I went last week with my boyfriend and it was awful. Like many people have said, there was a stench of diesel fuel, the boat is from 1967, everyone was on the floor vomiting. It was a pretty dismal experience. Oh yea, and before we boarded, they made us sign a statement saying there was rough seas although it was a clear day and not a cloud in the sky. I think this was to cover their butts for when everyone became violently ill and started vomiting into the barf bags placed all over the boat. It wasn't on account of rough seas, it's because the boat is from the 60's and wasn't made to handle waves like modern cruise ships. Also, on the way back when boarding this ship from the Bahamas, they make people put their bags through a metal detector, but people do not walk through a metal detector, WTH? Anyone could be carrying gun or knife aboard coming back. I felt very unsafe in general while on the boat because of the potent stench of fuel that will turn your stomach if the waves don't. God forbid someone strikes a match, the boat will probably explode. Anyway, when you get to Grand Bahama, everyone is fighting for cabs after being stuck on the boat, then you take a 15 min cab ride to the tourist spot that sells junk and awful food. There is absolutely nothing of interest on this island. To prove my point, the cab driver gave us a "tour" including KFC and McDonalds. I kid you not. We only had about 2 hours in Grand Bahama before getting back on the boat. I really had to prepare myself mentally for the ride back, it was the longest 5 and a half hours of my life. Like many people stated, the boat arrived back in FL late. Ours got in at 11:30pm. Overall, although we tried to make the best of this day, it was pretty terrible. I felt like I had been scammed by the travel site I book my flight and hotel on because they suggested this at the very last second and I didn't want to research anymore since I had already done that for the flight and hotel. I will be writing to this travel site to ask them to stop advertising for this "cruise" line, and I convince everyone that reads this to do the same. I might even write to local newspapers and make an effort to have Discovery investigated. People work too hard and have limited time and money to take vacations and it is a shame that so many people are wasting precious time on this piece of junk. Anyone that has written a positive review is probably employed by Discovery. They seem to be word class scammers.

My boyfriend and I were on vacation in South Beach. The weather was incredibly gorgeous so we decided to take advantage of the "Fun Day at Sea" on the Discovery Sun. An all inclusive day trip to Grand Bahama Island for $50? How could we go wrong? Here's a quick run-down of our experience: You go to a warehouse at Port Everglades to check-in and board the ship. This was pretty quick and painless. The staff was extremely friendly. The ship, itself, was very outdated and unattractive overall. We didn't expect a newer cruiseline for the price or anything... but, just an FYI. Our ship departed and we took in the sights. Again, GORGEOUS and calm day on the water...until about 15 minutes into the trip. The boat started rocking pretty badly. Some movement was expected, but not nearly this much. All joking aside, you literally could not walk throughout the ship without gripping handrails (and we hadn't even started drinking yet!) Before I knew it, I was extremely nauseous and I'm not one to get sick easily. We had gone into the Starlite Lounge to play Bingo. It costs us $30.00. NOTHING was free other than the bottom shelf liquor they served in the drinks. The ship had a small section devoted to the Casino. Had all the basics... cards, roulette, slots etc... pretty small and outdated. We noted several people having trouble with the slot machines jamming up. We took advantage of the sun deck for a few hours. Overall; the ship didn't appear to be too clean. Chairs and such were in order; but the carpet was super dirty and, oh, I recommend trying NOT to use the bathroom. Disgusting and not cleaned throughout the trip. While we were getting some sun on the deck...an annoucement was made that the ship was having "technical difficulties." AKA: One of the two engines broke down and our trip schedule was now extended. Our 4-hour trip to Grand Bahama Island turned into 6 hours. And, how long can you play Bingo/Casino or even buy drinks and food without going broke? We ended up having 2 hours to tour Grand Bahama - including the 20 minute ride to/from the Port in a taxi that resembled the Partridge Family bus. Actually, the taxi was much worse. Grand Bahama wasn't anything to write home about. It's a dump until you reach the resort area. The beach is gorgeous. White sand; clear ocean water...very lovely. The rest of it was tourist-y shops. Nothing really authentic. Time flew and we had to go back to reach our taxi and get back to the ship. We decided to get a cabin on the way back since our trip was delayed. Another 6 hour ride back to FL... Ugh. Thankfully we rented a cabin ($50) and we slept for the remainder of the trip. All in all... the friendly and attentive staff do not make up for a lengthy boat trip which was supposed to be 8 hours in-total and ultimately took 12. A "$50" ticket, with Bahama taxes ended up being $85 per person. Add on the room to sleep off the sicknesses and boredom - another $50. And, the drinks, gaming etc... A couple hundred dollar day trip quickly doubled. We HIGHLY recommend that you do not bored the Discovery Sun. Hope this feedback helps.

My wife and I live in SW Florida and decided to spend a weekend in the Bahamas, so we tried discovery cruises for the first time February 22, 2010. The trip was absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend it. Just remember, this is not a major cruise line, so don’t expect all of the amenities of the larger cruise ships. Even know that the ship is smaller and older, but very clean, it still has a casino, disco, lounges and state rooms. I considered it a nice 4 hour ferry ride. I highly recommend that when you book your trip you spend the extra $30.00 dollars a person for the PLUS service. The PLUS/VIP service was wonderful, you get special treatment and services that are way above and beyond the normal trip, and they treat you like royalty. I will explain our experience. We arrived at Port Everglades at 8:00 am, and like we were told when we made the reservations, we found a Discovery cruise line employee and showed him our VIP tickets. He quickly escorted us to the front of the line, took our bags, helped us fill out our customs forms and escorted us passed the hundreds of people waiting in line and took us to the VIP lounge on the ship. He then explained all the amenities that the ship had to offer and told us to make sure that we were back at the VIP lounge by 1:30 pm so that they could escort us off of the ship when we arrived at the Bahamas. We ate breakfast at the buffet; it was just ok, what I expected. Then we went up to the deck for the deck party. We had plenty of free drinks. All house beer, wine and liquor were included. We went back to the lounge upon arrival at the Bahamas. The cruise employees escorted off of the ship past the hundreds of people waiting to disembark, took us directly to the customs agents, picked up our luggage and brought us to the waiting taxi/van that brought us to our hotel. By the way the taxi ride is included in the price of the VIP service, which would normally cost $15.00 dollars each way. We had a great time at our hotel for the two nights that we stayed. On Monday, the taxi picked us up at our hotel at promptly 3:10 pm, as we were told when we arrived on the island. When the taxi got to the port in the Bahamas the cruise employees again met us, took our luggage, helped us fill out our custom forms and escorted us to the front of the line directly to the customs agent and then on to the ships VIP lounge. As a VIP, you get a special dinner on the trip home. The normal passenger gets a buffet meal. We were told that when we were ready to eat, just come back to the VIP lounge between 6:00 and 8:00 pm and we would be escorted to dinner. Well at 7:00 we showed up at the lounge and they escorted us to the special VIP dining room for our special free al la carte dinner service. It was fantastic, trust me I am a big eater and the service and the meal were top notch, as good as I have ever had on a major cruise line or fancy hotel. Selections of appetizers, shrimp cocktail, soup, salad, gourmet dinner selections, that was awesome. I was truly surprised. When we were done dinner we went to the casino for a little while and then took a nap until we got back to Florida. When we pulled into the dock we were again escorted off of the ship in front off all of the other passengers directly to the customs agents and went home. All of the Discovery cruise employees were very nice and helpful through out the entire trip. We definitely will travel Discovery again but I think I will spend the extra money for the cabin on the way home so I can sleep a while before having to drive home.

I have to congrats the whole crew of the Discovery Sun. We cruised to Freeport on January 9, 2010, the COLDEST day in Miami since 1909. The sea was smoking, that is how cold it was, the waves were over 10 feet high and on top of that it was raining all Satuday long. The ship was rocking like crazy and 90% of the people got sea sick. The crew worked very hard cleaning after those who got sick, to the point I still feel sorry about them. They did a terrific job. The vessel is old and rusty, and of course, once you have cruised with Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, there is no macth, but if you set your mind you are going in a Ferry you will have a great time. We stayed at the Our Reef Lucaya Hotel with the all inclusive price of $139.00 per person. The Hotel was beautiful, has two huge pools with a slide that was closed due to the cold weather, but some people dared to use the hot tub. The Beach is beatiful and very clean, but of course nobody went in the water. I will go again in summer and will love to stay at least 3 days. ONE THING I WILL RECOMMEND OTHER PEOPLE NOT TO GO JUST FOR THE WEEKEND, because Freeport is DEAD on Sundays. Everything is close, even some land excursions are not available on Sundays. The little food we ate was good and great service, but we couldn't eat more to prevent to get sea sick. On Sunday when we came back, at least was sunny and no raining and we enjoyed the outside decks while docked in the Bahamas, because once we left the Port the waves were so high that people started to get sick again and we stayed the four and half hours trip sitted in a Theather like room and we could hear plates and glasses falling to the floor and breaking but we did not move from our seats until we got back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Went on this cruise to Bahamas in April 2009... We had a great time....We chose to cruise and stay for 3 days...we stayed at the Sheraton which was great !!!! The cruise was wonderful, we were VIP and thats what they treated us like. The food was great, entertainment was great and staff was very friendly. We didn't have a cabin and didn't want one. We chose it because it is only a 5 hour trip. Who wants to be on a cruise for 4 or 5 days? It's clean and just what we wanted. We have money to pay for plush if we wanted, but we will leave that to those who thinks it makes them feel important ? It's a great fun cruise so don't listen to those who can't find fun in what they do.. Take this cruise you will have a great time !!!!

I went on the same cruise and had a terrible time. The staff were very rude and yelled at us. When sailing back to Florida we encountered rough seas and the whole boat swayed side to side. It was terrible! And most of the people on that cruise use it as a transport more than a vacation cruise. So there was people on the deck chairs with suitcases and blankets sleeping. It looked like a hobo village. Then on top of everything, the food and entertainment were awful! One lady that performed sounded like she was being strangled. Ugh. I will never go on that ship ever again.

Having cruised for 25 years on over 25 cruises I started where I began. An older boat, well worn but maintained as expected. Not so great but clean, working and pleasant. Our party of 4 arrived at 5:30 am and fairly quickly boarded. Nice and friendly folk, similar to the major cruise lines. Breakfast of fruit, cereals, meats, pasteries and eggs was satisfying. Ok no lox and bagels. Waitstaff attentive, juice and coffee served with a smile. Left the $ 2.00 tip and was happy to do it. On the bow we watched the sun rise, a bit chilly but Discovery doesn't control the weather. We had plenty of deck chairs to choose from and sunned ourselves behind the glass wind breakers. Bar staff asked if we wished to drink, NOT PUSHY, VERY POLITE, and respected our no thank yous. The seas were fairly calm, just a gentle roll with the seas, very easy and pleasant. If you wished more activity there was entertainment and games in the stern area. Announcements were to the point and not overdone. Got to check out the Prop Lounge, what in the world is with that? Airplane seats in a quiet room. We think people were sent there for detention or maybe it was the brig. Freeport was spotless, and empty, a $ 10.00 round trip taxi was reasonable and our driver entertaining, he said he would pick us up at 4 and he was there on time. A very short walk takes you to a beautiful sandy beach, calm waters, a bit too cold in December. Next time I will go in and be happy I did. The local casino had only a few tables open and very little business. Dinner buffet style had a number of entre options, all edible but not wonderful. Again as expected. The salads, cole slaw, and vegetables were fine, and tasty. Salads very fresh. Deserts sweet and filling, coffee, tea etc all ok. Again waitstaff professional, attentive and friendly. Now the casino was not well attended, but the pitboss very nice, pleasant, the humorous. Dealers pleasant as well. NO PUSHINESS, respectful of those who were playing for the first time. We broke even thanks to a last minute score and the sense to stop. We did not have a cabin, which are of course small and smaller. Spoke to those who had them and again it was a place to use a bathroom and lie down for a few moments. We parked our daybags in lockers and changed in the locker room. Nominal charge $5.00 and $ 8.50 or so. There are showers there as well. Bingo was bingo. Late night magician and singer tried valiantly. Getting off the boat was standard fare, however no wave through by customs as passports inspected. Parking easy @ $15.00. All in all you got what you should expect. This was a nice long day trip, worth the money, and gets you on the water, feeds you, gives you a chance to win some bucks, make some friends, get some sun and travel on the left side of the road. We traveled Dec. 26, 2009 and cost was $ 195.00 for 4.

We used the Discovery Cruise Line to go to the Bahamas Christmas 2009 and came away extremely disappointed. The boat was in bad shape, it is very loud, extremely cold, and they spend the entire 5 hour ride trying to sell you stuff. Even more annoying, the customs that passengers need to do in Miami and then in Free Port (both during each leg of the trip) added 2-3 hours to the trip. I can't understand how anyone can do this for a day trip. The food offered was mediocre. And for the price it was definitely not a bargain for what was offered. I would never go back to the Discovery Cruise Line and I would warn others not to do it either.

I did not really know what to expect, so it was an exploratory excursion. I have never been on a ship of this size. It looked old, but it was clean. Embarking was smooth, the crew was very friendly and helpful, the cabin was small but very clean, breakfast buffet was very nice. The view from the top decks were breath taking. The sea was very rough during my cruise and the boat was really rocking. A lot of people got sea sick. I am glad I had my Dramamine. People enjoyed the the bar and grill. The pool was small, but people still enjoyed it. When we got to Freeport, we took a taxi to Lucaya. The taxi cab drivers were funny, we enjoyed their enthusiasum. We only had 3 and half hours to spend there. Did some shopping, had lunch and tried the slots at the casino there. The trip back was like the trip on the way. Dinner buffet was also good. I was with three others and they all had fun. Would highly reccommend to those on a budget.

First off, You have to know what you are buying. If you are thinking a cruise, cabin, great meals, shows and so on, forget it. This is not that kind of cruise. This is a water taxi to the Bahamas. You stay in hotels, not on the Cruise Ship. The DIscovery was built in 1954 and has cruised under several names. While a nice ship in it's prime, today it is about the oldest, and most crowded "cruise" ship afloat. No lavish meals or great service. Good luck finding a lounge on deck. It is just an old retired Cruise Ship and quite honestly being marketed in a less than an ethical manner. Legal, yes, but ethical, no. While the price is low compared to a real cruise, it is over priced for what you get. This is nothing more than a short day cruise and hotels in the Bahamas.