The boat is fantastic and gets you there quickly! The staff is attentive and courteous! Thanks Darius for being an awesome bartender!

It was my first trip to Bahamas using this ferry service. Alas,the main ship was being remodeled. This ship lacked pool and open upper deck (with outdoor bar/DJ). Thus, it felt more like a plane ride. The seats were comfortable though. We could stand up any time. The staff was friendly and accommodating.

We had the pleasure of taking a day trip to Freeport Grand Bahama. Swimming with pigs was on our list and it was alot of fun. Staff on the customer phinewas very friendly in helping us since FRS canceled our trip to bimimi. Staff on boat was friendly. Food was reasonably priced and drinks were good for the prices. Snack were over priced. Pizza was more bread than anything. For a day trip, it was great and not to rough. Just need to work more on their disembark procedures. Water was clear and warm, locals were nice n friendly. Looking forward to day trip to bimini next

A nice place to go to Bahamas! Nice buffet, entertainment and seats. On the way back it took more than 1 hour extra due to technical issues. However it might be faster to fly there and not that expensive.

TERRIBLE!! After I passed through customs at the port, I was called back and denied boarding to Bahamas because Im on an F1 visa and the coronavirus restrictions. I was told that I would get a full refund since it was not my fault, but then the company refused the refund because the ship still did the trip, but without me. They lied to me and now they refuse to reimburse a trip that they didnt allow me to take!!! OUTRAGEOUS! They still owe me $650!!! Buyer beware of the terrible customer service!

Good ferry! Communication and friendliness at check in could be improved! Highly recommend buying extra for the upgrade. Boat is quite dated but comfortable. Make sure you have all your paperwork ready and i would arrive early just in case of any hiccups! But generally all in all a good way to get to the Bahamas

We were told to be there 2 hours before the boat left so we were, sat for 2.5 hours with a 2 yr old for no reason. Most everyone gets there at the last min. Pretty easy check in and boarding. The boat is pretty old and dirty. Smells of mold by the front seats, lower deck. On our return it was raining and water was pouring in through the window. Food is rather expensive and plenty of guest had their own even though it says no food/drinks allowed. The ride is 3 hours but the seats are comfortable and recline. Bring motion sickness meds, it can be a pretty rough ride once you get in open waters. Lines move pretty fast coming and going.

Thieves and Scammers! Literally they allow you to book on days that they can’t even travel on and refuse to give a refund when they are at fault. Stating that the will start issuing refunds in August because they aren’t fully operational but yet they are taking money! How do you hold someone’s money for 2-3 months?! Highly NOT recommended.

Nice travel company. Clean boat. Comfortable ride. Professional service. Its a little bit of a lengthy process boarding and disembarking but its a good way to get to the Bahamas.There is food on board. It was reasonably priced but nothing overly fancy.

Booked a spring break trip 5 months in advance. 3 months before travel they cancelled the return ferry because they booked a private charter. We couldnt extend our stay on the island so we were forced to fly back at double the cost. They dont answer the phone and emails are ignored. I had to file a dispute with my credit card company which balearia denied and blamed the cancellation on COVID. The cancellation was from December 2019 before Covid was in the US. They lie, cheat, and steal. Find other means of travel.On a positive note Silver airways was pleasant and FAST to get on/off the islands. The ferry took FOREVER to get processed and for the ship to depart. Pay the extra money and fly its worth the time savings.

I honestly have to say I had my doubts because of some of the reviews but I really had a great time. I purchased an economy plus ticket and it wasnt over priced. We also board before the economy ticket and we sat in a different area that wasnt really crowded. They gave us free snacks and soft drinks. All the seats are the same with their own charging station. The seats were also comfortable. The play a movie. The ferry ride was a breeze. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They had a Cafe with sandwiches, pizza, wings and assorted drinks all reasonably priced. I would definitely return.

My friends and I were supposed to go on a day trip today, but when we arrived, we were told day trips for the day were cancelled. A few of our acquaintances were also travelling today for a day trip and sent us a photo of their ticket, and sure enough, it said day trip for the same day. We were essentially kicked out, lied to and denied our trip after we travelled from abroad to enjoy Miami and the Bahamas. No warnings were issued to us beforehand of this day trip cancellation either. I dont travel all the way from London every day to get violated like this without explanation and ruining my day. Absolutely disgusting.

Unethical company. They do not honor their refund policy. They INVENTED a refund policy after covid that they have always had nonrefundable reservations, and lied that this was in place prior to COVID to all the people who disputed their credit card when they would not give a refund. Very poor form. Companies like this should not be allowed to stay in business with below the belt tactics.

Balearia Caribbean doesn’t honor their changes, cancelation and refund terms. I was originally told prior to booking that I can get a full refund if canceled in advance. This is also stated in the terms of our reservations.Terms stated as follows. “Reservations submitted for cancellation before seven days prior to sailing,full refund“I have had several emails communications with them in regards to issue if a refund as I have communicated cancelation in advance. You can’t speak with a customer representative to resolve the issue. I still have not received notice that my reservation is canceled and or refunded. Not a professional operation! Would not suggest Booking with them.

Its been over 3 months since Ive been waiting on a refund for a trip THEY canceled and PROMISED to refund. I disputed the charge with my bank and Baleria is now denying that I am entitled to a refund. Theres a reason they are rated at 3.3 they suck.

Worst company ever, refused boarding for passengers with proper documentation, didnt answer any communications for two months and did not refund the charges.

The boat takes 3+ hours to get to Bimini even tho they claim 2 hours. The Hilton hotel kicked all the ferry guest out at 1:00 PM (with late checkout), from then on all the ferry passengers were stuck in the lobby of the Hilton for hours. We were told 7:15 PM departure, then 8:15, then 9:15. We did actually depart Bimini until 10:00 and had a 3 hour ride a head of us. Custom was slow, probably because no one was on shift at 2:0 AM when we arrived. We got out of customs by 3:30 AM. Terribly experience. Bimini was beautiful, but I strongly recommend finding alternate transportation.

We were planning a trip to Bahamas for one day. Checked web site information about ferry boat schedule. 9:30 am -11:30 am F.Lauderdale - Free port Bahamas, return 5:30 - 9:30 is the info on the official website ..... And reality was : we arrived to Bahamas at 1:30 pm and they told us to be back at 5 pm.....closest beach is 20 -30 min away from the port.So our trip was failed.2 stars cuz the service inside of the boat was excellent. Nice drinks, very friendly stuff. Reasonable prices.

We purchased tickets for our employees a month ago for the Baleria ferry to GB, the day before they were suppose to leave, we recieved a email stating that the ferry was being cancelled. No specific reasoning given but we believe it was because of bad weather. We requested a refund and was told 7-10 business days and the funds would be back in our account. A month later and we still havent received a refund, weve spoken to 3 different employees including managers assuring us a refund and weve even threatened to leave them bad reviews and report them and still no refund. This company is a complete scam!!! Weve worked in the Bahamas for over 20 years and love the bohemian community and this company is really giving a negative vibe towards traveling there! Stay away!! Use Celebration, theyre cheaper and not con artist.

This is a horrible company to give your business. First our departure was for 9 am on Thursday. We flew in from Arizona and stayed in Miami. We had to get up at five am and head to Fort Lauderdale by 6:30 am. We get to the passenger terminal and are told the boats has been delayed till 10am. Okay I can live with that, but we have to wait outside. So they finally let us in the building we are going first class and sit till 10 am and notice people are still checking in. So I go to the front desk and they tell me they are now not leaving till 1pm. I said it would of been nice if they would of contacted us, we wouldnt of had to get up so early. To top it off I tried to call their offices three times the day before and no one would answer their phone.. No compensation. No apologies. They just let us sit around for five hours in a warehouse type building. Not sure why, the boat was at the dock the entire time. This happened on 1/17/2020

Worst experience ever!! No customer service on or around this ship! Baggage delays for hours! Most staff members are just so blunt and MEAN!!! Wish I could give no stars! The security in this shot was by far the last daemon sent from the Pits of HELL!

We purchased tickets for our employees a month ago for the Baleria ferry to GB, the day before they were suppose to leave, we recieved a email stating that the ferry was being cancelled. No specific reasoning given but we believe it was because of bad weather. We requested a refund and was told 7-10 business days and the funds would be back in our account. A month later and we still havent received a refund, weve spoken to 3 different employees including managers assuring us a refund and weve even threatened to leave them bad reviews and report them and still no refund. This company is a complete scam!!! Weve worked in the Bahamas for over 20 years and love the bohemian community and this company is really giving a negative vibe towards traveling there! Stay away!! Use Celebration, theyre cheaper and not con artist.

Absolutely horrible. We are still in the terminal 4.5 hours post departure time. No communication. They are using the coast guard excuse and mechanical issues. This is ridiculous. We missed our first of two days in Bimini. Do not book Hilton with ferry together.

I took this ferry to the Bahamas to volunteer for a month doing disaster relief work after Hurricane Dorian. My trip back was canceled due to weather, which is no ones fault, and Balearia promised to refund my money. After two months and repeated calls and emails, I am still waiting on my refund. This is how Balearia treats customers who forfeit an entire month of income to provide humanitarian aid to people overseas. I would encourage everyone to consider that before booking a trip.

DO NOT BOOK!!! I paid for a day trip to Bimini. The ferry did not let us get off at bimini after arriving an hour later. They took us to Free Port which does not have a beach, hotel, pool or restaurant THERE IS NOTHNG THERE. They made us stay there for about an hour and then we spent the rest of the the on the rocky ferry. From 6 am until 11 pm on the ferry. Worst experience ever. Ive called and emailed customer service for a refund and they do no respond! This is a scam!!

Worst experience ever!!! Can’t believe I wasted my money. Was supposed to arrive at 11 and didn’t dock until almost 2pm. Do not waste your money!!

Booked a one day cruise for my birthday and it was canceled. A month later still have not received my refund and I’ve spoken to 3 different people.Vanessa Fernando and Adriana and still no results so now I’m going to report them to better business Bureau don’t waste your time or your money scammers

Don’t ever take this boat. Paid extra for first on first off. That didn’t happen. Other people were let ahead. Said 2 and a half hour trip to Freeport. Trip there took about 3 and a half hours. Trip back 4 and a half. Took the day trip. Once you get to Freeport you take a 25 min bus ride to resort area. Bus picks you back up at 5:30 to take you back to the port. 8 hrs on the boat, 1 hr on the bus. About 4 hrs on the island, you do the math. On top of that they should tell you Freeport is pretty much a ghost town. Also the beach you go to is not very nice. Spent around 700.00 for 4 of us. Worst trip ever. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. Total ripoff.

This boat is garbage no customer service, they will cancel schedule trips without advising their customers and make it impossible to get a refund they can treat customers with no respect because their boats are not registered in the United states they are registered in the Bahamas and other third world countries that dont have the regulations like the United states. One star is too much i was not able to select a half star. The Bahamas can and should do better than this but I am sure there is some crooked politicians collecting on the back end allowing this lousy company to do business in the Bahama Greed..

These people are the worst. Their customer service skills are the worst and you cant get accurate information or prices from these people it seems that since hurricane Dorian they are trying to play games with the pricing and amount you can or cannot send, this has really been a poor experience this time around and I have used them before today but I have a bad view of them from this day forward Im looking for alternatives to using these people the only reason I see these people are still in business is because there isnt another option easily available or enough people boycotting but they did say people arent coming here as usual

I purchased tickets to go on a day trip. They cancelled my trip and refused to reimburse. Avoid at all costs

Terrible experience. Paid for first class and when I arrived they sat mentioned they over booked and I would have to go to economy and request a refund with customer service. Customer service does not answer phone, emails, and it’s been 3 months since my trip and I still have not received a refund. Save your time and money, go somewhere else.

My experience on the Balleria as a first time VIP member was the worst ever and I do not wish to ever use their service again. The Port of entry both arriving and leaving the US was horrible. I felt as if I didnt spend my money too travel and shop like it was handed out to me as a favor from the company. They received one star only because of me at least being able to bring back groceries for my kids but is it really worth the long wait in Customs. I stood 21/2 hours upon arriving in the US on a line because Im a non US citizen and then the system went down and a simple decision could not be made . Leaving I arrived 6am got checked decided to lay down when I was then approached by security telling me I cant lay down. When the whole purpose of purchasing a VIP ticket in my mind is for comfort.

If I could give this company zero stars I would. We booked this ferry from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport for a day trip. The ferry was suppose to arrive in Freeport at 11:30. We did not get there until 2:30. We had to be back at the ferry for 5 so we didn’t get to enjoy any excursions. When we got back to the ferry terminal, we were told the boat was broken down and would not be bringing passengers back to Fort Lauderdale. We then saw the boat pulling away from the dock. When asked why we were told it was broken down yet clearly it was pulling away from the dock, we were told that it was returning to Fort Lauderdale but couldn’t take passengers. We sat in the ferry terminal for at least an hour with no communication from any of the Balearia Employees. No one had any answers. Finally, they told us that they would fly us back to Fort Lauderdale but we wouldn’t be able to get a flight until the following afternoon/evening. They then put us up on a shady resort with armed guards for the night. They didn’t provide food vouchers or even toothbrushes. All we had with us were the items on our back (swimsuits and coverups). We have sent numerous emails and called them to get a refund and they refuse to return our calls/emails. Do not travel with this company!

My family and I took a round trip to Bimini Feb 12th-19th. Both ways we left port early and arrived to our destination and were off the ship ahead of schedule. We were pleased with the service onboard and the cleanliness of the ship.My only complaint and not BCs fault is that coming back through customs the port had ONE customs officer on duty to get 350 people through, completely ridiculous. We were luckily at the beginning of the line but the poor people behind us must have waited hours.

Left an hour late, boat was dirty, not enough seats and no communications to passengers when we were postponed. I would advise against taking the hotel shuttle, as that makes it a long day. We took an Uber there, saved alot of time for us. Got to Bimini around noon, had an amazing time there. Coming back the trolleys were 30 mins late picking us up at the hotel, again no explanation. Boat was 30 mins late again picking us up to leave. Customs took a while coming back as there were only two staff, not there fault but something to note. Left the hotel at 6:30am, got back around 11:45pm. Alot of traveling, id stay the night next time to make the trip worth it, taking the seaplane would be a better option. Only reason I give two stars is because the staff were friendly, drinks were reasonable but there was NO communication.

Horrible customer service...their drop off lot has no idea of whats going on. You cant get anyone on the phone. LOOK FOR A DIFFERENT EXPORT COMPANY...DO NOT USE THEM...STAY AWAY!!!

Before we chose this company, I read the reviews and there is a lot of unsatisfied customers. But we went with it to give it a benefit of doubt. Ill talk about the company then Ill talk a little about the Bahamas.1) we are from Canada vacationing in Miami and we drove to the Everglades terminals which was a bit confusing to find and we went for the day.2) the cruise line says they leave at 8am online but do not say what time you should arrive at, luckily we called and got all that info. So be at the terminal by 6am. It does get a bit crowded lining up, but its not packed on the boat.3) 50% are locals going back home4) the cruise boat is outdated and doesnt have American plug ins, only European ones. The rug could also use a good shampooing.5) NO FREE WIFI. I believe you have to pay $2/30min and $5/3hrs.6) the food is expensive. Ex. Bag of chips $2.38. WHAT?!. But you can bring your own food on so Id suggest packing some sandwiches and drinks or a pizza like we did on the way back7) you can bring a blanket and lay on the comfy seats. They do have movies playing but if you dont speak Spanish then youre guessing.8) the crew members were not at all mean or ignorant. They tried their best to attend to peoples needs9) the bathrooms were a bit smelly10) the boat was clean.11) if you suffer from anxiety, just be aware that you will be swaying the whole time, sometimes a little lighter, sometimes it dips pretty good. Im laying in bed and it feels like Im still swaying. Oh and there are barf bags on the walls.13) when you arrive, you have to wait around 20-30 minutes before you get off, which cuts into your Bahamas experience, and you need to be back on the boat at least 5pm. That doesnt leave you enough time to explore14) if you havent booked any excursions online, there is an office next to the duty free where you can see what they have and pay for. We just choose the ride into the market and we were planning on walking around exploring.Now, let me tell you what we saw in Freeport. We came in to town on this awesome looking colourful school bus, where they cut out the windows. Love it. The driver talked about some of the house and companies on the way. When we arrived at the port Lucaya market, there were a lot of souvenir stores, but the ladies kind of hound you, so you may be there for awhile. They also have small restaurants, nice little variety. This market is very small, actually, the whole place is sort of a ghost town. hurricane Matthew hit there very hard and you will see huge hotels abandoned. No life what so ever. You see destroyed trees and homes. Quite sad really. So the only hotel option you have around there is Grand Lucaya, and if you didnt pay for the excursion package, then its $20/adult and $10/child to get in and it Doesnt come with food or drinks. Just their beach and facilities. But if you dont want to pay for that, there is a beach Entrance across the market. With the time frame you have for a one day trip, you cant do a whole lot. So I dont sugggest any fancy excursions because from where you dock, its 45 minute drive and any excursion is another drive. There used to be a big shopping center, but that is a ghost town as well. Not much to see if you want to venture. But if you want to soak up the sun, the water is perfect I suggest maybe staying a couple days, maybe you will see more then we did.When we arrived back in Florida, the workers there were kind of cranky, but come on, we arrived at 10pm and they have to stay up to wait for our as*es, I would be cranky too. I hope this helps anybody who is thinking about this.

Horrible service. You cannot contact anyone in customer service unless it’s by email. They all provide you wrong information through the phone they had us going in circles for hours because they could not determine the terminal they were leaving from. Finally after almost 2 hours of them having us walk in circles we were told we could not board because it was after 8 and the ferry departs at 9. The guy I spoke to just smirked at me and said there is nothing I can do.

We had already walked this long way from the boat...bcos they changed from where they usually docked.. got inside the terminal...I had 1 bag and this lady n a man along with her would not let me n my friend thru to the Immigration line until the line got so long I had towed that line til almost 1am... thats crazy. My feet were so swollen.(1st time in my life)..when we got to my sisters house I could not sleep for the pains.The sailing over to Lauderdale was ok...Francesco (a waitor/worker) onboard is the best..he always remembers us when we do go on the ship. He always comes around and asks if your comfortable..we talk a bit.. we buy drinks n tip him he is cool guy.They better keep him cos whoever of Grand Bahama that goes on that ship knows him

This is a great service. Well done!

Choked by diesel exhaust the whole ride. My eyes were burning and my wife was sick. Staff is poorly trained. Better off flying. By the time all their hidden fees come in and all the lost time, it costs less than a flight. I thought that I would at least be saving time not dealing with the TSA in the airport, but they make you wait so long for everything. According to the emails we got, we had to be in the terminal before 6:50 AM or the gates will shut and we will not be refunded. We got there at 6:40 and waited in line forever. By the time we got to the island and were out, it was about 1:00. Basically it took us over 6 hours to travel. The whole time we were in the Bahamas, we were dreading the ride back. I will never do this again.

My family just took the trip on 12/28 from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini. The ferry is clean and crew members are good. But Balearia is very bad on organizing the trip. The confirmation email doesnt say where to go after parking in Midport parking lot. There are several stairs to get out of the parking. Were lucky to get out at the right stair where there is a shuttle to take us to the Convention Center for checking in. The email states that we need to be boarding between 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm for the returned trip which will depart at 7:30 pm. We have to walk back to Hilton hotel from the beach because the bus stop coming after 3 pm even those Hilton employees who sells foods and drinks on the beach keep insisting that the bus will come. We wait until 4 pm and still no bus. After making it back to the Hilton and talking to the front desk, we found out that they will take us to the port at 6:15 pm !!!!!!! We just have to wait in the lobby for 2 hours and doing nothing. When the time comes, its a chaos when people trying to jump on the carts. Again, there is no one to provide any information, we just ask around other people who also on one-day trip like us. In summary, very bad communication from Balearia. I will not going on any trip with this company again.

If I could give zero stars I would. Friday was my first and last time using this ferry. They are terrible, I was waiting in the terminal for 6 hours. We were suppose to sail at 9am and did not get on the ferry until 3pm and sailed off at about 3:40pm. The staff was very unprofessional especially the so called supervisor she was continually telling lies. The workers were not giving any clear updates on what was causing the delay and now I am trying to get partial refund and they are giving headaches and the customer service personnel is disrespectful and not trying to help.

Boat back to Fort Lauderdale was 4hrs late so you know everybody was mad had no Communication to let us know what was going on will never use them again everything over price

SERIOUSLY DO NOT BOOK OR TRAVEL WITH THIS COMPANY!!! Absolutely horrible experience!!! The Photos of what 1st class is supposed to look like are a LIE! We paid the extra money to be in 1st class on our voyage back, we were the last ones to get off, people were pushing and shoving. I didnt pay for 1st class to be treated like this. Secondly the people who work for this company DO NOT Give a DAMN about the passengers. I Had to point out to the ticket checker that I had purchased a 1st class ticket, she then made some lame excuse for not realizing it in the first place. Secondly, they had an illiterate guy checking the tickets, he insisted I needed a boarding pass, after arguing with him that what I had in my hand was a boarding pass he conceded that he had never seen what they look like in black and white. SERIOUSLY?!!! It says BOARDING PASS on it in big letters! Finally coming back, there was a horrible, idiot of a woman who refused to wait in any line, she pushed and shoved her way to the front of the security line, and then pushed and shoved her way past the LONG line of people waiting to check in. When I confronted her, she complained that her son had some sort of issue, well he looked absolutely fine to me, and he was fine enough for her to drag him from one area of the room to another. The ticket agents said nothing and proceeded to help her!! This is a 3rd world company run by incompetent people. The Boat smells like Jet fuel and the ceiling leaks!!!!! SAVE YOURSELF THE MONEY AND AGGRAVATION.

I would give it negative stars if I had the option. Worst!!!! Experience I’ve ever had. They had a coast guard inspection they didn’t pass and kept us waiting with no explanation and as why we were not boarding only to cancel the day trip and tell the ones staying overnight to come back at 5:30 to leave at 8:00 pm they waited until 7:50 pm to let us know the ship would not be going anywhere. This company should be closed down. They are not reliable and very disorganized. Worst experience ever!!!!! Beware!!!! The lines are huge and the waiting around is just horrible waste of ones time.

Do not book with them for the Hilton/ Baleria package directly or any third party. Go with world Bimini resorts. We payed double and than what others did. The weather was bad so the ferry couldn’t come so we were paying an additional amount at Hilton while others were having their room payed for by Baleria. AGAIN DONT BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THIS COMPANY THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF A TON OF MONEY.

We have been doing Hammerhead Shark dives with Bimini Undersea now for over 2 years, and they used FRS Caribbean for a majority of that time. We found out that in November that the contract had moved from FRS Caribbean to Balearia Caribbean, and we were concerned because of some of the reviews we read. We just finished the first Hammerhead Dive trip for this season, and we could not have been happier. The boat stuck to the published schedule which made our divers relaxed and had plenty of time to enjoy the food on the island, and relax before boarding to come back home, which was right on time as well. The dive was amazing, and the round trip service provided by Balearia Caribbean was wonderful. Thank you for doing a Great job. It made us look great to our customers, and ensured our continued use of your service in the future.

I read the reviews before booking and, to be honest, I almost didnt book. Im here to say that it seems either many reviewers were disgruntled and fibbing or I had a fluke of a great experience. I traveled as one in a party of 7 and both going and on the return the experience was pleasant, efficient and comfortable. The on-board hosts are excellent. The food and drinks are decent and the ride was enjoyable. I recommend Dramamine 1hr before setting sail if youre prime to motion sickness however.

My husband and I went for the day to visit. It was a very pleasant experience. Boat was well kept with very friendly staff. Food and drink prices were reasonable for being on board. Getting back through customs took a little bit but thats because they only had 2 staff checking passports. All in all it we had a great time. We will definitely be back!

Horrible planning and waiting for hours and hours. 2 hours post embarkation time and still waiting. Zero accommodations and day wasting away.Ended up cancelling at 8:30 pm because ferry was not cleared by Coast Guard. A whole day wasted and lots of expenses left behind with zero guarantees on anything or next day sail.Buyer beware. Fly and do not use ferry

So far, a pretty bad experience for our first time. We were asked to arrive before 8:15am for a 9:00am departure. We arrived at 7am. We are still waiting to board and its 10am. Theres not a lot of communication nor updates being made. Something about officials being onboard and we have to wait until they disembark before we can begin boarding. Seems like very poor planning. This is eating into our time on the island. People are becoming impatient.--Update --It is now 10:30am and we are still waiting.--Update-They just made an announcement that people going just for the day, cannot go because they wont have enough time on the island. Wow. A lot of upset people. The rest are still waiting. At this point, I will definitely be looking for some sort of refund.--Update--It is now 11:30am and we are still waiting. Someone started yelling instructions, but we couldnt hear and had to ask others. Theyve apparently asked people to separate into groups depending on if you are going to Freeport vs. Bimini. Unsure why. This is a huge fail. We shouldve been on the island at 11:00am.--Update--They ended up canceling the ferry for everyone. They formed a line to start issuing refunds which forced people to wait much longer than the 5 hours that already had passed. But you had to figure out what was happening on your own because their wasnt much communication from anyone.I also have to now cancel a hotel due to this.This was a complete and utter failure in communication and customer service and will never even think about booking a trip with this company ever again.My advice is to strongly consider other options for your Caribbean destination.This experience rates a negative 5 stars.

This company does not deserve any star at all. Poor communication, staff didn’t know what what’s going on, they are very unorganized and there is no customer service nor any consideration with the passengers whatsoever in the whole terminal.They were issuing refunds after over 4 hours waiting to board (from 7 am to 12 pm). However, you had to ask around to figure out what was going on. Tried to reach out someone at their main customer service number and they referred me to communicate with the people on site who didn’t know anything. I emailed their customer service address and there was no response at all. There is no regard or appreciation on part of this company for the business you give them. Their poor performance is shameful. We will never think of using this company ever again.

Although i didn’t have an issue with the customer service, they are super unorganized: 1) the boat got to the Bahamas 1 hr late, 2) it was over 4 hrs late for the return, and 3) we were told to park at the convention center in the morning and the boat dropped us off at terminal 21 at night and we had to get a taxi to drop us off to the convention center. In the end, instead of being back at 10 pm, we didn’t make it out of this place until 2am...

Simple and clean ferry. Its quick too! Basic amenities are nice. The cafe has a small but okay menu.

Ferry was very nice and clean! Slightly delayed in the beginning of the trip. Overall, great experience.

I don’t even know how to swim, and I’m pretty sure I could’ve swam across that ocean and made to the island faster than the service these people provided. UNLESS YOUR DESPERATE, DONT BOOK THIS COMPANY, EVEN IF YOU ARE DESPERATE SWIM INSTEAD YOU WILL GET THERE FASTER.

Wow extremely great experience, helpful staff. Grand opportunity you do not want to miss cruise of a lifetime. Highly recommended

For what youre paying for honestly its 4.5. The food and drinks are cheap, the seats arent bad and the TVs are a little small but they do the trick. Easy onboarding and docking process. There is a concierge desk that provides a few different excursions at reasonable rates with transportation in most of the packages. I thought that really helped. The day was well spent and Id definitely go again.

Trip cancelled by the company on Jan 19th. No news from them since then, despite our multiple mails. We are now in Feb 23rd and we are still waiting for the refund.

Didnt even make it to the ferry!I usually dont write bad reviews but be careful who you book through and what is included in the reservation was a lie...Anyways made it to the port after a long drive and the customer service was awful since I was trying to call 3 different companies they were blaming each other and the supervisor in the counter didnt seem to care or try to help us...unexaptable!!!!

This was my first rime dealing with the Baleria. I must say, that the customer service I received when calling to get info or refund after my trip was canceled due to weather was exceptional. However, when I went to have palates shipped to my family in Freeport devastated by the hurricane, the experience was horrible. They abruptly shut down early without warning despite myself and many others waiting for hours. Also they spoke to and yelled at us like we were animals. Those people have no soul.

Terrible planing, staff was awful with the information regarding departure time, really bad experience, and never apologized for all the inconvenience caused, tourists and locals have plans this is why you book things ahead of time, if I wanted an adventure I will go to Amazonas unplanned!! we spend two days wondering if we will have a return ride,, stocked at the lobby of the hotel for hours, sorting all kind of information, zero precision wrong advertising this was a nightmare! I actually marking -5 stars!!

Impossibly bad experience. We booked a 1 day trip to Bimini that was supposed to leave Fort Lauderdale at 9 am and stay until 6. We didnt leave until 11:30, and after another hour stranded on the boat in port, didnt get to the island until 3 pm. For a day planned on enjoying the outdoor, tropical amenities of the island, our trip was obviously ruined. If that werent bad enough, rather than just getting their tired, frustrated passengers home on time, the ferry didnt leave the island until 9 pm. Ive seen them comment on other social media sites that this was done as retribution for getting everyone to the island so late, but it was obviously due to their continued dysfunction. Even if it were done intentionally, leaving us on the island late did no good to anyone who booked a DAY trip, and cost many people their scheduled accommodations back in the US. I could go on from there. The boat had terrible air conditioning, bizarrely loud music that no one asked for, and customs lines that lasted over an hour.If this were just a one time, nightmare weekend for Balaeria, maybe Id understand. The real problems were the way they handled everything. Updates from the staff were almost non existent. When they were given, the information was either vague or flat out in accurate. The entire company operated as if it were business as usual, and as if they werent costing hundreds of people thousands of dollars. There was no contrition from anyone. No mention of a refund, no free food or drinks to make up for the time wasted, not even an apology from staff.This company services the locals that have no choice but to rely on this awful service, and its a complete shame that theyre forced to deal with this. I cant help them, and Ill probably never get my money back. All I can do is try and prevent this company from making money in the future. The island was beautiful, and the resort and its staff were outstanding in their accommodations. But I implore any of you to look at booking your vacations elsewhere in order to avoid this company. They simply dont prioritize quality service in any way, and when youre stranded on an island with no control of how youll get back home, youll realize how important that is. Never book with Balaeria.(P.S. to the family from Jacksonville that we met while waiting for an hour in the customs line at the end of the day, if youre reading this, you guys were awesome!)

Quickest way to get to Grand Bahamas! Other than flying.

After reading the reviews I was hesitant about taking a day trip to Bimini especially after Hurricane Dorian. We were scheduled to leave at 9:30 am and arrived at 8:30 am. We strolled through check in and only waited 30 minutes to board the ship. Seated in 1st class was a luxury we were not expecting, a wonderful staff member provided us with a complimentary snack and beverage while we watched Aladdin 2019. The 1st 1/2 hour was a bit rough due to the storm the evening before. The staff was friendly and accommodating, we booked a golf cart through the excursion desk for $60 (great deal and well worth the cost!)Upon arrival at Bimini we were off the ship and through customs in 15 minutes. The island was beautiful and the golf cart allowed us to explore and experience it in the best way.The reason for 4 stars is the communication at the hotel was subpar, no one knew when the shuttle would arrive for departure so everyone sat on the hotel steps for over an hour waiting, when we arrived at the entrance to the port the ship wasnt there and no one explained what was going on so we walked the beach until the ship arrived. An expected arrival in FTL at 9:30 turned into well after 12:00am.Communication would have made everything much more bearable. Be prepared to ask multiple people what is going on you will eventually get an answer.@Baleria- Further expanding the menu onboard with more palatable food would greatly eliminate hungry disgruntled passengers during such a delay. Thankfully we packed bottles of water and snacks of our own even though instructions said no food/drinks onboard, we didnt have any problems.The trip was well worth the experience, be patient and understanding this isnt a plane and its part of the journey. If you cant adapt to the unpredictable sea...then fly. Happy sailing! #bahamasstrong

What a great boat cannot wait To go back to the Bahamas

I had a reservation to travel on Balearia, but as a result of the hurricane I didnt travel beyond the return date. When i returned to trave I was charged full fare to retun home. I believe the company took advantage of bahamian because we were down...BUT WE WILL NOT FORGET THIS TREATMENT.. I comlained but was told nothing can be done..hummm..

WORST DECISION, DO NOT RECOMMEND. -I made the purchase and they canceled the route. They did not return money and do not reply email. Bad service. Amateur thing.Watch out: they are DISHONEST.

Depends on the newness of the boat and roughness of the seas. I dont get sea sick so dont mind rough seas. Not a bad idea to have a blanket since it gets cold inside.

Remember this is a ferry, not a cruise. Its meant to get you from point A to point B. That being said, i took this ferry several times in one week bringing students over to the Grand Bahamas and it was wonderful. One day of bad weather and it was a bit rocky, but nothinf motion sickness pills cant handle. Great place to grab a bite ( pizza and sandwiches were great) and rest up for your day by having a nap or enjoying a movie. The check in and check out process was flawless considering the almost 600 passengers.Now the best part was the amazing staff!! George helped us with everything we needed while on the ferry and was so friendly. Irving was also absolutely wonderful. Overall staff made our trip great from start to finish.

I was to sail on May 19th to Grand Bahama and I was told that they can store my items by their warehouse for a fee of $20 a day until I sail and that I can come when I feel to add items to my bin. So I packed my bin and the next day I came to add more items in the bin only to be told that my bin was already in Grand Bahama. This was told to me by a laughing female employee. Not professional at all.

Yessss!! The staff was lovely....The ship is extremely CLEAN...Nice seating areas w/Tv...Its cold so bring a blanket! I would complain that it took three and a half hours to get to the Bahamas and 3 1/2 hours to get back.....although it is advertised as two and a half hours but since the prices are so great Im not going to complain!!! They have the best birthday offer out there so it still was a win-win to get to the Bahamas!!! Five Stars!!

Nice weekend getaway or day trip! prices are reasonable and the booze is super cheap on the ferry.. and that is 1 fast ferry

Terrible service they left all of my pallets containinghurricane supplies for my mission trip. While embarking the boat to return to us I saw one of the pallets outside the port. A friend shared that she under the table an additional $50.00 for each of her pallets a get them the same day. What really aggravates me is that she showed up after 3pm and I was the second person in line Thursday morning so I was there when they open at 9am. Eventhough you guys are the only way to get thr grand bahama right now you should still make customer service a prority

DO NOT TAKE BALAERIA... My family was waiting for hours to get on and still currently waiting also in poor conditions with no ac in 100 degree weather and in extremely crowded rooms with blocked emergency exits. Also no one giving updates on what’s happening so lots of confusion. There was so many delays everyone was unhappy some people had a canceled cruise last minute due to balaeria and it costed them hundreds of dollars. I’ve never left a negative review in my life until today. I’m so unhappy. I suggest anyone should fly or take another cruise please save yourself the time, money and frustration. I also have photos I need to attach of the disaster of a cruise so unorganized.

Let me just start with this might be the WORST experience on a boat and trying to get home EVER. We were supposed to leave Bimini at 6:30 SHARP we ended up leaving at 8:30 PM. It took an hour for us to actually get off the boat. When you would ask why we were leaving so late they wouldnt respond or they would simply blame it out the FRS scandal and buyout. It was an old boat and on top of the boat sections had NO air which made people almost pass out and have asthma attacks. The passengers would repeatedly say that they suffer from asthma and they simply didnt care. They think with just simply offering us a bus service back to the Miami port which we originally had to come back to makes up for everything it simply does NOT. I will never be traveling to the Bahamas through Resort World Bimini and especially never through Balearia Carriebean. What a waste of money, time and effort.

Travelling on this ship was amazing

The Ferry ride was smooth, the ferry itself was clean!! The seating was first come first service

Before booking, remember this is a ferry and not a cruise. The boat was clean, but extremely rocky on the way. Rocky to the point where you couldnt even walk on the boat. We didnt arrive at Bimini till 12:00pm so that took 1 hour away from us. Bimini is gorgeous and Id def. recommend that you fly and stay a night or 2. The Hilton is beautiful!The debarkation process is inefficient and they only had 1 person checking passports, while 5 others stood around. Balearia employee was rude and disrespectful to us when we questioned why there was only 1 person checking passports.Final thought.... SKIP THIS FERRY. Fly there directly and enjoy your time there rather than sit on a boat for most of the day.

Nice boat and crew. Convenient way to get to Bahamas. It can be super Rocky- Dramamine and keeping your eyes closed will help.

DO NOT TAKE THIS FERRY. We booked the ferry far in advance. We checked the information online to make sure when to show up at both Fort Lauderdale and in Freeport. All of this information was wrong. A ferry that was supposed to get in at 10:30 a.m. got us in after 3 oclock. When we got back home, it was even worse. Customs seem to have no idea that changes were made so that line was longer than getting off a 7 day cruis . It was after 1:00 a.m. upon returning Sunday that we finally made it home to Miami. Customer service is a joke. The people on the ferry are hard working but have no idea whats going on either. Management must not communicate with them. Find any other way to get to Freeport. Hope this review saves you a lot of time and frustration.

Very disorganized. This company took over FRS carribeans route to come back from Bimini on 8/7. The day of departure was chaos. The last minute the company relayed to the hotel, that people needed to go pick up new boarding passes. Unfortunately not everyone got the information since they did not inform people until 4pm. We were told the tram was picking us up at 4:45pm to go to the ferry. Get on the tram and its taking us back to the boarding pass ticket counter. We return back to the hotel to be told now the ferry tram was at 5:15pm. At 5:15 people board the tram and it sits outside the hotel for another 15 mins. Now they have told us there has been a power outage at the ferry so they cant check anyone in or open the gate. Eventually the first tram leaves, and we board another tram at 6:30. Which was suppose to be our departure time. We then sit for another 30 mins on the bridge to the ferry waiting for the line of people outside the check in. People had been waiting out in the heat for hours. While we waited in line they finally gave out water to people who had been standing in the heat for hours. When we finally get inside the building, we see the reason for such long lines is people not having the new boarding pass. We did not leave until 8pm, 1.5 hours after our scheduled departure. Which arrived in FL port instead of Miami and we had to take a shuttle back to port of Miami. The company should have communicated better with the hotel property, and through the email they sent out announcing their takeover of the route. The company did make an announcement apologizing for the delay but writing off fault. Pictures attached showing the chaos and time stamped. Do not recommend going by ferry, take a plane.

Although the ride was rough due to the bad weather service on board was great they were very informative with everything everyone needed to know. We were also late leaving Fort Lauderdale but they were very apologetic. Thumbs up to the crew

Where can I begin, first of all the boat was hot and the ride was horrible. The boat toss to and fro like it was a carnival ride. I throw up from start to finish. I wont advise anyone to travel on board this death vessel. The workers hardly speak English and on top the majority of them rude. Including no one is trained medically on board this boat. They really need to do better and for the price it wasnt worth extremely expensive. My only reason for sailing onboard this vessel was because I couldnt get on Celebration. And on top of that the boat turned of in the middle off ocean and had to float for awhile. Then I had to crawl to and from the bathroom and oh how filthy the floor was my feet was stained with dirt. Anyway you choose what you want do.

Very impressed by the comfort of the boat ride. Clean and relaxing. The staff was very helpful both on & off the ship. I will be using them again.

The boat ride was nice & the seats were comfortable. The boat ride had a bit of an exhaust smell from our seats both going & returning. They were pretty unorganized when it came to boarding.

Worst decision ever!!Unorganized, horrible customer service, zero accountability, rude staff, horrible U.S Customs and boarding process. #boycottthebaleariaFrom the moment I booked the Balearia things started going downhill. I paid for the tickets on their website then received a conformation with the completely incorrect booking dates. I had to call their customer service to have them correct it. Then we found out they had changed the trips itinerary/schedule without informing us even though I booked my tickets 2 weeks in advance. Originally we were to depart from Fort Lauderdale at 8am for a 2 1/2 hour trip directly to Freeport, Bahamas.. only to find out they added a new route that would first stop in Bimini, Bahamas with a 45 min. layover, making the trip 4 1/2 hours instead.. We arrived and was told the boat would begin boarding and depart at 9am, this never happened.. after waiting hours to board we were told officials were on board the ship and have not yet given clearance for us to board/depart.. 4 hours later and still with no explanation, they began cancelling and refunding passengers who were traveling to Bimini for just the day. Then they started separating everyone else into two groups; passengers traveling to Freeport from passengers traveling to Bimini.. Us still not knowing what was going on, they then told all the Freeport passengers to line up. When we finally made it to the front counter after waiting in the long lines, we were given 2 options.. get a refund or reschedule our trip for next week. The receptionist, who we later found out was the supervisor, was extremely rude and unapologetic. We were not given any explanation as to why our trip was being cancelled and was not given any accommodations. We had booked a 3 night resort in Freeport and would not be able to get a refund, so we decided to book the Celebration cruise that did not arrive in Freeport until the next day... We lost a full day of our trip and still have not received our refund from the Balearia. I will never use this service again.. Unorganized, horrible customer service, zero accountability, rude staff, horrible U.S Customs and boarding process.. just to name a few issues... Save your money and fly, its much faster and you will receive better customer service with actual accountability. #boycottthebalearia

Trip was good left and arrived as on time. The sea was calm. Goo overall.

Worst company ever! We were supposed to board at 9:00, to finally board at 10:00.The organization was really bad and we spent more than 2,5 hours into the terminal waiting for the last passengers to come.This company has a lack of serious and I would absolutely not recommend it for the price we paid.

Woww.. huge cruise and was fun to travel to The Bahamas via this. They serve breakfast and Cocktail on the go. Even have duty free shops.

Zero stars deserved. This was a bad end to a very nice weeklong trip!! Arrived early at 6:00. We paid for Premium, was given neon yellow wristbands but no one told us they have a special seating section for 1st class had to figure it out on our own. Boarding process is horrible and needs to be refined. Most cruises allow for boarding as you check-in so I was suspect as to why they were waiting to check-in EVERY ONE of the 300+ travelers in before we could start boarding. Communication or lack there of really is horrible. Sat for almost 4 hrs with no communication only to be told hours later that “officials” were onboard the vessel and that we would start boarding once they left. Well needless to say that never happened, my hubby was diligent and started talking to the inexperienced and poorly trained associates who could give no information and started our process early to leave, we left before everybody else luckily. Oh and the lady in the parking exit booth told us she knew since 8:30 that the trip was cancelled so basically they were lying to us the entire time. They knew the boat wasn’t going anywhere. One of the workers said the previous company, FRS had called the CG, idk.

STRANDED IN BIMINI with no answers - If I could give this company no stars, I would. HORRIBLE experience. No exaggeration what should have been a nice day trip turned into a NINETEEN HOUR trip with only 4 hours in Bimini. The remaining 15 hours were spent in the Fort Lauderdale terminal, stuck on the boat, waiting around and in customs lines. TERRIBLE experience, if I would have known it would be like this I would have NOT gone on this trip. SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! If you think this is an exaggeration - go on Twitter & search Balearia Carribean to see all of the Chaos the broke out on August 9 & 10th.To top it off, NONE of the staff apologized, and no updates were given throughout the day. We arrived at the terminal at 7am on Saturday, and by the time we had FINALLY arrived back in Fort Lauderdale it was 1am!!

I felt this fairy was very nice. Wonderful wait staff. Good food cold beer. Good movies on lots of tvs. Fast trip. I would definitely recommend spending the few extra dollars for VIP. Well worth it. Ample seating with lots of leg room. Nice large deck to enjoy the view and get great pictures.

We had tickets from the FRS Ferry to come back to Miami from Bimini, we found out this Ferry is closing 2 days before our departure thru a voicemail that you could barely hear, and that the Balearia was going to take us back but to Ft Lauderdale not Miami, we were there at 5:00 and this boat was suppose to leave at 6:30, well due to a power outage, disorganization, and miscommunication this became a nightmare with long lines waiting in the heat, they didnt provide fans, or water not even a bathroom. We finally left at 8:30 and again long wait time to get out of the ship, long lines for customs, then waiting for the bus to take us back to Miami port which was closed and that became an issue with calling an Uber to get home, we got home at 1:00am. Totally unacceptable when this should if been a 2.5 hour ride. Horrible service.

Avoid like the plague. On a good day with no delays, the trip from fort lauderdale to freeport takes a minimum of 6 hours. It took me 11 hours to get to freeport from fort Lauderdale last Saturday because of delays.When it arrives at port, they spend about 1 hour unloading the cargo first before any passengers can get off. It doesnt make any sense. It feels like they take pleasure in making this trip as long as possible.US Customs at this terminal is another story. Its not staffed for the amount of people on the ferry. If you get off the ship last, it will take you another 1-2 hours to clear US customs.

PLEASE DO NOT SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY! Beware! It’s a COMPLETE SCAM. I booked this company to take me and my family to Freeport. Our ticket was a nonstop ticket to the Freeport. Leaving FT lauderdale at 8 am and arriving at 10:30am. We did not leave until 12:30pm! And didn’t arrive to Freeport until 5:40 pm. We missed our brothers wedding due to being late! Not only did we miss the wedding Balearia added a trip to Bimini on our same BOAT! 2hrs our of the way! They didn’t give us a notice or Anything! On our return trip the next day we left Freeport at 5:40 pm. Again they added a layover stop 2hrs out of the way to Bimini. We arrived back to Ft. Lauderdale at 9:30pm and didn’t get off the boat until 11:30pm. This company needs to be shut down! I want a refund NOW! Horrible! DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY.

Great for a quick trip to Bahamas

Really not sure why people posted negative reviews.The ship is spacious- seats comfortable.It is cold so a jacket or blanket definitely great idea.The food was good & reasonably priced.Bathrooms very clean.