Where do we take the Atlantis shuttle? And we're do they drop us? (map)

[mevelandry]

Hi!

I'm a "visual" type of person and I always study my itineraries... I would like to know where the shuttles (booked with DCL) will pick us up and when we come back, where do they bring us in order to know exactly the kind of walk we need to do.

Short story: I got hit by a car a few months ago and the future of my left knee is still uncertain (I might be back 100% or be left with some mobility issues - right now I can walk with a cane and still waiting for the MRI results) and my FIL has problems with both knees, he walk without a cane but has pain when he walks for too long (he's currently in talks with docs to see if he'll go for surgery or try Synvisc). Therefore, I am trying to calculate the walks we have to do during our trips.

I printscreened a map of Nassau port... if anybody could give me the exact sports where we get picked-up ... and then dropped off at the end of the day, I would appreciate it very much!

Thanks in advance!

 

[RedSox68]

When we did this excursion, DCL will direct you where to get the shuttle. When they drop you off at Atlantis, the shuttle driver should tell you not only where they pick up, but the times they run. They dropped us off right at the door of the resort.

Not sure if your excursion includes the tour, but that was wonderful, as was the aquarium.

If I remember right, they stopped running at 3:00 or 3:30 p.m. We had a great time there -- it's a beautiful resort.

 

[mevelandry]

When we did this excursion, DCL will direct you where to get the shuttle. When they drop you off at Atlantis, the shuttle driver should tell you not only where they pick up, but the times they run. They dropped us off right at the door of the resort.

Not sure if your excursion includes the tour, but that was wonderful, as was the aquarium.

If I remember right, they stopped running at 3:00 or 3:30 p.m. We had a great time there -- it's a beautiful resort.

Do you mean that the pick-up area and drop off area can change and there is no way to know in advance?

We plan on booking Aquaventure (which includes the tour).

 

[RedSox68]

Do you mean that the pick-up area and drop off area can change and there is no way to know in advance?

We plan on booking Aquaventure (which includes the tour).

The pick up area at the hotel did not change at all. The shuttles ran continuously. The shuttle from Disney met you at the end of the pier right at the immigration booth. It was not a long walk at all to get there. We found the whole thing very convenient, and well worth the money because we didn't have to worry about traffic or connections.

Tip: Do not plan on eating there, however. We brought crackers and granola bars to hold us over. The food prices were very high.

 

[My2litteprincesses]

You meet in the theatre on the boat at the specified time. They will then walk you out of the ship & onto awaiting shuttles. Just passed the gate out of the port.
The shuttles drop you off right at the entrance of the resort & will tell you where & when to meet back up.

 

[mevelandry]

You meet in the theatre on the boat at the specified time. They will then walk you out of the ship & onto awaiting shuttles. Just passed the gate out of the port.
The shuttles drop you off right at the entrance of the resort & will tell you where & when to meet back up.

"Just passed the gate out of the port": Where would that be on the map I posted?

 

[My2litteprincesses]

Hard to tell from your map. It's before Bay St. It's right outside of the gated port area

 

[Floridatinaherb]

When we went last year they picked us up near the corner of East St and Bay Street on your map. Drop off was around the same location from what I remember.

 

[mevelandry]

When we went last year they picked us up near the corner of East St and Bay Street on your map. Drop off was around the same location from what I remember.

I was told you don't need to go through the Welcome Center when you leave with the group?

 

[Floridatinaherb]

I was told you don't need to go through the Welcome Center when you leave with the group?

Correct. We went to the left of the welcome center through what I would almost call an alley on our way to the transportation. On return we had to go through the welcome center

 

[mevelandry]

Thank you all very much. It's going to help us preparing our trip.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Thank you all very much. It's going to help us preparing our trip.

I'll add to this that the walk from the shuttle stop at Atlantis to the pool area was very long, just wanted you to be prepared.

 

[mevelandry]

I'll add to this that the walk from the shuttle stop at Atlantis to the pool area was very long, just wanted you to be prepared.

Hopefully they have benches here and there.

 

[Starwind]

Hopefully they have benches here and there.

I did not notice if there were benches or not because except for some short pauses you were constantly on the move.

HOWEVER, you are walking with the group receiving a "tour" from the bus drop-off to the Aquaventure area where you get your towels. Then you are let loose. It is a long walk with occasional pauses to look at something. I do not know how good or bad the guide is wrt adjusting for people's speeds.

When we did the Aquaventure port adventure a few years ago lunch was included -- we were given vouchers to use at the quick service places.

An aside - note that the lazy river is NOT lazy like the WDW water parks are. There are some patches that are rapids where you get bounced around and into things (walls, other people) and the water WILL come over your head and WILL knock off things like hats and glasses if they are not sufficiently secured. Mine were, but I saw other people lose sunglasses and Rx glasses and hats. I was surprised at how rapid the water in those stretches was and after going around once we had decided it was too much so we did not go around again.

Our pickup point was in the hotel at the end of the stores (basically, they make you walk past all the shops to get picked up...).

I found it a long hike from Aquaventure through the hotel and out to the van (>10 minutes). There were places one could rest. We went in through the lobby of the hotel the shops were in and discovered because they allow smoking in the nearby casino the lobby was very smokey too, as was some of the walk to the shops and out. As an asthmatic sensitive to cigarette smoke, this was a serious problem for me. If we were to go again we would find another way, outside the buildings if possible, to walk back.

SW

 

[Starwind]

FYI, DCL's website has a picture from one of the sections of the river: https://secure.parksandresorts.wdpr...-day/n66-atlantis-aquaventure-half-day-00.jpg

Using Google Maps, the distance in a straight line from the hospitality center in Aquaventure where we had our locker to the door where we got picked up is 400 m. Except you can't walk in a straight line because the walking paths for the most part are twisty (in part to get around things in the way, like a waterslide or seating area). I used the "measure distance" feature to plot roughly the path we actually took to get back (may or may not be the shortest, but at the time it was the least confusing): nearly 1 km.

On this map of Atlantis, the dropoff/pickup point was near #46 in Coral Towers at the road loop in front of the building: http://ownthereef.com/pdfs/resort-map.pdf For reference, the Hospitality Center with the lockers we used is the red star on the right hand side of the map just a bit above the legend.

DCL describes the walking as: "This excursion includes an approximate 15-minute walk to and from the pick-up location and a minimum of 0.5 miles of walking at Atlantis." https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/nassau-bahamas-atlantis-aquaventure-half-day/


SW

 

[mevelandry]

Wow, I got more info on this thread than I had in the last 4 months of research. Thanks a lot guys!

One more question: let's just say we decide to pick the 9:30 group (not sure if it's the earliest possible) by what time are we gonna be in arriving in Atlantis?

Thanks in advance!

 

[limabeanies]

Everyone is different but I would not recommend it.

We just returned from a spring break cruise on the Magic. We had never been to Atlantis. My mom had heard so much about it and picked it as our excursion. We were excited to try it out. However it didn't go as planned. She also has trouble with her knees. She was in aching pain by the time we got to the back of Atlantis.

2 things played a part in this:
1) On our ticket it said to meet at Keys at 9:15 for the 9:30 excursion. We waited in line for 30 minutes and then were ushered into the theater for announcements from Disney. They had a map of Nassua on the wall. They explained how we would get off the ship, the shuttle system, and how to find your way back. We left Keys and exited the ship. We stood in line by the Magic on the pier from 9:45 until 10:45. We didn't know we would be standing there that long so we didn't go searching for an area to sit. We thought the line would be moving shortly. There were other excursions getting off of the ship at the same time all standing in long lines. We didn't want to wander too far from our group and get mixed up with the wrong crew. Finally, we started moving. We walked the distance of the pier out to the street where we waited on the side walk for another 15 minutes -again no benches. Around 11 after nearly 2 hours of standing in line, we boarded the bus for Atlantis. The bus driver gave us a driving tour of what we were passing which was nice. We were just happy to be seated.

2.) Once we arrived at Atlantis-around 11:15- Our particular tour guide practically ran down the walk ways. We had never been here before and were afraid of getting lost and left behind. The place is huge! When she finally stopped, she dumped us out near an empty towel bin and shrugged her shoulders and said "No towels" you have to go look for more. We just looked at each other. What?!&@ We have to go look for more? Where should we look? Is this an Easter towel hunt? Maybe the hold up was spring break crowds. I don't know but it's not worth the headache. Mom's knees were burning. We actually left at 12:15 and paid for a taxi to return us to the ship where we relaxed at the pool with plenty of towels and cool beverages and were never happier.

(Shuttles start at 1:00 and run from Atlantis to the Ship every 30 minutes until your final boarding time.)

If we did this again we would not get off the ship in Nassau. We want our time to be magical and painful knees and legs shouldn't play apart in the day.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[mevelandry]

Everyone is different but I would not recommend it.

We just returned from a spring break cruise on the Magic. We had never been to Atlantis. My mom had heard so much about it and picked it as our excursion. We were excited to try it out. However it didn't go as planned. She also has trouble with her knees. She was in aching pain by the time we got to the back of Atlantis.

2 things played a part in this:
1) On our ticket it said to meet at Keys at 9:15 for the 9:30 excursion. We waited in line for 30 minutes and then were ushered into the theater for announcements from Disney. They had a map of Nassua on the wall. They explained how we would get off the ship, the shuttle system, and how to find your way back. We left Keys and exited the ship. We stood in line by the Magic on the pier from 9:45 until 10:45. We didn't know we would be standing there that long so we didn't go searching for an area to sit. We thought the line would be moving shortly. There were other excursions getting off of the ship at the same time all standing in long lines. We didn't want to wander too far from our group and get mixed up with the wrong crew. Finally, we started moving. We walked the distance of the pier out to the street where we waited on the side walk for another 15 minutes -again no benches. Around 11 after nearly 2 hours of standing in line, we boarded the bus for Atlantis. The bus driver gave us a driving tour of what we were passing which was nice. We were just happy to be seated.

2.) Once we arrived at Atlantis-around 11:15- Our particular tour guide practically ran down the walk ways. We had never been here before and were afraid of getting lost and left behind. The place is huge! When she finally stopped, she dumped us out near an empty towel bin and shrugged her shoulders and said "No towels" you have to go look for more. We just looked at each other. What?!&@ We have to go look for more? Where should we look? Is this an Easter towel hunt? Maybe the hold up was spring break crowds. I don't know but it's not worth the headache. Mom's knees were burning. We actually left at 12:15 and paid for a taxi to return us to the ship where we relaxed at the pool with plenty of towels and cool beverages and were never happier.

(Shuttles start at 1:00 and run from Atlantis to the Ship every 30 minutes until your final boarding time.)

If we did this again we would not get off the ship in Nassau. We want our time to be magical and painful knees and legs shouldn't play apart in the day.

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks for your review. I wonder if it's just a bad experience that happens once in a while or if it happens a lot.

One way or another, we'll take that in consideration, knowing that the risk is there. (And depending how good or bad our knees are).

We're supposed to be in Nassau on April 7th. Is it still spring break?

Thanks in advance.

 

[limabeanies]

Looking at your signature your cruise is in 2017? If so Easter is on Sunday April 16. You are going the Friday before Good Friday. I don't know. Some schools take Spring break the week before Easter Sunday and some take it the week after. I think you might want to do more research. Read more trip reports to see if it was just an anomaly or happens more often.