Travel and Vacation Digest » Best Bahamas Cruises

The Best Cruise Destinations In The Bahamas

Ed — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:39:01 +0000

Finding the best cruise destinations is a part of planning your cruise to the Bahamas. There are different things to do depending on which port or call you visit. Your cruise will only have up to three options as to ports of call. You might want to check them out before you decide on a cruise.

Nassau is the most popular of the cruise destinations in the Bahamas. That is because there is so much to do and see while the ship is docked in Nassau. The place where the cruise ships dock is only a few minutes walk from Nassau's most famous shopping street, Bay Street.

You have many options of ways to spend your time when you are at a Nassau cruise destination. Of course, you can always let the ship's planners do the work for you and go on a shore excursion through them. This takes some of the pressure off when it comes to finding things to do.

However, at the Nassau cruise destination there are excursions you can book on your own through local sources. One trip that nearly everyone wants to do is the excursion to Sting Ray City. You can go with cruise ship shore excursions or local vendors.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism will give you tips on what to see and do if you want to make your own way on your Nassau cruise destination. They will give you maps and brochures so that you can see the city by walking to its attractions. You might want to go to the oldest house in the Bahamas or tour the zoo. When you make it up on your own, you have freedom of choice.

Freeport is the second largest cruise destination in the Bahamas. There are plenty of beaches and beach activities available when you get off the ship in Freeport. Scuba, snorkeling, jet-skiing, and just relaxing on the beach are among the favorite activities on the island. Xanadu Beach and Paradise Cove are among the loveliest beaches to be found.

The straw markets are popular, and it is almost a tradition for anyone visiting any of the Bahamas cruise destinations to go there. You will be a prime target for high prices, being a tourist, so do not forget to barter. There are also a few good restaurants in Freeport, including Sire's Bar and Restaurant.

The other cruise destinations that are available in the Bahamas are the private islands of the major cruise lines. Holland America has an island called Half Moon Cay. Norwegian has the Great Stirrup Cay. Royal Caribbean's Coco Cay is another private island. Disney has the Castaway Cay, while Princess Cruise Lines have the Princess Cays. The usual procedure to get to these islands is for the cruise ship to drop anchor near the island and guests to board tenders to take them the rest of the way in to the island.

Many of the ships will only stop at one cruise destination unless they have one of the private islands. It is uncommon to stop at both Nassau and Freeport on one cruise, but not impossible. When you book your cruise, look at the itinerary to find out the cruise destinations where you will be stopping.

The Best Luxury Cruises In The Bahamas

Ed — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:23:01 +0000

For those who like traveling in style, luxury cruises in the Bahamas are just right. There are many things to enjoy on the islands, including beautiful scenery, abundant historical sites, sporting activities, and vibrant nightlife. If you take the trip on a luxury liner, in a luxury suite, you can take even more pleasure from your trip.

Crystal Cruise Lines offer some of the best luxury cruises in the Bahamas. This cruise line specializes in luxury cruises above all else. It has been called the best of the large cruise ships. It has verandahs in most of the suites. If you are in the Penthouse, you will receive personal butler service.

There is a Caesars Palace at Sea Casino and Broadway performers to entertain you. There are fine restaurants including one by Wolfgang Puck. This cruise line also provides PGA golf pros to help you with your game.

The Regent, which used to be the Radisson Cruise Line, is another fine source of luxury cruises. One company has bought both the Regent and the Oceania Cruise Lines recently. Since their target customers are among the wealthiest in the world, this company expects to do a great deal of business no matter what the economic indicators show. The Oceania Cruise Lines offer luxury cruises that are among the best available.

Regent offers a fitness center, a spa where you can get massages or go to a salon, and a casino. There are also fine arts auctions and afternoon teas. The ships are designed to meet your satisfaction and allow for your every comfort.

The Oceania also has many amenities available to those going on luxury cruises with them. For example, you might be given an opportunity to do some wine tasting and sample some rare vintage wines. There are all the features of luxury cruises, including spas, card rooms, and classes such as yoga classes, high tea, formal dinners, and casino action.

Seabourn also has luxury cruises to sell, and they have all the amenities you would want. They are rated the #1 small ship cruise line. This small cruise line offers personalized service that is recognized as the best around. You can get a complimentary massage on deck or aromatherapy, and there is an open bar. There is gourmet cuisine by Chef Charlie Palmer. The accommodations are all suites, and you can choose in-suite dining. What is more, shore excursions are included in the luxury cruise's price.

Silversea is also a good small cruise line, offering features often found only on larger ships. Luxury cruises with Silversea are more than just a way to travel from one point to another. The cruises are filled with cultural experiences that are unique to this cruise line. You can also work on your golf game both onshore and in the Bahamas, where there are many fine golf courses. It is an intimate setting that many travelers enjoy.

If you want the best luxury cruises have to offer, look into booking a cruise on one of these cruise lines. They make going to the Bahamas a totally different experience than when you board an ordinary cruise ship. They make you feel like you are among the privileged few.

The Best Shore Excursions Offered By Cruise Ships In The Bahamas

Ed — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:55:01 +0000

Most people who take cruises like to go on shore excursions when they reach their destinations. Shore excursions give people a chance to see the sights and enjoy a variety of activities. Depending upon which cruise line you travel with, you may have many different choices of shore excursions for your trip to the Bahamas.

Carnival Cruise Lines has an interesting shore excursion called the America's Cup Racing Experience. This excursion lasts three hours, during which you will compete on one of two teams in a race to the finish line. You will get to sail in the America's Cup Yachts that are available for this activity. There are racing chores to get in on, including trimming the sails and steering the helm. If you'd rather, you can sit back and relax. All in all, it is a fun day.

Carnival also has shore excursions into the city. The Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Center are a part of their city tour. The Zoo houses most of the endangered land animals in the Bahamas. The gardens are beautiful with a vast array of flowers and other plants. You will see a trained flamingo performance, and feed parrots by hand. This is all topped off by a tour of the city sights along with a visit to the Straw Market.

Disney Cruise Lines offers shore excursions to Blackbeard's Cay Stingray and Beach Adventure. You get to go to the private island and swim with and pet friendly stingrays. Interestingly enough, the lower age limit for this shore excursion is just three years of age. The whole excursion, which lasts about five hours, includes beach time with snorkeling. Stingray adventures are available with many of the other cruise lines as well.

Royal Caribbean touts their dolphin experience shore excursion as the best Nassau trip they offer. You are allowed to see the dolphins up close, pet them, and feed them. This all takes place in the location where Flipper, from Universal Studios' 1996 movie resides.

Other great adventure shore excursions offered by Royal Caribbean are the glass-bottom-boat tour and a trip to Predator Lagoon where sharks and barracuda can be seen. Another interesting shore excursion offered is a tour of Fort Charlotte. That is where the Pirates of Nassau Museum is located. This is a great trip for kids.

Holland America Cruise line offers numerous shore excursions in Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. One is the Eco Lagoon Kayak Adventure. An island guide takes you along Bone Fish Lagoon to observe the protected habitat of various species of tropical plants and trees. Because you will be kayaking on the lagoon, it is considered a strenuous activity and you can only go if you are in excellent physical condition.

Many of the shore excursions are similar on all the cruise lines. For example, the dolphin experience is not strictly a Royal Caribbean trip. If you want to go on a specific shore excursion, you can go online and find out if your cruise has that excursion. If it is important enough to you, you might even want to change to a different cruise to get the shore excursions you want.

The Best Bahamas Cruises For Kids

Ed — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:47:01 +0000

The Bahamas Islands are filled with fun and adventure, so it naturally follows that cruise lines should offer cruises for kids. In the past, there have been cruises that offered little to the younger set. The trip was geared to the needs of their parents. Now, almost all cruise lines see to it that kids have a great time as well.

Carnival Cruise Lines makes cruises for kids exciting with their Camp Carnival program. Their programs are designed with each particular age group in mind. Toddlers get to do bingo, face painting, and have sing-alongs, for example. Kids from 6-8 can enjoy beach parties, Trivia games, and puppet shows.

Those from 9-11 can take dance class, photography workshops and participate in talent shows. Teenagers can have pool or pizza parties, and go on waterslides. These are just a few of the activities available for each age group. A computer room, an indoor playroom, and a video wall where kids can watch movies and music videos are also offered to all aboard their cruises for kids.

The Norwegian Cruise Lines' cruises for kids program is the Kid's Crew. All the kids get to meet the captain of the ship. There is a fun party for kids only called a Coke-tail party, which they enjoy with the captain.

The NCL's kids' counselors coordinate the activities for the kids on the ship, keeping in mind their safety and special needs. The cruises for kids program includes some of the same age-appropriate activities as Carnival's. Some of the additional ones are: Circus at sea for toddlers, wacky cooking classes for 6-8 year olds, pajama parties for 9-12 year olds, and the Newlymet Game for teenagers.

The Princess Cruise Lines' Princess Kids program is less comprehensive in the field of cruises for kids. It does provide activities for each age group where the program is available. The problem is that the Princess Kids program is not always available.

Three of the Princess ships do not carry the cruises for kids program at all unless there are at least 20 children that will be in that span of age groups on the cruise. What is more, these three ships do not have extensive facilities for the kids.

They have some different experiences in store on the cruises for kids that they do offer. The 3-12 age group can do karaoke, backstage tours, and shipboard Olympics. The 13-17 group gets to have a casino night and a separate Jacuzzi and sun deck. It is a good program when it is available, although the age groups are more broadly defined.

Cruises for kids are fun with Royal Caribbean's Adventure Ocean program. They have Un-birthday parties for the children, carnival parties, and science experiments for the toddlers to do. The 6-8 year olds can participate in science experiments too, as well as art projects and name that tune. The 9-11 group can have a Reggae beach party, X-games, and sports tournaments. The 12-14 and 15-17 year olds may have a toga party, a prom and college night, or a Battle of the Sexes. There are also activities to be done in the Bahamas, such as sandcastle building, tug of war, and parachute games.

Cruises for kids can be fun and exciting. Yet it is important to make sure that the cruise line you choose actually has a program for your kids, and that it is adequate for their needs.

The Best Local Cruises In The Bahamas

Ed — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:20:01 +0000

If you are staying in the Bahamas in a hotel rather than on a cruise ship, you may want to look into local cruises. These cruises can give you a peek at the islands from a different vantage point. They can be both fun and educational. If you are ever in the islands, try to find the best local cruises.

A two and a half hour harbor cruise is available with a local tour guide. This is one of the best local cruises for viewing rich scenic panoramas. The tour covers the Atlantis Resort and Predator Lagoon. There you will find the predators of the Bahamian waters, including sharks and barracuda.

Another popular local cruise in the Bahamas is the Thriller Powerboat Tour. While not exactly a laid back cruising experience, the one hour trip takes you around areas of the Nassau coast. The speed is fast, but the ride is thrilling.

Some people like to take booze cruises, as local cruises with a party atmosphere are often called. One such cruise outfit is Booze Cruise Co. Ltd. This cruise gets great reviews from past guests. There is drinking, of course, but there is also dancing on top of the boat and even snorkeling. The snorkeling takes place before any drinking is allowed. Then the DJ starts the music and the party begins. It is a chance to meet vacationers from all over the globe.

Fishing charters are another type of local cruises that many people find relaxing and enjoyable. Each tour boat has its own captain, many of them products of many generations of sea captains. Chubasco Fishing Charters is the largest of the bunch, offering deep sea experiences or reef fishing for all who take this local cruise. The yachts of Chubasco's Fleet can be used for sports-fishing, sightseeing, island picnics, or snorkeling. The Nassau waters are usually calm, so the trips are mostly easy-going.

Dinner cruises are some of the least expensive local cruises in the Bahamas. The Pat and Diane Fantasia Tours offers two dinner cruises – the steak and lobster dinner cruise and the chicken and ribs dinner cruise. The boat is a 72-foot double deck catamaran. It travels along the shoreline where passengers can view some lovely scenery. Music and dancing are also a part of the package. It is located in the Port Lucaya area.

If you want to take longer local cruises in the Bahamas, the Marsh Harbor, Abacos Cruise may be just what you want. The cruise is put on by Bahamas Tours and sails the Abaco Sea. You get a 6-night cruise, with a stop at Abaco Island. Abaco is third in the number of people it has, among all the Bahamas Islands. There are many activities to be found in and around Abaco, and the charter element of the cruise allows you to select the ones you want to do. From fishing to enjoying unspoiled beaches, the activities available are numerous.

There are many different kinds of local cruises you can take in the Bahamas. It is just a matter of deciding which you like the most. You may also be swayed by the amount of time you have to spend cruising in the Bahamas. No matter which local cruises you choose, you are sure to find a pleasant experience if you go with a reputable company.

How To Set Up The Best Cruise Incentives For Bahamas Vacations

Ed — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:49:01 +0000

When companies want to reward their sales staff or other members of their teams, a new trend is to offer cruise incentives to them. Businesses using cruise incentives have quadrupled in recent years. They offer many team members an experience that will stay with them for a lifetime. They are very good for motivating good work habits.

Bahamas vacations are popular because they are reasonably priced yet fun and interesting. People who win a cruise incentive will look back on it fondly for years. From time spent on the ship, to snorkeling in the crystal clear water surrounding the islands, to a tour of the Balcony House, days are filled with interest and activity.

Before you set up cruise incentives for your employees, there are a few things you will want to consider to get the best ones. Many cruise lines offer consultants that will help you determine what the best options are in the way of their own cruise ships and cruise packages. They can help you to make arrangements once you decide which ship line to go with, whether that is Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, or any other cruise line.

Expect the consultant to help you to set up your cruise incentives with great care. It is reasonable to anticipate help with cabin gifts waiting for guests when they arrive. You can also use consultants to help you set up shore excursions for your prized employees. This can get complicated because all people cannot always do the same activities. What is more, they all would not want all have the same idea of a good time.

It takes a good planner to organize the shore excursions for cruise incentives in the Bahamas. There are so many different locations to visit and activities to try. You can go sailing, power-boating, or simply swim at one of the many beaches. There are excursions to horseback riding stables and to see the zoo. Historical tours can be taken to see houses and mansions that have great significance to the Bahamas.

Another part of the incentive cruises is often conducting meetings and award ceremonies to further motivate your best employees. If this is a part of your plan, look for a cruise ship with meeting rooms that you can use for this purpose. Make sure the meeting rooms are not already booked, and then book them for your own special time with your employees.

There may also be other group activities you want to have with your people, many of which will just be for their enjoyment and for networking and bonding. Discuss these plans with your cruise incentives consultant to make sure they are possible on your voyage.

Group pricing helps to make cruise incentives in the Bahamas a very cost-effective reward for your winning team members. Add to that the all-inclusive nature of virtually all cruise vacations, and cruise incentives become one of the most inexpensive ways to make favored employees feel appreciated. On top of all that, setting up cruise incentives in the Bahamas is easy when you have a consultant to help you.

The Best Bahamas Wedding Cruises

Ed — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:27:01 +0000

Many people opt to have wedding cruises instead of church ceremonies. Plenty of cruise lines offer wedding and honeymoon packages for couples who want to start their lives together with a bit of romance. Part of the excitement of planning the wedding is finding the ideal wedding cruise for you.

One popular wedding cruise is the Disney Cruise Line wedding. The wedding part is paid for in addition to the price of the cruise. If you want to have an onboard wedding, you can have it on a special sun deck or in your choice of the lounges on the ship. The wedding is held, and then guests will enjoy wedding cake and champagne during a reception for the couple. This type of wedding costs about $1900.

You also have another option when you go with the Disney wedding cruise. You can get married at Disney's private Bahamas Island called Castaway Cay. If you do this, Disney will transport the bride to the wedding site before anyone else. The groom comes next, and the wedding is held on the island. The reception is held back on the ship. In either case, the actual legal ceremony is held before the couple even embarks on the ship.

Carnival wedding cruises have different prices depending on the amenities you choose and the number of guests that come to the ceremony. For just the bride and groom, a wedding held in the port of Nassau Bahamas costs about $1150. If a welcome aboard package is included, the cost rises to about $1600. For a Deluxe Romance package, the price is over $1800. There is also a fee of $100 for every additional 50 guests who come to the wedding.

The Welcome Aboard Package has a good sampling of wedding features, including a one hour reception, sparkling wine, hors d'oeuvres, and wedding cake. Even a photographer is supplied. The Deluxe Romance Package for Carnival's wedding cruises offers these amenities and more.

The Carnival wedding cruises vary. One is the Carnival Valor, a ship with a theme based on heroes of literature, history, and art. A special feature of the ship is the disco with video walls. Only their Eastern Caribbean cruise goes to the Bahamas.

Royal Caribbean also offers wedding cruises, but you have to make sure you are going on one of the cruises where the wedding option is available. It has to be a cruise that has been in the waters of the Bahamas for 24 hours before it arrives in Nassau and the wedding begins. Prices for different wedding packages range from $1600 to $2000.

Royal Caribbean has fantastic honeymoon and wedding cruises. What makes Royal Caribbean special is that the legal ceremony actually takes place on the island. You can make all the arrangements through the wedding coordinator assigned to the ship.

It is important to think of the honeymoon part of the wedding cruise as well. Look for the cruise package that offers you the best views and experiences of the Bahamas. If you take all this into consideration, it will be a joy choosing among all the great wedding cruises that are available.

What Are The Best Onboard Activities On Bahamas Cruises

Ed — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:56:01 +0000

You may be at sea, or you may be on the ship while it is docked in the Bahamas. Either way, onboard activities can make your trip more special and memorable. Of course, it is good to sample the beaches and nightlife in the Bahamas, but there may be times you just want to relax onboard. This is especially true if you are taking one of the longer 7-day Bahamas cruises.

The best onboard activities are available on most cruise lines, although some have them perfected while others lack something. Specialty dining is one of the most exceptional activities on many cruise ships. Restaurants by various well-known chefs are offered in most cruise ships. These specialty restaurants are in addition to the main dining facilities, and require reservations. You get fantastic service and gourmet quality foods.

Other onboard activities can be found in fitness facilities. There are all kinds of exercise activities available to vacationers, including aerobics classes, yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, bodybuilding, and many others. Royal Caribbean has an in-line skating track, and other cruise lines offer basketball courts and running tracks or climbing walls. The cruise line will make sure you have all the equipment, personal trainers, and classes you need to keep fit.

After the workout, cruise lines offer onboard activities like spas, steam rooms, and saunas for your enjoyment. You can be pampered with a massage, or go to a salon to have your hair and nails done. At the spas, you can get all kinds of masks, wraps, and soaks for your complexion.

Princess Cruise lines offer some of the best onboard activities in the way of entertainment. Their stages are the largest, with a 36-foot wide stage and a five deck backstage area to put on Broadway productions. All the cruise lines offer nightly entertainment, including musical programs, magicians, and Vegas-style revues. The productions have intricate choreography for their dancers, and wonderful musical arrangements for their singers.

Onboard activities never stop on cruise lines. They have nightclubs and lounges to keep you entertained. You can have a drink and a cigar in a special lounge for that purpose if you so choose. There are dance bars, some with video walls and most with live bands. There are karaoke bars for your enjoyment. You can go from one lounge or bar to another without worrying about sitting in on the same show twice, because shows are not generally repeated within a single cruise.

Whether you are having a cocktail before dinner or a nightcap before bed, the bars are always open. However some onboard activities have limitations. For example, the casinos will not be open during the time the ships are docked in most places. They have to be in international waters first. Once they are able to open, though, you can gamble from dusk to dawn if you have a mind to and the money to keep going.

The onboard activities you consider to be the best will depend on your preferences. Some people like to be more active while others like to sit back and be entertained. You may fall into the category of one who likes all kinds of onboard activities. In any case, you are sure to find what you are looking for if you check out onboard activities when you choose a cruise.

The Best Spring Break Cruises In The Bahamas

Ed — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:57:32 +0000

Spring break cruises are becoming trendier among young people these days. Parents are often willing to spend more money than they have in the past, and the young adults may have good jobs that take up their time along with their schoolwork. The Bahamas is a popular destination since it is less expensive than other cruises and not near as far away as many.

The Spring Break Bahamas Party Cruise is one voyage that the young will enjoy and remember for a lifetime. The cruise is taken on a full-sized cruise ship. During the times when schools have their spring breaks, 90% of the passengers are there for their spring break. That makes for a lively cruise!

True to tradition, this spring break cruise begins in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Guests board the ship in the morning and start with an unlimited buffet breakfast. There are all kinds of activities on the ship. Las Vegas style casinos are available to passengers. There are pools on deck, and dancing by the pool to a calypso band.

With this spring break cruise, you stay five nights in a Bahamas hotel. There you can go out and explore the beaches and beach activities of the Bahamas. After your spring break, you will again board the ship and sail back to Florida.

BahamaSun offers spring break cruises that also take you to the islands, drop you off, and pick you up to take you back to Florida. You will get no cabin on the ship, which is a Scandinavian cruise liner. You will be able to gamble at the casinos and drink at the bars in international waters since the legal age is 18. There are also restaurants, pools, and stage shows for your entertainment while you are on board.

While you are in the Bahamas you will stay at a resort, either a hotel where up to four people per room can stay, or a condo where up to eight people can stay. The drinking and gambling ages in the Bahamas are also 18, so it is easy to get into the partying spirit.

Paradise Parties has a Bahamas Party Cruise that is sponsored by MTV. This means that there are great events on the ship. In 2008, MTV will be filming a show onboard where they are searching for the next great VJ. This is a spring break cruise that you do not want to miss!

There are other activities that are sponsored by the Bahamas Party Cruise as well. Along with the MTV activities, there is a Tuesday night Mardi Gras party for all guests on the islands. As with the other spring break cruises, the trip includes hotel accommodations for a four night stay. This is one of the best spring break cruises out there.

You are only young once, and spring break cruises do not come around every day. If you want to have the most fun, do your research ahead of time and find the best spring break cruise you can.

The Best Bargain Cruises In The Bahamas

Ed — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:51:32 +0000

If you want to take a vacation, but you are limited in the amount of money you can spend, it pays to look for bargain cruises to the Bahamas. Taking a cruise as a vacation is really quite a good deal, and you know most of your costs upfront with few surprises. The Bahamas is an ideal choice for the vacation bargain hunter because it is one of the closer cruise destinations.

There are always several bargain cruises available to choose. Presently, the Royal Caribbean Sovereign of the seas offers vacationers a three-night Bahamas cruise. The prices start at a little over $300. However, the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship has a four-night trip for only a few dollars more. Carnival Cruise Line's Fascination has the three-night cruises for about $230. Yet, you can get cruises for less if you buy at the right time from the right source.

It pays to shop around, not only between cruise lines, but also between ships of each cruise line. Dates are important to pricing as well, and if your schedule is flexible, you may be able to get great bargain cruises. Look for one-day and last minute specials. You can find even better fares when you use these internet sources to book your cruise.

Disney Cruise Line's Wonder has three-night Bahamas bargain cruises. The prices start at under $300. Yet, you get all the amenities that are available on all the Disney Cruise ships, including kid-friendly cruising. Disney also has a private island called Castaway Cay which is a part of the cruise. It is a somewhat comforting setting when you know that everyone who is on the island has taken a Disney cruise. It almost feels like family.

Celebrity X Cruise's Century has been graced with $55 million in new ship improvements. Yet, its prices range from $199 for an interior cabin to only $449 for a suite. On top of that, other discounts are offered, including a 15% discount on shore excursions. These bargain cruises are fantastic for those who want a little luxury on a limited budget. This cruise ship is rated very high in luxury and quality.

For those who want a longer vacation, the Norwegian Dawn sails to the Bahamas starting its voyage in New York. Stops are made in Florida before proceeding to two locations in the Bahamas. The trip lasts seven days, but the price is only $689. That is not bad for such a long cruise. Norwegian Cruise Lines offers many good bargain cruises.

Of course there are other cruise lines that offer bargain cruises as well. Holland America, Princess Oceana, and Radisson Cruise lines all have something to offer. If you cannot find what you are after when you look on the internet, you might want to ask a travel agent.

Travel agents have the inside scoop on bargain cruises, and will help you find the best ones. If you are a regular customer, they will give even more attention to getting you the best deal. No matter how you find your ideal bargain cruise, be sure it has the features that you want. After all, the money will be wasted if you do not have a good time.