Nassau excursions

[triplovinmom]

We are going on the Wonder November 6 and are trying to decide what to do in Nassau. I would love for the kids (7,8,11) to see Atlantis or go on dolphin encounter (dh and I have already done this) The disney excursions are very expensive. Any suggestions for going on our own? I know dolphin encounter is about $75 if you book on your own but how much for taxi to Paradise island Ferry. What about cost for dh and I since we would only be watching? Also, how about Atlantis? Do they allow you to come and use facilities for the day? How much do they charge?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated? This will be our first cruise. We are doing disney world first and are very excited about the trip and want to do it right.

Thanks for your help!

 

[minnieluvzmickey]

Hi triplovinmom: You will be cruisin with me! you are the first person I have found on the DIS that will be on that cruise. Surely there are some others.

We are doing the catamaran sail and snorkeling in nassau. I have read a lot of good reviews on this excursion so hopefully it will be a good one. It will just be me and dh. We are leaving our 4 kids at home this trip.

 

[jwann]

We went in May and went on the Sting Ray encounter. We actually got to snorkel with them, touch them, and even feed them. My children, boys age 5 & 8, loved it. I recommend it. The lunch they served was great, too.

 

[MarkRG]

You can easily do another excursion and Atlantis. If you've been to Nassau before, you know how nearby it is. I have a prewritten set of instructions on how to do Atlantis on your own, I'll paste them here:

This note is for people who want to just go visit Atlantis and tour the Dig, a huge grouping of aquariums. If you want to use the water amenities(ANY water recreation on property), you need to get a room at Atlantis or Comfort Suites at Atlantis. None of the Disney Excursions include this either, with the exception of one tour gives limited access to one beach, but none of the other water amenities.

To just visit is very easy to do on your own. All you have to do is walk to the end of the dock, where there are numerous cabs(minivans) with a current rate of $4 per person to shuttle you over. There are also private limos if you prefer with competitve rates.

Where they drop you off at Atlantis is where they will pick you up to return to the dock. At this point you have access to the casino, the shops, the main building of the resort.

To get access to the Dig and all the resort, simply go to the center of the Casino to a kiosk with a blue globe over it.

Wristbands for access to the rest are $25 for adults, $19 for kids 4-12, Under 4 free. This is not for access to the water amenities, as I said above you have to get a room for that.

They will give you maps of the Dig/resort and such at that point. You're now on your own to explore the resort at your own pace. The Dig is in sections spread over the resort and it is a great deal of walking. But definitely worth it. Enjoy!

 

[Marshmelo]

I was on the 9/14 Wonder and we did the Catamaran Sail and Reef Snorkeling excursion at Nassau. It was definitely a highlight of the trip. I would recommend it. I think the cost was $42 each. The sail out to the reef is about 45 minutes, so that is nice and relaxing and a good way to see some of Nassau without walking around. Have fun!

 

[hydster]

I can tell you what NOT to do in Nassau as our experience there wasnt the greatest with excursions made through Disney. Hubby and I booked the Scuba excursion since we are avid divers. It was partially cancelled and only a small part of the cost was refunded even though we only got 1/2 of what we paid for originally. We left the kids with the inlaws and then that afternoon when we got back we did the glass bottom boat tour there in Nassau. After about 5 min our kids were sick and bored! You went down to the bottom of the boat where there were big glass type windows to look out and see the fish but it was freezing down there (we were there in November as well) and the boat was moving a little bit but the rocking and swaying as well as being down below made us all green and sick.

We decided we should have gone to Atlantis for a little while and then stayed on board. Our 9 year old dd hated getting hounded to get her long hair braided and one woman even made her cry. We did the Disney excursion in Freeport of Dolphin Encounter and it was amazing and we thought well worth the price. Our kids were 9, 7 and 3 at the time.

Heidi