Signup For Exclusive Travel News
Join our mailing list.
How Much Does a Bahamas Cruise Cost?
You can purchase a three-day cruise to the Bahamas with a base fare for as little as $169 per person; sometimes even less. You will typically find that cruise lines advertise the price of their cruises per person based on double occupancy, and exclusive of gratuities as well as port fees and taxes.
On a three-day cruise to the Bahamas that commences and ends in Miami, you can expect to pay approximately $102 per person in port fees and taxes. This is in addition to the base fare of $169 per person mentioned above. Of course, the exact amount of the port fees and taxes will vary based on the cruise line you select as well as the number of ports your ship of choice will be visiting. Like any cost, port fees and taxes will most likely increase over time.
It is now common practice for cruise lines to automatically charge gratuities to your ship-board account on the last day of your cruise. Gratuities vary by cruise line but are generally assessed on a per person per day basis. Let’s use Carnival as an example. Gratuities for standard staterooms on Carnival are $13.99 per person per day and $15.99 per person per day for suites. The gratuities for a three-day cruise would therefore be an additional $41.97 per person for standard staterooms or $47.97 for suites.
In this example we will assume a standard stateroom was selected. The total cost of the cruise would be $169 for the base fare, $102 for port fees and taxes, and $41.97 for gratuities. Remember these costs are per person and based on double occupancy, so the total cost for two passengers would be approximately $626.
Upgrading from a standard stateroom would increase the base fare of the cruise but would not impact the cost of port fees or taxes, or gratuities (unless you upgrade to a suite). To calculate the cost of upgrading, simply replace the standard base fare amount of $169 per person with the base fare of the stateroom category of the following.
| Ocean View Stateroom | $194 Per Person |
| Balcony Stateroom | $274 Per Person |
| Suite | $429 Per Person |
In this example the total cost for the three-day cruise in each stateroom category would be as follows.
| Interior Stateroom | $626 | (($169 + $102 + $41.97) x 2 Passengers) |
| Ocean View Stateroom | $676 | (($194 + $102 + $41.97) x 2 Passengers) |
| Balcony Stateroom | $836 | (($274 + $102 + $41.97) x 2 Passengers) |
| Suite | $1,158 | (($429 + $102 + $47.97) x 2 Passengers) |
Personally, I find more value in cruises with a longer duration. I do not live near a port of call so when I cruise, I also need to account for the expenses of airline tickets and baggage, parking, and hotel rooms if I want to arrive the day prior or stay the day after the cruise.
Depending on your stateroom of choice booking a five-day cruise instead of a three-day cruise to the Bahamas may be a better value for your money. A five-day cruise to the Bahamas will typically stop at three ports of call as opposed to only one stop on a three-day cruise. You may expect the port fees to be proportionately higher based on the number of stops, but this really isn’t the case. In the three-day example the port fees and taxes were approximately $102 per person. On a five-day cruise (commencing and ending in Miami just as in the first example), you may expect the port fees and taxes to be $306 since the ship is stopping in three ports as opposed to one. This is not the case. On a five-day cruise stopping in the Bahamas ports of Half Moon Cay, Nassau and Freeport, the port fees and taxes are approximately $134 per person.
The base fare for the five-day cruise will obviously be higher since the duration of the cruise is longer. To get a true picture of the cost and value of both cruises, let’s do a comparison of the daily cost. The daily gratuity amounts will remain constant. We only need to replace the base fare and increased port fees and taxes to get a true comparison.
The base fare of each stateroom category for the five-day cruise is as follows.
| Interior Stateroom | $224 |
| Ocean View Stateroom | $264 |
| Balcony Stateroom | $564 |
| Suite | $711 |
We’ll use these base fares plus daily gratuities and port fees to calculate the total cost of the 5-day cruise. The totals for each stateroom category are as follows.
| Interior Stateroom | $856 = (($224 + $134 + $69.95) x 2 Passengers) |
| Ocean View Stateroom | $935 = (($264 + $134 + $69.95) x 2 Passengers) |
| Balcony Stateroom | $1,536 = (($564 + $134 + $69.95) x 2 Passengers) |
| Suite | $1,850 = (($711 + $134 + $79.95) x 2 Passengers) |
Now let’s look at the daily cost of each cruise.
| Three-Day | Five-Day | |
| Interior Stateroom | $208.67 | $171.20 |
| Ocean View Stateroom | $225.33 | $187.00 |
| Balcony Stateroom | $278.67 | $307.20 |
| Suite | $386.00 | $370.00 |
As you can see in the chart, the daily cost of cruising is cheaper in the five-day example in three out of the four stateroom categories. I find it beneficial to book longer cruises for these savings, plus who wouldn’t want a longer vacation?
The examples used in this article were real and based on actual booking data available at the time of writing. Keep in mind that cruise fares, gratuities, and port fees and taxes will vary by cruise line and are subject to change.
You may also be interested in the following topics.
Advertising
Copyrights 2024. SaltwaterHoliday All rights reserved.