Warning about Atlantis!!!

[Uncleromulus]

When we went, the aquariums and such were free with purchase of the water park admission. I certainly never would have expected to go to a large resort and be able to tour the attractions for free--the whole point of them being there is to make money, and the attractions are for people who paid for them. I'm sorry that someone told you could get in free, but I'm not surprised that they would try to "encourage" people who haven't paid to leave.

Thats how I see it as well---

 

[Missypyxi]

We did the dolphin experience at Atlantis in 2013. I was excited to see Atlantis but very disappointed once we arrived. The dolphin area was beautiful and the grounds were gorgeous, but the resort building itself was very weather beaten and worn.

It was also difficult for me to enjoy the 'lavishness' of it all after being driven through the slums and poverty on the way there. You would think with all of the money they brought in, they could spread the wealth to the people who live there, too, through charity.

Anyway, not to derail the thread. We saw the aquariums and while they were nice, I wouldn't have paid nearly $50 to see them. You didn't miss much.

 

[ebradley23]

Atlantis is ridiculous. We went a couple of years ago thinking we could see some of the resort. The OP is right. Every door was guarded with no help from employees with info on where to go. We needed up walking around the shops outside. My DH had been looking for some ray bans before the trip, so he checked out their store. He found them for twice the suggested retail price. The salespeople kept telling him "but you don't pay tax here." Umm, that would be a consideration if our sales tax in the US was 20%. They couldn't explain how they could charge that much more than SRP. We didn't look at anything else after. I would rather get harassed by the shops downtown than know I was being completely ripped off at Atlantis

 

[GrnMtnMan]

A little bit of advance research at Atlantis's own website would have resolved this issue beforehand...

Or doing research here on the Dis *BEFORE* going on a trip.

I posted this warning in March 2011: Changes at Atlantis Impacting Cruisers

I just got back from my annual trip to Atlantis, and there are two important changes that might impact cruisers not using the Disney excursion:

-------

2) Atlantis has begun routing day-visitors directly into the casino (most of the time). They are checking for room keys at the front doors of the Royal Towers. They are also restricting access to the Great Hall of Waters to only Atlantis guests (they are checking for room keys at the end of the shopping corridor between the Great Hall and the Casino). This means that people who have not purchased passes cannot view the main aquarium in the Great Hall of Waters.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

It was also difficult for me to enjoy the 'lavishness' of it all after being driven through the slums and poverty on the way there. You would think with all of the money they brought in, they could spread the wealth to the people who live there, too, through charity.

In the words of Captain Jack Sparrow, "Welcome to the Caribbean".

The Bahamas are actually one of the more developed Caribbean island nations (and is the wealthiest by some measures). True poverty is in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There are a few wealthy islands, but they are generally colonies of UK or France, etc, and that just means that they keep the poor tourism hospitality employees in true slums. The Bahamas had a rather high standard of living, they just don't keep the population concentrated in dilapidated slums, like in Mexico or Brazil.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Another poster warned about the smoke in the air -- we found it to be significant.

Be warned that the casino is quite smoky so if that bothers you then don't plan to stay long.

If you are used to Vegas or Atlantic City casinos, you'll find the casino actually isn't that smokey. If you are used to non-smoking casinos, you'll be surprised so many people are smoking.

Can you go into the Casino and gamble without paying another fee of some sort? We have an excursion in the morning. Then we had planned to go check out the Casino at Atlantis. I think I heard there was also a public beach, not on Atlantis, but relatively near. My DH is really interested in checking out the Casino, but I doubt he would want to pay an extra fee just for the privilege of doing a little gambling. Anyone know the answer to this?

As a recent and regular visitor to Atlantis, I can confirm there is *no fee to enter casino*.

 

[love280mickey]

I was there many many years ago when some portion of the aquarium was free. My daughter was a baby then and she is 14 now.

You can't go swim at Beach Club either. Disney is exclusive as well.

When I am a paying guest at a resort, I don't think I'd appreciate the cruise ship throngs wandering through each day either.

Just another perspective.

 

[ptcbass]

Can you go into the Casino and gamble without paying another fee of some sort? We have an excursion in the morning. Then we had planned to go check out the Casino at Atlantis. I think I heard there was also a public beach, not on Atlantis, but relatively near. My DH is really interested in checking out the Casino, but I doubt he would want to pay an extra fee just for the privilege of doing a little gambling. Anyone know the answer to this?

Good luck going to the public beach too. We found a building that said public beach and pointed outside (obviously) so we followed the signs and ended up having to walk around a tower at the back of the building where the employees were working. We felt like that wasn't the place we should be at but that is where all the signs pointed to. When we got around the building and saw the path to the beach there were about 15 local teens blocking the entrance. We decided it wasn't worth it and we really didn't want to leave with less than we come with so we turned around. When they saw that we had turned around one tried to follow us asking if we wanted access to the beach. We just said no thank you and kept walking. Once inside we were SO ready to get back to the ship. I had just heard of so many great stories of how beautiful atlantis was and how they enjoyed it for free so yes I was expecting the same. When we got there we weren't allowed anywhere to look at the resort. It wasn't worth the $30 in cab fares to go through this so I wanted to let others know so that they didn't waste their time or money.

Now if you plan on paying for a tour or use their water park and beaches it might be worth it and nicer. That would be different.

I have also read on some sites that at certain hours they aren't guarding the doors. Maybe that was the difference for some families but since we had to be back on the ship for dinner the after hours wouldn't have helped us much.

For those that suggested I should have researched it before hand - Yes I should have researched it before hand through the Atlantis website but since everyone I knew that had been there was telling me the same thing I didn't think to check. That would be like coming on this forum and having everyone tell me one thing and then finding out they were all wrong. Yes they aren't the rule makers or work for the company but sometimes peoples experiences are better information than a website. As I said before lesson learned. I just wanted to let others know that may have been misinformed like we were.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

I think Atlantis is way over rated. We visited 3 years ago and did a Disney excursion. We just wanted beach access and aquarium access since we had an 18-month old at the time. It was SOOOO expensive and totally not worth it to us. We said we would never go back and now just stay on the ship when we dock in Nassau.

Now, Atlantis-The Palm in Dubai is a different story. I recently visited for the day and found it to be WAY better. At least I thought it was more organized and clean and the food was DEF better.

 

[ptcbass]

I wouldn't even mind paying to walk through but the prices they ask are just way to high for what you get. They are defiantly money hungry!! You would think they would be nicer while trying to get your money.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

You would think they would be nicer while trying to get your money.

I don't get this...I visit annually and find the staff at Atlantis, and the Bahamas in general, plenty nice, happy, and helpful. Like at Disney, there's a few who ought to be doing something outside of the hospitality industry, but most are pleasant and professional.

Could be there's some prejudice against cruisers, as it's not the first time I've seen this complaint, though its often people who were otherwise frustrated by some bigger problem going on. I'm sure the turnstile attendants at the Magic Kingdom seem mean to people who want to get into the park (without a ticket) to just take a look around....

 

[luv2sleep]

Ok so last week we were thrilled to be on our first cruise ever. When we got into Nassau we were so excited to go check out Atlantis. I have had everyone tell me that it is beautiful and you can go walk around and check out their aquarium for free. We happily spent $15 taking a taxi there and were on our way to enjoy the day. We walked around and found a few shops but every time we come to a doorway there was a Atlantis employee guarding the door unless you were a guest staying at the resort. I asked about how to get to the aquarium and they said you have to pay ($49 each if I remember correctly) to get access to the aquarium area. This was not the tour and was just to see the aquarium. I was puzzled since everyone had told me it was free (and beautiful) so I found another employee that told me the same thing. Then outside where you pay for access to the beach and water park I noticed the sign that had a price for aquarium tours AND a price for access to the aquarium. It was a complete waste of our day and money to go over there for nothing. There were other cruisers over there walking around trying to figure it out too. We were so frustrated that we got the next taxi out and went straight back to the ship. Then there we heard one lady complaining to Disney (not blaming them) that her family paid $49 each for the aquarium and since one member was in a wheelchair they said they would have to come get them and take them back to that area and they never did. She paid the money and still didn't get to see it!! The employees were not nice at all and seemed to be only interested in getting money from you. Once we asked for directions for something and when we followed the directions we were at the exit door. My DS even said I think all they care about is showing us the exit door. Very frustrating and NOT a good way to start a port day. I also wanted to check out the property because we thought about booking another vacation and flying in and staying there. Not anymore!! The towers you were allowed in on the outside were rusted and looked really bad too. It was a huge let down! I just wanted to warn others that also think you can go over and walk around and see the aquarium for free. Don't waste your time or money going over there. You can't see anything anymore! I will share more about the day and my experiences as a first timer in another thread.

I don't know if anyone has asked this but did you actually call or email the resort to see what their policy was? When I went to an AI in Puerto Vallarta I did that before going so that I could understand what I had to do when and where and what that would get me. I would do the same for Atlantis. Policies can change monthly.

 

[ptcbass]

I don't know if anyone has asked this but did you actually call or email the resort to see what their policy was? When I went to an AI in Puerto Vallarta I did that before going so that I could understand what I had to do when and where and what that would get me. I would do the same for Atlantis. Policies can change monthly.

No I should have but since I was told by several that you could walk around and enjoy the resort, casino and aquarium I didn't think to check. It wasn't the main part of our vacation and I was already having to learn so much about the cruise that this wasn't on my radar of things I needed to check on. I heard others saying the same thing and telling others the same thing so I just wanted to get the word out that you can NOT freely walk the resort or see the aquarium for free. I thought I might save the same frustration and taxi money (and time) for someone else.

 

[lilpooh108]

10 years ago we stayed for a week at Comfort Suites (Which gives you access to Atlantis) and the only free part was the aquarium window behind the restaurant/lounge area where the exit now is. Now that part isn't free.

Also (10 years ago), you could walk out of the hotel and at least see the facilities behind the hotel and they check guest wristbands at a certain point. Now the doors are locked.

So in other words, the OP was given bad information. Although the employees there are unfriendly (I find the beach experience on PI to be not relaxing and rather intrusive, etc), I sort of think the OP should have confirmed the info before going there.

Atlantis sees thousands of tourists a day, so I'd bet the employees are tired of answering the same questions day in and day out.

To the OP--- I may be biased but you really didn't miss out on much. The aquarium can be "done" in 20 minutes and the facilities in the back are just of a nice extensive hotel pool grounds. We went back to Atlantis on our last 2 DCL cruises just to see if we got a bad first impression during our week stay and nope, just as unfriendly and overpriced as we thought the 1st time. The waterpark is great though.

 

[ptcbass]

I don't get this...I visit annually and find the staff at Atlantis, and the Bahamas in general, plenty nice, happy, and helpful. Like at Disney, there's a few who ought to be doing something outside of the hospitality industry, but most are pleasant and professional.

Could be there's some prejudice against cruisers, as it's not the first time I've seen this complaint, though its often people who were otherwise frustrated by some bigger problem going on. I'm sure the turnstile attendants at the Magic Kingdom seem mean to people who want to get into the park (without a ticket) to just take a look around....

After asking a couple different employees and not getting a friendly response I decided to ask for a map of the area. The one I ask didn't really like that I wanted one and another employee standing at the end of the counter muttered something I couldn't understand (except the word map) and laughed. Add that to the one that gave us directions to the exit and we were ready to leave and never return.

 

[Twinprincesses]

We always rent a room at Comfort suites and get the wristband at Atlantis. I understand that they just do not want a bunch of people walking around there with as many people spend the days there. We did have to show our wristbands everywhere we went.

Personally I think Atlantis is a beautiful resort, although it is very overpriced (foodwise) but so is Disney.

 

[BalooLibLady]

Thanks for the info about the Casino. I think we will check it out and skip looking for the Public beach. We'll enjoy the beach at Castaway Cay instead.

 

[ptcbass]

Thanks for the info about the Casino. I think we will check it out and skip looking for the Public beach. We'll enjoy the beach at Castaway Cay instead.

The CC beach is so AWESOME!! If you have extra time in Nassau just enjoy the ship. There never seems to be enough time to do that. Have fun!!

 

[firecracker725]

Good luck going to the public beach too. We found a building that said public beach and pointed outside (obviously) so we followed the signs and ended up having to walk around a tower at the back of the building where the employees were working. We felt like that wasn't the place we should be at but that is where all the signs pointed to. When we got around the building and saw the path to the beach there were about 15 local teens blocking the entrance. We decided it wasn't worth it and we really didn't want to leave with less than we come with so we turned around. When they saw that we had turned around one tried to follow us asking if we wanted access to the beach. We just said no thank you and kept walking. Once inside we were SO ready to get back to the ship. I had just heard of so many great stories of how beautiful atlantis was and how they enjoyed it for free so yes I was expecting the same. When we got there we weren't allowed anywhere to look at the resort. It wasn't worth the $30 in cab fares to go through this so I wanted to let others know so that they didn't waste their time or money. Now if you plan on paying for a tour or use their water park and beaches it might be worth it and nicer. That would be different. I have also read on some sites that at certain hours they aren't guarding the doors. Maybe that was the difference for some families but since we had to be back on the ship for dinner the after hours wouldn't have helped us much. For those that suggested I should have researched it before hand - Yes I should have researched it before hand through the Atlantis website but since everyone I knew that had been there was telling me the same thing I didn't think to check. That would be like coming on this forum and having everyone tell me one thing and then finding out they were all wrong. Yes they aren't the rule makers or work for the company but sometimes peoples experiences are better information than a website. As I said before lesson learned. I just wanted to let others know that may have been misinformed like we were.

The local teens you saw were probably the people you buy beach chairs and drink all you like coconuts from. They're harmless and very helpful, if not a bit pushy. For $30, my husband and I had two chairs, an umbrella and the coconuts all day. It was great.

 

[ptcbass]

The local teens you saw were probably the people you buy beach chairs and drink all you like coconuts from. They're harmless and very helpful, if not a bit pushy. For $30, my husband and I had two chairs, and umbrella and the coconuts all day. It was great.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing! $30 for all that sounds great!
They looked like a bunch of teens just haning out on the walkway to the beach. The beach access also looked like we were in a back street or something and not a main area. Since we weren't sure and knew there was crime in Nassau we figured better safe than sorry. We didn't plan on swimming or staying at the beach anyway so no biggie.

Side note - Watch out for the shells and stuff you can buy in Nassau. We had a friend tell us yesterday that they seen a lady stringing up shells and "making" windchimes with them so they bought one. They also seen some boys in a boat bringing up shells out of the water and bought one. Later that day they were looking at them and both had stickers in them where they were sold commercially and not just pulled out of the water or hand made.