Nassau: Atlantis?

[sandydk]

We're going to Nassau via the Dream. I'd love to hear more about the Atlantis excursions. I've always wanted to see Atlantis, looks amazing, but it's so pricey! Any tips? It'll be me, my husband, and 2 boys (6 and 9). Thanks!

 

[beaglefan]

We took our young boys and had a blast - we were able to reduce the price substantially by booking well in advance a room at the Comfort Suites, Paradise Island. You can search the web to learn more, but basically you check in and check out, and they give you four wristbands that get you admission to Atlantis, which is walking distance.

the other thing I would recommend is to get to Atlantis early - some of the adult slides (steep, fast), had no lines, whereas later in the day the wait could be 1 hour long.

Finally, they say no food allowed, but it was really expensive there and we brought our backpack with granola bars, etc. Definitely helped to reduce the bill.

A fun time, bring lots of sunscreen!

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

My wife and I had always want.to visit Atlantis too, and almost booked a week long vacation there. After visiting during our Dream cruise, I'm so glad we didn't. It was nice for a day but a week there would get real old. The water slides were great! The lazy river was absolutely amazing, the Disney water parks could actually learn something from them. The food at the pool snack bars was ok, nothing too bad, nothing too good, but the service was awful. However, when you spend 5 days at WDW and then are being pampered on the Dream, most service tends to suck. I didn't know anything about the Dashboards before we went so I spent the full amount booking the excursion through DCL, I wish I had known about the Comfort Suites deal the PP mentioned. I think I would go that route if I had to do it over have fun on your cruise.

 

[carissa1970]

I haven't been personally, but a friend of mine and her family stayed for a week and they absolutely loved it.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Cruise excursions to Atlantis are pricey, but look at it another way: your getting a quick preview of Atlantis to see if you'd want to go back for a longer vacation. So a cruise excursion is inexpensive compared to the cost of flying to the Bahamas and booking a room at Atlantis to test it out.

they say no food allowed

Disney Cruise might say this, but Atlantis doesn't. There's no glass in the pool areas, but otherwise many people pack their own food and drink in soft-side cooler bags.

It was nice for a day but a week there would get real old.

I enjoy visiting Atlantis for a week annually....so do many other people. Doesn't get old to us. I've heard the same 'get old' thing said about Disney Cruises and WDW vacations, so to each his own.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

DH and I went to Atlantis when we were on the Dream in September. Like a PP, we booked a room at the Comfort Suites. We got a good AAA rate and saved money, even though there were only two of us. Since there will be 4 of you, you stand to save a lot more money. The whole process was pretty easy, and we ended up in the water park 45 minutes to an hour before the people who went via the DCL excursion. Not everyone loves Atlantis, but we had a blast and would do it again. Given your boys' ages, I would think they would love it.

 

[Gigi22]

DH and I went to Atlantis a couple of years ago on a HAL shore excursion. This was about the 10th time we had been to Nassau. We did the aquarium tour, which included transfers to and from the ship.
All I can say is that we decided we won't go back to Atlantis any time soon. It was a stinking hot day, there was a lengthy forced march from one building to another, positively no shade, DH started feeling unwell in the middle, not fun. DH was able to find a somewhere to sit, I got him some water, and he perked up.
The aquarium was large, but I've actually seen better.
Save your money. Avoid Atlantis.

 

[sandydk]

Do you take a taxi to the Comfort Suites? How about when it's time to return to the ship?

I've heard some scary things about Nassau so want to be sure we're being safe if we don't go with the official cruise excursion.

Also, is it awkward checking in and then checking out at the CS? I would think they would frown upon just using them for the wristbands, but I'm definitely interested in saving the $$$!

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I've heard some scary things about Nassau so want to be sure we're being safe if we don't go with the official cruise excursion.

Nassau is to Atlantis what Downtown Orlando is to Disney: Something you go through to get to the real attractions. Ever look at the crime stories in the Orlando Sentinel?

Nassau has a crime problem, but it pretty much limited to the parts of town tourists don't visit...much like NY, DC, LA, and on and on. There have been a few highly publicized crimes on tourists in the past several years, but you could probably count them on one hand. I've been visiting Atlantis for the past 10 or so years, and I am comfortable returning there with my young children.

That being said, I don't spend any time in downtown Nassau (near the cruise port) because it really doesn't offer anything particularly special. The good stuff in the Bahamas is at the resorts or on the water excursions.

Taking a taxi from the port on your own should be perfectly safe. There's a regulated zone system in Nassau, so drivers are pretty honest. The only scam I've ever heard of is people who don't know about this system agree to prices higher than these rates, thinking they're out-negotiating the driver. If you don't negotiate, the fee is set. I always take taxis from the airport to Atlantis for my vacations, and the drivers are the nicest taxi driver I regularly encounter anywhere.

Also, is it awkward checking in and then checking out at the CS? I would think they would frown upon just using them for the wristbands, but I'm definitely interested in saving the $$$!

This is a very common thing and is not frowned upon. The Comfort Suites implements 2 night minimum bookings when it doesn't want people doing this.

 

[sandydk]

Thank you so much! That makes me feel better. Several people have told me to skip Atlantis, but I really want to see it and I'm sure my boys would love it. Definitely going to try to make it happen, because who knows if I'll make it to the Bahamas again?

 

[cookingqueen]

We did the Atlantis excursion in Oct with our 9 year old son and we are all still talking about it! It was awesome and so worth the $, no lines, warm and we did everything. My son just had to write 5 paragraph's on the best day of his life and he wrote about the cruise with 2 paragraphs on Atlantis- he hates to write but said he could have written 10 paragraphs on the cruise!
We thought the food was good- quick service and since we booked through the cruise we had vouchers for lunch- definitely saved $!! We also had no problems with the cruise transportation- we were there by 9:30 and we got the bus back around 4 (we were in Nassau until 2am). It was perfect- Enjoy!!

 

[disneykelly73]

I am going in 22 days on the cruise. Do you think it will be warm enough to enjoy the lazy man river and the water slides? we are taking our first big kids free trip. The first one was 2 hrs away for 2 nights.. lol.. they survived so now we are going for a 3 night cruise. This is something I want to do, but my kids are too small and I would worry about them drowning the whole time, so we haven't done it any of the times we have pulled in there..

Thanks,

 

[Lisa Lisa]

I am going in 22 days on the cruise. Do you think it will be warm enough to enjoy the lazy man river and the water slides? we are taking our first big kids free trip. The first one was 2 hrs away for 2 nights.. lol.. they survived so now we are going for a 3 night cruise. This is something I want to do, but my kids are too small and I would worry about them drowning the whole time, so we haven't done it any of the times we have pulled in there..

Thanks,

I don't have firsthand knowledge, but I would guess that the water is fine. The air temperature is generally in the high 70s to low 80s there this time of year (I have Nassau weather on my phone and check it all the time!). Even if the water is a bit cool, I still think it would be worth going. DH and I went on the Dream without our DD this past September, and we had a BLAST at Atlantis. We felt like kids again ourselves!

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I am going in 22 days on the cruise. Do you think it will be warm enough to enjoy the lazy man river and the water slides?

I've been to Atlantis, various times, the first week of March through early May. There are occasional cool days where its a bit brisk to be in the water, but those are unusual. The usual feeling is a touch of briskness when you get in the water, and then pleasant comfort afterward.

 

[kickash]

Thanks for this thread! We will be first time cruisers next summer and we love waterparks, so Atlantis Aquaventure is looking like our excursion for the trip! I enjoyed reading all of the tips and info!