The offer seemed too good to be true: a three-day cruise to the Bahamas for $129. At a minimum, that’s room, meals and transit abroad for about the price of an average hotel room.

Budget cruises abound in the ever-growing industry, where some 18 new ships are expected to launch this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. Based at the Port of Palm Beach, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line operates a pair of ships that go back and forth to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island, about 90 miles away, year round.

I booked a $129 sailing on the 1,680-guest Grand Classica, formerly the Costa neoClassica, launched by the Italian line Costa Cruises in 1991, repurposed in 2018 (double-occupancy rates currently run from $99 a person for an interior cabin to $459 a person for a suite). With tax and fees, the bill was about $210, still a good value provided the ship was clean, the food edible, the resort amenities diverting. I embarked in late May to find out.

The embarkation gauntlet

Most cruises from Florida depart from Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Port Canaveral, each accessible from a major airport. Palm Beach offers fewer flights, but the cruise line’s website suggested getting tickets aboard the new Brightline train from $10 for the 43-minute trip between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.