Anyone done the Atlantis Beach Day?

[janet89]

Hi! We are sailing this Sunday!!! I booked the Atlantis Beach Excursion for myself, DH and DS (age 4). After given some choices DS picked this excursion. I was originally going to book a room either at Atlantis or Comfort Suites, but wasn't sure we would be there long enough to justify it. But I did want to ask what exactly is included. I know they lead us to a beach, I assume it is the private beach on the Atlantic. Is this right? Can we tour the Dig as we like or do we have to take a specific tour through it? Also, can we tour the predator lagoon tunnel and the stingray exhibit outside the Royal towers? I know that walking is extensive, but how extensive? DH and I are in decent shape, but both of us has slacked off in exercising recently. Would it be too much for DS?

 

[dsnylvr0305]

This is what we did......
We didnt get the excursion..I paid for a basic room at the Atlantis 200-300
and we were able to go down to the private beach...eat there if we wanted...take advantage of all the swimming and waterslides....as well as the beautiful aquarium nd shopping.....it was well worth it and we took a nap and shower and everything before heading back to the ship.
Remember though to allow plenty of time to get back to the port
I just remembered the people on the tour looked hot and walked out...lol....while we were swimming
Hope this helped some.
Erin

 

[Niecec]

I am also, leaving this Sunday and was thinking of doing this. But the weather is stating it will be in the low 70's do you think it will be warm enough to go to the beach?

 

[yogibigdog]

Did you book a regular room? I called and then said they don't have day rooms. That you have to book an overnight room and check in is at 3:00. How did you book your room? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[janet89]

Thanks for the replies. We have decided to stick with the excursion through DCL. I crunched the numbers several times and since there are only 3 of us, I couldn't justify getting the room, paying for the taxi's both ways, buying lunch (which I have heard is mucho expensive, like $35 for two hamburgers). Through DCL lunch is included, beach is included and all the aquariums and water habitats. I'm not concerned that we won't be getting the pools. DS is too little for the slides. Also, I did see that the weather was questionable for 1/24. If we were a bigger family, I would have done the day room. It is costing $165 for the 3 of us. That is with transportation, lunch, aquariums and beach.
yogibigdog, as you can see I did not book a room, but I have researched extensively. I did call Atlantis and they did confirm they do have day rooms, but you cannot book them until THAT day. They are $250. You can also book at Comfort Suites and get Atlantis privileges. There is a link in one of the Atlantis threads for smarterliving.com. I checked that rate yesterday. It is $140 (which is very good) but there are 12% taxes and fees. From what I have read they will not wave these even if you check out the same day. If someone else has a different experience with this, please correct me.

 

[jacobatt1]

Hi Janet89--we just did the Atlantis Beach Day in October. We loved it! I felt more comfortable doing a DCL excursion, and this was a great one. First, you ride in a van through the town and across the bridge to Paradise Island. They walk you through Atlantis to the beach where you get beach chairs and towels. At that point, they leave you and you can do the rest at your convenience. You have a coupon for lunch that is good at 2 different restaurants (both burger-type places) and you have a bracelet which allows you into the Dig and all the acquariums. You can do that at your leisure--there is no guide with you except at the beginning. The vans come back every half hour so you can leave pretty much whenever you want.

About the walking, yes, it's a lot of walking, but it's like walking at Disney World. You can do it at your own pace and there are plenty of areas to rest or hang out. However, you would want comfortable shoes and you might have to do some piggybacking at some point if your DS is little--pretty much what you'd have to do at the parks.

Hope that helps!

Amy

 

[fallingwithstyle]

From what I understood about the DCL excursion to Atlantis, there are some areas of the Dig and the Aquariums that you are unable to see. We booked a day room and swam all day. Our son was 25 months old at the time and he LOVES fish-we toured the entire area on our own and were able to stop and look at different fish as long as we wanted. It's amazing and we're currently planning 5 day trip to Atlantis because we had such a good time. While we were walking around there were many employees asking to see wrist bands and turning people away from different areas that were off limits to those without the bands (including the pools.) The children's pool area is wonderful and Hunter was able to go down the kiddie slides with me. The depth of the water is about 24 inches which was perfect for him. We bought hotdogs, chips and drinks from a small stand by the pool and spent about $20 for the 3 of us which I thought was reasonable for a hotel.

Hope this helps!

Sarah

 

[janet89]

Again, thanks for the replies and opinions. I did call DCL to be sure that the predator lagoon and other water habitats were included. They said that they are!!! If not, I will not be a happy camper. I will be sure to report when we get back. At this point, we won't be changing our plans. We hit the road tomorrow for Florida!!!