Carnival Cruise Line recently became the latest cruise line to deploy one of its newest and largest ships on short cruises to the Bahamas.
Following a trend that has been on the rise over the past few years, the company will dedicate the Mardi Gras to four- and five-night cruises departing from Port Canaveral starting in May 2027.
The itineraries of the 5,200-guest ship will be highlighted by visits to Carnival’s new private destination of Celebration Key in Grand Bahama.
Having deployed the new Utopia of the Seas on short cruises out of Port Canaveral, Royal Caribbean International is dedicating a second Oasis-class ship to a year-round schedule of three- and four-night sailings.
Sailing from Miami, the Wonder of the Seas will kick off a short cruises to the Bahamas on August 25, 2025.
Every itinerary of the 5,738-guest sister ships includes a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, the company’s exclusive island destination.
Norwegian Cruise Line is also increasing its capacity in the short cruise market with newer and larger ships.
The itineraries, which were historically operated by smaller ships like the 2,000-guest Norwegian Sky, will now be operated by the Norwegian Getaway starting this November.
Initially sailing from Miami, the 4,000-guest ship will offer three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas that feature visits to the company’s private island destination of Great Stirrup Cay.
As the even larger Norwegian Joy takes over the deployment in late 2027, the Getaway is set to reposition to Port Canaveral for similar short cruises to the Bahamas.
MSC Cruises is also following the trend with the MSC Seaside kicking off a series of three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas out of Miami starting in November.
Sailing to Nassau and MSC’s private island destination of Ocean Cay, the itineraries will be offered on a year-round basis.
The 4,140-guest ship takes over the deployment from the 2,516-guest MSC Magnifica, which was the last vessel to offer regular short cruises to the Bahamas for the company.
