Bahama Mama ferry

MV Bahama Mama ferry is a Ro-Ro passenger vessel owned and operated by the Spanish company BALEARIA. The ship has max capacity of 1000 passengers and 126 cars. The vessel was launched in 2010 (under the name Alhucemas) and currently operates on the Mediterranean ferry routes Denia-Ibiza Island (port San Antonio, crossing time 2,5 hours) and Denia-Formentera island (port La Savina, crossing time 2,5 hours).

Cabins

As cruiseferry, Bahama Mama has a total of 48 cabins, all of which are air-conditioned and with en-suite bathrooms. The ferry company provides bed linens, towels and toiletries. The ship also has VIP rooms (can be booked for private meetings and parties) and wheelchair-accessible cabins (adapted for disabled passengers). Most staterooms are 4-berth (quads), 6 are double cabins (with twin beds), 2 are with king beds, 2 are suites and 2 are twin cabins for disabled passengers.

The ship's Reserved Seating Lounge (Neptune Lounge) is equipped with reclining Pullman seats (comfortable, fully reclining leather armchairs). Reserved seats are available for pre-booking. These deals are inclusive of complimentary beverages (tea, coffee, soft drinks). The Lobby Bar Lounge is furnished with comfortable sofas and chairs in a communal area.

All passengers must vacate their staterooms 30 min prior to homeport arrival.

Shipboard dining and entertainment options

As facilities, the Bahama Mama ship offers:

• Accommodation options - cabins, Sirena Lounge (economy seats), Neptune Lounge (reserved seats / leather recliners), Lobby Bar seating. All lounges are fitted with large TVs.
• Dining options - A la Carte Restaurant (formal venue - gourmet food, fine wines, drinks), Self-Service Restaurant (casual venue - full menu, single courses, kids-vegetarian-healthy meals, traditional local dishes), Bar-Cafeteria (patisserie - pastries, cakes, drinks, snacks, sandwiches), Outdoor Bar (grill, cocktails, beers, sundeck barbecues), chocolate and ice-cream parlour. Purchasing dining services in advance offers 10% discount.
• Entertainment options - supervised children's entertainment, live stand-up comedy and magic shows, DJ music parties and live performances by guest artists (on Sun Deck), 3D Cinema, Casino (slot machines gaming area).
• Family services - the company provides high chairs, cots, safety bars for cabins' bunkbeds, baby changing rooms, kids menu, children activities (games, toys, drawing sets, board games), kids play area (ball pool). Kids entertainment program is available during peak season (movies, handicraft workshops).
• Passengers with disabilities - disabled cabins for passengers with reduced mobility)), adapted toilets (in all onboard communal areas), disabled lounge seats, safety anchorage points (for wheelchairs), lifts (passenger elevators connecting all decks).
• Spa & Beauty Salon (massages, beauty treatments)
• Aft on top deck is the ship's Solarium (sundeck sunbathing area) with a heated swimming pool (small plunge pool), shaded seating (deckchairs) and a poolside open-air bar (grilled food, hot / cold beverages). Forward is located the ship's helipad (helicopter landing platform) used in cases of emergency).
• Quiet Room (adjacent to the Lobby area) furnished with tables and chairs.
• Gifts & Travel Necessities Shop (duty-free / combined boutique and general store - gifts and souvenirs, alcohol and tobaccos, perfumes and cosmetics, drinks, snacks, sweets, toiletries, electronics, toys, books, newspapers, local gourmet produce)
• Luggage Compartments - there are luggage lockers (available in the ship's passenger lounge) which are accessible throughout the voyage.

Pet Cages (upon booking, the pet cage type must be indicated). For pet owners, all Balearia ships offer 2 types of cages - small cage (max height 50-75 cm / pets less than 30 kg) and large cage (max height 70-90 cm / pets over 30 kg). Passengers can also bring their own pet carriers. In all 3 cases, cage pricing is fixed (EUR 3-10 per voyage) and varries depending on the ferry route. Valid health cards for pets are required. Under no circumstances pets are allowed out of their cages / carriers during the crossing. During embarkation and disembarkation, dogs must be leashed and muzzled. Passengers with pets always disembark last.

Entreolas by Balearia Magazine is a free of charge onboard magazine themed on travel and lifestyle, culture, sports, fashion, music, cuisine, Balearia news. Wi-Fi and Internet are available at extra cost. Mobile phone chargers and Ipad rentals are also offered.

All Balearia ships are equipped with CCTV cameras with image recording. Smoking anywhere inside the ships is not permitted.

Onboard shopping offers discounted pricing for Balearia Club members. Balearia Club members enjoy as perks:

• 10% discounts in onboard shops, bars and restaurants
• preferential queue (priority boarding in selected departure ports)
• With standard chair booking, along with the boarding card club members receive vouchers giving them access to the Superior Lounge (reclining leather chairs / subject to availability).
• The Balearia company has contracts with over 50 partners offering exclusive offers and promotions. Among the Club Member only offers are discounts on travel insurance, land facilities and services (boutiques, tours, resorts, hotels, restaurants, chain stores, buses).

Car decks

All ferried vehicles must have documentation and valid insurance. Having the car's technical data sheet makes boarding checks easier. Upon booking, the vehicle's model, length and height must be specified. Car ferry passengers must arrive at the departure port 90 min prior departure.

All Balearia ships have a hold for bikes. Free of charge travel bicycles, mopeds and motorbikes (up to 125 cc),which must be indicated upon booking. Special vehicles (height over 3 m / 10 ft) must be booked via the company's Call Center (902 160 180).

Follows a list of car decks related safety procedures:

• Disabled passengers or those requiring specific assistance should visit the ship's Information Desk.
• Apply handbrake and place the vehicle in park or 1st gear position. Switch off the ignition, alarm, electrical equipment, headlights. Gas cylinders, if any, must be switched off. Lock the vehicle.
• From your vehicle take only valuables and essential hand baggage.
• Make a note of your vehicle's location and garage deck number / stairway before leaving the car deck.
• Access to the ship's vehicle (cargo) decks during the voyage is prohibited.
• Smoking on vehicle decks, as well as in cabins and passenger loungesis forbidden.
• Wait for the onboard announcement before returning to your vehicle.
• In order to avoid air pollution, don't start the engine until instructed.

Balearia ferry deals

Onboard shopping offers discounted pricing for Balearia Club members. Balearia Club members enjoy as perks:

• 10% discounts in onboard shops, bars and restaurants
• preferential queue (priority boarding in select departure ports)
• With standard chair booking, along with the boarding card club members receive vouchers giving access to Superior Lounge (reclining leather chairs / subject to availability).
• Balearia has over 50 partnerships for exclusive offers and promotions. Club Member only offers provide discounts on land-based facilities and services (resorts, hotels, restaurants, chain stores, boutiques, tours, buses, travel insurance, etc).

(ferry + train travel) Balearia has partnership with the Spanish state-owned railroad company Renfe Operadora. The company serves the routes between Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Marseilles, Barcelona and Madrid. The Balearia-Renfe partnership offers discounted train travel. Upon online booking the Balearia ferry, there is an option that if checked creates a Renfe promo code. The code is valid for the next 48 hours, if you book online Renfe trains.

(ferry + hotel) On select routes, Balearia offers discounted ferry-hotel packages, with prices starting from around EUR 65.

(day tour) deals are valid when purchasing roundtrip tickets and within 24 hours after booking (no changes or cancellations are accepted). Kids under 13 receive 50% discount, while babies travel for free. Day tour package prices range between EUR 10-60 (depending on itinerary). Shuttle bus service is provided.

The shipowner Balearia (founded in 1998, headquartered in Denia Spain) is a Spanish ferry company operating passenger ferry services in the Mediterranean and Caribbean (Bahamas). Balearia's current fleet includes the ships Abel Matutes, Bahama Mama, Denia Ciutat Creativa, Hypatia de Alejandria, Marie Curie, Martin i Soler, Napoles, Nissos Chios, Regina Baltica, Sicilia, Visemar One.

In 2011 was introduced the "Balearia Caribbean" brand operating regularly scheduled cruise ferry service between USA (Florida) and Bahamas with roundtrips from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) to Freeport (distance approx 137 km / 85 ml). In March 2015, the high-speed catamaran ferry Pinar del Rio (launched 1992, 460 passengers) was replaced by the bigger MS Bahama Mama (previously named Alhucemas).

Ship's Florida-Bahamas ferry service officially started on February 26, 2015. Daily departures from Florida are scheduled for 8 am. Arrivals back to Fort Lauderdale are at 11 am. Departures from Freeport Bahamas are at 7 pm (arrivals at 10 pm). Balearia Caribbean's roundtrip ferry prices are USD 210 (economy class) and USD 250 (first class). Overnight ferry-hotel packages combine roundtrip ferry travel with Grand Bahama Island hotel stays.

Bahama Mama's Caribbean service was terminated in 2017, when the ship was replaced by the fast ferry Jaume I (launched 1994). This new Balearia Bahamas Express service was started with 1 day trip ferry fares from USD 73 pp (roundtrip ticket) excluding taxes. Balearia also offers Bahama Island ferry vacation packages with included all-inclusive resort deals (Island Seas Resort, Grand Lucayan Resort, Memories Resort), as well as a selection of tours and excursions.

Balearia's Florida-Bahamas business grew approx 34% in 2014 (over 2013) - from 91,000 to 121,000 passengers. When deployed in the Caribbean, Bahama Mama had scheduled 300 voyages and carried over 200,000 passengers annually.

In late-October 2018, Balearia contracted Caterpillar Marine to install MAK dual-fuel engines on 3 vessels (Abel Matutes, Bahama Mama, Martin I Soler). Engine conversions (by Caterpillar dealer Finanzauto) were scheduled for early-2019. By this project, ship's diesel engines (2x 9M43C, total power output 18 MW) were replaced with 2x MaK 9M46DF (dual-fuel / diesel-LNG, power output 8,7 MW each) used with gearbox and controllable pitch propellers. Caterpillar provided dual-fuel conversion kits and all engine modules (ignition, ventilation, exhaust gas and GVU ventilation, valves, housing).

In late-November 2018, BALEARIA started an EUR 12 million drydock retrofit project for retrofitting six ferries (starting with Napoles on Nov 18) to be converted to LNG (liquified natural gas). All drydocks (at Gibraltar Gibdock shipyards) included modifying of the engines and installing LNG tanks. The conversion project was scheduled for completion February 15, 2019.

• Each ship got dual-fuel (LNG-diesel) MAN engines.
• The change results in fuel savings, with expected annual emissions reduction per vessel over 9113 tons (CO2) and over 871 tons (NOx) plus zero SOx emissions and soot particles. Ferry's annual CO2 reduction is equal the emissions of around 6000 cars.
• Wartsila-made LNG tanks (one per vessel) are able to store up to 440 m3 LNG, which allows autonomous operations up to 1900 km (1200 ml). Onboard gas pipes are from Cryospain (Madrid-based). The project as engineering was designed by Cotenaval (Valencia-based).
• The retrofit project was partially funded (20%, EUR 2,4 million) by CEF (Connecting Europe Facility). The list of ferries scheduled for engine conversion included Abel Matutes, Bahama Mama, Martin i Soler, Napoles and Sicilia.