could someone PLEASE clarify info on Atlantis wristbands for me

[crissyp]

ok, I'm very confused....We're 60 days out...sailing 4/04 Wonder and this being our first cruise I have some questions...We've never been to the Atlantis...and am really looking foward to this part of the trip...traveling with a group of 14, 9 of them being teenagers...we are trying to figure out the best way to use ALL the facilities at the Atlantis (Pools, slides, beach)..I've read so many posts about booking day rooms at the Comfort Inn(which say they have nothing available) and the Atlantis. Now I've just read that you can purchase wristbands for $40.00 at some casino booths for full use (including pool/slides). Since I have a family of 6 this of course would be much cheaper since I'd most likely would have to book 2 rooms, I think 5 is limit per room. Any info would be appreciated...Oh, one more Q?? Would the comfort inn let u book a room even if nothing was available, just to get the wristbands???
Thanks!
Chris

 

[Hygiene99]

u can take a land or water taxi over to Atlantis and purchase the wristbands there , the taxi is about $4.00 per person
looks like a lot of fun we wandered over and some how wandered into the area's that require u to have a wristband
or room id ... Explored and went back to the ship as we did not think we would ever just wander in we did not have the swim suits with us... have fun

 

[jkovick]

We toured Atlantis on 1-18-04 on our RCCL cruise. We got the $25. wristbands to tour the dig and such. We asked about pool use and were told the only way to have full access was to be a booked guest of Atlantis or Comfort Inn. I haven't heard about a $40 wristband, if they have one maybe it is just at certain times?

 

[Tagoladad]

I just called the Atlantis and they told me that they have a "Discover Atlantis" tour which is an hour long ecorted tour, showing the highlights of the hotel. They told me there is no such thing as an all-access wristband. They said the only way to use the pools and waterslides was to be a booked guest (rooms starting at 349.00 per night) He said that all the public areas were open (restaurants, etc) to the public. After our morning catamaran/snorkel excursion, we're going to go over for lunch. 10 days to sail and WE CAN'T WAIT

 

[Tluvs2talk]

I have never heard of the $40.00 all acess band either. We got a "day room" when we arrived for $189.00 at Atlantis. Of course when you call most will tell you there is no such thing as a day room ,but we got one.




Teri

 

[mcgrawfan]

We did this on the Jan 15 Wonder. DH and I took a taxi to Atlantis ($5 per person because of a toll bridge). When we arrived we began a wild goose chase to find the place to buy the wristbands. We stopped at a desk that sent us to another, that sent us to another, that had no idea what we were talking about. Finally we went back to the original desk to ask again and spoke to a different girl who directed us in the right direction. We finally found the desk they were sold at and had a very friendly woman help us with them. They are $25 (no tax of course) each and NO use of the pools or slides. You have full reign of everything else. We walked all through the aquariums (which are very cool) and The Dig. We stopped at the casino for a few minutes and went through the shops. The resort itself is reason to go. The buidlings and grounds are gorgeous!! We then took a taxi back to the port. It was a limo ($4pp). Just wanted to warn people about getting the wristbands...One of the men guarding access to the pool thought they were doing away with them. He may not have known what he was talking about though.

 

[crissyp]

thanks, but wow, that is a big difference in rates...189.00 vs. 349.00...if I was to book a room at the Atlantis, is it better to book now, or just book when we get there. Now, is a "day room"
what to ask for....Would luv that 189.00 price...and also, we're a party of 6, would I probably have to book 2 day rooms??
Thanks again,
and again, and again!

 

[outahere]

Just checked the Atlantis reservations site and the least expensive room they show for 4/5 is $369, plus 12% tax and a $7.00 per day/per person resort charge, with a maximum of 4 people per room. That means you would have to book 4 rooms for 14 people for a total charge of somewhere around $1750.00!!! That is one VERY expensive day at the pool.....

 

[Tluvs2talk]

crissyp,
When we called Atlantis we were told "Day Rooms" are on a first come first served basis. The day we arrived in Nassau we took a cab to Atlantis and were told by the lady at the check in to use the house phone and ask for a day room. We had complete success!! WE even used the room to shower before returning to the ship. Below is a link to our Atlantis pictures.

Teri


http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1265445&uid=471454

 

[jlawall]

Honestly, I just stayed there this weekend. I don't think you need any wristband at all to enjoy the restaurants and to shop and tour around the facility. Since you can't enjoy the pools, etc. I would just take a taxi, tour around on your own and enjoy the Atlantis. This will have you booking a room there yourself in the near future!!

Check out the DIG and eat at the Lagoon for lunch. You will love it!!

 

[MarkRG]

You cannot tour the DIG without a wristband. In fact you cannot leave the main building without one, they have polite but firm people stopping you from going further.

As others have said to use the water park you do have to get a room. There is no way around this.

The wristbands are $25 adults, $19 12-4, 4 and under are free.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

I posted this a few days ago, but this is what we did. I stayed there at the Harborside a few yeras ago, so I knew the lay of the land. We were on the Carnival Fantasy, and in port till 7:00am ish, so we spent the day at the Blue Lagoon, went back to the ship and had dinner, then left again and took a taxi over to the Atlantis, you could definately walk around, check out the inside, then we wondered out and walked the pools, dig, beach area, we even played shuffleboard!!! The pools are closed at night, but it ws definatley pretty to see at night. If you wanted to do this in the daylight, I think you may have a problem, but as long as your not in bathing suits, I bet you could do it. Because they do have shops, restaurants and the Casino, plus there is a restaurant out in the Dig area.

 

[TammyC]

It seems like I saw on DCL site about excursions: they offer one which allows access to the aquarium/dig site and another that also includes beach access (but no pool). I have also heard that the ocean can be quite rough on that side of the island.

 

[mushck]

OK...I will do my best to convey this info as clearly as possible. I was just at the Atlantis on 1-26-04. We went into the hotel and to a booth in the casino. (A booth that handles gamblers perks.) We purchased wrist bands for $25.00 per adult. All of the children traveling with us were under 3 years old and did not have to pay. We walked around the grounds of the hotel and the dig. This was not an escorted tour through the aquairium. We did see tours but I don't know anything about the tours. You have to have a wristband to walk though the dig. There are LOTS of people there to check your wristbands. There is another part of the aquairium that is free to the public that you could just "wander" through.

The $40.00 "all access" wristband is something my MIL told me about after we got home and I was trying to get info for people on this board. It may or may not be true. I am soooo sorry for the confusion but sometimes my MIL gets her facts wrong! If no one else has ever heard of this $40 wristband then...well, I doubt it is true.

Apologies again!

 

[crissyp]

thanks, you did a great job clarifying this for me....Still not sure what we plan on doing, we're planning on having a "meeting" with the rest of the group of 14...I guess we'll just have to see how bad everyone wants to use the pools/slides. Personally, I'd be happy with a beach chair, blue water, alittle shopping and a great lunch! Now that would be Paradise

 

[val2001]

One more question about Atlantis Water park: If you didn't have to pay for child under 3, does that mean they were too young to do the water park? Is there a height requirement?

 

[cjsmith]

We've also done the day rooms at the Atlantis and so have friends on my advice on the cruise they just did. I called the Atlantis directly prior to leaving the states. I did this because we took a cab there on our first cruise and were stopped from even seeing the pools by security and were told we had to have wristbands. The employees also check them prior to letting you down the slides.
You can not book the day rooms prior the morning of your stay. The rates depend on what time of year it is. The rates during the winter months are higher by about $50. The day rooms are either located in the Coral or the Royal Towers, with the Royal Towers being more expensive. You can have up to 5 people in the day rooms, while you can only have up to 4 if you book the rooms as regular rooms. I called the hotel from the ship and reserved my day room and gave them a credit card to reserve. The phone call cost me about $12 and I felt it was worth it because I knew that i had the day room prior to heading over there. We got the room the minute we arrived and had use of it until 6 pm. We got our wristbands after all showing our keys and were allowed to tour the dig and then use the pool, beach, etc.
The pools are already way too crowded, I can't imagine how they would be if they sold $40 wristbands to every person who arrived on a cruise ship or stayed at any of the hotels.

 

[s.r.disney nut]

When I booked a room for this August I asked about a "day room" and was told that the price is the same whether we stayed the night or not. I was able to get a room in the Beach Tower for 5 (3 adults & 2 children). The total was $408.00 and s includes the $7.00 pp charge and 12% tax. Since this will be our first cruise we booked the room rather than be disappointed if we couldn't get wristbands and access to the pools.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

s.r.disney nut,
We also had someone tell us there was no such thing as a "day room" but we were able to get one. Why not wait until you get to Atlantis to get your room. The worst thing that could happen is you still have to pay the full price.



Teri

 

[s.r.disney nut]

Teri,

Thank you for the good advice, we'll have to think about it, we still have plenty of time yet to cancel with a full refund. My concerns are that either there would be no more rooms available at the less expensive rates or no rooms at all. Did anyone ever have that problem? We joke at our house that the saying "If it wasn't for bad luck we'd have no luck at all" was made for our family. This board is great. I've gotten some real good information from it for our upcoming cruise.