Caribbean cruises from New York: Eastern, Southern and the Bahamas
Round-trip Caribbean cruises from New York last at least 8 nights, because the ship spends two or three days at sea each way. Fares started at $699 for the Bahamas and $799 for the Eastern Caribbean on 31 October 2026.
By Andrew Budai · Last checked · Rates and opening hours change, so confirm before you travel.
Round-trip Caribbean cruises from New York last 8 to 14 nights, and close to half of those days are at sea. That is the main difference from sailing out of Florida. You save a flight, and you spend the time on board getting there and back.
Norwegian Bliss sails most of them, from November to March. Carnival Firenze adds 8-night trips in summer 2027, Queen Mary 2 sails a few longer ones in winter, and a group of one-way trips in November end in Florida. The table at the end of this guide lists every Eastern Caribbean sailing with today's fares, and the Southern Caribbean and Bahamas pages list the rest.
Caribbean cruises from New York: Eastern, Southern or Bahamas?
From New York, the Bahamas trips are all 8 nights, the Eastern Caribbean is mostly 12 nights on Norwegian Bliss, and the Southern Caribbean is mainly a November and December route.
| Bahamas | Eastern Caribbean | Southern Caribbean | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sailings on the schedule | 11 | 23 | 11 |
| Lowest fare on 31 October 2026 | $699 | $799 | $786 |
| Length | 8 nights | 8 to 12 nights | 10 to 15 nights |
| Ships | Norwegian Bliss | Norwegian Bliss, Carnival Firenze in summer, Queen Mary 2 | Queen Mary 2, Princess, Carnival, Regent, Oceania |
| When | November to March, none in December | November to March, June to August | November and December, plus March 2028 |
| Usual stops | Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay, Nassau | Puerto Plata, San Juan, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Tortola | St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao |
Fares are per person for the cheapest cabin, with taxes and fees included, and they are read again every day.
How many sea days does a Caribbean cruise from New York have?
About half the days on a Caribbean cruise from New York are spent at sea, from four sea days on an 8-night trip to six or seven on the longest.
| Trip | Nights | Sea days | Port days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian Bliss, Bahamas | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| Carnival Firenze, Eastern Caribbean | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| Norwegian Bliss, Eastern Caribbean | 11 | 5 | 5 |
| Norwegian Bliss, Eastern Caribbean | 12 | 5 | 6 |
| Queen Mary 2, Caribbean round trips | 11 to 14 | 6 or 7 | 4 to 6 |
| Coral Princess, one way to Fort Lauderdale | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| Regal Princess, one way to Miami | 14 | 6 | 7 |
| Oceania Sirena, one way to Miami | 15 | 6 | 8 |
Port days leave out New York and the final port. Norwegian Bliss spends two days at sea before its first Eastern Caribbean stop and three coming home. Queen Mary 2 spends three or four days going and three coming back.
Why do Caribbean cruises from New York have more sea days than Florida cruises?
New York is two full sea days from Florida, so a ship leaving New York spends the start of the cruise reaching the place where a Florida cruise begins.
Norwegian Bliss's 8-night Bahamas trip makes the point. It leaves New York, spends two full days at sea, and reaches Port Canaveral, Florida, on the fourth day. Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau follow, then two more sea days home. All four sea days go on the run between New York and Florida or the Bahamas, and a cruise from Florida does not need them.
That leaves two stops in the Bahamas for eight nights. If island days are what you want and your vacation is short, flying to Florida gets you more of them. If you live near New York, you skip the flight, and the sea days become part of the vacation.
Are there Bahamas cruises from New York?
Yes. Norwegian Bliss sails 8-night Bahamas round trips from New York between November and March, calling at Port Canaveral and Great Stirrup Cay, then Nassau or, on one 2028 date, Bimini. On 31 October 2026 fares ran from $699 to $1,319 per person.
No other ship sails to the Bahamas from the city's two terminals on this schedule. Royal Caribbean's 7-night Bahamas trips leave from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, which this site does not list.
Eastern Caribbean cruises from New York
Norwegian Bliss's 12-night trip is the standard Eastern Caribbean cruise from New York. It runs between November and March, alternating with the 8-night Bahamas trips. It calls at Puerto Plata and San Juan, then St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Tortola in an order that changes by sailing. One trip in January 2028 runs 11 nights and skips St. Maarten.
Carnival Firenze sails 8-night trips on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June to August 2027, to Celebration Key, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk. Carnival calls them Eastern Caribbean, but two of the three stops are in the Bahamas.
Southern Caribbean cruises from New York
Queen Mary 2 sails the only Southern Caribbean round trips from New York on this schedule, and everything else in that region is one-way. Its 12- to 14-night trips call at islands such as St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Barbados and Dominica.
To reach Aruba and Curaçao you need one of the one-way trips below. Queen Mary 2 also sells its winter Caribbean departures as voyages of 18 to 23 nights that carry on across the Atlantic to Southampton, so the same date can appear twice on the schedule.
Which Caribbean cruises from New York end in Florida?
Most one-way Caribbean cruises from New York leave in November and end in Florida, so you need a flight home from there.
- Carnival Firenze, 12 nights, November 2027, ends at Port Canaveral.
- Seven Seas Grandeur, 14 nights, November 2027, ends in Miami.
- Regal Princess, 14 nights, November 2027, ends in Miami.
- Oceania Sirena, 15 nights, November 2027, ends in Miami.
- Coral Princess, 10 nights, November 2027, ends in Fort Lauderdale.
- Silver Spirit, 13 nights, October 2028, ends in Miami after a stop in Bermuda.
Norwegian Prima, Disney Wish and Azamara Quest also sail one way, ending in San Juan or Barbados after a stop in Bermuda. Our Bermuda guide has those.
The fares on this site do not include the flight home. A cruise that ends at a different U.S. port is also not a closed-loop cruise, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection defines as one that begins and ends at the same U.S. port. Our documents guide explains what that changes.
Which cruise lines sail to the Caribbean from New York?
Norwegian, Carnival, Cunard and Princess sail most Caribbean trips from New York, and Regent, Oceania and Silversea add one-way voyages. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity sail from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, which this site does not list. MSC and Virgin Voyages have no New York sailings on this schedule.
Which New York terminal do Caribbean cruises use?
It depends on the sailing. On the official Cruise NYC calendar, which runs to 22 December 2027, the Caribbean sailings on Norwegian, Carnival, Regent and Oceania use the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, and those on Cunard and Princess use the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The terminals for later sailings are not published yet.
Winter departures leave New York in the cold, so pack for both ends. Our season guide has the temperatures month by month, and cruise lengths compares the 8-night and longer trips.
Sources
