Atlantis Aquaventure With Several Other Ships in Port

[Mainsail Minnie]

I'm trying to choose an early summer Dream cruise for us, and as water park fans, we really want to go to Atlantis Aquaventure. We've never been there before but have read lots of reviews and think it's for us.

I often see comments to the effect of, go when there are only a couple of ships in port. Well naturally, that would always be preferable for any excursion, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards as almost every Dream summer sailing docks at Nassau when there are 4 or 5 other ships in port. We'll probably rent a cabana, so we won't have to worry about chairs, towels, food or lockers. My primary concern is what the experience doing the slides & lazy river will be like when Atlantis is very busy.

So for you who have done this excursion or gone on your own, can you please share what the water park experience was like when there were more than a couple of other ships in port? Was it possible to do the slides & the lazy river and to have a good time?

 

[buzzrelly]

I'm trying to choose an early summer Dream cruise for us, and as water park fans, we really want to go to Atlantis Aquaventure. We've never been there before but have read lots of reviews and think it's for us.

I often see comments to the effect of, go when there are only a couple of ships in port. Well naturally, that would always be preferable for any excursion, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards as almost every Dream summer sailing docks at Nassau when there are 4 or 5 other ships in port. We'll probably rent a cabana, so we won't have to worry about chairs, towels, food or lockers. My primary concern is what the experience doing the slides & lazy river will be like when Atlantis is very busy.

So for you who have done this excursion or gone on your own, can you please share what the water park experience was like when there were more than a couple of other ships in port? Was it possible to do the slides & the lazy river and to have a good time?

We did Atlantis on the Dream in 2016.

Personally, I have no idea how many other ships were in port. I didn't even think to look at that. I would suggest just book it and go if that looks like something you're interested in. You can't control how many other people will be there. Nor can you control which day you'll stop there.

It's a fun excursion, and the lazy river holds a lot of people, I'm sure. My kids did a couple of the slides and didn't complain about crowds.

 

[ahain]

I know that Atlantis does limit the number of guests allowed in the park. A couple of years ago, we were there getting our wrist bands and overheard some walk-up guests being turned away because they were at capacity with "booked" guests. So while it may be crowded, there IS a limit as to how crowded it can be. (technically ;-))

 

[fredandkell]

I haven't done Atlantis, but having been in Nassau on several cruises, it always seems like there's at least 4 ships there (it's a major port) so if you're waiting for a "small" port day in Nassau, that day may never come. Also keep in mind if anything goes awry with private islands in the Bahamas, the ships are almost always re-routed to Nassau so even if their schedule says X number of ships, there could be more. I have been re-routed to Nassau twice on Royal Caribbean instead of going to Coco Cay.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

My primary concern is what the experience doing the slides & lazy river will be like when Atlantis is very busy.

I visit Atlantis annually, usually during busy spring break periods.

Unfortunately, the number of ships isn't the only factor. Atlantis' own guests and just operational randomness are just as impactful from a lines perspective. There's some days when the crowds and lines are overwhelming, and others that its wonderful.

That being said, the Aquventure river system, with its wavy and rapids sections, can always reliably be ridden with just a brief wait. Several years ago they instituted a spot in the system where everyone has to give up/get out of their tube. You can then just walk over to a designated start point to pick one up and ride around the river. Because everyone gives up their tube at that exit, there's a steady supply at then entrance.

As for slide complexes, there are two, the Power Tower and the Mayan Temple.

The power tower has slides on two levels. The upper level has tow more thrilling slides, one body and one tube. The tube slide s is a master-blaster type slide with a rapids finale. During the hours cruise excursions are in Aquaventure, that will probably have a 20-40 minute wait. The body slide is a steep enclosed one, and it will have a wait of 10-25.

There's a mid-level of the power tower with two master blaster type tube slides. The wait for these are hard to predict. There's a stream-like fork off of the main aquaventure river system that gets you to a conveyor belt that brings you to this mid-level. If the conveyor is operating, the wait is just the amount of time it takes you to get trough the stream. If its not, you have to get out at a designated spot on the rapids section and take the stairs. Either way, its had to predict these lines, which could be zero or 30 minutes.

The Mayan temple has three body slides and a tube slide. The classic steep body slide (Leap of Faith) down the temple and through the shark tank will have a 40+ minute wait. The pair of humped speed racing slides (Challenger) will usually be a 5-20 minute wait. The typical curvy body slide waits are all over the place...sometimes nobody is in line, other times its the longest anywhere. The tube slide (The serpent) gently spirals down on the inside of the Mayan temple, ending with a slow ride through a glass tube inside the shark tank. This line can look intimidating, but its usually under 20 minutes even at the busiest times. Sometime you might have to wait 5-15 at the bottom of it to get a tube.

As is the case everywhere, the earlier or later you go, the shorter the lines will be.

 

[klug_bug2010]

My husband and I have visited Atlantis twice, once as an independent vacation (just the 2 of us), and once on a 4 night cruise on the Dream 3 years ago (as a port adventure with 2 of our kids). I will say that Atlantis is more enjoyable as an independent vacation. There is SO much to do there, that I felt we didn't get enough time to enjoy it as a family. It's busy, but that wasn't the detractor for us, it was the lack of time to enjoy everything. We also did a dolphin swim for myself and one of our kids, so that also took time away. I'm not saying not to go, but don't add another "thing to do" beyond enjoying Atlantis. You're going to feel like you hardly got there, and you'll be heading back to the ship!

 

[Ethanandyclaire]

MY family was there on a DCl cruise in Feb 2019. My kids had such a hard time finding tubes that they only went down a slide twice. I tried asking several employees for help and they just pointed me to a part of the lazy river that was going by. Despite waiting for a good 10+ min, no free tubes came by. Walked around to other areas, unable to get a tube. It was very frustrating for us. I had considered going to Atlantis as a vacation in the future. Now I have no interest.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

MY family was there on a DCl cruise in Feb 2019. My kids had such a hard time finding tubes that they only went down a slide twice. I tried asking several employees for help and they just pointed me to a part of the lazy river that was going by. Despite waiting for a good 10+ min, no free tubes came by. Walked around to other areas, unable to get a tube. It was very frustrating for us. I had considered going to Atlantis as a vacation in the future. Now I have no interest.

I'm curious if you were doing Atlantis on your own or if it was a DCL excursion? I'd hope the guides would point you to the area I mentioned below.

That being said, the Aquventure river system, with its wavy and rapids sections, can always reliably be ridden with just a brief wait. Several years ago they instituted a spot in the system where everyone has to give up/get out of their tube. You can then just walk over to a designated start point to pick one up and ride around the river. Because everyone gives up their tube at that exit, there's a steady supply at that entrance.

 

[Ethanandyclaire]

I'm curious if you were doing Atlantis on your own or if it was a DCL excursion? I'd hope the guides would point you to the area I mentioned below.

We did Atlantis on our own.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

We did Atlantis on our own.

It's a shame the staff you spoke with didn't walk you over to the entrance point, but I understand why it happened.

The staff in Aquaventure all have discrete roles....towel attendants have to stay in their huts, life guards must keep guarding, and the servers have to serve. There aren't any guest service employees roaming around, other than a few chair attendants, and they too are assigned a particular area. Organized cruise excursions have a guide that walks them around and gives them the lay of the land.

Atlantis is a lot like WDW: unless you go in knowing a lot about the place, you spend quite a bit of time figuring out very basic things. Its too bad you had this experience because If you'd known/been informed of the area where everybody has to get out of their tube you'd likely have enjoyed yourself much more.