Bahamas, Atlantis excursion, worth it?

[MC0810]

In 1 week excursions open up to book for our 5 night Magic cruise.

I have a 1 1/2 year old and 4 year old and was wondering is Atlantis excursion is worth the price? I just dont see anything else that looks appealing or SAFE.

Also, how do you get to Atlantis? a bus? taxi?

Paranoid about a cab driver driving us and our little boys

 

[1stdcl2012]

This was from a previous thread, similar topic:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2881737

 

[Disneygal19]

I went on the Atlantis Beach Day Excursion and I must say I was super disappointed!! They picked up up in a van and drove us to Atlantis, we first had a tour of the aquarium which to me looked dirty and have seen better where I live in NY. The lunch was ok. But when we got to the beach in was full of people trying to sell jewelry, flutes, water excursions. We did not feel safe leaving our belongings so we had to go into the water in shifts. Also, not Atlantis' fault but the water was full of jelly fish and we kept getting stung.

 

[Poly-Anna]

We went to Atlantis on our DCL cruise in November and enjoyed it very much. A shuttle bus takes you right from the pier to the resort in about 15 minutes. We did the Atlantis Aquaventure and only concentrated on the waterpark; we didn't do the beaches. Our 8 yr old DS loved the waterslides and the pools are awesome. There is a really great zero entry pool that also has a play area in the middle with very tiny waterslides for small children. My son even played in that area also. We got lounge chairs by that pool and never felt "unsafe." I have one of those waterproof card holders that I put our KTTW cards, one credit card (because Atlantis does not take cash for anything) and our licenses for ID going back to the ship. This I kept with me at all times. Other than that I had no items of value and felt very safe leaving my beach bag and stuff while we did the waterslides or went in the pools. We didn't check out the Aquarium that trip but plan on doing so on our cruise in April when we return to Nassau.

We had a good time and even though it is pricey, we would recommend it.

 

[5lilfish]

We went to Atlantis yesterday (on the Norwegian Epic). We had a great time. It is not exactly worth the high price...in terms of value, but it was great and we will go back. For a 1 1/2 yr old and a 4 yr old, it would be a complete waste of money. They are not old enough to do anything but look at the aquarium and wade in the pool...way too much money for that. My oldest 3 kids (14, 13 and 12), loved the slides. And the river rapids...so did I. My twin 4 yr olds spent the entire time in the pool with Daddy. They had a blast but, if it had just been them, they could have swam on the ship for free.

Jess

 

[strangeling]

We've done the Atlantis excursion about seven or eight times (several times +Beach Day) and always enjoy it! The Atlantis aquariums are lovely, the grounds are beautiful to walk around, the beach is great (yes people do try to sell you stuff, but everybody is friendly and it's fun) and we always have a great time.

You ride on a bus directly off the boat with other folks from the ship, and on the way back you catch the same bus(es) which come every half hour or so, so you can stay as long as you'd like.

If it's your first time to Nassau I'd definitely recommend it!

There's also a bunch of fancy shops & casino, etc. there if you're into that sort of thing, but mostly I just enjoy it for all the lovely aquariums, lagoon, beach, and just a lovely tropical place with pretty architecture and nature abounding.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

How much is the Atlantis Excursion on DCL? Is any food included in the excursion?

 

[k1koala]

IMHO, I agree also that for their ages it would be a waste of money. Disney has so much to do on the ships for the children, that I personally choose to stay onboard. Again, thats just what I prefer. Now that my daughter is older we will venture out and try Blue Lagoon, but I never took her to Nassau and did the other excursions when she was younger. It wasnt worth the money to me, and we had a blast on the ship!
Enjoy your time and whatever choices you make

 

[Im_A_Princess]

How much is the Atlantis Excursion on DCL? Is any food included in the excursion?

The Aquaventure is $169 per person ages 10 & up.
Personally, I do not think it is worth the price. For the DH, 2 DDs and myself it would be $676 Even for just DH and I when we cruise alone it would be $338.
It does include a lunch. "Enjoy lunch (included in the price of this tour) with options such as burgers, wraps, pizza, salads and more at one of several kiosks located on the property."

 

[MC0810]

so my 4 year old could not go on the water slide with us or the river tube ride?

I also see something on atlantis website called splashers, a whole kiddie pool playground, is that included in the price?

 

[dunnhorn]

For your kids age, I would say it is totally NOT worth it at all. We went when our kids were 4 and 6 and did the beach day. The only beach they let you go to is a public beach that is a pretty good walk, even over the sand. We were panhandled on the beach, and the waves were so very rough they knocked my 4 year old over and about swept her out. We didn't do the slide day because we didn't think it was worth it - and if you don't do the slide day, they don't let you in ANY pools at all. The aquarium is okay, but not great. Your kids won't remember it at all and to be honest, I just don't think it's worth it.

By contrast, I would heartily recommend the Blue Lagoon beach day - we just did that last April when we were on the dream (actually we did the Dolphin encounter/swim and we could go to the beach afterwards.) It was so very easy, completely beautiful and the kids LOVED the beach. They have floating things in the water where the kids can play, and if you want to pay a couple bucks for them to go on this huge inflatable slide, you can - and you know what, they would LOVE it. Dare I say that the kids enjoyed the beach at Blue Lagoon more than they enjoyed Castaway Cay (heresy, I know!)

If you wanted, you could buy the dolphin encounter for your 4 year old (if you think they would be old enough to like it) and have the 1.5 year old just watch with the other parent.

My advice, after having been to Atlantis with young kids - is to SKIP and really look at Blue Lagoon. It's a 20 minute boat ride, a beautiful beach and everything is centrally located without any panhandlers, and the ocean water is calm like a lake. I would go back there is a heartbeat, with or without kids