What a celebrity homes cruise costs

Eight tours in one table

The prices below are the regular "from" rates in US dollars when we compared the listings. Most tours charge each passenger, but the two private charters charge for the whole boat, so read the second column before you compare. The last two rows are extras we cover only in the guides.

What a shared ticket buys

On the big boats the fare covers the ride and the commentary, nothing more. Bayride's cruise at ~$20 per person is the cheapest seat on the bay, and its guide narrates nonstop in English and Spanish. Drinks and snacks come from a cash bar, and reviewers call them overpriced. Expect the crew to ask for tips more than once, plus a "free raffle" that turns out to open a vacation-club sales pitch.

Fiesta's sunset cruise at ~$69 per person is the one shared boat with drinks in the fare. The open bar pours wine, beer, prosecco and frozen cocktails for anyone 21 or over, while premium spirits and food cost extra. If you would have bought two drinks on Bayride anyway, the gap between the two tickets shrinks fast.

Thriller's speedboat at ~$42 per person has no bar, and souvenir photos are sold on site. Sunny Miami's day at ~$60 per person includes the van, a bilingual guide, bottled water and the cruise, but lunch is on you, and infants pay a $15 fee for the boat.

Private boats and the second bill

The private charters look cheap online because the headline price covers only the boat. The captain costs $50 an hour and fuel another $50, both paid at the dock on the day. Reviewers praise the captains, but the fees still catch out guests who read only the first number, and one 1 Life customer was surprised by about $150 of charges on arrival.

• MYA, two hours. The boat from ~$199, plus $150 for two hours of captain and the fuel. About $350 in all before the tip, or around $35 a head with ten aboard;
• 1 Life, two hours. The boat from ~$125, plus the same $150 in captain and fuel. About $275 before the tip, or roughly $34 each for eight;
• Longer trips. Every extra hour adds $50 for the captain, and the longer options start at a higher boat price too.

Both boats are BYOB, so your drinks cost what the supermarket charges, though neither allows red wine on board. MYA stocks a cooler with ice and water, and for the swim stops it adds towels plus a floating mat. Speedboat, big boat or yacht? explains when the private route pays for itself.

Bruschi, a private boat priced per person

Bruschi Boat Rental's two-hour private tour, sold on Viator only, prices a private boat the other way round. You pay from ~$52 per person, with the rate set by the size of your group, and a $70 captain fee for the two hours comes on top. The boats run 21 to 26 feet and take up to 6 or 8 guests. There is no restroom on board, and the departure is a yard on the Miami River with no parking on site, so budget for a taxi. You also cannot pick your captain, and the lead traveler signs a charter agreement.

The small extras

• Tips. Customary on every boat and never in the fare. On the big boats the crew asks, often more than once. On a private boat, tip the captain on top of the hourly fee;
• Drinks. Cash bars on Bayride and on Island Queen's cruise from ~$25 per person, whose catch is a travel-club raffle pitch on board and commentary that is hard to hear from below. You need ID showing you are 21 to order alcohol;
• Parking. The garages at Bayside charge roughly $10 for two hours according to one listing, and a 90-minute cruise plus the 30-minute check-in fills that easily;
• Photos. Thriller sells souvenir shots on site. Your own phone is free, and sun, spray and what to pack covers keeping it dry.

The same cruise, two prices

GetYourGuide and Viator sell the same boats at different prices, and the gap is not always small. When we compared them, the differences looked like this.

Fiesta costs the same on both. Viator wins more often than not, yet 1 Life usually comes out cheaper on GetYourGuide. Both sites run offers that come and go, so open both before you pay. The best time of year to go covers the cheaper weekday option and the crowded weeks.

Cancelling, and paying later

All eight tours offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and each lets you reserve now and pay later. Inside that window you pay in full unless the operator cancels. The big boats sail rain or shine, so a wet forecast alone does not get you a refund there, while 1 Life offers a new date or your money back when rain stops the trip. If you are torn between a daytime loop and an evening one, day cruise or sunset cruise? compares them, and kids, strollers and wheelchairs lists the child fares.