The islands of Biscayne Bay, one by one

A shallow bay full of made land

Biscayne Bay stretches about 35 miles (56 km) along the coast and reaches up to 8 miles (13 km) across, yet its average depth is only about 6 feet (1.8 m). That shallowness made it easy to build on. In the early twentieth century engineers and developers pumped sand from the bottom into neat lots behind seawalls, and many of the islands a celebrity cruise passes were made that way. Read roughly in the order a boat from Bayside meets them, they make a short tour of their own.

Dodge Island and the cruise port

PortMiami fills Dodge Island, which was enlarged in the 1960s and lies just south of the MacArthur Causeway. It is the first thing most boats from Bayside pass, and the cruise ships tied up along its edge make a double-decker feel like a dinghy. The Bayride and Thriller routes open with it, and Fiesta's sunset cruise passes it on the way back. Nobody lands here on a sightseeing trip, since the port is working ground.

Fisher Island, reached only by ferry

Fisher Island faces the southern end of Miami Beach across Government Cut, the shipping channel dredged between 1905 and 1911. It has no bridge and no road link. Residents and cleared guests arrive by private ferry or by yacht. Carl Fisher, who gave the island its name, swapped part of the island with William K. Vanderbilt II in the late 1920s, taking the yacht Eagle in return, and Vanderbilt built a winter estate there. The Fisher Island Club opened in 1987, and the island is often cited as the wealthiest ZIP code in the United States. The big boats from Bayside pass it early in the loop, and Thriller's speedboat goes by it too.

The three islands of 1922

North of the port, the MacArthur Causeway crosses from downtown to South Beach, and on its north side lie the islands that give these cruises their name. Star Island, reached by a single guarded bridge, is the one every boat passes. Palm Island, 82 acres (33 ha), is joined by its own bridge to Hibiscus Island, and all three were finished in 1922. Al Capone's old house is on Palm. Bayride and Fiesta take in both Palm and Hibiscus, while 1 Life's route lists Hibiscus. Whose homes you actually see goes through the famous names island by island.

Watson Island at the causeway

Watson Island sits at the downtown end of the MacArthur Causeway, and the road runs straight across it. Its best-known tenant is Jungle Island, a wildlife park. Fiesta's sunset route lists Watson Island and Jungle Island near the start, and the big boats heading for Star Island pass within sight of it. It holds no celebrity houses, but it marks where the downtown skyline ends and the island stretch begins.

The Venetian Islands and Sunset Islands

Further north, the Venetian Causeway hops across a chain of small residential islands. From west to east they are Biscayne Island and San Marco, which belong to the City of Miami, then San Marino, Di Lido, Rivo Alto and Belle Isle, which belong to Miami Beach. The causeway began as the Collins Bridge, a wooden toll bridge about 2½ miles (4 km) long that opened in 1913, and became a series of drawbridges in 1925. Its houses stand closer together than Star Island's, and anyone may drive across.

Flagler Monument Island belongs to the same chain but has no houses at all. It is an uninhabited picnic island with a 1920 memorial to the railroad builder Henry Flagler. Bayride and Thriller both pass it, and it appears on 1 Life's route as well. MYA's private charter, from ~$199 per boat, has a 3-hour option with a swim stop at Monument Island, with the captain and fuel paid on top. Off the Miami Beach shore north of the Venetians, the Sunset Islands appear on the Bayride and Fiesta routes, and 1 Life's boats pass them on the way from Indian Creek.

Further afield, for longer trips

A few islands appear on only one or two routes. Brickell Key, the small island of towers off the Brickell waterfront, is on the route of Island Queen's Millionaire's Row cruise at ~$25 per person, which also adds a view of the Freedom Tower and is the one big boat Viator marks wheelchair accessible. Its ratings trail the others, though, and reviewers mention commentary that is hard to hear on the lower deck and a travel-club raffle pitch on board.

Sandspur Island, better known as Raccoon Island for its wild residents, is a stop on 1 Life's 2-hour celebrities and Raccoon Island option, from ~$125 per boat plus the captain and fuel, and one of MYA's 5-hour choices. Watch the raccoons from a distance and keep your snacks in the cooler. The Haulover sandbar, a shallow patch at the north end of Miami Beach where boats anchor for a swim, is MYA's other 5-hour option. None of the shared Bayside boats goes to either, and families weighing a stop like this will find more in kids, strollers and wheelchairs.

Which tour sees which

Routes come from the listings, and captains can change the order with traffic and weather. If one island matters most to you, a private boat is the only way to be sure of it. Speedboat, big boat or yacht? compares the boats, and what a celebrity homes cruise costs puts a price on each route.