Why the Bahamas
This is the destination that turns “I’d like to try a cruise” into a booked vacation. Nassau and Freeport are a few hours off the Florida coast, so a three- or four-night sailing leaves Friday and is back Monday. Nobody takes a week off work. Nobody flies transatlantic. It is the lowest-commitment way to find out whether you like being at sea, and it is genuinely lovely on its own terms.
Because the sailings are short and the ships are big, this is also where the lines put their best beach infrastructure.
The private islands
Half the appeal of a Bahamas itinerary is a stop that does not appear on any map of the country as a town:
- Perfect Day at CocoCay: Royal Caribbean’s, and the most developed: waterpark, over-water cabanas, a zip line.
- Great Stirrup Cay: Norwegian’s, the oldest private island in the business, and the quieter of the two.
- Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay: Disney’s, and the only ones where the ship ties up alongside rather than tendering, which matters a great deal with small children.
- Half Moon Cay: Holland America’s and Carnival’s, and consistently the best beach of the lot.
What to know before you book
A short cruise is a full ship. Three-night sailings attract a livelier crowd than a fourteen-night Mediterranean voyage, and the ship’s programming reflects it. That is either the appeal or the warning, depending on you.
Nassau is busy. Six ships in port on a Wednesday is normal. If you want the Bahamas rather than the duty-free strip, book an excursion that leaves the downtown area, Blue Lagoon, or a boat out to the Exumas.
Bring the passport anyway. A closed-loop sailing from Florida can legally be done on a birth certificate, and every year someone finds out the hard way what happens if they need to fly home from Nassau without one.
