Bahamas cruises from Miami: private islands, ports and how long the trips run

Bimini is 50 miles from Florida's eastern coast, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism says, and Grand Bahama's West End is 55 nautical miles from the Florida coast. Six of the lines that sail from PortMiami run islands or beach clubs of their own in the Bahamas.

This guide covers how long the trips run and what they cost, the seven islands and beach clubs the lines run, and the three public ports. On this site a cruise counts as a Bahamas cruise when every stop is a Bahamian port, a line's island there or Key West. One stop in Mexico, Jamaica or the eastern islands makes it a Caribbean cruise, covered in the Caribbean guide. The table at the end lists every Bahamas sailing on the schedule.

How long are Bahamas cruises from Miami?

From 2 to 7 nights on this site's schedule. It lists 307 three-night and 409 four-night Bahamas sailings from Miami, and the lowest three-night starting fare was $199 per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026.

The 3-night, 4-night and weekend pages list those sailings alongside every other route. The weekend and short cruises guide covers short trips from Miami in more detail.

How much does a Bahamas cruise from Miami cost?

Starting fares for the Bahamas on this site's schedule run $159 to $1,371 per person, taxes and fees included, read on November 14, 2026. Across every length, the lowest starting fare per night was $40 on the same date.

The fare is not the whole bill. Carnival, MSC, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages each list a daily gratuity or service charge on top of the fare, although MSC's FAQ says its rates include gratuities; the cruise lines guide lists each line's rate as published on November 14, 2026. Some of the islands below also charge for day passes or cabanas, and the table shows which.

Which private islands do cruises from Miami visit?

Seven islands and beach clubs in the Bahamas belong to lines that sail from Miami. Royal Caribbean has Perfect Day at CocoCay and Royal Beach Club Paradise Island; Norwegian has Great Stirrup Cay; MSC has Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve; Carnival has Celebration Key and runs RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay with Holland America; and Virgin Voyages has its Beach Club at Bimini.

Island	Line	Where	Dock or tender	Free or extra, per the line
Perfect Day at CocoCay	Royal Caribbean	Berry Islands	Pier	No admission fee. Entry, chairs, umbrellas and five dining spots are free
Royal Beach Club Paradise Island	Royal Caribbean	Paradise Island, Nassau	Ships dock in Nassau, then a free ferry	Paid day pass. Children 3 and under free
Great Stirrup Cay	Norwegian	The Bahamas	Pier	Beaches, dining, a pool and a splash pad included. Cabanas, villas and Vibe Shore Club extra
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve	MSC	Bimini chain, western Bahamas	Pier	MSC says its experiences there are included in the fare
Celebration Key	Carnival	South side of Grand Bahama	Pier	No separate admission fee for Paradise Collection destinations
RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay	Carnival and Holland America	Little San Salvador	New pier, but tendering still mentioned	No separate admission fee for Paradise Collection destinations. Holland America's Beach Club has its own day pass
Beach Club at Bimini	Virgin Voyages	Bimini	Not stated by Virgin	Pool party included on most Caribbean itineraries. Cabanas from $650 on November 14, 2026

The sections below give the detail, with the line's own wording where it matters.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

Royal Caribbean calls CocoCay "an award-winning private destination exclusively for Royal Caribbean guests, located in The Bahamas." Royal Caribbean Group's own page from April 2024 puts it in the Berry Islands, gives it 125 acres and calls it exclusive to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises guests. Celebrity's Miami page lists CocoCay among its ports, so if you sail with Celebrity, your itinerary decides.

Ships tie up at a pier, and Royal Caribbean puts the walk from the ship to Arrivals Plaza at approximately 6 minutes. "There is no admission fee to visit Perfect Day CocoCay," its FAQ says, and entry, chairs, umbrellas and five complimentary dining spots are free of charge. That list of free items does not mention Thrill Waterpark or Hideaway Beach.

Thrill Waterpark has 14 waterslides, among them Daredevil's Peak, which Royal Caribbean calls the tallest slide in the Caribbean at 135 feet. Hideaway Beach is for guests 18 and older.

Royal Beach Club Paradise Island

Royal Caribbean opened its first beach club on Paradise Island in Nassau in December 2025. The group's April 2024 page gives it 17 acres on the western end of the island. It is open to guests sailing with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, and to Bahamian residents.

Unlike CocoCay, it is not free. "Guests sailing to Nassau must purchase a day pass to enter," the FAQ says, and children 3 and under get in free. One option is the "Royal Beach Club Day Pass (Unlimited Open Bar, Dining & Wi-Fi)". The FAQ contradicts itself on how many options there are, three in one answer and two in another, and the pages read on November 14, 2026 gave no prices.

Ships dock at Nassau's cruise port, and complimentary ferries run from the pier to the club, Royal Caribbean says. You must be 21 or older to drink alcohol there.

Great Stirrup Cay

Norwegian's private island in the Bahamas is "available exclusively to NCL guests." NCL gives it 270 acres, and ships dock at a new pier: "Stroll directly from ship to sand on our brand new pier." The island page says the nearly six-acre Great Tides Waterpark is now open, and NCL's newsroom set its official opening for guests on September 4, 2026.

Beaches, complimentary dining, a pool and a kids' splash pad come with the visit, NCL's island page says. Cabanas, the Silver Cove villas and the adults-only Vibe Shore Club cost extra.

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve

MSC opened Ocean Cay in late 2019 on "a previous industrial sand extraction site" in the Bimini chain of islands, in the western Bahamas. MSC's 2019 announcement put it 65 miles from the coast of Miami; its current pages give no distance.

Ships dock alongside the pier and passengers walk straight off. MSC lists 8 beaches, 7 dining venues, 12 bars, 37 cabanas and a marine conservation center, and a lighthouse show it calls "the only LED lighthouse show in The Bahamas". Some sailings stay late or overnight, and MSC says it "is the only cruise line that offers select sailings with overnight stays on its private island."

MSC's island page says its experiences there are "all included within your fare", and its FAQ says the Premium Extra drinks package can be used on the island. In January 2026 MSC said a pier extension that lets two ships dock at once is due for completion in late 2027.

Celebration Key

Carnival opened Celebration Key on the south side of Grand Bahama on July 19, 2025. When it opened, its pier could take two of Carnival's largest ships at once. Carnival says it welcomed 2.4 million guests in its first year.

Carnival lists a mile-long white sand beach, five areas it calls "portals" and over 30 dining and bar locations. It calls Starfish Lagoon, at 275,000 square feet, one of the two largest freshwater lagoons in the Caribbean. Pearl Cove Beach Club is for adults only.

Celebration Key is part of Carnival's Paradise Collection, and Carnival says belonging to the collection adds no separate admission fee. Princess's Miami page names "the all-new Celebration Key" as well.

RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay

Half Moon Cay is now branded RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, and this site's port lists call it "Half Moon Cay (Bahamas)". The island's official name is Little San Salvador, and it lies between Eleuthera and Cat Island. Holland America and Carnival run it jointly, and it has been a port of call since 1997.

Holland America announced a new pier on the north side in December 2024, and Carnival said on June 1, 2026 that the pier lets ships dock and lets its Excel-class ships visit for the first time. Holland America's new Beach Club day pass, announced on September 22, 2026, still includes "priority tendering from the ship to the island", so check the port information for your own sailing.

Carnival's June release also lists new complimentary loungers and umbrellas and a tram connecting all areas of the island. As with Celebration Key, Carnival says Paradise Collection membership adds no separate admission fee.

The Beach Club at Bimini

Virgin Voyages calls it "our private beach club experience, Virgin Voyages Beach Club at Bimini." Its pool party is "Included in most of our Caribbean itineraries", and reserved poolside cabanas started from $650 on Virgin's page on November 14, 2026.

The same page gives two distances from Miami, 50 miles in one place and 60 in another, and does not say whether ships dock or tender. The cruise port on Bimini, run by Resorts World Bimini, says ships "can dock directly" there and names Virgin Voyages among the lines that call.

Which public ports in the Bahamas do cruises from Miami call at?

Nassau, Freeport on Grand Bahama, and Bimini. These are the Bahamas' own ports, as opposed to the islands and beach clubs above that a line runs for its guests.

Nassau

Nassau Cruise Port has six operational berths, can take three Oasis-class ships at once and can accommodate Icon-class ships, the port says. The cruise terminal is 500 meters, or 0.3 miles, from the city center, within walking distance of downtown. In 2024 the port handled 1,445 ship calls and 5,649,856 passengers, after what it calls a $300 million redevelopment.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity guests reach Royal Beach Club Paradise Island from here, on the day pass described above.

Freeport, Grand Bahama

Freeport is Grand Bahama's commercial hub. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism calls its cruise port Port Lucaya and says it is the second-largest cruise port in the Bahamas. Carnival's Celebration Key is a separate port on the south side of the same island.

Bimini

Bimini is two islands, North and South Bimini, and Alice Town on North Bimini is the center of tourism, according to the ministry. The cruise port, opened in the summer of 2021 and run by Resorts World Bimini, lets ships dock and can take Oasis-class ships. A Hilton hotel is a 10-minute walk from the port, the operator says, and it names Carnival, Virgin Voyages and MSC among the lines that call.

Next steps

• Compare every Bahamas sailing by date in the table below, or on Bahamas cruises from Miami.
• For a particular island, start on the page of the line that runs it: Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC, Carnival, Holland America or Virgin Voyages.
• Before you pack, the documents guide sets out what the Bahamas and each line ask cruise passengers to carry.
• Check which terminal your ship uses in the PortMiami terminals guide.