Nassau excursion decision....

[psimon]

We are debating between the Discover Atlantis and the Atlantis Beach Day excursions. We are a family of 5 (2A, 1 15yo and 2 8yo). Does anyone have any experience with either of these and if so, what were your thoughts?

Many thanks....


---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[Princess49]

I don't but my best friends just got back from their honeymoon in the Bahamas, they stayed at Sandals & visited Atlanits. They said it was SOOO crowded! IF you think about it, you have so many people on the beach & in the resort-- the people staying there (& it's ahuge hotel), the surrounding hotels that are allowed to use their beaches & ameneties, any one staying in the bahamas that is checking it out, & all the people from all the cruse ships! Even th ough my friend LOVES aquariums, they said they weren't impressed buy it & were happy to go back to their less crowded resport & beach. I'm not trying to discourage you I just want to let you know someone elses expirience. Good luck!!

 

[gmech6145]

I just returned from the 4 night Wonder cruise. We stopped in at Atlantis. DD-14 and DD,DS-12 liked the aquarium, a little. They had some nice fish, but it cost me $100 to see it. We were in and out of Atlantis in an hour. We went back to the ship by lunch and then stayed there. I would rather do the beach or just stay on the ship. Nassau didnt impress me much.

PS...You cannot use the water parks or the beaches at Atlantis unless you are staying at the resort, or one of the neighboring hotels. The $100 was for the aquarium and to walk aound the resort, only.

 

[Melynny]

I have tried to get info on these boards about folks who have done the Atlantis Beach Day. I don't think many have, but I have decided to to the Beach day excursion on our 4 day in November. Here's how I see it: It includes a nice ferry ride to the resort, a nice walk thru a marina on Paradise Island to the Resort. At the resort, we get wirst bands that include access to the Dig, ( the aquarium) and access to LOOK at all of Atlantis, and I also understand that we can shop, gamble or eat and drink on our own dime.... We also get a towel and chairs on the beach and a quick service lunch. I was spilt beween the blue lagoon day but, the deciding factor was really seeing Atlantis, with the option to just relax on the beach, if we wanted to. We may decide to hop right on the ferry and head back to the ship, or we may relax for an hour or 2 and then head back to the ship. I know the tour of altantis is around 25.00, not sure how much a chair rents for or how much the ferry is, but Food at Atlatis is expensive, even for fast food. so I figure we will come close to the cost of the excursion.

 

[Macnjac87]

Why not take a tax to the Wyndham Resort- from what I've read on these boards, its about $5 per person each way to the resort and they let Disney cruisers use the pool and beach for free. I checked out the website and it looks really beautiful. I have a family of 5 also and the excursion to Atlantis (which I've been to before and was not impressed) is way too much money for what you get.

http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/NASBS/main.wnt

 

[Sabor]

Do not Underestimate the Aquariums of Atlantis.
We stayed there a couple of months ago. I thought the trip was overpriced and I had some customer service issues with the Atlantis Hotel Staff.
However the Aquariums are Awesome. Better than Coney Island,
Sea World Orlando , Coral World St thomas and A dozen more I have been to. It is IMPOSSIBLE to see it all in an hour. There are nooks and crannies all over the resort with different exhibits.
The Sea Turtles and Shark Areas (especially the Hammerheads) were quite impressive. The Dig is only a small portion of the experience.
Having stayed on Nassau - If you are not going to Atlantis - STAY ON THE SHIP - there is nothing worth seeing or doing.
The Food at Atlantis is High Priced but $25.00 to walk the grounds sounds high but considering I paid $50 a person to get into Sea World last month (which the whole family hated) isnt that bad.

 

[afcgirl]

melynny,

It is funny. We went through the exact same thought process and came to the exact same conclusion.

I reserved the Atlantis Beach Day excursion for us as well. I picked the Atlantis Beach Day over Discover Atlantis because my kids love playing in the sand and we will still get to see the marine habitat and use the other amenities. It is pricey but I figure we at least get a free lunch and free transportation.

I think we will have a great time.

afcgirl

 

[courtney]

We did the Atlantis Beach Day on our 4-day Wonder cruise last month. I can't say I was impressed... I would've rather stayed on the ship.

Firstly, we were allowed to use the beach chairs *only* on the ocean beach, which was WAY too windy and the waves were way too high for some of the younger kids in the group to enjoy it. We ended up using the beach on the lagoon side, which was incredibly crowded. The sand was incredibly hard on our feet (lost of shells and rocks), and the water was very cold!

Secondly, the crowds were definitely a bit much. It took a long time to reedeem our lunch tickets, and the food wasn't even all that great... hamburgers & hot dogs for the most part.

We walked through some of the aquarium areas, and I know we missed a great deal of them... we didn't have a guide or a map, and got a little lost. By the time we thought we could figure it out, we had to be back on ship.

I shoulda stayed on the ship and gotten a massage or something.

 

[afcgirl]

Courtney,

It is funny, I actually would rather stay on the ship, especially because we are only doing the 3-day. However, my DH thinks we will regret not at least seeing some of Nassau (we have never been there).

Thanks for your input though. I will go in with low expectations and hope for the best!

afcgirl

 

[Melynny]

I have printed a map from the Atlantis Web site. I am prepared for being " escorted" to a reserved section of beach but, Hey any beach is better than none! I am from the midwest! we don't have any beaches near here at all! I do want to see Atlantis, If the weather and water are nice, I'll enjoy the be beach for a while, at least I have that option. It it's not pleasant, then I'll just head back to the ship. I am curious, if I spend money on food or drinks, can I sit and eat ( or drink) there, or do I have to walk around and eat, or take it back to my "reserved chair" on the beach! I am making this so much more complicated than it should be!

 

[puffkin]

We had actually planned on doing the Beach Day at Atlantis, but decided to just stay on the ship as well. The cost was high and we didn't feel that we would get much value out of it. After reading all the negative reviews about Nassau, I think we might have made the right decision.

However, we are not "Beach" people so this may influence your decision some. This is also our first cruise, so we plan to use the day to explore the ship and take advantage of all the amenities on board.

 

[gottaluvdis]

We returned from the 3-night Wonder at the beginning of this month. We went to Atlantis on our own and toured the grounds, the Dig and all aquariums. It was neat to see the resort, but it's definitely a "been there, done that" feeling. It was $78 for 3 of us to walk around. I wanted to see the resort because my sister and her husband are considering going for their anniversary. It was very Vegas-like, just in a beach locale. The aquariums were nice, but nothing as large or nice as the New England Aquarium we have in Boston. The lagoon looked nice and wasn't overly crowded the day we were there. Didn't see the ocean-side of the resort or the pools. I've been to Nassau before and would have gone to Cable Beach had we decided we wanted to beach it that day. Next time we'll either stay on the ship or go to the Wyndham at Cable Beach. In general, Nassau isn't the greatest port in my opinion.

 

[courtney]

For those who want to see Nassau, Atlantis isn't really the way to do it. It's very packaged, and you're seeing a very limited view of the city... but then again, some people like the "tourists' view".

From what I hear, there really isn't a lot to see in the city itself... I guess what I might do next time is rent a bike or scooter and take a quick ride around town to see if there is anything worth spending time and money on.

Oh, and I forgot to mention... when we were setting out on the ferry to Atlantis, there was some sort of labor dispute... the captain wanted more money since there were a lot of people from DCL boarding. After a few arguments and many long minutes, we ended up boarding a completely different boat. Not really a good way to start off our day at Nassau.