Nassau- Atlantis advise

[shefor24]

I was on the 3 night Wonder in October. We went past Atlantis on our way to Blue Lagoon Island. Next time we go we'll go to the Dig and Atlantis and Paradise Island. But my brother and sis in law is finally taking their first cruise but it's on Norwegion (how the heck do you spell that!??) instead of DCL , they are stopping at Nassau for quite a while on their cruise and I was telling him to just get outta dodge when it comes to Nassau, and was telling him about Comfort Inn and Atlantis, but I am not that certain of details. Can someone who has been their and knows more prices than I do explain to me please? I know its cheaper to get the Comfort Inn room and then go to the dig, but what all does that include then? Thanks for any info...

 

[prymsu]

yes, a room is less expensive at Comfort Suites, but you still get guest privileges that the folks at Atlantis get...

 

[MarkRG]

Ok, some details.

Atlantis is a beautiful resort. Now, there's a whole bunch of ways to do this. First of all the 'Dig' is a themed walk thru number of aquariums, which are very worth the trip. The waterpark is a separate item altogether.

IF they're interested in the waterpark, they need to do one of three things:

a) Get a room at Atlantis
b) Get a room at Comfort Suites, less $
c) Gamble a bit and rush over to Atlantis to get a 'day room' these are rooms that havn't been booked for that day, and are available at a lower 'day rate', but are first come first serve, and in limited, variable number. Don't ask me for current $ numbers, I have no idea.

Now, if the waterpark isn't an interest, but want to see the dig/resort, here is option 2.

• Walk to the center of the casino upon arrival at Atlantis, to the kiosk with the blue globe(Temple of the Moon).
• Buy a wristband for $25 each for access to all the resort except the water recreation(you can still walk out to the beach, just not on it).
• Walk the Dig at your own pace. It's long, at least a mile or more, but it is exceptional. And you basically walk about 2/3 of the property in doing so, they give you a map. You can go where you wish, at your own pace.
• Whenever you're done, just go back to where you were dropped off for another taxi ride back to the ship.

Hope this helps.

 

[shefor24]

BUMP! Thanks

 

[shefor24]

How is the water park- how far is it from Atlantis, etc? Any prices with this would be helpful too. Thanks

 

[kimber79]

The waterpark is right there at Atlantis. There is quite a bit there to do, and is quite spread out. The only way to have use of the waterpark is to have a room at Atlantis or Comfort Suites. You cannot buy a pass for the waterparks, but you can buy the $25 pass to walk the dig. We were on the Halloween Wonder cruise and went to Atlantis by way of a room at Comfort Suites, and I think it was $190 (with taxes and fees). There is a price for the room (I think for 1 person), then there is a charge for each additional person - but only 4 allowed per room, and all of their fees and taxes. To book a room in advance at Atlantis I believe started around $225-250.

Atlantis is an awesome place! It is very beautiful there. The waterpark is nice. There are several different pools, a kid area, a lazy river and 3 different waterslides. There are also several aquariums and "viewing pools" with sharks, sting rays and such. We didn't make it out to the beach or unfortunately to the dig. There is definately too much to do in one day, but glad we had the opportunity to say "we have been to Atlantis"!

Have a fantastic time which ever way you decide to go!!

 

[nanc]

Just back from the Wonder (did a 3/4 day back to back) and we did Atlantis last Monday. We took a taxi there (8 of us at $4 each, each way) and then walked into the main lobby of Atlantis. Each "tower" has their own reservation desk. We walked to the Coral Towers reservation desk and was told to use house phone booth to make a day room reservation. They would allow 5 to a room but we had 8 of us (7 using beach/water slides) so we had to book 2 rooms at $150 each plus taxes/fees. Then you go back to the reservation desk to check in. When I did so, the lady told me I should've told her we had 8 in the party because very discretely she told me I didn't need two rooms. She very quietly cancelled one of the rooms and gave me 8 cards for one room and we requested a close room due to 2 senior citizens with us. She gave us a room that was only 4 rooms down from the hallway (entry way). It worked out great.

If you go, do it early so you have time to take everything in. We didn't do the slides (kids weren't really old enough) but we did do the beach and the pools. Food is a little more expensive and to save money I would recommend taking a collapsable (however you spell that) cooler and order sandwiches from room service the night before). You have to be out of the day rooms by 6. The aquariums and digs were a lot of fun for my kids, they really enjoyed seeing all the cool fish. Its neat to watch the people going through the slides in the shark tank. I would recommend the experience to anyone. The beach was clean and nice but it was a cooler day (high of low 70's) so it was hard to take the colder water and wind. Once you get off the beach you don't notice the wind as much. I've read about how bad the local hecklers are at Nassau. We didn't experience that at all but we got a taxi right off the ship and walked straight in to Atlantis. We were probably asked maybe 4-5 times about hairbraiding and taxis while following our guy to our taxi but no big deal. I do suggest you get a map of Atlantis when you get there or request one in the mail before you go so you can plan your day a little easier (that was our hardest part-its a BIG place).

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me!!

nanc

 

[chrissyk]

If each tower has it's own desk for making reservations (and presumably it's own prices), then go to the BEACH tower to do this. The Beach tower is the lowest-end hotel that is part of Atlantis. DH and I spent 5 nights at Atlantis a few years ago, and it was fantastic! The food is definitely expensive, so if you can pack some from the ship then do that (and also pack some bottled water/sodas too if you can). Also, the beach with the waves (it's on the right of the big pool) is where the hair-braiding/wanna buy a conch shell people were. The "Cove" beach that is to the left of the pool was very private...we were never approached by any hair-braiding type people at that beach. Have a great time at Atlantis!

 

[CSX2]

We have done two 4 day cruises and visited Atlantis both times.

The first time we used the shore excursion that took us on a guided tour of the The Dig but did not give us access to the beaches or pools. The Dig is wonderful but the tour was rushed and included a lengthy boat ride over from the ship. By the time they finished the tour we needed to rest and our 4y/o DD was getting a little cranky.

Our second trip we used the Comfort Suites option and this worked well for us. After a quick taxi ride from the ship we checked in at the CS and walked over to Atlantis (a bit of a hike with kids and seniors along). Sorry, can't remember what we spent but I remember that it was about the same price per person as the shore excursion with much better results.

We had 10 in our party so we were spread out between the The Dig, casino, slides, and pools. The big slides are GREAT! The nearly vertical Temple slide is a real thrill. The innertube ride was also lots of fun. The kids (5 & 7) spent most of the day in the zero entry pool and had a blast on the smaller slides that twist through the rocks. With this option you can take your time and explore the The Dig at your own pace.

All in all this was one of the highlights of our trip and a terrific way to spend a Monday!