Wanderlust World Wanderlust World On one-day cruises, most of the action occurs on the ship, where you'll eat breakfast and dinner. The casino is open while the ship is at sea. Enjoy the pool or shows, live music and dancing. It's an all-day party atmosphere that lasts well into the evening. Discovery Cruise Line, which specializes in these voyages, gives you just three hours to explore Freeport before heading for home. Many cruise lines offer cruises lasting from two to eight days to the Bahamas. Shorter voyages typically originate in Florida ports like Miami, Port Everglades - Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral - Orlando or Jacksonville. Longer cruises may originate in Norfolk, Virginia; Baltimore or New York, and feature several days at sea. The Bahamas has only two major ports of call that are easy to explore. You can travel to the Bahamas by ship and extend your stay with a hotel package, which virtually all cruise lines offer, then catch a return ship back to the U.S. or fly home.
Freeport is the country's major city on Grand Bahama Island. It has miles of clean beaches where you can enjoy sailing, windsurfing, jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling and even swimming with dolphins. Freeport also has big-game fishing and golf on four 18-hole championship courses. For shopping, visit the International Bazaar and Port Lucaya Marketplace on the waterfront, both stocked with brand-name products from all over the world. Learn how perfume is made and mix your own blend at the Perfume Factory, housed in an 18th century Bahamian mansion replica. The other main cruise ship destination is the capital, Nassau, on New Providence Island, just a stone's throw from the fabulous pink Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. Nassau has 17 beaches for sunbathing, water sports and diving to shipwrecks. Festival Place is a shopping mecca that is next to the cruise ship dock, and you'll find many handmade souvenirs at the famous Straw Market just down the street. Bay Street has many high-end shops for jewelry, crystal, liquor, china and other luxury items duty-free.
Since the Bahamas cover 100,000 square miles of ocean comprising more than 700 islands, only 40 of which are inhabited, many cruise lines own or lease an island as a getaway for passengers, so longer voyages may include one day on a private island.
U.S. citizens don't need a visa to visit the Bahamas, but you do need a passport book or a passport card. Passport cards are acceptable only for cruise passengers not traveling by air at any time during the trip. A passport book is required for all air travelers.