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Cruises to the Bahamas

Cruises to the Bahamas are usually either 3- or 4-day weekend getaways or weeklong itineraries in which the ship may stop at Nassau, Freeport, and/or one of several privately owned Bahamian islands for a day at the beach en route to Caribbean ports farther south. If you've never been to The Bahamas, consider a cruise to Nassau, where you can also enjoy Paradise Island and Cable Beach on the same visit. It has better shopping possibilities, better restaurants, and more entertainment than any other site in The Bahamas, including Freeport/Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island.

A brief summary of cruise lines that offer diversions in the Bahamas is outlined below, but for much more detailed information, and reviews of each of the ships spending significant time in either the Caribbean or the Bahamas, visit Travelocity.com's Cruises.

Regardless of the ship you choose, there's a strong possibility that your cruise will depart from the cruise capital of the world, Miami. A handful of vessels also depart for Bahamian waters from Port Everglades (adjacent to Fort Lauderdale), Port Canaveral, and, in very rare instances, from New York. Many cruise-ship passengers combine a 3- or 4-day cruise with visits to Orlando's theme parks, Miami's South Beach, the Florida Everglades, or the Florida Keys and Key West.

Nearly all cabins aboard ships today have two twin beds that can be pushed together, plus storage space (of varying size), a shower and a toilet (ditto), and sometimes a TV showing a rotating stock of programs. If you want to keep costs to a minimum when booking, ask for one of the smaller, inside cabins (one without windows). If you're the type who likes to be active all day and then stay out late enjoying the ship's bars and nightclubs, you won't miss the sunshine anyway. On the other hand, passengers of means are being offered suites today that have an amazing array of pampering options (including hot tubs on their own private verandas!).

Because they buy in such bulk, cruise lines typically offer some of the best deals on airfare to your port of embarkation, and also typically offer extension packages that allow pre- or post-cruise stays at a hotel or resort.

Because getting around Freeport/Lucaya or Nassau is relatively easy, and the official shore excursions offered by most ships are dull and sometimes restrictive, it's best to decide what you want to do (shopping, swimming, snorkeling, or gambling) and head off on your own during your stop at each port of call. You'll certainly have time to relax at the beach if you choose, or to enjoy water sports (the chapters that follow will give you details on what companies or outfitters to contact for equipment, so you needn't feel dependent on the cruise line for everything).

In Nassau, cruise ships anchor at piers along Prince George Wharf. Taxi drivers meet all arrivals and will transport you into the heart of Nassau, center of most shopping and sightseeing activities. Duty-free shops also lie just outside the dock area, but for that, you'd do better to go inside the city's commercial and historic core.

As you disembark, you'll find a tourist information office in a tall pink tower, where you can pick up maps of New Providence Island or of Nassau itself. One-hour walking tours are conducted from here if you'd like an overview of the city, with a guide pointing out historic monuments. Outside this office, an ATM will supply you with U.S. dollars if your cash is running low.

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Here's a rundown of some major cruise lines that serve the Bahamas. Most of them focus on either Nassau or Freeport (or maybe both).

Carnival Cruise Lines

The cruise line everyone's heard of offers a big, loud, flashy cruise party with lots of gambling, glitz, and crowds, so if you're looking for some quiet, reflective time, this might not be your cup of rum.

Carnival's best bet for the Bahamas is aboard the Ecstasy, a vessel that's been called "Vegas at Sea." It sails year-round on 3-night loops that depart from Miami on Friday, call briefly at Nassau, then spend almost an entire day, loaded with activities, at sea. The ship is very similar to another Carnival ship, the Fantasy, which sails on 3-night loops to Nassau and 4-night excursions to both Freeport and Nassau, and also manages to include the activity-loaded day at sea mentioned above. The Fantasy, however, departs throughout the year from Port Canaveral rather than from the more southerly port of Miami. The average on-board age of most passengers on these Bahamian jaunts is a relatively youthful mid-40s, although ages range from 3 to 95 and usually include lots of children.

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Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity, a more upscale sibling company to Royal Caribbean, maintains six newly built medium- to large-size ships that offer Caribbean cruises of between 7 and 14 nights. If you always like to sail a line's newest and largest vessel, make it the Millennium, a real knockout of a megaship. They usually include stops at Key West, San Juan, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Antigua, St. Thomas, and Curaçao, among others; in some cases, most notably aboard the Century, they'll stop for the day in Nassau. This line is unpretentious but classy, several notches above mass-market, but with pricing that's pretty competitive. Cabins are roomy and well-equipped, and the cuisine is among the best of any of the cruise lines.

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Disney Cruise Line

Launched with lots of publicity in 1999, the Disney Wonder is saturated with the total Disney vibe and is specifically marketed to families. Megaship size at 85,000 tons, it succeeds in mingling state-of-the-art technology and audio-visuals with lots of Disney razzle-dazzle. Disney's ships also offer probably the best-designed family cabins of any cruise ship, the biggest children's facilities, and even a number of adults-only areas, including one swimming pool, a piano bar, a comedy club, and various social venues.

Disney Wonder itineraries begin and end in Port Canaveral, last between 3 and 4 days, and include daylong visits (8am to 3am) to Nassau and Castaway Cay (8am to 5pm), the latter a privately owned Bahamian island featuring extensive children's facilities, an adults-only beach area, a family beach area, and all the sports and recreation choices you could want.

Most Disney cruises are sold as 7-night packages that include either 3 days at Disney World and 4 days at sea or vice versa. The 4-night cruise offers a full day at sea as well as visits to the ports.

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Holland America Line-Westours

HAL is the most high-toned of the mass-market cruise lines, with eight respectably hefty and good-looking ships serving a clientele of generally mature travelers. Late-night revelers and serious party people might want to book cruises on other lines, such as Carnival. Throughout the winter, four of these vessels include daylong stopovers in Nassau and/or full-day stopovers at the line's privately owned island (Half Moon Cay, in the Exumas) as part of 7- and 10-night cruises to such Caribbean ports as San Juan, St. Thomas, St. John, Antigua, Grand Cayman, Saint Maarten, Dominica, St. Kitts, Martinique, and St. Lucia. Fort Lauderdale is the point of embarkation for all three of the ships that make stops in the Bahamas.

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Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL offers 3-night Miami-Bahamas transits aboard the Norwegian Sea, visiting Nassau and either Great Stirrup Key (NCL's private island) or Key West. Generally inexpensive and emphasizing sports, NCL's ships attract a lot of active travelers in the 24-to-45 age bracket. Activities and cuisine are routine but adequate enough for short cruises. NCL's largest ship and corporate symbol (the Norway, built in 1961 as the famous France) offers better amenities and services but features only one Bahamian stopover (at Great Stirrup Cay) as part of 7-night eastern Caribbean cruises.

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Royal Caribbean International

Things run smoothly on this middle-of-the-road cruise line, which has a less frenetic atmosphere than that aboard Carnival's megaships but is more lively than Celebrity or Holland America. The company is well-run, and there are enough on-board activities to suit virtually any taste and age level. Though accommodations and facilities are more than adequate, they're not upscale, and cabins aboard some of the line's older vessels tend to be a bit more cramped than the industry norm.

RCCL's fleet comprises some of the largest cruise ships in the world. The Majesty of the Seas sails from Miami, and the Sovereign of the Seas is launched from Port Canaveral. The 4-night cruises call at Nassau, Key West, and a private Bahamian island, CocoCay, which RCCL has loaded with facilities for beach barbecues and water sports. Three-night loops follow almost the same itinerary, calling at Nassau and CocoCay, but without a stopover in Key West. Other RCCL ships, such as Enchantment of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas, stop occasionally in either Nassau or Coco Cay as part of longer 7-day itineraries through either the eastern or western Caribbean.

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