait to see how the TSA blog explains this one. Maybe they’ll make another video.

UPDATE: The TSA posted an official statement about the incident later today. A policy change is in the works. Ah, how could nipple gate have ended so soon? We were enjoying it so…

Statement on Alleged Improper Screening

As I mentioned last week, every Thursday we will do a recap of our favorite five deals we found from the top travel newsletters. Here’s this week’s best, in no particular order:

$1299 - Balcony Cabin on 14-Nt Europe Cruise (Online Vacation Center)
Seen on Dunhill Vacation News

Where to start… first off, it’s a brand-new ship! It’s like getting behind the wheel of a new car - everything is pristine and being used for the first time. You’ll stay in a balcony cabin for the price of an inside. Sail from Italy to France, Spain, the Canary Islands, then across the ocean to Ft. Lauderdale.

$149 Rate at Westin St. Martin Resort - over 50% OFF (BookIt.com)
Seen on Booking Buddy

St. Maarten is one of the nicest islands in the Caribbean, and this hotel isn’t a Motel Six. It’s a luxury resort with the largest pool on the island, a full service spa, and a casino. Saving over 50% off the regular rate through the peak summer doesn’t hurt.

6-Night Phuket & Bangkok Trip + Air from $945 (TripWizards.com)
Seen on Sherman’s Travel

Just flying to Phuket or Bangkok can cost more than the price of this entire package. You even trip flights between cities. Be prepared for the sticker shock over $300 in applicable taxes, but that’s what happens when you travel international.

$999 - Luxury 8-Day Danube River Cruise, Save $650 (Viking River Cruises)
Seen on Kayak

This is a once-in-a-lifetime-type trip - visit eight cities from Passau to Vienna during the Christmas market season. Sure it’s in late fall, but that’s when tickets are cheaper and, with any luck, the dollar will be worth more then. These river cruises truly let you experience the countryside and the smaller towns most tourists don’t see.

4-Diamond Vegas Strip Resort from $69/Nt (Monte Carlo Resort)
Seen on Travelzoo

Sure it’s cheap to stay in Vegas during the middle of the week, but this still is a screamer. Take 40% off the regular rate, plus add a $25 dining credit and $10 in casino play. I’ve stayed at this hotel, and it’s incredibly underrated in comparison to the bigger names. It’s also one of the closer Strip hotels to the airport.

Check in every Thursday for the next roundup. I’ll make a point for the next post to find some offers that jump out for summer travel so you can plan ahead. Also, if you have any suggestions on types of travel deals you’re interested in seeing, write a comment in the blog. We want to make sure everyone gets the deal they want.

As of this moment (fares may get snapped up any second) you can get from Manhattan to Washington, DC for $1 on April 23 and 30 via Bolt Bus, a new service that just launched today. In addition to getting you from point A to point B on the cheap, the buses are touting amenities like free wi-fi Internet access, power outlets for electronic devices and more legroom than found on conventional coaches….

Thank you, William J. McGee of Conde Nast Traveler for naming Kayak.com not once, but twice in your Ultimate Guide to the Best Travel Web Sites. We think you’re pretty kool*, too.

We’re glad you noticed our net-casting abilities, wide inventory, easy-to-use search tools and sweet site features (like our kool result filters) - all things that landed us winners in the categories Best Site for Booking Airline Tickets and Booking Hotels in Asia and the Pacific Rim.

We hope Kayak.com users feel the same way about us that you do. On that note, we’re always happy to hear from Kayak.com users, so get in touch if you’ve got comments, suggestions or feedback.

* Um, considering our name, why would we spell it with a “c”?