The Islands of the Bahamas are actually comprised of 700 islands sprinkled over 500 miles of some of the clearest ocean in the world off the southeast coast of Florida. Cruise ships typically dock at Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas on New Providence Island. Together with Paradise Island, this island pair offers so much for visitors to see and do-from scuba diving and swimming with stingrays to glass-bottom boat excursions and Segway tours. One very popular way to spend the day while docking at Nassau is at the expansive Atlantis Resort complex on Paradise Island-the largest water-themed attraction in the Caribbean, with loads of water slides that aren't just for kids!

Grand Bahama Island lies only 55 miles from the Florida coast. Following the development of Freeport and Lucaya in the 1950s, Grand Bahama Island became an island of cosmopolitan glitz and glamour nestled among miles of beaches, nature preserves, and endless seas. Here you can shop at Port Lucaya Marketplace, see colorful marine life from a semi-submersible cruise, kayak through a mangrove forest, bicycle along the shoreline, swim with dolphins, ride horses on the beach or go bird watching.

Many cruise lines that service the Bahamas also make calls at private islands, such as Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Cay or Royal Caribbean's Coco Cay. That means that you can spend the day at a secluded destination in spectacular, tropical surroundings.